Mystogan used his Wind Walk staff to carry us to the ruins of our hometown from our previous location.
Natsu, Wendy, Lucy, Happy, Carla, Gajeel and Cubellios are all here, but rather confused.
I passed the information on the Mystogan that we weren't alone, not completely. Just knowing that made the ice in my chest loosen a little into something more comfortable.
Mira, Gray, Erza, Simon, Jellal, Master and everyone else is still gone. But we're not alone. I'm not alone.
"The Dragon Slayers and the Exceed I expected to be here still, but Lucy?" We landed where the guild hall had been and saw Lucy's clock-like spirit, Horologium. As we approached, Lucy climbed out of the Silver Spirit's protective compartment.
Celestial magic is kinda broken. Noted.
"What the heck just happened?" She demanded, eyes wide and hand near her keys and whip. "We were just coming back from a job to turn in guild dues and then suddenly everything goes dark and the town-!"
"It's a phenomenon called an Anima. I'll explain more when we're all gathered together. Fae, can you locate the others?" Cubellios was already gliding through the air, scales half lifted in agitation,
:hatchling, the den and your friends have disappeared! Something has stolen all Life from the area along with its magic: I hugged the big snake tightly, relieved that she was here. She shifted her mass down to about 7 feet long and draped herself protectively around my shoulders, her head cocked and ready to strike at any threats.
:My teacher knows what has happened. We will go and rescue them:
I didn't know why she was still here, but I was glad that she was.
Her cursed state overwhelms her human magic.
So basically a magnet tried to attract some gold when the Anima swept over her.
I centered my focus and control, ignoring the magical item I was wearing in favor of what I needed.
The Patronus Charm could be used to send messages and to guide people to specific locations. So that was what I would be using.
I do wonder what my patronus is...
I had considered the idea of simply copying another patronus, but decided against it. My magic had settled into one circle, and it would settle into one Patronus as well.
I thought of all the happy times that I had had...how running with Mystogan had been before things went wrong. About sky diving with Wendy. About the secure coolness of Cubellios coiled around my shoulders.
I am not alone.
And I never will be.
"Expecto Patronum"
A trio of silvery owls flew from the circle over my hand. Barn owls with heart shaped faces and a hint of gold mottling their wing feathers. Mine. It felt good to think that. I may have been borrowing the spell, but this shape and what it meant was mine.
"Meet by the guild hall for a plan. Fae, Lucy and Mystogan safe." I instructed, thinking hard of the three dragon Slayers that they would be going to... Happy and Carla wouldn't stray far from their partners' sides so the message would get to everyone.
"New spell?" Mystogan asked with a forced casualness. He was extremely stressed out, but trying to keep a level head by focusing on something close at hand.
"New application of an old one." I clarified. "They're semi-sentient constructs with an aura that protects against fear and mind-altering effects, but because they are corporealized memories, they can also carry brief messages to people who feature in your memories." I heard G2 give a status update in a mechanical tone. "One found Natsu. He and Happy are on their way."
-vVv-
Keeping everyone calm and focused while the Slayers and Exceed gathered was hard, but not as hard as I would have thought. Gajeel and Natsu were actually the most at ease.
"The short version: Fairy Tail and everything containing even a scrap of magic in this area has been pulled through to another dimension. This kingdom has been stealing magic from Earthland for years. But only now has it tried to take thousands of lives along with it. Fairy Tail is now officially at war." The older wizards were standing straighter, ready for battle. Even Lucy wasn't showing that much stress. She's gotten so tough...only a few months ago she'd have been at the very least uneasy about the idea. Fairy Tail has been just as good for her as it has been for me.
"So when are we going to wreck this place?" Gajeel growled, the deeper rumble of a clearly very angry dragon echoing in his voice.
He might not have settled fully into the idea of being a part of Fairy Tail but it was his place in the world now. And he didn't appreciate someone taking it away. That and I could imagine violence wasn't something he ever shied away from.
"As soon as we get enough information to know what to start destroying without killing our guildmates."
"Can we get everyone back?" Natsu asked, leaning forward, dark eyes intent and sharp.
"Yes. Dragon Slayer magic in particular is destructive enough to undo the transformation process of the Anima. It's why you three were left behind while everything else was taken. They are currently in stasis inside the lacrima their magic was forced to convert into while passing through the gate. A solid hit from any Dragon Slayer will reverse the Anima's process. They'll be drained of all their magic except what they need to stay alive, but they'll be alright. Actually..." Mystogan pulled a small bottle out from under his cloak. "You'll all need to take these. It's a small amount of safely processed ethernano. It'll give you something to work with and stimulate your core into producing more. There is no ambient magic to recharge where we're going." The Slayers will have it best then. I mused, watching the older wizards and Wendy take the pills. They can consume their elements to recharge.
"So what are we waiting for?" Happy asked, wings popping out, ears swiveling. "I can hear the gap in the air."
"As can I." Carla affirmed. "I presume, as it has been several years since you were there, Mystogan, that you don't know the details of how to rescue the guild?"
"You are correct. However, I know the layout of the palace, or the way it was before. I have one ally inside the palace I can trust to help us."
Pantherlily the Exile.
Wasn't that...My eyes drifted to the Iron Dragon Slayer who was downing three of the tiny pills Mystogan had given us all. Yeah, that was the cat Gajeel described...
Fairy Tail is getting one new member.
Saw that coming...
Mystogan handed me the bottle of pills, standing straight.
"Fae's magic is our best bet to be informed about what we'll be doing. Pass through, get acclimated to how your magic feels, and stay low. Fae and I will follow soon, wait for us and work together. Happy, Carla, stay close to Natsu and Wendy."
"Aye sir!"
"Naturally."
"I don't have any way of getting up there..." Lucy said, squinting at the sky. Natsu paused before Happy picked him up.
He glanced at Gajeel who was also looking at Lucy with an evil looking smirk.
What are they thinking...?
Yeet.
...What?
"Don't worry, Lucy, we got a way. Mystogan said to work together so we'll get you there together. Hey, Wendy!" The Sky Dragon Slayer and her partner were already approaching the almost invisible rift in the air. "Trace the gate for us!" The pair sketched a rough circle in the air. Meanwhile, Gajeel grabbed Lucy by the hips and lifted her easily, although she squawked and kicked briefly.
"Up you get Luce!" Natsu said, moving behind them. "Good thing you wore your boots today, otherwise your toes would get really toasty!"
"Stop squirming, bunny and straighten out. You'll throw off your trajectory."
"I DO NOT AGREE TO THIS WHATSOEVER! PUT ME DOWN!"
"Hey, it'll get you there! Clear the way!"
Mystogan and I merely looked at each other for a moment. I could almost imagine the silent words passing between us.
Should we try and stop them?
Probably. But will it work?
I considered this and consulted G2.
Lucy has a 93% chance of making it safely to Edolas on the first throw and a 99.87% chance of making it the second throw. The odds of her being seriously hurt by this venture, less than .05%.
Eh. Good enough.
I nodded and Mystogan sighed, straightening.
"Lucy, this is probably the best way to get you there. Kill them once we're no longer in a war situation."
"Mystogan!" She sounded betrayed. "You were supposed to be the sane one of this bunch...!"
"I am sane. But I'm still Fairy Tail."
"Fire Dragon: Rocket!" Natsu's circle appeared under Lucy's feet at the same time as Gajeel threw her like a screaming javelin at the Anima. The spell Natsu had used fueled her flight like an arrow, straight at the portal and-
Lucy disappeared into seemingly thin air and her scream of rage and panic abruptly cut out.
"Hey, it worked!" He looked at Gajeel with a grin that could only be described as playfully malicious. "You next Rustbucket."
"Touch me and your hands get cut off." Gajeel showed his teeth in an answering snarl. "Go catch your bunny, Salamander. I can get there without you."
Happy, worried for Lucy, didn't give Natsu the chance to argue. He simply grabbed him and booked it for the Anima, wings glowing brightly as he poured on extra speed. It seemed he was worried about the blond Celestial Spirit mage.
"See you on the other side." Gajeel took several steps back, sharp eyes gauging the distance and height of his jump.
He's just gonna jump?
:Does the iron wyrm require wings?: Cubellios hissed.
:I don't think so:
I would have looked at what he was planning, but Mystogan was kneeling before me, eyes incredibly serious.
"Fae: I'm not going to ask you to stay here-"
"Good."
"-but you have to promise me something. Edolas being without any magic will be more dangerous to you than others. You have to keep your reserves high, at all costs. I don't care how many pills you have to take: Your magic never goes below 50% capacity, understand?"
"Yeah, but why is that-?" He tapped the side of my head, the side where the lacrima had been- Oh...The lacrima.
The lacrima that had been placed in a very vital part of my body from near infancy on. I had almost certainly grown dependant on it being there, and without ambient magic to refuel it and keep it active, several things might happen: it could either shrink as it compromised its crystalline structure, leaving behind a massive hole, convert into liquid Etherion resulting in glowing gunk possibly dripping out of my ears and, more worryingly, mixing into my bloodstream, explode-
I don't need to know all the ways it could go wrong. I just need to never let it get that far. Thanks.
G2 had been providing vivid mental images of each scenario.
"I don't know what could happen because of that. But promise me you'll be careful. No open confrontation, no pitched battles, keep it stealthy as much as you possibly can." I swallowed hard and nodded.
"I promise." I managed a smile and tapped my still shiny, new headband. "I'm a ninja, remember? They'll never see me, and Cubellios can help keep me safe."
Her body is reliant on the curse, so she will be operating at full capacity.
"A ninja-wizard fairy?"
"And a Jedi like my father before me! Well...probably not that, but it still sounds cool."
"...You'll have to tell me what a Jedi is someday. It sounds like quite a story." I hugged Mystogan tightly, feeling him pat my head as he held me close.
"It is."
"Could you send a message to the Rune Knights to let them know what happened? I don't want any trouble when we come back from this for the whole city temporarily disappearing." Fair point, and not something most people would be thinking about. I think Mystogan also wanted me to use magic here where it would refill naturally.
"Would Cubellios mind giving us a lift?" I hissed the question to my passenger and she obliged, rolling off my shoulders and rapidly growing to more than twenty feet in length and her wings emerging easily, more than large enough to give us a ride.
How did Gajeel get up there?
Improvised pole vaulting.
I am really sorry I missed seeing that.
G2 then showed me the memory which I hastily filed away for future perusal.
As we flew up, I used my syllabary to tie my kinetic energy recycle rune to both my bracers. Mystogan had brought up a fair point about my potentially running out of magic having fatal consequences in this new world we were visiting.
"Hold your breath." Was all the warning I received before we passed through something cold and dark. A chill that stabbed right through all my clothes, all the warmth my body carried with me.
Then we emerged into a pale green sky and my breath was taken away.
Edolas was not like Earthland. The colors were the tiniest bit off, and gravity felt altered. There were islands of dirt and rock, even an entire mountain in the distance, just floating in midair. There was a river flowing down below...seemingly in midair, going through some twists that would never have been possible in Earthland. It even looked like it was flowing uphill in some spots.
This is...This is amazing.
I lived in a world of magic, and it was still amazing to see massive planets in the sky, close enough to see some of the topography.
They may be losing magic...but these people still live in an incredible world.
I felt Mystogan take a soft breath as he looked around at the foreign flora and fauna...That wasn't foreign to him at all.
"Welcome home." I murmured, holding onto him as Cubellios kept on flying, casting about for the scent trail of our friends. His arm tightened around me.
"This hasn't been home for a long time, Fae."
Fairy Tail is home. Is what he wasn't saying.
:Can you smell where the others are?: I asked the violet serpent as we cut through the air easily.
:Yes, though the different scents of this place are...unsettling:
"I see them. Down and to the right." They had taken shelter on a low floating island with plenty of foliage. A small blue figure was tucked into the twisted boughs of a tree and she waved at us as she spotted us.
Wendy. I waved back as Cubellios began her descent.
"Fae, my information is outdated, and I don't know how much Carla knows from this place. Or if she knows anything at all. Our friends should have been drawn through and processed into lacrima in or near the royal city."
"A map would help. Something that could feasibly show that kind of information. Everything around here isn't telling me anything useful." G2 was processing tiny bits of information about my immediate surroundings. The names of plants, the composition of the soil, a lot of information about my friends.
"I haven't tried to call any spirits yet, but Pyxis could guide us towards Fairy Tail." Lucy volunteered.
"It might be better to simply focus on lacrima." Mystogan advised. "Edolas is Earthland's parallel. It has its own Fairy Tail."
"Cool..." Wendy breathed, eyes wide and shining. "Maybe they could help us!"
"We'd need to find them first, and I don't know how much time we'll have before they start tapping their latest harvest. Once they start that, we're guaranteed to be missing friends."
A loud growl of anger sounded, I barely jumped but then-
It's Natsu.
Looking at the Fire Dragon Slayer, I bit back a snicker. He was sporting a fat lip and an impassive Gajeel was straightening the piercings in his nose and had some blood on his face.
Lucy was not impressed when she caught them. Gajeel is impressed with her punching skills.
She learns well from Erza. Both technique and timing.
I shook off my amusement, knowing the two of them would recover in short order and focused on thinking about Fairy Tail. My Fairy Tail.
Makarov is dead/in stasis.
Simon is an army conscript/in stasis.
Erza is meeting with King Faust/in stasis.
Jellal is standing next to you/in stasis.
The conflicting messages started to tumble through my head like an avalanche of information I couldn't hold back.
"Fae?" Mystogan's voice brought me out of my trance.
"Definitely need something concrete to focus on." I reported, rubbing my head fiercely. "Just trying to read the general information on everyone made it go nuts. It's like they're in two places at once doing different things."
"That...is a possibility. Earthland's ties with Edolas run along many of the same channels. Just like I mirror Jellal Fernandes, each of you would have your own counterpart here."
"Well, I can help with that." Carla said stiffly. "I remember the way to the human royal city. The Exceed nation of Extalia is just above it. And if we don't know how much time we have, we had best get moving quickly."
Hands rested on my head and in a pulse of coolness, the pain of my attempted reading was washed away. I gave Wendy a grateful smile.
"Thanks."
"No problem." Her eyes flashed with resolve. "Let's go get our friends."
"You're not gonna heal Natsu so he can talk?"
"Nah, it's better like this!" Happy said with a snicker, floating alongside our group. Natsu growled a complaint as his friend.
His jaw is broken.
Wow. Lucy was pissed at him. Broken jaw for him but just a bloody nose for Gajeel?
She believes he looked up her skirt when he and Gajeel threw her.
...I'm going to regret asking, but... Is she right?
G2 said nothing, but I heard a distinct giggle coming from the NaLu ship in the corner.
Between Carla's navigation and Happy's help in correcting our course, we made decent enough time on our way. I was monitoring my magic levels, seeing how it interacted with this world. I had consciously closed most of my flow points, places on my body where I automatically would emit magic to be refreshed by whatever was in the air. There was none of that here, and it would be a waste to leave it alone. Not much of one, but a waste nonetheless and since we were in an officially declared war, it couldn't hurt to be cautious.
Is it official when one side thinks they've won? Can it even be official? I don't think so.
I still tried intermittently to read more information, but there wasn't much to see that wouldn't threaten a headache.
No cheating for me about the people. Not the ones I know at least. What about the situation?
G2 began to quietly recount the present situation in the Royal City, arrogantly named Faustian.
Magic has become an extremely scarce resource in this world of late due to Mystogan choking off their access to Earthland. Faust has been dealing with civil unrest from his citizens and several wizard guilds who have refused to stop dealing with people who need help. Fairy Tail is the largest among them. They are the most wanted criminals in the country.
Oh crap that's important.
"Wait!" I stopped, making everyone look at me. "Fairy Tail is considered a Dark Guild here. If you go around with your marks visible, we'll get trouble following us and a lot of attention."
"While normally I would be all for stealth, Fae," Mystogan said with a dry tone. "Here, we are at war with Faust and everything he stands for. That means being public and open about our objections." I saw grins on the boys faces at the prospect of causing trouble, and worried frowns on the girls.
"So we're just gonna go in guns blazing? I'm all fired up already!"
"Not quite. We're going to go get a grasp of the situation, gather some information. The best way to do that is Fae's magic which means we need to get her as close as possible. That part we need to be subtle about. Then once she's clear, we can raise Fairy Tail, and hell along with it."
You know, I don't think that's the usual attitude to see about someone essentially planning to depose the local king.
It only took us making it to the city itself for me to be able to reach the information we needed.
It wasn't quite as easy as it would have been back home. Some of the things I was digging for took effort. These secrets were ones that had blood on them in order to hide them. Still...
-vVv-
"The last ten years have been extremely focused on war and fighting. Faust has led Edo-Fiore in an all out conquest against the rest of the world to seize whatever magic power was left once the Anima stopped being reliable. The country has been well off, but many are tired of fighting. And of being divided against the wizards, which is what people who use magic items are called here. The Anima is considered a miracle by the common people...Magic power they don't have to fight or die for. In this case their Fairy Tail powered lacrima would be enough for them to live high for a year. Conservatively, it could last them for four. They're still preparing the tools necessary for harvest. They begin extraction in two days, four hours and forty three minutes. That's our timeline."
-vVv-
Entering the city quietly was something best left to Mystogan, Gajeel and I. Natsu, Wendy and Lucy had their own assignment. Happy and Carla went with their respective partners. Cubellios was shrunk as small as she could and hidden under Mystogan's cloak.
"Normally splitting the party is considered a really bad idea, you know..." I told Mystogan as we made our way through.
"We need to get inside that palace so I can make contact with my friend. That requires being in the city." Gajeel had split off from us. Since he had a nose for trouble, he would no doubt find some way to raise hell and cause enough of a distraction for Mystogan and I to do our thing. Whether it be by doing his own thing, or by inciting a riot, I didn't know.
"So which are we trying to do? Sneak in or get him to come out here?"
"As ironic as it sounds, sneaking in is probably our best bet. We'll take a walk around the main palace, hold my hand. Double check what I know against what you feel. Faust is extremely paranoid, so there were once several routes in and out of the palace."
There still are, but some have fallen into disrepair as he got arrogant.
Now that was useful information!
"We might just have a way in."
"Excellent."
-vVv-
"Fairy Tail has gone underground as much as it possibly can for their own safety. But since they still are dedicated to doing as much good as they can in their own way, they have ways planted all over the country for people to get ahold of them if they need help. And they have some members drifting through towns scouting for work. I can't get a solid location on their guild hall, so it's either a really well kept secret, or it's somehow mobile and doesn't stay in any one place long enough for it to have a history there. The first major thing to know is that Makarov's counterpart is dead here. Several of their members are. I can't get a finger on who killed them. But they'll probably be very cautious about giving us support for that reason."
-vVv-
Fae's word had sent them in this direction and she had read that the way to contact Fairy Tail in Edolas was by snapping the stalks off of some specific plants and waiting. But only if they were at a safe location. Lucy trusted her, and Mystogan who handed them some money to buy whatever they needed to help them blend in. Which included buying a bag for Carla and Happy to stay hidden in. As Exceed, they would be kowtowed to and draw a lot of attention, and both Natsu and Wendy had easily seen guild marks.
-vVv-
"Try not to use magic openly. Keep it subtle until the signal."
"That's...awfully vague."
"Gajeel is in charge of the signal. It will be anything but hard to miss. That being said, if you are threatened, do not hesitate to use magic but be cautious. You will not recover it as quickly here as you did before."
-vVv-
Wendy and Natsu were both searching for the plant, Lucy was keeping watch for any observers.
Thanks to a Dragon Slayer's keen senses, it wasn't long before Natsu called.
"Hey, Lucy, we found some!"
"Coming!" She didn't see anyone... "Happy, can you go up and keep watch? If we're going to be calling Fairy Tail, we want to make especially sure that it's safe."
"You got it, Lucy!" Once the blue Exceed was in position in a tree, Lucy motioned Carla down.
"I need you to listen in and pass me information if they go into something I wouldn't know."
"Very well." The white Exceed clambered to Lucy's shoulder, and she threw a heavy glare at Natsu.
"And you remember to stay quiet or we'll spook them." He grumbled under his breath, but settled down, arms folded tightly.
"Here it goes then." She bent and snapped off a few twigs, feeling the flutter of magic against her skin. She held the twigs clustered together and lifted them to her mouth to whisper what Fae had told her would get them an ear with Edolas Fairy Tail.
-vVv-
"'Even if I can't see you, no matter how far away you may be, I'll always be watching over you.' That'll get you in the door, but you have to talk them around to coming and helping." Lucy repeated the words carefully, making sure she memorized them.
"I think you'll end up meeting your Mystogan's in Fairy Tail. And there will probably be a couple other people there who will have the same names as our guildmates but not be them. Just...roll with the weirdness. And if they won't help us fight, they can at least do something to help get people out of the city once we start tearing things up." Lucy raised her brows briefly at the girl.
"'We'? What exactly do you have in mind?" Fae's answering grin promised all kinds of trouble.
-vVv-
The twigs in her hand vibrated.
"Who is this?" The voice was low, and oddly familiar, though she couldn't make it out through the heavy aggression... Wendy however mouthed a name, looking shocked.
Levy.
Hearing her friend's voice sound like that was jarring, but Lucy pushed down her surprise to give an answer. They wanted to be truthful, and count on the fact that they were dealing with another Fairy Tail that they would help. If they were willing to be labelled dark rather than stop giving help to those who needed it, then they had pretty good odds of this plan working.
"People who need help." Lucy kept her tone even, recalling the words Fae had told her to say in order to get access to the guild hall.
"To do what?"
"The right thing." There came a brief pause on the other end of the line, then Levy's voice came back, sounding a bit less harsh.
"You're calling from Faustian. A representative will meet you in Sekka." A glance at Carla got a nod of affirmation.
"It's close."
"Understood, thank you." Lucy then handed the twigs to Wendy.
"Alright, let's see how this goes..." The young healer crouched by the bush, brows furrowed in concentration.
"It might be easier for us to just burn them and get out of here." Lucy suggested but the younger girl shook her head.
"No. Grandeeny had me practice on plants first, and Cait Shelter needed plant doctoring more than...I can do this, it'll help cover our trail."
"OK. Carla, how far is it to Sekka?"
"It's a bit of a trek on foot, but we can make it there and back to the city in time, provided negotiations are short."
"Then let's go."
-vVv-
"What we want for when we play our hand is insurrection. The city has to be hot, the citizens outraged over what the government is doing."
"Ya don't need to tell me how to get people unhappy. Just point me to where we can get some back up."
"The lacrima was too big to handle when they first pulled it through. Parts of it have been split off and shown off around the city to bring in public support for Faust's latest policies. A large piece has been placed in the main square, within sight of the palace."
"Any idea who I'll get if I bust it open? We want the heavy hitters if we're gonna make the message stick and I ain't wastin' my time protecting wimps."
"No way for me to tell without touching it, sorry Gajeel. If I find out, I'll let you know."
"Tch..."
-vVv-
Gajeel knew a thing or two about laying low and being subtle. He normally didn't bother. But Metalicana had taught him several different ways to hunt prey, and he had picked up a few other tricks throughout his life. Mystogan had said to give it about a day before he started stirring up any real trouble. So all he was really gonna do right now was take a bite out of the garrison weapons and find all the lacrima in the city. Busting open the biggest one ought to get him some decent back up, like Scarlet, Fernandes or one of the Strauss siblings.
He was just rooting through some weapons storage facilities when he caught a scent that made him pause.
It smelt like...him.
What the hell?
He peered around the corner, senses honed on the person who was tiptoeing through the darkened room. It smelt like him, but he couldn't afford to get caught in here, especially sabotaging the weapons they would be facing in about a day's time.
He waited in the shadows until his fellow intruder passed by his hiding place, intending on putting him in a simple stranglehold. Whether it led to unconsciousness or death depended on how hard the other guy fought. And if he could think of a reasonable place to stash a body. He didn't have to be as careful to leave his opponents alive here.
But catching sight of the other man's face made him stop dead in his tracks.
A near perfect reflection of his own features was before his gaze. There were no piercings placed there by a draconic parent, and there was a conspicuous lack of feral savagery Gajeel cultivated for survival after being abandoned at a young age. But it was still noticeably and undeniably his face.
Kid was right. There are doubles of us walking around here. Everywhere.
His counterpart's senses were clearly less keen than his own as he didn't even notice Gajeel lurking in the darkness. Gajeel simply ghosted out of the room and waited for the other man to emerge, a razor sharp grin on his face.
If this guy was anything like him, he would know the prime way to cause mayhem in town. He could hear the scratch of a pencil on paper. Was the other guy taking notes on something?
Gajeel settled back to wait patiently for his prey to emerge.
-vVv-
"We don't want to cut things too close, and we don't want to start forcing them to draw on their magic reserves. That could cut into how much time we have before they start to tap our friends for their magic power. Within a day, we all need to be in position and ready to act. Fae will send messages as is needed, but she will be conserving her strength as much as possible. No matter how this ends, there will be a fight and we will need everything we have to save our friends and make this work."