I immediately ran to Agulera, dropping to my knees beside her quivering figure.

Beside her was a long, thin, dulled blade, and her hand shook, reaching for it blindly. I rested my hands on her arms, and she clenched her teeth and continued to groan. Her face was the only part of her body that was untouched by her own blood. The scent overwhelmed my senses.

I became nauseous from it, and I clenched my watering eyes closed to focus and not faint. I could hear the exceeds beginning to climb out of the chamber and I turned sharply to tell them to wait.

They all stiffened, but obeyed. Sapphire looked on with haunted eyes and silent tears pouring out of them. I jumped slightly when I felt Agulera grab at my arm. She held on to me like her life depended on it. To her, it might have.

Her eyes looked wide and in shock, but not afraid. She took struggled breaths through her nose and my body shook with tears. With no medical help or knowledge, there was nothing I could do for her, only hold her hand and shush her quietly so she wouldn't strain herself.

"Don't... Don't w-worry about me... child." She said, sounding like she was choking. She began to cough and the floor beside her was painted with more red, "Get the exceeds... out... Protect them... Take... care of her." She said deeply and harshly. I knew she meant Sapphire.

"Please..." I hiccuped through my cries, "Don't... Don't talk. Just breathe."

"Useless." She continued, closing her eyes and tightening her grip on my hand, "P-Please... go."

I looked around the room in distress, "I can't..." I cried as my heart tightened in my chest, "I can't do this alone..."

I had never felt so scared that entire day. Everything had taken such a strange turn, and the last thing I wanted was to be alone. Agulera's gaze stayed on me and she shook my hand firmly to grab my attention again, "Yes, you can." She said confidently and my eyes widened at her bloodshot ones, "You... are capable of... more... than you... think. I... I helped scan you..."

My eyes widened. Hers fell on the frozen robots in the room and my gaze followed hers. As I stared at the robot men in confusion, I felt her grip on my hand loosen and my attention snapped back to her.

"You can... Jay." She whispered, before her eyes became clouded and her head fell back limply. My hand tightened around her flaccid one and a strange choked sound slipped from my lips. My body shook as I stared at her corpse and my breaths came out harshly and quickly.

I leaned down and rested my head on her shoulder in grief and my cries started to grow louder. My brain felt like it was splitting again.

"I'm sorry." I whispered through my cries.

A few moments later, when all I could do was let out harsh breaths, I heard Sapphire's soft, pattering feet approach me. Her paw touched my arm and I turned to look into her numbed blue eyes.

"We have to go." She said softly. I blinked at her, "Please, Jay." She sniffled and I grabbed her into my arms fully. She hugged me back and I looked at the other somber exceeds.

Another moment passed before my headache became too much to bear, and I dug into the pocket of my sweatshirt to retrieve the pain killers Makarov had given me. I was relieved that I remembered to transfer them from my dress before Agulera threw it away. Another tear slipped my eye, but I opened the little bottle quickly with Sapphire still leaning against my chest.

As soon as I swallowed two of the red pills, my headache faded and my emotions dulled out. All that was left... was anger.

I was angry for the exceeds, standing in the room with lost and trapped expressions. I was angry for Sapphire, who clung to my shirt shakily in sorrow and fear. I was angry for Agulera, who sacrificed herself like so many others to protect me. I was angry for Fairy Tail, for being nothing but welcoming to me and getting attacked in return.

I was angry for me, because I had been dumped into a seemingly crippling world and had no idea how to stop it. I had no idea how to help anyone. Not even myself.

But most of all, I was angry with whoever decided to bring war to the guild and the people of this town. I decided, in that moment, whoever they were, they would pay. I didn't know what power I held, but when I found out, I would unleash every ounce of it on them.

They would suffer with no hesitation, just as Agulera had to.

I nodded in acceptance for what I had to do. No more hiding. No more being protected. It was time to stand up.

I scooped up Sapphire and stood from my spot on the floor. She and the exceeds looked at my resolved form in confusion.

"Let's go." I said, and they all hesitantly nodded. They all approached the stairs quickly, and my gaze fell on the robot men for a moment before I followed after them.

It was still raining when we made it outside. I couldn't tell if it was still Juvia's doing or not; the euphoric sensation of the raindrops felt different than that of hers.

I did a headcount of all the cats around me and told them to stay as close as possible. When we made it to the entrance of the woods, I froze.

"I'm not sure we can go through here." I said to them all, "If Fairy Tail is still surrounded on the other side, we won't stand a chance."

"How about I give you an aerial view?" The green exceed said, and I rose an eyebrow, "I can get you just high enough to check the area of the guild, and if it is indeed surrounded, we can look for somewhere else to go."

I worried if he would be strong enough to carry me, but nodded and sat Sapphire down with the rest of them, "Stay together, all of you." I ordered, "If you hear any of those robot guys coming, scatter and hide."

They all nodded and the green cat approached me.

"What's your name?" I asked him as his angelic white wings fabricated.

"Christell," He replied, "Don't freak out too much."

I furrowed my eyebrows and gulped as he flew up behind me and grabbed on to the fabric over my shoulders.

"Ready?" He asked and I sighed before exchanging a glance with Sapphire.

"Yeah." I replied and felt my feet lift off of the ground. I gasped, feeling like he would drop me at any moment. Though, he seemed sure of his hold and I tried to control my breathing, "Please don't drop me." I begged, feeling the rain land on me harder and the wind nip at my face sharper. We were close to the top of the woods' trees.

"Never," Christell promised, "You're not even heavy." The lack of strain in his voice helped ease my anxiety, and before I knew it I could see the top of the guild hall.

It was indeed still surrounded by the robot men. I gritted my teeth as I watched them pull the remaining struggling members from the guild and throw them into metallic-looking carriages.

I huffed in more anger, "Okay," I started, "So, that's out."

"Is there anywhere else that comes to mind?" Christell asked, "Somewhere else we could hide?"

I shook my head in frustration, "My guild mate, Juvia, told me Agulera was supposed to direct me further if we got caught in trouble back there." I replied, "I have no idea where else to go."

Christell hummed calmly, easing my upset as we hovered in the air, "What about another guild?"

I rose an eyebrow, "I don't know of any other ones. I just got here." I reminded him, "Do any of you?"

"Not very well," He confessed, "Maybe we can ask for directions? Find a map?"

I furrowed my eyebrows in thought, "Well, first we need to get away from here." I replied, "Is there somewhere close we can go to get some distance away from all of this?"

Christell was quiet for a moment before he gasped and flew us over to the right a bit. My attention was now focused far away from the guild to a lit up area of Magnolia. I honed in on my eyesight and smiled slightly when I saw a railroad leading to a train port.

"Christell," I said, "You're a little genius."

He chuckled bashfully.

"I don't think it's wise to have everyone fly over there," I said, "It's far, but all of you in the sky will be too conspicuous. We'll have to go on foot."

"Fair enough." He replied, and he started floating us back down to the others. They were all looking up and watching our descent. Christell dropped me gently on the ground and flew down to stand with his peers.

"The guild's still crowded," I began to explain, "So we're going to the train station in town. Hopefully, we can find somewhere to go from there."

They all nodded, their coats soaked from the rain and Sapphire flew up and into my arms again. I was suddenly eager to get her out of that weather.

"Remember," I said, "Stay close, and no flying." And with that, we started our journey to Magnolia's train station.

~~~

It was much easier to get there than I expected. The robots seemed to have been focused on the guild for the most part, and I had reason to believe it was because the rest of the town didn't use magic as heavily as those in Fairy Tail. Why are they capturing those with so much magic power? I thought.

We mainly took cover in the woods, and I was thankful Agulera lended me the shoes I wore. The mud was a lot less problematic than before.

Finally, we made it to the heavily lit station. It was mildly crowded: not so much as to where I was worried about having so many exceeds with me. We saw a few others there with other people or by themselves. I surmised everyone present wanted to get as far from the chaos ensuing as possible.

We made it to the front of the crowd and saw the worker behind the ticket desk shaking in fear. I knocked on the window quickly and her quivering gaze met mine.

"Hi," I said, trying to assure her but to no avail, "Could you please tell me where the nearest guild is from here? Outside of Magnolia?" I continued to check around and behind me for lingering eyes or loud gaits.

"Um..." She shook, her mind obviously scattered, "I think that would be... B-Blue... Blue Pegasus."

"Okay," I replied encouragingly, "And where are they located?"

She hesitated with dazed eyes, "Clover Town. Up North."

"Are they allies with Fairy Tail? Do you know?"

"Yes," She replied, quickening her responses, "Most guilds in Fiore are nowadays."

I nodded in relief, "Let me get twenty-one tickets to Clover Town then—"

"Okay, here." She said quickly, throwing me easily over twenty-five tickets. After my shock of her hasty actions wore off, something came to mind.

"Um... Don't I have to pay for them?" I asked, hoping that Mirajane's words of my Fairy Tail emblem giving me benefits worked in this instance as well.

"No, just get out of here." She almost exclaimed. I winced, but nodded.

I counted all of the exceeds again, sighing in relief when I found them all to still be present. Then, we all scampered towards the train's entrance. They all heaved through the door hastily, and I got in with Sapphire in my arms right after.

We hooked left into a spacious compartment, and and I chose my seat before telling all of them to double up and sit right behind me. They nodded and coupled with another of them in each seat behind me.

I sat Sapphire down in our seat and she watched as I studied the contents outside of our window. I couldn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary, and I sighed in stress before standing back up. I felt someone bump into me from behind, and I turned sharply to be met with ocean blue eyes and pearly white hair. I blinked, almost freaking out from thinking it was Mirajane... But the girl in front of me had much shorter hair, put into little pigtails. She also had a more petite figure than Mira.

Otherwise, she looked a lot like the Strauss sister.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, her voice feathery and soft. I furrowed my eyebrows. She sounded a bit like Mira too.

"No problem." I replied, and she turned to adjust her items in the seat across from ours. My eyes trailed over her warm-dressed physique before landing on the light blue Fairy Tail emblem on the side of her thigh. I tilted my head and furrowed my eyebrows, "Fairy Tail?" I heard myself say.

The girl turned back to me in confusion, "What'd ya say?" She asked kindly. I met her gaze.

"You're from Fairy Tail?" I asked and she nodded slowly. I sighed in relief, "I'm sorry, I'm new to the guild." I explained and pulled my soaked sweatshirt down from my right shoulder to show her my purple emblem. She smiled widely and nodded.

"Huh," She smiled proudly, "Welcome to the guild."

"Thank you," I replied, chuckling lightly, "Who are you? I didn't see you today."

"Lisanna Strauss," She said and my eyes widened. She was Mira and Elfman's little sister. She extended her pale hand to me and I shook it happily. Anyone related to Mirajane was someone I could trust, "I hate I missed your introduction to the guild, I was on a job."

"Yeah," I nodded, "I met Mira and Elfman and they mentioned you were out." I pulled my sweatshirt back into place.

She nodded, "I got back some hours ago," She explained, "Only to see the guild hall completely wrecked." She clenched her jaw and I nodded with a straight face, "What's your name?"

"Jay." I replied, "At least I think it is." She furrowed her eyebrows, "My story's... not exactly a clear one."

I felt my ponytail slip from my shoulder and Lisanna's gaze went to the left side of my neck. Her eyebrows relaxed and her eyes widened. I tilted my head to her.

"What?" I asked.

"That's..." She trailed off before looking me in the eyes with a strange depth that made me blush. She looked down in thought. I heard her heart swell and stutter.

"Lisanna..." I called and her eyes flickered around before meeting with mine again, "You okay?"

She looked at my neck again, before a soft smile etched on to her face, "That's... a lovely birthmark... Jay."

I tilted my head before trailing my fingers over my neck, "Thanks." I said softly.

She seemed a bit flustered after that, and she turned to continue fixing up her things, "Um... So where are you heading exactly?"

Her tone sounded nervous suddenly, and I hesitated, "To another guild... In Clover Town."

She turned abruptly, "Blue Pegasus?"

I nodded slowly, hearing her heartbeat pick up before she smiled happily.

"That's where I'm heading too." She said and I rose my eyebrows in surprise, "I have a booth in the back if you wanna join me."

I was about to agree before I looked to all of the settling exceeds behind my seat, "Oh... I don't want to leave them alone for too long." I said, gesturing to them all. Lisanna's eyes widened. She hasn't noticed the cats before now.

"They're all with you?" She asked incredulously. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm getting them out of Magnolia." I replied and she looked at me, impressed.

"Well, they'll be fine anywhere on the train." She assured me, "Anyone threatening the freedom of mages are around the guild."

I rose my eyebrows and nodded comfortably, "Okay." I said, looking back to all of the cats, "All of you, stay put, yeah?"

They nodded and hummed in agreement back to me, and I turned to Sapphire, who watched from our seat warily. I reached for her and she crawled to me before climbing into my arms. Lisanna smiled sweetly at her and guided us to the back where her booth was.

"So," She started as we sat down and she closed the booth's curtain behind us, "Where did you find all these exceeds?" She asked. I smiled in amusement before telling her of what had happened: the guild falling under attack, Juvia protecting me and sending me to Agulera, meeting all of the exceeds, and Agulera sacrificing herself for us.

"I'm so sorry," She said and I met her gaze, "That sounds like a very rough day. Your first experience in Fairy Tail should be one of happiness and welcome."

"Well, it was... Until the Dragon Slayors suddenly disappeared."

Lisanna nodded, "Elfman called and told me about that before telling me to come back. Did you catch any clues from anyone as to where they may be?"

I shook my head, "Gray, Lucy, and Erza were the only ones who knew where the four of them went. No one knew where they were taken, though."

Lisanna sighed, deflated, "Well, what's your story? You said it wasn't exactly 'clear'? What does that mean?"

"It means exactly that." I shrugged, "I can't remember anything before coming here." I replied.

"Why not?" She asked, tilting her head. Her blue eyes dilated.

"I lost my memory on account of me crashing out of the sky." I replied with a humorless smile. Lisanna's eyebrows furrowed and a half smile etched its way on to her face, "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. I fell out of the sky and into Earthland. The crash gave me amnesia, and I have no idea who I am or where I came from... All I could remember was the word 'Jay', so Lucy and I decided for it to be the name I answer to."

Lisanna blinked in amazement and shock. Her heart started beating faster, "So... you're from... a different world?"

"A whole other dimension, apparently." I corrected and sighed. Her eyes widened more, "I overheard a few theories from the others. Lucy suggested Edolas," I said, causing Sapphire to look at me in surprise, "But Gray and Erza ruled that out."

"Yeah, that wouldn't make complete sense." Lisanna replied, looking a bit lost in thought, "No one in Edolas can use magic anymore," She said and Sapphire looked at her sadly, "And the portals they used to bring magic in from other worlds need magic to be opened. It'd be more than a miracle for you to be from there and get sent here."

I sighed, and listened as the train's doors closed behind its last passenger. My heart picked up in relief and excitement of getting away from there.

"Well," I started again, "It doesn't look like I'll be going back regardless." I looked back to Lisanna, "All I can do now is keep them safe," I said, nodding to Sapphire, "And find whoever the hell is doing this to the guild."

Lisanna smiled softly, seeming proud of my words, "Now we're talkin'." She said in a thrill, "I'm heading to Blue Pegasus for the sole purpose of rallying more guilds together."

My eyes widened.

"They're taking everyone in Fairy Tail," She informed me, "And no one knows who the hell is even doing it, not even who to suspect. That's rare for our guild. We're the only ones who have a shot of fixing this, and this is clearly not an enemy we can defeat on our own."

Sapphire and I looked at one another in anticipation, "So," I started, "We're making... an army?" I asked.

Lisanna smirked and said, "Precisely."