Meredy watched him carefully. His back was turned toward her as he bathed in the waterfall.

"Meredy!" Ultear scolded, "Leave him be."

Meredy jumped and looked away, "I'm sorry," she said meekly and glared at the ground.

Ultear sighed and sat up from her lounged position and said, "alright, out with it. What's on your mind?"

Meredy didn't say anything at first, just puffed out her cheeks until Ultear warned, "Meredy."

Bouncing slightly as though unable to contain her anger she exclaimed, "why are you letting him stay?! We don't need him! It's always been the two of us!"

Ultear blinked and then smiled warmly at her daughter, "Meredy, nothing is ever going to change between us if that's what you're worried about." She reached a hand out and placed it on her shoulder when the younger girl didn't make eye contact with her.

"You're my daughter and I love you with all my heart. Nothing will ever come between us. I just, I feel bad, you know? I ruined his life, his childhood sweetheart is probably scarred for life and now that he's free we can't even take him to see her cuz," he broke off, "well you know why."

Meredy looked up, tears in her eyes and a little smile on her face as she looked up at her mother and threw her arms around her.

"So, when are we going to tell him about that?"

"Hmm?" Ultear asked obviously thinking the discussion over.

"About Fairy Tail?"

Ultear paled, "well, I didn't think it was necessary for him to know…"

"Why not? Don't you think he'll want to see her? Or something?"

"No, he'll be too busy hunting down Zeref to even think about her."

"Ul," Meredy scolded, "you know as well as I do that's not true. Plus when we go to different towns I'm sure that's all anyone will be talking about!"

"Well, we'll just steer clear of towns." Ultear nodded.

"Ul! He's going to find out. And it's better he find out from us first hand than from someone else. You know better than that, I'd hope."

Ultear stared up at her daughter squinting as she stood over her hand on her hips.

Ultear sighed and rolled over as though she were the child and not Meredy, "alright! Alright! Fine!"

Ultear took a breath, heart racing. Why? She didn't know, maybe it was shame. She'd messed this boy up so much that when he finally found some ray of happiness she'd taken that away too. Embarrassment flushed her face as she called, "Hey Jellal?"

"Hmm?" he called back.

"Um, there's something you should know, about Fairy Tail."

Jellal stopped moving in the water curious as to what she'd say. That was Erza's guild, he knew, he wondered what had happened.

"What about it?"

"Um, well, something happened to them, on Tenrou island." she trailed off.

"Oh?"

"They went missing."

Jellal frowned, cocking his head to the side, "What do you mean?"

"They've been missing for 2 years. No one knows what happened to them."

"We're really sorry," Meredy said softly.

Ultear paused as there was still no sound.

Meredy poked her head out from the trees to see his head dunked in the water.

"Jellal?" she called.

He flipped his head out of the water and ran his hands through his hair, 'that's ok." he said.

Meredy paused, "what?"

"Wherever she is she's safe. She might not be all there, but she's alive and well, to some degree. So I'm sure everyone else is too. There's no way she'd lose any of them on her watch...I'm sure…" he chuckled to himself.

"How do you know?"

He shrugged, "I just do," he tapped the base of his skull. "Don't worry about it." and then he turned and Meredy ducked back again.

"Besides, Erza can handle herself, she'll be ok. We, on the other hand, will not be if we stay here." He was treading out of the water now, "thank you, guys. For the rescue, but if I'm not going back to jail I'd better be on my way."

"Way? Where are you going?"

Jellal shrugged putting on his clothes, "I'll figure something out, I'm thinking about...never mind."

"What?" Ultear asked, "we want to help."

He shrugged not sure of them yet.

Well, you should stay with us."

"That's alright, really."

He didn't know what to think of them. He knew he was supposed to hate them for putting him through hell and back but he didn't. It just didn't matter to him anymore. He was just so tired of it all, in prison they had tortured him, but at least there was nothing he had to worry about. With these guys? Sure, it seemed like they were sorry but were they really? How far were they willing to go? Could they make the ultimate sacrifice to repent? How did he know they wouldn't just turn on him the moment he let his guard down?

"Please, Jellal, we don't know what else to do. We betrayed our guild and have given up our dreams of conquering Zeref. We broke you out of prison and now we're just as much fugitives as you are. We've got nothing." Ultear said quietly. "I'm out of ideas, but I don't want to raise Meredy thinking she was a horrible person all her life filled with regret like I am. So I'm asking you, what are doing?"

Jellal sighed, what a moving speech, he couldn't help but count certain flaws in her argument but none the less, "I'm going dark guild hunting."

They both jolted up, "By yourself?"

"If I don't stop dark guilds who will?" he asked, "Of course, I'll make it an overall goal to take care of Zeref while I'm out there." he nods.

"By yourself?" they ask again.

He shrugs, "If I don't who will? Fairy Tail most certainly won't."

Ultear and Meredy give each other a look before they nod, "Alright, where do you want to start?"

He blinked at them, lowering the hand that was shielding his eyes from the unrelenting sun.

"If we're gonna be a team we need a name. Research deducts that a group is less organized when they lack the unity of a name."

"..I don't think that's true,"

"No..but it'll be really awesome! So Jellal, think! What do you want our name to be?"

He blinked at her. unsure. "I don't…"

"Hmm...Crime Fighters! Freedom Fighters! Children of Liberty!" Meredy supplied.

"Mmm, too bland, too cheesy, too American. Think Meredy." Ultear shot down.

"I don't know, I'm not really that creative,"

"Well, what would you like in a name?" Jellal asked her.

Meredy touched a finger to her lips and thought, "Hmm, I want it to have something to do with crime."

"OK, and it should have something to do with magic since we're mages."

"You guy are putting a lot of thought into this," Jellal said somewhat dryly as they started walking.

Meredy gasped, "what about Magic Crime! DGH! Dark Guild Hunters."

"Lame!" Jellal called out, feeling the need to put in his two cents.

"Crime Magic!" Ultear grinned, proudly.

"Crime Sorciere." Jellal butt in dryly hands behind his head. At their silence, he frowned and turned to look at them. They had stopped walking and were just staring at him.

"That's…" Meredy started.

"Actually a pretty good idea!" Ultear beamed,

"All in favor for Crime Sorciere say I!"

"I!" Ultear grinned,

"I!" said Meredy.

They turned to look at Jellal who gave them an exasperated look, "I have to say it too?"

They nodded and he groaned, "I."

Meredy grinned, "It's official. We are now the Independent 'Crime Sorciere', watch out Dark Guilds, you're going down!"

Ultear face palmed while Jellal just gave a fond shake of his head and turned away, "We'll work on the slogan next." Ultear cackled as they began on their way again, and thus was the birth, of Crime Sorciere!

Ok yes. Meredy was kind of watching him while he was bathing but like...nothing was visible XDXD I just really like that thought Jellal kind of relaxing, "cleansing" himself, if you will, while they tell him this. Thus came the waterfall. And because you don't normally walk into a waterfall with clothes on...Yeah, lol. Don't make it weird guys lol. And thus: The birth of Crime Sorciere!