"So, you don't remember anything from your time as a snake, or before you became one?" Goldmine watched the purple haired girl sitting on the bed slowly shake her head and look down on the blanket she was given. "Hey, don't feel bad about it. Is there anything you do remember?"

The girl seemed to struggle for a moment before uttering a word, "K-Kinana..."

"Kinana, huh? A beautiful name for a beauty such as you." Goldmine smiled after delivering that line. All his youth listening to Bob's old flirting must have rubbed off.

Sadly, it seemed Kinana was still a little overwhelmed, gaining her human form after so long must have been… well being born but having some remnants of another life, like reincarnation or something.

Odd, why did that reincarnation word feel so… mundane and overused?

Goldmine looked back at Kinana and spoke a little softer. "Hey, don't worry about it. The beds here in Cait Shelter are pretty comfy. Just rest up and enjoy a nice good sleep."

Kinana didn't say much, but did easily fall back to bed.

Goldmine let go of his smile as he gave a silent sigh. He walked out of the stone and wooden house and back into Cait Shelter. It still caught him by surprise that Cait Shelter wasn't just a guild, it was also an entire small village.

After escaping from the ruined Nirvana, those of the Alliance found themselves nearby the guild that technically started it all. Brain must have sent Nirvana towards Cait Shelter in case people other than Wendy were able to seal up the now fallen super city.

Goldmine glanced around, passed the nice people of the quaint place, and spotted Makarov in the middle of an important call.

"I can't believe I was gone for a month!?" Makarov shouted as he looked at the Lacrima Orb that was projecting Laxus' face.

"You annoying, old man," Laxus scoffed from the other end of call. "How could you screw up that badly?!"

"Shut it, brat! I already told you what happened before I was ambushed, it was out of my control!" Makarov shook his fist.

"This coming from the man who drilled me to pay attention to everything around me in a fight by forcing me to a blindfold for seven days straight?!" Laxus shouted back. Justine Freed tried to calm the two from a shouting match but wasn't doing all that well.

"Oh!" A voice behind Laxus made the Fourth Master of Fairy Tail look back and have his eyes suddenly widen. "Makky, there you are!"

Makarov's anger died o fast that he ended up swallowing the spit he was about to shout out. "Il-Illana!?"

"I thought I'd visit the old, guild!" The old but gentle woman stepped forward and Laxus didn't even do anything to stop her. "I left a message, but you never answered back."

"W-Well, I-uh-well-you see..." Makarov stammered out some kind of response, trying to find a way he could ease in a situation with Laxus' grandmother.

"Heyo!" To Makarov's horror, Goldmine came in and slung an arm around his small friend with a smile the former master of Fairy Tail swore was akin to the face of evil. "Sup, Illy! Wasn't expecting to see you!"

"Oh, Sticks! Good to see ya, dawg!" The old woman spoke out in an attempt in slang that made Laxus pinch the bridge of his nose.

Makarov and Laxus were not religious men, but they both silently prayed for the strength for this next conversation.

Speaking of conversation, while a hard one was about to begin, two other people were reaching the end of a very difficult conversation.

"And that is my report," Lahar, holding up a special communication Lacrima ended. "In total, we have three casualties, loss of our foot base in the Worthwood Sea, but Have captured and subdued all members of the Oracion Seis, including Dr. Bryan Ocakado, who is known as Brain, and Jellal Fernades, the ex-councilman."

"Excellent work, Captain Lahar Vondarun." A voice behind the screen began. "This is a huge success, and a testament to the Magic Council's new Era!"

Lahar blinked at the choice of words. "Sir, I just reported all of our casualties, we've lost one of our division leaders, Sola—"

"Bah, three people for seven S-class threats!? It's the trade of a century! You and the rest of your officers will be commended for your hard work."

Doranbolt, who was standing behind Lahar began to snap his eyes forward. "What!? How could you say—"

He started screaming, but Lahar threw his hand out to motion him to stop. "When will the reinforcements come to pick up the criminals?"

Their superior officer eyed Lahar as the screen wasn't wide enough to see Doranbolt in it. "It'll be there in one click."

And then the call was abruptly ended.

Doranbolt looked to Lahar with obvious disdain. "Look, we never even met her before today, but she was a division leader like the rest of us! How could the council even treat some of it's best officers like pawns!?"

"The council is made for the good of Ishgar." Lahar spoke with a soft yet firm tone. "We all knew the dangers when we agreed to this mission. A victory like this is still in the complete success area."

"I mean, we all did win, but still!" Doranbolt tried to say before Lahar raised his hand out in a stop motion. His face showed a something more observant, but not cruel enough to be a glare.

"Doranbolt, you don't usually voice out like this."

The teleporting mage blinked at the odd statement. "We almost died or would have been permanently brainwashed because of Brain's last ditch effort. It was pure luck we had some people break out at the last second, so excuse me if I'm a little antsy!"

Lahar's stare remained undisturbed. "Doranbolt, I never asked because of the urgency of the mission. How are you feeling?"

"What are you on about?"

"You ate a Rhodonite drug, Doranbolt." Lahar spoke fast, preventing Doranbolt from continuing. "The drug may boast a temporary boost in magic and dull pain sensory, but it's illegal because of how addictive it is and how dangerous it is to the body. You saw the criminal, Erigor, who obviously took more drugs in a mad attempt to grab power. He was near catatonic when you found him, Doranbolt. Rhodonite drugs are dangerous to the mind as well as the magic power and body."

Lahar stepped closer to his co-captain and looked him in the eye. "Are you sure it's out of your system?"

"Y-Yeah, I only needed it once, I swear!" The teleport mage quickly spurted out while putting his hands out in front of him.

The glasses wearing mage leered at his fellow co-worker before sighing. "Fine. I'll have you do a blood test when we get back. Just continue patrolling the cages of the Oracion Seis and Jellal we have here."

Doranbolt looked towards their right where there were seven house sized, white cubes designed to monetarily hold in criminals of high magical power. Each one housed all the high class criminals, and in one particular one...

"I would like to see the master of Cait Shelter."

Even though he was behind a specialized Jutsu Shiki barrier that nullified his strength, limited his sight and cut off access to his magic, Brain was oddly calm as he looked up to the two 'guards' watching his every move.

"You are in no position to make any demands." Jura spoke with authority as he continued his glare towards the cuffed man.

"I'm in no position to do anything," Brain seemed to correct. "But I refuse to let circumstance dictate my actions. If it makes either of you feel more at ease, I simply meet and talk with him. He has piqued my curiosity by a large amount."

Tarsus, who was across from Jura, also remained stoic. "Haven't you heard the phrase, curiosity killed the cat?"

The exaggerated gasp from Brain in response to that phrase showed how he felt about it. "Why, Field Commander! Don't you know the pursuit of knowledge is what prevents tyrants from forming? I was a professor before being hired by the council, and I always encouraged my students to never stop their pursuit of knowledge."

"A noble sentiment, even though it is coming from one such as you." Jura noted. "However, we will not listen to your request."

Brain seemed silent, but his smile returned with something mischievous. Jura and Tarsus leered towards the man, but Brain simply remained calm. "Well then, considering the worst that's awaiting me, it's time to begin my final teaching session. We all are aware of Cait Shelter being the ancestors of the Maker of Nirvana, correct?"

"Dr. Ockado, if you will not silence yourself, I will get Captain Lahar to include a mute function in your cell." Tarsus spoke fast.

Brain didn't seem to take him seriously as he went on. "But even though Nirvana has been around for little over 400 hundred years, why is Cait Shelter a guild that's barely ten years old?"

"What are you talking about?" Jura stepped forward. "Those two facts have no connection."

"They do when you've spent years on a minor in magi-geology, even writing a college thesis on how the ethernano of specific areas like the Zeus Range and The Worthwood Sea prevent normal humans and even some mages living under those conditions. So imagine my surprise when working for the council that a guild has registered from a place as inhospitable as the Worthwood Sea, when there have been almost no records of people living in the area for several centuries, despite some eccentrics like Master Bob making a summer home here."

Brain's statement caught the two men off guard. Good, his plan in getting the two men interested by letting them see what he saw was working.

Tarsus seemed to shake his head. "This place seems thriving enough and small enough. It's not unheard off considering that some Cait Shelter Mages must have used their magic to help make land."

"I thought that too," Brain responded. "But something didn't make a lot of sense: why was a guild, practically a small village by itself, applying to be one in the middle of nowhere when all guilds want to be stationed in a main city to gain exposure, money, and acclaim? A Phantom Lord Branch can be seen every other four cities in Fiore, while Fairy Tail is acclaimed because of Magnolia being one of Fiore's biggest cities. Guilds build themselves in cities so they can grow in riches, acclaim and so on. Then why would Cait Shelter make itself a guild in the middle of nowhere where almost no one would ever hear or could hire them easily?"

That did catch both men's attention. Guilds were made for many reasons, but even so, they were usually built in large cities to help sustain and keep that guild alive and well. Even if Cait Shelter could supply their own necessities, what was the point of making a guild that they didn't really need?

"Whatever reason is their own," Tarsus began. "It's not our job to learn their private matters."

Brain scoffed. Half of him wanted to make a comment on how the Magic Council heads make control freaks look easy going and carefree. "Alright, what if I were to tell you, before I quit, I sent a letter to the head of Cait Shelter?"

The leader of Oracion Seis fought the urge to smile wider as he saw both of those stoic men had looks of surprise on their faces.

But he did give out a soft laugh. "It's nothing life shaking, I assure you. This was long before I began my 'illegal' actions though I was still in the process of planning them. After hearing about Cait Shelter, and still being interested in Magic Ecology, the letter was a simple request to meet with them and ask how they settled due to the stagnate climates and wild and sometimes violent creatures that lived there. Imagine my surprise when they politely turned me down. I thought nothing of it, maybe them being reclusive, but as time went on, I've learned that they do a lot to prevent themselves be known by others. Even when some council men went to do a routine check up, they almost looked like the text book definition of average." The leader of Oracion Seis paused, allowing the two to soak in those odd facts that were building up. "No matter what, Cait Shelter just seemed to simply exist for the sake of existing. It took me a little more digging before realizing they had some connection to the ancestors of Nirvana."

"That's enough, Dr. Ockado." Tarsus spoke out. "We've let you talk far more than you were allowed. Say one more word, and I will have Lahar silence you."

"One more word is all I need: Cait Shelter is hiding more secrets than both of you think."

Jura leered at the man. "That was more than one word."

Brain showed no signs of being apologetic for cheating at his word. "True, but I am done talking for now. You may get Captain Lahar to silence me if you so wish, Field Commander." Brain, leaned into his wall, relaxing as he sat down.

Tarsus walked out of the cube with Jura still eyeing Brain carefully. "Captain Lahar! I have a request for you!"

Brain could tell in both men's faces, this new knowledge was troubling them. He supposed if something, he didn't completely lose. Still, who was this mysterious master of Cait Shelter?

They couldn't really believe it, especially when he was the one who brought them both here.

Natsu Dragneel was now prostrated on the ground with his forehead pressed down on the floor towards both William Tovar and Ren Akatsuki.

"Uuhh, say that again?" Ren, who briefly looked over towards the other brown haired, blue eyed Rune Knight, looked back down to Natsu.

"I said!" Natsu didn't raise his head, but he screamed to the floor so both could hear him. "I'm sorry! I made a mistake and your friends are gone… I'm sorry about that!"

The Rune Knight ended up putting a hand behind his neck. "Hey… raise your head up. This is hard to take in." William watched as Natsu did raise his head, but nothing else. "Look, I did hate and blame you for the initial beating we got, but Field Commander was right, we didn't do anything at all to stop you and just went off in the wrong direction to try and fix that. So, I forgive you and I also ask for forgiveness for being too hard on ya." He clicked his tongue. "I also really can't hate ya if you're going this far for forgiveness."

Ren inhaled deeply. "I also owe you an apology Natsu Dragneel. When Nirvana overcame me, you and Genji Hako of Phantom Lord both snapped me out of it and still were able to successful fill the mission." As he said this, Natsu got back up on his knees, yet still continued to listen. "I forgive you and I also ask for your forgiveness."

Natsu got back up, a smile on his face. "Apologies accepted!"

"You forgive us that easy huh? Damn, now I feel worse for holding a grudge against you." William folded his arms and gave a soft laugh.

"You better punk, you only got me by surprise with that sucker punch! I'll beat you next time with a hand tied behind my back!"

"What the hell—that's what works you up!?"

Ren couldn't help but laugh at that interaction. Sure, losing Eve still and would hurt for a while.

...But it could have been worse, meeting some new friends didn't seem so bad to focus on for now.

A group that consisted of Phantom Lord's Team Jupiter met with Evergreen, Bickslow, Alzack, and Bisca inside one of the huts of Cait Shelter's place.

"I knew I recognized you two!" Kara, the one dressed similarly to that of a valkyrie pointed enthusiastically towards the two gunmen of Fairy Tail. "You were the duo atop that mountain! You guys were sure annoying up there."

Bisca laughed nervously. "Well, it was a good vantage point with a large majority of our long range mages. But my team was definitely scared witless when you they saw three mages head right for us on a falling Thunder Palace Lacrima."

Genji Hako made a gesture towards their gold eyed, blue haired knight. "That was Jason's plan. That vantage point was preventing any ground from being covered, and taking that point was needed to move some of our fellow teammates forward."

The knight sighed. "Fat lot it did though, you guys just regrouped and took it back not long after we warded you off that point."

"Hey, I hesitate to say this," Alzack spoke out. "But you guys scared us when you took that point. "With out Bisca covering one side, more forces poured in from the east and we had to deal with even bigger numbers."

Their conversation continued on, but a little to the side, Evergreen commented to Bickslow in a private manner. "It's strange to talk so easily to a guild that was just so bent on destroying us."

"We almost destroyed ourselves when Master Laxus hired those other assholes a little afterward." Bickslow was quick to say.

Evergreen opened her mouth, but found no words to respond to that. Instead the two simply listened to the conversation in front of them.

"By the way," Kara began, "Do you two have any experience with grenade launchers?!"

It was starting to take a very interesting turn.

Erza bowed her head towards Richard, who was sitting behind his specialized barrier. "I apologize for my weakness."

"No, I'm just glad my brother is alive. Although I wish it were under better circumstances, us meeting again is much sooner than I hoped." Richard was still smiling, even though it was more than likely he would never be free again, it looked as if he was just glad to hear about Wally.

Erza left Richard's cage a little later after a few more apologies. When she did, she couldn't help but notice the old man, the one who Wendy introduced as the guild master of Cait Shelter, Roubaul, seem to exit one of the cubic cages meant for the Oraion Seis.

And she knew whose cage it was, she made a mental note of it after he had surrendered.

The old man, who Kain would describe as wearing Native American chieftain clothes, walked with his staff forward. When his eyes met with Erzas, the S-Class mage swore they were looking right through her.

He then spoke with age that seemed older and wiser than he appeared. "I recognize that look, Ms. Scarlet, do you wish to know why I just visited one of the council's prisoners?"

The red haired knight mage, uncharacteristically, found herself at a loss of words with how easy she was read.

"If you were suspicious, I simply wanted to meet this Jellal Fernades to confirm a suspicion of my own." The leader began, "But your reaction isn't that of mistrust towards me, it is a storm of conflict towards the man I met, is it not?"

Erza said nothing, simply trying to get her mind working properly again but the very name of that man had caused a malfunction in all her other normal workings.

"I am far more fluent in the language of silence than I care to want," The man gave a soft chuckle. "I wanted to see if this Jellal Fernandes was the same person I had met some time ago. He is not, but looks very similar to him." The guild master looked up to Erza with another look that seemed to know far more than it should. "I do not know what tragedy befell both of you, but whatever words you have for him, I suggest you speak them. Otherwise, the council will take him forevermore, leaving those thoughts of regret to fester for a period of time you don't want measured."

His speech style was oddly poetic, but Erza got the gist of it: this is your last chance to speak with him, or never at all.

With that, the guild master of Cait Shelter walked past Erza, leaving the one-sided dialogue between the two.

Erza looked towards one the cell of Jellal, still silent but a storm inside her raging. She gripped her fist… then walked into the cell.

The S-class mage of Fairy Tail had faced many monsters in her life with nothing but defiant courage. However, once more, she was filled with doubt and fear, even though this time her life was not at risk.

As she entered into the cube of the cell, all she could hear besides the horrible silence was her heart beating at a rate she had no power to stop.

Dark grass colored eyes met with dark chocolate orbs.

One second—one eternity—passed of silence—maddening torture—before Jellal spoke first.

"Erza," Hesitation came across Jellal's face as he looked away before he turned back to the red haired woman. "I am… sorry."

The word only added to the storm that was now a catastrophic typhoon of emotions in Erza. So many questions and only one word to put it express it all. "What?"

Jellal inhaled deeply. "I said, I'm sorry for-for everything I did. I'm not asking for forgiveness, I just want you to know, I'm sorry for everything I've done to you and the others."

"Sorry? SORRY!? Do you even know what it was like, living every day with great people who I was too afraid to get to know because of your threat over Simon and the others!?" She stepped forward, her eyes only glaring at the… thing… in front of her. "Do you know what it was like, living almost every day wondering if they were alright, and to find out one day, after worrying for them almost every day, that they despised me!? And when I thought I saw Kain die fighting you to protect me—I..." Erza gasped as she felt tears streaming down both of her eyes.

They weren't tears of sorrow, but tears of hurt and frustration. The years she had spent living in fear of him, living in doubt, living in self loathing, they all were being realized in this one moment.

Jellal said nothing, but looked away in shame. Erza could only grip her fists tighter. The years she had spent living in fear of him, living in doubt, living in self loathing, they all were being realized in this one moment.

"I hope you never see the light of day again!"

At the height of her rage, she stormed out of the cube, not even daring to look back and walked as fast as she could until she could see no sign of any other person near, but only trees for miles.

She then fell to her knees and cried out in sorrow and hate. Not just at Jellal, but at herself for saying words that she couldn't take back.

Jellal, silent but also near tears, was also feeling nothing but regret and pain.

Interestingly enough, the two, despite being separate from each other at that moment, both shared the same flashback, to a time where a young girl and boy, hiding away from their slave masters, spoke about their dreams of a future outside a hellish tower, and having nothing but the biggest grins on both of their faces… along with a simple promise that they would both be together in the new world.

Was that promise nothing but a memory now?

"And this is where they all taught me how to make fold basket from straws!" It was far more relaxing and a great relief to see Wendy moving around and showing both Kain, Lucy, and maybe the Exemplar Guardian around the small place where she grew up.

"You can make basket straws by yourself?" The blonde couldn't help but smile at Wendy's personality outside of a dangerous situation. Despite how shy she seemed when she first appeared to them, she was actually really friendly and excitable in her home.

"Yes, Amitola showed me how. I think you'll love her, she's so beautiful and taught me how to dance!" Wendy looked around for a bit, moving towards a small house. The two could read Wendy look around but seemingly not finding her target.

"Ah, Wendy!" An old voice made the group see Roubaul walking over towards them.

"Guild master!" The little girl gave a polite bow before coming back up. "It's good to see you, but did you see where Amitola went?"

"She's helping out for the feast that we're preparing in a bit. You can call the others to get ready, even though I assume the Magic Council is soon going to pick up their agents."

The blue haired girl nodded once. "Oh! Okay! I'll go get everyone!" She then ran ahead with Carla giving off a much more relaxed sigh and following after her with the Exemplar Guardian still following after them.

"She really is adorable," Lucy couldn't help but coo before looking towards Kain. However, her smile died as she saw a more confused look on the lawyer's face.

Roubaul walked over towards the two Fairy Tail mages. "You all seem so close to Wendy. It took her a few weeks before she opened up to most of us."

"She's a really sweet girl," Lucy began to say.

"Why did you send her?"

The sudden and sharp tone of Kain caught their attention. The lawyer was unusually cold in his stare towards the old man. "Why did you send a little girl into a fight with deadly criminals?"

Roubaul answered only with silence.

The brunette lawyer stepped forward towards Roubaul with narrowed eyes, not showing if he heard Lucy or not. "I'm asking why the guild master sent a little girl to represent them, when there are far more able bodies here in Cait Shelter! She almost died in that mission, why the hell would you put a kid through that!?" In a move that Lucy wasn't expecting, Kain actually powered up and grabbed Roubaul by his necklace and lifted him up some what.

That snapped Lucy out of her stupor as she ran up to Kain and screamed "Kain, what are you doing?!"

Like someone flipping a switch, Kain realized what he was doing and let go of both the man and the armor. It was almost as if he couldn't believe that he had just threatened an old man.

Roubaul met eyes with Kain. They were a very common dark brown, but right then the emotion behind them was that of anger and… empathy?

The older man sighed. "You," He began with all the energy of someone who lived with their soul long dead. "are completely correct. What I did when I sent Wendy Marvel to this mission was a gamble, a gamble that I had no choice but to do. I deserve much worse than what you did to me."

"Gamble?" Lucy repeated as she looked over to the man. "You actually sent Wendy, knowing how dangerous that mission that was!? How could you!?"

"I have no excuses, and I have no right to ask for forgiveness even though I am truly repentant. But I will explain to you why I did such a thing… at the feast, in front of everyone." As he fix himself, he started to cough in a way that didn't seem healthy. He walked away, hiding his right arm from the Fairy Tail mages that seemed to flicker in and out of existence.

"… It all ends at last."

"It has been an honor working with you all." Tarsus began as he, Doranbolt, Lahar, Raina, and William all stood across from the guild mages while behind them was a massive air ship around the size of the Blue Pegasus Christina air ship. "As such, I believe I should return these back now."

With a flick of his wrist, the vanished guild marks returned to their rightful owners.

"I've given out enough speeches for a while, so all I'll say is thanks for fighting for us, and I apologize for the things we have lost. Live well, all of you." And with that, the Magic Council left with all their captured prisoners.

This left all of the remaining mages, who were then invited to a feast for all of them as a thank you for all that they had done.

The feast itself was wonderful with exotic food and music. Some of Cait Shelter even started performing some traditional dances (Ichiya was also far too into it and even danced in his own manner, but the dancers only seemed to dance along with him and had a lot of fun doing so.) It was nice, finally getting some kind of reprieve from the grief everyone had during the fight. It was also nice that the guilds could actually have a friendly bond with each other.

However, two people weren't quite enjoying themselves. Kain was still a bit ticked off about the master of Cait Shelter, but he was also worrying about how easily he lost his control over his anger. He really should try to express that better. Another thing that bothered him was Wendy, who was the second person who was surprisingly not enjoying herself. Kain noticed how she kept looking around the whole feast. It didn't take long for him to figure out, she was still looking for that big sister figure to introduce them to.

And, more disturbingly, a small conversation between Carla and Wendy revealed that the blue haired girl was wondering where several other people were, signaling that some people she knew were still not present in the guild.

Eventually, the festivities ended and everyone had their fill, even Natsu seemed stuff from all the exotic food. As it ended, everyone else from Cait Shelter parted ways as master Roubaul entered into the center of the guild town.

"I hope you enjoyed this party, we can't hope to thank you for all you have done." The guild master began before his face went solemn. "However, I must also apologize, for there is something we've been hiding from all of you."

The festive mood died fast after he said that. Many of the other Cait Shelter members and villagers besides Wendy slowly moved towards the chieftain/guild master.

"You have guessed that we are descendants of the makers of Nirvana; that is not true. We are the makers of Nirvana."

No one expected that statement to come out of the mouth of the guild master. They all watched with silence and shock. Yet, Kain, had his eyes widen and stood up on his feet.

"In Nirvana, we meet something like a ghost named Roubaul that gave us instructions on how to stop Nirvana," He pointed over to the man. "Are you saying your the same person!?"

The old man nodded once. "That was a spell of mine, yes. Allow me to explain. I'm sure you heard of how Nirvana came to be from my ghost, but when I crafted that spell, I had no idea that even those who were thought to be 'immune' had dire effects placed upon them."

Roubaul waved his hands, coating the area into a black pocket dimension that showed a massive mural, much like the mural Kain, Erza, Wendy, and Carla saw.

The mural showed an old drawing of Roubal and a group of people leaving the Exemplar unit behind.

"After prepping the last Exemplar, me and the survivors made our way to leave the Nirvid Lands, or as what you now know as the Worthwood Sea. However, something was wrong."

The mural changed, this time, it was that of the survivors suffering and having their colors stolen away, turning black and white.

"We weren't exempted from the curse of Nirvana, in fact, we had gained too much of it's energy." Roubaul's voice continued. "When we tried to leave, the moment we stepped out of range of Nirvana, our bodies began to break, shatter, and a powerful pull prevented us from moving forward. We soon realized that Nirvana had magically mutated us before we sealed it. The result was that our flesh and blood melted away leaving only our minds, and our magic."

The mural changed once more as now, people of both black and white were seen seemingly lamenting in madness in sorrow.

"We figured it out quickly; Nirvana did something to us that was different in manipulating the darkness and light of the others. Instead of super fluctuating, it super fixated our light and dark sides together, which made us turn into beings of both light and dark energy. Even with Nirvana sealed, it was still passively pulling onto specialized dark and light magic such as we, so no matter how much we suffered, we could not escape the Worthwood Sea. And if we got too close to it in our new forms, The Exemplar would absorb us and re seal us into Nirvana in it's standby state."

Everyone looked over to the moldy robot that still stood at the side of Wendy.

"We were damned with a fate worse than death. Unable to die, and unable to fix our mistake. We lost hope for a very, very long time. Along the past centuries, I believe some even believed us to be haunting the place, making it unlivable."

Jura seemed to have a silent but widening look of realization at the mention of that, thinking back to Brain's comments.

"We've lived for 400 hundred years hence, wandering and watching over Nirvana, hopping one day someone would destroy it, and by proxy free us from this eternal torment."

The mural vanished, and instead of a new picture appearing, the black dimension started to turn into that of a ruined village that had the same base structure of current Cait Shelter.

"Then, one day," Roubaul's voice seemed to slightly lift up as he began this next part. "A young boy who looked eerily similar to that Jellal Fernandes came near us."

Everyone, especially a certain red haired girl, watched in awe as a young boy who really looked to be Jellal's true twin hold Wendy with a hastily made bandage wrapped around her head. "Please, take care of her!"

Man thoughts went into the head of people: who was that? The time line didn't match up, Jellal should have just been freed from the tower, how did he come to go there? Did Jellal truly have a twin, was that why he had a subconscious reaction to create a clone with a different name? What did this all mean?

But they were all silent as Roubaul continued. "How could I say no to such a request by a sincere young man like that?"

The memory played out, showing Wendy being very distressed and even asking if that boy lied to her, saying that he broke her promise to bring her to a guild. They all watched Raobaul and others lie and saw that it was indeed a true guild.

Wendy, who was in utter shock the entire time, was now moving to tears and screamed. "How could you do that to me, master!?"

Her scream shattered the dimensions and brought everyone back to reality.

When they were back, they all saw something that made each and everyone of them gap in shock.

In front of all of them, all of Cait Shelter were no longer the people that they saw them as, but humanoid beings of black and white exactly like the murals described.

The one black and white being in the front, the one who had the voice of Roubaul. "I understand your frustration at my lies, and once more, all I can do is apologize. But in that lie, we ended up enjoying ourselves after centuries of apathy and loss. We even saw the chance to pass on our dead culture. What we did was horribly wrong, but our care and love for you was genuine."

Before anything else could happen, one of the humanoid black and white energies fell to the floor, convulsing in pain as he slowly started to fade.

"S-Sorry, boss!" That humanoid spoke in a male voice. "I-I don't think I can hold it in anymore."

"Z-Zahu?" Wendy looked over towards the fallen humanoid, recognizing his voice.

The fallen humanoid tried to get up, but was only able to sit up on his butt. Others around him soon began to fall on their knees or on all fours. "Sorry, kid. Apologizing is really all we can do up to now. With Nirvana finally gone, it also means the curse keeping us alive vanished too. The reason why you haven't seen some of the others is because they already vanished, finally free from their curse. They were caught off guard, of course, they all wanted to stick around at least and say goodbye to you and Carla."

Roubaul stepped forward, even though he too was starting to fade away and flicker in and out of existence.

"We still must thank you, all of you for finally setting us free from our curse. And please, take care of Wendy for us?" Roubaul then tilted his 'face' towards Wendy and bent down on one knee to her. "My little girl, parting is always such sorrow, but thanks to this, I know you are also in wonderful hands."

He tilted his face to Kain and Lucy before looking back to Wendy.

Some of the people started to fade, Wendy started crying as one last time, they all changed back into their human forms with smiles on their faces. The little girl could only cry loud and hard as the people she knew and grew up with vanished into the great beyond.

All everyone could do, as the rest of them vanished, was gather around the girl and try to console her and a sniffling Carla.

…

And so Wendy, was no longer a Cait Shelter mage.

She was the true greatest legacy of Nirvana's makers.

Up in the air, a large magical carrier was surrounded by several other fighter planes.

It was an intricate machine, capable of carrying a dozen platoons and now it was housing The Oracion Seis and Jellal Fernandes.

Brain waited silently in his cell. Or at least, that what it seemed like, in his mind however…

(WHAT!? ALL OF THAT TALK!? AND WE'RE STILL CAPTURED!?) Zero's voice roared against his counterpart.

(I admit, it's rather distressing, but I made a promise that I intend to keep. You will get your freedom after one last thing I need to do.)

(Have you played me, Brain!? I know what's going to happen when the Magic Council gets their grubby, fat hands on us! I'm not being your scapegoat!)

(You aren't going to be my scapegoat, you're finally going to live a life without me. My time is almost up.)

(And how the hell are you going to do that!?)

(Not me. Them.)

Brain opened his eyes the moment alarm noises were heard all throughout the ship.

"What's going on!?" Tarsus, along with other Rune Knight members cried out as they heard alarms in the cockpit lobby.

"Sir! We're being attacked from the inside! I don't know how they got past all the proximity alarms—"

"We have a breach on Hangar 4!"

Lahar quickly pointed to another man. "Play Hangar 4 cameras now!"

The agent did so and revealed a holographic screen showing the chaos unfolding.

"UMBRAL TYPHOON!?" Tarsus slammed his fist on a nearby rail that shattered instantly. They were dark cultists/guild that Brain had managed to get to work for him. Everyone had completely forgotten that they were still around despite some of their earlier defeats.

The field commander ordered a team to subdue those madmen attack everything in sight. Then he turned to Doranbolt. "The rest of you, get a team to Hangar 7! Brain is planning to spring himself free with this!"

"Sir!" Another Rune Knight cried out. "We've lost all feed and contact with the Guards in hangar 7!"

The usually calm Rune Knight had a look of utter rage across his face. "HOW DID WE LET HIM PLAY US LIKE THIS!?"

Brain was silent as his entire cube was torn apart by the remains of the Machina King. As he felt his magic come back to him, Brain walked out and saw the nearly destroyed automaton kneel.

"Thank you for obeying the contingency plan incase Nirvana was re sealed, Kloda." As Brain said this, his staff flew out of the broken machine that fell lifelessly into the ground.

"It was your idea all along, Master Brain, to escape as soon as Nirvana was sealed and amass a rescue party with those that remained."

The former doctor looked towards the staff. "Now then, execute contingency: Cradle."

The staff paused for a second before making a bow. "It was an honor to serve, Master Brain."

Brain nodded once back, even as the alarms blared around them. "Thank you for your service." The Leader of Oracion Seis put a palm into Kloda's skull. He seemed to be transferring something that snuffed out Kloda's orange light. When that was done, he picked up the staff and broke the containers of the other Oracion Seis, except that of Jellal's.

"Master Brain!" All the others seemed to gather around him after finding out they had been freed.

"All of you, go to Hangar 6. The cultists should have prepared some escape pods for you. Go ahead."

Midnight looked at the last remaining cube, the one that held Jellal with a dark glare. "Not until I get revenge for his betrayal!"

Brain, pushed a hand out. "Midnight, I will handle Jellal. You must go." There was a finality in Brain's voice that not even Midnight dared to question.

His look then softened. "I have something else planned as well. I'm sending you all a message that will play in a few days. Wait for that message in hiding and escape, now."

"Yes, father." Midnight spoke before he and the others made a beeline for the next Hangar over.

Brain was silent before he broke Jellal's cage.

Jellal was amazed and horrified as Brain stalked over to him. However, to his surprise, Brain had tossed him Kloda's staff and pointed in the opposite direction to that of the Oracion Seis members.

"Hangar 8 is where I promised with the cultists to ensure you an escape pod. Go, hurry."

The former councilman and wizard saint looked in utter confusion. "What? Why are you—"

"There is almost no time left. I know you betrayed me, Jellal, but I also know what true fate will befall you if the council gets their hands on you."

"What-What makes you say that!?" The blue haired mage asked before they heard the sound of distant explosions coming closer to them.

Seeing no time, Brain walked up and put both his hands on Jellal's shoulder then looked him dead in the eye. He then leaned in and whispered something into the ear of Jellal. The Wizard Saint could only have his eyes widen in disbelief before Brain removed himself and continued. "The council will not give you redemption. You. Must. Flee."

The doors to Hangar 7 were blasted open and an in flow of officers and some Rune Knights opened fire. Brain summoned a magical barrier and pushed Jellal towards Hangar 8. "Go now!"

Jellal didn't know what to do with this set of confusing circumstances. However, he did run towards Hangar 8. As he did, he couldn't help but look back at the man who welcomed him, the man he backstabbed, still fight desperately to ensure that he would have a future, even if it was simply because of some plot that he couldn't understand.

As Brain sensed the other six finally escape with their stolen and hacked escape pods, he stopped fighting and let the Rune Knights take him once more.

When Brain did wake up again, he found himself in a very elaborate cell. It was nothing but a white void for miles, and he seemed to be chained to an X cross wall. As he figured, he had almost no magical strength left. He already played the umbral Typhoon Card, so there was no chance of him to escape from this if the rest of the Rune Knights subdued or killed them.

He had already played his entire hand, but one special card that was saved for something else. All he could do now was let the chips fall wherever they may lie and simply waited for the inevitable.

How coincidental that it came no second later.

The white void opened up, revealing a door. And who should enter it but…

"Crawford, did you gain weight, a lot of it?" Brain's smirk was cut short as he felt an intense pain enter into his nervous system.

"Dr. Bryan Ocakado. It's good to see you again." The fat man with expensive and way too extravagant clothes laughed with the voice of machine grinding nails. "It's such a shame you have become one of the council's most wanted men."

"Let's skip the small talk, fatty." Brain spoke fast after trying to gather breath. "I know you don't have the stones to face me even without an ounce of strength and magic power. Even more so the fact you've been 'dismissed' as chairman. I also know that you're in cahoots with one of my… acquaintances."

Brain looked around anywhere and raised his voice. "I know you're here! Whatever question you have, you can ask me instead of your puppet, Mard Geer!"

Crawford seemed taken back and beside him, something appeared into existence.

He was a lean, tall man with an amused smirk on his face and had his black, wavy, long hair tied up into a pony tail that reached his waist. He wore a dark long coat and if one was to look into his eyes, they would know that his appearance was not that of a human.

"We meet once more, Dr. Ocakado." The man named Mard Geer smiled before pointing a finger towards the man and a black string of energy shot straight through Brain's shoulder, causing the man more pain than the machine a while ago. "How dare you attempt to demand off me, human. If I didn't find you so interesting, I would have killed you then and there."

"Master, perhaps, I should be the one to fully correct this scum to talk so highly despite not knowing it's place." More people—beings—appeared behind Crawford. Nearly a dozen beings of extraordinary power, all of them surrounding a chained, weakened master of Oracion Seis.

"Kyôka, it's alright. This human is only one of two that has interested me." Mard Geer stepped forward, pushing Crawford towards the chained man.

Brain, who was gasping for breath, and felt a pain that didn't seem to end, fought it and looked up to Mard Geer. "I feel honored, having all of Tartaros' commanders in front of little old me."

"This isn't for you, lowly scum." Mard Geer spoke in a pleasant manner despite his sharp insult. "We're here because Crawford told us you know the deepest secrets of the Magic Council."

"What are you talking about? Him and I were memory proofed when we stumbled on to level zero, neither of us recall and I'm most certain the memory of our time there is kept in that place."

"Don't pull that shit with me!" Crawford pointed to Brain with all the power of a prosecutor. "I found out a slimy bastard like you had two souls! Two souls! At first I wondered how that was remotely possible, but then I read your files, and it said that you were originally born with a twin brother who died in child birth! You and your brother have shared the same body for years! Even if your memory was erased, I bet that second soul in your body remembers what we saw in Level 0!"

Brain stilled for the briefest of seconds before responding. "Two souls? What basis do you have for that?"

A soon as the words left his lips, he felt a stinging sensation in the form of a sudden whip.

"That's not what our master wants to hear, scum. Perhaps Lamy here can remake you to be more… cooperative... or I can be the one to get you to squeal. You are already chained up..."

"Ooh oo!" A small and exited voice started to coo. "Give him to me, Kyôka, I need some new material and there has always been something sexy about seeing a man beaten, chained, and half naked!"

Crawford decided to speak up. "You should stop playing tough, Dr. Ockado, Tartaros have enough power to topple this lousy kingdom to the ground! You either obey them, or suffer greatly!"

Brain coughed for a bit as he tried to breathe again. However, as he rose his head, the defiance in his eyes remained, and a smirk appeared across his face. "Oh Crawford, even now, you always choose the easy way to gain your riches. Always hiding behind something—someone. It's no wonder everyone undermined your authority even as chairman."

Crawford's pupils shrank and his veins popped up. He took out the device and pressed it repeatedly, shocking Brain over and over again. "You stupid, little shit! Who do you think gave you your job in the first place! You'd just be some absolute nobody, teaching in some middle-of-nowhere-building preaching to a bunch of hicks—!"

At that moment, Mard Geer grabbed the device from the fat bastard even though he was holding it tightly.

"Now, now, Mr. Seam. You told us Dr. Ocakdo here knew what we wanted to know. How would we be able to gain information from him if he was dead?" The leader of Tartaros chided as if the man was a spoiled child.

Mard Geer moved closer to Dr. Ocakdo. "Now then, one way or another, you will tell us what you know. We can either do this the easy way, or the hard way."

Brain stared back at the other dark guild master before he suddenly burst with extreme laughter. "I almost believed you for a second, well done! Everyone in this room, except Crawford, knows that you'll kill me wether or not I give it to you willingly."

There was a beat of silent that even mice would know to stay clear away from.

"I must admit, you are smart," Mard Geer pointed and once more shocked Brain with his own magic. "For a human."

The man gasped in pain again, he felt himself slowly lose his vision. After all this torture, he finally felt it. His magic seal had finally ran out.

The curse was released that was going to eat his soul.

There was only one thing left to do.

"Alright, I'll tell you, my greatest secret..." Brain gasped between words.

He looked up to them, blood spilling from his mouth, but Mard noticed that light of defiance was still in the eyes of Brain.

"When I unlocked Sorano's magic for the first time, she cried for an hour straight until I finally asked her why she was doing so. It turned out, she wanted magic that could allow her to fly like a bird. Her crying was annoying, but I was eventually able to find her a shift shaping Celestial Spirit so that she could learn to fly by herself."

Mard Geer sighed before slapping Brain with a back hand that was strong enough to create a miniature sonic boom.

Brain coughed some more. "...Sawyer fell in love with the picture of a bike when he was under my care. He begged me over and over with super speed to get one for him. I eventually relented and out of laziness got him a motor bike instead. Turns out he loved it more than the bike even though he couldn't ride it yet."

"You must be a glutton for punishment," Mard Greed turned around. "Kyôka, you may loosen his lips."

The dangerous being made a smile before looking to another commander among Tartaros. "Seilah, I may I please borrow some of your power?"

"You need not ask, my lady." A female voice responded.

As the being stepped forward, Brain still continued on. "Richard kept crying because he wanted to see his brother again and his magic wouldn't help him at all. I ended up telling him that if he had all the money in the world, he could use it to find his brother."

The member of Tartaros started using her magic which held the aura of a dark curse that seemed to make even darker spells pale in comparison. "Now then," A female with a strange helmet began with a sadistic gleam in her eye. "I"m going to take my time with this!" She then unleashed the power onto Brain, who could do nothing but write and scream in agony once more.

However, even while screaming, a telepathic voice echoed through the cell. "Erik was screaming in the first few hours of opening up his hearing magic, hearing everything within a mile and having no control or filter over them. I never thought that those fourteen years of guitar practice my mother made me go through would be used to sing the boy and his snake a lullaby for the next month straight, giving him practice to hone his hearing in a specific target."

"Something's wrong!" Kyôka screamed out even as she put more magical or Curse like pressure into the man. "There's an unfamiliar energy in this man! It's preventing me from being able to control him!"

"What?" For the first time in a while, Mard Geer broke his facade as he heard and sensed something alien coming from Brain, whose body was starting to glow six colors of red, black, yellow, blue, pink, and silver.

"And finally, Macbeth. I don't know why I didn't refute him when he thought that the man who finally got him out of that hellish tower was his father. I don't know why I couldn't say that I wasn't the hero he expected or wanted me to be, I was far from it in reality. But as the boy begged me to be there when he woke up the next morning, I found myself unable to leave his room the first night with me."

"What the hell are you doing, Brain!?" Crawford screamed at the top of his lungs. "What are you doing, telling all this shit, and just tell us what you know about Level 0!?"

"I thought you wanted to know my secret, Crawford?" Brain stopped screaming and moved his head down. His face was starting to glow bright with colored lights. "I'm telling you my secret that I've even kept from myself."

"Lady Kyôka, get away from him!" A female voice from among Tartaros' commanders screamed.

The pseudo human tried to do so, but the colors had somehow magnetized her hands to Brain's face and neck. No matter how much she pulled, her limbs would not be released. "What the hell, scum!? What did you do to me!?" She attempted to attack him, but for some reason, her curses seemed to do little to affect them both.

Mard Geer's eyes snapped open and he quickly summoned a powerful barrier to cover him and everyone else except Kyôka.

"Master Mard Geer!?" The demon screamed as she looked back at the barrier.

"My secret is..."

Two days later, everyone could not believe what was written on the newspapers.

From Fairy Tail, to those even among the Rune Knights, all those who were involved could only gather around and stare at the words written on the headline.

However, the rest of the country and maybe even the continent shouted in praise. The news was like music to their ears.

Yet… five souls, in the edge of the small town, were staring with horrible shock at what the headline was telling them.

Then, those five souls heard a telepathic message.

"I lied about there being instructions. This is a prerecorded message I made before hand, but now that I have your attention, I must tell you all the truth. Each and every one of you were a means for an end. I stole you from the Tower of Hell because you had the greatest potential of magic I had ever seen in children. I was going to use all of you as stepping stones, and if I had found even better candidates for my Oracion Seis, I would have discarded any of you in a heart beat. All of you are as expendable as pawns."

…

…

"At least… that's what I thought at first. See, for all my plans, calculations, and ambitions, I seemed to over look something simple: the time I actually spent raising all of your magical and battle skills. Times when I should have been drilling all of you were spent on the beach learning how to fight giant crabs so we could have exotic campfire dinners under stars where instead I thought you the constellations and why they were named that way. Time I should have spent honing your knowledge for fighting suddenly turned into me helping and being involved in those strange hobbies you all picked up—especially you, Sawyer. Your obsession to have an army of motorbikes baffled me to no end."

…

"Somewhere along the lines of turning you all into weapons… turned me into something I never thought possible, and only now do I realize what all of you changed me into."

Two days ago, back in the cell, Dr. Bryan Ocakdo smiled as the light started to consume him. The curse from Level 0 was let loose and now for sure it's entirety would be activated. He honestly wanted Crawford to come in close, but someone one from Tartaros would do.

"My greatest secret: it turns out that I was a father with five wonderful kids that gave me all I ever wanted and needed, but I never realized it until the end."

Brain closed his eyes, even as desperately as this demon tried everything she could to try and kill himwhat was about to happen.

"So then, this is the part where I die then?" Brain cocked one defiant smile a second before the lights took him whole and a powerful explosion broke the high class magic cage.

"Funny, even though I failed horribly in all my plans, why do I still feel content? ... Maybe... is this what being a proud father is like?"

It was weird that a once ruthless, dangerous, and ambitious man who sought power and control… was now dying with a peaceful and hopeful smile on his face with thoughts and prayers of others besides himself.

Two days later, all around Fiore, many were cheering at the fact one of the strongest dark guilds, Oracion Seis, had their leader 'executed' by orders of the Magic Council, so said the headlines of many newspapers.

Those who were in the actual mission of capture raised their brows in confusion. They recalled how important the orders from the council were to keep Brain/Dr. Ockado alive, so why was there suddenly news of his death? Did it have anything to do with that illness?

Five people… they may have had no right to live good lives from the countless sins they had committed, the atrocities they partook, and the lives they stole.

Yet all of them were crying, bawling out their eyes because they had lost someone so precious to them. Five of them crying… because they had lost their father.

And then, there was Jellal Fernandes, hiding atop a mountain. As he looked at the Newspaper, he looked back to the staff Brain had handed to him.

"You damn bastard!" The animated staff cried out in a different tone to that of Kloda. "I didn't know you meant this! Damn you, Brain! Damn… damn you… this isn't what I wanted..."

Against all odds, tears streamed down the staff's skull. "I'm finally free of you Brain… why aren't I happy? I, Zero, should be happy I'm no longer enslaved by you… but why is it? I can't stop this… this horrible feeling? Is it because you placed me in a staff!? Damn you! Damn you! DAMN YOU!"

The staff, now housing Zero's soul, could only cry in anguish. Jellal never thought he would say this, but he was feeling pity for a staff.

As Zero started to feel an emotion besides lust for destruction and power, Jellal thought back to Brain's words before they parted.

("All Three of the Balam Alliance have agents in the Magic Council. Tartaros now has major control over some of the council seats.")

Those words struck fear into Jellal's heart. How did the Balam Alliance get so close to the magic council!? What was Tartaros up to!?

And worst of all, why did this feel like only the beginning?

The clock turned back two days before the headlines of the year were released.

"Lady Kyôka!" Another one of Tartaros' generals ran to the other demon who seemed to be convulsing and pain as different colored electricity flowed around the unconscious body. This being cradled the other demon with worry.

"Seilah," Mard Geer began walking to the now burnt up body of Dr. Bryan Ocakdo. "Hand Kyôka to Lamy so she may begin the rebirth process."

"I don't know what that human did," the smallest voice among them said. "But I'll get to work right away boss!"

The one known as Seilah was about to help until Mard Geer raised his hand. "Seilah, with Kyôka currently incapacitated, you must now take her place in the seat of the new Magic Council."

Seilah wanted to protest, she wanted to be by Lady Kyôka's side. However, she knew there was no turning away an order from their guild master. She bowed slightly and silently agreed to do her part.

"Well then this was fun, but a waste of time." Mard Geer started to disappear. "Everyone but Seilah and Crawford, back to the base. We will have to make tweaks to our plan to find a way to revive E.N.D. and weaken the council's power."

Seilah remained in the now ruined cell. She noticed Crawford run up to Dr. Ockado's body then start kicking it repeatedly without an ounce of respect.

"How dare you! How dare you make a mockery of me even in the end!" He kept shouting out useless and meaningless things even as the body started to crumble.

Seilah rolled her eyes. Humans were so boring.

"I can't believe I'm glad to be back here." Bora sighed in relief as he was hit with the smell of large amounts of river mold after falling out of the portal.

"Good job, both of you." Fero spoke out as he held the book they retrieved from Nirvana. "Even with that difficulty, we have completed our mission."

"You have!?" A voice caught the three's attention and they traced it back to their boss, Ryan Ta Peloth, who was waiting in that small apartment sitting on a table and drinking tea. "Great work guys! I'm thinking of giving you guys a cool name, how about the Dread Squad?"

"Any name works fine sir," Fero spoke automatically, not really minding in the slightest. He did turn to the other two. "What do you two think?"

Oshen, the green skinned, long legged troll threw out a hand. "I be thinking it's alright with me. What about you, birandi?" The tusked race gave a hard slap to a squirmish Bora's back.

"I'm good." That might have sounded more high pitched that it should have.

"Dread Squad it is! Now gimme the book, please!" The boss of their underground organization took the elaborate book from the assassin's hands.

Bora, feeling the pain in his back mitigate, asked, "So what's the book for?"

Their boss simply twirled his hand, undoing the runic seals and opening the book. Only he could see the title of the book on the first page:

Etherious Demon: Juivern, The Bishop of Combat.

For a second, Ryan's smile turned mischievous before switching back to joyful. "I had a project in mind that I've really wanted to try out."

{Author Notes}

AND HERE WE GO! THE NIRVANA ARC IS OFFICIALLY DONE! WHOO! (Why does my life suck?)

Anyway, with the arc done, I'd like to go over some technical stuff. First and small note: did you all notice the name of Fero and Bora's team? Dread Squad?

Dread can be another word for fear, and what is seen as the opposite of fear sometimes? Courage. And did you know that Courage has another name going by… Valiant?

*Smiles wide*

With that fun and not at all important coincedence out of the way, let's talk about the meat of this arc: Brain, the douche bag of the week.

Now I gotta be honest, after seeing a lot of praise for my work with Jose in the Phantom Lord Arc, I was obviously scared to tackle another one of Fairy Tail's villain of the week and try my hand at changing them.

But then again, I suck anyway so I threw cation in to a carefully placed bin and began 'dissecting' Brain from Canon.

Honestly, I had far less to work with than Jose! His reason for being jealous was petty, but at least it existed! Brain had practically nothing going for him besides his gimmick for a second personality, which kinda doesn't work since it feels like it was used more as a plot device than a certain character from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5 where it's not a gimmick but a staple part of the—

Did you get that? Alright, on to my next point. Zero seemed more like a surprise boss so that Fairy Tail could take the win rather than Jura solving the whole thing. But I thought about it, how could Zero work in this new story? My inspiration came from one of my english courses when I recalled the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That famous story of a man with two souls.

I thought to myself, "Hey! Maybe I can borrow that theme and work it into Brain!" And work it I did. With that idea in mind, I started to form a head cannon of how Brain came to have two personalities. The idea of him actually being born with a twin brother, but his brother died in child birth but because of the BS that is magic, the two souls entered into one body. This made Zero not just a dangerous personality, but it actually gave him more reason to exist than, 'just because'.

With the second personality done, I had to work on the first one. Everything about him felt 'Saturday Morning Cartoon: Anime Steroid version'. He was practically an empty canvas, so I picked up the paint like character development and splashed it all over that white washboard that could turn black and white. (now that I'm typing this out, is it me or was Brain more dark skinned than Zero? How does that work exactly when they switch?)

I thought it would be interesting to add something to Brain, like his 'disease'. I felt like this change in his body, would allow me to have changes into his mind, emotions, and world views. People with terminal disease tend to have their world views changed in some way.

Now then, with most of Brain done, let's move on to something else: Nirvana as a whole. So I kept most of the skeleton of the plot intact, just adding more into some things than others. Like say, the reason I made Nirvana a floating Isle; nothing really big. I just thought it would be cool and I didn't even make the Tower of Heaven/Hell the same place, so it's mostly just an aesthetic change.

It's people/Cait Shelter is another topic. That last part about them being figments of Roubaul was… something. I don't have much of an opinion on it though some have described as disliking it to me. I admit it felt kinda cheap to introduce a certain loli to every anime requirement in existence. So what I did was focus a little more on the survivors. I did enjoy the idea of being cursed to watch over their creation a lot, so I focused more on that than trying to get Wendy to Join.

And now, one of the last major points to cover: the early appearance of Tartar sauce! I mean Tartarus—I mean Tartaros!

So like, has anyone noticed the Balam Alliance almost never interacts, except with that one scene in the anime with Rustyrose? What the heck was their alliance even all about, smoke and mirrors? We stand together only when it's convenient or such? What were they even allied for? Against the magic council, who ALL of them had some influence over at some point in time?! (Brain being part of their Bureau; Ultear being an actual councilman; Crawford willing to betray his own people for these demons!? It's actually Canon that the Balam Alliance all have agents in the council!)

I mean, I know Mishima plays the Magic Council as idiots, but seriously? If I wanted to see incompetent people run the government, I'd look at my current, real life news! It's like the alliance was made so that no one would have a monopoly over their supposed enemy.

Right, right, no point getting angry over long spilt milk.

Anyway. These are the main notes I wanted to say for this arc. I'm so glad that it's finally done. The next few arcs are going to be just as fun to make! I hope you guys enjoy your day!