( Sorry about taking so long. )

Sara was feeling very nervous as she walked the empty streets. She was going to get some clothing, since the weather was getting colder and she didn't have much to begin with. The empty streets and closed shops had reminded her of what had happened in her home village when she was a girl. She hurried back to Fairy Tail, hoping someone there knew of what was happening. She didn't want to see Magnolia go threw what her village had, remembering they had barely recovered.

(ooc: no worries, real life comes up and I'm having an iffy time myself... by the way, love the post you posted ^_^)

Jolene raced through the empty streets. The few people that dared look out the windows were fearful, angry, and had the most pleading eyes she had ever gazed into. Reaching guild road, she raced up the street towards Fairy Tail. It stood gleaming on the hill above the other guilds and guarding the harbor. She reached the front doors and paused to look over Magnolia. There at the far end of the small city was a new, dark structure. It seemed so imposing that she wondered how it had gotten there. Surely, despite being across town, she should have noticed it more quickly. She turned and pulled open the Fairy Tail door to step inside.

Sara was glad to see Jolene , still feeling very uneasy about what she had seen. " Jolene did you think things in town were strange? " Sara asked. She wanted to tell about what happened in her village. Her mother had died as a result of that incident. She was determined to fight as hard as she could. Sara had been practicing her fire and ground magic over the last few weeks glad that the others were willing to help. She hoped her friends were having better luck than she had in town.

Jolene knodded and took in Sara's concerned face. Sara looked really worried so Jolene reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "I ran into a boy who was willing to tell me. Seems a guild moved into town that is competing with us. I'm sure there could be room for both of us here. However they are bullying the townspeople. I'm worried for their sake. I need to tell the Master what is going on." She took Sara's warm arm in her own. Might as well keep the girl close, she looked almost scared. Jolene turned and looked around at the guild hall. Few were actually here. Many of the members were out on jobs right now. She sighed and headed towards the stairs. Might as well head up to the office and see what Master Makarov suggested.

" I don't like the feeling I have about this. It seems too similar to what happened in my village when I was small." Sara said, worried about the people's safety. She knew if this kept up, people would start to leave and that would be a bad thing. Sara was glad Jolene was here, knowing that safety comes in numbers.

Jolene glanced over at Sara, "What happened in your village when you were younger?" This might help give ideas on how to handle these guys. She wished that just being in Fairy Tail made all things better. That wasn't the case though. Things were bound to happen. She remembered the boy's face and how his eyes had filled with tears. They were just townspeople. They shouldn't be pulled into guild matters like this. And it was illegal for guilds to fight each other. Surely the Council would be willing to intervene.

" Remember whenI told you my mom died of a virus and my dad disappeared when he was investigating the virus ? I was seven when a rouge guild came in and started to threaten the villagers. Stores closed down when they couldnt pay these people off. It got to the point where people started to leave. The town doctor was run out of town when he and other people tried to stand up to them. The virus appeared shortly afterwards and killed 12 people. Eventually these people left, but the damage they did was irreversible. " Sara said. It was hard for her to tell about those days.

Jolene felt so horrible for even asking. The poor girl! What a horrible thing to go through. Giving her a quick hug, she whispered, "That won't happen here. We will make sure of that." They were standing in front of Master Makarov's office. She looked over Sara's head at the closed wooden door. Giving her an extra squeeze, she let go and looked her in the eyes. "The Master will take care of everything. He will know what to do." She turned and knocked on the door.

Sara nodded and hoped Master Markov knew what to do. She knew the that the problem in her village there were not many mages. Her dad was the strongest at the time, and even he was no match for those who caused so much trouble in her village. She was glad Jolene was there to help her feel better.

She saw Sara knod out of the corner of her eye. The girl was trying to be strong. That said something right there. She opened the door and let them on in. Master stood at the desk looking through something on it. He looked up at their entrance Welcome ladies! What can I do for you?

Jolene sadly explained, I went to town to shop today and everyone was hiding. No one who was open would serve me. Finally a little boy explained that another guild was in town. They were told not to help Fairy Tail. It looks like they are being bullied pretty badly.

Master Makarov knodded, this was very grave news. News that was unwelcome too. He sighed, "What can we do? It is against the rules to fight another guild. The council is not very forgiving.

" Is there any way we could negotiate with this other Guild?" Sara asked, hoping that was possible.She did have a feeling this guild was the same one that caused so much trouble in her past. She hoped this wasn't true, but things were looking too familiar to her .

Master Makarov knodded, "That is a good idea Sara. I'll head over this afternoon with Mirajane and Erza to see what can be done. In the meantime, I suggest staying in the guild itself unless your in groups. Jolene, it is a very real possibility you will be kicked out of your apartment. Grab some friends and move out before that happens. Sara, don't let this trouble you too much. I'll just talk to them and see if we can't straighten this out." He stood and led the way to the door. Opening it, he looked out and down in the main room of the guild. Filled with those he cared about, he knew he would do anything to protect them. Too bad so many were away on jobs right now.

Sara nodded. She hoped that this guild could be reasoned with, not wanting to have to report them to the Council. She still wasn't sure if how legal it was for a guild to be threatening people like this. She still feared that it would be a while before things would be back to normal.

Jolene sighed and followed him out. She watched him talk to Mirajane and Erza. Then he led them on out of the guild. Since Mirajane rarely went anywhere, everyone kinda stopped talking and watched them leave. Then slowly the rumble of voices rose again. Jolene headed down the staircase and went over to the bar. Sitting down, she looked at the rest of the room. How carefree everyone was. She supposed she should get some of them to help with move out, but she wanted to wait until after the master talked with the other guild.

Sara also wen down the stairs. " I can help you move out if you would like my help." She asked Jolene when she went to join her at the bar. Sara wanted to help her friend as much as she could, knowing this would be hard for Jolene. Sara just hoped this guild could be reasoned with.

Jolene gave Sara a grateful look. "I would appreciate that... I want to wait until the master returns though. It shouldn't be too long." She winked at Sara and patted the seat beside her. Might as well sit. Who knew how long this might take. She reached over the bar and pulled over two cups. A quick look reviewed something to drink and she dumped the liquid into each cup. Pushing one towards Sara, she took the other and sipped.

Outside, the master led Erza and Mirajane down guild lane and through the deserted streets. The town was like a ghost town with everyone inside their houses. As they neared the market, they came across the carcass of a boy. He had been badly beaten and blood was everywhere. Makarov hoped that it wasn't the boy who had helped Jolene. Seeing the innocent kid brought anger to his heart. This was the same outcome Fairy Tail could face. He continued in stoic silence. Soon they were across town and standing before this dark guild. Erza quietly said, "Be careful Makarov."

" Thank you . Sara said with a smile and took a sip. She knew she needed to relax a little and hoped this dark guild would listen to reason. Though if they didn't she feared for the safety of Magnolia. Sara knew she needed to continue to build the trust of her guild mates, and trusted they knew what to do.

Makarov sat in the office of the other guild. At the desk sat the other guild master. He had started his group as simply magically inclined ruffians and bullies. Over the years they had built up their group until the inspiration to be a mage guild hit him. Now he was a powerful guild leader but inclined towards his dark ways. HE looked upon these from Fairy Tail with disdain. A little man and two women. What did he expect? This town, rich in many ways, had spoiled Fairy Tail into compliance for him. Getting rid of them would be easier than he had thought.

Makarov looked at this man with furrowed brows. "What is the reason you have blackmailed the people in this town? Why have you, for intents and purposes, have us boycotted?" He leveled a stern gaze at the man. The members of Fairy Tail were his children and the townspeople innocent civilians. He would do what he could to help them. Starting with negotiations of course.

The dark guild master grinned, "It is simple rather. I would enjoy very much gaining just a little more power. And as I see it, taking your place will gain my own guild a much higher reputation and status." With that, he cast a dark black cloud in the room. It came out of his mouth and began to fill their minds with nightmares. Makarov reached out his hand and made it bigger, grasping the dark guild master's body in his big hand, he squeezed him effectively cutting off the attack. Mirajane did a take over soul transformation and Erza changed into better armor. They joined the fray.

Sara had the feeling something was wrong, but didn't know what. She had this feeling once when her dad went to investigate the virus. She knew she would help if she was needed , not wanting any one in this guild to get hurt. She was starting to think this dark guild was the same one that was in her village.

Jolene stretched and swiveled around in her seat. Leaning her elbows back on the counter, she relaxed and looked at the guild hall. She looked over at Sara with a grin, "You've really settled in here haven't you? The master seems to have taken a special liking to you. That isn't necessarily a good thing. He will just push you harder to learn and improve. He is like that. He enjoys watching us grow up."

Across town, Makarov left the new guild with his two assistants. The meeting had, needless to say, not gone well. He was pretty upset over how they had been treated. It appeared that this new dark guild was determined to have the town and Fairy Tail's resources. They headed back across town and he was in quite a mood. He felt that maybe it was time to have a talk with his members who were still in town. It was war.

" I like it here . I finally feel I have a family." Sara said, feeling more comfortable here than at first. She wanted to grow in her magic , wanting to be as strong as her father had been . She couldn't remember if her father was a Mage or not, since he wasn't part of a guild. She saw Master Markov , Mirajane and Ezra arriving and had feeling the meeting didn't go well.

Jolene saw Sara looked up quickly and the worry enter her eyes. Turning to see what had made Sara nervous, Jolene saw Master Makarov walk through the front door with Mirajane and Ezra in tow. She gasped and heard the same reaction from others in the room. Silence spread our around them as they looked at the master and company. They were beat up pretty good with obvious signs of a fight all over them. Lisanna hurried to Mirajane's side and helped her to a table. Natsu walked hesitantly to Makarov and Erza, What happened?

Sara ran to get the first aid kit. She didn't like it that this new guild thought they could push the people of Magnolia around and think they could get away with it. She was willing to fight them, not wanting the suffering to continue on. She came back and put the kit on the table, in case any one needed her help.

Lisanna left Mirajane in Sara's care. She then hurried to the bar where Mirajane kept her communications supplies. She quickly started sketching out an explanation to The Council of what was occurring in Magnolia. She wanted to have legal protection for any action Fairy Tail would have to take. It was illegal to fight against another guild, including dark guilds. She didn't want a repeat of the past. Having The Council upset with you wasn't fun.

Makarov answered Natsu's spoken, and everyone else's unspoken, question. It was with a worried heart that he said, "They won't talk, at least not reasonably. It seems that we now have a problem on our hands. It we protect the people of Magnolia or defend ourselves, then The Council will execute us. If we let the people of Magnolia go their own way and not defend ourselves, then we all die and The Council executes the other guild. There are two choices here. Either we all die and the people of Magnolia live. Or we all die, including many of the people of Magnolia. What say you?"

Sara cleaned and bandaged Mirajane's wounds and listened to what Master Markov had said. She knew either way their lives would be at risk. She hoped there was some way to reason with the Council, knowing anyone would want to protect the lives of those who couldn't protect themselves. She was willing to die, knowing that the people of Magnolia would be safe.