They were the last two to arrive at Blue Pegasus, based on the comments of people inside. "It looks like everyone is here now." A man with orange hair smiled at that, but Meredy was too busy thinking of how small their gathering was. Three men in suits, a bald headed man, and the one speaking were all that had been there before they arrived.
"What a beauty to grace our sight!" One of the suited men ran forward towards them, kneeling down and taking Wendy's hand.
"I'd be happy if you'd accept my offer to lend you a hand as you walked towards our group." The one with short blond hair approached her and Meredy was starting to see that these guys were ridiculous.
"They're both alright, I guess." The third just turned away, blushing at his own comment.
"Men! This is not the time for such actions!"
All of them straightened at the order of the man in the white suit. "Of course, Ichiya sir!" They ran back to the leader of their group and remained silent after that. Moving closer to Wendy, Meredy frowned.
"I see that Cait Shelter has offered us two of their members. I am Ichiya of Blue Pegasus and this is my team."
"Ren."
"Eve. I use snow magic."
"And I'm Hibiki, user of the more modern magic known as Archive."
Well, that introduced the weird men. Meredy wondered if Eve thought she was older or something. Much like Erza and Gray from before, it wouldn't surprise her if they thought she was a bit further into her teens than she actually was.
"I am here from Lamia Scale. My name is Jura. We regret to say that the rest of our members were preoccupied and unable to join on this important mission."
Giving them a bow, Wendy began to stutter out her own greeting. "I-I'm Wendy Marvel. I'm a sk-sky dragon slayer, from Cait Shelter. It is a pleasure to meet you all!"
She was a dragon slayer too? Meredy supposed that explained her comment about scents from before. However, Meredy focused on the group herself after a moment, choosing carefully how to introduce herself. "Call me Mer." There were older wizards here and their goal was the pursuit of another major dark guild. If anyone was going to recognize her, it would be someone here.
"Mer?" Wendy frowned at her, but she didn't reply. She kept her expression neutral, seeing the others frown at her vagueness as well.
"Well…for planning purposes, here is what information we have. The Oración Seis is a guild made up of six wizards." Ichiya was leading the explanation, talking openly to them all. "No one has managed to defeat even a single one in the past and it is believed that any individual member of their group is capable of destroying an entire small guild on their own."
"Excuse me." Meredy spoke, glancing over at him. "The plan to meet here was revealed to other guilds through a series of letters and meetings over lacrima, correct?"
"Of course. Lacrima is the fastest method of communication." Hibiki frowned at her. "Is there a reason for asking?"
"Dark wizards are skilled at infiltrating such messages. If we want to safely discuss strategy, I'd recommend relocating before we go too far into the subject."
"I'm more than confident that our wizards here at Blue Pegasus can fend off anyone trying to eavesdrop on what is being said." Ichiya seemed to strike a pose after that, throwing his head back. "Men."
"Yeah, with Ichiya around, no one will dare approach us!" Eve seemed to have the same overconfidence.
Sighing, Meredy shook her head. "I simply don't feel comfortable with that plan. You can choose the location, just please not this one." She could already sense active magic nearby. Someone knew this was happening and if they saw her too soon, it would be catastrophic. She'd been glad she'd had her cloak at least when she left, which made it possible for her to pull the hood up over her head.
"You certainly are acting strange today, Mer. What has gotten into you?" Charle spoke, glancing over at her.
"Nothing." She couldn't explain, not right now.
"If it makes no difference, Ichiya, I'd say let's just begin this conversation elsewhere. Having everyone present comfortable as we talk will be beneficial in the long run," Jura suggested.
Without another objection, they began dispersing, walking outside calmly. Ichiya led them into town, before settling on gathering inside of a public library. They had a section walled off from the main floor which Ichiya walked into, sitting down at a table and waiting for the others. Meredy joined him, taking a moment to sense for magic nearby before nodding to herself. The presence from before had faded. They likely had been close, but not near enough to realize they were leaving yet.
"Now, as I was mentioning before, this enemy is powerful, despite their low numbers. We'd been hoping for a larger gathering, but we will make do with what we have. To plan appropriately, we will need to know the magical talents of every wizard here. My team has introduced themselves with those explained, but Mer and Jura need to inform me of their talents as well."
"I am but a humble wizard of the earth."
Opening her mouth, Meredy hesitated. She wasn't going to be able to keep this hidden for long, was she? Despite her hopes, it just wasn't going to happen. "My magic wouldn't be recognizable to you. It is a lost magic."
"With Archive, I can do research on what sort of spells you are capable of after hearing the name. Really, just knowing that much would be a big help to our plans."
"I'm sorry." Meredy shook her head. "You will have your answer to that soon enough."
"Is there a reason for your secrecy? We are all allies here and secrets will only become a burden the longer you carry them." Jura frowned at her.
"I've carried larger burdens before." Meredy looked over at them. "Plan with me as a fighter, with tactical planning skills and the capability to fight at both close and long range."
"Excuse me…Mer?" Wendy glanced over at her, confusion shining in her eyes. "I don't understand what's wrong with talking about this. I mean, you told me about your magic just the other day."
"Archive magic allows one to research more than just skills." Meredy looked over at Hibiki, meeting the man's gaze. "I value my privacy and suffice to say, I will not risk exposing myself to such a talent."
"I guess that is understandable." Hibiki sighed, shaking his head. "I'd never intentionally use my magic to cause someone pain like that, but we can't force you to reveal anything. We'll…make it work, without that knowledge."
After a pause, Ichiya continued. "Our latest sources have indicated that the Oración Seis has a temporary base located in the Worth Woodsea. They have been quite active in the area and that leads us to believe they are searching for the legendary spell known as Nirvana, rumored to be sealed within that forest. Our goal is to stop them from breaking that seal and destroy their guild."
Nirvana? Meredy frowned. How would that help Brain keep Zero sealed away? Reversal magic was complicated and powerful, but she just didn't see the direct use. He valued his own sanity, so the intention wasn't to use the spell on himself as far as she knew. "That makes no sense," Meredy muttered. Ichiya blinked at her and the others turned to focus on her. "Sorry. Never mind, I was just thinking about something else."
"We will take a frontal assault team to meet them on land and then use our air airship Christina to bomb them from the skies and locate Nirvana before they can. Between both attacks, we should be capable of stopping them, so long as we can delay them long enough. Are there any questions?"
"Do you have further information about our enemies? I'd prefer not to go into battle against unknown magics," Jura asked.
"I've been trying to find info on them in Archive, but there isn't much." Hibiki frowned. "Most people who could've documented that kind of thing ended up killed by the members themselves. They're known to be vicious and merciless like that."
Looking over at him, Meredy sighed. "Cobra is likely the most dangerous of them, excluding the master. He utilizes poison dragon slaying magic, which has enhanced his hearing the point at which he can hear the thoughts of those around him. He'll predict our moves before we make them, a type of magic which I cannot say anyone here has a skilled counter to." Meredy looked around, focusing on them. "I should be able to…grant some form of assistance against that, though it will remain to be seen how helpful it will be."
"Wait, where did you hear any of this?" Hibiki, leaned forward, narrowing his eyes at her.
Shrugging, Meredy kept going. "Angel is a celestial wizard. Your greatest fear from her stems from Gemini, a spirit that can copy the form and magic of others. Racer's magic alters your perception of speed, Hoteye utilizes earth magic, and Midnight's specialty is reflection magic. Once all of them are defeated, the body link seals keeping Brain's second personality will be broken and you'll be left facing off against Zero instead."
"How can we know that this is all the truth? You tell us nothing of yourself and now spout information on a guild even Hibiki knows nothing of." Ren narrowed his eyes at her.
"You cannot. However, if it comforts you, the moment our confrontation begins, you will likely have your answer as to why I've been so secretive."
"Wait, have you worked with Oración Seis or something?" Eve looked shocked. "I thought you were with Cait Shelter!"
"I'm Wendy's friend. I have no other reason beyond that for coming here."
The group was quiet, watching her calmly. "This parfum…it reeks of tension and distrust. It is a bitter smell that I am not fond of being near." Ichiya shook his head. "Please, if you are truly on our side, reveal to us now what it is we must now, rather than leaving the shock for the battlefield."
Meeting his gaze, Meredy kept her expression neutral. "Do you promise to allow me to assist you, regardless of what it is? Will you ensure I can remain on this team to protect my friend?"
"Mer, they aren't going to force you to leave." Wendy touched her arm. "After all, they can see you're just trying to help. We need as many wizards as we can get to deal with them."
"I don't think I could have said it better myself." Jura met her gaze. "I see no issues with allowing you to remain, even if it is shown that you have ulterior motives for being with us. So long as you are not working for the enemy, there is no reason to omit you from this mission."
"What would it take to convince you that I'd betray an ally then?" She met his gaze, challenging him. However, that phrasing would already make things obvious enough. No one answered, staring at her with wide eyes. Sighing, Meredy hung her head. Reaching to her neck, she undid the clasp on her cloak, shrugging it off of her shoulders. Underneath, she wore a black dress with straps that wrapped around her neck, leaving her arms bare. Turning, she showed them the red guild mark that lingered on the back of her shoulder. "My real name is Meredy. I come here as the representative of Grimoire Heart in this alliance to stop Oración Seis."
"Grimoire Heart?" Wendy stared at her, the girl's eyes wide. "But you said…you said they killed your family."
"They did." Meredy didn't say anything further for a moment, seeing the tension in the room as she stood before them. After a moment, she put her cloak back on, covering the mark with ease. "I was raised by Grimoire Heart, after they destroyed everything I knew. The life of a dark wizard is all I've ever known and as of right now, I am looking to see if that was the logical path for me to follow, or if there is a different future I should search for." Her gaze flickered around the room. "My guild has no knowledge of what I am doing, nor will they interfere. This is born of my choices alone and my interest in making connections with others that have more meaning than what I've come to know."
No one was moving at first. Then, Eve started to stand, walking towards her. He moved quickly, snow forming around his hands and blasting towards her. Meredy dodged to the side, narrowing her eyes. "You despise dark guilds, I see. Perhaps they destroyed a loved one of yours as well." She met his gaze, holding out her hand. "Sensory link." A pink band formed on his wrist, tying him to her. With that, she rose to her feet, standing still. "I will not strike you. This spell is an act of self-defense and nothing more."
"A monster like you killed our Karen. It isn't something so easily forgotten." A blast of wind knocked her back as Ren joined in the battle. However, as she grunted when her back hit the ground, so did Eve. His hand lifted, touching his back with a grimace.
"What was that?"
Meredy sat up, looking around. Wendy was watching with wide eyes, holding Charle tightly. Jura hadn't moved yet and Hibiki seemed to be lost behind a screen of gold, likely searching for more answers on who she was. Turning towards Eve, Meredy shrugged. "My method of self-defense. The more you harm me, the more damage you'll do to yourself. If you kill me, you shall be killed too. That is the nature of the connection born of strong emotions, the connection my magic can enhance."
"Maguilty Sense." Hibiki stared at her, his eyes widening. "Ren, Eve, she isn't lying! This…monster has decided to use you as a human shield for her own selfish needs."
Both members of Blue Pegasus turned towards him, their hands closing into fists before glaring back at Meredy. She met their gazes calmly, standing tall and unmoving, with the pink band flashing on her wrist. "So, this shares our pain, right?" Eve stared at her, while she nodded. He gave a pained grimace, before widening his stance and taking a deep breath. "Ren, hit me instead. I'll be feeling it either way, but at least with this, you'll have a target that won't try to dodge."
"Eve!" Ren looked startled, staring at the blond with wide eyes.
"This is no way to face an enemy. Sacrificing yourself so easily will only reduce our numbers," Jura said.
"Indeed. We must be rational about this, men!"
This wasn't going to end well. Meredy frowned, glancing down at her wrist. The pink band lingered there and only seemed to emphasize her manipulative nature that still remained. "Meredy." A quiet voice made her look up, turning towards Wendy. Those brown eyes stared at her and Meredy felt an odd sensation in her chest as the girl actually stood back from her. Her grip on the cat was protective, as if she were afraid. "Is it really true? Are you a dark wizard, like the ones we're trying to stop now?"
So, maybe this was the first rule she needed to learn. Dark wizards were not capable of finding friends, not without causing terror. She could only have these bonds with those that were ignorant, or with those that were strange like those wizards in Fairy Tail. "I'm sorry." She was quiet as well, her gaze focusing on the others. "However, I still owe you for your previous kindness. Hate me like the rest if you must, but I will still stay on this path to seek out my future."
"If you think we're going to just trust you to come along with us, you are quite wrong," Charle said.
Staring at the cat, Meredy frowned. "Yet, you agreed to let me remain, regardless of my secret." That seemed to make the room grow still. She turned, staring out at the team, seeing most of the Blue Pegasus members still tense and sharing glances. "I do not wish to cause harm. My goal is to defend Wendy and that is all. If my knowledge of Oración Seis can help in that aim, I will be more than happy to offer it as a contribution to our plans."
"Ah, well, given the source, it may be difficult to trust such information." Ichiya glanced at her, frowning. "After all, Grimoire Heart has a non-aggression pact with Oración Seis, does it not?"
Nodding, Meredy sighed. "We do. My presence here is likely to start problems amongst the network of dark guilds as soon as I am recognized."
"Then why take such a risk? Are you not concerned about the harm that would befall your…comrades?" Jura seemed to hesitate to describe them as comrades, but Meredy supposed they were calming down. The trio of wizards so adamantly targeting her were relaxing and Meredy decided that perhaps they were at a point where discussions would solve their issues. So, she took a seat calmly once more, dropping her magic and freeing Eve. The snow wizard blinked in surprise, seeing the difference immediately, before frowning at her in confusion. However, she was already speaking before he could ask about her reasoning.
"I have every confidence in my guild's strength and even if that were not the case, this still remains as the actions of an independent wizard." Meredy did her best to avoid looking at Wendy. She didn't want to see the young girl's reaction, not when Meredy was seeing that she'd made a mistake somehow, by coming along on this task. "Should they take this as a violation of our treaty, war will break out between dark guilds. However, the Oración Seis will be hard pressed to do so much as locate our guild. All they could likely manage is the destruction of the satellite guilds which we typically oversaw and regulated."
"I get that they're dark guilds, but you make it sound so easy. Wouldn't they be killing the members of these guilds?" Eve bit his lip. "It just doesn't sound right."
"I thought you despised dark wizards."
"Not enough to want them dead!"
Shrugging, Meredy looked away. "That is likely to occur, given the fact that it is a war of some form. They don't concern me, however."
"They should!" Wendy spoke up, making Meredy blink in surprise. She turned, staring at the young sky magic user as she nervously turned away. "I mean, you guys promise to keep them safe, right? Those wizards depend on you, no matter how you feel. Don't you care at all if people get hurt? You wanted to defend me, but it just doesn't make sense that you'd let so many people get harmed to do that. I don't want to live with that, Meredy! I don't want to be responsible—"
"Can you fight?" Wendy didn't respond, staring down at her feet. "Is anyone here capable of countering the Oración Seis, the wizards I've described?"
"I believe I could handle the earth magic user. While there are those out there that certainly surpass me in strength, it is not often that I encounter them," Jura said.
"My parfum of strength will certainly invigorate the team beyond comparison! We will be unstoppable with its effects in place!"
"That's the spirit, Ichiya!"
Blue Pegasus was at least united behind a single person. "Relying on numbers will not give us an advantage." Meredy sighed. "My point remains. Without me, you have skill. I will not deny that, but it is not at the level you require for this task. For that, you would have required another team, from another guild." Maybe that was her fault as well. She looked down at the table, frowning. Would her assisting in that endeavor really changed anything? If she'd brought Ultear and Jellal back sooner, what would have changed? She didn't know what happened or why Magnolia vanished. "In that same regard, I suppose it might be fitting to say that I might have one strategy to utilize, to attempt to avoid causing the backlash against the dark guilds I mentioned. However, I'd prefer to leave that as a last resort."
Logically, Meredy knew there was nothing more that could have been done. It was pointless to linger on thoughts of the past, so why was she bothering with a pointless endeavor like that? She couldn't quite seem to stop herself from considering her past options and she had to shake her head to force herself to focus on the present instead. "Please." Wendy looked over at her. Meredy almost flinched back when she felt a touch on her hand; Wendy had picked it up, clasping it between her own, leaving Charle standing on the table instead. "If…if you really are my friend, don't make me responsible for this kind of destruction. If it'll save lives, Meredy, please use it."
Those brown eyes were kind and she was still reaching out towards her. Meredy's hand felt warm, from a contact she usually only got when she forced it on Ultear in the past. It wasn't as if a dark guild was a place for hugs and smiles, something she'd learned quite young. Meredy had grown so used to hiding behind a face of apathy, which was only aided with her logical thought process. Yet, that didn't seem to be the norm. Smiles came easily to Wendy and these people shifted so quickly with their expressions, whether it was laughing and cheering each other on, or glaring at her in anger.
Slowly, Meredy found herself nodding at the young girl. "You aren't afraid of me?"
"I mean, maybe a little." Wendy dropped Meredy's hand, turning towards the table. "But I'm not going to really understand you if I let that make my decisions for me. When we met, you were kind and these past few weeks, you did your best to try and help me. I don't want to let your past taint my opinion of you, Meredy. I mean, you weren't lying to me about everything, were you?"
"No, I was not." Meredy turned away. "Will the rest of you accept my presence as well, then?"
Ichiya and Jura shared a look, the pair that seemed most suited to taking on somewhat of a leadership role here. After a moment, the shorter man turned towards her, nodding with a smile and giving her a thumbs up. "Of course! We could certainly use the info and even if it is mere lies, our plan will not falter or change. The Oración Seis will not obtain Nirvana and together, we will stop them."
"Very well." Meredy nodded, feeling oddly more at ease now. Why did she feel lighter with them knowing the truth? What about this was more comfortable? She wasn't quite certain, but it wasn't the important thing to focus on right now. "My commentary from before was the basic overview of what sort of wizards are amongst the dark guild we seek to target with this plan. For the most efficient defeat, I recommend planning individually based on the information provided. This way, even should Angel or Cobra compromise what one of us plans to do, another's plan will still remain intact. Ask me questions for more specifics of the guild if necessary, but I do not think excessive planning will work in our favor." There were nods around the table and questions began to form. Meredy answered them as best she could and oddly, the more they spoke, the calmer everyone seemed to grow. Perhaps it would be possible for her to work with them after all, even with her past known and in the open. Legal guild wizards were far more accepting than she'd ever thought they'd be and it made her wonder if perhaps there was a greater chance of changing herself than she first thought.