With the soft humming tone in the back of her head, she was sure of exactly where she should go despite having to set many simple goals in order to get to the end—in order to get out of that retched place. She took one step out from under a table, but was only met with a loud shriek that shook her to the core, making her slide back under the table as her heart pounded harshly in her small ribcage. She found herself on her bare hands and knees, cringing as she tried to ignore to feeling of having landed in a disgustingly thick puddle of God knows what.

She took off when the footsteps passed her, looking under the wrong tables so luckily for her, and she struggled to pull herself up onto another table in order to slip into a vent to go unnoticed, her heavy breathing only becoming more prominent as the harsh sting of bile climbed up her throat from the pressure she was accidentally pushing into her stomach. She was in the vent, however, and that was what mattered as she crawled through… only to fall into a dip and land on her back with a hard thud, the popping in her back making her whimper. She was starving and everything was hurting, so after the nausea of hunger faded for a moment, the girl sat up only to heave at the sight on drying blood covering her poor little legs.

Her head then snapped in the direction of quiet and fast footsteps, catching site of a small human child who was ushering her over to them, causing the girl to gasp softly, balling her small paws into fists and taking admittedly painful steps towards the drawers in the closed-off room. The small human climbed up onto a bed and helped pull her up, putting her down with a soft thump and giggling at the small, surprised noise that came from her. The human reached for something under the pillow and then held it out for her, in which she very carefully took it from their much bigger hands as her stomach growled upon her realizing that this was a piece of seasoned meat—obviously torn off of a bigger piece, but still very appreciated. It was still warm and she looked and the human, giving them a nod in thanks before scarfing the piece of meat down, not having noticed how hungry she really was until then.

The human clapped their hands and then they both sat there in a moment of peace, the girl grinning softly for once in her adventure of trying to escape. She had unexpected allies around every corner, it seemed…

When Seph woke up the next morning, she found herself not remembering anything from the night before, albeit she didn't quite worry about it too much. She knew it was bad because she would often always forget the little bad things that happened due to focusing on the bigger things too much, or something along those lines… that's what she thought, at least. All she knew was that she had a very comfortable sleep with little to no nightmare material, just… something nice that had happened, for once. No one seemed to dare to ask her about it and honestly, that was a good thing because she didn't remember a thing and she didn't want to.

She already remembered too much from the awful times.

They all grouped up to go over the testimonies and such downstairs in the little café, in which she merely just sat on the table with Carla, yawning every five minutes because they had gotten up a little later than usual and her body wasn't sure how to handle it very well. They went over anything, but weren't able to put anything together with it, so they all split up again and Seph found herself sitting on a ledge with Lily while the others questioned people around the area. The ledge was cold and her legs felt numb, but she continued to swing them lazily as she hummed anyways, going with the simple tune that she had heard from her dream—it made her feel calm despite the haunting beauty of it and it made her wonder if she was missing something.

"That's creepy." Lily suddenly commented, making her stop immediately and gaze at her little shoes. "Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that, I just—" He didn't seem to know what to say, but he managed to get something out anyways. "Where did you learn that tune?" Where had she learned it…?

"Um… I-I think… back where I came from, someone I knew…" She responded softly, fiddling with her necklace a bit as she looked up to watch all of the people run around like ants as they worked. She heard Lily hum shortly in reply, seeing him nod from the corner of her eye, and she simply just nodded a little bit in return, focusing on everything that was happening around her.

The store nearby was wedged between two taller buildings, looking squeezed and as if the neighbors were closing in. The sign was old, some letters having become illegible in the peeling paint, but the window was clean and the artifacts on display were clearly antique. There was no theme to them or color coordination and they were crammed together rather than artistically arranged, looking far longer than it was wide, almost like a corridor with shelving spanning both sides. In the window was a couple of boring antiques, but upon examining them closer, Seph found herself staring at one of them. It was a mirror, small and cheap about the size of pamphlet, and it was the kind that you might pick up from the local corner store, but it was framed with what looked like golden leaves from a weeping willow. At the top of the mirror, also in gold, was a cherubic face one could only guess was meant to be an angel and above the angel's head was a crown with many points. The mirror itself was tarnished, perhaps it had been polished a few times too many or maybe that's just what happened with age…

Without thinking, she grabbed onto Lily's arm and gave it a small tug to gain his attention, pointing at the store.

"We should go there." She suggested, gaining a silent pause before Lily gave her a plain-as-day look of confusion. "We're supposed to be asking around, right? We're Mages, too, Lily." Plus, she just had this weird feeling…

There was a pause as Lily thought and then he sighed, scratching the back of his head as he gave her a nod and got to his feet. She quickly followed behind him with getting onto her feet and then grabbed his hand when he went too slowly for her liking, pulling him along to the antique store with a childish pace and quite the childish expression.

The shop was more like a warehouse than anything either of them had ever seen before, carrying so many different things of sizes and capacity that they were a little overwhelmed at first. It was a minefield for the clumsy, as Seph quickly learned by accidentally bashing into a chair and almost knocking over a fan that was keeping the place cool in the unnaturally warm weather, only being saved by Lily's quick reflexes alongside her flailing to right her wrong. Delicate and expensive hand crafted figurines, glass bowls and kiln-fired plates were on low shelves where they could be easily knocked into and broken… Lily kept a close eye and a close hold on Seph, much to her dismay. The only thing she was really allowed near was a bookcase, which she was ecstatic about, and she noticed how it was ornate as if carved by a person with a profound love of literature. The engravings were of leaves, of autumn berries and birds on the wing—so sublime as to invite the fingers to take in just as much as the eyes.

There was a corner of furniture that looked quite crammed, but still well set. There were solid wood pieces and peeling vinyl; there were floral lamps and sleek metal coat stands; there were coffee tables and a random assortment of chairs. It wasn't just uncoordinated for color; it wasn't coordinated for era, materials or size. Adding to the general disarray were potted plants; all of them healthy and taking over whatever space the furniture didn't. Then there were the antiques, crowding the stuffy little shop, a glorious hotchpotch of cultures and fashions through the ages. There were tea pots and dolls, all of them covered in a fine layer of dust, and even at the desk there was an antique till, the keys clunky like an aging type writer. Though many items seemed to have lost their luster, they stood in their dusty cabinets with all their glory and pride intact. Coats of patina embraced stone and copper sculptures like the varnish of age and wisdom, a baroque dining table holding many of the sculptures in the middle of the store, engraved with ornate carvings that radiated the maker's emotions with the mellow aroma of oak that had never evaporated.

"Sorry, could I help the both of you?"

They both looked up at the counter where there was an old woman, not the kind you pitied with their old bones and feeble limbs but the kind who could still run an army kitchen given half a chance. She stood quite tall and slim, her short gray hair neat and likely styled with old fashioned rollers—the kind women used to sleep in. Her face was made up with discrete make-up except for her lips that were cherry red—were she any paler, her mouth would be garish, but against her sun-kissed skin, it looked alright. When she extended her hands over the counter to look down at them, they saw the soil beneath her finger nails that made them bet that she was a gardener even before noticing her neck scarf, which was patterned with small roses. Seph would bet that this lady had the best front yard on her street.

"Um…" Lily started, looking towards Seph because it was her idea to come into the antique shop. The girl paused, trying to think of how to word her sentence, and then Lily just took a deep breath and decided to speak instead. She didn't really mind—it was less anxiety for her to experience. "We were wondering if you knew anything about the group that's been going around, the ones terrorizing people and kidnapping people and such… We're with a Guild, working a job."

There was a pause as the woman thought before looking around a bit, looking out the door even, and then she grabbed a chair from behind the counter, taking a seat.

"I only know that my husband used to run this shop before he was taken—and my daughter was taken, too." She told them, motioning for them to sit on the desk wherever they wished because that would make it easier for them to talk. Lily and Seph gladly did, trying to make it easy on her and themselves.

"I've taken over the shop despite the lack of customers, but, starting at the beginning, it started happening about a couple of weeks ago. The first person to go missing was the son of a neighbor of mine, and his dog was gone as well, so they thought that maybe he had just left… but his backpack was there, all of his clothes, the medication he was taking for an ear infection—it was all left behind and they knew that he would've taken certain things with him. Then, more people gradually started going missing and pets as well with no pattern, just all ages and all genders… and then a group of teenagers dressed in black, all with the same mark on their necks, raided the bookstore for some reason, threatening whoever was there with weapons until they left without what they had wanted. It was this… ancient book or something that seemed modern except to certain eyes, and they had a device to track it down, but it wasn't there. Eventually, they just started breaking into homes and other stores searching for the damned thing while people continued to go missing… no one knows what's going on, but I was at the bookstore when it happened transferring a bookcase in. I was in the back, so I wasn't threatened or anything, but I saw it all happen and… they're so determined to find this book that none of us know about."

There was a pause as the pair of Exceeds registered all of the information, and then Seph spoke up.

"… C-Can you… remember the mark…?" Seph questioned softly, in which the lady nodded and held up a hand, going under her desk for a piece of paper and a pencil. She immediately started to sketch from memory, which didn't seem to have any faults thus far, and then tore the paper out of her little notebook, handing it to the pair of Exceeds. Their faces scrunched up in confusion, but it was a good lead nonetheless—a mark often meant a Guild, so maybe they were dealing with some sort of Dark Guild or something. Seph didn't really like the sound of that, but she didn't recognize the mark, so… she didn't find much reason to be scared. "Th-Thank you… um…"

"Samoa Teuila and you're very welcome." The lady responded politely, giving them a hopeful smile. "… Please help our town."

"… We'll try."

Seph sat on the edge of the wooden table and watched with admiration at how fast Lucy was able to research with a few simple books, reading through them quickly and then slamming it shut to turn around in her seat and talk to the rest of them.

"Yep, we're dealing with a Dark Guild." Lucy sighed, resting her arms on the back of her chair and resting her chin on them. "They're not very well known, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous. They're called "Shadow Knights", after all…"

"Shadow Knights, my butt! I'm gonna beat the crap outta every single one of 'em!" Natsu stated a little too loudly for Seph's like, making her pick at the bandage around her right knee for a moment before looking up at Lucy as she continued to talk.

"I tried to look into the book they're after, but I barely found anything. It's their big goal and they've moved from town to town and all, but they've never kidnapped anyone or terrorized people this much before." Lucy explained, sitting up straight with a frown as she gazed over all of them. "It can only be seen by certain eyes, right? While the device they have might be able to track it down for them, I'm not sure how much use they could really get out of it, so I wanted to know what was so important about the one book aside from every other book. The only thing I really got was that it holds a lot of important information on certain types of powerful magic that could… well, that could possibly be disastrous if given to the wrong person. Only someone with the magic that it talks about can really read it, so I don't know why they're going after it like that, but…"

That… sounded familiar to Seph and it struck a nerve despite her not even understanding what she knew. This was confusing and weighed a lot more responsibility on them than they originally thought…

"If they have that device, then maybe they could find the book, but they would still need a person with the magic…" Erza repeated, trying to brainstorm, and continued on after lifting a hand to her chin. "Perhaps the device could only link down a certain location and the book has been moving around, but it can't actually track down straight to it. That would explain why they're terrorizing people… but the kidnappings…"

"… Maybe the device gives away the location of Mages as well. Where the book is, the proper Mage should be, and this town mostly consists of people who don't have magic. Perhaps, even if the kidnapped don't actually use magic, they have a hint of magic in them and the Guild can't be too careful when it comes to something they want." Seph spat out before she could even think, surprised at how much sense she made… That's how Dark Guilds were, after all. They only cared about themselves, and their goals.

"I'm sure that there are thousands of magic books that could cause chaos if used in that way, so why that exact one?" Freed questioned curiously, crossing his arms over his chest.

"A book that only reveals itself and its contents to a person with the magic it speaks of… What kind of magic does it talk about, though, Lucy?" Evergreen asked, in which the blonde looked towards the ceiling as she put a finger to her chin in thought.

"I'm not too sure. The information was evasive, just talking about the universe and how magic was a part of it…" Lucy trailed off, seeming to not have anything else to say, but something snapped into Seph's mind and she had opened her mouth with a name before she could stop herself.

"Ignis ales!" Seph spat out with a look of realization, much louder than she had been in awhile, and the others had jumped a little from her sudden outburst of words they didn't understand.

"… What?" Gajeel finally asked for all of them, in which Seph got onto her feet a little frantically, barely able to stay still.

"W-We have to find that book before they do! I know what it is and if they get it—Th-they can't get it!" Seph told them, unsure of how to explain past that. She was on-edge and now unable to stay still at all, needing to know that a Dark Guild wouldn't get their hands on that book. "She's already lost so much, she can't lose anymore with them coming in and thrashing things up—"

"Seph, what are you talking about?" Laxus questioned, afraid that his partner knew something so important and seemed so scared about it.

"Samoa has the book!"

In an old winged armchair, Samoa sat with her legs crossed and fingers intertwined over one knee as she slouched a bit. Occasionally she would catch herself doing it and straighten up, pushing her shoulders backwards and the small of her back upwards and in, sitting taller, more erect. She told herself that she didn't want to wind up as some hunch-backed old lady in a few months time, but within a few more minutes, she had forgotten all about it and resumed her slouching posture. The objects around her claimed her instant attention; there were quaint twisted candlesticks in the shape of snakes, a teapot fashioned like a duck out of whose open beak the tea was supposed to pour, and there was a carved sandal-wood box packed tight with aromatic cotton-wool. Between the layers of cotton wool there were little brass figures, hump-necked bulls and peacocks and goblins, delighted to see and handle. Less promising in appearance was that square book with plain black covers on top of the beautiful bookcase that had been there for weeks now… She wondered if her husband had been reading it or if it was an antique as well.

Then, there was a customer, bringing her to her feet with a pleasant smile. The boy wore a loose black shirt with a pitch black leather jacket over top of it alongside a simple pair of black jeans and a simple pair of black running shoes. His rich chocolate hair that had tousled griminess which promised finesse, he had strong arched brows and eyelashes so thick that it could've been illegal. And then his eyes—they were deep and catastrophic, a vivid hazel that softly melted into a milky green. As he moved in, she could see flecks of silver in his eyes, and he had distinct cheekbones with an angular jaw and pale skin. He gave her a polite smile back, starting to browse a bit, and with him half turned away, she felt safe to search for anything dangerous he might've been carrying. All dressed in black—she couldn't help but not trust him. Then, as he stretched to pick up a lovely vase, the muzzle of a gun peeked below his shirt line, making her eyes pop as he glanced behind himself, catching the expression that she only wore for a fraction of a second.

"Where did this come from?" He questioned her curiously, still smiling politely, and she continued to smile back pleasantly, clapping her hands together as she looked at the vase.

"It came from a good friend of mine from Hargeon before he left on a voyage." She told him, pausing momentarily before continuing. "It was an antique from a voyage he just returned from, shorter than the one he left on, and it was handmade by a very friendly Mage." He paused, taking a good look at it, and then put it back on the shelf after his eye seemed to catch something else. When he pointed at it, her face contorted into confusion upon noticing that it was that silly old plain book.

"What book it that? Is it for sale?" He asked, putting his hands in his pockets and shrugging a bit as he questioned. She paused before shrugging back with as much of a silly smile as she could manage.

"I'm not sure. I believe it's just something my husband left up there while he was reading it." She responded, watching as the boy gave a firm nod, still staring intently at it. "I… shouldn't sell it while he's still reading it; he might get a little angry." There was a very silent pause, very unsettling, and then the boy spoke again, still smiling.

"… He can't get angry if he doesn't know, Samoa." He stated, causing her to take a step away. She hadn't told him what her name was. However, the moment she stepped away, he whistled loudly, piercing the air, and the door in the back crashed down, a group of more boys in black rushing in with guns in their hands, causing her to grasp at her shoulder anxiously. The boy grabbed her arm harshly, gaining a slight wince in return, and his smile stayed obvious—malicious. "Give us the Phoenix Tear, Samoa, and no one has to get hurt."

"I don't know what you're talking about, you fiends!" Samoa told them sternly; a little frantic with just how much danger she was in over something she didn't know about, something she didn't understand. "Whatever you want, just take it and let those poor people go! Let my husband go, and my daughter, and just take it! Leave us alone!"

There was a silence as the boy nodded to one of his people to get the book and Samoa wanted an answer. She wanted her family back beyond anything else; she wanted her family back. However, as the girl reached up to grab that damned book they wanted so bad, the front door chimes jingled and many footsteps rushed in, a lightning bolt hitting at the girl's hand and causing her to pull it away sharply with a hiss. The footsteps rushed forward, knocking weapons out of hands and pulling Samoa away from the boy seemingly in charge—and because they were caught so off-guard, they were unsure of how to fight back right away. After a moment, however, the Dark Guilds Mages started to fight back against the Fairy Tail Mages, just barely being outnumbered working in the favor ever so slightly, and one of them went to grab the book… and the Mages definitely started to fight over that.

Gray grabbed the book before anyone else could and immediately climbed the bookcase, careful not to knock it over, and in the little space, a lot of things should've already broken. Before he could get caught, he threw the book to Natsu, who got onto the cashier desk to grab it victoriously, kicking someone in the face to keep them away from him and the book. Jumping and landing on a pair of people's faces, Natsu threw the book to Lucy, who caught it very clumsily trying to not knock over an expensive sculpture and to assure the book's safety alongside another sculpture's, she threw it to Erza… and then smashed onto the ground, albeit taking someone with her. Erza didn't waste much time in throwing it to Evergreen, who in turn threw it to Bickslow, who threw it to Katie, who threw it to Freed, and then Freed threw it to Laxus, who stood tall at the back of the store after pushing someone down and away from him. The book was up in the air and honestly, they just needed to get it out of there or something.

So, out of better judgement, Laxus threw the book to the person closest to the door: his partner. She looked a little shocked and no one really moved because all of them occupied while she flailed around and went to catch it… It only bounced once and then it landed in her little arms, safe and sound, although she wasn't sure what to do with it because she was the focus of attention now. She went to ask what to do, opening her mouth, but before she could get any sound out, the front of the book started to light up so strongly and suddenly that she had to close her eyes, involuntarily closing her mouth along with them. When she adjusted to the light, just as it was going down, she opened her eyes to see that the entire book had shifted and become different—and on the front laid out the title.

'Ignes Ales'

She had just gotten that feeling and it had been correct. This book was the Phoenix Tear.

The book was old and heavy, the leather soft and delicate to the touch as she ran her fingers over the faded blue bindings and the gold lettering carefully, completely enthralled by the ancient lettering and appearance…

"It's a Universal Mage…" One of the Dark Guild Mages whispered out, seeming to not believe what had happened right before their eyes. Either that or they couldn't believe that someone so small and fragile and non-human could be the person they were looking for—the person they had been kidnapping everyone to find. Lord, did Seph feel awful… but utterly confused as well. Universal Mage, was that really what she was? Was that why her magic was so unique, why it didn't have a name that she had known of, why it couldn't be labelled under anything?

"Get them!" The boy who had seemed in charge suddenly yelled out, obviously meaning her and the book, in which she flinched and hugged the book close to herself, backing away as much as possible. Her back hit a chair as the boy came lumbering towards her, everyone else occupied with trying to stop each other, and she wasn't sure what to do…

Except for clenching her eyes shut and pulling on the leg of the chair as hard as possible, hoping for the heavy piece of furniture to hit the boy despite her blind swinging.

And…
It did.

She pulled on it hard and she swung it around, and even though she was swinging blindly, it smacked into him before he could make a dive, sending him onto his back and leaving him vulnerable for someone else to grab, just as everyone blasted through the rest of the group to leave them unconscious. The only one they really needed was him, but only to figure out where they had taken the kidnapped in order to return them home.

Seph was shaken, staring down at the book in her lap quizzically with a frown and a slightly sore head. She was happy that the job was done and everyone was back home safe, and soon they would be as well, but she couldn't get over this damned book and this damned magic that she had… and that damned mirror Samoa had handed to her as a thank you gift after she had questioned about it. Samoa didn't even know where it came from and neither did her husband, saying that their daughter Natia had found it in the storage room a couple of weeks ago. She couldn't stop staring at the book, and then staring at the mirror, and then staring back at the book, and then repeating over and over and over again. Her whole life seemed to just become more and more shrouded in mystery as it continued, and she honestly… didn't like it.

The mirror's golden leaves seemed to shift every now and then, but Seph had no proof that it was actually happening. She was exhausted and as much as she wanted to dive into this book, to uncover more secrets and have some questions answered; she couldn't help but feel as if she would only end up with more questions. She didn't want that right now…

So, Seph just laid back and allowed herself to rest.

Answers could come later.

On the wall that had been crumbling for the past couple of years, he sat and let his eyes roam over the graffiti. With a finger on his right hand, he felt the cracks and the pits made by so many seasons of hail and rain. Today, like the sidewalk weeds, they were dry. As the wintry wind bit at his face, he gave a growing grin full of malicious intent, knowing that he just had to be patient…

And he would get what he wanted.