The sounds of blood curdling screams echoed through the dark, damp corridors. Shouts of desperation followed as the screams only intensified. Without much information to go on, I already knew exactly the stakes of the fight we were placed in. I could hear her screams bouncing in my mind as I struggled to keep my composure while sprinting down the hall with my allies in tow.

For days this battle against this supposed world they call Edolas had been going on. For days, I had been kept on the sidelines for reasons I couldn't control. Yet I still found myself pushing the blame in my direction. I should have been there, I should have fought harder. Worst of all, I should have been there to protect her.

Phillip flew beside me as he tried his best to explain the situation, but I could barely hear him. All I could hear were the cries for help that came from a voice I normally found harmonic. A voice that never asked for help. There she was, asking, no, begging for someone to put an end to the endless suffering. For her to break down in such a way, I didn't even want to imagine what pushed her to that point. All I wanted to do was to give her exactly what she needed.

A sensation filtered through my form unlike any other. I knew the feeling of exhaustion, but this was something completely different. Having my magic forcefully pulled from my core felt as if someone was stabbing my most vital organs from the inside. I knew what it felt to be tortured, but this… This was unexplainable.

"Stop it! Please, I'm begging ya! Don't hurt them!" Natsu's voice fell onto deaf ears as the pain only seemed to intensify. "Just use me, leave them alone!"

My wrists pulled against my restraints, desperately trying to break free. There wasn't an ounce of strength left to pull away. Even as the machine that was working tirelessly to drain our magic switched over to Wendy, I couldn't do anything more than call out in a similar manner to Natsu.

The young girl screamed out in pain and I screeched for it to stop. I had never felt so helpless. What was the point in being strong if I couldn't save those I cared for when it mattered most? "Please, stop it! I'll do anything! Just put an end to this!"

My fists clenched at my sides as a familiar face stood before us. It was a face I knew quite well, but it wasn't a person I could even recognize. Though, it didn't quite matter who stood in my way. I'd do anything to reach her.

The battle around me barely fazed me as I attacked in pure rage. It was then I finally understood what they meant when they said you see only red when you're enraged. The world around me was a fiery crimson that filled my every thought and action. I didn't even care who got in my way, ally or enemy. My mind wasn't focused on any coherent thought.

"Go! She's my fight." Erza's voice broke through the destruction and I didn't even hesitate to run past her when she finally gave us an opening. There was no doubt in my mind that she could handle herself.

With each footstep, the ground burst beneath me as it reacted to my intense emotions. I could barely keep my own magic at bay without full control of my feelings. There was not an ounce of my being that was calm and I didn't quite care. I took in a deep breath and called out in a fit of despair.

"Cece!"

I felt my body collide with the ground as I was released from my restraints. My eyes struggled to stay open with my consciousness slowly fading away from me. There wasn't a single drop of magic left inside of me and it felt as if my body was working against me. I couldn't feel any muscle to even attempt to move. I was completely exhausted.

A barrage of voices filled my ears as block spots began to fill my vision. I couldn't quite pinpoint who the voices were. That was, until I heard one voice break through the atmosphere.

"Cece!"

As I let my eyes close, a quiet voice fell from my lips.

"I hear him… Hayden.."

My eyelid pushed against one another as I felt a surge of energy pulse through my body. Was that all just a dream? No… No, that pain was very real. Every last bit of it was reality whether I liked it or not. Every drop of magic inside of me had been gone, so why do I have this sudden burst of energy?

Slowly, I opened my eyes and did my best to survey my situation. All I could see was a blur of different colors and I couldn't quite place what I was surrounded with, or better yet, who surrounded me. I could feel my body resting in the arms of someone that I couldn't quite make out, but I could see two faces above me. One with a tint of green and the other red. My vision was slowly clearing up and as I began to see their faces, I could also hear them speak.

"Cece! Thank god! I… I thought I had lost you!" The young boyish voice felt like music to my ears. I could hear the shakiness in his voice, but nevertheless, a small smile formed on my face.

"Thank god you're alive, Phillip." I commented quietly, taking in a deep breath to feel the energy in my body finally giving me a normal level of strength.

The story that I had heard from Natsu and Wendy about the exceeds didn't falter my trust in Phillip in the slightest. No matter what story the people of Edolas wanted to spin, I knew full well that my friend was someone I could trust with my life. I could hear the sincerity in his voice even now. He needed to have me here with him just as much as I needed him. What happened here today had nothing to do with him.

Before either of us had the chance to speak again, I turned my attention to the person who held me close. I squinted a bit to get a better image of the person and my body tensed when I began to see who smiled down at me. Without a second thought, a rush of energy went through my body and I shoved myself out of the person's arms. Stumbling, I got to my feet and raised my hands in defense. The person that still sat on the ground had the silhouette of Hayden, but as far as I knew, the only Hayden here was Edolas' version and I refused to let my guard down around him. However, as I blinked a few more times, my vision cleared and I had a realization.

This person crouched in front of me was Earthland's Hayden, the Hayden I had always known. My hands fell to my sides and my gaze softened. "Hayden… You're here?"

A small chuckle escaped Hayden's lips as he stood up, holding his arms out to the side. "The one and only."

"One and only…" I muttered under my breath before giving my head a shake. I couldn't lose focus and bring my attention to Edo Hayden. I needed to focus on what was right in front of me. "I'm so glad you're here."

My statement seemed to throw Hayden off as his expression faltered. "Wait, really? Wow.. I thought you'd tell me that I'd only get in the way now that I'm here. I had this whole speech prepared to convince you I could totally help you out. Though, I could still give you that speech if you're-"

The talkative boy didn't notice as he was speaking that I approached him. He only stopped speaking when my arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly as if he could disappear at any moment. "H-Hey, what's up?" I didn't respond immediately as I simply just buried my head against his chest. His heart pounded and I could practically hear his shock within it.

After having experienced Edolas' version of my friend, I couldn't help but cling on to the person that I truly knew. A person that I felt I understood. Since I arrived in Edolas, I have missed him more than I ever thought I would. Despite having felt most concerned for Phillip's safety, Hayden was constantly flying through my mind. Especially with the words of Edo Celeste being a steady reminder.

"I…" I trailed off, about to repeat my earlier statement of how I was glad Hayden was finally here, however, I paused in my thoughts. What was I even doing?! I pushed away from the redhead, my face flushing pink. "I just-! I wanted to make sure you were real.. That's all." I coughed, quickly looking away from him. "And it is in fact you, good to know. We can move on now."

Hayden blinked in confusion, but the expression faded away into a smirk. "Oh I get it. Make sure I'm real, huh? I'm sure that's true."

I glared over at him. "It is you knucklehead." I reached out and smacked his arm before turning my attention to Phillip who was levitating off to the side of the two of us. A few tears fell from his eyes, but a smile still laid peacefully on his face. "You're the one I truly need a hug from."

At my simple statement, Phillip took the invitation and flew into my arms. He clung to me as if his life depended on it and cried out onto my shoulder. I could feel his tears soaking into my shirt, but I didn't mind in the slightest. If the situation had been any different, I knew I would be crying along with him. He needed my strength now more than ever so I wouldn't shed a tear. I gently stroked the back of his head as he wailed. Never once had I seen him cry in such a way, as if his entire world had come crashing down. Apparently he needed me more than I could even realize.

"Shh," I whispered into his ear as Phillip choked on his own breath. "Easy does it, I'm here now. We're not going to get separated again. We're in this together."

"I- I just-! I'm s-so sorry!" He cried out, and I encouraged him to calm his breathing before he spoke. Once he was able to catch his breath, he spoke slowly. "I'm sorry, Cece. I forgot everything you taught me or maybe I just didn't care. You should've been worried about me, especially since I'm part of the reason everyone is in danger in the first place."

Before he could go on, I pulled him away from our hug and crouched down on the ground so I could see him at eye level. "Don't even think about apologizing for any of that. You aren't to blame for anything that has happened here. This is because of the Edolas' army. Never blame yourself, do you understand me?"

Phillip hiccuped back more tears and reached up to wipe a few from his eyes. "But I'm an exceed, I'm from Edolas."

"So what?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. "That doesn't make you any less my trusted friend. You'd never do a single thing to hurt me or the rest of the guild. I know that for a fact. Do you know how I know that?" When he looked at me in confusion, I answered. "Because you are Phillip the Great. And Phillip the Great would never do anything to harm a friend."

My words only seemed to influence his feeling as more tears welled up in the green cat's eyes. However, he sniffled back the tears and did his best to appear as the brave cat I knew him to be. I knew that part of being brave was showing feelings of sadness, but it almost felt hypocritical to say that to Phillip as he would always give me that advice. Advice that I would only ignore. At this moment, everyone needed to pull themselves together for the sake of our guild and everyone in Magnolia.

"You're right.. That's me." Finally, through his teary eyes, Phillip smiled brightly at me. "I'm Phillip the Great! I would never do anything like that! I swear to it!" He spoke proudly, placing a paw to his chest.

"That's my little guy." I smiled softly and ruffled the hair on top of his head before standing up straight and surveying the area. I spotted Wendy knelt on the ground not too far from me with Lucy, Gray and Carla. I furrowed my brow at the sight of them, finally having a very obvious question fall from my mouth. "Wait… How are you guys here?"

Hayden glanced towards Lucy and Gray and all three of them sighed. "Well…"

The three began to tell their respective stories of how they arrived on Edolas and didn't manage to get stuck inside the lacrima. Lucy had been saved by one of her celestial spirits while Gray and Hayden had been in the lacrima that Gajeel and I had been going after when I was captured, Erza having been with them as well.

The exceeds added a bit of information to fill in some of the blanks of where the rest of Magnolia was if they hadn't been in the lacrima that was in the city square. They were in a larger fragment of lacrima above the city, the chunk that was in the city had only been a small portion of it. Thankfully, that was where Gajeel was heading to see if he could free the rest of the citizens before the lacrima was used to fuel the magical energy for Edolas. What added on to the already disgusting situation was that the Edolas army planned to slam the lacrima island into Extalia which would give the world everlasting magic.

"That's horrible… Everyone will be gone for good then!" Hayden shouted, his fists clenched at his sides. I glanced over at the boy in question to see a level of rage in his eyes that I had never seen before. On a rare occasion, I would see Hayden become angered, but never to this level. It felt as if he could burst at any moment.

Before I could manage to throw my own input in, the sound of footsteps came echoing down the corridor. We each prepared ourselves for whatever or whoever was about to enter the room, but we all quickly relaxed when the sight of a familiar pinkette came running in. I furrowed my brow. I hadn't even noticed Natsu wasn't still in the chamber.

Natsu was screaming out in fear, his face blue, almost in sickness. "What the hell was that?! There were two Erzas!" He exclaimed as he ran around in circles around us. "A battle between two monsters?! Is this world done for?!" He continued to wail until his eyes landed on Gray. "Oh! Gray is here!"

"Brilliant observation, flame brain." Both him and Lucy quickly filled Natsu in on some of the information that was discussed while he was gone.

As they did this, I felt Hayden inch closer to me and lean his head down next to my ear. "So… Did you meet the other version of me? He's probably pretty cool, right?"

I froze at his question. Unconsciously, my hand rose up to my throat, wondering if any bruises had formed from my first encounter with Edo Hayden. I heard Hayden hum in confusion so I lowered my hand. "He… He's an enemy."

The others broke from their conversation as they heard my statement. Gray, Lucy and the exceeds were more shocked than Natsu and Wendy as they had already seen the captain in question. Lucy glanced at Hayden before looking back at me. "Hayden? An enemy?"

I lowered my gaze to the ground. "Yes. He's a captain in the royal army just like Edolas' Erza."

Hayden seemed the most distraught out of everyone, understandably. "Wh-What? Why would he side with the royal army? If he's anything like me, he should at least still be with the Fairy Tail of this world."

Slowly, I crossed my arms over my chest to hold them tight against me as if they would bring me any sort of comfort. The story that I had been told almost felt as if I had been involved even though I personally had nothing to do with it. Yet somehow, I still felt at fault. "When the government banned all magic guilds, my counterpart left Fairy Tail for… for her own reasons." I trailed off in the middle, almost forgetting my own secrets needed to be kept. "No one heard from her for weeks and Edolas' Hayden took that as she had died. So out of anger, he left the guild to stay away from her memory. I think his anger towards her decision to leave has only grown since then."

"So that's why Hayden was with the other captain…" Wendy muttered and I nodded in response.

"That's right. He isn't someone we can trust. Not in the slightest." Once more, my hand went to my throat. "He proved that."

The others went to comment, however, Hayden was the one that broke through first. "That's what those are, aren't they?"

The energy beside me felt intense. When I glanced over at the redhead, I could see the ground carefully cracking beneath him. His magic energy was reacting to his emotions in a way that I had never seen before. Just moments before, I thought he was simply reacting in initial rage, but now it was clear. His mind and heart were taking everything that was happening very personally. I glanced up to meet his eyes and I saw his auburn eyes baring me down, occasionally glancing down at my neck as if answering my earlier question. There were in fact bruises marking my neck in the very place Edo Hayden had put his hands on me.

I quickly averted my gaze. "Yes. But that doesn't matter. What matters is he will be an additional obstacle for us. One that we can't take lightly. I don't know what his skills are yet, but he was able to restrain me easily."

"This place just gets worse by the minute…" Lucy grumbled, seeming to break the tension that was building in the air. "Where are we even supposed to start?"

Despite the uncertainty, Natsu seemed to be as confident as ever. "Let's find the King and stop him from crashing the lacrima!" We all nodded in understanding and went to leave the chamber only to have him stop us. "W-Wait! There are two monsters out there! Let's go a different way!" He shouted, pointing in the direction of a different corridor.

"Whatever! Let's just go!" Gray exclaimed only to have Wendy stop us this time.

"Everyone, Carla and I are going to Extalia." She spoke in determination. "Someone needs to warn them and have them evacuate just in case the royal army has any other attacks planned. We can't leave them on their own."

There wasn't even a single question in our minds. We were quick to agree to their plan. The other exceeds needed to be warned before anything could possibly happen. If we didn't warn them and something happened, we would never be able to forgive ourselves. That fact would never change.

"Go." Gray spoke with a grin. "We believe in you guys."

The two went to leave, but I quickly held a hand out to stop them. "W-Wait!" They looked at me questionly. "Phillip is coming with you."

"Huh?!" Phillip cried out, whipping his head to look at me in shock. "No! I want to go with you, Cece!"

I gave my head a shake and smiled over at my young friend. "You need to go with them. This is the world where you came from. No matter what you've learned or all that you're hoping to avoid, you need to face them head on." I placed my hand on his head. "If you don't, you'll always regret it. You need to protect your homeland."

"B-But…" He grumbled. "But Fairy Tail is my home. I'm not a part of this world anymore." Phillip clenched his paws. "I need to protect you! Not the other exceeds! You're my family Cece!"

His words could have brought me to tears, but I did my best to hold my emotions back. My friend was growing bit by bit and this journey of ours was forcing him to grow up very quickly. Myself included. To tell him to go off on his own to fight a different side of this battle without me was a terrifying feeling. Yet I knew he was needed in Extalia, not by my side.

"Phillip.. The amazing thing about family is they will never leave you behind. No matter what you try, we will always be connected by our bond." I leaned down and rested my forehead against his. "When this battle is over, I will find you. I'm not letting my family get away from me that easily. Family is forever."

To this day, I knew my words rang true. I saw this message within Fairy Tail as the guild members never left one another behind. They all understood that we had different battles to fight and there would be times we wouldn't be near one another. But we would always be family.

Using the term family hadn't been a favorite of mine for quite some time. However, despite not even seeing Rogue in years, I knew he would never leave me behind either. Especially since I knew he continued to look for me. Through all the trials, he still wanted me in his life. Even if he didn't know the whole story, he didn't need it. So my advice to Phillip rang true.

Phillip seemed to mull the idea over in his head before slowly speaking. "You promise you'll wait for me?"

I chuckled half heartedly. "For you? I promise. I'm not leaving this place unless you're by my side."

Just as I finished speaking, Phillip threw himself into my arms giving me a quick embrace. As quickly as the hug began, it ended and the exceed flew up next to Wendy to give me a teary eyed salute. "I'll see you when we save the world."

"When we save the world then." I grinned, mimicking his actions.

Our two groups parted ways and we ran down different corridors to get to our next destination. I didn't even spare a glance back. I knew Phillip would be okay. He was stronger than ever before.

Our group ran down the corridor with haste, but we found ourselves becoming confused rather quickly. The castle was gigantic which made it difficult to navigate. Lucy made a comment, stating she would not be surprised if there was an amusement park somewhere within the castle, but the idea seemed very far-fetched despite just being a joke. All we could do was keep moving forward until we encountered something or someone that would help us locate the king.

However, as we rounded a corner, the person that appeared wasn't someone who was going to help us in the slightest.

Before us stood Edolas' Hayden as he leaned up against a pillar, clearly having been waiting for us to cross his path. It was clear he noticed our presence, but he didn't move from his spot. He didn't even bother to open his eyes. He didn't see us as a threat at all.

"Hayden?!" Natsu exclaimed, looking from Edo Hayden to our Hayden. "If you weren't the enemy this would be a totally cool twin moment."

"Shut the hell up, flame brain…" Gray muttered, smacking Natsu upside the head so he could regain focus.

"Cool twin moment, huh?" Edo Hayden spoke, peeking out the side of his eye. "I don't see anyone here that could possibly classify as my twin."

I could hear Hayden grumble beside me, "I can't help but agree…"

Edo Hayden chuckled as he pushed himself away from the wall to face us. He let his eyes look at each of us before landing on me. "Here for round two? I'm glad my wish came true." He commented, calling back to the statement he made when I had been locked up. He had hoped I would escape so he would put me in my place one more time. It was his own sick game. "Then again, there really wasn't much of a first round. I'd say I won that by a landslide."

I opened my mouth to respond, but I halted my speech when I felt an intense wave of magic energy next to me. I spared Hayden a glance, the energy matching that of what I felt when we had been talking earlier. His eyes bore into Edo Hayden, void of any other emotion other than pure rage. "Hayden?" I reached out to place my hand on his shoulder, but the moment I made contact, my hand flew back in shock. His whole form was bursting with so much magical energy that his skin was scolding to the touch. What had gotten into him?

"Oh? What's this?" Edo Hayden narrowed his eyes at Hayden, his smirk growing. "Puppy dog wants a fight?"

The insult only led to the ground underneath Hayden to crack, causing the rest of us to move away from him. "Tell me… I want to hear you say it." He glared his look alike down. "Are you the one that hurt Cece?"

I raised an eyebrow at the question. It was something that he already knew the answer to, yet he was still asking. What was the point? Whether there was a point or not didn't seem to matter. Hayden's rage was already reaching a point of no return. "Hayden stop-"

"No no, I want to answer that." Edo Hayden shoved his hands in his pockets, his eyes playfully dancing around Hayden's face. "Yeah. I hurt your precious little Cece." The name dropped from his lips like poison. "Does that bother you, dog?" When Hayden didn't respond immediately, Edo Hayden added one more insult. "Go back to the pound. This place isn't for you."

Those words only infuriated Hayden more. The cracks beneath his feet erupted into a crater as bright yellow magic energy burst underneath him and surrounded him. Every bit of built up anger was let free into pure magic and the ground was reacting to the rage. It was only a matter of time before the ground gave way completely. The crumbling ground flew around the area and we all did our best to shield ourselves from the debris, but in the center, both Hayden's didn't seem phased at all.

I focused my attention on Hayden and my eyes widened at the sight. The flying debris began to retract back to him and clung to his skin. First it was his arms, then his legs. Before long, his entire body was covered in debris like a second skin. Where had he learned to do that?

"Your rematch has been postponed." Hayden growled. "Your fight is with me."

A low cackle fell from Edo Hayden's mouth. "How comical. You fight all your owner's battles for her?"

"Oh god no." Hayden matched his counterparts' laughter. "I know she could kick your ass pretty easily." A golden hue formed in his eyes as he glared down at Edo Hayden. "I'll just be damned if I let you walk away after you dared lay a hand on her. That was your biggest mistake." He held a hand out in a battle stance.

"Come at me, dog!"