The walk through the Phantom guild hall wasn't as eventful as I would have hoped. Mira, Elfman and I had run into Gray after he had defeated the Rain Woman, Juvia and now he was running along with us. Just before we had run into him, Mira and Elfman had informed me of the rune that was being formed by the walking guild hall and how it would destroy all of Magnolia if it were to go off. Needless to say, I was a bit concerned about that. My home and everything I worked for would be gone and I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle that.

Thankfully we had discovered that each time a member of the Elite Four were defeated, the giant's movement's slowed. It was becoming increasingly more clear after Gray defeated Juvia. As far as we knew, at least two of the Elite Four had been defeated, Sol and Juvia. As for Aria and Totomaru, we weren't quite sure. Someone had to have been guarding the Jupiter cannon and since that was taken down, we could only assume there was only one member left. My best guess was Aria was the only member left we had to worry about, the one who had apparently defeated Master Makarov.

The four of us were currently running into a rather large room only to find it torn to pieces. "What happened here?" Mira questioned, gaze moving around the room.

I held my index finger up, pointing towards the middle of the room where Aria of the Heavens lay passed out. "Someone took Aria out."

"Erza!" Gray shouted right after I finished speaking, running off to the edge of the room where, in fact, Erza sat up against the wall, covered in bruises and dry blood. "What happened?" He questioned as the rest of us caught up with him.

The redhead chuckled lightly. "I couldn't let you guys take the Elite Four on your own. I had to make sure you were okay."

I closed my eyes, heaving a sigh. Even in her worst state, Erza still managed to impress me. Her strength measured up to no other and I was dreaming if I ever thought I would come even close to surpassing her. It certainly wasn't a goal I had in mind any time soon. "Here, let me heal your flesh wounds." I knelt down beside her and brought my hands together to form a lay of water on each of my palms. My hands hovered over each part of her form until the open wounds began to close. "That should hold you over till we get you back to the guild."

Erza sent me a soft smile. "Thank you, I'm glad you're here Cece." That comment took me by surprise. Why did she want me here? I would only just get in her way, right? My expression must have reflected my thoughts because she continued. "I always knew you really did care for the guild whether you wanted to admit it or not."

My mouth gaped open, unsure of what to say. For a moment, my defenses were lowered and my stiff structure crumbled. I didn't want to say she was right because deep down I knew she was speaking true words. Not that it mattered if she were right or not, it didn't change my goals in the end. The second I had the chance I would be leaving the guild and returning to Sabertooth to be with my brother. The people in Fairy Tail weren't my family and I couldn't allow myself to care about them. Even if part of me really wanted to.

Before any of us could speak again, another voice carried itself through the room. "It seems that there are more fairies here than the last time I checked." I moved my gaze away from Erza and looked to the stairway in the middle of the room as Jose made his presence known. A dark energy loomed around him causing my body to stiffen. Did he plan on killing us? That energy made a chill go down my spine, but I did my best not to let the fear I felt show. "Makes it all the easier to take you all out in one go."

"Jose!" Mira exclaimed, sending a dark glare towards the Master of Phantom Lord. "This war needs to end. Please stop your demons and call your guild off, we don't need to keep fighting!"

A low laugh came from his lips. "You fairies chose this path. It's no fault of mine, I was simply doing my job." His mouth curled into a snarl, his dark aura engulfing the room. The dark air was heavy and it was clear that each of us was struggling to breath. "But now you've destroyed my Jupiter Cannon, defeated my Elemental Four and torn my guild hall apart. For that.. You'll pay the ultimate price." He held a hand out, his demons beginning to form around his palm.

Mira's eyes widened. "He's going to kill us.." She muttered, looking back at us as we all stood, ready to fight. "Please be careful, all of you! One wrong move and-" Before she could finish her statement, a purple force pushed her back, slamming her against a wall. Blood began to drip down her forehead and down her chin as she struggled to open her mouth.

"Mirajane!" Elfman shouted, clearly worried deeply for his older sister, but his anger took over all other emotions. He turned his attention towards Jose. "You'll pay for that! Beast Arm: Iron Bull!" His arm morphed into that of a metal animal before he charged towards the Phantom Guild Master.

"W-Wait, Elfman!" I called out to him, but my words didn't reach him as he tried to make contact with Jose. Before he could even attempt to touch him, Jose's demons pushed our guildmate back and against the floor, quickly knocking him out with no effort. I was stunned. "You gotta be kidding me.." Before I could even turn my attention back to the threat at hand, Gray had been thrown back as well. "Gray!" I whipped my head around, knowing full well I could heal each of them so that their wounds wouldn't be life threatening, but there was no way Jose would let me do it.

I looked to the side to see Erza getting to her feet, equipping her Black Wing Armor. "I cannot allow you to hurt any more of my family. This ends now Jose." She gripped her sword tightly and charged at Jose. The way the two fought was equal, they both were acknowledging how strong the other was but neither were going to give in.

My eyes were wide with astonishment. Even though Erza had been through hell multiple times today, she still had the energy to fight. It was that same feeling I got when I saw Natsu fight Gajeel. Erza was fighting for something other than to show her strength. Whatever it was, it was giving her the stamina to keep going. If only I could figure out just what they were fighting for, maybe I could use it to become stronger too.

As the fight raged on, it was clear that Erza was becoming tired. Not that I blamed her. She had done more than enough fighting for the day. Despite the haze that was bearing down on me, I knew I had to help her. I slowly moved my feet so that I was away from Jose's line of sight before taking in a deep breath. "Water Dragon.. Roar!" I exclaimed, the tornado of water exploding from my mouth and towards Jose. Much to my dismay, before my attack could land, the water diverted away from the Phantom Master and connected with the wall instead. "Wh-What?"

"Funny, I had forgotten you were here." Jose let out a low chuckle, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. "And now you want to join in? I don't remember asking you to." He held a hand out towards me and his dark aura shot out, surrounding me. I tried to take in a breath, but the air around me had become too thick. As the aura surrounded my form, I felt my feet leave the ground. My mouth opened to let out a cry, but no sound came out. I couldn't get any air into my lungs to let the words come free. "You should know your place by now Water Dragon."

As I struggled to breath, Erza noticed my pain and lunged for Jose once more. However, with her strength low, she wasn't able to land a single blow. This was something that Jose quickly took advantage of. Similar to what he was doing to me, he surrounded Erza with his magic and lifted her into the air.

As he began to talk, I struggled to hear what he was saying, I was too focused on my need for air. Black dots began to cloud my vision and I felt my mind begin to slip from reality. I had failed again. No.. We had failed. There was nothing that could've prepared us all for the power that Jose possessed. After our own master had fallen, we should've known right then and there we were out of our league. The rest of the guild was fighting for their lives on the beach while we were doing the same in front of Jose himself. He had taken on our whole guild. And he was winning.

My mind flashed to Phillip. My best friend who I had left behind so I could show of my nonexistent strength. Now he was on the beach, probably scared and wondering where I was. I was a horrible friend. And I wasn't even going to make it back to see him again. After all this effort, I still couldn't protect him.

After all this effort, I still wouldn't be able to see Rogue again.

My thoughts drifted into silence as my vision went completely black. I couldn't hang on any longer. The darkness was pulling me further and further in.. until a bright light engulfed me. I couldn't place it, but the light was warm, almost like a hug. What was this?

My eyes began to flutter open and I found myself on the ground, my lungs able to feel the air around me. I was alive? I glanced to the side to see that Jose was no longer standing before us. His back was on the ground just like the rest of us. In front of him stood Master Makarov, alive and well. That light, had that been Fairy Law? He had saved us all from the edge of death.

A small smile crossed my lips as I let my eyes close once more. We were all going to be okay.

We all returned to the guild, tired, but happy. Despite everything that happened, everyone was still able to smile. The atmosphere hadn't changed around Fairy Tail. It was still a big family. And even if I didn't want to connect with these people, a part of me was glad to be a part of something this loving.

"Cece!" A small voice called out to me and when I turned my head to see who was calling me, I saw Phillip flying towards me. "I was so worried about you! Why did you leave me here without you? You owe me big, you know that?" As he scolded me, the mint cat flew into my arms and cried against my shirt. I ran my hand over his head as he cried, not caring that he was messing up my shirt. He had every right to be angry with me. I had left him in a fit of rage and I knew I wouldn't be doing that again anytime soon.

"I won't do it again, I promise." I spoke to him calming so he could know I was really okay. "And when we get home, I'll make you a big dinner then we'll do whatever you want. Just you and me."

Phillip let out a big sob. "You better!"

"You should've seen the tough guy," another voice entered the conversation and when I looked over, I saw Hayden walking towards us. "He was doing his best to fight back just like the rest of us."

I glanced down at the little cat. "Really now? Big tough guy now, huh? Maybe you should be the one rushing into big fights next time."

"Only if you're there with me." He muttered, glaring up at me. "Unlike you, I'll actually take you with me."

A chuckle escaped my lips at the sight of his glare. It was the least intimidating thing I had seen all day. "Okay, okay I get it. No need to be so dramatic."

"Now princess.." I gritted my teeth at the nickname as Hayden spoke. "Think I can join in on your night of fun? You had me pretty scared too."

I rolled my eyes. "No. It's just me and Phillip tonight." I glared over at him. "And don't think today changes anything. Phillip is still all I need."

Hayden let out a groan, however, before he could speak, Phillip patted my arm. "Cece? Maybe we can let him come just this once. He was actually a really big help while you were gone. Whenever I did something stupid, not that I would ever do that," he added quickly with a mutter. "He was there to help me out. Even if you won't invite him. I think I want him to come."

It took me a moment to register everything that Phillip had said. Despite everything I had said and done over the last couple of days, Hayden was still here, trying to support me. Deep down I knew the rest of the guild would do the same in a heartbeat, but Hayden was the only one who was able to breach that wall I had so carefully put together. He was the only person that I've allowed to get this close. I heaved a sigh. "Fine. But you're paying for dinner." I directed my comment towards Hayden who simply nodded with a smile.

"Sounds good to me!" He reached over and threw his arm around my shoulder only to have me kick the back of his knee to make him crumble to the ground. "Alright, alright. Too close I see."

"Stay at least six feet away from me at all times."

"Sounds a little obnoxious but I can live with that."