"How did you all manage to join the independent guild?" Erza questioned the former member of the Oracion Seis. They had been walking for some time, and her curiosity was catching up to her.
"Erik helped us," Angel began.
"Hey!" Cobra shouted back. Angel sniffed, but relented.
"Fine. Cobra traded information about Tartaros to a member of the council for our release right after the Magic Council was blown up."
"Erik?"
Angel smirked.
"Cobra doesn't like it when we use his real name," she told Erza. The girls were walking slowly, lagging behind the rest of the group.
"I see," Erza murmured. "Is Angel an alias as well?"
Angel looked uneasy for a moment, then nodded.
"Mmhm."
"If you don't mind my asking, what is your real name?"
"Sorano." The white-haired girl was silent for a short length of time, but then continued.
"I hadn't heard my name in a long time. It's kind of nice to hear it again."
Erza smiled at her. It was nice to see the girl making an effort for change.
"What about the others?"
"Well, you already know Richard, Erik, and Sawyer." Sorano pointed to Midnight, who was walking steadily and silently several dozen paces ahead of them. "He's Macbeth. Although it's difficult to think of him as anyone other than Midnight."
Erza agreed with her assessment.
"He doesn't mind if we call him Macbeth, though. He was the only one to introduce himself to Jellal and Meredy."
Sorano stiffened as they continued to walk.
"Jellal's kind of creepy," she whispered in a confidential manner. "I mean, he's a good guy and all that boring light stuff, but I don't like how he can pull things out of your mind. You would think I'd be used to that with Cobra, but at least I know him, annoying as he is."
Erza was surprised.
"He can use listening telepathy like Cobra?" she asked curiously. Sorano nodded.
"It's different, though. Cobra hears what's in your heart's voice, what you are thinking at that very moment. Jellal can pull things from memory, things you haven't thought about in years, as well as what Cobra does, albeit on a lesser scale. He probably has regular telepathy as well."
"Yes." Erza remembered hearing Jellal's voice before. She had thought it might have been her imagination, but deep inside, she had known it wasn't.
"Anyway, so all six of us got out, but guess who was waiting for us. The amnesiac wonder himself and Meldy."
"It's Meredy!" Meredy corrected irritably from her place walking on the other side of Erza. "You know full well what my name is, Sorano!"
"It just slipped my mind," Sorano said smoothly. "It's not my fault you have such a forgettable name."
Meredy scowled.
"Aren't you going to mention the part where you were all bested by that wonder? And he doesn't have amnesia anymore!"
"Touchy, touchy." Sorano examined her fingernails for a moment while walking, then spoke again.
"It's true that there was a minor skirmish, but it didn't last long. Four on one is impressive odds, especially against the four of us."
"You said the six of you were released," Erza mentioned. "What happened to Brain?"
"Oh, Cobra got rid of him," Sorano flicked her hand dismissively. "He might be dead by now. We didn't stick around to check."
"Really?" Erza asked in disbelief. "You attacked your guild master?"
Sorano sniffed indignantly.
"Brain hasn't been out guild master in a long time," she countered. "He didn't care about us; he only wanted his precious seals to fix his identity problems. He cared more about Kludoa than any of us."
"Kludoa?"
Sorano sighed.
"Brain's skull stick. Had a giant green orb in its mouth sometimes. Was really annoying whenever it came to life."
"Right…"
Sorano rolled her eyes.
"Near the end of our fight, Midnight made this stealth illusion of Zero taking over Brain's body and killing Jellal. It was a really solid nightmare. Even I was fooled. But the stupid wonder broke through the illusion by crushing his eyes."
"He crushed his eyes?!" Erza instinctively looked up and scanned for Jellal, but since he and the others were ahead of them. She couldn't see his face.
"Don't worry," Meredy assured her. "He can see now. He had to wear bandages for a while, but his eyes healed quickly."
"Basically," Sorano continued, "He defeated us, then asked us to join Crime Sorciere."
"And you agreed?"
Sorano looked aside.
"Not exactly. I was going to follow him, and Richard wanted to as well, but Jellal was determined to find Tartaros. We were gonna ditch them because we didn't want to risk breaking the Balam Alliance pact, but we decided to follow them and helped out when they got attacked by a former friend of Meredy's."
"No friend of mine," Meredy said almost sadly. "Rusty Rose was a former member of Grimoire Heart with me."
"Meldy here was actually pretty brave about the whole thing," Sorano complimented. "Braver than most of my whiny victims, anyway. You've heard of Karan Lilica? She kept complaining about how she couldn't summon her spirits because she couldn't control a rebellious lion. I finally just killed her and took her keys to shut her up. Oh, and because I wanted them. She had a couple of nice gates."
Meredy, who began looking pleased, frowned at the mention of Sorano's victims, even one from years ago.
"Rusty trapped me in one of his spells. He was going to kill Jellal to encourage me to join him and his imaginary Grimoire Heart. He would have killed us both, but the Seis knocked him out."
Erza glance at Sorano, who smiled slightly under her hood.
"Yeah, we were following them anyway," she said. "So we might as well lend a hand to these suicidal maniacs. Besides, that Rusty guy came by before he went psycho, and I didn't like his aura. He wasn't about to let Melby go."
"Meredy."
"Indeed."
Erza noticed that, besides the teasing, the pair seemed to enjoy each other's female company. She smiled, happy to see Meredy gaining a companion to soften the blow of losing Ultear.
"We decided we would stick around with you rabble," Sorano insulted seamlessly. "You guys need the help."
"Gee, thanks," Meredy scoffed.
"No offense," Sorano added as an afterthought. She tugged at her cloak. "But this color of blue is really outdated. The ensemble should be changed so we won't look like homeless sociopaths."
"I told you to shut up about that."
"White would be better, and without these hideous hoods."
While Sorano and Meredy were squabbling, Erza looked ahead, noticing the others had stopped advancing. The girls walked up to them and peered over the ridge they stood on. Sorano gasped.
"A city!"
And indeed there was a large city sprawling against the green and lush landscape. The settlement was packed with tall buildings and was blazing with light.
"Can we go there?" Meredy asked. She looked wistful.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Jellal rumbled, trying to veto the idea. All five of the former Seis looked down longingly at the city.
"I bet there are beds down there," Sawyer grinned. Sorano groaned.
"Okay, I'm going down there," she said firmly. "With or without you guys."
"Sorano-"
"No," the white-haired girl pouted. "I thought we were supposed to have true freedom. I want the freedom to take a bath and sleep in a bed. Then we can go back to being fugitives."
"We're always fugitives, Sorano." Jellal sighed. "If it's that important to you, then we can spend the night there. But," he said, just as the others were about to celebrate, "We're eating here."
The rest of the group didn't seem to mind. Erza watched as they gathered their packs in a pile, then set up a small fire. Meredy set a pot over the fire and began adding ingredients. Erza knelt next to her and observed her work.
"What are you making?" she asked curiously. Meredy grinned.
"My famous stew. Here."
She stirred the concoction in the pot a few moments more, then scooped a ladleful into a bowl she had waiting. She handed it to Erza. Erza peered at the brown soup. It contained lumps of what appeared to be vegetables and several types of meat. She inhaled deeply, taking the scent into herself. It smelled delicious. She swallowed a spoonful and gasped when it hit her tongue.
"It's exquisite!" she admired. Meredy beamed happily.
"I try to make a few different things, but this is my favorite."
"It's mine as well," Jellal spoke, settling down on the other side of Meredy. She gave him a large bowl and he dug into the meal enthusiastically.
Soon, everyone was served and devouring Meredy's stew contentedly. Cobra finished slurping his portion and tossed the bowl to the ground. He grinned across the fire at Jellal.
"You ready, loser?"
Erza expected Jellal to rebuke Cobra, but instead he merely dipped his head and smiled. The pair simultaneously straightened their postures and stared at each other across the fire. Their eyes were unwaveringly locked, neither one blinking. Their expressions were deadly serious.
Erza shifted awkwardly, made uncomfortable by the sudden silence.
"What are they doing?" she asked quietly. Meredy grinned.
"My favorite part of the night," she spoke happily. "It's like a training session. Right now, Cobra and Jellal are sparring inside their minds. They're focused on trying to make the other react."
"React?" Erza questioned. Meredy nodded.
"Yeah. They're thinking of things that will make the other laugh, or get angry, or whatever. It's practice for influencing opponents and keeping organized thoughts; reading minds while focusing on trickery. Whoever reacts first loses and has to tell us what the winner told him."
"Sounds interesting." Erza glanced at Cobra and Jellal. They were both still frozen like statues. Their only movements were occasional blinks and the rise and fall of their chests.
"Who usually wins?"
Sawyer grunted.
"We've played this twice before. It's the new after-dinner ritual. Jellal won the first time, but the next night Cobra beat him. So it's a tie so far."
He grinned.
"Jellal has also been showing me how to increase my speed. Not just in my time warp, but with my actual body, too."
Erza nodded respectfully in acknowledgement.
"That's excellent. It's always a benefit to work on improving your skills."
"J
She tilted her head at the sound of an annoyed sigh filled her ears. She glanced at the opponents, but they remained still. She looked to the side and noticed Midnight. His expression looked bored, but a hint of a smile tugged at his mouth.
Cobra and Jellal were still for several more moments. But then pink began creeping up Jellal's cheeks as he ducked away in an embarrassed blush. Cobra grinned wickedly.
"I win," he gloated. He stood up and stretched. Then he pointed back down at his competitor. "Now tell 'em what I told you."
Jellal, still crouched on the ground, shook his head firmly. Cobra frowned.
"You have to. Tell them or I will."
"Spit it out," Sawyer called. "Aren't we all friends here?"
"If Jellal-sama has no wish to tell us, then I will not pry," Richard offered. Cobra growled.
"That might be fine for you, but I want him to tell her."
Her?
Erza looked at Jellal's face, which was flushed a deep shade of crimson. She wondered what Cobra had told him.
"If you want me to tell you, I will," Cobra laughed at her.
"No!" Jellal insisted. His fists were clenched and his jaw was tight. Sorano sighed.
"Can he just tell one of us or something? Stalemates are so boring." Then she smirked. "Though I would like to know what made the poor man get so flustered."
Cobra protested, but then relented.
"Fine." He gestured with his head towards Erza. "Tell her."
"No," Jellal refused. He sat up and put his face near Meredy's ear. He whispered quietly so only she could hear his words. Meredy giggled as Jellal pulled away from her.
"Well, no wonder," she laughed. "Good one, Erik."
Cobra looked pleased, not even insisting Meredy call him by his chosen alias.
"You should still tell the redhead, but I guess that's good enough for now."Jellal pulled his hood over his hair and looked out at the city.
"If we are going down there, we should begin now."