The world felt as if it were crumbling underneath our feet as Hayden and I ran out of the palace. As we ran, I noticed the walls of the city itself were moving. The palace shrunk back into the ground while the walls that protected the city were slowly rising. My eyes widened in shock, what were they doing now?

A quiet groan could be heard and I glanced over at Hayden, who had come to a complete stop, his hands placed on the side of his head. As I came to a stop, he knelt down on the ground and his face contorted in pain. His breath became harsh and he gritted his teeth, as if trying to keep himself from crying out in pain. I quickly kneel down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hayden, what's going on?"

"The Earth…" He muttered, leaning forward and placing his hands flat on the ground. "She's crying."

It was times like this that I was reminded that Hayden had a connection to the Earth. Even in another universe, he still felt what the Earth itself was feeling. And with the amount of pain he seemed to be in, this wasn't going to end well. Every other time Hayden had pointed out the Earth was unhappy, he had just felt a mild pain. This was far worse.

I went to say something more to Hayden, but I was cut off as he began to channel his magic into his hands. A large yellow rune appeared underneath us, Hayden in the center. A wave of magical energy shot up from the ground and I was forced to shield my eyes from the sheer power that it produced. Hayden didn't even flinch at the energy, he actually seemed to embrace it.

This was the second time today I had felt such a high amount of emotion in Hayden's magic. Just hours before, he had nearly crumbled a part of the palace to the ground due to an intense amount of anger. When that happened, I could feel the anger that he was experiencing. Now, I could feel a wave of sadness, a feeling that although I knew well, I couldn't quite understand. I knew what it meant to feel sad, but this was something entirely different. Hayden was taking on the emotions of the Earth. The feeling of sadness that filled the air was not Hayden's this time, it was the emotion that came from the Earth itself. And as the magic energy flew around us, I felt myself experiencing it as well.

The magic rune faded away and Hayden opened his eyes, getting to his feet. He reached up and attempted to discreetly wipe a tear from his eye. "She should be okay now."

I watched him closely for a moment. He couldn't even look at me, it was as if he didn't want me to see him take on all of those emotions. I hesitantly stepped forward, placing my hand against his shoulder. "What did you do?"

He took in an uneven breath. "I explained the situation to her. She didn't know what was happening. I reassured her that we were going to protect her." Hayden reached up and placed his hand on top of mine, squeezing it tightly. "And I don't plan on letting her down."

As he squeezed my hand, I found myself thinking back to what Hayden had said to his counterpart. Hayden's current action, simply just putting his hand on mine had not bothered me for quite some time. Now, my mind felt clouded. The second his hand came in contact with mine, I felt my stomach twist into knots.

"That kid's in love with you, you know that right?"

"I've been told I'd make a pretty good boyfriend. Why not give me a shot?"

"Just having you by my side is enough to keep me going. Thank you for today."

Why did these simple things suddenly bother me so much? These were statements that I used to roll my eyes at, tell him off and make it seem as if I found his comments annoying. But now… Something felt different. I could still feel the warmth of his lips against my forehead, a warmth that I found comfort in. What was this feeling? I couldn't possibly be falling for him. No, I couldn't. That would never happen.

I can never allow it.

I removed my hand from his shoulder, returning it to my side. "We won't let her down. We're going to protect her with everything we have." I turned my gaze to watch as the city walls shifted further and I returned my focus back to the task at hand. Thinking of Hayden's recent confession would have to wait till everyone was safe.

Hayden's gaze followed mine as a bright red light began to shine from the center of the palace. A large beam of light shot into the sky, a dragon-like spine launching towards the lacrima in the sky. My eyes widened. "No… we're too late…" The lacrima in the sky was still standing tall despite Gajeel having been sent to set the people of Magnolia free. Something must have happened and he wasn't able to complete the job. The lacrima was going to be used to take out Extalia.

I took a few steps forward, my steps weak. "Phillip… he's on Extalia… Phillip!" I exclaimed, whipping my head around to look at Hayden. "How do we get up there?! I can't let Phillip and the other Exceeds die!"

As if answering my question, a loud crash was heard not too far away as the ground burst forth. A flying creature came out of the ground, a few familiar faces riding on its back. My eyes widened at the sight and beside me, Hayden was waving his hands to our fellow guildmates. "Hey guys! Give us a lift!"

Lucy, who was near the front of the creature, spoke to a young girl that I didn't recognize. "Let's grab them! They can help!" The young girl nodded without hesitation and the creature flew down, only landing for a short moment. It was just enough time for Hayden and I to hop on its back to join the group before it took off once more, heading in the direction of the lacrima in the sky.

"What's the plan?" I was quick to question as we soar through the sky, the flying creatures' speed only increasing the higher we got. I didn't care what it took, I wasn't going to let that lacrima crash into Extalia and it was clear those around me thought the same. There were thousands of Exceed that would lose their lives if the crash were allowed to happen, not only that, the citizens of Magnolia would be killed as well. This wasn't a fate any of us were going to let happen.

"We're going to stop the lacrima!" Natsu exclaimed, letting out a loud roar right after his words. His explanation didn't exactly answer my question, but my question was fully answered when the flying creatures' head rammed into the side of the lacrima. It let out a roar as multiple magic runes appeared in front of it, trying to forcibly stop the lacrima from moving forward, but to no avail.

My gaze whipped to the side to see how close we were to Extalia and we were moving at a rapid pace towards the floating island. This wouldn't be enough to stop it in time. As if seeing this, Natsu ran up to the head of the creature and slammed his hands into the lacrima, a large red rune appearing in front of him as he cried out.

"Natsu!" We all looked up to see Happy flying down towards us, his gaze focused on his best friend. He stopped for a moment, his face looking regretful. "I.. Umm.." It was clear he didn't know what to say in this situation.

Natsu was quiet for a moment before his proud voice erupted forth. "Huh? Help me out, partner!" He grinned as he looked up at his friend.

Happy's expression looked as if he could start crying at any moment, but he shook the feeling away, quickly flying down beside Natsu. "Aye sir!"

Even with Natsu's strength, the lacrima wasn't slowing down. The rest of us noticed this and quickly ran forward to join both Happy and Natsu. I stood beside Hayden as I placed my hands against the lacrima, my own blue magic rune appearing in front of me as I let out a cry of force. If this lacrima collides with Extalia, I would never be able to forgive myself. All of those lives… gone in an instant all for the sake of preserving magical energy.

Each of us put everything we had into pushing the lacrima back and it felt as if my arms would go flying off at any moment. But none of us gave up. None of us were going to let this happen.

I could see his face. The face of my best friend. My little Phillip. If Extalia was destroyed then he would disappear with it. We wouldn't be able to go home together and continue on our journeys. Instead, I'd be returning home alone with a broken heart full of regret and shame. If I couldn't protect him when he needed it most, what would have been the point in calling myself his friend? I wasn't going to let him down. Not now. Not after everything we've been through.

Rubble exploded around us as the edges of each island collided. We continued to push forward, all of our efforts being focused on keeping the dragon attached to the lacrima from forcing the islands together. Glancing to the side, I could see we were all beaten and bruised from battles we had already been in, but we kept pushing forward for the sake of everyone involved.

To my right, Gajeel landed next to me, putting forth his own magical energy to help push the lacrima. "What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled out. "You're supposed to be turning everyone back to normal! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"That big ass black cat is in the way!" He practically whined. "We're out of time anyways! It would take too long and we don't have that kind of time!"

I scoffed, focusing my full attention back on the lacrima. He wasn't wrong. The circumstances were unfortunate as we should have expected someone to be guarding the lacrima. We didn't have any other options right now. Forcibly stopping the lacrima was the only thing we could do.

"Coco?" A male voice could be heard above us and I could see what seemed to be the 'big ass black cat' Gajeel had been talking about. "Why are you helping them?! Get out of there!"

The girl that I hadn't known the name of, Coco, looked up at the cat above. "Lily?" She frowned. "I've come to realize that I don't need everlasting magic power. I'd rather have everlasting smiles!"

"What nonsense is that?!" Lily exclaimed, his tone and mannerisms desperate. "Get out of here, now! There's no stopping this island now!"

"We'll stop it…" Natsu's voice was quiet, but his spirit was loud. "Even if it destroys our bodies, we'll stop it with our spirits alone!"

The earth against my hands cracked from the magical pressure I was emitting as I cried out. "I'll be damned if I let this stupid piece of rock move another inch! I'm not leaving him behind!" I didn't even notice as tears began to well up in my eyes. The reality of the situation was bearing down on my shoulders as I thought of my little friend.

"Easy does it, I'm here now. We're not going to get separated again. We're in this together."

I squeezed my eyes shut. "I'm never going to let him feel alone again!" My feet pressed against the edge of Extalia and a blue rune appeared beneath my feet as well. "I'm not letting Phillip and the others die for some stupid goal!"

I had no way of knowing what Phillip was going through on Extalia, the pain he may be enduring. However, as long as I was here, I would make sure I protected him with my life. My face seemed to stiffen at the thought. My thoughts had been the same as they had always been. That I needed to protect Phillip. But that wasn't the case. Just a few hours ago, I had seen him shed tears over feeling he had betrayed me, feeling as if he was unworthy of being my friend. The look in his eyes showed that he was more than worthy. He had more strength than I had.

Over the past few days, he had his world turned upside down. He was content with who he was and the world decided that he needed to question his life. It was cruel and he didn't deserve it. But I knew full well I didn't need to protect him. Phillip was strong enough to do that on his own. That's why I let him go off to Extalia with Carla and Wendy. If I continued to shield him from the world then he would never be able to grow from an experience like this. This was his journey just as much as it was mine.

As the island that carried that lacrima threatened to collide with Extalia, the bright red light shone over the Exceeds that inhabited the island. A crowd had gathered around Wendy, Carla and Phillip as the two Exceeds were still seen as Fallen. As the situation unfolded and the Exceeds grew more terrified for their lives, especially after learning that their Queen was not a God, Phillip spread his wings and flew up to watch the lacrima island.

He could still hear the commotion below, however, his mind was more focused on what was going on at the lacrima. Something was clearly stopping the island from moving and destroying Extalia, but what? Whatever or whoever was stopping it had to be struggling as it was clear the island was still doing everything it could to collide with his birthplace.

The arguments between the Exceeds continued until slowly the people were brought to tears. It was beginning to dawn on them that without a higher power as their Queen, none of them would survive. They didn't have the power to stop the island. Phillip glanced down to see Carla burst into tears as well, feeling the pain of having to endanger her friends without even realizing what she was doing.

Phillip's ears drooped at the thought. At the start, he had blindly followed Carla and trusted her guidance as she seemed to know far more about Edolas than anyone else. He could see the pain she was in as she had taken on the role of their guide willingly. And he had willingly followed. Neither of them were innocent. But that didn't matter now, what's done was done.

His paws clenched at his sides and he flew back down to the ground. "I'm done listening to all this crying! I don't care if you're some all-mighty God or not!" He shouted, pointing towards the Queen who was knelt on the ground. "Our friends have been out there fighting for us and I refuse to sit here waiting to be saved!" He turned his attention to the crowd of crying Exceeds. "We all have a bit of magic inside. If we work together, we don't need to be saved by anyone, we can save ourselves!"

The green Exceed stood confidently in front of the crowd, his ears no longer drooping, instead they stood strong on top of his head. For years, he stood behind Cece and followed whatever he was told without expressing what he felt. Cece had made such big strides recently and he wasn't going to be left behind. He was going to progress just like her. "This may not be my home… But it's the place that helps define who I am. And I refuse to be defined as someone who backs down from a fight! I don't care what the rest of you do, but I'm going to fight for Extalia! You make your decision whether you're coming with me or not!"

With his wings spread wide on his back, he flew back up into the sky and took off towards the lacrima island. He didn't even bother to look back and see if anyone was following him. It didn't truly matter to him. Of course, he would want to see them fight for their homeland, but he wasn't fully fighting for Extalia. He was fighting for his own independence. From that moment forward, he wouldn't follow others blindly and hide behind others.

Phillip watched how the other Exceeds followed blindly behind a Queen they thought was a God only to be disappointed by the truth. He watched Carla follow her memory without a single question as to what any of it meant only to feel betrayed by what the visions truly meant. And he had watched himself follow Cece with not a single ounce of confidence to share what he truly felt about everything they had been through. For years, he had been angry by how Cece acted to the other members of Fairy Tail and all he could do was meekly suggest she change her mindset only to be shrugged off. They hadn't even had a serious conversation recently about their next steps. The goal had always been to return to Sabertooth, but Cece had changed. Not only her, but Phillip had changed too.

And he wanted to stay at Fairy Tail. He wanted to stay with the people he considered family. Watching the Exceeds of Extalia cry for their homeland confirmed this thought for him. He could continue to feel resentment or he could take his life into his own hands. He wasn't going to be left with an empty feeling of disappointment ever again.

As Phillip approached the lacrima island, his eyes widened at the sight. He saw each of his friends forcibly trying to stop the island from moving any further, crying out from the pain of mass continuing to push against them. He picked up the pace, a jet of blue beam of light following behind him. Without a second thought, he slammed into an open spot beside his black haired best friend and her red headed companion, pushing against the rock with all of his might.

Cece looked over to him in shock. "Phillip?! What the hell are you doing here?!" Her voice was laced with worry.

On Phillip's other side, Hayden grinned, his expression the exact opposite of Cece's. "It's good to see you little buddy!"

The green Exceed held himself with such determination, it almost threw them off. His two closest friends' reactions to his appearance were very different and if Phillip weren't focused on helping stop the attack, he would have been amused. "I'm not going to sit around and let you guys have all the fun. This is my fight more than any of yours!"

As she heard his words, Cece's look of concern slowly morphed into one of pride. She couldn't tell him to leave and get to safety even if she wanted to. "Then I'm glad you're here with us."

Phillip glanced over his shoulder, taking note that there were no other Exceeds behind him. He clenched his eyes shut and fought back tears. How could they all sit back and let this happen? He may have said he didn't care what choice they made, but he couldn't believe not a single Exceed followed. Although, he knew he couldn't force any of them to stand up for what they believed in. That wasn't for him to decide.

"Cece…?" His voice was quiet at first, but he gained his friend's attention nonetheless. "When we get out of this, I want you to know.." His blue eyes opened and focused on Cece, his gaze determined despite the tears that fell down his cheeks. "I don't care what you do. You can go back to Sabertooth all you want, but if you leave one day, I won't be following you." By the time he finished his statement, his tears were flowing like a river. "I'm not going back there! I love you more than anything, Cece, but I'm staying with Fairy Tail! I love it at the guild so much and I never want to leave!"

Cece's eyes widened at Phillip's stern voice. "Wh-What?" Her voice cracked as she tried to process what he had said. It had always been their plan to return back to Sabertooth, back to Rogue when the time was right. Phillip had expressed concern in the past, telling Cece that they could just stay at Fairy Tail, but never once argued with her. Now here he was, yelling at her and making his point very clear. To hear his words 'if you leave one day, I won't be following you,' it broke her heart. Tears quickly welled up into her eyes and soon enough, she was crying just as much as her best friend. She moved her gaze away from him, unable to maintain eye contact. "You know what… Fine! I don't give a damn what you do! You stay behind, see if I care!" She exclaimed, her tone seeming as if she were angry by his words.

However, much to his surprise, her crying expression wasn't angered at all. Instead, it screamed a sense of understanding. "I couldn't care less where you stay or go, Phillip! You're not my responsibility!" The veins on her arms were prominent as she pushed harder against the island. When her gaze finally returned to Phillip, her eyes were stained red by her tears and her expression was soft. "Just promise me that no matter what you do or where you are, you will always fight with everything you have!"

"What-?" Phillip's voice cracked as he heard her. Her outburst of supposed anger was something he expected, but her quiet tone threw him off.

"Don't make me repeat myself! You heard what I said!" She snapped, pinching her eyes closed as tears continued to roll down her face. She never wanted to see Phillip leave her side, but she wasn't going to hold him back. The last thing she wanted to do was force him to do something he had no desire to do. And if he didn't want to return to Sabertooth, then she wasn't going to make him follow her. Phillip was more than her friend, he was his own person. He was a Fairy Tail guild member. "Fight!"

Before Phillip had the chance to say anything more, a loud thud was heard and Carla appeared beside Natsu and Happy. Phillip's eyes widened at the sight, but he didn't have a chance to process this as the rest of the Exceeds quickly followed behind her. Their voices cheered that they were going to protect their home no matter what the consequences were. One by one, they each positioned themselves against the island and began to push back with everything they had.

There was a barrage of sparkles around them as tears flew through the air. Each person continued to cry out, encouraging the others to keep fighting. Saving Extalia looked like an impossible task, but there was a chance that with everyone put together, they could accomplish the high task.

"Fight with everything you have, do you hear me?!" Cece cried out, her gaze looking towards Phillip who made eye contact with her at that moment. He hadn't responded to her demand for a promise to be made and she wanted an answer.

Despite his tears, a wide grin formed on his face. "I'll never stop fighting! No matter what happens, no matter what stands in my way, I will fight till the day I die!"

Satisfied with his answer, Cece's grin matched his own. "Then you have my blessing!"

All around them, a bright blue light burst forth but that didn't stop any of them from pushing the island. It seemed they were finally making progress. Finally, after what felt like ages, the lacrima island finally moved back. They were succeeding.

However, just as they were finding success, the bright light surrounded the entire island and everyone surrounding it. One by one, each person and exceed was thrown back, unable to keep their grip on the island. Phillip spotted Cece being thrown from the island and quickly flew over, grubbing onto her back to hold her tightly and keep her from falling. Slowly, the light faded, showing that the lacrima on the island had completely disappeared.

"What…?" Hayden's voice could be heard not far from Phillip and Cece as another Exceed had caught him as well as the other people who didn't have the ability to fly. "The lacrima is gone?"

"What the hell happened?" Gray's voice entered the conversation and there were quiet mutters of confusion and disbelief.

"Everyone has returned to Earthland." We all glanced up to see Mystogan flying above on the dragon like creature and gasped in disbelief. "I apologize that my search for a large enough Anima vestige to restore everything back to normal took so long." His voice was strong, almost proud as he continued. "And I would not have made it in time had it not been for all of you. You have my gratitude."

Natsu's face brightened at Mystogan's words. "You turned them back to normal?"

"Yes." Mystogan nodded, giving us all a wave of relief. "By passing through Anima again, the lacrima will revert to its original form in Earth Land. It's all over."

There were cries of excitement as the message sunk into everyone's minds. Everyone was thankful that not only had they managed to save the people of Extalia, but the people of Magnolia as well. Everyone was going to be okay and it was thanks to their combined efforts.

Above us, Mystogan removed his mask and smiled towards the black cat known as Lily. "You saved my life once, I'm glad I could help save your homeland."

Lily's face was coated in tears. "Thank you so much… Prince."

The Exceeds and Coco seemed to understand that Mystogan was the prince of Edolas, but the members of Fairy Tail were shocked. Mystogan was royalty in this world? It seemed a bit hard to believe, but nothing really made a lot of sense now that alternate personalities were real.

Tears continued to be shed around the crowd, but the feelings of relief quickly moved to that of shock when a beam of light was shot through Lily's stomach. We all turned in shock at the development and were stunned to see an army of dragon's flying towards us.

"We're not done fighting!" A female voice was heard and our gazes moved to Edolas' Erza riding on top of one of the dragon's with a weapon in hand.

"I'll be damned if we go down like this!" Another voice echoed through the air and Cece and Hayden were the first to narrow their eyes at the sight. Edolas' Hayden was amidst the dragons as well and he was anything but happy.

As the army moved closer, Hayden looked over at Cece. "What do you say, princess? Shall we beat my face in one more time and put an end to this war?"

Cece reached up and wiped at the tears that were still coating her eyes before a smirk crossed her face. "I thought you'd never ask."