It's Monday! This week, another flashback. Kid Lyon and Kid Ultear on the night of the Purging. We'll see lots of familiar faces. Keep in mind that ages will differ from canon. (We're in Lyon's PoV this week, so Eira refers to actual Eira... which means that she's little Ultear.)

guest: Get ready, lots more of those to come! (I'm a total troll in that respect. XD) Thanks for leaving some love! :)

Lily-ana: Sí! Gray y Ultear nunca se conocieron. Gray se unió a Ur y Lyon después de 'The Purging.' Es por eso que Lyon está más preocupado por encontrar a Ultear. Gracias por tu correo! :)

- K. Chandler

Lyon watched as the adults talked. He was proud that Master Ur had decided to take him to this year's conference. He only understood half of what they were talking about, though, and he had given up on following along. Instead, he let his eyes wander the conference room.

Every seat at the long table was filled with Guild Masters and their successors in training. Ichiya Vandalay and his successor Hibiki. Gildarts Clive sat across from them. Old man Makarov Dreyar had his teenage grandson, Laxus, at his side. They were flanked by Hiram Yajima and the eccentric Goldmine.

Next to them, Rob Anderson had brought a little girl with brilliant red hair. She seemed too young to be here, fidgeting in her seat. She couldn't have been much older than Eira, who was sitting in the seat next to him.

Lyon felt a little bad for both of them. Eira kicked her short legs back and forth in a rhythmic motion, too bored to sit still.

"Wanna play 'I Spy'?" he whispered to her.

Eira grinned, nodding eagerly.

Lyon looked around the room, his eyes landing on the crest of Fiore, a flaming orange bird on a green banner, that hung high above on the wall opposite them. She'd never guess that.

"Okay. I spy something orange," he said.

Eira was quiet for a moment, looking around the room with wide eyes. "The oranges on the table?" she asked suddenly.

"Try again," said Lyon shaking his head.

Another long pause before she answered. "That girl's hair."

"No, stupid! That's red. And it's rude to point."

"Sorry…"

"Try again."

"What about—"

Muffled shouts came from the hallway. Lyon couldn't hear what they were saying, but the voices sounded angry. Then there was a loud bang. Then another. And another.

"What's going on?" demanded old man Makarov.

From behind him, Lyon heard an explosion, the concussive force sweeping past as the windows shattered. Shards of glass flew, slicing across the side of his face.

The room exploded into chaos. The crush of bodies jostled him as the panicked wizards leapt from their chairs and scattered. Lyon was separated from Master and Eira.

Lyon turned to look, catching a glimpse of the flaming bottle that came hurtling into the room. He could smell the stench of gasoline as it splattered across the floor. Flames blossomed from the broken bottle, catching on the gas and rising into a conflagration as it caught on the drapes. The air filled with a thick, dark smoke that made his eyes water.

The door to the conference room burst open as men and women with guns forced their way into the room.

"Power to the people!" one of the men shouted.

"Down with magic! No more elitism!"

"Die, you filthy wizards!"

Lyon could see the bodies of the security guards out in the hallway, lying in growing pools of blood. They were dead. His stomach turned.

They were all going to die.

"Master? Eira?" Lyon looked around frantically, his heart hammering in his chest. He couldn't tell who was who. He needed to get out of there.

There were screams and shouts and as the gunfire continued. The air was heavy with the stench of death.

On his hands and knees, Lyon picked his way across the debris, keeping to the edge of the wall, trying not to be seen. The hot, thick air burned in his chest, but he forced himself to keep going. Master was fine. Eira was fine. He needed to get out of here. He needed to find them.

He managed to crawl his way out into the hallway. The air was clearer here, and he filled his starved lungs. He tried not to look at the bloated corpses of the guards, eyes rolled up in the back of their heads.

Lyon heard more gunfire and another scream… a woman's. That wasn't Master. That wasn't Eira. They were okay. They were too smart to get killed like that. He just had to find them.

A figure staggered through the smoke. No, two of them.

"Eira!" gasped Lyon. For that's who it was. A boy, about his age, was steering her by the shoulders. He had a bleeding cut across his left eye.

"Yours?" the boy asked.

Lyon nodded. "Thanks for getting her out of there. Where's your mom?" he asked Eira, crouching down to get on eye-level with her.

Eira's eyes were wide and terrified as she shook her head. "There were too many people," she said.

"We've got to go back and look for her," said Lyon.

"Are you crazy?" asked the other boy. "I got her, but I couldn't get to anyone else. And I had to pull her out from under a—" he cut himself off, shaking his head. "It's a slaughterhouse in there."

Lyon winced.

"We can't leave her behind," whimpered Eira.

"I know," said Lyon. "But we won't be able to find her in there. She's smart and we are too. We have a better chance outside. Right?" he asked, turning to the other boy.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm Lyon. And this is Eira."

"Jellal," he said, extending a hand for him to shake.

"We've got to get out of here," said Lyon. "I remember how we got in. Follow me."

Lyon lead them down the hallway, away from the conference room. The stench of death permeated the halls. There were fires at every turn.

"How much further?" asked Eira.

"Two more rights and we'll be out," said Lyon, as they approached a door. "You getting tired?"

Eira nodded.

"Already?" complained Lyon. He sighed, shaking his head. Taking a deep breath, he hoisted the girl up in his arms. "Fine. I'll carry you, but just for a little bit, okay?"

It was slower progress with Eira in his arms. He had thought she was a tiny pint of a girl, but she was heavier than he had thought she'd be.

When they rounded the corner, they were greeted by a hallway littered with more broken glass and flame.

Lyon swore. There was no getting through this hallway.

"I know another way," said Jellal.

"What do you mean?" asked Lyon.

"I'm an apprentice guard," said Jellal. "I know this building pretty well. I can take you out the back. I still have to set off the signal flare, but I can take you most of the way."

Lyon was reluctant to let Jellal lead, but there was no other choice. He just had to trust that the other boy could get them to safety.

Every twist and turn was disorientating as he followed Jellal deeper into the burning building. Finally, Jellal said that they were getting closer.

"Just out this door," said Jellal.

"We made it?" asked Eira.

"We're home free," said Lyon.

"Gotcha, you little brats!"

Lyon felt a big hand snag the back of his collar. He let Eira slide to the ground as he whirled around to face his attacker. He bucked, slamming his feet into the man's meaty gut.

"Back off, you old geezer," hissed Lyon.

"You little demon!" growled the man. "You're all the same. All o' ya."

"We're just a bunch of kids," protested Jellal.

"What happens when kids grow up? Magical kids become wizards. And wizards become dangerous," he snarled.

"Take Eira and get out of here," muttered Jellal.

"What?"

Jellal stepped in front of them protectively. "Hurry up. Go!"

"What, are you stupid?! We can't leave you here!"

"We were going to have to split up here anyways," said Jellal. "I still need to set off the flare."

Lyon frowned. They wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for Jellal. It didn't feel right to leave him behind.

"I'm an apprentice guard. This is what I'm meant to do," insisted Jellal. He reached for his waist, drawing a sword that Lyon hadn't noticed earlier. "I've trained for this kind of thing. Now, quit wasting time."

"We owe you one," said Lyon. "Thank you."

"Go!"

Lyon ushered Eira towards the door that would lead to safety. He glanced over his shoulder as he prepared to head down the final hallway.

He could see Jellal locked in battle with the man. He seemed to be holding his own, despite his age and shorter stature.

Lyon felt Eira grab at his hand, tugging at it insistently. As much as he didn't want to leave their new ally behind, there wasn't much other choice.

"Lyon?" whimpered Eira. "Is he…"

"I'm sure he's fine," lied Lyon. He needed to get Eira out of here.

"Really?" asked Eira.

Lyon swallowed hard, taking another look at their courageous friend. His stomach churned at the idea of leaving Jellal behind. He hated being such a coward. But Lyon knew that there was nothing he could do for him. Jellal had risked his life for theirs. His sacrifice would have been wasted if they turned back now.

"Don't look back," he told Eira as he pulled her along. "Come on. Keep running."

Wait. That can't be the end. This doesn't line up with what Ultear (Eira) remembered... There's got to be more to this.

Okay, fine. We'll keep going for one more chapter. Let's try this again.

Next time, in Journey to the Past, we'll find out what happened between Ultear and Lyon. For real, this time.

Stop back next Monday for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.