The Dragneel's were not doing well, and not to point fingers but it was mostly Liddan's fault.

To be completely transparent, Liddan was not doing well, and his negativity was weighing down the rest of his family.

Cinder, however, seemed to be just fine. At least when she answered the door to Lillian who seemed rather upset with Liddan.

"Where is he?"

Cinder had her hand in a bag of chips as she squinted back at Lillian. "Well, I guess we're not saying hello anymore."

"I'm sorry Cinder, how are you?"

"I'm fine," she stepped aside to allow Lillian to walk in. "Look, I know you're here for Liddan and all, but you aren't an actual therapist–"

"Yet," Lillian said, taking off her coat, "and that doesn't mean I don't care about Liddan making our appointments."

"Laxus doesn't pay you if he doesn't show, does he?"

Lillian squinted at Cinder, then tossed her coat at her, "I'm going in."

She walked straight to Liddan's room and knocked on his door. This wasn't the first time this had happened in the past month. "It's Lillian, open up."

There was no response.

Lillian sighed and turned to Cinder who was down the hall, tossing Lillian's coat onto the couch. "How big is the window to his bedroom?"

"Eh...it's one of those hexagon windows–"

"Dang it," Lillian dug her hands into her pockets and pulled out a magic card. "Can you do me a favor?"

Cinder walked over to Lillian, who in one sweeping motion, cast a spell that put her inside the card itself. As the card Lillian fluttered to the floor, Cinder didn't seem all too surprised.

"Push me under the door," Lillian said as Cinder bent down and picked her up.

"Got it," Cinder nodded. However, she instead just opened Liddan's bedroom door, saying, "Mom removed the locks when he moved back in." Then she flung the card toward Liddan's bed, shutting the door behind her.

Lillian, a bit embarrassed to have assumed the door was locked, quickly un "carded" herself on Liddan's bed, waking him up in the process as she fell on top of him.

"OOF!" They both let out a horrid sound as they clambered to get up.

Lillian tumbled onto the floor, knocked off my Liddan as he sat up in bed.

"What the–" he looked down at Lillian on the ground, his face grew sour.

"Do you have the time, Liddan?"

He looked at the clock and grunted to himself, "Sorry...I didn't mean to miss it."

"Yeah, sure," Lillian grabbed a chair, dumped the laundry off it, and sat down at the edge of his bed. "So let's talk now. How have you been, Liddan?"

"I'm bad, Lillian," he gestured to the horrid state of his bedroom. "Clearly."

"Okay, can you be more specific?"

Liddan seemed irritated he had to spell everything out. "Okay, my wife left me–took her daughter with her–I'm back in my parent's house–I have no magic and I can't even use my right arm!"

"You don't have a right arm."

Liddan furrowed his brow, grabbing his prosthetic off the floor and waving it at Lillian, "I meant this." He dropped it back to the floor. "Sure I can wear it, but I can't use it."

"You're forced to face your natural body," Lillian crossed her legs. "Liddan, how long has it been since you lost your arm?"

Liddan scratched his head, "I guess, two years?"

"Did you ever actually mourn that loss?"

Liddan shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, I was really upset when it first happened but then I got my prosthetic and it was like–"

"Like it never happened," Lillian nodded her head. "You never properly faced the consequences of that loss, and you filled it up with something else. Thanks to the magic, your prosthetic functioned perfectly as your previous arm did. So it was like you never lost it."

"I mean, maybe, but I still have to take it off–I couldn't wear it all the time, but at least I could wear it in a fight and not be...weak." He lowered his head.

"Do you think you're weak without your prosthetic?"

"I'm not just without my prosthetic, remember? I have no magic–nothing–everything I've trained for my entire life is gone!" Liddan's anger seemed to strain just a bit, "And she's gone too."

"And so is your arm–"

"Thank you for the reminder!" Liddan swung his head back. He was more irritable than ever.

Lillian said, "I'm not trying to be a dick here, but I don't think you ever learned to process true loss." She pointed to the prosthetic on the floor, "When you lost your arm, you quickly replaced it, when you lost Marigold, you got her back, married her before you were really ready to face the consequences of that kind of relationship."

"So what are you saying?"

"I think it's time to really mourn, and accept the fact that maybe things won't go back to how they used to be." Lillian bent down to pick up the prosthetic, "And mourning isn't just sobbing and drinking yourself unconscious, thank you very much. It's working through the loss of something to the point of accepting it. Being able to let things go when the time comes."

Lillian pointed Liddan's own false arm at him, "Can you do that?"

── •✧• ──

"We are Il Salvezzo, or the Salvation," he crossed his arms, turning to Florence, "figlia mia, have you forgotten your mother tongue? Isn't it obvious?"

"Well you were buying girls, babbino," she scoffed, a grin so wide on her face as she looked upon her father, "I was a bit preoccupied by that."

"Look, see these men and women?" He put his hand on her shoulder, pointing out to all the people in the room, some recuperating after being attacked by Layla and Aemela, "They are the fathers and mothers of all the girls we lost to Welch. Those from our country and beyond, we've been searching for you girls for years."

He turned to Florence, his hand on her face as he said, "I thought long ago I'd never see you, but look at you, you saved yourself. That's my girl, so strong."

"Babbino," she put her hands on his, "why were you buying the girls? Giving your money to those horrid people?"

"We are not gifted like you," he shook his head, "the money we earn comes from churches back home, or the work we can find here, and every penny we can spare goes to buying the freedom of as many girls as we can. We then reunite them with their families and send them home. We aren't trying to even the score, just save everyone we can."

Florence pulled her hand away. "You're giving money to them."

"It's worth anything if it brings these girls freedom."

Florence pursed her lips, and as she spoke with her father, Basil watched intently. In that instance, he felt like he was looking at a different woman. She was more at ease, and to his shock, she said, "You're right, I'm just worried. This could end badly and you could get hurt."

"You're worried?" He scoffed, "Imagine the terror I've felt all these years–sleepless nights in tears over what my daughter must be facing and here she is–alive and well–telling me she's worried about me?" He broke into a joyful laughter, wrapping Florence in his arms, "Oh what a brave girl I've raised, fearless and kind hearted–devoted and confident! Mio angelo!"

He kissed her head, but as he spoke such kind words, Basil could see this fear melting into Florence's expression.

Pulling away, he smiled at Florence, "Tomorrow, we'll make plans–combine our efforts–but tonight! Tonight I will give you a feast from your home country–from the father that's left a seat open for you each night waiting for you to one day come home."

As he kissed Florence once more, he moved through the room with a jubilant energy. Florence, however, seemed to melt where she stood.

Basil approached almost cautiously, studying her expression carefully. On what should be a happy night, he found himself asking her, "Are you okay?"

Florence's eyes flickered toward him, growing red with a gaze he'd never seen on her before. She looked terrified.

In a weak voice, quieter than a whisper, she said, "How am I going to tell him all the things I've done?"

Before Basil could speak, she rushed past him, moving away quickly as the rest of their party all exchanged looks. Basil glanced back at Ezzie and Layla, who had relaxed into what seemed like a sudden celebration. However, as they watched their leader walk past them near tears, they all could feel the tension of the night had not yet passed.

── •✧• ──

It was late, Erza was tired, but she had work to do.

Wiping her tired eyes she sat down with Dr. Cairo and Laxus, who was not pleased with how the night went.

"We know you were communicating with Howl Caedo–now just spill it–or you go back to prison tonight." Laxus wasn't feeling very compassionate, likely because he was on his third cup of coffee.

"If you send me back to prison you can kiss your cure goodbye–"

"We have the vaccine already," Erza said, "and Hanna is already working on mass production–sure we won't get a cure from you, but it won't be hard to find someone else to finish what you started."

The doctor crossed his arms, tapping his foot on the floor, Erza smirked.

"We also have recordings of your little messages, and I've got a friend of mine working to decode them."

He scoffed, "Fairy Tail is just a bunch of meat heads–you're bluffing."

Erza rolled her eyes, "Fine, we'll play the long game. For now."

As she left the room, she found Levy outside drinking a cup of coffee. She was still in her pajamas with a winter coat thrown over it. Erza was surprised to see her. "Levy, I said it could wait until morning."

"Oh I was up already," Levy sighed, "Dover Jo is spending the night at our house and he's been crying all night–believe me this is a break."

Erza took a moment to imagine Gajeel alone with baby Dover Jo, trying to rock the little babe to sleep. The idea made her crack a smile, but at the same time she was concerned he'd lose his temper and chuck him out the window. "Well, hopefully there are at least some bushes outside to break the fall..."

"What?"

"Nothing, I'm just tired," Erza wiped her eyes. "Did I mention we were keeping this all quiet?"

"Yes, but you didn't explain why."

"Starts with a D and ends with Ragneel."

"Natsu?"

"Normally, yes, he is the reason for most of my problems," Erza said with a sigh, "but no, it's Cinder I'm worried for."

"Oh, she's alright. She's been so relaxed whenever I see her. Not a care in the world–she reminds me of a young Layla–just without the greater than thou attitude."

"Oh–are we finally going to admit we both hated younger Layla?"

"Yes–finally–it's so hard to say this because Lucy is my friend but sometimes her kids are the worst!"

"Like Nashi at Asuka's wedding shower?"

"Or Jude when he was in his angsty phase–"

"Or Liddan literally all the time."

"I do like the triplets, though."

"Agreed."

Erza snickered until she cleared her throat, "No, but...what happened to Basil aside, I feel...a sort of kindred spirit to Cinder. We actually had a similar upbringing. Taken from our families, fighting for survival. The circumstances were different, yes, but...I see that same anger I had in her eyes."

"Oh," Levy grew quiet, "I see."

"We spent our entire adult lives trying to protect our children from the hardships we faced, yet here we all are, facing some new unimagined pain." Erza sighed, "I could never guess what the world had in stow for these children."

"Well," Levy shrugged her shoulders, "Could be worse. Remember all those times that dragon Acnologia tried to kill us? And Zeref–that bastard Zeref!?"

"Such a bastard."

"Boo hoo–everything I touch dies–guy was a pedo and you can't convince me otherwise."

Falling silent, Levy shook her head, "Anyway, I've been listening to your feet recordings."

"Please don't call it that."

"And it's basically just morse code, which means it'll be far simpler to translate. It'll just take some time to go through these recordings. There's quite a bit here."

"What have you managed to translate thus far?"

Levy pushed her notepad toward Erza. "Demon virus from girl. Girl gone. Liddan Dragneel open."

"Of course," Erza shook her head, seeming to know exactly where this was going. "They must want Marigold's powers."

"It's a good thing she left then," Levy said. "If she can construct diseases that wipe out an entire race...I can see how Howl Caedo would be attracted to that."

"And they see Liddan as their opening," Erza stood up, "they must be trying to get to her through him–I need to go now."

"I'll contact you when I get further into the decoding," Levy said as she watched Erza leave the guildhall.

Rushing to the Dragneel's home, Erza went right to the place she was most weary of being.

She knocked on the door, and despite it being nearly past midnight, Lucy soon answered.

Lucy was in a robe, dark circles under her eyes as she opened the door. "Erza? What's going on–is it an emergency?"

"No it's not an emergency but–"

"Good," Lucy immediately slam the door in Erza's face. Erza watched as the lights flicked off and sighed, knocking on the door again.

"Okay," Erza sighed, "it is kind of an emergency–I just need to speak with Liddan."

The door opened once again, Lucy letting out a long and strained sigh as she let Erza in. "Please be quick–and quiet–if the triplets wake up you're having to deal with them."

As Erza walked into the home, Lucy led her to Liddan's door. Unsurprisingly, he was awake.

He cracked open the door, shocked to see Erza (of all people) waiting for him.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, I'm going back to bed," Lucy grumpily mumbled out, shuffling back to her bedroom as Erza stepped into Liddan's.

"Liddan, we need to talk," Erza shut the door behind her, looking around Liddan's messy room for a moment. "You should really clean in here."

"Erza–it's like 1 am."

"Sorry, but has anyone approached you about Marigold?"

Liddan seemed somewhat struck by this. "Erza–I don't want to talk about her–"

"Please, Liddan, I'm worried. Someone is looking for her–and they believe they can get to her through you."

"Ha," Liddan sat down on his bed, "Well they're wrong, she didn't tell me where she was going..." He scratched his head, "But who is they?"

Erza looked back at the door behind her, making sure it was properly closed before speaking.

"Howl Caedo, they seem to be scrambling and power hungry. Red himself was spotted recently–he hasn't tried to contact you, has he?"

"I've only left the house three times this month so I don't think so," as Liddan spoke, there was a heavy exhaustion in his words. Not from it being so late in the night, but from the repetition he felt in the circumstances. "Look, I know I see unstable–and I'm not gonna say I'm doing okay–but I'm not gonna do anything stupid like...let myself get manipulated by some Howl Caedo monster. I'm just..." Liddan fell back onto his bed mid sentence, "I'm just too tired to care about anything."

Erza felt she had little to worry about with Red, but her concern was quickly replaced by Liddan's apparent apathy.

"Liddan, I'm sorry you're struggling so much," she sat down on the bed beside him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "But how I see it, from what you're going through, take all the time you need to heal."

"And grieve."

"Hm?"

"That's what Lillian said I should do," Liddan said, "but I don't really know how I'm supposed to do that."

"Oh," Erza softened just a bit, "grieving is about finding a way to accept your circumstances, that you can't change the outcome of a situation."

"So basically, she's telling me to give up."

"No," she shook her head, "I think you'll understand in time that it's possible to accept the circumstances even as you're trying to change them."

"That feels like a catch-22."

"Well that's life," Erza stood up, "now as much as I'd like to take a nap, I've got to get someone to find Red. It's likely he's still in the city, but I doubt for long. Until then–"

Erza snapped her head back as she heard a loud thud from outside. Liddan sat up in bed, curious to what caused the sound.

They opened the door and looked out to see the front door wide open. Erza looked down the hall to see the door to the room adjacent to Liddan's was hanging open.

"Liddan," Erza said, stepping into the hall to peer into the next room, "who sleeps in the bedroom next to yours?"

"Cinder, why?"

Erza peered into the empty bedroom, it looked as though it had been ransacked in a haste, someone grabbing any supplies they could think of and bolting out the front door.

"Wake your mother," Erza said with a sigh, "I think this is an emergency worth waking for."

── •✧• ──

"Our goals are a bit different, we're trying to completely dissolve the trafficking ring altogether."

"That's a hefty task," he said. Florence looked across at her father as they ate their dinner, late into the night. They gathered at a long table, clumped together with so many guests some people had to eat on the floor.

They had a stew going, with stale bread and plenty of vegetables. There was little meat to go around but they made do with what they had.

Everyone from Fairy Tail sat silently as Florence and her father quietly conversed. All the emotion seemed to be gone as though they'd been in business mode. They looked less like father and daughter but to sides of a business trying to merge. It was bizarrely professional.

"How do you plan to destroy this ring?" He continued to ask.

"Well, you cut off its head."

"Welch is already dead, this isn't a fish, it's a hydra. Seven more pop up."

"Yes, but they're weaker. Less organized."

"And more violent," he insisted, "when they feel threatened the girls suffer for it."

Florence was quiet for a moment. Her father seemed to soften as well. "I don't mean to...it's just not a simple task. I worry you could put yourself in unnecessary danger."

"It's necessary," Florence insisted, "but haven't you put yourself in plenty of danger?" She pointed her finger at his missing hand.

He snickered, "This old man speaks from experience. I've learned that sometimes one man can not fight a tidal wave, so you must swim with the current to escape drowning."

"What's that mean?"

"Play there game, or at least make them think you're playing along," he nodded his head to all the girls he had brought freedom that day. Florence looked at how happy they were, smiling as they sat closely by their families, reunited. She wondered why she and her father didn't look that way.

"Florence, are we staying here tonight?" Simie asked over her half empty bowl of soup.

"Well, we have business in the morning, but if you'd like to return to the HQ..." Florence shrugged her shoulders, "just don't be upset if I don't remember you in the morning."

Simie scoffed, standing up as she said, "Bulan needs a walk, and we should probably see if the two girls we took out have any connection to the people here. Any of you guys wanna return with me?"

Aemela turned to Florence, "Do I get paid more if I stay?" Florence laughed, "Then I'm going back too."

"I'll join you too," Xavier said, resulting in Simie making a weird noise. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she insisted, turning her back to them as they walked out of the building.

Back at the headquarters, Eleanor and Adelia were in a thrilling chat, accompanied by Zailo who sat on the floor with Bulan and a fully asleep Milo.

"I should be there right," Eleanor said, "I mean, this is probably a very emotional time for Florence and I wanna be there."

"Oh my gosh, why don't you guys just make out and have babies already," Adelia grumbled, her head on the table as she begged for Eleanor to stop talking. "It's Florence, remember? She was possessed by that Felicity kid and her personality was basically the same–"

"It was not!" Eleanor insisted. "Florence is an incredibly emotional person, she just keeps it under the surface. Like an iceberg!"

"Okay, I'm done, I'm going to bed," Adelia stood up, snapping her fingers at Zailo. "You, you're in charge."

Zailo, who was just playing with his cat and wolf, pointed to himself all confused, "Me is in charge? Of what?"

"The lacrima," she pointed to the glowing communication hub on the table, "if you hear someone call for help, tell us, and if something–I don't know–happens here, tell them."

"Why can't Eleanor–"

"ELEANOR–isn't allowed to touch it...anymore," Adelia explained, dialing down several levels of rage.

As Adelia left the room, Zailo awkwardly situated himself in her chair to sit before the communication hub. "Okay," he tapped on one of the lacrimas, "testing, testing, Zailo is now in charge–"

"Why is Zailo in charge?" Florence said, speaking on the other end.

"Uh, Adelia went to bed, should I let Eleanor take over–"

"NO!" Both Florence and Simie came into sound at once.

"Okay..."

"This is Simie," another lacrima lit up, a little piece of tape marked it belonged to the lacrima in their van. "I'm heading home for the night with Aemela and Xavier. How are the girls doing? Have you gotten to talk with them yet?"

"We tried," Eleanor said, "Merra talked for a bit then went right to bed, the other girl still won't share her name. I didn't want to wake them over your discovery. I'd hate for them to get their hopes up and find their family isn't there."

"Well, we'll try and ask around if any of them know Merra, and we'll send a description of the other girl to try and get a name from them," Florence suggested, "you all can just take it easy tonight. This turned out a lot less...exciting than I expected."

"What do you mean it wasn't exciting," Simie scoffed, "you reunited with your dad after all this time."

"Who is this again?" Florence mumbled.

"Oh you know who I am–stop playing!"

"Alright," Florence snickered, "it was...a surprise."

Eleanor leaned in, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Florence let out a long sigh, "Zailo, make sure he doesn't touch the equipment."

Zailo, taking his job very seriously, pushed his arms in front of Eleanor to keep her away from the communication hub.

"We'll talk tomorrow," Florence said, "goodnight, over."

After a soft click, Florence was out of the communication.

Simie spoke up, "We're back, open up the garage for us, Eleanor."

As the rest returned, the building seemed to all settle into an eerie quiet.

While Simie took Bulan out, Xavier and Eleanor decided to go to bed, meaning Zailo was alone in the main hall with nothing but the quiet hum of the hub and Milo's occasional snoring.

In the quiet, he looked around the room for the first time. He was alone. At least alone from the living. The dead, however, had been there the whole time.

Zailo looked into the shadow of the room. "I see you there," he said quietly, trying not to stir those in their beds. "I know you've been here the whole time–I don't know how you attached yourself to me but I say stay here and leave me be."

There was a painful sigh as he watched the shadow illuminate just a bit. A soft glow from a lingering spirit.

It was his brother.

"Andy," Zailo said, "I'm sorry I didn't really recognize you when you were alive..."

"Ha," he scoffed, staying in his place, "I could say the same thing."

"You were blurry."

"Yeah, well, this isn't the first time I've been dead," he floated toward Zailo, his legs moving as if he were walking but having no traction with the ground. "To be frank, I forgot all about you in my second life, but I remembered dad."

"He's kinda memorable," Zailo shrugged.

"True," his brother crossed his arms, smirking as he said, "I haven't been called Andy in a long time. That was your special nickname for me, I can finally remember it."

"Yeah, you always hated it."

"I don't anymore," he squinted, "I don't know what it is. As Andrew, I was a bastard...and so I hated to be called Andrew as Achilles. But when I was Andy...when I was Andy I felt fine. Not great, not even good, just fine."

"Is fine...fine?"

Andy smiled, "Fine is brilliant."

As the two brothers found a moment of peace, Zailo suddenly felt a chill go down his back. Andy could sense it, turning his head.

Zailo suddenly asked, "You attached yourself to me...so you could leave the guildhall?"

"Yes," Andy looked back toward the shadow, "I feel we wanted to leave for the same reason...but I didn't expect him to follow."

In the darkness he lingered, as if the light would kill him. However, he wasn't the only intruder there that night.

On the second floor, Adelia was passing through to the bathroom. She was exhausted, dark circles under her eyes. They had spent weeks planning their attack on what turned out to be the members of a PTA.

So when she came back from taking a piss, she was surprised to see one of the girls out of their room.

It was the new girl, the one who hadn't spoken a word since they'd found her.

"Hey, you alright?"

The girl was silent.

"Listen," Adelia said, "the first night is always rough, but you're safe here. I promise."

Adelia stepped toward the girl, "You want me to make you some tea?"

The girl's back was to her, and she wouldn't turn to face her. Adelia squinted, "What, are you deaf or something? Or are you just looking for the bathroom...if that's the case it's just down the–"

Suddenly, the girl spun around, grabbing Adelia's hand and shoving it into the wall.

Not against the wall, into the wall.

Before Adelia's eyes, her hand was merging past the wood and trapped there. The pain was excruciating, but more than anything the sensation as she saw her arm meld with the wall.

"WHAT THE–" Adelia kicked at the girl, who lunged backward. Tried as she might, she couldn't get her arm out of the wall. "ELEANOR! We got a situation!"

In a short moment, the girl turned to find Eleanor right in front of her, swinging her leg right at her head. The girl dodged it, suddenly sliding back and merging with the wall, disappearing.

This didn't stop Eleanor from trying to kick the wall, which hurt quite a bit. This time she didn't go against the wall, not into it.

"Ow!" Eleanor rubbed her leg, turning to Adelia who was still stuck. "Whoa–what happened to you?"

"I don't know–but I can't get out!" Adelia had her free hand tugging on her arm, and a foot bracing against the wall, as if she could yank it out somehow.

Awakened by the noise, Xavier rushed out of the bedroom, his hair a mess and face paled from lack of sleep. "What's happening?"

"That girl you picked up–the quiet one–she's in the walls!"

Xavier had just woken up, so as he tried to process what she was saying, he just felt like he short circuited. "She's...in the walls?"

"YES!" Adelia said, Eleanor chiming in to confirm as she continued to kick the walls (as if that'd do any good).

"Oye, I need coffee first," as Xavier turned toward the stairs, he suddenly encountered the intruder.

She flew right out of the floorboards, grabbing his legs as he approached the stairs and dragging them down through the ground.

Xavier had the wind knocked out of him as he fell to the ground, his arms desperately latching onto the top steps as he felt his legs dangle right through the steps. "What is happening?!"

Seeing the intruder had faded into the first floor, Eleanor leaped over Xavier and slid down the stairs to find her.

"Zailo!" She called out, who was at the communication hub, "Tell Florence we're under attack!"

"Oh–uh–how do I do that?!" Zailo said, suddenly fumbling as he found himself in need of doing his only job.

"Here," Eleanor reached for the lacrimas, "just let me–"

"DON'T YOU TOUCH IT–ELEANOR!" She could hear Adelia scream from upstairs.

"This is an emergency!" Eleanor insisted.

"I don't care!" She proclaimed, just as the intruder emerged again.

However, now on the first floor, she seemed far less interested in Eleanor or the others, rather she was looking for something.

Zailo seemed distracted, however, just trying to press buttons and get things running. "Florence–Florence Florence Florence–yo–Flo?! You there?! HELP!"

Suddenly, he saw a hand reach right through the lacrimas. In shock, Zailo fell back in his chair, leaning too far back and smacking right into the ground.

He rolled off the back of the seat to evade the intruder as she phased right through the entire table.

Zailo looked behind her to see Andy watching. "Come on, do something," he said.

"What am I supposed to do?!" Zailo said, rushing to his feet as he tried to evade the intruder. "I can't use my magic–I could devour you–"

"Gross," Andy scoffed, moving along behind the Intruder who was completely oblivious to his ghostly presence. "The requip, you idiot, what Scarlet was teaching you."

"Oh–OH!" Zailo shot his arm up, and in a desperate cry, "REQUIP!"

Materializing in his hand was a long and sharp sword, one gifted to him by Esmeralda. Both hands found their place on the handle as he entered a stance of sorts, imitating what he learned in his training with Ezzie.

"How you like me now?!" Zailo scoffed, before swinging his sword at the intruder.

As if it were nothing, the sword phased through her body. Tiny particles shaking out of place to avoid the sharp blade. Zailo swung again and again, staring at her like his sword just wasn't working right. However, he soon realized he was the one making the error.

"Oh boy..."

Suddenly, he felt the intruder's palm against his forehead, and as she pushed through his skull, he could feel himself pulling out of his body.

All at once, he could see himself before him, stumbling forward as his soul left his form. Zailo could see Andy, but he looked different. Everything looked different. The world was hazy and strange, but still somehow familiar.

As he looked around, he could see it was there, watching him. He wasn't just in the shadows, he was the shadows.

He knew it in an instant, that was his father. Somehow, he had become the shadows.

Zailo looked down at his own body, he wasn't sure what was happening but he knew it should let the soles of his feet leave his own physical form. With all his might, he lunged forward, back into his body.

As he curled up, back inside his own flesh, he could hear the intruder behind him, tripping over him as he seemed to regain his physical form. She didn't expect this, apparently. Zailo had beaten her, he just had no idea how.

Of course, she wasn't off game yet. Quickly, she flung herself back into the walls, hiding away.

"Not again–" Adelia could be heard from upstairs.

Eleanor jumped over Xavier to get down the stairs, joining Zailo as they tried to track where she went.

"Where is she?" Eleanor said, glaring at the walls and ceilings.

Suddenly, Aemela sleepily walked out of her room upstairs. "What is all the noise over..."

"We're being attacked!" Adelia screamed.

Aemela immediately woke up, "I wasn't sleeping on the job I was just resting my eyes–"

She rushed down the stairs, nearly tripping over Xavier as she accidentally kicked him in the head. "Gosh–dang it!" He grumbled as she joined Eleanor and Zailo.

"Where are they?" Aemela said, looking around with an despondent look.

"In the walls, she can phase through things."

"Okay," Aemela squinted her eyes, walking to the wall. "If we can't see her, I'll just as the walls."

Zailo squinted his eyes, "What?"

"You can talk to buildings?" Eleanor muttered as Aemela began to do her magic.

All the walls in the building began to glow. Then they began to twist around like they were made from putty but still holding everything up.

They heard a yelp from the wall to the right and suddenly the intruder came bursting out. Or at least she tried to.

Somehow, the walls seemed to be keeping her in, breaking apart and grabbing at her repeatedly no matter how many times she tried to phase through them. They would simply keep wrapping around her until finally she had no choice but to give up.

She grunted in annoyance, "Get me out of here!" She demanded.

"Get us out first!" Adelia demanded, still upstairs.

Rolling her eyes, the intruder tensed up for a quick moment as she released her spell, suddenly, Xavier fell straight through the stairs and onto the floor. "OW!" He exclaimed quite loudly.

As things seemed to finally calm down, Simie walked in with Bulan, who happily ran into the room like nothing was wrong. She pulled off her coat as she said, "You won't believe what happened on my walk–it's crazy...what is going on?"

Adelia rushed down the stairs to face off the intruder, but was distracted by the sudden presence of Simie. Worst of all, when she snapped her fingers at her, "Hey–you–"

"Simie–"

"I didn't forget–" Adelia fibbed, "we got attacked by one of the girls–she was a decoy–what a stupid plan!"

"That was our plan, remember?" Eleanor said as she approached the intruder, still trapped by the living walls. "What is happening with our building? Is it haunted?"

"Sorta..." Zailo said.

"No–" Aemela insisted, stepping forward with pride in her work, "this is my ability–I can give life to anything." She propped her arm up on the wall, all casual and smoothe like. "Yeah...just a little something I can–AH!" Aemela pulled back as the intruder tried to bite, her leaving her back behind Eleanor and Adelia.

"So, Howl Caedo's getting a big aggressive," Adelia said, her arms crossed as she looked at the intruder, "Guess we must pose a bigger threat to them than we thought."

The intruder scoffed, "You're not the one I was sent for, I'll tell you that much."

Adelia's eyes widened, Eleanor spoke up, "Of course, they didn't know we were going to intervene and free the girls...so the ones they were after were the Salvezza–"

"What?!" Adelia rushed back to the communication hub, tapping on the lacrimas to awaken them. "Florence–Howl Caedo is after the Salvezza–they might know they aren't a real mafia–they could all be in danger if their location is found!"

For a long moment, there was silence. Florence wasn't responding.

Suddenly, a voice joined the call. "It's a little late for that."

Simie's eyes widened, "Indigo."

Adelia slammed her fist to the table, shaking the entire hub. "Dang it–we have to go!"

She turned to look at the others. "Get in the van–we're leaving now–Aemela and Zailo, you hold down the fort–keep her here until we get back!"

Adelia rushed around the room as she spoke, grabbing her coat as she headed out. Things were in full swing and not looking in their favor.

── •✧• ──

The Dragneels were up late, and it was all Erza's fault. Well, it wasn't exactly her fault. It was Red's. And Cinder's to a degree.

"Cinder took her bag–some clothes–not anything I bought her but who's asking..." Lucy muttered as she came from the bedroom.

Natsu, with his head in the refrigerator, concluded his search, "She took some bread and cheese..." His answer was muffled as he stuffed food into his mouth. Lucy gave him a scolding look, "What–I'm stressed–and hungry."

"I'll go after her, she's probably dropped by the guildhall to find out more information about Red–" Erza said, rushing to the door, only for Lucy to intervene.

She grabbed her arm and shook her head. Turning to Natsu she said, "Run out, Natsu, let everyone know to keep an eye on Cinder–"

Natsu gave a nod, food still in his mouth, as he rushed out the door and to the guildhall. Meanwhile, Erza felt anxious as Lucy gave a long sigh.

"Lucy–" Erza began, "I am so sorry–"

"Geez–this isn't your fault," Lucy ushered Erza to a chair, having her sit down. "I know how hard you've been working–covering for Jellal–I don't blame you–I just need you to rest. Cinder is our family, be the ones to find her. Don't put it all on yourself."

Erza smiled weakly, "I shouldn't have come here–I was just worried about Liddan–"

"Forget about me," Liddan stepped out of his door frame, a shake of his head as he said, "look, I know you're all...treating me with kid-gloves and I've given you plenty of reasons to do so...but...gosh I'm not an idiot. I've been through this before–I know when someone is trying to manipulate me, okay?"

He took a long breath then shook his head, "I'm sorry, but...can we just worry about Cinder for now?"

Lucy sighed, looking at her son with soggy eyes, "Absolutely..."

Having no more eggshells to walk around, the Dragneel's got to work.

Natsu sent word to everyone that Cinder was now in trouble and to give word if they ran into her. Liddan, despite being ready to leave his room, was tasked with waiting with Jude.

As the two sat in the living room together, each of them was wondering who was babysitting who. Jude wasn't sure if he was there to keep an eye on Liddan because he was emotionally vulnerable, or if Liddan was there to keep Jude from pulling a repeat and running to find Cinder on his own.

Both of them, however, felt that the other was babysitting them, so each had the need to say, "You don't have to be here–" at the same time.

Liddan snorted as he stifled a laugh, while Jude shrunk in his seat, "No...I've become you..."

"Don't say that," Liddan was quick to say, "look, I guess we're both sorta the ones who are gonna be relegated in this area, so why don't we just talk."

"Right," Jude sighed, "um, is Cinder going after Red?"

"Yeah, she is," Liddan nodded his head, "you must be worried about her."

"Of course I am, but...I don't know she can take care of herself, right? Maybe we should just let her go–"

"No–are you stupid? She's a tween that needs therapy, not revenge–believe me, I know." Liddan crossed his arms, "Do you want revenge?"

"On who?"

"Red, of course–you were in Howl Caedo too."

"Not as long–"

"So what, it's not a contest. You can be pissed too."

Jude pulled his legs onto the chair with him, sinking into the back of his seat as he spoke. "I don't really know how I feel. A part of me wants to just forget about it...but I also want to...I don't know...kick him in the balls."

Liddan nodded his head to the side, "That's fair."

"But Cinder...she wants to do way worse."

Liddan squinted, "She doesn't really talk about it...did she ever talk about it with you?"

"Not really, she would get tense if we ever mentioned Howl Caedo," Jude looked solemn as he spoke. "I guess she was just avoiding it and then it sorta...burst..."

Liddan may not have known Cinder that well, but he understood the feeling. He stood up suddenly, stepping toward Jude as he said, "Okay, Jude, you're the closest person in our family to Cinder. You're twins–and you've been through a lot together–so if anyone could find her, it's you."

"I'm not gonna run off again–mom would kill me!" Jude shook his head, "I learned my lesson!"

"You're not running off to fight an entire human trafficking ring, you're looking for our sister," Liddan gave a nod, "And you're not doing it alone."

As a plan was formed, Lucy was at the guildhall as Natsu went to the train station, asking if a ticket was sold to a little pink haired girl. Lucy, in the meantime, went looking for signs of Cinder's presence. Mirajane was there to help.

"I think a map is missing...and some of our notes on Dr. Cairo," Mira announced to Lucy's dismay.

Lucy grumbled, "How did she get in here without any of you seeing her? Did she crawl through the vents like a tiny ninja?!"

"She is quite tiny..."

Speaking of tiny, Levy entered the room with a cup of coffee and a dark stare, "I think she messed with my decoded messages–she didn't take anything–but someone certainly read through them."

"This is a mess–what was in the messages? Maybe it'll tell us where she's going?"

"That's just what I was coming to tell you," Levy led them to her table where she'd been hard at work decoding the messages. "The problem is it's one-sided from Dr. Cairo's end, so we only know what he was telling Red. No messages from Red himself. So I don't know where his HQ was and I don't think Cairo himself knew in case he got caught."

"Right..."

"But he does mention one place in the mountains once, it seems to be a sort of 'fall-out shelter' in case Howl Caedo went under and was arrested. My guess is Cinder, who is grasping at straws just like us, is headed there."

"Okay, I'll call Natsu," Lucy said, stepping away to find her lacrima and inform him of their next move. "Natsu, ask about any trains going to the mountains–"

"Which mountains!?"

"WE DON'T KNOW!" Lucy shouted back.

Meaning, Jude and Liddan took a walk, chatting about Cinder.

"Cinder was really close with Red," Jude said, "I mean, in a really terrible way. He was sorta like her handler, or...like her dad in Howl Caedo."

"Did she say that?" Liddan asked.

"She mentioned it once off hand, I think she wanted to impress him, thought maybe he'd like her more if she did as he said or acted more like him." Jude continued, "Whenever Cinder left to work on jobs, he went with her. They were never really apart, except when Red was gone on jobs for Welch I guess."

"It doesn't sound like they had a bad relationship," Liddan said, "you don't think she's trying to go after him to join him–"

"No," Jude shook his head sternly, "I know she's after him because she wants revenge. I don't think she realized how much Howl Caedo took from her until she rejoined out family, and she never got the chance to make them pay or even apologize."

"Well, I don't think she's after just an apology," Liddan and Jude walked toward the guildhall. "So do you think she'll be taking a train?"

"Nah, cuz I don't think Red would be on a train. He's a fugitive and I don't get the feeling he likes public transit. Cinder knows Red really well, so she's gonna know how to track him."

"Well I doubt he'd be going by foot," Liddan said, "didn't Welch have a bunch of transportation...stuff? I don't know how business work..."

"That stupid airship, but that'd be too obvious," Jude said, "maybe something they can drive around, but can also do off road."

"Not sure how Cinder would keep up with that, not like she has a motorbike or something at her disposal...oh no..." Liddan squinted, "Do you think Cinder knows where Nashi keeps her bike?"

Rushing to Gideon and Nashi's apartment, they went to the garage on the bottom floor to look for Nashi's bike. Wanting to move quickly, Liddan took a guess at the passcode to open the door. "Okay, Gideon's birthday...no...Nashi's?"

"Gideon probably set up the code..." Jude said, "Isn't he...techy?"

Liddan made a face, squinting as he bunched in a number. Finally the door opened. "Aww..."

"What?"

"It was my birthday, that's so sweet–oh my gosh!"

What Liddan and Jude found was an empty garage with nothing but Gideon lying on the floor groaning in pain.

"Gideon–oh my gosh!" Liddan rushed to help pull him up. "What happened?"

"Your sister happened–" Gideon said, a dizzy look in his eyes as he rubbed his bruised forehead, "I heard a noise and came down to investigate...she took the bike and–"

"You got beat up by Cinder?" Jude said, asking honestly as he watched Gideon go pale.

"She got the jump on me–" Gideon said, gesturing to himself, "I was only wearing boxers and a tshirt–"

This was true, but it seemed like a poor excuse to lose to a 12 year old.

Gideon cleaned himself and briefly explained, "She said she needed the bike, and I told her there couldn't possibly be a reason for her needing the bike this late at night that had any good behind it. So...she kicked me in the head and stole it."

Liddan just shook his head, "Jumped by a toddler...marriage has softened you."

"Liddan, I really need you to be nice to me right now because my self esteem is just really low right now."

As Gideon hung his head in shame, they were interrupted by Nashi, who was carrying a lead pipe as she shouted, "What happened–where's my bike?!"

"Your husband is literally on the ground," Jude said, pointing to the injured Gideon.

Gideon pulled himself up, "I'm fine, Cinder came and took the bike and knocked me out before I could do a thing..."

"Oh–I'm so going to kill her–" Nashi said, Gideon standing to slowly take the pipe out of her hands. "I brought that bike all the way from Edolas–"

"Do you think she'll even make it that far?" Liddan suggested, "I mean, unless she has one of these," Liddan held up his wrist to show the magic-blocking wristband, "her motion sickness will take over soon enough and she'll have to take a break."

"We should get going, before she gets too far," Jude said, zipping up his coat as he left the garage.

"Wait a minute," Nashi said, dropping her pipe as she followed after, "we're coming too."

"Huh?" Liddan turned his head, "No guys, we didn't mean to drag you into this–you guys just ended your honeymoon–"

"And now we're gonna go get Cinder and teach that punk a lesson–and also help her–I can have multiple motives..." Nashi turned to Gideon, a somewhat marital nod as if to say "Come on, back me up."

Gideon did just that, announcing, "Yeah–we're coming. You two need back up. Not just from Cinder, but from any of those Howl Caedo bastards you might run into. We're not letting you go alone."

"Well, how are we gonna follow her? Get one of the vans from Fairy Tail?" Jude suggested.

"OR!" Gideon said, rushing to the other side of the garage where a large blue tarp covered something up, "we can take our wedding present from my parents!"

Proudly, Gideon pulled back the tarp revealing a slick vehicle with ice and fire on the sides. "It's an old model, so it still uses one of those magic straps, so only I can drive it. But! It can go fast and on all terrain–so they say..."

"Well?" Nashi dropped her hands onto her hips, "What are we waiting for?"

── •✧• ──

Florence wasn't sleeping, and this wasn't so unusual but the reason was different that night.

She stayed by the window for most the night, and while the others seemed to fall to sleep, she just kept stirring in her own mind.

Basil, of course, couldn't help but feel drawn to her in that moment. He felt he owed her that much.

As she sat alone by the window, picking at the dirt on the glass repeatedly, he positioned himself a safe distance away, giving her space but letting her own he was there.

"So," he said in a soft voice, "I know it's not the same, but when I found out that Erza and Jellal were my real parents...I didn't want to tell them because I didn't feel like I deserved them."

Florence didn't respond to this, continuing to pick at the glass as she seemed to only half listen to what Basil was saying. He watched for a response, then decided to continue, "And then you told me that was stupid, not just stupid but selfish."

Florence didn't stop picking at the glass, staring out the window as if there were something worth seeing on the other side. Some kind of answer for her.

"I'm not saying you're selfish–just the opposite. You're not denying your dad a relationship, but I can see you're itching to run because you don't know how to tell him all the things you did–things you did to survive."

Florence seemed to suddenly freeze, and Basil inched closer. He sat up on the window sill beside her, and though she didn't look at him, they were right by each other.

"Look, you did what you had to do to survive–you were in a position I couldn't even imagine–and you can sit here and think of all the things you could have done different but hey–you were in a situation you didn't ask for and you got out of it. And for all the people that got hurt, I think what you do now has more than made up for that."

Florence shut her eyes, her hand pulling away from the window as she covered her face, "Geez–Basil–that's not all I'm worried about–"

Basil squinted, "Look, you have to forgive yourself–"

"No," she turned to him, a terrified look in her eyes, "that demon...is still inside me." She had never looked so uneasy, so petrified with fear. "I still hear his voice...and sometimes I'm not sure if I can keep him from coming out."

In that moment, Basil realized there was something greatly different from Florence and himself. He'd always been running from his past and he thought she was doing the same. However, in reality, the thing she was running from was still inside her.

But at her window, as Florence had her head turned to Basil, she could hear something stirring. In a split second she turned her head to look outside and saw a small flame. Instantly, she grabbed Basil and flung both him and herself to the ground.

Just as they hit the floor, the glass shattered as an inflamed sphere entered the building.

"What is that–" Basil said, pulling himself up as Florence looked around.

Something horrid was beginning.

Through the glass came several men, one with flames rolling off of him as he stepped inside.

As Basil and Florence squinted at him, they couldn't help but think he looked just a bit like an "off brand" Natsu. With the odd patterned scarf wrapped around his neck, spiky bright pink hair speckled with grays, he looked strangely familiar.

"What are you supposed to be?" Basil ended up asking, only for the man to scowl back at him.

"Yatsu, the Amphibian," he answered, almost irritated to have to share his name.

Florence just squinted, "Yahtzee?"

With a clap of his hands, Yatsu, or whatever his name really was, flung fire toward them.

Florence was quick to act, slinging water right at the attack, canceling it out.

"Get the girls out of here," Florence said, "make sure you aren't followed."

Basil didn't hesitate to act, rushing out of the room as he requipped his weapon into his hand.

Several other men surrounded Florence, despite this, she didn't seem startled. "How did you find me?"

"We weren't looking for you," a voice said.

She entered the building, a man guiding her by hand as she stumbled into the room. She had a limp as she walked and a scar on her eye. Regardless, she squinted at Florence with disdain. She was Madame Indigo, and she wasn't doing as well as she had before.

"Frankly, I don't even know who you are...?" She said, "I'm after the Salvezza, and I know for a fact you aren't one of them–"

"I'm the one who's been killing all your men and freeing your girls–but the Salvezza is paying you–they're just another gang–"

"We're not so foolish, girl," Madame Indigo crossed her arms, "we discovered they were deceiving us last month. Someone in Minstrel saw a girl bought by the Salvezza back home, with some pushing...she confessed everything."

Florence's eyes widened, "They haven't hurt you–you've profited off them–why attack them?"

Madame Indigo squinted, "Because they give the girls hope, and that's a dangerous thing for them to have."

Before anything else could happen, Layla ran up behind Florence and shot lightning right at Yatsu.

Florence quickly realized she had little time to respond to this realization, but rather she had to protect the people of the Salvezza.

"How the heck did they find us?" Layla asked, watching as Yatsu got back on his feet with a loud grunt, sending flames her way. She quickly ate them right up, spitting them right back at him and Madame Indigo.

The man escorting covered her, taking the burns in her place as she ducked down to the ground.

Florence, in the meantime, was in search of an adequate amount of water. "I need some water!"

"What–you're thirsty now?!" Layla screeched as Yatsu practically tried to tackle her. Her tiny body was flung backward, hitting the floor so hard her foot went through the termite-worn floorboards.

As Layla struggled to pull her foot out, Florence saw the pipes down below and quickly acted. "That'll do," she said, tightening her fist as she found control over water in the pipes.

The entire building began to shake, the old rocky pipes stirring as Florence found her water and then her power. Madame Indigo looked around with uncertainty before suddenly water came bursting out of the floors and walls.

She screamed, and so did the remaining people in the building, all being rushed out by Basil to get the heck out of there.

Basil was quick to move, pushing as many people into the back of the vans as they could. "We'll regroup with the others when we can," he said.

Esmeralda, who was preparing her van, was quick to observe that the building was effectively surrounded. She stopped the girls, turning to them and saying, "We can't just pile you guys into a van–they'll follow us."

Basil turned to Ezzie, "Well what else are we supposed to do?"

Ezzie snapped her finger at Basil, "You and I–we take my van and we lead them away."

Basil squinted, "How do we make all of them chase after us?"

Esmeralda thought for a short moment, looking at her van with a fiery gaze. She knew exactly what to do.

She put her hands on the side of the van and said, "You've served me well, if we make it out of this alive, I'll never hurt you again."

Basil made a face, "Are you talking to me or the van?"

"Get in the front seat–if you stay in the back you might die."

"WHAT?!"

As the rest of the girls piled into vehicles taken over by the Salvezza, Basil and Ezzie prepared in the Ezzie-Mobile.

"So," Basil said, actively buckling in as Ezzie started the van, "what are we gonna–AHH!"

Ezzie immediately rammed her van into the other Howl Caedo cars, honking loudly before backing up to do it again. Basil, who hadn't even buckled in yet, fell forward, grappling onto the seat desperately as he looked ahead to see what had happened.

"What did you do?!"

"We're leading them away, hold on," Ezzie spun the wheel as she saw the cars all come back to life, their lights turning on as they revved their engines to follow. "Let's go!"

As Ezzie took Basil on the ride of their life, Florence was inside trying to keep the intruders from getting any further.

With the aid of Layla, the two did their best to hold everyone off in time for the families to escape.

Layla, who was without her ji, was forced to do things the "old fashion way". However, her attacks lacked their usual long distant nature, and without her crutch, she found herself jumping on top of the men and sending lightning and fire right to their faces.

It was brutal, and Florence found herself oddly attracted to her.

Yatsu, the off-brand bastard, was not so easily defeated as the others.

His magic was different from the Dragneels, it seemed to be based on touch. Like how you strike a match, he could only ignite fire while touching another surface.

So he kept close to the walls, swiping his hand across the side of it to throw fire right toward Layla and Florence.

However, as Florence noticed this, she realized quickly that if she were to soak the area, it would be quite difficult for him to even use his magic.

"Get behind me, Layla," she instructed as she pulled a large ring of water around her and then Layla. As Layla found herself close behind Florence, she watched as the water suddenly painted the walls, floors, and each and every one of the lasting attackers.

Yatsu was soaked, and as Layla observed, she quickly asked, "Mind making a trail between me and him?"

Florence did just that, connecting a trail of water between the soaked and helpless Yatsu and Layla. Suddenly, her hand sparked with electricity, and as she led it to the water, Yatsu was done for.

He and the others, still on the ground soaking wet, were all brought to a terrible shock, all jolting around as the electricity met their body.

They were done for.

Florence let out a sigh of relief, patting Layla on the back as she said, "Very good, Layla. But where is...?"

They looked around, Madame Indigo was nowhere to be seen.

Layla jerked her head around, "How did she sneak past us?"

"We must have been preoccupied with these idiots to even see her sneak off–she very well might have–" Florence was silenced as she heard a scream. Her eyes widened, she knew the voice.

She bolted toward the door to where her father was, throwing it open to find Madame Indigo with a knife, standing over him as he bled out.

Madame Indigo turned to see Florence, a scowl on her face along with the blood of Florence's father. She opened her mouth to speak, "It seems you're too–"

Florence didn't hesitate, with one sweep of her hand, she pulled at the water inside of Madame Indigo's arm, the one wielding the knife, and pulled it all out.

Suddenly, the water from her own body came shredding through her arm, tearing it into pieces from each vein and muscle within her skin. She screamed in horror as the knife fell from her hand.

Those around, who were forced to watch as the father passed, all watched it terror, unsure of what Florence had even done, or what she was even capable of.

Florence kept her hand out, her eyes burning red as she watched Madame Indigo scream.

Layla just stared, having never seen anything like it. "Florence," she said, "your dad–"

Florence's red eyes faded as she stared at the floor. The blood from Madame Indigo now showered over him, caking him in red as she bled out himself.

She rushed to his side, grabbing hold of him as Madame Indigo tried to run out of the room, Layla taking over to stop her from escaping.

Florence, however, was quick to call out to the others, "Are any of you a doctor–quickly–please–"

One of the men rushed to the ground, looking at her father was unsure eyes. "I can't...I can't tell where the wound is coming from with all this blood..."

Florence grunted in frustration, her breathing growing heavy as she quickly pulled the water from the walls to spill over her father, washing away all the blood from Madame Indigo. Her father, meanwhile, looked up at her, unsure of what was happening.

"Florence..." he muttered. He was fading.

"Babbino..." she said, "starai bene...bene bene..."

She held onto her father's hand as the doctor quickly put his hand over the bloody wound at the father's throat. He started speaking to the others, asking for them to get him supplies as Florence stood by him, trying to keep her father alive.

However, as she looked into his eyes, she knew in her heart it was too late.

He was gone.

── •✧• ──

Lucy was on her fourth cup of coffee and she wasn't doing well.

"I'm on the train, it's the second one after Cinder's so hopefully I'll only be a few hours behind her." Natsu explained over the lacrima. "So–things are okay!"

"They are not okay!" Lucy suddenly shouted, "My child is gone–again! We can't lose her again–" as Lucy seemed to unravel more and more, she suddenly heard her lacrima ringing, "WHO IS CALLING ME!?"

She looked down and saw it was, of all people, Nashi.

"Hold on Natsu–" she dropped his call to take Nashi's, answering quickl, "Hello–have you seen Cinder?!"

"Mom?" However, it wasn't Nashi to speak, it was Jude. "Mom are you okay?"

"Jude? What are you doing with Nashi?!"

"I'm here too," Liddan said, his voice muffled. There was a loud sound, it sounded like an engine.

"Where are you guys?!"

"Cinder stole Nashi's bike," Liddan explained, "we're tracking her with Gideon and Nashi."

"Hey Mrs. Dragneel!" Gideon shouted over the lacrima.

"What–Jude–didn't you learn your lesson going after Molly!?"

"I know, I'm sorry mom–but I know Cinder really well, I think I know where she's headed. And I'm not going it alone this time."

Lucy put her hand over her head, "Oh my gosh...so she's not even on the train..."

"What train?" Nashi said, suddenly popping into the conversation, "Nah man, she took my bike–beat Gideon up for it too–"

"Can we please not share that info..." Gideon muttered.

Lucy stood up, taking the lacrima with her as she walked away from the others in the guildhall. "Look you guys," Lucy sighed, "Jude...you're just a kid, and Liddan, you can't use your magic among...a thousand other things–"

"Mom, please," Liddan said, "I'll keep a close eye on Jude, and Nashi and Gideon...well...they'll take care of the rest. Come on, please, just trust us."

Lucy held her breath, feeling like she had few options at the moment. Her husband was headed in the wrong direction, she was stuck at home with her triplets, and Cinder was off somewhere and the closest people to her were her most dysfunctional children.

She let out a loud and long sigh, then said, "I trust you."

With Lucy's blessing, Jude and Liddan, escorted by Gideon and Nashi, began their journey to find Cinder and bring her home. As if it'd be that easy, though.