Endless nights, day after day of traveling, he'd spent his fair share of time wandering with the wanna be witches group, trying to atone for the all the crap that he had done in desperation, when he was still a complete fucking idiot. He'd been so certain that he had known everything, that he was right, that his actions were right for the freedom he had craved.

Oh how wrong he had been.

Now, instead, here he was, wandering, tracking down pathetic guilds that tried to claim to be dark, and beating the crap out of them. It sated his desire for violence, for blood, it sated his desire to hear the screams of pain and torture from his enemies like a cat getting scratched in just the right spot under its chin, nearly making him purr.

Biting back a growl of boredom, one poison dragon slayer by the name of Cobra rolled his head on his shoulders, taking a moment to enjoy the relief from popping his neck. He was on first watch tonight, and being up in the trees surrounding the small clearing where his rag-tag group of crazies, he had a fairly clear view of the night sky.

That is until something about person sized with rather large wings went zooming past above him.

Brows furrowing, Cobra was quick to roll to his feet on the branch he had been reclining on, and with barely a hint of sound at his movement, opened his senses to follow the thing he had seen with his magic. There was a part of him that he could feel straining to follow the flying creature, but his sense of loyalty to those he considered his family had him staying where he was. Instead he memorized the sound of the soul he could here, and had to bite back a whimper when the smell of sugared belladonna reached his nose.

Taking a one last deep breath, one last self-torturing breath, Cobra dropped to the ground below with a light thud. He flopped down at the base of the tree to pick the few flowers he saw were poisonous and munched away, leaning his head back to watch the stars through the trees once more.

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"What the fuck do you mean we're going to that crazy monkey filled circus your red-headed sadist of a girlfriend calls a guild you self-loathing blue twat?!" Cobra snarled, arms crossed, staring down his small guilds master. The sun was just peaking over the tops of the trees, their campfire was smoldering as it slowly died out, and they had all been in the process of breaking down their tents when Jellal had called their attention.

"Exactly what I said Erik. Master Markarov has requested our presence, and now that we've actually been pardoned after the war with Alvarez, the King and Princess themselves are heavily encouraging us to join a guild." Jellal said smoothly, meeting Cobra's one indigo eye head on.

"Oh shit balls no, you are not suggesting what you are thinking tramp stamp! And dammit I told you not to call me that!" The growl that escaped Cobra at this point had wisps of poison escaping him, and he felt his claws lengthen to dig into his palms. The silence from the rest of the guild around them was almost deafening for everyone but Cobra, who could hear their souls clashing in shock and chaos.

"No, I'm not suggesting that. What I'm suggesting is that now that you all have the option, take some time and decide what you want to do. I, personally, am deciding to join a legitimate guild, and building my life. What each of you want to do is completely up to you. Markarov has already extended his welcome for any of us to join his guild if we so wish. If not, he'll help you get to where you want to go. Angel, if you want to go to your sister, that option is there. Sawyer, Richard, if you want to go find Wally and join him or any others, you're free to do so. Erik, Meredy, Macbeth, you're free to go where you will also, as long as you abide by the laws." Jellal finished, shrugging the cloak that had become so much a part of who he was, and shoved it into his bag.

Gaping at their guild master, the Crime Sorciere members watched with hanging mouths as he shrugged his pack onto his shoulder and headed for the road leading to Magnolia and Fairy Tail.

"Wh-what the hell just happened?" Angel breathed, shock making her numb as she stared after the man who she had followed for a number of years now. She wanted to go and be with her sister in Sabertooth, but...she hadn't thought it would happen so suddenly! "Did he just disband the guild?" She asked further, turning towards those she considered family. She had been through so much with them, even as annoying as they had been multiple times, she would still walk through hell for any of them.

And now she felt adrift.

"Stop." That one word, snarled, had multiple pairs of eyes snapping to the poison slayer of their group. "Yes, he disbanded the guild because as much as it actually physically pains me to say this, he's right."

"But Co-"

"He can't jus-"

"After everything-"

"How can he-"

"Enough!" Cobra shouted, whirling around to meet the eyes of his family. "He has every right to do what he has done, just as much right as we have to take him up on what he suggested or tell him to suck dick and do something completely different." Letting out a long, low breath, he rolled his shoulders, enjoying the slight relief that comes from his back popping.

"What do you suggest we do then?" Midnight asked softly, his red eyes watching his best friend carefully. He already knew what he would do. He didn't have anything tying him to anything anywhere, and the place he wanted to go he would only admit to Cobra that he didn't have the balls to go to alone. He may not like it, but even when Jellal was around, everyone in the group looked to Cobra.

Taking a deep breath, Cobra shifted his gaze from one guild member to another, memories hitting him hard. They were a mix of his and theirs that were resonating deeply in their souls. But he could hear them. He could hear each of their deepest desires, and knew that they wouldn't have the courage to follow their desires without a solid push from him. Turning to Angel first, then Racer and Hoteye, he let them see the part of them that only they ever saw.

A small smile curled his lips, and his eye softened. "Each of you know exactly what to do. Angel, go to your sister, mend the bridges that were burnt by circumstances that you had absolutely no control over. Sawyer, Richard, the same goes with both of you. Sawyer, your speed can get you plenty of work. Richard, follow Angel, they'll be able to help you connect with your brother, help you get to him."

Shifting his gaze to the last two of his little family, and surprisingly, though he would deny it, the ones he was closest to, Cobra looked over Midnight and Meredy who were watching him with worried eyes.

"And us?" Midnight asked softly, watching the man he considered a brother closely.

"I'm going to go to Fairy Tail as well. Consider it a way to continue working on atoning for the sins I committed against them. Obviously I'm not going to tell you guys that you have to follow me, however, Midnight, this could be a chance to pursue the person you've been wanting to for a while now. And Meredy, you'd get along just fine with the women there, you're just as crazy as the rest of them." Cobra explained, listening closely and fighting the urge to roll his eyes at the longing her heard warbling through their souls.

"So, what? Is that it? Is this goodbye?" Angel demanded, her voice thick and scathing as she fought the tears burning her eyes.

"Hell no feather twat. We can obviously still visit each other. We're just going after what we've been wanting to go after for a while now." Cobra huffed. "And I don't know about you guys, but I'm dropping Cobra. We've come a long way, and trying to embrace the who kumbayah bullshit, I'm going to start going by my given name now."

"Honestly... being Macbeth doesn't sound like all that bad an idea... Erik." Macbeth said with a slight curve to his black painted lips.

"Aye sir!" Meredy's agreement followed by a giggle echoed him, and with one last deep breath taken by everyone, they turned toward the road leading to the next adventure and new lives.