Cinder awoke in a nervous sweat and a lot of pain. Her sleep was restless, filled with dark dreams where her teeth were falling out and her family was dead and buried.

She seemed to already be sitting up, buckled into a seat with a blanket pulled over her and a pillow shoved between her and the window. As her vision came together, she realized she was in the front seat of a truck, rocking along a bumpy road as someone else drove.

That someone was Marigold, who was very aware of Cinder's condition, glancing over at her every other minute. "Did you wake up?" She said, her voice soft and quiet. "How do you feel?"

Cinder shook her head, "Ow..."

"That answers that," Marigold sighed, "we're almost home, just hold on."

Where home was, Cinder had no clue. Then, she realized, she had no clue how Marigold found her in the first place.

She had a lot of questions, sure, but the main one on her mind was "where was Red?"

"He's in the back of the truck," Marigold answered, as if she could read her mind. "Bound and gagged, and don't worry, he's finally feeling his wounds, that's for sure."

That's when Cinder finally listened to the sounds around her. Other than the loud buzz of the truck's engine, she could hear this continuing groan. It was Red, his magic was gone and he could feel all the pain he'd put himself through.

Cinder wanted to relish in the victory, but she was distracted by her own injuries. She was aching too, and she was one bad bump from moaning and groaning as loud as Red was.

"You were really beat up," Marigold said, worry deep in her throat, "I'm guessing Lucy doesn't know where you are?"

Cinder shook her head, "Well, we've all been there," Marigold said with a shrug. "I ran away from home when I was only a few years older than you. So I get it." Cinder's initial thought was full of doubt, how could she possibly understand. However, then she reconsidered what she knew about the woman. She'd met Marigold's parents, and she thought that maybe she could understand the guilt Cinder felt for leaving her own family.

"What are you gonna do with him?" Cinder asked.

"Well," Marigold said, "I've got a shed, I'll keep him alive enough to talk and then we'll see." Marigold wasn't kidding around, she was ready to let Red die or kill him herself if she had to. "So, who was the guy anyway? Someone from Howl Caedo?"

Someone from Howl Caedo, as if he was just some random guy. When she said it like that it all sounded so petty.

It made Cinder feel a bit embarrassed, she almost killed herself over him, would Marigold think she was crazy for giving up everything to get her revenge?

However, she started having other questions. They'd been driving for awhile, it would be impossible for Marigold to just happen to be by the railway, for some reason. "How did you know I was here?" It couldn't have just been some deus ex machina, though Cinder supposed Marigold was some kind of god now.

"Oh, well," Marigold sighed, "It's actually thanks to Lilly. I'll explain when we get home."

Home was still quite a distance away. It almost took an hour for them to get there, driving through a bumpy road in the woods. Of what Cinder knew, everyone assumed Marigold was in Pride near her family. "Is this Pride?"

"Oh no," Marigold shook her head, "I'm not welcome there, and I wouldn't want to be there."

They were beginning to drive up the mountain, and Marigold had to get out of the car to move the branches that blocked the road. The place was well hidden, that's for sure.

Up the mountain they went, and before long they arrived at a remarkably large tree. "Where's your house?" Cinder said, peering out the window.

"You're lookin' at it," Marigold got out of the truck, standing by the tree that towered over them. It's trunk was fat and thick, and the closer Cinder looked, she could see that it was hollow. The tree was the house.

Marigold went to Cinder's door and started to pull her out. "I can stand–"

"No you can't," Marigold said, looking down at Cinder's weak ankle. She scooped her up in her arms and carried her inside, kicking at the door. "Lilly, I'm back, unlock the door."

There was silence, but they could hear little footsteps rushing to the door. "Who's there?"

Marigold sighed, "It's mom, Lilly."

"Mom who–"

"Open the door–my arms are full I can't get my key!"

Lilly began to undo the many locks on the door, and then finally opened the door. Cinder looked down at Lilly, expecting to see the strange happy little girl she'd gotten to know in Magnolia, but this little girl didn't look happy. In fact, she looked rather upset.

She didn't say a word at the sight of her and Marigold, rather she just ran back into the house. "Lilly, I've brought Cinder here, say hello."

As Cinder came inside, she could see Lilly had retreated to a little blanket fort next to a wall inside the tree. The tree was strange and cozy, with warm magical lights that kept the cold out and floated above them. Lilly was holding a book in her lap under her blanket, trying to ignore them. "Lilly," Marigold said, "you're the one who told me Cinder was in danger, now you can't say hello?"

Lilly glanced at Cinder for just a second, then looked away. "Hi Aunt Cinder."

Marigold's face twisted just a bit, puzzled by Lilly's remark, "You don't have to call her aunt."

"She asked me to," Lilly said, pulling a blanket over the opening to shut herself inside.

Marigold sighed, moving Cinder onto the bed in the room. The tree didn't exactly have any rooms inside it, but there were makeshift walls created by curtains. There was a ladder up the side of the trunk that led to a little loft with a cozy bed. That seemed to be where Lilly slept.

"Just take a breath," Marigold said, pulling a blanket over her. "Let me get you something warm to drink, and we'll figure out what we can do from there."

Cinder just laid on the bed, half awake as Marigold came and went, bringing water, then tea, then wrapping her wounds, then giving her medicine to help soothe the pain. She didn't talk to her much, she didn't ask questions, she just took care of her.

Cinder would have fallen right asleep, but she then felt Marigold sit on the bed, tapping her arm. "Cinder, now it's time to talk," she said, a rather serious look on her face.

Cinder knew what she wanted to know, and she didn't fight in giving over any of the information. "His name is Red, he was in charge of my house in Howl Caedo. He was cruel, violent, and he stole my childhood." She spoke clearly, without emotion. It was simply an explanation. "I knew he was coming this way because he'd been stalking Fairy Tail to find out where you went. He wanted your power, he thought he could sway you to join him."

Marigold thought the idea of him swaying her was amusing.

"He's persuasive," Cinder assured her, "painfully so."

"Well don't worry about me," Marigold said, rubbing Cinder's arm, "you won't have to speak to him again if you don't want to." Marigold stood up, walking away. Cinder shut her eyes, imagining their conversation was over. However, Marigold returned, this time with something in her hand. "Come on."

Cinder's eyes slowly opened as she saw Marigold had placed an old lacrima in her lap, the kind that was used to pass messages along to others from years ago. Before Cinder was even born. "What?"

"We're calling your mom," Marigold said, "we're gonna tell her what happens and tell her you're safe with me so she can take you home–"

"No–" Cinder shook her head, "No–I can't just go home?"

Marigold didn't seem to understand, "Why?"

"She'll be so angry–I messed up bad–she won't take me back–she'll hate me–"

"Lucy would never hate you–"

"I don't deserve it–I'm a traitor–" Cinder started to spout all the things Red had said she was, "and you should hate me too!"

Marigold shook her head, "Why should I hate you?"

"Because I sold you out, so that I could catch Red," Cinder started to cry, "Liddan and Jude were chasing me, and there was this angel–"

Marigold put her hand up, stopping Cinder. "Cinder, we'll talk about that later, but now, I need you to listen to me." She scooted closer, her voice dropping to a whisper as she took Cinder's hand. "Lucy will be mad, only because you caused her so much worry. Then she'll forgive you, because that's what mom's do."

Cinder shook her head, "She won't–"

"Trust me," Marigold pushed Cinder's hands toward the lacrima. "Just talk to her."

As Cinder stopped arguing, Marigold turned the lacrima on, setting it up to call Lucy. It was an old one, and it took awhile for Lucy to pick up as she heard it ringing from inside her closet.

However, when she finally had it on, she answered anxiously, "Hello? Who is it?"

"Uh," Cinder spoke softly as she saw Lucy's face illuminate the sphere of the lacrima. Lucy could see Cinder too, and she was heartbroken to see the bruises on her face.

"Cinder–where are you? What happened?!"

"I'm with Marigold," Cinder said quickly, and Marigold moved the lacrima enough to show her face too, waving quietly at Lucy.

"Oh my gosh, finally," Lucy looked so relieved, "you're safe–I've been worried sick! I can't believe you ran out the door–you and I are having a very long talk about your privileges–did you know your brothers and father are wandering Fiore looking for you–"

"I know–geez–"

"Geez?! OH–sorry we're so worried about you! Come on Cinder, we've been sick over it–we just got you back–" Lucy stopped as she noticed that Cinder was crying. "Oh Cinder, don't cry! It's okay–you don't have to cry!"

"It's just..." Cinder shook her head, wiping her tears with her sleeve, "I lost the coat you got me!"

"The navy blue one?"

"Yeah."

"The one we saved 40% on?"

"Yeah!"

Lucy snorted, "You're crying over that?" Lucy started to snicker, but at that moment, she started crying too. "What are we gonna do with you, Cinder?"

As Cinder and Lucy finished talking, Marigold started to explain to Lucy how to reach them. "I'm a little off the beaten path, but I'll be sure to help you find us."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Lucy said, "oh, but I should probably tell the others where you are too. They're closer than I am."

Marigold looked a bit uneasy, "Yeah...right. Pass it along to them."

As the lacrima went dark and the call ended, Cinder could tell Marigold was uneasy. Though she was willing to do whatever it took to help Cinder, she didn't look forward to meeting with Liddan. Not after leaving him.

"Uh...I'm sure he'll be happy to see you," Cinder said, trying to spin it in a more positive way.

"You should get some sleep now," Marigold pulled the covers over Cinder, tucking her in and everything.

"Are you scared to see him? Because you feel guilty?" Cinder watched Marigold's face carefully. "Or is it because you're nowhere near closer with stopping the virus?"

From her face alone, it was clear Cinder's guess was right. She didn't know how to stop the virus, which means she didn't know how to save Liddan.

Cinder, however, had other things on her mind. "What about Red? Is he still outside?"

"I took care of him while you were resting," Marigold said, "just make sure you don't leave the house, don't answer to anyone but me. Anyone at all." Marigold waited for Cinder to nod in agreement, then stood up straight. "Alright, I'll be back in a bit."

Marigold walked to the door, keeping quiet as she dimmed the lights hovering above them. Before leaving, she pulled back the blanket over Lilly's fort to find her fast asleep with a book in her arms. Perfect.

Marigold pulled her hood on as she left the house, locking the door behind her. She'd made sure to put Red in the shed she kept down the hill, not too close but not too far. She didn't want the girls to hear him from the house.

When she unlocked the shed door, she stepped into the darkness and pulled her hood of her head. It was warmer in the shed thanks to the lantern she'd set by the door, but it was still a chilly space.

Red wasn't dead, but he looked like death itself tied up in the shed. Marigold hadn't just used ropes, afterall, she'd planted a tree that impaled both his feet, meaning if he wanted to escape, he'd have to pull the branch right out of his limbs. It was gruesome, and Marigold didn't find any sadistic side of herself enjoying the imprisonment, but she felt every precaution was necessary.

She sat down in front of Red, her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face. "So you've found me, now what?"

Red gave out a painful chuckle, "You're easier to find than I expected, who knew you'd show up just to save some girl."

"Some girl?" Marigold scoffed, "you're not winning yourself any favors here. You know who she is and what you did to her–her whole life. Don't act like she doesn't matter."

"But right now," Red smiled, "she doesn't matter a bit. Not as much as you and me matter right now."

"There is no you and me," Marigold said, "right now I'm deciding whether or not you deserve to live and I'm leaning toward no–but don't worry, I've learned that I can change my mind on this kind of thing." Marigold's eyes narrowed on Red, leaning closer, "Maybe I'll let you die one or two times, then revive you just to hand you over to the Rune Knights. Or, if you're as much of a manipulative bastard as Cinder said, I should just kill you now and let you stay dead. Save the world from any more devastation."

Red didn't seem frightened by Marigold's offer, rather he kept that disgusting smirk on his face, steadying himself as he spoke. "I've come to offer myself to you."

"Pass–"

"As a teacher," Red nodded his head to the side. "Don't underestimate my skill in bringing out the strength of others. I may be human, but I've trained demons, dragon slayers, descendants of angels, all with different abilities lost to mankind. You? You're a god now, is what I've heard. You brought a disease onto an entire race–and you have no idea how to stop it?"

Marigold was silent, she knew she shouldn't believe him, but she had to admit she was more than just desperate. In the time she'd been alone, training her powers, researching and combing through ancient tomes, she'd discovered nothing.

She didn't know how Red knew that, but she didn't believe for a second that he was any more capable than she was at finding out how to stop the virus. "Prove it."

"Well," Red nodded his head toward the tree in his foot, "if you could...remove the lumber from my leg."

"That's not gonna happen."

"Please...if you could just allow me to–"

"This is your only chance to impress me," Marigold said.

Red seemed frustrated, he sighed, "In my time at Howl Caedo...I met many powerful people. Though he wouldn't admit it, I am certain one of those people is a god."

"Certain?"

"Absolutely positive," Red said, "I never shared the information with Welch because...I don't reveal all my cards until it's time."

Marigold said, "Okay, so you know a guy. How can you promise he'll help me?"

"He's a bit like you," Red explained, "he handles death, to a degree. I can't promise he'll agree to help right away, but I know how to persuade him."

Marigold knew he'd do whatever it took to keep himself in the picture. However, Marigold wasn't intending on letting him go easily.

"You remember when we were fighting," Marigold said, lifting her arm up, "and you chopped my arm off and I grew it right back–and I still had control over the detached limb?"

Red narrowed his eyes, he didn't know where she was going with this.

"It's a thing with plants, actually, where if you cut off the limb of a plant you can regrow it if you treat it right. Thus, my body acts a bit like a plant."

She reached for the wall where she kept her scythe and pulled it into her hands. "You see, when I first started my training, it was important for me to understand what kind of state my body was in. Initially I thought, 'Oh know, am I a tree now' or something like that?"

Marigold pulled her hand to the scythe and cut it ever so slightly. Like any usual body, she started to bleed. "Of course, that isn't completely true. My body is effectively human. I have human organs, a heart that beats and a stomach that digests and...well you know the rest."

With her scythe in hand, Marigold sat back down in front of Red, "So I realized–oh, this is just a spell. Like what my friend Sylvie can do with Water Body. She isn't actually just a blob of water, it's a spell she can use on her body to allow her to defend herself. Of course...mine may be a bit more complicated when it comes to me severing my own consciousness into multiple forms that grow and then sorta die out–complicated doesn't begin to cover it–but the thing is I realized...that if it's a spell, I can do it to other people too."

Red had begun to realize what Marigold was insinuating. He smirked, "What are you gonna do? Chop off my limbs and see if you can regrow them."

"Well, no," Marigold pushed herself up, her scythe firmly in her grasp, "that isn't what I was planning. Because I don't need you to have arms or legs." Quickly, she lifted her scythe right to Red's neck. "All I need is a head."

≪ °❈° ≫

Jude was a bit of a mess after what happened with Zeople, and Liddan felt rather guilty about it.

"You know who started the virus–and you failed to mention it–" Zeople felt betrayed, that much was clear, but they were even more frightened of how Yazel would respond.

There in the woods, things seemed to stand still as they waited for Yazel to catch up with him. Cinder had been right about one thing, Yazel felt all the more victorious when he defeated them with only the one arm.

However, he was worn down quickly, and before long, he keeled over and Zeople was forced to momentarily abandon his altercation to assist him. He lifted him from the ground, and in a whisper of a voice, delivered the news.

Liddan and Jude watched as the shock filled Yazel's face. "Brothers," he glared at Liddan and Jude, "you know who did this to us?"

They were silent at first, not sure of what to say, but Jude seemed to spill it all first. "It's not like that–" Jude started to say, Liddan trying to grab at his arm to silence him. "Marigold didn't mean to create the virus–"

"Marigold?" Zeople squinted his eyes, "Who is she?"

Liddan pulled Jude back, "Zeo, don't–hurting her won't solve anything–and I'm not letting you touch her!"

"Can she fix this?" Zeo said, anger in his eyes, "Does she know how to fix it?"

"She's trying!" Jude insisted, "She's like you Zeo!"

"Jude!" Liddan tried to stop Jude, but he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Liddan is sick too–just like Yazel–and Marigold will do anything if it cures the virus! Just like you would!"

Zeo was silent, he seemed to ponder what Jude was saying, "Anything?"

That was the last thing he said before and Yazel made their escape.

Thus, leaving the small troupe of Fairy Tail members to chase after them, Cinder, and now Marigold.

Returning to their old four-wheeler, Gideon drove while Liddan and Jude sat in the back, Malcon sitting in the front taking a drink of water, exhausted from his heavy day of flying.

There was tension, Liddan and Jude weren't talking.

"Lovely weather we're having," Maclon said, peering out the front, trying to fill the silence. Gideon followed as Nashi drove ahead in her now fixed bike. She was hard to keep up with, so Gideon was mostly focused on driving.

After a long silence, Liddan finally spoke up, "You said her name."

"Huh?"

"You told Zeo Marigold's name."

Jude ran through his memories again. He had, hadn't he. "Maybe...Cinder said it first–for all we know–"

"What if he finds her?"

"Marigold's like a god now, right?" Jude shrugged, "she'll be fine–and maybe Zeo won't hurt her."

"You wanna take that risk?" Liddan propped his arm up on the side of the window.

Jude glanced over, looking at the empty space where his right arm would have been. "You did pretty good," Jude said, "fighting with just your sword."

Liddan didn't say anything, so Jude turned away. He figured it would be best if he just apologized, "I'm sorry..." Liddan was still silent. "You can hit me if you want."

Jude thought that maybe Liddan would find it amusing, him repeating his own words, but instead Liddan smacked Jude in the face, his palm landing squarely on his nose. "Ahh–!" Jude's hands clasped over his nose. "Owww...I didn't think you'd actually do it."

Liddan finally smiled, "You know, that did feel better."

By the time Jude's nose had stopped hurting, they had arrived in the nearest city, Reven.

They all got out of the car, Jude slipping off the band that withheld his magic now that he wasn't trapped on a moving vehicle again. "Finally," Jude took a breath of fresh air, noticing Liddan glancing at the unbound band in his hands. Unlike Jude, Liddan couldn't take his off. "Is it weird wearing it all the time?"

"It's kinda got the same feeling as having your sinuses hurt," Liddan said, touching the space around his nose. "Where you just feel clogged."

Nashi waved her hands to her brothers as she held the map in her hand. "I asked someone for directions, if we follow this road we'll end up in Pride," Nashi displayed the map to Gideon. "This is really weird, I remember going to Pride ages ago. Remember, where you had that weird metal helmet on your head and you fought Marigold to the death–"

Jude squinted his eyes, "And I saw a woman die–"

"Anyway," Nashi folded up the map, "we'll find the Pollen's house, maybe Marigold is hiding out there."

"What if she isn't?" Gideon asked.

"Come on," Nashi said, hands on her hips, "she has Lilly to think of. I'm sure she's at least close to her parents so they can help."

"I don't know," Liddan scratched his head, "Marigold always hated Pride, I had just assumed she went to live with her parents...but what if she's out there on her own? Just her and Lilly?"

He mostly had imagined Marigold off with her parents because he was worried about her being alone. She had so much on her plate already, and raising Lilly alone wasn't going to be easy. If her parents were there, at least she'd have someone to help her with the day to day chores of having a kid. Liddan got to be that person for a while, and he felt proud to be that person. However, if Marigold was alone, it gave him a sick feeling.

If Marigold left Liddan to be with her family, then at least she'd be leaving Lilly and herself with a capable set of hands. However, Marigold left Liddan for...no one. She'd rather be alone than be with him.

"We're not far from Pride," Nashi said, "it won't be long until we get some answers, so sit tight."

Strapping back in, the five all began their journey to Pride, not knowing what was in store for them there.

≪ °❈° ≫

Marigold was back in the tree/house after about an hour. Cinder was feeling a bit more refreshed after sleeping for a bit, but her body was still rather sore. She was awoken as Marigold came back in, pulling off her coat and throwing it on the hook on the wall. "I'm back, are we doing okay?"

Cinder sat up a bit, "Yeah, is...what happened to Red?"

"Nothin' much," Marigold said, trying to move away from the conversation. "I've decided that we're going to move you and Lilly out of the tree–"

"What–" Lilly stuck her head out of her little reading nook, "–but I like the tree! I just started liking it!"

"It's just for now–" Marigold said, moving toward the bed to sit down, "I'm taking you both to my parent's house in Pride, there the others will meet you and take Cinder home."

"Why do I have to go!?" Cinder watched as Lilly threw a fit, "I wanna stay in the tree–"

"You can't stay here by yourself!" Marigold crossed her arms.

"You let me stay when you got her–"

"That was only for a few hours–you'll be staying with grandma and grandpa for the time being–"

"No!"

"This isn't a negotiation, Lilly!" Marigold put her hands on her hips, "I have to go somewhere dangerous, and you can't come, so you're staying with them for the next week–"

Lilly's lip stuck out in a deep childish pout, then she buried herself in her blankets behind her reading nook and sobbed in a fit.

Cinder found it a bit bizarre, seeing Lilly behave this way. She originally was a bright and kind girl, but she seemed especially emotional.

"She's acting..."

"She isn't happy we moved," Marigold whispered. "Motherhood is a war...and I am losing."

She began to pack Lilly a bag for her stay, Cinder watching nervously as she realized what would come next. "So," Cinder began, "I'm meeting with Liddan, Nashi, and Jude?"

"Apparently," Marigold sighed, "so they were right on your tail, huh?"

"They'll probably be mad," Cinder said, "I sorta screwed them over."

"Yeah...well," Marigold shrugged her shoulders, "they might be mad, but I'm sure they'll be more excited to have you back. Liddan will probably be passive aggressive about it for a while, then be straight out aggressive about it when he's reassured you're safe and sound. But immediately, he'll just be overcome with relief, that much I know."

Cinder squinted her eyes, "Yeah, he'll probably forget all about me the second he sees you–"

"No–" Marigold stiffened, "Don't say that," she said, her voice lowering. "Geez, he's...well..." Marigold looked up at Cinder, feeling guilty for asking such a thing when Cinder was in such a stressful situation, "he's doing alright, isn't he?"

"I guess," Cinder said, "he can't use his magic, not even his prosthetic is useful anymore. So he's been kinda...well not kinda, he's just depressed I guess."

"I see," Marigold put her hand over her mouth, looking deep in thought. She glanced over at Cinder, studying her expression to see if Cinder was cross with her for leaving Liddan in such a state. "I'm really trying to undo it...I am."

"You don't have to justify yourself to me," Cinder said with a shake of her head, "I'm sorta on the top of the list for cruddy choices right now."

Marigold smiled, "So you think I made the wrong choice? Leaving?"

"No," Cinder shook her head, "it was just a cruddy choice, but it was still probably the right choice."

Marigold felt guilty, she'd been feeling guilty ever since she left. Then on the days she realized she didn't feel guilty, she felt even worse for not feeling a thing. However, she liked the way Cinder phrased it. As though Marigold was allowed to face that the right choice wasn't always a good choice.

"I like the way you look at the world, Cinder," Marigold said with a strained smile.

"You are probably the only person who thinks that."

Marigold didn't disagree, but they didn't say much after that. Marigold helped Cinder to the truck where Lilly was strapped into a rather modern car seat that looked out of place in the rusty old truck Marigold had. Before they set off, Cinder did notice Marigold fetch something from the shed and throw it into the bed of the truck, Cinder just didn't know what. She then wondered if it was safe to leave Red alone while they went to Pride.

Marigold answered, "Don't worry about him," she said, which Cinder took to mean quite a few different things. However, her medicine made her just drowsy enough to not meditate on any of the possibilities behind Marigold's cryptic words. So instead, she just slept, the thought of Red far in the back of her mind.

Then their trip began, through the mountain to Pride, where Marigold knew Liddan was ready to see her. If only she was ready to see him.

≪ °❈° ≫

It was alarmingly coincidental that around the time the team was halfway to Pride they received a call from Lucy announcing that Marigold had found and rescued Cinder and she was going to meet with them to drop her off.

"Are you kidding me?" Gideon said, "We came all this way and Marigold–how the heck did she find Cinder?"

"Lilly," Liddan answered quickly, "her dreams are...prophetic at times. Well, it's more like she's got a library in her head that she can access when she's asleep–that or it was a wild coincident." Liddan kept scratching his head, mumbling to himself as he tried to explain the strangeness that was Lilly Pollen.

The party had parked on the side of the road, taking a moment to regroup as they now had the ability to contact Marigold. Mostly, they were working their way up to calling her, as they were waiting for Liddan to do or say something.

However, he seemed somewhat passive about the idea of meeting Marigold again. Or maybe it just hadn't hit him yet.

"Is it safe to meet up with Marigold?" Gideon suddenly suggested. "What if we're being tailed by that angel?"

"He won't hurt her," Jude continued to insist. "Besides, we haven't seen him. We'll be fine."

"I think I'll make the call," Nashi said, holding the lacrima in her hand as she stared at Liddan. "Is...that okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be okay?" Liddan asked.

"No–I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk–"

"Why would we talk–I'm here for Cinder not for Marigold–just–" Liddan scratched his head frantically.

"Right," Nashi gave a thumbs up, turning away to make the call as Liddan walked toward Jude and Malcon, squatting down as he took a breath.

Jude had been worried. He was relieved to know Cinder was okay, but he was rather confused when he realized that Marigold was the one who saved her. In reality, Jude was a bit angry with Marigold. More than just a bit, he was at the point where he felt she wasn't the person he knew and liked so much.

She'd abandoned Liddan twice now, when he needed her the most. He didn't understand why she would do such a thing, or why Liddan seemed to be so calm.

He listened quietly as Nashi began to speak, greeting Marigold quickly, "Hey–you found Cinder? Is she alright?"

They chatted quietly for a bit. Liddan gripped his shoulder as he let out a breath, watching the cold air cause it to cloud in front of him. Jude found himself unconsciously imitating Liddan's pose, as though he were trying to prove he was on his side through body language alone. However, as he saw Liddan lift his head, and he did the same, he saw what Liddan saw.

A glimmer of white streaking across the sky. Jude figured it must have been a bird, but Liddan seemed fixated on it.

"So we'll be meeting at your parents'? Well that sounds fun," they could hear Nashi say, "we were actually headed there–it's kinda funny–we thought Cinder was looking for you so we were going to see if you were with your parents–I guess not though." Nashi rambled on, shrugging her shoulders as she began to ask, "Your parents liked me right? Like they know who I am and are on board with my general vibe, right? Right? They do? Okay, I was just curious."

As Nashi put the lacrima back into her bag, she turned to announce to the rest of the group, "So we're gonna meet up at Marigold's parent's place. She hasn't been living there, I guess." She then shuffled and said, "Cinder is alright, though. Pretty beat up, but alright."

Gideon looked over to Liddan and Jude, "That's reassuring," he waited for some kind of confirmation. Jude sort of stared at them blankly, then reaverted his attention back to Liddan. He was still staring up at the sky.

Malcon scratched the back of his head, "Should we get going?"

There was a strange lull in the group, as if they were all functioning at a slower pace, lagging behind as everything rushed ahead of them. Then there was Liddan, literally with his head in the clouds. Jude looked at him, and then nudged him in the arm, "Are you ready?"

One last time, Jude looked up into the sky to see what Liddan was seeing, but whatever hat left Liddan so transfixed was gone.

Liddan started to walk ahead. "Yeah," was all he said. Then he went off like he wasn't left frozen staring ta the sky. Jude looked to Gideon, who seemed just as perplexed as he was. There was this mutual feeling that the Liddan they knew was leaking out of him. Except neither of them knew what to do about it.

≪ °❈° ≫

Marigold watched the rear view mirror, which she had positioned to allow her to look at Lilly. Maybe not the safest plan as a driver, but a good move if you're a mother.

Cinder was sleeping, somewhat peacefully, and Lilly was rolled up in a blanket. Marigold could see what looked like tears in the corners of her shut eyes. It made her feel sick to her stomach. Moving Lilly was hard, she hated what she'd done to her. She was just a little girl, and a girl deserved a home that she felt safe and familiar with. With friends and family that make her feel good and happy.

Now Lilly lived in a tree away from everyone she's ever known, expected to sit peacefully with her books and her head.

Lilly spent a lot of her time asleep, Marigold had noticed, and she was slipping back into the fantasy world she'd created. The one where they lived together.

Marigold felt like a hypocrite the more she thought about it. She spent all that time convincing Lilly to get out into the real world, and now Marigold had made her life so unlivable that she'd rather crawl back into her own mind.

She looked at the familiar road ahead of them and noticed the town's sign. It was a temporary one as the last time Marigold had visited the town, she destroyed it. She could still see the area where she'd grown vines and weeds to tear out the old one, the plants were still there. In fact, they'd grown bigger and stronger. She could see faint signs of attempted removal, unsuccessful cuts in the stem of the plant, the dirt around it all dug up in an attempt to pull it out from the root, but the roots were so deep that they'd just given up. Her impact was still there, months later.

It was bizarre, that much was true, and it made her very uneasy as she arrived back in the town she knew she was once again a pariah in.

She kept her head down, trying not to make eye contact with anyone in the town around her. She drove down mainstreet, and for a moment she could see some familiar faces, a few of the bastards she'd known from way back when.

They looked as slimy as ever. She wondered what it would be like for Lilly if she grew up in Pride. Maybe they'd accept her? Who was she kidding, they'd do everything they could to snuff out her light, her creative and brilliant mind.

If Lilly was going to stay here, it couldn't be for long. Marigold had to find out whatever Red had to share with her fast.

As she waited to cross the road, she left her foot on the break, listening to the others chat. "Did you see those strange folk comin' through? They had a cat with 'em. And a boy with horns–"

"Nah–he just had a weird hat on."

Marigold smiled so faintly, of course that crew would stick out like a sore thumb. She wished she could send Lilly with them, that's where Lilly would feel at home. Heck, that's where Lilly wanted to be. However, how could she ask that of them? After what she'd put the Dragneels through, how could she give them the responsibility of watching her kid?

She kept driving, tapping on Cinder's shoulder as she clearly stated, "Wake up, girls, we're almost here."

Cinder and Lilly began to stir in their seats, and Cinder looked out the window to the new unfamiliar surroundings. "What kinda hick town did we land in?"

"Pride," Marigold said with a smile, no protest to Cinder's description of the place. "Get ready...you've got some explaining to do."

Cinder looked at Marigold, but as she saw the nervous expression paling Marigold's face, she thought maybe she was speaking to herself.

Lilly mumbled as she yawned and kicked around in the back of the truck. "Are grandma and grandpa here yet?"

"Well," Marigold pulled up to the fence of the farm, she saw Caesar waiting there to open it for her, waving his arm up high with a stern expression on his face. "They are now."

They pulled into the area, Caesar shutting the gate behind them and jogging up the path to follow Marigold and her truck.

As they pulled up, Caesar was ready to help out. Marigold hopped out first, "Can you carry Cinder inside?"

"How is the kid?" He opened the truck's passenger door and took a look at Cinder. "Yikes–"

Cinder grumbled, rolling her eyes as Caesar tried to find his words.

"Ah–I mean–hey kiddo. Remember me? I think we met through the window of Lilly's party–"

"Hi grandpa," Lilly shouted, ready to crawl out the back through Cinder's door.

"Hi babycakes," Caesar got a big infectious grin on his face, for such a young fellow, he sure did love being called grandpa. "Did you get a nap on your way here–"

"Can you please carry me out of here," Cinder said, begrudgingly putting her arms up to be held, knowing her leg wasn't strong enough to carry her out herself.

"Right," Caesar quickly scooped her out of the front seat, and out came Lilly with her blanket and book tucked under her.

Rosemary came out onto the front porch, a somber smile on her face as she caught sight of Marigold. "Welcome home," she said with a soft voice. Rosemary was slightly bitter that Marigold hadn't come to live with them. Just slightly. She wanted Lilly and Marigold close after all that happened, but Marigold knew it wasn't wise to stay in Pride.

Marigold smiled up at her mother, watching her approach to help her pull things out of the bed of her truck. "Ah–" Marigold stopped her, stepping between her and the truck, "there's some...precious cargo in there that...you might not want to see."

"Speaking of things you might not want to see," Rosemary whispered, "your friends from Fairy Tail are here...and...the boy."

"The boy?" Marigold didn't know what that was meant to be code for. "Do you mean Liddan?"

"Yes, the boy is here."

"Mom, what? Why are you calling him 'the boy' all weird like that."

"It's a code word," Rosemary whispered, "that way we can talk about him in secret–"

"Mom we don't need to talk about him in secret–just call him Liddan–please," Marigold followed Caesar into the house, who was still carrying Cinder in his arms. The house was so quiet, and Marigold had expected that their presence would be more...obvious. "And speaking of, are they here already? I thought they'd beat me–"

BOOM! Suddenly, Caesar let out a groan, "Not again–"

He went running inside, Cinder looked concerned as her limp and sore body was paraded up the front steps and into the house. "Dragneels–did you set a fire in my house!"

"No!" Marigold could hear the voice of Nashi, "we set it in the fireplace."

Marigold made her way inside, turning to see inside the living room Nashi, Gideon, and Malcon all on the floor of the living room. Gideon was coughing as smoke blasted out of the fireplace.

Caesar let out a sigh, "Dragneel," he said, pointing at Nashi (as he didn't seem to quite know their names yet), "what did you do?"

"Well," Nashi smiled, her face covered in soot, "it seems your chimney hasn't been cleaned in ages, and I was hoping to offer my fire services by, you know, setting a fire. However, it was so clogged that I was worried the smoke would fill the house. So–"

Caesar sighed, "Oh my gosh–"

"Don't interrupt–I figured that if I sent a powerful enough blast of fire into the fireplace, that would, like, clean it. However, it seems to have only sent all the soot and smoke back down here but...either way...I think I did pretty good considering."

Caesar groaned for a terribly long time, then dropped Cinder down onto the couch. "Here's your injured sibling, I'm gonna pour myself a drink."

"Cinder!" Nashi smiled brightly, "Jude! Liddan! She's here!"

Jude was in the kitchen, wearing an apron and oven mitts for whatever reason.

"Cinder!" he dashed right past Marigold, not seeming to even notice her as he went to meet his long lost twin.

She looked into the living room, watching the two exchange words.

"I was worried sick–I'm so glad you're okay–"

"Yeah, I hate to admit it, but I think I almost died."

"Yeah–I think I could sense it, I think twin-telepathy is true! Or at least the horrible emotional pain being passed over is."

Marigold found the reunion charming, but she felt as though none of the Fairy Tail members seemed to notice her standing there. She had a sudden rush back to when none of them remembered her, it was frightening.

Nashi looked her way, as did Malcon, who scurried over and put his arms up to her and Lilly for a hug. "You live! You look dreadful..."

Nashi smiled, grabbing Gideon by the arm and announcing, "Hey, how's the whole cure thing coming along?"

"Uh..." Marigold made a face.

"Well that answers that," Gideon muttered, jabbed in the stomach by Nashi.

"It's okay, you'll get it," she put her hand on Marigold's shoulder, then pulled her in for a hug. Marigold enjoyed it briefly, until she realized Nashi had just gotten soot all over her.

Rosemary came into the house, calling to Jude, "Jude, honey, you ran away with my oven mittens, would you mind pulling out the casserole dish for me? It'll burn if we keep it in any longer."

Jude hopped up, "Oh–shoot–" he ran off, right past Marigold once again. He did give one last glance at her before entering the kitchen, a kind of nervous look where he seemed to have something to say to her, but he just didn't have the nerve to say it.

Marigold felt uneasy, and when her mother gave her a look and said, "The Boy is upstairs." it only made that uneasy feeling worse. "He's off in your bedroom, snooping around."

Nashi furrowed her brow. "Who is the boy? Is that a code? I hate codes–"

"It's nothing," Marigold sighed, putting her hand on Lilly's back, "why don't you help grandma and Jude–"

"Uncle Jude–"

"Yeah, sure–Uncle Jude in the kitchen."

She watched as Lilly sulked off into the kitchen, while she approached the stairs. She nervously held onto the handrail, moving to the second floor.

It was quiet up there, and when she turned her head down the hall she could see her old bedroom door open, the shadow of a man waiting there.

At the door frame, she said with a sigh, "You won't find anything in here," he didn't turn to face her, he kept his back to her as he opened a drawer then shut it. "The angels cleared it all out when I 'died'."

Liddan looked up at the walls. The light floral wallpaper that belonged to Marigold's childhood, the pressed flowers framed and hung on the walls, then storybooks on the shelf over her bead that so obviously belonged to a child. Any sign of adolescence was long gone.

"It's not really your room when you think about it," he said suddenly, choosing not to elaborate on the thought. He just said it, carelessly and with cruelty.

Marigold sighed, she found herself afraid to come any closer. She looked at Liddan's wrist, seeing the bands wrapped around his wrist. She remembered when he used to wear the leather band she made for him, she wondered if he even remembered that she gave it to him in the first place.

"Are those helping?"

"I don't have magic," Liddan turned with a piercing gaze. "I don't have magic, and I don't have you."

"Liddan," Marigold took a breath, her hands behind her back, "I was literally killing you–"

"Why weren't you living with your parents?"

Marigold furrowed her brow, "What?"

"Living alone with Lilly, that's gotta be hard. I thought you'd move in with them." Liddan picked a book off the shelf, opening it and flipping through it. It was a book of nursery rhymes, not something a grown man would find much interest in.

"Well, last time I was here I sorta...wrecked the town a bit and I don't think they'd want me back," Marigold scratched the back of her head, she felt embarrassed, "I lost my temper."

"Huh," was all Liddan said in response. He flipped through the book, ignoring Marigold.

Marigold found herself chewing on the inside of her lip, she was frustrated. "Liddan, I'm trying to fix things, okay? I messed up and I was careless and I ruined a lot of people's lives, and I thought I could save you..." He wasn't listening. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Liddan looked out the window.

Marigold felt somewhat defeated, she turned around and went back downstairs. Malcon was at the bottom of the steps, sitting down with his eyes up to her.

"Is he still pissy?"

Marigold nodded, "Has he been this way since I left?"

"No," Malcon said with a shake of his head, "it comes and goes. I think he's just...well...you know how vultures circle around roadkill?"

"What?"

"He's kinda like that. He's like a vulture flying around a dead body, kinda flipping this way or that, deciding if he wants to land or not and figure out why the thing died." Malcon continued to go on, flipping his head back as he found himself enthralled by his own metaphor. "But in the meantime, he just sorta spins around in circles, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, but still circling the same dead body."

Marigold squinted her eyes, sitting down by Malcon on the step, "The way you said that...you sorta made vultures sound like detectives rather than birds that are gonna eat that dead thing."

"They eat the road kill?" Malcon seemed shocked for a moment, but Rosemary arrived just in time to call them into dinner.

"We've got green bean casserole," she announced, "hopefully enough for everyone. Dragneel's don't eat more than one serving right?"

She was wrong.

The Pollen's family table usually had a few extra guests at it. For outsiders in their dinky smalltown, they sure did have an open door policy. However, the Dragneel party seemed to test that policy. The kitchen was cramped, they were forced to pull out an old card table and add it to the circular kitchen table they normally ate it, leaving an awkward crook between the square and circle table.

Malcon ate at the crook, finding himself content in his little inverted corner. Dinner was mostly quiet, everyone seemed a little mad at someone else, except Nashi. Though Caesar was rather mad at Nashi, she didn't have an ill-will toward anyone at the table. "This is great, Mrs. Rosemary Pollen."

Rosemary squinted her eyes, "Thank you, uh, you can just call me Rosemary?"

"I wasn't sure," Nashi said, letting out a sigh like she'd been holding her breath the entire dinner. "We never established it so I figured I'd just go with the full name."

Rosemary was both confused and somewhat flattered, "So long as you don't call me ma'am. It makes me feel so old. Like I'm some old scold."

Marigold looked at Lilly, watching her pick at her food. "Lilly, at least give it a try. You might like it."

Lilly furrowed her brow and with as much attitude as possible said, "Yes ma'am."

Marigold gave her mom a look, then looked back at Lilly. "Don't use that tone with me–"

"I'm not hungry," Lilly dropped her fork. "Can I go to wherever you're sticking me tonight?"

"Hey," surprisingly, Cinder was the one to speak up. Her voice turned dark as she pointed a fork at Lilly. "You're here because of me, not your mom, so stop it with the attitude. If you wanna be pissy, try it with me."

Marigold shook her head, "You'll be sleeping in my old bedroom tonight, I'll put you to bed if you'd like."

"I'm okay," Lilly's voice softened slightly, less angry and more hurt. Marigold felt reminded that behind every angry child is a heartbroken one, one who has no clue how to express herself in a healthy way. She pushed her chair in, whispered, "Thank you for dinner," to Rosemary, then ran upstairs with a pair of red and glossy eyes.

Marigold put her hand over her eyes, "Geez," the table all dwelled in the tension. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on with her."

Jude, however, felt his stomach churn as he said, "Maybe she feels betrayed by you."

Marigold looked at Jude, a rather uneasy expression. "Jude," she watched his expression, he looked uneasy, angry even. "Jude, if you've got something to say, go ahead."

His fist tightened around his fork and knife, and he grunted, "I'm mad–okay? I think...I think you're being a real–" he grumbled for a moment before he stammered out, "You're being a real b-word!" Immediately, his eyes went wide as he mumbled, "I'm so sorry for swearing."

"You literally didn't," Nashi muttered, pulling a piece of her casserole into her mouth as she side-eyed Jude.

Marigold looked at Liddan, waiting for him to respond in some way. He didn't, he just poked at his food, his gaze only flicking upward to look out the window. What was he watching for?

"Look," Nashi said, putting her hand in front of Jude, "Marigold didn't ask to become a literal god," that was a nice way to put it, "she's trying to solve this problem but it's taking time, and we need to give her time. We're her friends–"

"Yeah, but meanwhile, Liddan is just left in the dust? And not just him–all of us?" Jude's brow furrowed, he was beyond just pissed. He felt betrayed. "Why couldn't you do it at Fairy Tail? Why'd you have to go across the country and just cut contact with us?"

With one last defeated look, he stammered out, "I used to look up to you."

That was the part that hit the most for Marigold. She looked at the entire table, all of them with weary expressions. Even Nashi seemed to bite her tongue, looking at Marigold with this uneasy expression as though she ought to have done more. That she ought to have stayed in contact and not just run off. Everyone looked hurt.

However, all of that had to be put on hold when Marigold heard the sound of a door opening and shutting.

She turned her head, looking out the archway to the entryway, where she saw the front door shaking.

"Lilly?"

Marigold shot up, as did the others. "Did Lilly just run out the front door?"

Caesar stood up, "Shoot–I should've locked the door–LILLY!"

Caesar and Marigold both ran out, the rest all following behind.

Marigold peered down the horizon. The sun was setting, the sky glowing orange and pink above them. There, far off by the fence, Lilly was slipping under the boards. "LILLY! STOP!"

Jude pressed his hand against the railing of the front porch, Liddan standing beside him. Somehow, Jude had found a way to blame himself. "No–I shouldn't have been yelling–" He turned his head to Liddan, but he found him once again with his head looking up into the clouds. "What are you looking at–why do you keep looking up?!"

That's when, as Marigold was just a few meters into the yard, he dropped down on top of her.

It was Zeople, the angel who had quite a good reason to hate Marigold.

He put his foot on the back of her neck, and Marigold was in such a state of shock that she wasn't sure what had just happened. Her cheek in the dirt, her eyes glanced up to see what she thought were angel wings and muttered out, "Ellabentra?"

"Afraid not," he said, "my husband lost his arms thanks to you."

"I'm guessing your husband is a demon," Marigold let out a groan, "I get how you feel..."

"Don't you taunt me–" Zeo was unable to say another word as Nashi came up behind him, kicking him in the back of his head.

He fell forward, catching himself and tucking his wings in to roll to safety.

Nashi pulled Marigold up and said, "No really, she does get," she brushed Marigold off and said, "Go after Lilly–we'll hold him off!"

Marigold pushed herself up and started to run ahead, but Zeople was quick to run directly at her. Nashi climbed onto his back, somehow landing right between his two wings and she grabbed him around the neck and cried out, "Calm down! There's a missing kid–just leave her alone!"

"I have no qualms with you–" Zeople swung his body to the side, rotating himself to knock Nashi off his back.

In that time, Gideon laid out a territory of ice spikes around him, picking Nashi back up onto her feet and saying, "You leave Marigold alone–or we're gonna have some problems–"

Despite the impressively large ice spikes Gideon had laid out for Zeo, Gideon had forgotten that Zeo could fly. He shot straight into the air, nearly thirty feet up, and began to fly toward the woods Marigold was running toward.

"Shoot–forgot he could fly," Gideon muttered while Nashi turned to the house and shouted to the rest of them.

Malcon leapt into the air, his wings spawning on his back as he grabbed hold of Nashi, "So can I!"

He dragged Nashi up into the air after Zeople, but before she was far in the air, she called back to the others. "All who's able–get your butts in gear!" Nashi waved her hand and Caesar and Rosemary ran down the steps.

"Jude–Liddan–" she turned back to him while he lingered by Liddan on the porch, "Stay with Cinder–"

Though Liddan felt a bit pissed he was left in the dust with the kids, but he couldn't compare to how pissed Jude was.

"You knew he followed us," Jude shook his head, "why didn't you say something–"

Liddan walked back into the house, Jude followed behind. "Are you kidding me? You'd seen him!"

Cinder was still inside, and with her busted up leg, she couldn't get out of her chair. "What is happening? Did you forget me!"

"Liddan knew Zeople was following us–" Jude shouted, "He knew!"

Liddan put his arm on the railing of the stairs, avoiding Jude's eyes.

"You wanted to punish her, didn't you," in the time Jude had been away in Howl Caedo, his sense of morality had shifted. He felt he understood how complicated good and bad truly was. He realized he'd been foolish, when he looked at Liddan he'd seen a good man in poor circumstances. This wasn't the actions of a good man.

"What is wrong with you–" he grabbed hold of the back of Liddan's shirt, while he was a few steps up the stairs.

Liddan came tumbling down, on top of Jude. As he tried to brace himself with his only hand, he found his wrist slip and snap just a bit.

Liddan grit his teeth, and finally, his fuse met its end and he shouted at Jude, "Are you crazy–"

"You're sick Liddan–" Jude pushed Liddan away, who pulled his limp wrist into his chest.

"You were the one who said Zeople wouldn't hurt her," Liddan finally said, his voice stern and dark, "You said we shouldn't worry about it so I didn't–"

"Listen to yourself!" Jude pushed himself to his feet. "You're trying to blame me for this? You were waiting for it to happen–if you told us we could have warned her–or done something–now Lilly is lost–"

"I'll get Lilly," Liddan let out a groan as he pushed himself to his feet. His arm was sore, but he still climbed up the stairs, "just watch Cinder like Rosemary said. I need to get something."

Jude stayed at the foot of the steps, his face twisted with anger. He kicked his foot against the bottom step, a poor choice for his sore body.

Cinder watched from the kitchen, rotating herself in her chair to look at Jude. She felt uneasy and tried to stand to help him as he winced in pain.

"Just stay there–"

"Don't snap at me," Cinder said, "I'm not the one you're pissed at."

Jude sulked over to the kitchen table, sitting down back in his seat beside Cinder. He put his head on the table, wrapping his arms around his head to conceal his face.

"What is wrong with us," Jude said, "I don't remember things being this...complicated."

"I do," Cinder took a drink from her glass, watching as Liddan came back down the stairs, this time with something tucked under his arm. She watched as he left the house, noticing that Jude didn't move from his position, continuing to press his forehead into the kitchen table. "People have always been this complicated."

≪ °❈° ≫

Inside the woods, Marigold had begun to wonder how fast a daughter she had. She couldn't see a sign of Lilly, all she could see was the shadow of the angel looming over her.

Or maybe that was Nashi, who was also flying by that point.

Rosemary and Caesar had hopped into their truck, searching for Lilly best they could, Rosemary hanging her head out the window as she called out for the little girl.

Gideon, well, he was infamously slow a runner. Therefore, he had just made it over the fence and started his trek into the woods. "I'm coming!" he shouted to practically no one, as everyone else was much further into the woods than he. "I'm...almost there!"

Nashi was on Zeople's tail and doing everything she could to talk to him. "He can be reasoned with!" Malcon insisted. "He's just upset about his husband–just try and get him to understand the fragility of the situation!"

"Do you really think I'm the one to do that?" Nashi grumbled, finding that she was perhaps the least diplomatic Dragneel of them all. "Oh boy, let's try logic."

Malcon flapped his little wings twice as fast, somehow managing to catch up with Zeople just a bit.

"Listen!" Nashi cried out, "I know you're mad, but look! The virus has no cure! So–"

"So my husband is as good as dead thanks to her!" Zeople spun, his wings smacking Nashi in the face and throwing Malcon off balance.

"Ow–" Nashi spit as she whipped her head around. "NO–not–not hopeless! There is hope! We've got a doctor working on it–well–not anymore he was pretty corrupt so now a nurse is working on it–but she's a very good nurse–"

"Nashi–too honest!" Malcon cried, watching as Zeo only became more frustrated.

"Ugh–okay–right–" Nashi shook her head, "we don't have a cure yet–but if we can't find a cure which is likely–"

"Nashi?!"

"Sorry–the thing is–Marigold is the only one who can stop it!"

"So she can stop it?" Zeo looked at Nashi, doubt in his eyes.

"Ugh," Nashi's face twisted, "yeah...totally–"

"LIAR!" Down he dove, right toward Marigold as she ran.

He was like a bird of prey, swiping down with its claws. However, Zeople didn't have claws, he just had two angry hands reaching down out of desperation. He grabbed onto her hair, pulling her head up as he cried, "Do you have any idea–what you've done?!"

Marigold grunted as she felt him yank so hard, for a moment her feet were off the ground.

"I'm WORKING ON IT!" She cried out, shaking herself loose after reaching up and punching Zeople blindly in the jaw.

He dropped her, and she rolled onto the ground. She watched as Zeople tried to fly into the air once more. However, he was deep in the woods, this was her territory.

Her fingers dug into the dirt, trying to sense for the roots of the trees around her. Suddenly, the branches stretched out, growing wider and blocking Zeople's escape. His only real advantage was his flight, and that wasn't so easy anymore.

Marigold looked at Zeo, she could see the hate behind his eyes, and with a fearsome shout she demanded, "Get out of my sight!" She swept her hand, and the roots of the trees surrounding her dug their way out of the ground and up around Marigold to fulfill her wish.

They wrapped around Zeople, dragging him down into the ground.

"My daughter is lost–and I'm wasting time with you!" She felt her blood boil, and the plants tightened around Zeople.

Zeo shook in the roots of the plant, grunting as his feet pushed against the scattering dirt. "I had to cut my own husband's arm off–to save his life!" Suddenly, Marigold felt a twinge of pain through her connection to the plants, Zeo had reached for a knife of sorts, and he'd cut himself free from the vine.

When he pulled himself from the ground, she could see the weapon in his hands, it was a grass hook, or a sickle, one used to harvest. Marigold had a scythe herself, a tool for feeding others now used as a weapon.

Though Marigold would usually revel in that taunting irony, in that moment, all she could think was that she wished she had that scythe with her. Then she'd cut off his wings herself.

"Right now, I really don't have time to care," Marigold stretched her arm out, watching it turn into a long vine. It wrapped around Zeo's neck, and she flung him down onto the ground.

She ran toward him, grabbing hold of his arm wielding the sickle. With what strength she had, she tried to pull it from his grasp, but only watched as he cut through her viney arm.

The vine disconnected from her body, but Zeo watched Marigold's face, and he couldn't help but feel he'd done exactly what she wanted.

The vine wrapped around his neck didn't wither or die, it tightened, finding root in the ground. Suddenly, it became much less like a vine and more like a set of hands and arms growing out of one another. The sight alone was enough to scare Zeo half to death, but what was certainly going to kill him were the hands beginning to strangle him. Zeo's hands dropped the sickle, reaching for the viney arm around his neck. It landed in the dry grass below.

Marigold watched as a new arm grew in the place of her old one, and allowed her cut off vine arm monstrosity to drag Zeople to the ground by the neck.

She was out of breath, but she managed to grab the sickle. Marigold held it in her hand, "You aren't the last of the male angels...are you?"

Zeo looked at her, his brow furrowing, he knew the purpose of the question. She was asking if killing him wouldn't mean the end of the line for angels themselves.

Her fist tightened around the handle of the sickle for a moment longer, but then, she had a sick feeling enter her stomach. She looked at his eyes, and she found something familiar within them.

Yes they were filled with hate, anger, a desire for revenge, but she thought that she had that same look in her eyes when Lilly was captured, it was that same anger that brought this plague upon the demons.

Suddenly, the vine fell limp around Zeople's neck, it withered away in seconds. Zeo gasped for air, and Marigold knelt down and said, "You understand...that I could kill you, right?"

Zeo said nothing, he was still gasping for breath.

"I'll be honest, this was be at...like...30%," Marigold wiped her brow, "I didn't get a lot of sleep and my mind is elsewhere because–again–my daughter just ran into the woods and I need to find her–but–" Marigold took a breath, her hand falling over her mouth. "I'm not going to kill you, because I'm tired of people dying because of me."

She sighed, tossing the sickle far behind her. Then she paused, "Then again, I did behead a man earlier today, but in my defense, he isn't dead."

"You're insane..." Zeople said, pushing himself up as he found his breath once more. "I don't know how this could get anymore–"

"I'll save you!" Out of nowhere, Nashi came crashing through the tree branches with Malcon on her back. Crashing is used literally here, as she did break many branches (and likely bones) on her way through the overgrown trees Marigold used to trap Zeople on the ground.

Nashi would have hit the ground head first if it weren't for Malcon holding her up with every ounce of strength he had in him. She hovered a few inches off the ground until finally he dropped her then dropped right on top of her, exhausted from all his labor.

"You're going to get yourself killed–" Zeo couldn't help but saying, "you can't act so recklessly when you fly–"

Nashi pushed herself up, "Sorry, flying is not my sort of activity, not usually anyway." She shook off Malcon, who rolled off of her and into the grass as he mumbled to himself in misery. "I'm here to negotiate! From what I understand, Zeo, you are a healer."

"Nashi," Marigold dropped her voice to a whisper, stepping closer to Nashi to say, "I don't know if...you...are the best person–"

"I have this figured out in my head–just let me do this!" Nashi knelt down by Zeo, trying her best to reason with whom she believed to be a good man. "Your husband is still alive–and our guild is working on treatment and a cure for the plague. Go to Fairy Tail and offer your help to them! You've been on Earthland for, like, almost a thousand years. You have to know more about ancient medicinal methods than anyone!"

Zeo sighed, "I know I should help with the care–I want to help–but..." He looked to Marigold. "Why does she go unpunished? For what she did?"

"Are you kidding me?" Nashi squinted her eyes. She put her hand on Zeo and leaned forward. "Her husband is a demon too, part demon at least. He got sick and she had to leave him to find a way to undo it." She turned to Marigold, pointing at her, "Take a look Zeo, you've found the one person in the world who might know exactly how you feel. But at least you aren't to blame for what happened to your husband."

Marigold sighed, she stepped forward and stuck her hand out. Zeo winced, and Marigold realized it was the same arm that broke off and strangled him in a multi-hand monstrosity. She switched hands, "My name is Marigold Pollen, and I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you and your husband."

Zeople hesitated, but after releasing a heavy breath, he took the hand. Rather than shake it, he held it tightly, as though he felt Marigold needed to be touched by someone, to be held kindly by someone.

"If you don't mind," Marigold said, "my daughter is missing, would you help?"

≪ °❈° ≫

Liddan didn't know why he did it, he saw Zeople over them when they were in the city, and as they came into the town. His white wings seemed to fade into the clouds. At first he thought it was just a bird, or he was just seeing things. When he realized he actually was seeing Zeople, he stayed silent, and by the time he realized why he was staying silent, it seemed too late to do anything.

He just had this thought in his head all day, she deserves it. Why were they facing all of Marigold's enemies for her? He had no magic thanks to her, he could hardly defend her. Now, thanks to Jude, he had a busted wrist. Literally his only good arm was out of commission too.

He was in the woods and he'd been walking for awhile. He was pissy, and he had been for awhile.

However, he was trying to think of other things. Mostly, he was trying to find a sense of redemption in finding Lilly.

He thought that if he found her, brought her home, maybe him knowing Zeople was following them would seem like a little blip in his character. And if he found Lilly, maybe he could just talk to her, and maybe she'd make him feel a bit better about himself like she did when they were searching for Marigold in the first place. Getting to feel like he's useful again.

Then Liddan thought that if he'd had his magic, not only could he have taken care of Zeople for Marigold, he could also smell Lilly's scent and track her down faster than anyone else could. Then he'd find her in no time, and this whole thing would be over.

He looked down at the bands on his wrist, the only things keeping him alive.

Liddan had a good sense of smell. He could remember what Lilly's scent was, maybe if he just took them off for a little bit–a short while–he could find her. Or at least know what direction to go in.

Just for a moment, just a quick second and then right back on.

His arm was already a limp mess, the band was so tight it hurt on his sprained wrist. He squatted down and put his arm between his legs then squeezed them together and pulled his arm out. Slowly, he managed to wiggle his wrist out of the bands. It wasn't easy, those things were meant to stay on prisoners, and those were prisoners with two hands. However, somehow the wonky state of his wrist did him a favor. He could bend his wrist in just the wrong–painful–way and get his hand loose.

Liddan watched as the book of nursery rhymes fell out of his jacket onto the ground. It flipped open for just a moment.

He didn't pull it off right away, the cuff hovered over the palm of his hand. It wasn't quite off yet, and he waited for a moment before moving. He thought about how bad an idea this was, but an even louder thought said who the hell cares.

Liddan yanked his arm free of his legs and the band dropped between his feet.

It didn't hit all at once like he thought. It was slow, but slow in a way that made every moment all the more apparent that Liddan's body was destroying itself.

His fingers turned black, his entire body started to shake. All of the sudden he found something trying to come out of his throat in a true hellish way.

Within a few moments, his head swung back and fire came past his teeth into the air above him. Not just fire, also a scream. He was in horrible pain, and the goal that led him there felt so shallow in that pain.

Before he knew it, he was on all fours, screaming between desperate breaths. Has the pain been so severe before? Had he been so terrified before? Why wasn't he terrified every minute of his life of this pain? How had he ever survived this pain before? How could he ever be the same after this pain?

"Liddan," he felt a hand brush against his back, and suddenly everything stopped. Every feeling went away, and not just the bad ones.

Liddan felt like he was floating, like his body was no longer a part of the world in a tangible way.

He turned his head, looking back to see who had freed him from his own body and saw none other than Lilly. She looked terribly sad, but she somehow seemed to manage.

In a moment of panic, Liddan looked down at his body to ask, "I'm not dead am I?"

"Not yet," Lilly said, heaving a great sigh as she did like it was all so bothersome. She looked around at the forest surrounding them, Liddan did the same. He wondered if he was supposed to be seeing something, but he realized Lilly was just remembering the space around them. "You were supposed to be the one saving me."

Liddan squinted his eyes, and as he looked at Lilly's face he couldn't help but feel like something was off. He looked into her eyes, there was a light shining inside them that wasn't there normally. At least not in the Lilly he remembered living with.

This wasn't the little girl Liddan had to convince brushing your teeth was not just a daily thing but a twice a day thing. Or the little girl that insisted that she deserved ice cream after a "long day of work" when all she'd done is go shopping with her mother. Or the little girl who's greatest sin was sneaking a flashlight into her bed so she could read after bed.

He looked into her eyes and saw that behind them wasn't a little girl at all, rather someone who had seen an entire lifetime a thousand times over.

"Lilly," he said, "is that you?"

"That's a question with a complicated answer," she said, sounding just a bit annoyed, "as I grow old, my divine sight will have a strange effect on me. First, when I turn 10, I'll begin to suffer from severe headaches. By the time I'm 18, I'll learn that in giving me a simple, mundane life, my mind didn't develop how the angels and demons intended. Were I sculpted like the clay, like my father and the Syramin, I would have become a seer of everything, but in doing so I would lose myself entirely. So instead, I began to separate myself into two consciousnesses. One who could see all and be all, and one who could simply be."

Liddan's face twisted, "Lilly–are you like a god or something–"

"Don't be so dramatic," Lilly said with a shake of her head, "I just know the truth about everything everywhere."

"That sounds like...it's kind of god-like and what not."

"Is it?" Lilly said, "Plenty of people know the harsh truths of the world, but chose to do nothing anyway. Humanity is simply the practice of deciding which truths we want to interact with. We see the planet is burning, we see the sick and poor are dying, we know these are facts but that doesn't mean we can end it. Only a god can do that."

"That's fair," Liddan said with a sigh, "but I don't feel like you're...my Lilly."

"For how long have you considered me to have been your own?"

Liddan furrowed his brow, "I thought you knew everything."

She smiled faintly, "I am your Lilly, but I'm also a Lilly that has seen every moment of her life, and every moment that has ever been. Because I am eternal, I am always in the back of Lilly's mind, there only when she feels she must do something with the truth that she knows."

Liddan suddenly felt embarrassed, "Did you just stop me essentially destroying myself with this plague?"

"You're such an idiot sometimes–"

"Dang it," Liddan wiped his brow, "I thought I could last long enough to find your scent and follow it–"

"That was a terrible idea," Lilly said with a shake of her head.

Liddan felt embarrassed, "Anyway–" he shook his head, "what should I call you? I feel like...Lilly isn't the right thing."

Lilly smiled, "I can see your logic, but I'm still Lilly." She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm just a lot of her all at once."

Liddan put his hand on his head, "Wait, how are you even here?"

"It's an old trick I used when I was smaller," Lilly said, "I used to move through time and space to see things my father told me about. Back then it was exploration, now it's from a desire to change things."

Lilly stepped past Liddan and picked up the bands off the ground. "If you want to find the me that's here in this moment, I'll give you a tip. Look for a barn."

She put the band back on Liddan, and though he didn't feel anything, he knew as soon as she was gone, it would matter a great deal.

"Please don't tell me you met me," she asked, "I'm not supposed to discover my second half until I'm at least 17."

"Lilly," Liddan put his hand on her arm, "am I gonna make it? Will I survive that long?"

Lilly gave no answer in her words or expression, she simply said, "Go to the barn."

With a flash of light, she was gone. Liddan felt himself sink back into his body, and though the pain from the plague was gone, the pain in his injured wrist returned.

He groaned for a long while, feeling embarrassed and cruddy for having thought such a stupid thing could possibly work. He blinked as he looked around, and suddenly his memory felt fuzzy. His engagement with Lilly suddenly felt like a dream, and much like a dream, it began to fade as soon as he woke up from it.

He turned and saw the book he'd dropped, the nursery rhymes open to a page about a little duck. Reaching out with his sore arm, he picked it up and put it back in his jacket.

Most of his memories felt hazy and absent. However, the barn remained in his head, so he kept walking, keeping his eye out for such a structure. Before long, he saw something.

It wasn't quite what he expected, it was half destroyed, but he could only assume it used to be a barn from the roof and walls caving it.

He ran toward it, and called out, "Lilly–it's Liddan!"

Liddan wondered if maybe calling out to her was a bad plant, that maybe she'd try and run again. However, instead, he heard a small little voice call back to him.

"Marco," she said in a pitiful little voice.

Liddan frowned, he reached the entrance to the barn, which still somehow had a door functioning. He pushed it open. "Pollo."

Lilly was balled up by the wall, her little eyes visible as she looked up at Liddan. "I found you...I win."

Liddan moved closer, sitting down beside Lilly with a sigh.

He didn't say anything, but Lilly seemed to have something to say, "You didn't come downstairs."

"Huh?"

"You were upstairs when I got to the house, and you didn't even come down to see me." Lilly sounded very hurt, "Did you not miss me?"

Liddan really was an idiot. "I missed you a lot, but I didn't realize you missed me so much."

"You're such an idiot," Lilly said, her voice muffled as she buried her head into her legs. Liddan felt a strange sense of deja vu.

"Why'd you run, Lilly?" Liddan said, "Are you mad at your mom?"

"Kinda," Lilly pulled her head up, "but I feel more mad at myself for being mad at her, because I know it isn't her fault."

What a rational thought, Liddan wished he could relate.

"But..." Lilly put her head back down. "I'm more scared...she's mad at me."

Liddan squinted his eyes, "She might be mad you ran out of the house, but–"

"Not over that," Lilly whispered.

Liddan realized maybe what he needed to do was listen, not try and talk Lilly out of her emotions. "What's going on, Lilly?"

After a moment of silence, Lilly spoke again. "I've been in my head a lot," Lilly confessed, "it's so lonely with mom working all the time, trying to figure things out. She's so tired...so I just started to hang out in my head again."

Liddan watched as Lilly buried her face into her knees. She seemed so upset. "And..." she began, "I figured something out."

"What's that," Liddan asked, his voice soft and free of judgment.

"Sometimes," Lilly began, "people have babies because they want to. Then...other times they have them by accident."

Liddan felt a twinge of anxiety, hoping that he wouldn't have to give Lilly "the talk", as he felt it was entirely not his place to do so.

"But then," Lilly said, her voice so quiet that Liddan had to focus entirely to hear her, "sometimes...people force other people to have babies, even if they don't want to."

Liddan's eyes widened, he realized what had upset Lilly so much. Then he remembered the things Marigold had reluctantly shared with him, and he realized where Lilly had run off to.

It was the barn where it happened, where Lilly was conceived.

"She didn't want me...did she," Lilly's eyes welled up with tears. Her head pushed down, she couldn't look up as she sobbed. Liddan put his hand on her back, gently pulling her in for a hug. She wrapped her arms around him. "Was my daddy a bad man?"

Liddan found himself unable to lie, "I'm afraid so."

"Does that make me bad?"

"No," Liddan pulled back for a second, "so...the angels cleared out everything in Marigold's room, everything that indicated she lived past five...but..." he pulled out the nursery rhymes he'd stuck in his jacket, "take a look at this."

Lilly held the book in her hands. "What is this?"

"I found it in your mom's old room," Liddan explained, "it was published years after Marigold was five. Angels must have figured it was hers when she was a child, but..."

"She bought it for me?"

Liddan nodded, "Must have bought it in preparation for when you were born." He put his hand on Lilly's head, "Marigold...didn't plan to have you, but I'm certain that she wanted you."

Lilly flipped through the book, sniffing as she used her other hand to wipe her runny nose. Liddan used his sleeve to wipe Lilly's face. "You can read it when we get back."

≪ °❈° ≫

Getting everyone back to the house was a bit slow. Everyone was scattered in the woods, but thanks to Malcon flying above the woods to spread the word Lilly was home, everyone got back rather quickly. All but Gideon, who didn't get back into the house until long after the sun had set.

Marigold and Lilly went to her old bedroom, and they sat down on the bed and talked.

"I'm sorry," Lilly said with her head down, still holding the book.

"I'm sorry too," Marigold pulled Lilly into a tight hug, "I know this hasn't been easy on you."

Lilly wiped her eyes, "It's okay!" she insisted.

Marigold pulled the covers over Lilly, kissing her goodnight.

However, as she stood up, ready to leave, she stopped herself. She turned around and asked. "Where do you want to live, Lilly?"

Lilly hadn't been asked that before. Her eyes widened, and she found herself saying with such passion and excitement, "Magnolia–in our old house! In the woods with–" she stopped herself. She felt that asking to live with Liddan and Marigold there in that home like before was asking too much.

Marigold heard her plea, and then said, "Why don't I read you a bedtime story before we turn in?"

Lilly smiled, and she pulled out from under the covers the book of nursery rhymes, then a flashlight.

"Lilly," Marigold snickered, "you know I told you to not stay up reading–"

"Can you just read it?"

Marigold sighed, shaking her head with a smile as she sat on the foot of the bed. Lilly passed her the book, and Marigold looked at it for a moment. "It's still here."

She remembered buying it, because she was attracted to the love watercolor picture of a little flower fairy. The cover had a picture of a little girl with a skirt made from a lily, and she wanted to share it with her Lilly as soon as she was born.

She flipped through the book and smiled, "The story of the Flower Fairies."

After Lilly went to bed, Marigold went back downstairs where the rest were all in the living room, including the angel Zeo who was looking at Liddan's arm.

He wrapped it up and said, "It's broken, that's for sure."

"Yay..." Liddan said, "now I have zero functional arms."

"Ha," Zeo said, "I'll wrap it up, reset the bone. Even with magic, I want you to be easy on it for the next two weeks."

"Well, what else am I gonna do with it," Liddan shrugged.

Marigold cleared her throat, calling for the attention of her family and friends. "So," she said, "I've made a sorta...possibly bad decision."

"Love those kinds of ideas," Nashi said, crossing her legs as she sat by Gideon.

"I want Lilly to live back in Magnolia," Marigold said, "no offense mom and dad, but Pride is awful and I think she'd be just as miserable here as I was."

"Well who's gonna take care of her?" Caesar said, sitting forward.

"I could go," Rosemary said, sitting forward, "I'll return to Magnolia with the others and I'll take care of Lilly in her home where she can feel safe. Well..." she looked at Liddan, then turned back to Marigold to whisper, "not unless the boy is living there–"

"No, I'm not living there," Liddan said, assuming he was the boy, "I'm at my parents house...yay..."

Gideon looked over at Liddan, observing the miserable state he was in.

"Well, if Rosemary is going, I'll go too," Caesar said, "since it's still winter, we're in the off season so the farm can survive on its own. I'll have Col and Sabrina check in on it."

"Really?" Marigold said, "You'd leave Pride for me and Lilly–"

"That is not a hard ask," Caesar insisted, "I'll consider it a vacation."

Marigold smiled, "Thank you guys, Lilly will be so happy to be home again. And..." Marigold sighed, wiping her brow, "I'll give myself a month to solve things."

"A month?" Cinder said, "Is that really enough time?"

"Who knows!" Marigold threw her arms up. "But I can't keep just...lagging behind. More innocent people will get hurt the longer I take. We have to move quickly."

In the morning, everyone prepared for their departure. Marigold packed herself food and water for her quest to undo her spell, Nashi helped pack the Pollen's truck as they prepared for their long drive back to Magnolia.

However, Nashi noticed that Gideon was hovering just a bit, he seemed lost in thought. "Babe," she whispered, "what's up, you look a tad bit brain dead?"

Gideon hesitated, but then he whispered, "I can't go back with you."

"Huh?"

"I need to do something."

He turned to Liddan, and he grabbed him by the shoulders and said, "Liddan–we never got to have a bachelor party for my wedding–so let's go on a trip."

Liddan looked down at his limp and bandaged arm. "What?"

"We're goin' on a trip–we're goin' on vacation! You and me!"

Malcon shot his arm up, "I can come right?"

"You, me, and Malcon!" Gideon wrapped his arm around Liddan, "You've been living at your depressing parents house and I won't stand for it any longer. Please say you'll come."

Liddan let out a long groan, then finally, "Okay..."

"It's happening!" Gideon kissed his wife goodbye, and then loaded up their mobile to head onto their "boy's trip".

"No strip clubs, honey," Nashi said, "not because I'm jealous but because those establishments are disrespectful to women."

"Got it–" Gideon said, throwing a thumbs up.

Marigold looked at Liddan with a lingering gaze as he was corralled by Gideon. She stayed by her truck, not getting in as she hoped maybe Liddan would give some indication that he wanted to talk to her. However, he just turned away, and that was Marigold's answer.

She sighed and moved toward Lilly to give her a hug and kiss goodbye. "I'll call you on the lacrima every moment I can. I'll be home in no time."

"Promise?"

Marigold nodded, kissing her on the forehead.

She moved back toward the bed of her own truck and pulled out a burlap sack that had been laying there for some time.

Sliding into the front seat, she put the bag down in the passenger seat. She started the truck, then began to drive away from the house.

By the time she was past the front gate, she yanked the bottom of the bag up, revealing what was inside.

It was the head of Red, he began to cough. "Did you have a cleaner bag?"

"Here's a question," Marigold said, "how are you coughing when you don't have lungs?"

"Fair point," Red fell silent, "where are we going?"

"I thought you had all the answers, Marigold stopped the truck and pulled the seatbelt over Red, awkwardly strapping him in so he wouldn't roll around aimlessly on the seat. "If you want to get a body back, then you better lead me to that god."

"Alright," he sighed, "head east. We have a long journey ahead of us."

"That much is true," Marigold sighed, looking back to the distant home she'd left behind. She thought of Lilly and tried to say that sending her back to Magnolia was the kindest thing to do. "One month, and then I'm home."