Meredy found the former members of Blue Pegasus together, having their own reunion of sorts when she approached with Wendy and Jellal. Ichiya, Ren, and Eve were clustered together in a circle, sharing a group hug and talking amongst themselves.

"Men! The parfum of victory is sweet in the air. Do not let the recent past prevent you from enjoying your newfound freedom!"

"Yes, Chief!" Eve and Ren spoke together in response to Ichiya's proclamation.

Eve smiled, letting out a weak laugh. "Just like old times, huh?" He looked over at Ren, pulling back and wiping at his eyes. "Hibiki would be so happy if he were here now. We finally accomplished his goal - Nirvana is destroyed."

Ren nodded. "Things are far from over." He looked over at the battleground with a frown. "Fiore will take quite some time to recover from a disaster like this, if it can even manage it."

"Well, then we better get some help for handling that." Meredy interrupted, placing a hand on her hip as she approached. "After all, you were the ones who insisted on teaching me that there are some tasks you need to complete as a team rather than on your own."

Three heads turned towards her, frowning as they studied her. She supposed she should have anticipated their blank looks of confusion, given the way Gray and his team reacted to realizing who she was after seven years of separation. "Eve, Ren! I'm so glad you're all okay!" Wendy ran forward anyway, even as their group continued to work out who Meredy was.

Even embraced the dragon slayer's hug, patting her back gently before Wendy pulled back. "Hey, Wendy. Glad to see you're back to your normal self too." He looked over at the others and nodded. "You too, Jellal. I can't say I really got the chance to see your best side, all things considered."

By his side, Ren nodded in agreement. "Indeed. You were a dark wizard before and forced to return before we could truly begin to work together."

Jellal nodded. "I appreciate your kindness, but it really is Meredy you should be thanking. She is the one who coordinated the efforts to free us from the darkness of this spell."

"Meredy?" Ichiya frowned, looking around at the wizards behind them. "Where is she? We must seek out our former comrade at once and apologize for worrying her so greatly!"

Lifting a hand, Meredy gave them a weak smile. "Hey. I really don't get why it is so difficult to understand that people change as they grow older." The three blinked at her, studying her with new purpose.

"Meredy?" Ren rubbed the back of his neck, blushing as he turned away. "I suppose it makes sense that I had mistaken you for an angel—" Eve smacked Ren's head.

"Come on, we're not doing that garbage with Meredy. We're not hosting her as a guest at the guild, Ren." Eve turned back to Meredy, smiling softly. "You really do look different. I guess I didn't realize you still had so much growing left to do."

Nodding, Meredy smiled at the snow wizard. "I suppose that was a common mistake. I don't think I ever told you my age back then anyway." She saw them frown and she shrugged. "I joined your team when I was thirteen. So yes, I still had quite a bit of growing to do."

"That is rather impressive. You were quite skilled for your age." Ren looked over in the distance at Nirvana. "And you still are, for accomplishing something like this when things had already fallen so far."

"Meredy went and got help from another country." Wendy had heard some of the explanation from her on their search for Eve and the others. "They helped come up with the plan to take down Nirvana and sent some powerful wizards to help."

"So, when you said to make allies earlier…"

Meredy was already nodding at Eve's comment. "I was thinking that maybe I need to head back to try and appeal to Alvarez for assistance. Fiore will need someone backing them as they work on getting back on their feet."

"Alvarez?" Ichiya frowned. "You may have difficulty with such an empire. I recall hearing rumors that they were breaking ties with Fiore and expanding their military before Nirvana attacked. Nothing was made official, but the news was implying they would become a threat soon."

"Considering they helped us now, I find it doubtful that they meant harm with such actions." Jellal frowned. "It would have been more beneficial for them to strike while we were weak."

"Precisely." Meredy nodded at Jellal, smiling at the others. "You're welcome to join me on the way back, but just keep in mind that laws are a bit different over there. I figured I'd give you the offer, since I'm not exactly certain if Blue Pegasus plans on reforming after all of this."

Many guilds were torn apart by Nirvana, no longer functioning due to their members being converted over to serve the Oración Seis. Blue Pegasus was one of many that had completely disbanded during the disaster. "Are you sure you can return?" Jellal frowned at her. "Earlier, you were saying you had agreed to join the rune knights."

Looking over at them, Meredy saw Lahar focusing on reorganizing the group. He was leading some sort of speech she was too far away to hear, likely regarding their plan moving forward for rebuilding their ranks. "They can come find me if they need me." She smiled at the man. "I do owe him, for his help, but I think he'll understand why I have to take a different path for now." Turning back towards the others, Meredy smiled. "I'm currently the leader of a wizard's guild in Alvarez. I formed it with the intent of disbanding the moment Nirvana was destroyed, but I think we still have a few more missions to work on before we're ready to stop or at least relocate back to Fiore."

"If you're looking for members, I would be happy to help!" Wendy rose to her feet, smiling at Meredy. "Cait Shelter…I haven't seen any of my other guild members in recent years, even under Nirvana's influence." The sky wizard swallowed, staring at her feet. "I don't really want to think about what happened, but I know that I don't have a place to go back to either. So, if you don't mind…"

"I'd be happy to invite you along." Meredy stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We can work on growing our friendship more there, alright? I know I still have a lot to learn when it comes to making new friends."

"If you intend on assisting Fiore with rebuilding their country, I would also like to offer my assistance." Jellal nodded at Meredy. "The effort I need to make to atone for my past has only grown larger. Taking this step seems like an appropriate direction, likely for both myself and Ultear if she is still invested in changing her path as well."

She hadn't gotten to finding Ultear or Jura yet, but they could come next. Right now, she was just happy that they were freed from Nirvana. "We aren't all that particular about members. Considering how we formed, we welcome anyone who is interested."

"Sounds like the sort of guild that builds a lot of friendships rather than focusing on power." Eve nodded at her. "I bet it took a lot to manage something like that when you started."

"I had help." Meredy shrugged. "Often times, I would defer leadership to one of the rune knights who helped me officially create the guild. He was more familiar with how to lead, even if he refused the position and insisted it was only appropriate for me to hold it as the only original member to come from a guild."

"That's good to hear." Ren nodded. "I imagine it'd be difficult to handle alone."

She nodded in agreement, prepared to continue when she heard Natsu start shouting from behind them. "Meredy!" The dragon slayer came running up, stopping and staring at her with a frown. "Have you seen anyone from my team? I'm looking for Lucy, Erza, Lyon…any of 'em, really."

Shaking her head, she frowned. "Is everything alright? I can help if you think they're in trouble."

Blinking, the fire mage shook his head. "Nah, they're fine." He waved her off before turning away. "It's Gray that's in trouble. I gotta get everyone together so we can figure out how to help him."

Recalling Gray's behavior, Meredy felt a chill on the back of her neck. Had he attacked the generals from Alvarez? She still didn't quite understand how it related to the power he had access to, but the danger had been clear at their meeting. "What's wrong with him? Are you sure I can't do anything?"

"You're gonna be busy with your own problems." Natsu shook his head. "I can't bug you with—"

"Natsu." Meredy interrupted, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know it isn't for long, but for the time being, I am technically your guild master." The fire mage stared at her with wide eyes. "As such, I've been informed that it is a leader's responsibility to look out for those underneath them. Lahar told me that it helps build trust within larger groups. So, if something is wrong, I am in a role that is expected to offer assistance."

"You still don't know how to tell someone they're a friend, do you?" Eve smiled, shaking his head as he walked over to her side. Looking over at Natsu, he offered his hand. "Hello. I'm Eve, former wizard of Blue Pegasus. I've worked with Meredy in the past and from what I know of her, I can tell you that what she said is pretty much the closest she gets to saying she's your friend."

"She's said I'm her friend directly before!" Wendy frowned, objecting to Eve's assessment.

Natsu looked between them, before shaking his head. "We don't have time. Feel free to follow if you want to help, but I'm not gonna explain twice." The dragon slayer grimaced. "If I don't hurry, Zeref's gonna get impatient and—"

"Zeref?" Ren frowned. "The legendary black wizard Zeref?"

Looking over at them, Meredy frowned. She'd like to say yes, but she had heard from Gray that Zeref was supposedly trapped. Either way, Natsu was already moving. "He'll explain later." She nodded towards them. "I am glad I got the chance to talk to you again. I'm afraid I have to see what's going on first though."

"We're coming with you." Eve gave her a smile. "At least, I am. Right now, I don't think I'd do all that well if I sat around alone with my thoughts."

"Agreed," Ren said. Ichiya was nodding, rising to his feet. With them tagging along, Meredy began to follow after the fire dragon slayer to find his other guild members. It took a few moments for him to reach them with Meredy and her group arriving soon after.

"Natsu! I was worried you wouldn't be coming back with how he was acting." Lucy frowned at the dragon slayer. "Where's Gray? What did Zeref do to him?"

"He's helping Gray out." Natsu looked over his shoulder, nodding as he saw Meredy was with them. Then, he turned back to the rest of the group. "I don't know the details, but it sounds like Gray's transforming into a demon. Zeref doesn't seem to think there's much we can do for him, but he told me to come get you so we can work together and find a way to change him back to his old self."

"He's becoming a demon?" Meredy's eyes widened. From what Gray had mentioned, she could only assume this was the portion of his power that the cuffs had failed to seal. "I should have refused to listen. He told me—"

"I knew that there was a risk and said nothing as well," Lyon interrupted her, meeting her gaze calmly. "Gray possessed a form of magic known as devil slayer magic. As far as we knew, he'd never fully trained in the skill, not needing it once his luck allowed him to meet your guild's god slayer without following through on our original plan."

Zancrow? Meredy frowned, uncertain as to how he was relevant to anything they were doing. Yet, it seemed like his past actions didn't matter, not with the current situation. "Is there anything else you're aware of regarding this? Any theories on why the transformation occurs? Triggers? Similar spells?" She needed a basis to work from, just like any other magic to research. It didn't matter if this delved right back into the dark magic she hadn't looked at in years. She would investigate if it meant helping Gray, one of the first to think she had a better future than her life as a dark wizard.

"Zeref was the one who offered us any form of explanation and even that was brief," Ur said. The woman shook her head with a scowl. "Using it is apparently the trigger and it is supposedly the final result of any type of slayer."

"Wait, dragon slayers too?" Wendy's eyes were wide. "That…that can't be." She was shaking her head, looking over at Meredy. "Right? I mean, I've used a ton of magic and I haven't felt any different."

"You're a dragon slayer?" Erza watched the girl, folding her arms over her chest. "I suppose that explains why you seemed so formidable on the battlefield. You were quite impressive."

The sky wizard looked away at the compliment, reaching out for Meredy's hand after a moment. "I don't want to talk about that." She looked over at Ur. "You said that we change too?"

Nodding, the ice mage folded her arms over her chest. "But that's just based on what Zeref told us. I have yet to see him lie, but…well, he's still the black wizard of legend."

"You're all familiar with that black wizard?" Eve's eyes were staring at the group they'd approached. "How did a guild like Fairy Tail even get involved with him?"

Their team shared a look, staying silent for a moment. Then, Erza met Eve's gaze. "It is quite the long story, but in short, we were working on a mission to free him from a dark curse. Zeref himself was assisting us in the efforts to free himself." She frowned. "And who are you? You recognize our guild's logo, but I cannot say I've seen you before."

"My sweet honey!" Ichiya pushed past Meredy, reaching for Erza. The requip wizard backed away from him on sight. "I did not realize you were in the area but I should have known the moment I detected this sweet parfum!"

"Ichiya!" The scarlet haired wizard shuddered, turning towards the others. "Then you two must be wizards from Blue Pegasus."

"I'm Eve." The snow mage smiled at her. "And this is Ren. We worked with Meredy and Jellal in the coalition to try and stop Nirvana before all of this began."

Nodding, Erza began to introduce her team as well before focusing back on the issue at hand. "It is a pleasure to meet all of you. However, I will warn you that the task we are focused on is not officially sanctioned by any government or guild. The matter is personal to us - one of our team considers Zeref to be a close friend."

Ur snorted. "Close friend? Look at the situation now. Seems like Zeref was just waiting for the chance—"

"No way." Natsu glared at her. "I just talked to the guy. I promise, he's just as upset about this as any of us." The dragon slayer looked away, his hands closing into fists. "If I thought he wasn't…I would've acted differently. Fought to take Gray away and bring him back here so we could figure things out."

"Natsu, what is Zeref doing now while we talk?"

The boy shrugged. "Dunno. Waiting, I guess. He had that Irene girl enchant Gray to keep him asleep for now."

"Wait, did becoming a demon really require that sort of an approach?" Jellal frowned. "He would still be Gray despite the form he takes."

"If you'd seen the warning signs initially, you wouldn't be saying that." Lyon shook his head, before looking over at Meredy. "I watched him take on Nirvana. While it is true that our plan likely would have succeeded, it was Gray's rampage that resulted in him alone destroying all six lacrima."

By his side, Juvia was nodding. "Juvia saw him as well. She refused to engage in battle to stop him, afraid of weakening her relationship with Lyon's close childhood friend."

"Plus, Zeref said Gray tried to kill him." Lucy bit her lower lip. "I know that probably doesn't seem that weird to any of you, but Gray's been the one pushing for us to find a way to save Zeref instead of that."

Looking over at Meredy, Even slowly nodded. "I suppose I can try to keep an open mind. Rumors about dark wizards can greatly exaggerate their actions and never acknowledge if they've made any efforts to change." A flicker of warmth grew in Meredy's chest. She met Eve's eyes, a small smile forming as she saw him match her expression with a smile of his own.

"Then it sounds as if we are looking into this demonic transformation first." Ren looked over at Meredy, before turning towards the others. "Are we officially joining her guild then? I can't say I care either way what we do."

Looking around at his former guild members, Eve slowly nodded. "I think I will. All of us need to choose what's best for ourselves this time, though. After all of this, I can't imagine Fiore will reform and be exactly as it was before."

"I'm not abandoning you." Ren met Eve's eyes calmly. "Hibiki is the last comrade I want to lose."

Behind them, Ichiya was frowning, observing their group. The older wizard eventually sighed, slowly shaking his head. "I wish I could join you. However, I cannot bring myself to abandon Master Bob after recent events." He looked over at the two, reaching out to pull them into a tight hug. "You have been the best companions I could have hoped for. I look forward to our reunion when you return. For now, I shall search for our guild master and offer my assistance in the recovery efforts on my own."

Giving the man a nod, Eve stepped back. "Then I wish you luck. Tell Master Bob that I'm sorry for leaving now. I just can't abandon Meredy, not when we owe her so much for everything she's done."

The older wizard nodded, setting off and leaving them. Ren looked over, raising his eyebrows. "Should we search for Jura and Ultear to offer them the same?"

It would be appropriate. Meredy didn't know Jura's full background, but she knew Ultear would have a lot to offer when it came to options for understanding Zeref and his demons. She had the same background as Meredy and had been involved with Grimoire Heart for longer. So, she nodded. "I'll see if we can find them quickly." She looked over at Natsu, raising her eyebrows. "Do we have time for that? You were in a rush earlier."

The dragon slayer frowned, scowling before slowly nodding. "Yeah." He was gradually calming down from his excited state from before. "I guess I was just overreacting. Zeref was talking about some stuff that just had me worried is all." He looked over at the others, giving them a smile. "But it'll be fine so long as we find an answer to this too. We worked out an option for Zeref to get rid of his curse, so we can take on this other project too."

"You say that like these two tasks are on a comparable level of difficulty," Jellal frowned. "Exactly what curse were you attempting to break?"

"The Curse of Contradictions." Lyon looked over at Natsu with a frown. "And I cannot help but agree with the absurdity of your phrasing. How can stopping some transformation be more challenging than eliminating a curse that came from the gods?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Natsu looked away. "Well, it sounds like Zeref's looked into this sorta thing before too. And one of his generals told me about it - she was looking at the dragon transformation though for dragon slayers." Looking over at the others, he dropped his hand. "Sounds like it's taken them about four centuries of research to have no results too."

"Wait, which one of his generals is that old?" Lucy frowned. "There's no way there's another immortal amongst them."

"If they've transformed into a dragon, I think that's just because dragons live longer," Wendy offered. "Grandine told me that most sky dragons live to be about thousand years old."

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Natsu grinned over at her. "So, you were trained by a dragon too? I haven't really gotten to talk to many people about them! Lots of people just give me weird looks when I try to talk about Igneel."

"Maybe that's because you assume way too much." Lucy shook her head at Natsu. "Like, oh, assuming that when someone says 'salamander' they mean 'dragon'."

"Well, how else was I supposed to find him? That rumor was the closest I'd had in ages to one about an actual dragon."

Shaking her head at them, Meredy turned back towards Eve. "It sounds like our mission isn't ending any time soon." She smiled. "While I do appreciate your help, I want to make sure you know that I'm not expecting it. It was my own poor planning that was partially responsible for what happened with Hibiki—"

"No." Eve folded his arms over his chest, his expression hardening. "You tried this before and I don't quite know how you've still held on to the same feeling even now. I told you back then that no one was at fault for what happened - we all did our best and Hibiki made his own decision in the end." Meeting her eyes, Eve slowly gave her a smile. "I'm joining you now because with the world falling apart, you're likely to be one of my closest friends left. Nirvana has left the last seven years feeling like a horrible nightmare that I don't think I'll ever forget." A shadow passed over his face as he turned away. "A lot of people died, some even by my own hands. And now, it's like I just woke up and still feel like yesterday was the day we parted seven years ago, not the nightmare. I know that's not true, but I just can't shake that feeling, Meredy. And seven years ago, you and I were starting to become friends - I had made a promise to stay by your side and help you learn how to work with others in a proper guild."

Ren nodded, offering her a calm look. "He is correct. Time has passed yet in a strange way, it feels as if it has not." He approached them calmly. "I wish to keep our team together, even if it is for a new mission instead. At least then, I will be able to reassure myself that something hasn't changed as a result of the nightmare."

Smiling, Wendy nodded at them both. "Then we won't let it." She reached out, grabbing Ren's hand with the one that wasn't already holding Meredy's. Seeing the chain forming, Eve offered Meredy one of his hands and Jellal the other. Standing together, Meredy felt like something was finally corrected in the world, something that she'd broken long ago. "From this day forward, we're going to stick together and find our own path. All of us will always stay friends, no matter where we end up."

"Always." Meredy smiled at Wendy before turning and nodding to the others. "You were the first ones to accept me after I left Grimoire Heart. I won't abandon you, not after you did the same for me." She nodded, slowly releasing the others and beginning to move. "Now, let's go find Ultear and Jura so we can offer them the opportunity to remain by our sides as well." With that, her team split off to find the others with the plan to return soon. They'd find a new path forward, helping others as they saw fit. Whether that meant being a guild or fighting with the rune knights, Meredy didn't know. All she knew was that she had her friends back and she wasn't going to let them go again.