We ended our journey with six guilds for allies: Blue Pegasus, Sabertooth, Lamia Scale, Twilight Ogre (it took forever for them to be convinced,) Mermaid Heel, and Quatro Cerberus (after meeting them, I wasn't sure if we actually needed them.)

They all said that they needed time to prepare. And within a few days, we had all contacted one another and agreed to meet at Blue Pegasus to finish our job and save our friends.

Lisanna, Sapphire, and I were packing up our things from the Fairy Tail guild hall, which was now horribly damaged after the accident. We changed into new day clothes; I wore a sleeveless grey turtleneck, high-waisted black jeans, and snug black combat boots. We said goodbye to our building and left.

All of the exceeds were distributed among all of the guilds. Even Christell decided on staying with Quatro Cerberus to lessen our travel load. I couldn't wait to see all of them again, to know they were all safe.

All I had at that point were Lisanna and Sapphire. Before we left for the train station, I made a stop to Lucy's apartment. It seemed to have dulled to an extent, and dust carried from the sun beams in the windows. I sat on her bed, still smelling her vanilla scent deep in the sheets and remembering how I felt so cared for in my small time with her.

"We're gonna get you back, Lucy," I whispered in the air, "All of you... We will get you guys back." I got up before the tears could come. I would never forget how they all just took me in with open arms. How, even if they were skeptical of my existence, they made me feel loved and protected.

I ran out of Lucy's apartment before I could wander on those thoughts for too long. I could hear her crazy landlady yelling at me to pay her rent or find her so she could pay it. I rolled my eyes and made it to the train station. Lisanna held Sapphire securely in her arms. They smiled at me excitedly as I approached them. I smiled back—we were all too excited to solve this thing.

Lisanna handed Sapphire to me, and together, the three of us boarded the train for Clover Town.

~~~

The ride was, again, excruciating.

"I wish Wendy was here. She could help you with this." Lisanna said as we exited the train. She had been strangely quiet during the train ride, and I surmised she was starting to get anxious for her siblings and guild mates. I could relate, but I quirked an eyebrow at her sudden statement.

"What do you mean?" I asked, hearing Sapphire noisily slurp on her to-go-cup's straw. It was honestly the first time Lisanna spoke about the guild or it's members outside of planning to save them both.

"She has a type of healing magic," She explained and I rose my eyebrows, "I'm sure she could cure your motion sickness while you travel."

I hummed. I was excited to meet the Wendy girl. I didn't know her, but I already felt connected to her. I was sure it was due to her youth compared to everyone else in the guild.

"She sounds like an interesting girl," Sapphire said enthusiastically, and I laughed in agreement.

Clover Town was as beautiful as the first time I'd seen it. The smell was just as strange, but Sapphire and I looked about in complete bliss. She raved about how she couldn't wait to be a part of Fairy Tail, how she couldn't wait to officially meet everyone. I told her they would love her just as I did, and Lisanna looked on in what seemed to be adoration of us. I smiled at her, seeing the guild not too far away from us then.

It was setting in. We were going to save everyone.

Finally, we were at Blue Pegasus. We walked to the guild hall and showed the security guards our guild marks. They swiftly stepped aside, inviting us in.

"Hello, my beauties," Ichiya sang, jumping from one of the guild's columns and landing a few feet in front of us. His scent still had that strange edge to it from before we left the previous time, but his voice was as deep and eccentric as it was when I first met him. "Welcome back." He said, bowing respectfully to us. I stepped forward to him, and he stood erect before raising a hand up, "Just a moment." I stopped moving at the sight of his hand, and I chuckled at his weirdness, slightly confused as to why he stopped my approach.

"Hey, it's good to be back," Sapphire said happily. I noticed the others in the room. All of the other guilds were present.

"Well," I started humorously, "Didn't you all get here early?"

Ichiya chuckled in playful mischief, "Of course, Mademoiselle," He replied, and I looked at Lisanna in amusement. Her expression made my face fall. She looked at me in anticipation, and I looked around to see everyone looking at me in the same way, "We were all waiting for you." Ichiya finished.

Suddenly, my body tensed as I felt a strange vibration on the floor. It traveled all the way up the walls to the very peak of the ceiling. It was followed by a creaking, rattling sound... coming from above me.

Sapphire's now confused gaze went to my face as she read the room, but I was busy slowly looking up to the extremely tall ceiling.

My heart stuttered as I saw a large metallic cage coming straight down on top of us. In as much speed as I could muster, I instinctively threw Sapphire away from me before the cage slammed on to my body. I could hear Phire's small body plop on to the floor, and I looked up to knock the back of my head into one of the cage bars. I groaned and looked around.

The cage had me pinned to the ground.

I saw Ichiya's now devilish eyes fall on Sapphire, and my heart pounded, "Lisanna!" I screamed in a panic, trying to turn my head to look for her, "Lisanna! Lis—" I froze as I watched her walk calmly around my caged figure to stand in between Sapphire and I.

I watched as Ichiya picked up my purple cat, and I shook against the cage bars passionately, "Lisanna!" I screamed for her to help, confusion laced into my anger-fueled voice as my gaze met hers. She looked at me with an slightly saddened expression. She looked almost hopeless. I heard Sapphire struggle and cry in Ichiya's grasp behind Lisanna.

Lisanna rose her hands calmly as she approached me. I gritted my teeth, "Try to calm
down." She said softly. The sound of a scream and growl slipped past my lips as I shook at the bars. I could feel the tears in my eyes. A deep part of me was shocked at the sudden rage my body was able to show.

"Lisanna!" I screamed again, now sounding desperate as I watched Ichiya carry Sapphire's struggling form away, "No!"

"Jay!" Phire shrieked to me, gasping and kicking while Ichiya took her out of my sight.

"No! No! No!" I screamed, beating against the bars.

"Jay," Lisanna said, her voice still calm as she knelt down by my face, "It'll be okay, this is just a precaution, everything will be okay—"

"Why?!" I shrieked, "Why, Lisanna? What are you doing?!"

"What I have to, sweetheart, I'm so sorry." She said, her tone sounding genuinely apologetic. I felt my mind begin to split for the first time in a while, and I clawed on the ground outside of the cage. I couldn't lift it up with my body; the position it had me in prevented me from using enough force and movement to get it off. Additionally, it looked to be latched on to the marble flooring.

I felt the tears pour out of my eyes immediately, and I silently begged Lisanna to help me. She clenched her jaw and swallowed as tears brimmed her eyes as well.

"This is only a precaution, sweetie," She assured me again, "I didn't want you to put up too much of a fight. She's the last exceed, and I need you to listen."

My eyes widened as I cried harder, "What are you talking abo—Get me out of here! Sapphire!" I screamed and Lisanna wiped her tears away.

"You can't imagine how hard this is for me, Jada," Lisanna whispered, and my eyes snapped to hers, "Truly, you can't. Please, stop. I need you to listen to me."

I was shaking in sobs now, but I seized my screaming to process what she had said, "What... What did you call me?"

Lisanna bowed her head, harder cries coming from her chest as she stood up and turned from me. She shook as much as I did before she wiped her face and took a deep breath, "Are you ready to listen?" She breathed, turning back to me.

I blinked at her in bewilderment, "What did you... What did you say..." I trailed off, my mind going numb slightly as I battled with her words.

She sighed before turning to the other guild members and waving her hand. They all bowed to her before calmly walking off in the direction Ichiya went. I stared after them in horror.

What the hell was going on?

"Jay," She whispered, "I never went on a job."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "What?"

"I never went on a job." She repeated louder, her voice thick from crying, "I was initiating a plan... A plan to bring... other worlds together. I cut off the Magic Council's connection to the guild's, I-I built soldiers to capture wizards, I sent the Dragon Slayors a job request to capture them—" She cut off in her rambling, and my eyes widened from the load of confessions that I just could not believe.

She put a hand to her forehead and shut her eyes in stress, "I know it makes no sense, I know you're so confused right now, honey, I... I needed magic. A lot of it. And I'm not done yet, so please don't make this harder. Please just... Just cooperate. Work with me, and we can do this together, yeah? I've helped you," She looked down at me with insistence, "It's been you and me this whole time, it doesn't have to end here... I'll answer your questions, and we can make this right... I know I'm asking a lot, sweetie, but please."

Why was she calling me sweetie so much? Her speech sent my mind in a whirl. I was stuck between wanting to get Sapphire back, wanting to beg her to help me out of the cage, and wanting to choke the hell out of her.

"But..." I couldn't barely speak.

"... But what?" She asked anxiously, awaiting a yes or no.

I looked away from her, fighting the confusion and hurt building inside me, "... What about Fairy Tail?"

Her expression softened and more tears poured out of her eyes.

"Lisanna," I whispered faintly and our eyes met, both in desperation, "What did you do?" I asked again and she blinked slowly before turning away from me, "Are they controlling you, Lis? Please, please tell me they're controlling you." I shook my head slowly, my jaw clenched and my distant gaze on the ground, "I can help you—"

"They're not controlling me." She replied softly, and I looked up to her to see her eyes empty and lost, "I'm controlling them."

I broke out into another cry, leaning my head against one of the cage bars and clenching my eyes as I weakly sobbed. What the hell had happened?

"Lisanna," I shook, my breaths coming out deeply and uneven, "Please..." I whispered, choking on the stress building in my system, "Please... We have to help them... We have to save them. Fairy Tail has an enemy, we have to stop them. Please."

Lisanna looked back to me, drained. She sniffled before reaching into her shirt and pulling out a small circular object. It looked scrappy, but as she turned it at a certain angle, I noticed the many buttons and a thin screen that sat on the side facing her.

Lisanna pressed a button or two, each chirping and triggering my ears. At the sound of a bleep, I knew I was hearing the same noises from when she "made confirmations."

"Approach." She voiced lowly into the device, and it hummed before bleeping again. My eyes widened at her as the betrayal truly sunk in.

I heard familiar stomping and I felt a silent tear roll down my face as a red beam of light appeared from around the corner Ichiya and the others disappeared behind. I smelled the same strange scent as the one on the Blue Pegasus members from the morning after meeting them.

Shortly after, one of the robot men that attacked Fairy Tail, captured my friends, and killed Agulera appeared. He walked to stand right beside Lisanna.

"Jay," She said, "I am the enemy of Fairy Tail."