Kai hobbled further away from where he landed to make sure he avoided Jellal's range. Erigor didn't pursue him, either. He at last came to a rest several yards and minutes away against a heavy tree, plopping to the ground and resting.

He only barely managed to slow his heartrate down. Jellal.

Jellal.

But…Jellal?

At Nirvana, Jellal both helped Natsu and Kai rescued him. Jellal had his memory back, and he apologized. He wanted to be redeemed. He turned himself in for valiant purposes.

What the hell was he doing with Erigor?

His hand fell to his blade and his side and he let out another long breath of air. Kai brushed the hair out of his face.

Worst of all was how he was on his own. Jellal had definitely gotten stronger over the last seven years; Kai could probably have competed with his level of strength before Tenrou, but now? It seemed almost insurmountable. He tightened the grip around his sword handle.

As he picked himself up, some branches cracked and leaves shuffled nearby. He drew his blade, sensing some magic.

"Wait."

A woman's voice. Kai turned in the direction of the village. A woman in a black and white unitard with a headband holding back long raven hair strode forward, followed by a smaller woman with pink hair.

They both held their hands up in peace. Kai maintained his stance with his blade out.

"Who are you?"

The woman with raven hair took a trepidatious step forward. "My name is Ultear Milkovich and this is my friend, Meredy."

Kai hesitated. He'd heard that name from Gray.

"Grimoire Heart."

Ultear scoffed and shook her head. "That's history."

"Then what you are doing here?"

"The same as you. Helping out. Those Exceeds are in danger from Erigor and the other assassins. We want to stop them."

Kai leered, unyielding. Meredy took a careful step forward and Kai shifted his attention to her.

"I can show you that she's telling the truth," she said. "I can link your hearts and minds."

"Don't," Kai said. "I don't trust that you'll try something else. You're both with Grimoire Heart."

"Grimoire Heart died with Tenrou Island," Ultear said. "Zeref destroyed our airship, our master was obliterated. We're some of the only survivors and we don't associate with that old guild anymore."

"Then who are you with?"

"A new guild led by Jellal."

"Who probably blasted him over here," Meredy muttered.

Kai sucked in a breath but neither Ultear nor Meredy did anything to him still. They remained frozen in place. Kai had complete control over his body, not shaking or wavering in the slightest. But they maintained similar stances, both with their shoulders back and heads held high. Affirmed in their statements.

"Jellal was working with Erigor," Kai said. "Erigor said he was the one putting them together."

"Based on what you remember of Jellal seven years ago, does that make sense?"

"I don't know what to think nowadays."

"Then let us show you the truth."

"The truth?" Kai scoffed. "Not what you want to show me?"

"If you don't trust us then you have to trust yourself," Ultear said. "If what we're showing feels false in any way, back away and we'll understand. But we want to help Fairy Tail to redeem the sins we cast against you."

Kai cocked his head to the side. Meredy held her hand out toward Kai. He grit his teeth.

What would Erza do? Would she believe these two, or would she have taken them down already? Would she have already agreed to see if Jellal was still redeemable?

Better yet, Kai considered, what if Jellal had attacked Kai to save him?

"Fine." Kai straightened up but didn't put away his sword.

Meredy stood between Ultear and Kai and pressed her hand on their chests. Ultear then spoke,

"We are Crime Sorciere, an unregistered guild that has spent the last few years hunting Dark Guilds looking to take advantage of the recent vacuums in the Balam Alliance. Jellal Fernandes was the one who brought us together, knowing we were wayward souls. Now that Fairy Tail has returned, we're hoping to prove we stand on the side of justice and seek their aid for a possible darkness brewing."

Meredy lowered her hands and the magic circles on Kai and Ultear faded. Kai closed his eyes.

Naught but a sensation of correctness washed over him throughout Ultear's speech. Her conviction sung in him, and his heart resonated with it. Quite unbelievably, these were the good guys.

"Why though?"

"Because darkness is suffocating," Ultear said. "And it is blinding. For years I lived my life believing that everyone hated me, when in reality it was the world who hated me, and I now stand to protect others from this darkness. That same darkness corrupted Jellal and Meredy, but Jellal had the strength to gather us and unite us against Dark Guilds who want to corrupt and destroy."

Kai eased back, bracing himself against a tree. "It's just…"

"A lot? I understand."

"But we're here to help," Meredy said. "Jellal's been gathering all of these wizards together in one place so we can take them out in one fell swoop for the Magic Council. It's not the main reason he gathered them here."

"What is?"

"As I said, Fairy Tail," Ultear said. "I imagine coming back to a world seven years after your death was quite jarring. While I can't catch you all up on your missing years, I do have magic that can help you catch up in another way. But we need something in exchange."

Kai nodded and Ultear continued, smiling at Meredy.

"We need to forge an alliance with Fairy Tail. Not a public one, but one that will allow us to find some brewing shadow that has come over Crocus the last few years."

"And you'll help us compete in the Grand Magic Games?"

"I can explain more later," Ultear said. "Meredy?"

Meredy looked beyond the forest toward the illusory town. "Jellal is ready."

"After this," Ultear said. "Care to lend a hand?"

Meredy frowned. "And where's the rest of your guild, anyway?"

Kai shrugged. "They vanished for a few days, nothing serious. I got left behind while we were training."

"In a way it's a stroke of fate, then," Ultear said. "Help us take these guys down and we'll train you for the Grand Magic Games."

Meredy wasn't linking them anymore, but Ultear's voice remained resolute. She turned and strode away, practically pulling Meredy with her. Kai didn't need that link to know she wanted to help Kai.

Which worried him that they so desperately needed Fairy Tail to fight this threat.

They spread out across the field at around midafternoon, Meredy fallen the farthest back as part of a strategy that she and Ultear had worked on a while ago. Specifically, the three of them hadn't necessarily concocted a plan outside of Ultear casting aside their illusion and exposing all of the Dark Wizards in the area, which would allow Jellal to crush most of them in a single blow, leaving Kai to round out the rest.

Kai stabbed his sword into the ground. It was an oddly stealthy mission. He surged magic into the blade and remained low in the tall grass reeds that coated the field.

Erigor's raucous laugh ran through the air. Kai so desperately wanted to leap in and attack that, but the memory of their fight was still all-too fresh. Kai would spend all of his time just dedicated to Erigor and would be forced to neglect the others. Not saying there weren't others of Erigor's caliber…

He tensed but calmed his mind. He had allies. Much as part of him wished to think that this was all a setup and Kai was about to be slaughtered by dozens of Dark Wizards, something else prevented him from going too far down that metal road.

Jellal strode free of the illusory town and raised his arm, shooting a signal into the air. The Dark Wizards in the fake town all roared with excitement, but it was all for naught. In that moment, Ultear leapt into the air, swinging her arms through the air and a great magic circle appeared over the entire town. In a blink, it all vanished. Jellal also spun about as the mages stood confused, his hands clasped together in a particular formation.

"Grand Chariot!"

Seven heavenward lights appeared above them and blasted strong beams of magic down on the crowd. Kai dashed forward, also taking to the air amidst the explosion as several of the wizards were sent flying but some willingly leapt away.

"Ice Dragon Roar!"

They all contorted to look at him and he blasted them with everything he had, freezing them to the ground below. Kai slid into where the town had been, and even more wizards were still converging on him. Kai closed his hands over his chest.

"Frozen Sword Formation: Tundra Third Layer!"

The beam came out of nowhere and clipped several of the wizards, sending them tumbling away. Those that Kai could not get to, though, were frozen in their tracks, shivering, all with different magic circles on their chest.

Meredy.

Before they could do anything about it, a blinding golden light took them all down and stopped right behind Kai. Kai held his hand out and caught the sword plunging through the air.

Dozens of high-profile assassins and Dark Wizards lay in a heap before him. Ultear pulled a blue cloak over her shoulders and raised the cowl of it over her eyes. Meredy jogged over to join her.

Jellal had stopped behind Kai and refused to face him, just as Kai did the same. But he at least sheathed his sword.

"You've gotten pretty strong," Kai said.

"All in the name of defending Fiore," Jellal said. "Sorry I couldn't tell you earlier. It would've compromised things and I needed to make it look like I dealt with you. All my targets hadn't arrived yet."

"How are you free?"

"The Magic Council would never have allowed me to act upon what we needed to do. I broke free after all of my memories returned to me in full. All the horrors and atrocities I'd committed. The fleeting few good things I did only recently, to you."

"So you're still on the run?"

"I will be, likely, for the rest of my life."

"And you roped Meredy and Ultear into this?"

"They came along willingly. They know what they're doing and how important it is. We've done good work since you've been gone, Kai. I'm sorry you missed so much."

"Ultear offered to help me."

"To train you."

"Because you need our help."

"Now more than ever."

Kai sighed, and then turned to face Jellal, who did the same. Kai held his hand out for Jellal, who clasped it. Kai squeezed.

"You're getting the second chance few of us get," Kai said. "Don't waste it."

Crime Sorciere waited at the fringes of the clearing while Kai approached the Exceed village later that day, after they'd watched—from afar—as Lahar led the Magic Council in taking in all of the criminals.

Kai knelt before Queen Shaggotte, who smiled in return.

"You're back sooner than expected."

"I had a bit of help," Kai said. "You're safe, Your Highness."

"Thank you for all of your help," she said. "It's good to know that our friends are not only back, but they are still strong as ever."

Her words sat with Kai as he approached Crime Sorciere. The three of them set up came on a small cliffside nearby, Jellal creating a fire and then gazing out over the cliff. Ultear rolled her little crystal ball around, laying her cloak out on the ground, while Meredy dropped sticks into the fire.

It purred between all of them. Kai stood a few feet away from them, from three former high-profile Dark Wizards and current criminals. His sword, though, lay against a tree, off of his belt. A light wind swept and wiggled the fire a bit.

"You said you had a way to help us catch up, in a sense," Kai said. "How?"

Jellal chuckled and Ultear nodded. "Have you ever heard of a Second Origin?"

"No, what is it?"

"It's a well of power within a lot of mages. It's hard for many to access, and after a certain amount of time, it becomes irrelevant that it exists, they've unknowingly been tapping into it for a long time. But you all, having lain dormant for seven years, have access to the full power of your Second Origin still. If we're able to unlock it, you'll likely be up to speed with the rest of the competition."

"And what is so threatening that you need me, need all of us, to do this?" Kai asked, folding his arms.

"Zeref." Jellal turned back toward them, the light of the fire brimming on his face. The name sent a chill through Kai's body. "For years we've sensed a brewing magic similar to his during the Grand Magic Games. It's only become more potent of late. Those in Castle Mercurius keep things pretty close to the chest, and we obviously don't have the means of participating as a legitimate guild. No other guild trusts us as much as we hoped Fairy Tail would."

Kai nodded. Zeref's influence was well-noted by the guild. The flute Lullaby. The demon Deliora.

"He was on Tenrou Island the day we all vanished," Kai said. "He confronted some of our guild mates and thankfully they survived. Sounds like he also killed Hades. Sounds like he's starting to…come alive, as it was."

"We need to stop him," Jellal said. "That is the ultimate tenant of Crime Sorciere."

"Stopping Zeref," Meredy said, softly. "Putting an end to the suffering he subjected so many others to."

Noble. Kai sighed and approached the fire. "So Fairy Tail is a cover?"

"Fairy Tail can help us investigate," Ultear said.

"But…also yes," Meredy said.

"And you believe you can stop whatever plan he has?"

"We'll have the support of the most powerful guilds in the kingdom," Jellal said. "Even if they don't know it. Yes, we can succeed, but we absolutely need support to do so. Kai, I wouldn't be asking if this wasn't serious. We're all happy you're back and don't mean to plunge you into something so drastically but…"

Kai waved him off. "Drastic, but still three months away. If I help you, I want something in exchange."

"Like unlocking your Second Origin?" Ultear asked.

"That and training," Kai said. "I've got three months to hone my skills. In that time, I want to become a shadow member of Crime Sorciere. Help you guys take down Dark Guilds and build information against whatever this dark magic is. Then I'll help convince the others to join you."

Ultear grinned and stood, her orb floating around her head. "Jellal?"

Jellal nodded. "Absolutely. I wouldn't have considered having a Dragon Slayer in our ranks a few years ago."

"Just for now," Kai said, and they all nodded. "Alright, so, let's do this Second Origin thing."

The orb stopped near Kai. Ultear raised her hand to level with Kai's chest. "Think of something happy, something peaceful."

"Why?"

"Because for the rest of the night, you'll know nothing but agony."