Disclaimer: I only own my OCs...which actually aren't a lot this chapter. XD

Anu: *impatient* Authoress...

Authoress: *cries* I'm sorry! I didn't realize that I forgot to post this until it was midnight and my computer was downstairs!

Anu: *sighs* Fine. But, you had better make up for the delay.

Authoress: *nods quickly* Will do!

Chapter 1: Oracion Jackals

Cobra's 1st P.O.V.

I growled to myself as I glanced at the four stone walls that surrounded me that were only broken up by the iron bars of the door that stood between me and freedom. It was our own fault that we were here…but I didn't like it. I didn't like being confined in this small cell. I wanted to be free again. But, if the Magic Council had their way, we wouldn't ever have a chance to be outside again. We screwed up by listening to Brain, but we didn't know anything else. After the Tower of Heaven, he became all we knew and we followed the man blindly. Now we were paying the price for that blind loyalty.

I wouldn't call any of us reformed though…not really. To be reformed means that we had to be completely evil in the first place. That wasn't right. We had just wanted to be completely free. But, I realized that we had gone after that freedom in the wrong way. We tried to force that freedom from everyone…even people who weren't stopping our freedom. It was a lot to take in…that we were wrong. But the years I had spent in this cell had shown me that there had been better ways of getting freedom. But, with our lots drawn, I doubted that we would ever get that freedom.

"I don't know why that mutt is doing this. He has to be crazy."

My curiosity skyrocketed when I suddenly heard that inner thought from someone entering my cell unit. There was no one else in my cell unit so this person had to be coming for me. What were they talking about though?

"He must really believe that they can change. The mutt must have seen something in them all…or he is just as insane as we've always thought he was." The familiar inner voice of Lahar came to my ears. What were Lahar and the probable rune knight with him thinking about? And what was Lahar doing down here? He wasn't one that normally came down to the cells. Usually, I would play my mind games with Doranbolt. But, Lahar being down here meant that there was something important about to happen.

I heard another door open and close before I heard two sets of footsteps grow closer to me. Well, whatever it was going to be about, I was going to find out soon. It wasn't long before Lahar and a rune knight arrived in front of my cell door. "Seems like you're still alive." The rune knight commented to me.

Letting out a scoff, I shook my head. "Obviously your eyes work decently enough to see." I hoped I didn't have to deal with this idiot or this was going to be a long day.

"This is going to be annoying. Why did that dog have to be so persistent?" The rune knight thought to himself.

Who the fuck was this dog they were talking about and what did he have to do with why these two were in front of my cell right now? Hopefully, they would let me know soon. I didn't like not knowing the information and these two seemed to be being careful to not slip whoever this 'mutt' was.

Since I doubted that they would be telling me who this guy was, I figured I had better get this show started. "So, what brings the great Lahar to come to my humble room?" I asked in a sarcastic voice. The sooner he was done, the sooner I could find out who this 'mutt' was.

"You are to come with us. You have a visitor." Lahar answered, much to my surprise.

Who the hell could be visiting me? I didn't know anyone who would be considered a 'mutt' that would visit me. The only person who would maybe visit me would be Cubelios and, if they were calling her a mutt, I would tear their throats out.

Once the door to the cell opened, I stood and waited for the rune knight to put my cuffs on. Once they were on, he motioned me out and the three of us started to walk down the halls. "I still don't see what that dog wants with them all." I heard the rune knight think.

Wait…who wanted what with us? Usually hearing someone's thoughts would help me solve what was going on around me…but this was just making this situation more confusing. Was someone wanting to use me and whoever else this rune knight was thinking about? I was not going to lose my freedom. I was already restricted because of my imprisonment…and that was due to my own crimes. I would not allow my freedom to be further taken away by whoever this was.

"That mutt…he better know what he is doing." Lahar thought to himself.

With that thought from Lahar, I realized that they were purposefully avoiding thinking about this 'mutt's' name. Lahar was more interesting and, unless he was calling someone by their name, he would come up with a different name at least once. But, with the multiple times that he had thought about my visitor as a mutt, I knew that they were hiding who it was from me. I didn't like this at all.

After a few more minutes of walking we arrived at a simple white door and Lahar motioned forward. Giving him an annoyed glare, I walked inside and I found myself surprised to see Midnight, whose name was really Macbeth, Angel, whose name was really Sorano, Racer, whose name was Sawyer, and Hoteye, whose name was Richard. What were they doing here? Did this mutt character have something planned with the Oracion Seis? If so, where were Brain and Klodoa…not that I was complaining about their absence. Out of everyone, those two were the ones that I could stand the least. I hated their guts. It was a relief that they weren't in here.

"Alright…we've waited long enough. Who is here to see us?" Sorano asked, slightly tapping her toes in annoyance.

Lahar and the rune knight threw each other a look before Lahar nodded and the rune knight let out a sigh. He then came around and, to my surprise, unlocked all our cuffs. What the hell was going on? "Your visitor wanted to speak with you without those on. Just as a reminder, the entire prison is secured by a magical barrier that will probably kill you if you try to leave." He then cleared his throat a little. "Your visitor, however, did not wish for anyone but you five in this room when he talked to you. So, we will leave you for now. That damn mutt will know how to tell us he is done talking to you." He then shook his head before leading the rune knight out of the room. He then paused as the rune knight left. Lahar went to follow but stopped before looking back into the room. "Keep out of trouble."

Lahar then shut the door behind him.

…That last part didn't sound like he was talking to us. I wasn't liking this at all. "So, what are we supposed to do now?" Sawyer asked as he lounged on the couch. "The only ones in here are us five and that dog in the corner. When is our visitor supposed to get here?"

"Did you say dog?" I asked, now looking around the room. Movement from next to the couch Sawyer was laying on caused me to focus as a dog walked into view. Our visitor really was a mutt. From the look of the dog, though, he had a lot of jackal in his blood.

"Cobra." I jumped slightly as I heard my name come from the dog's thoughts.

The others didn't notice my jump as Sawyer answered me while motioning to the dog that just had a clear thought of my name. "Yeah, this dog has been in here since I got in here, and they brought me first. He didn't wake up until just now."

Doubtful. I was now sure that the dog had been studying us. It was either a sentient dog or…"I am a mage." Again. Again, that dog's thoughts went into my head. This time, I realized that the dog, who was a mage, was communicating with me.

"What the hell?" Sawyer yelped as the mage started to transform from his dog state. The man's height grew to five feet nine. He had black hair and golden yellow animalistic eyes. His skin was a little darker than Macbeth's…though not by much, and he seemed to be very comfortable in a room with us.

Once this mage was fully transformed, he sat in the spot that Sawyer had just vacated in favor of the other side of the couch, and we were all tense. But, the mage didn't seem to be nervous in the slightest around us. Who was he? "Who are you?" Macbeth asked the mage finally.

In return, the golden-eyed mage glanced around at all of us before he smiled and said, "My apologies for not introducing myself earlier. I didn't want Lahar and that idiot with him to be privy to this conversation." He then motioned to himself. "My name is Anu Asim Biskaln, transformation mage and former member of the dark guild Death Head's Caucus."

Why did he tell us his full name? Names held power if a mage knew how to use it and yet this Anu just gave it to us. This guy had to be crazy. Might explain why…

My brain paused itself as Anu's name finally registered with me. He was the Anu Biskaln. While only the team Trinity Raven was known to most people outside of Dark Guilds, I did remember Brain thinking about Anu Biskaln, one of the best…if not the best, assassins that Death's Head Caucus had. He was the hidden member that you didn't know about until you faced him and, if you lived through the experience, then he would be one that you would never forget.

"What made you start working with the Council?" I asked him with a sharp look. Going from a dark guild to the Council was a large jump and I wanted to know what caused that.

But, I flinched at the sharp look I got back. "I do not work with the Council." He then let out a breath, causing his heartbeat to settle slightly from what I could hear before he continued. "My apologies if events led you to assume that. I do not work with the Council. I wish to start my own guild. They are allowing me the chance to gain my first members."

It didn't take much for my mind to connect the dots and I realized what it was that this Anu wanted. "You want us to join your guild." I stated to him bluntly with a stare.

The others seemed surprised and looked at him with a studying look. Anu, on his part, didn't look trapped like I thought he would. Instead, he simply nodded. "Yes. That is quite correct Cobra…or should I say Erik?"

"Erik." I answered him bluntly. I was nervous about him now. The last guild we were in didn't turn out to help us at all and I was sure that all of us were nervous about what was going to happen.

Anu's eyes took on a calculating look before he continued. "As I'm sure you've already figured out Erik, I know about what abilities each of you has, or had in one case." Sorano. He certainly did his homework on us. But that wasn't going to help him convince us to join his guild.

"Why should we join your guild?" Richard asked Anu.

"Yeah," Sawyer jumped in…still sitting as far from Anu as he could. Guess it registered to him as to who exactly Anu was. "we would just be trading one type of jail for another. Not exactly an improvement."

In return, Anu laughed. "I understand where you are coming from Sawyer. However, that would not be the case here."

"How?" Macbeth asked him with suspicion.

"First off, Macbeth, I know that it would be different because, since I have been a part of a dark guild, I know how crappy it can be and how demanding the guild master can be. However, since I experienced that, I know that it would not serve me well to try and be controlling. The only decisions that I wish to make would be who would be S-class ranked or not and I would decide who gets to participate in the Grand Magic Games. Missions and teams would be completely your choice." Anu didn't flinch at all as we started to ask these questions.

"So, we would be a legal guild begging at the foot of the Council?" Sorano asked in annoyance. Legal guilds had this way of sucking up to the Council and none of us found that very exciting.

"Yes…we would be a legal guild." I noticed that he looked slightly worried now. What was going through his head and why couldn't I see in it? "However, I do not have a very high regard for those idiots on the Council or their ways of restriction against progressing in our magic. While I do agree that there are lines that must be drawn, I believe that the Council is full of cowards that won't take a risk to advance our knowledge. I'm not the type to suck up to power, I overcome it. That was how I managed to meet with you all in the first place and have the chance to offer you this life-line thread to freedom…true freedom."

A slight flinch came from Anu at that. I could tell that he was telling the truth about everything he said. But, there was something that he was holding back. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was affecting his pitch to us.

"Can you give us a few minutes alone to talk about it?" I suddenly found myself saying.

Anu gave me a studying look before he smiled and nodded once before standing, his black trench coat swaying behind him. "Of course. This is a big decision. I'll be on the other side of the door. Just knock on it when you want me to come back in." He then walked to the door. Once he was there, he opened it and took one last look back at us before he shut it. As he did, I saw Lahar and the rune knight standing there as well.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Sawyer asked as he finally stood up and paced the room. "I mean, can we really trust this Anu guy?"

"Yeah, we can." I interrupted Sawyer. Everyone looked at me as I moved toward the door. "I knew he was telling the truth about everything that he said the moment he said them."

"Then why did you need him to leave the room?" Richard asked me.

The others were giving me curious looks as well and I knew I had to answer. "Something was bothering Anu when he was talking about how he got the Council to give us this chance to join his guild. I'm hoping someone on the other side of the door slips on what exactly Anu had to do to get the Council to agree to this."

They all looked like they understood now. "Let us know what they are saying." Macbeth stated as he took a seat, followed by the other three.

I nodded and leaned my ear against the door. At first, I just heard a mumble of voices. But, once I focused my hearing on the three people on the other side, I could start to hear them better.

"Anu, this isn't looking good for you." Lahar spoke. "If they make even one step out of the line, the Council is going to be on you faster than you can blink."

"Lahar is saying that we are a risk to Anu and that if we get out of place, the Council is going to get all over Anu." I repeated to the others.

"But why?" Sorano asked. "We would have to face punishment for getting out of line…not Anu…right?"

I shrugged my shoulders before listening again. "Lahar, I know the risk that I am taking. I would appreciate it if you could not even think about it. I don't want them to know what I had to do to get them this far…and hopefully farther."

"There's something that Anu doesn't want us to know about how he arranged this chance for us." I whispered to them while continuing to listen.

"You dumb mutt you are being blind about this!" The rune knight started. "If those dark mages take you up on your crazy offer and step out of line, then your freedom is as good as gone!"

My eyes widened at the implication of what the rune knight was saying. If we went into Anu's guild…and we stepped out of line at any time against the Council…then we could stay free but Anu would…

"Erik? You going to give us that play-by-play?" Sawyer snapped me out of my surprise.

I nodded. "The rune knight just hinted that Anu is taking a huge risk with us. If he is telling the truth, then if we accept Anu's offer and step out of line, then it will be Anu's freedom that will be taken away."

They all looked at me in shock as I continued to listen…

And jumped when I heard Anu snarl and slam what I was assuming was the rune mage against the wall next to the door. The thud was loud enough for the others to jump as well.

"I don't appreciate you talking like that about me and my hopefully future guild members. Now, here is what is going to happen, you are going to keep your thoughts to yourself and avoid antagonizing me and my prospective guild members. In return, I won't tear you limb to limb." I heard Anu growl at the rune mage.

"Holy shit." I mumbled as I listened.

"What? What's happening?" Sorano asked me as the rest of them pressed their ears against the door.

"Anu is ripping into the rune knight about talking shit about us." I whispered as I listened.

"Anu," Lahar started. "Put him down now. That's not going to help this any. While he could have phrased that better, I have to say that I have had the same thoughts he has. You have never trusted anyone this much before, and now you are putting everything on the line for those five. I am not insulting anyone, but it is a lot to sacrifice. Are they really worth it to you?"

Since the others were listening now, I could focus on what was being said. I heard feet being returned to the floor before Anu finally spoke. "Lahar, they are worth more to me then you will ever know. We can help each other grow in a way that no other guild would be able to give us. Not even Fairy Tail was able to help me in the way that they will be able to. I will also be able to show them what life is like away from all the stress and terror of a dark guild. Instead of fighting for their lives every day, they will be fighting over the best pieces of pie at dessert."

"We all know who that is." Sawyer mumbled. That was followed by Sorano slapping him. "Yikes! Put away the claws woman! I'm sorry! Yeesh!"

I just shook my head and continued to listen to Anu. "I realized last night that this 'sacrifice' is nothing. I am glad to give it up for them to have a chance at the same freedom that I received from the Council all those years ago." He then let out a sigh. "I just hope that they give me the chance to show them how we can keep our freedom and be a legal guild."

Thump!

We all looked over at Richard, who had slipped and knocked on the door, before he said, "Sorry guys."

We all just sighed. That probably sounded like a knock to the other side. "Well, that's my cue. Don't come in until I come out and get you."

"Shit move!" I told the others as I bolted to the couch. The others raced to join me and Sorano was the last to sit down as the door opened and Anu walked in. Once he closed the door, he turned to us and I could see that he was studying us. He looked at us expectantly and I had a feeling that he might know that we were listening. So, I figured I would get the elephant out of the room now. "Did you mean all that stuff you just said out there?"

Anu blinked in surprise for a second before he started laughing. "You were listening to that?" Guess he didn't know we were listening. Well crap. "Guess I should have expected as much. Here I am, some bedraggled looking ex-dark mage that you just met asking you to join a guild that I just got approved to make yesterday. I should have seen that coming." He then calmed down before saying, "Yes. I meant every single word that I said out there."

"And is it true that you would take responsibility for our actions should we choose to join your guild?" Macbeth asked Anu.

A flinch came from Anu at that. "So, you heard that too. I'm going to hunt down that knight later for opening his big mouth." He then paused before nodding. "And what he said was true. I was hoping that you all wouldn't learn about that part of the deal. I wanted you to make this choice completely of your free will without having to worry about the side effects if something goes wrong. Since you all know now though, I guess I should explain the rest of what that idiot didn't spill. Not only would I take the fall if you all are a part of the guild but, if you so choose to leave my guild after joining, then I would still take responsibility for whatever actions you choose to make."

"Why?" Macbeth asked immediately. I could see that he was still suspicious of Anu's offer and, if we hadn't just heard what went on between Anu, Lahar, and the rune knight, then I would think it was too good to be true.

Anu moved his sight to Macbeth before saying, "Because I know how hard it is to return to society after making a mistake. It was a hard struggle for me to do that…and I'm still working on it. I want your transition to be easier and I want you all to realize just how precious the freedom you are asking for truly is." He then paused. "Since that's all in the air, I guess now is as good a time to ask as any; Will you five join my guild as its first guild members? I don't have a name for the guild yet, or a symbol. But, that can be something we work on together. Will you join me?"

While I wasn't sure what the others were going to say, I already knew my answer. "Sounds like the best offer I'm going to get. Better than being forced to join a guild to 'redeem' myself." Anu smirked at my answer.

"Well, you'll probably have better entertainment than this place does…so why not?" Sawyer confirmed.

"I will go with you too." Richard answered. "A chance to be good sounds wonderful."

Sorano crossed her arms and stared at Anu for a minute. "I don't have any magic right now. Is that going to be an issue?" That was right. Since she lost her ability to contract Celestial Spirits, Sorano hasn't had time to learn another magic. I didn't think about that.

However, her question didn't seem to phase Anu in the slightest as he shook his head. "No. That won't be an issue. I am sure that you will find another magic eventually…or it will find you. I've seen fate work in mysterious ways. Until that time comes, however, you can help me around the guild if you wish to. I will need help keeping up with the place."

Truly smiling for the first time since I had known her, Sorano answered him. "Then why not? I doubt I would get a better offer."

We all then looked at Midnight and I knew that he was truly thinking this thing through. Out of all of us, he had been the one who was most manipulated by Brain and he felt the guiltiest about everything we did in the past with being a part of the Oracion Seis. "When you were outside, you mentioned that you were a part of Fairy Tail. As I'm sure you know, we haven't had the best history with them and I'm not sure we are ready to confront them just yet. Would you be able to avoid talking about us to them if you talk to them until we are ready?"

That was a good point and I forgot that Anu had mentioned Fairy Tail. Looking at Anu, I could see that he was really thinking about what Macbeth was asking. Since he was a past dark guild mage like us, I had a feeling that Fairy Tail had helped him earn his freedom in a similar way that he was helping us. Asking him to give that connection up for a time was going to be hard on him. But, if Anu was telling the truth about all he was offering, then his answer was going to be obvious.

As I thought, Anu nodded. "Yes, I am willing and ready to cut ties with Fairy Tail, and every other guild, until you find yourselves ready to be public to the world. I already requested that the Council keep your release away from all press until you are ready, and I can keep myself separated from the other guilds until you are ready to be known to the world again."

Macbeth stared at Anu for a long time before he gave a slow nod. "Then I find no reason to not join your guild."

It looked like we were all going to be free now.

Anu smiled at us and nodded. "That's great. I'll just let Lahar and the rune knight back in here to let them know that their services are no longer required." He then got up and walked to the door before opening it. "You can come in now." He then walked away from the door, leaving it open. Soon, Lahar followed.

Not to my surprise, the rune knight was no-where to be found.

Lahar looked at the five of us with a wary eye before he looked at Anu. "So, what did they decide?"

Anu smirked at Lahar. "They've decided to give this mutt a chance at being their guild master." Anu was going to be a weird guild master that was for sure. He even called himself a mutt?

"So, they actually took you up on your offer." Lahar sounded a little surprised at that before he returned to a neutral face. "Very well. I am sure that Anu has informed you of the situation before you all. You are free to go. Good luck Anu." He then turned and left.

Once he was out of the doors, Anu…Master Anu motioned for us to follow him through the doors. Once we did, he led us down the halls and toward the entrance of the prison. This was it. We were finally going to be free. But…I now had another question. "Anu," I wasn't going to call him 'master' out loud yet. He still had to earn that from me. "where exactly is our guild going to be located?"

We paused as we made it outside at that question and the five of us enjoyed taking in the idea that we were finally free. Hopefully, this gig at being a guild mage would work out. I had a feeling that, if this was going to work out with anyone, it was going to be with Master Anu.

After what seemed like forever, though it was probably only a few minutes, Anu answered my question. "In the mountains just South of Old Fort. I negotiated to buy that part of the valley with the mayor in Dawn City since he technically has rights to it. I must let rune knights and others pass through there, but if any cause trouble we can take care of them. Wasn't a bad deal in all honesty. I just had to agree that, once I got my guild up and running, that we would allow Dawn City to be our patron city and have rights to sell our brand. A win for both of us in all retrospect."

While it was strange already being part of another guild, and a legal guild at that, I had a feeling that everything was going to work out this time.

Erik: So...now what?

Anu: *stares* We will figure that out together.

Sorano: *stares back knowingly* You have no idea do you?!

Anu: *defensive* It's not like I have ever started a guild before! Give me a little break for getting this far without trouble!

Authoress: This should be fun.

AN: And here is the next chapter! I am so so so so so so sorry that I couldn't get this up yesterday but we had relatives come this weekend for Thanksgiving and so I couldn't break away long enough to update this. So, I am doing this now when I probably really shouldn't be. I hope this was an enjoyable chapter. From the timeline, obviously, the whole clock debacle from the anime will not be happening since, if you haven't caught on by now, this is going on during the seven years that the Fairy Tail mages were stuck on Tenrou.

Looks like this guild is moving forward nicely though! Five new members to join Anu and that means that this is going to be a crazy sort of time! You'll find out more about their 'guild hall' next chapter which, due to my blunder in not updating anything yesterday, I will be posting not long after this one is up. (like minutes after hopefully).

Well, that's really all for now. As promised last chapter, here is the names of the next two chapters (though the first one really won't do much good since it is coming up in a few minutes)

Chapter 2: Mountain of Jackals

Chapter 3: The Weakness of the Siren's Song

Chapter 4:...(find out next chapter, in a few minutes hopefully)

So, that's all for now. Please leave a review, even to say hi, and I'll respond when I can. I really do enjoy knowing that people are reading this and, even if you don't review, I appreciate you taking the time to read this anyways. Until next time, TTYL! *listens to lecture on knights*