"The Woodsea is only a few hours from here by foot." Hibiki looked over their group sternly, his gaze lingering on Meredy for a moment. "Is everyone ready for us to begin heading out?"

"I do still have some concerns over our planning methods" Jura folded his arms over his chest. "Our enemies are powerful, but are you certain this won't result in other issues? Being aware and working as a team is how this sort of mission is typically approached. Separate plans have the tendency to interfere with each other."

"Perhaps." Meredy frowned. "Yet, I was of the impression that we would be more adaptable to seeing interference from an ally than we would be to counteractions from the enemy."

"If the enemy really can predict us that well," Eve frowned, shaking his head. "Really, so long as we're careful, I don't see why we can't discuss this as a team."

"Haven't we already finished this debate?" Charle glared at them. "I say we are wasting precious time by discussing it again. The more we sit around here talking, the more time these dark wizards have to search for Nirvana."

"Unfortunately, the cat is right." Hibiki narrowed his eyes at the group. "We don't have time to completely remake our strategies, not if we want to make sure we have plenty of time to deal with the Oración Seis." He looked over at Meredy. "Be prepared for anything. Remember, we still don't know exactly how trustworthy this dark wizard's contributions are to our efforts."

"But she's only trying to help," Wendy said. "Guys, we can't be arguing like this."

"I'll go ahead on my own." Meredy rose to her feet. "If my presence is causing contention amongst the group, I will approach them first while you follow behind."

"Like we'd allow that," Ren said.

"Yeah, you're just going to go warn your friends," Eve added.

"Men!" Ichiya stepped forward, posing in front of the group. "This is not the time to focus on disputes. Perhaps we may have been enemies in the past. Maybe we will be enemies in the future. However, for today, we all are bathing in the parfum of teamwork and camaraderie. Enjoy it! Bask in it! Do not allow us to push away what might be our most powerful asset in the upcoming battle!"

Stiffly, Meredy shifted her weight and lowered her gaze. They may be calmer and less eager to start a fight, but that didn't mean trust had been earned. She watched the members of Blue Pegasus quickly agree to Ichiya's orders in unison, before Hibiki nodded. "Alright. Now that we've settled that matter, are we set to head out?"

"Oh, can we make a stop on the way?" Wendy raised her hand. "Not for planning, but I just remembered that you're supposed to be working, right Meredy?" The pink haired wizard nodded. "Eternal Life Coffee should be on the way. We just need to stop by and let them know Meredy is going to be busy for a bit."

"That is an unnecessary delay." Meredy stepped closer to the group. "I can simply restart someplace else when this task is finished." While it had been difficult to find a business willing to hire her when she was so young, she was certain that Crow and Sara weren't the only eccentric business owners in the world.

"But that'd be rude. Sara and Crow are going to worry about you for nothing," Wendy argued."

"Enough." Jura shook his head. "The town is on the way and we can obtain snacks at this shop to revitalize our energy before the battle begins. Is that acceptable?"

"Oh, I love pastries! That sounds like a plan to me." Eve grinned and gave them a thumbs up.

Sighing, the archive wizard nodded. "So, we have one planned stop on the way." He looked over their group. "Any other detours? I need to calculate Chirstina's speed appropriately based on our estimated time of arrival."

"No," Ren said. "Let's get going."

With that, they gathered to begin walking towards their destination. The members of Blue Pegasus stayed close together, keeping their distance from Meredy. So, Meredy chose to stay near Wendy and Charle, with Jura joining their group by default of having no other guild members with him.

"So, officially, you're a dark wizard," Jura commented. Meredy shrugged, uncertain of what to call herself at this point. "Pardon me if this seems offensive, but you do not strike me as the sort of person to fall into a dark path. What exactly inspired you to be a part of such an atrocious guild?"

Wendy's eyes widened at the question, before she looked at her feet and bit her lip. Meredy watched her, thinking of her advice on how friendships work best. She needed to be open for any of this to work, something that clashed with what she'd been trained to do. Taking a deep breath, Meredy focused on the path ahead as she spoke, pretending no one was around to ease her discomfort.

"I was raised by them, in a way." She swallowed. "My home town was destroyed when I was too young to truly act. At the time, I didn't realize the cause - I just knew we were under attack and everyone was dying." Unable to stop herself, Meredy found her eyes drawn towards Wendy. "One of their guild wizards found me as the attack was ending. I was convinced I was about to be killed as well, due to the patterns in the attack. However, the wizard I ran into brought me to safety, taking me into their home and leaving me as the sole survivor of the attack." Her gaze flickered towards Jura. "In my mind, they were my saviors. They protected me and saved my life, therefore, I owed them a debt that could never be repaid. That is why I served them and trained as one of their own."

"But you said they caused that destruction." Wendy was quiet, not meeting her eyes. "You shouldn't have owed them anything."

Nodding, Meredy sighed. "It was just another piece of their larger plan. I was a pawn, a tool to be used as they saw fit." She shrugged. "Really, I only learned the truth of that attack quite recently. I've been taking some time to think through my actions since then."

"That is a reasonable path to take." Jura nodded. "Reflecting on one's mistakes and learning from them is the only way we have to know where we need to improve ourselves to be better people. If you truly wish to walk the path of the light again, taking time for reflection and understanding what sins you have to atone for will be your first step."

Most of her sins stemmed from inaction. Meredy had not been given missions on her own for the majority of her time with the guild. Usually, she was assisting the others with tasks. It was true that she'd been involved in some harsher punishments and had even killed wizards that stood in their way, but it was rare that she wasn't just an observer in the background while the others handled the darker side of their missions.

Even so, she still couldn't argue that she was not the person she thought she'd be when she was younger. "For now, I think I need to learn to trust others again." Meredy looked over at them. "This team is my way to start that. Being a dark wizard inherently implies that others are likely to distrust you or stab you in the back, regardless of their allegiance. There are few people in this world that I can say I've ever truly trusted and of those that I can…" Meredy trailed off, Ul's face flashing in her mind. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I just don't know if I should've ever given them my trust in the first place."

"Considering the selfish nature of such wizards, I am not surprised." Meredy felt a hand rest on her shoulder as Jura gave her a small smile. "The others are missing out on this opportunity in my opinion. You are a young wizard with great potential. Take the time you need to start trusting and please, do not hesitate to say I am making you uncomfortable with any request I have for you. My only intent is to understand my temporary ally on this mission so we can work with less tension amongst our group in the future."

"Yeah!" Wendy smiled. "And you can let me know the same thing too, Mer. I'd never want to make you upset or force you to share something you're uncomfortable with."

"I doubt she'd be that forthcoming if that were the case." Charle huffed. "Why you want to befriend such a wizard is beyond me, but I'll support your wishes for now."

"I mean, I didn't know a lot about her before, but Mer's been nice to me from the day I met her." Wendy looked at Charle before turning to smile at Meredy. "You don't mind me calling you that, do you? I guess it sorta was to hide who you were from the group, but I think the nickname suits you."

Something felt warm in her chest as she stared at Wendy's smile. Meredy could remember trying to use the nickname for quite some time at Grimoire heart, at least with Ul. It had been a small request, a brief conversation really after she'd been with the guild for about a year. "Hey, Ultear! I have a great idea that I wanted to talk to you about."

The time mage sighed, letting Meredy into her room. "What is it? Please tell me this isn't another ridiculous request to get ice cream with the guild. I've told you before, we are people working towards the same goal and nothing more."

"No." Meredy had sobered slightly at the comment. "I know the others aren't my friends. But you are. You're the one that has cared for me, after all." Meredy had smiled at Ultear. "So, I was thinking we should have special nicknames for each other! I'd be Mer and you could be Ul!"

The time mage stiffened at the term. "Don't even think about calling me that."

"Why not? It fits you so well, Ul."

Ultear spun around, startling Meredy. The young wizard had jumped back, but Ultear was faster in her approach. She'd grabbed Meredy by the hair, shoving her against the wall harshly. Meredy let out a cry of pain, wincing and struggling in the older woman's grip. "I said don't call me that! I will not have anything about me sounding even remotely similar to that woman."

Ultear was breathing hard with fury in her eyes. Then, she seemed to take a moment to realize where she was. The time mage blinked, slowly releasing Meredy and taking a step back. Meredy had been left stunned and quiet, uncertain what to make of the event. "Just leave me." Ultear had said. "Do as you wish but please, leave me be for now."

The nickname had never stuck, but Meredy had at least attempted to keep the idea alive by using it as a weak alias when she didn't have a full disguise or a need to be too covert on a mission. Still, it meant something to her even as others just dismissed it as a randomly selected name she'd respond to.

Wendy was still watching her with a frown. "Sorry. I guess you don't really like it, huh? I didn't mean to make you upset."

Shaking her head, Meredy turned towards the girl and offered her a weak smile. "No, it's fine." In her misguided youth, she'd simply continued to use the nickname for Ultear and blamed the episode on her being in a bad mood that day. Now, she could see that perhaps they never were good enough friends to actually have nicknames in the first place. "You are welcome to call me that, if you'd like."

"Really? That's great!" Wendy smiled. "I was worried I'd made you upset. You got quiet there for a bit."

"Is that your preferred name then?" Jura asked before Meredy could explain.

Taking a moment to consider things, Meredy slowly shook her head. "Not exactly." Her eyes flickered towards Wendy again. "I once thought that it would be nice to refer to my friends by nicknames. It just seemed like an appropriate action to take at the time."

"Then I shall work to gain your trust so you can also consider me as a friend, Meredy." Jura nodded towards her. "If you find yourself in need of assistance as you reflect on your past, please do not hesitate to come to me. I would be more than happy to assist on your journey to find your way back to the light."

The rest of the walk remained relatively quiet, though the others never approached Meredy like Jura had. A clear divide remained within their team, though Meredy supposed it was expected given her history. They arrived at the coffee shop with Ichiya smiling and breathing in deeply. "This delectable parfum…it is a sign that we must stop and partake in the offerings of this place!"

"Don't go too overboard. Remember, this is supposed to be a quick stop. Too many delays mean we will not arrive on time to match up with Christina's arrival," Hibiki warned.

"Aww, but Hibiki! Everything looks so good here." Eve was staring at the menu with wide eyes.

By his side, Ren only crossed his arms over his chest. "Order what you want. It's not like I wanted to come here or anything." There was a stiffness to his posture along with a strict refusal to glance at the counter that made Meredy question the truthfulness in that comment.

"I guess they must not go to places like this often, huh?" Wendy looked over at Meredy with a small smile. "Meet back up with us out here, alright? Go ahead and talk to them while we get some snacks."

Swallowing, Meredy nodded and headed towards the counter. She had anticipated this adventure would begin without Crow or Sara hearing a thing about it. The two of them were rather close and it wasn't like she had quite managed to fit into their strange dynamic. Still, they both looked over and waved when they noticed her in the store. As soon as she was behind the counter, Sara turned towards her.

"You're late." Meredy suddenly was handed two drinks that were partially finished. "We're busy. Make that a decaf latte with oat milk and the other is a caramel macchiato. Order number 78 on the screen and make sure to charge up the lacrima once you're done!" Sara was already walking off to start on the next order without waiting for a response.

Moving quickly, Meredy finished the drinks and walked into the back room to start replenishing the lacrima. Perhaps it was unwise to drain her energy now, but Sara had given her a place to stay and she did owe them this much. Once finished, she returned to the front counter and walked towards her co-workers. The line had shortened and orders were few now that Meredy's new companions were served.

"Welcome back. Did you enjoy your time training with Wendy?" Crow smiled at her. "It looks like you've brought back others with you as well."

Nodding, Meredy looked away. "Yeah." She shrugged. "We're actually about to go take care of something nearby. I might not be in the area to work for a while."

Sara snorted. "What, quitting already? Stupid brat, you beg for a job and then leave after just a few days."

"Sara," Crow said quietly. The woman shook narrowed her eyes at the man before sighing and looking away. "Are you going to be coming back when you finish? We were just starting to adjust schedules with the expectation you'd be around you know."

"I plan to." That was if they succeeded. She still had no faith in that outcome though. "However, this task is dangerous. Wendy was assigned to take on a powerful enemy and I need to be there to help her."

"Who exactly are you going up against?" Sara frowned at her, looking over at Crow for a moment. "Things have been relatively calm in the area. Can't say there's much to try and deal with, you know."

"The less you know, the better." Hibiki interrupted, looking over at her. "And we are hoping to deal with the matter sooner rather than later so if that is all, I'm going to request that we be on our way."

Meredy nodded but Sara had already grabbed her wrist. "Not until she answers my question. What are you attempting to stop?"

"A dark guild is seeking out an ancient spell that is rumored to be in the area." Meredy met her gaze. "We are meant to stop them from obtaining it."

Crow stiffened, looking over at her. "Nirvana?"

"Wait, you've heard of the spell?" Jura approached, now also invested in the conversation.

Another guest walked in however, pausing the conversation until they were served. When they left, Sara sighed and walked towards the door, flipping the open sign to closed before locking it and returning to the group. "To answer your earlier question, yes, we're aware of Nirvana." Sara folded her arms over her chest. "Crow?" She gave no indicator of what she was asking, only turned towards the man by her side.

With an unfocused look in his gaze, the man slowly nodded. "Please, exercise caution in your upcoming task." He turned towards Meredy for a brief moment then smiled. "Thank you, for the information. Your warning will be invaluable to us."

"We have every intention of stopping Nirvana," Hibiki said. "Don't go thinking the worst just because someone's trying to get their hands on it now."

Sara and Crow shared another look before turning towards the group. Crow walked towards Meredy, pausing before pulling her in for a brief hug. "We may not be here when you return. Consider this our way of preparing for the worst, no matter how skilled you and your companions may be."

"Don't get their hopes up." Sara shook her head. Meredy still felt a bit lost, looking between the two with a frown. "Listen, you guys are just kids going up against powerful magic. This isn't your chance to be a martyr. Remember that there are times when it is better to survive to fight another day than to die fighting with impossible odds."

"This is a very unpleasant parfum." Ichiya narrowed his eyes at the two. "Do not sully our inspiration with your pessimistic view! Our group may be small, but we are strong. Nirvana will be protected and the dark wizards will be brought into custody in no time!"

"At the very least, you could offer some explanation as to why you think this spell is so dangerous," Ren commented. By his side, Hibiki frowned but remained silent.

Sara turned towards him before folding her hands over her chest. "Reversal magic. Once that spell is freed, everything will turn into a chaotic mess." Her eyes flickered towards Crow. "Keep your powerful fighters away from that spell at all costs. Expect that you'll come out of this with at least one of you fighting for the enemy."

"How did you learn so much about it?" Eve asked. "Even Hibiki's archive magic didn't reveal much on it."

"Have I pried into your motives or your history?" Sara narrowed her eyes. "Since I have not, I'd request that you return the favor."

"Sara." Crow sighed. "I apologize, but we really must prepare ourselves. There are some old friends of ours we need to find and speak with about the matter." His gaze flickered across the group. "To put things simply, we have some familiarity with the spell. I cannot say anything further than that, however."

"And you need to start on your attempts to delay them," Sara said.

"We'll stop them in their tracks." Jura nodded. "Do not overreact to a situation that will be readily resolved. Even should we fail, the magic council is intending to follow us with an entire army of rune knights to handle the arrest. They will be able to handle what we cannot."

Sara and Crow ignored his words. The two simply shared a look, nodded towards their group, and began to walk towards the back. "I'll grab the lacrima," Sara said.

"Be sure to lock the door as you and your friends leave," Crow said to Meredy. Then, they walked out, leaving Meredy and her group alone in the coffee shop. Without power, their system for managing orders had shut down but the store was closed anyway. Still, their reactions only made Meredy's sinking feeling worse. She'd already anticipated that they would not be enough to take on the Oración Seis. Now, Crow and Sara seemed to agree without even knowing which guild was after the spell. It left her with a foreboding feeling as they gathered their things and continued their trek to the Worth Woodsea where Nirvana awaited them.

Calling the area a 'wood sea' was rather accurate. Technically, Meredy supposed one could say it was a forest or wooded area, but the Worth Woodsea was so much larger than those terms implied. Endless miles of trees, hills, and wilderness spread across the land before them. Within it, Meredy could sense the magical aura of a powerful spell, though it was difficult to pinpoint an exact source for the energy. Their group remained at the edge of a cliff just at its entrance, gazing down the steep decline that lead towards the heart of the area.

Above them, a light blue airship was flying. Meredy knew that at least one of the members of Blue Pegasus was still invested in their original plan to use it. Provided no one else had details, it should be fine to use for now. She couldn't see it managing much around most of the Oración Seis however. Midnight would reflect any bombs dropped. Cobra would hear their approach and dodge. Brain would use his magic to make them explode before they even reached the ground. Overall, she could only see a potential risk to Racer, Hoteye, and Angel but even then, those three had the abilities necessary to dodge if they reacted quickly enough.

Their group split apart at the ledge. Hibiki nodded towards her with a frown, before looking towards Ren. "Give me a lift, will ya? I need to board Christina."

With a blast of wind magic, Hibiki was sent towards the airship. The remainder of their team remained on the ground. Walking around the cliff, Meredy searched for a safe path down. Eventually, she settled on a rather steep decline. It meant for slow travel as she focused on maintaining her balance, but it was still progress. The others began to follow her, traveling on foot into the wooded region.

Beyond the crunching of leaves and twigs beneath their feet, the area was quiet. No one spoke of their plans or gave suggestions on where to search. It was simply walking and keeping their senses focused outwards for any approaching wizards or other threats. Meredy continued to feel little beyond Nirvana's aura for at least twenty minutes of walking. Then, she sensed something new and halted in the center of the path.

There was a wizard approaching from the left. Not taking any chances, Meredy blindly reached out for a link, connecting her with the approaching stranger. The rest of her team had continued to walk, with only Wendy and Jura pausing once they realized Meredy wasn't with them. "Mer?" Wendy turned towards her with a frown.

Shaking her head, Meredy motioned for them to be quiet. Yet, it was just a moment too late. A man in a red racing suit walked towards them slowly with a smile. "Well, well. I knew I heard a rumor that the magic council was going to be trying some stunt to stop us." He looked around the group. "They act fast, but not nearly as fast as me."

Racer lifted his arm with a grin, only to pause as he noticed the pink band on his wrist. "What's this?" His eyes scanned the crowd, finally landing on Meredy. "Oh, what have we here? I hate to break it to you, but we're busy with our own work for now. Don't bother asking for us to help with your hunt for keys now. Even with my speed, it'll put too much of a delay on our progression now."

"I'm not here on behalf of my guild today." Meredy met his gaze calmly. "What does Brain want with Nirvana?"

"Who knows?" Race shrugged. "We've all got our reasons for wanting to snuff out the light though, don't we?" He wiggled his wrist in front of her. "Now, can you do me a favor and stop this for a bit? I've got some pesky weaklings to deal with before Brain hears about the mess and gets mad."

"Do you have a problem with me taking precautions?" Meredy narrowed her eyes. "Your guild isn't known for treating surprise guests with kindness."

"Fair enough." Racer let out a sigh. "Fine, just give me a moment to deal with them and then we can talk about whatever personal business you need help with." He turned towards the others, dismissing Meredy. Wendy was standing next to Jura's side while the bald man stood tensely and braced for a fight. Eve and Ren were both shooting glares towards Meredy, preparing to activate magic circles to target Racer. Ichiya had a vial of something in his hand, though Meredy wasn't certain what it would be.

For a moment, it looked like every one of her allies slowed down. The magic circles beginning to form in front of the Blue Pegasus wizards immediately slowed their progress. Wendy's movements to stumble back away from Racer also got lost in the haze as Racer's magic overwhelmed everyone but the two of them. He grinned and began to move, lifting his hand to punch Ren first. Before he got that close, Meredy pulled out a knife and carefully drew it across her own palm.

"Ouch!" Racer's hand pulled back and he turned towards her with a glare. "What the hell? You can't honestly be thinking of interfering with me, are you?"

Meredy met his gaze. "I made new friends."

"Yeah, well, you chose wrong." Racer spun towards her, ignoring the slowed wizards calmly. Eve's spell eventually finished first and began to slowly blow snow into the area. Racer avoided the main blast with ease while Meredy joined him in sidestepping around the spell. "See, I was making some assumptions. I figured you either had info on Nirvana to pass along to us, or you'd gotten tired of your guild and realized you'd fit in better with the six demons here. Now, a betrayal of our goals? That is a stupid move, you know."

"I don't want to fight." Meredy met his gaze calmly, neither of them moving to attack quite yet. "If you choose a path other than Nirvana, I may even be able to simply walk away and convince the others to join me."

"Not gonna happen. Nirvana's our fastest path to getting our prayers answered. I'm not gonna slow down for anyone." With that, Racer ran forward. Luckily, her link at least protected herself from being out of sync with him in terms of speed. So, with Racer attempting to start hand-to-hand combat, she had the upper hand. Dodging to the left, Meredy lifted her hand to grab his arm and yanked him forward while stepping further to the side. His momentum made him stagger a few steps forward as he stopped himself from falling onto the ground.

Bracing herself, Meredy activated her magic. Glowing blue swords began to form around her in a circle with her hand stretched upward. Then, she swung her hand down, sending them flying towards Racer with a shout. "Meguilty Sodom!" His eyes widened as they collided with him, making him let out a scream of pain. She grimaced and lost her balance slightly as the pain reflected back at her, stumbling and kneeling forward as she grunted and resisted the burning desire to cry from the pain.

Now moved, Racer was aligned with Jura's slowly approaching attack. Rock pillars had been slowly rising from the ground, intended to apply a high-pressure hit to someone from the ground. With his new position, Racer found himself propelled into the air by Jura's spell, at least for a brief moment. Then, Meredy gasped as she was shoved by some force from behind her, making her stumble forward.

"You know, if you were gonna pick a fight, I thought you'd at least try to be quiet about it." Picking at his ear, Cobra stood behind her. "Then again, the young ones are never the brightest now, are they? I will never know what Grimoire Heart thought would be useful from a mere child, but I sure as hell am glad to get this chance to put you in your place, you brat."

It didn't matter if he heard her plans for the time being. She'd expected him to be an opponent, after all. So, she stretched her magic with a grimace, expanding the link once more with a sharp breath. With it, Meredy suddenly felt her senses expand. Everything around her was sharper, both scents and sounds. She could hear insects flying miles away and even the slight shifting in the air as Racer fell back to the ground.

She felt the moment Racer's magic lost control after the collision. It was a brief loss of focus, but it was enough for the others to finish their current actions. Ren's wind spell launched outward, blasting away at nothing. Jura's pillars rapidly finished forming while Wendy managed to fully duck behind the wizard saint.

Another enemy? Wait, how did that one get over there?

Better act quick. My snow will freeze—

Meredy moved once she saw Cobra twitch in response to Eve's thoughts, slashing out with her dagger at her own arm. Cobra and Racer both let out gasps with her, shooting her glares. "Your fight is with me. Don't even think about listening to them." Giving them a dark grin, Meredy twisted the knife around and pointed it towards her neck. "If you even think of approaching them, I'll deal with all three of us, right here and now."

"Ha, like you'd have the guts," Cobra grinned at her. "You're bluffing."

"Am I?" Meredy smiled at Cobra, watching his grin slowly begin to fade. "The three of us are linked. You should know what that means." Stepping forward, Meredy inhaled slowly. "If you can hear me, I can also hear you."

She can't be serious…wait, are those my thoughts?

Damn, this isn't good. Cobra's got skills, but without his hearing advantage we're almost on even ground here.

No! Mer can't be doing this. I have to do something…what can I do to help?

Was this her plan from the start? I knew she was a dark wizard but this is insane even for them.

Her own unfamiliarity with such senses made it difficult to fully differentiate them all, but Meredy could take advantage of the shared hearing enhancement with Cobra. "You little bitch! Do you think that's gonna stop me?" Dark red fog started to cover Cobra's fists. "You may be able to share our pain, but even your magic can't poison a poison dragon slayer."

"Wait, Cobra, I'm in this mess too!" Racer shot up, but Cobra only smirked.

"Learn to take one for the team." With that, Cobra launched his attack, clawing out towards Meredy with his poison magic. "Poison Dragon's Twin Fangs!" Meredy moved quickly in response, dodging the initial wave of poison.

Quickly, Meredy created more swords to launch towards them, their yellow forms hovering above her. "Meguilty Rays!" They launched towards Racer as she waved her arm, anticipating he'd be less likely to dodge of the two opponents. Despite hearing her intentions, the man was not familiar with fighting similarly to Cobra. His reaction time to her thoughts was slower and she managed to hit his arm as he attempted to dodge the spell.

The three of them grimaced with the hit. Then, Racer grinned. "Well, seems like I'm the odd one out. I'm quick enough to pick up on how this works myself, though." With that, the opposing wizard unzipped his jacket, revealing a currently latent lacrima on his chest. "Let's see just how intent you are on letting us all go out together as one."

Recognizing the energy, Meredy stilled. "A bomb lacrima?"

"Why not? If you're gonna take us out with you, I might as well be the one to make the decisive blow and end this quickly."

"Racer, what the hell? Are you insane?" Cobra grabbed Racer's arm before the man could activate the lacrima. "Think about this! There's no way in hell I'm letting you take me out all because you can't stand to step back and take something slowly for a change."

"Sorry, Cobra, but people like me don't have time to take things slow."

"Well, I do," Eve smiled from behind them, a magic circle forming in front of him. "Thanks for stalling for time. I was a bit uncertain on how to react, you see. I don't usually team up in a fight with dark wizards." Cobra nearly took a step forward, then looked back at Meredy with a grimace. "White out!"

Eve's shout was the only warning she had before the entire area was engulfed in snow and cold. Meredy couldn't see a thing and the cold was enough to freeze any motion she may have even thought of. An arm grabbed her and pulled her from the snow, dragging her away from the fight. Feeling a bit dazed, Meredy allowed them to drag her, eventually letting her magic fade and break off the link with the two members of the Oración Seis.

"Are you alright?" Ren was frowning at her, speaking up once they'd put some distance between themselves and Cobra.

Slowly, the chill was fading from her body. She managed to nod weakly. Whoever had been dragging her stopped, letting her rest on the ground without moving. "Sorry for the rough treatment. I may be strong with magic, but I'm not exactly a weight lifter over here," Eve rubbed the back of his head. "And I'm also sorry for doubting you. Honestly, when we ran into them, I was convinced we were preparing to fight against you as well."

"You fought well." Jura nodded. "However, that was a reckless plan of attack. Did you not consider the repercussions such a plan would have?"

To emphasize that point, Wendy ran over and immediately threw her arms around Meredy's waist. "Mer! I was so worried. What were you thinking, making a plan like that? That's not what we came here for! We aren't here to just die in the process of stopping anyone!"

"Calm down, child," Charle sighed, shaking her head. When she finished, she turned to glare at Meredy. "Honestly, this is all your fault. You should think about what others think of your actions sometimes, you know."

Feeling oddly warm after getting trapped in Eve's spell, Meredy smiled. She reached over slowly, patting Wendy's head and remaining still. "It's alright. There weren't many other plans I had in mind to handle Cobra though." At least with Angel and her spirits, she could anticipate the mind reading happening strictly through Gemini. Cobra had that inherent boost in his senses that just made it worse to face him as an enemy.

"Well, your assistance was certainly welcome." Ichiya walked over, holding out a vial towards her. "As a reward, please bask in my pain-killing parfum! Allow it to ease your aches and suffering away."

Before she could tell him that she wasn't interested in any sort of drug he was offering, a faintly sweet smell filled the area. Almost immediately, Meredy's pain from the cuts she'd made along with the ache lingering from the backlash of her own magic started to fade. Her body felt more limber and she felt revitalized and ready to fight again, though her magic energy was depleted a bit more than it was before.

"The enemy knows we are here now." Jura frowned. "I expect we will encounter more resistance throughout the remainder of our search for their hideout and Nirvana." He sat down next to Meredy, meeting her eyes. "You've told us much about their magic. However, do you anticipate a specific plan to counter us at this time?"

Slowly, Meredy shook her head. "I can't say much about what I predict will happen." Her gaze flickered towards where they'd come from. "Cobra can likely hear us even now. That is simply how enhanced his senses are at this point."

"We should have considered this before we left." Ren grimaced, shaking his head. "Nothing to be done for it now, I suppose."

"I'll be prepared next time too." Wendy stood up, looking down at Meredy. "I promise, I won't just stand by and do nothing while you take on everything alone."

"She shouldn't have even tried that sort of a plan in the first place," Eve added. "We are a team, you know. That means we fight together. Honestly, your style made it to where I had no choice but to attack you along with them in the end - I spent way too much time just trying to figure out a way to avoid that you know."

The rest of his team was nodding along with this, while Meredy stared at the ground. "You can hit me if it's unavoidable. The nature of my magic often makes it beneficial to do so, actually."

"That should never be our only option, men!" Ichiya rose, posing as he stood in front of Meredy. "Be more careful and expect us to value your well-being. Perhaps your allies in the past were not so considerate, but we are legal guilds. We have certain standards to adhere to and we value our comrades in a way that it appears your former companions did not."

It didn't make logical sense to consider her as valuable though. She was an expendable member of this team, the only one to have such a dark past. Her eyes flickered towards Jura and Wendy, seeing both of them nodding in agreement. Wendy held out her hand, giving her a small smile. "Please? Can you at least try so I don't worry too much about you?"

Slowly, Meredy began to nod. She took Wendy's hand and rose to her feet. "I will try to keep that in mind." Her eyes looked over the team, smiling slightly when she saw they were all still relatively unharmed. Perhaps she had taken things too far and had failed to see the others as having benefit to provide. Maybe they could manage to win this after all, no matter what her worries were at the start.