Sara nodded and hurried toward the guild. She hoped that those thugs wouldn't follow them.Running wasn't one of her strong suits, though Sara hoped to improve this, wasting to be able to move quickly if needed. She was relived to see the guild in the distance , knew they would be safe there.

Jolene pounded up the rocky path and grabbed the guild doors. Pulling them open, she found other guild members already there ready to pull them inside. One of them explained, "We saw you running. Looks like you ran into trouble. Everyone okay?" Jolene nodded, too breathless to say a word. Elfman grunted, "How's Mirajane?"

Sara quickly followed inside. She hoped Mirajane was doing better. Sara knew they might have to tell about the battle when they were heading back to the guild. She hoped to get some time to take a look at the spellbook and see if there were any notes on the evil guild that had taken over her town.

One of the guild members quickly reassured Elfman, "She is doing alright. Just needs to rest and get her energy back. She might a bit sore but that is it." He nodded and carried Jolene's luggage over to the girls' dorm. Picking an empty room he set them down and then walked over to Mirajane's room to visit with her.

Jolene patted Sara's shoulder and gave her a grateful smile. They had made it back. She turned and saw Erza coming down the stairs. She grimaced and headed over to her. "Hey Erza. We ran into trouble in town. On the way back, 5 men dressed in black attacked us. One of them had mage abilities. We simply knocked them over and ran for it. Self-defense only and we got out of there. Thought it might be a good idea to tell you." She sighed and nodded her thanks.

Sara gave a smile back and went up to the girls dorms. She had a feeling Master Markov would want to talk to them once he heard about what had happened. She put her clothes in an empty drawer and went back down the stairs. She hoped there was a peaceful way to resolve this.

Jolene followed Elfman and examined her dorm room. It was a simple room with a bed, a desk, a dresser, a closet, and a bathroom. She began to unpack her clothes and get them straightened up so that they wouldn't wrinkle. Then she moved everything else to the closet. Sighing, she turned and headed downstairs. Seeing Sara already ahead of her, she ran to catch up and slid an arm in hers. "Settled in Sara?"

" I am. " Sara said with a small smile. She liked the dorms , but already missed her apartment. It had been her first solid home in many years, but had the feeling anywhere with her guild mates was home. She was glad that she did have a place to stay.

Erza stood as they reached the bottom of the stairs and walked over, "Come on dears, let's go to the Master's office." She looked them over and took in their expressions. They were worried but would be okay. Turning, she led the way on towards his office.

Jolene looked up at the balcony his office door was on. He would have questions. Most likely, now, no one would be able to leave. She tightened her grip on Sara's arm. She didn't like the idea of being trapped in the guild, or anywhere.

Sara didnt want to be trapped. Things were becoming too similar to the events in her past. She knew she might have to explain those events as best she could. She hoped her father hadn't been killed because he stood up for the townspeople. She tensed up as they approached the office.

Erza knocked on the door to Master Makarov's office. She grimaced inside at the coming explanation. They didn't do anything wrong, but she was still feeling guilty all the same. As Erza opened the door, she heard footsteps behind her. Already tense, she gripped Sara's arm a bit tighter before forcing herself to look back. Elfman was walking to join them. She felt relief flood through her. Erza walked inside and held the door open for them.

Sara was feeling a bit more relaxed. She hoped that they wouldn't get in trouble for the incident on the street, but Sara knew there had been no way to avoid that confrontation. She also knew the worse injuries those thugs would have was the minor burns from the fire spell.

Gingerly stepping forward, they entered the office. Makarov stood by the window looking out. Glancing at them he asked, "Are you three okay?" He looked calm and collected, if not a bit stoic. No one would be able to see the distress he felt inside at three of his children being ambushed like that. Elfman could handle it, but Sara and Jolene were still young and inexperienced mages. They were more likely to get hurt than some of the others.

Elfman nodded and said, "I'm fine. Sorry these ladies got pulled in though. We were just walking along when five of them jumped down from the roofs. They somehow managed to circle Jolene and I, but Sara was able to stay out of their circle and attack from behind. Jolene parried their attacks with her sword while Sara started putting up barriers. I wasn't very manly. Didn't do a thing to help either of them. As soon as we could, we ran." Elfman rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. Glancing at the two girls, he saw Jolene's tight grip on Sara's arm and Sara's worried eyes.

Makarov quickly interpreted their expressions with experience only age gave him. He turned away from the window and sat down behind his desk. "Jolene, you can stop worrying. Wipe that guilt from your heart. Sara, you look like you have something your wanting to say?"

" I do. These events now are reminding me very much of what happened in the village I was raised in. I just don't want things to get that bad here in Magnolia." Sara said in a calm voice. It was hard for Sara to do so, but knew it wouldn't be good to fall apart.

Jolene turned and looked at her surprised. Giving her a supporting pat on the shoulder, she led her to a chair. Erza walked to Sara's other side and to give her emotional support. Elfman frowned, staying by the door to keep people from interrupting. Makarov slowly nodding, his eyes watching Sara closely. He encouraged her, "Tell us what happened exactly. Start from the beginning." He had known a burden was shadowing her from her past since she first had come in asking to join. That was the case with some others as well. Yet she had not ever come in to talk to him and he hadn't pushed. Obviously Sara's friend, Jolene, had not noticed judging from the surprised look on her face.

" When I was five a group of mages wanted to settle in the small village I lived in. There was some controversy among the town elders and my father. He was the only mage in the village and people sometimes came to him for help. This guild bullied many of the townspeople , including my dad to join them.After a while things got worse when people started getting sick, since the village doctor had moved and a new one refused to come take his place. My father suspected this guild had something to do with the virus. He went one day to investigate and never came home. My mom died shortly after and the guild left." Sara said taking a breath.

Jolene looked over at Makarov's narrowed eyes and asked, "They were experimenting on them or just simply causing sickness for the fun of it?" He shook his head, "I don't know. They do like to bully others though." He stood from his desk and walked over to the window. "One thing is for sure, we can't abandon these people. Erza, get Freed and Levy started on setting up defenses. We will circle the guild and start working our way out to slowly cover as much of the town as well can. Freed can set traps to imprison the idiots while Levy finds ways to protect the townspeople."

Sara knew it was the right thing for her to tell about her past. She felt at ease a little bit, but there still was the uncertainty of her fathers fate that bothered her. She hoped one day she would find out.

Erza turned and headed out the door. Elfman followed her out. Makarov turned to the remaining two, "I know it may not be your favorite thing to do, but go jump into some books and see if you can find anything. Get Cana to help you."

Sara nodded and went out of the room. She waited for Jolene as she waited. Sara didn't mind reading all that much, but knew they would be at it for a while. She just wanted to stop this evil guild , without anyone getting killed in the process.

Jolene sighed and nodded, following Sara out into the hall. "Guess we should go find Cana. Where that girl and her cards are at anyways?"

" I don't know. I thought I saw her when we got back. " Sara said looking around. She wasn't sure where Cana would be.

Jolene headed for the stairs, "Let's check the bar. That girl can drink an elephant under the table."

Sara looked around for Cana. She knew they needed all the help they could get when they looked through the books. She went down the stairs and hoped Cana was at the bar.

Seeing Cana sitting on top of the bar crossed legged with a barrel resting there, she nudged Sara and pointed.

Sara nodded and was glad that they had found Cana. " I hope we can find what we are looking for in the books." She said in a low voice.