Nashi could already tell she had slept a while by the time she opened her eyes. She stared at the wall in front of her, realizing that at some point she had gotten out of the shower and gotten into bed. Her entire body felt heavy, and when she tried to move her movements were sluggish. None of this surprised her. After finally getting to Mother, and being safe, she was allowed to relax. And immediately could feel the pain she'd been carrying.

Finally managing to roll over, Nashi stared at the roof instead. She was still naked underneath the sheets, so she was going to need something to wear. But she hadn't given her clothes to anyone before she fell asleep, so it was probably still stuck in the bathroom all filthy. Gathering what little energy she'd gained from her slumber, she managed to sit up. She rubbed sleep out of her eyes, blinking a few times in an attempt to focus her vision. Once her eyes were working, she noticed a bundle of fabric resting on the table in the center of her room. It took her a moment, but she eventually realized it was her clothes, folded and clean. She saw her scarf there as well, alongside a second bundle of clothes, which looked like white linen. Taking a deep breath, Nashi managed to get to her feet, albeit a bit shaky, and walked the few steps over to look. She grabbed her scarf and wrapped it around her neck, then looked between the two piles of clothes. She decided she'd rather wear something loose and comfortable, and grabbed the white linen.

The outfit consisted of loose pants and shirt, which seemed to fit her suspiciously well given she hadn't been measured for anything. As far as she knew, anyway. The clothes were heavy enough to provide some comfort, but not so much that it was constraining. Not that it mattered, seeing as she planned on just going back to bed anyway.

She had only managed to sit on the bed again when there was a knock at her door, making her jump a bit. She looked at the door in surprise, wondering who it was and why they were here.

"Hello?" She asked, her voice hoarse from sleeping so long.

"Nashi Dragneel?" A muffled voice asked. She vaguely recognized it as the man who'd greeted them at the portal. "You seem to be awake, seeing as you're answering my knock." She raised an eyebrow at this in surprise.

"You've knocked before?" She asked, "how many times?"

"Three times yesterday," He answered. Her eyes widened a bit when she heard this.

"How long have I been asleep?" She called.

"Not long," he said. "You arrived yesterday morning, and slept through the whole day. It's around ten o'clock the next day. I was checking to see if you were available." Nashi wondered quietly if she wanted to talk or sleep, ultimately deciding that it would be better to see what he wanted in case it was important.

"Come in," she said. "I'm tired of yelling through the door." He seemed to take the chance, the stone door sliding open immediately so he could enter. She looked over, finding him standing a few feet from the door, watching her with a soft smile.

"You look rested," he said.

"Don't feel rested," she mumbled back, wiping at her eyes again. "What were you asking about?"

"Mother has been wondering when you would wake," he replied. "She wants to speak to all of you, but understands that everyone must be tired, so she'll take just you if they need rest."

"Has no one else showed themselves?" She asked curiously.

"Simon Scarlet and Michael Eucliffe have," he said. "But no one else." She nodded slowly as she took this information in, wondering if she wanted to talk to Mother alone.

"I think we all need to be there to hear it," she finally said. "Just because I'm some prophesized one doesn't mean I'm the one doing everything." The man simply nodded back in understanding.

"I understand," he said. "I imagine everyone will be up by tonight, if not tomorrow morning. Please, feel free to stretch your legs and find something to eat at the mess hall. Would you like me to guide you there?" At the mention of food Nashi's stomach roared angrily, finally voicing it's discontent at the state it'd been in these last few months.

"Yes please," she answered, forcing herself to her feet. "I could eat a dragon." He simply laughed.

"I imagine you could," he agreed. "Please, follow me." Nashi did as he asked and followed after him as he left, almost bouncing at the idea of finally getting a decent meal. He led her back towards the massive stairwell from the day prior, walking further down. She followed him in silence, wondering just how deep this compound went. As they went, she realized she had no idea how this guy even was.

"So, what's your name?" she asked curiously as they got off the stairs into a new hallway. "Can I know?"

"My true name isn't in a language you understand," he answered. "But you can call me Diya, if you must."

"Diya," she repeated. "Okay, I can remember that." They walked a it further in silence, finally arriving at a massive open doorway. Nashi peered in and saw it was a cafeteria of sorts, with many tables spread around the room and an obvious kitchen in the back. Off to the left she saw someone had already beaten her here. She couldn't see who it was from behind the mountain of food, but she could smell Elise.

"We've arrived," Diya said. "Please, feel free to eat as much as you want."

"That's not an issue?" She asked curiously, making him shake his head.

"Not at all," he replied. "Please, enjoy yourself." Nashi nodded and walked into the cafeteria, leaving Diya behind. As she approached the counter, she saw a spread of food not unlike the kinda that Mira used to make for big events at the guild hall. Tons of meats, sides, and different sauces lay out before her. She piled on a ton onto her plate, taking an obscene amount before walking over to where Elise was, sitting down next to her and garnering her attention.

"Oh," Elise said, mouth full of food. "Hey Nashi."

"Hey," Nashi greeted with a small laugh. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Mm hm," Elise hummed in response, stuffing more food into her mouth. Nashi could wait no longer either, using her bare hands and grabbing at the food, shoving it into her mouth. It wasn't special it any noticeable way, except for the fact that she hadn't eaten properly in months. She relished the feeling of her stomach actually being filled up, a feeling she hadn't realized she missed so much.

"Sleep well?" Elise asked after she swallowed the food in her mouth. Nashi nodded as she chewed.

"Like a rock," she said as she chewed. "I feel like I'm made of lead I'm still so tired."

"Join the club," Elise said, biting into a drumstick and ripping it apart with her teeth. "I feel like I just woke up from a thousand year slumber, but apparently it's only been like a day."

"Apparently," Nashi agreed, washing down her food with the mug of water she'd grabbed. "You seen the others?"

"Little bit," Elise said as she pulled the remaining meat off the bone. "Little bits here and there. Seems we're all just taking what time we have to relax."

"Don't blame anyone for still being asleep," she said, staring at her reflection in her cup. "I'm tempted to take a nap after I'm done here." Elise laughed.

"Not until I'm done annihilating their food stores," she said, making Nashi snort.

"You sure can pack away a lot of food for someone so tiny," Nashi teased, poking at Elise's cheeks, puffed up from the amount of food she was shoving in her mouth.

"Don't start with me," Elise warned, gesturing at her with her cleaned drumstick. "I don't want to hear anything from you, you're the next shortest person in the group."

"Still taller than you," she shot back, making Elise punch her in the side, making her yelp. "Ow! Elise!"

"I warned you," she said innocently, acting like she hadn't done anything. "Don't complain after you pushed me." Nashi just smiled at this, returning to her food. The small interaction with her friend felt nostalgic. Like...Like things weren't so bad. She paused in her eating, twirling a rack of ribs in her hands.

"I feel bad," she said quietly, earning Elise's attention. "I feel...relaxed. Like the outside world isn't falling apart."

"Hm," Elise hummed. "I understand what you mean. I kinda feel bad too. But, the way I see it is, we can't save the world on an empty stomach and three hours of sleep."

"I suppose not," she agreed. "Still, it feels wrong."

'Enjoy it while you can," Elise advised, "we're probably only going to be here for a few more days." Nashi scoffed at this, realizing the truth in her words.

"Fair enough," she said, bringing the ribs to her mouth and ripping the meat off the bone. If she was only going to get to be relaxed for a few days, she planned on enjoying it.

"Hey you two," someone said. Nashi looked up to see Simon coming to join them, also looking cleaned up and wearing white linens.

"Hey," she greeted as he got to the table and sat down. "How're you feeling Simon?" The redhead made a face and shrugged, sighing.

"As good as I can be, I guess," he said. "Little tired still, but that'll pass."

"Are you hungry?" she asked him, "You can take some of mine if you are."

"Not mine," Elise said protectively, making him snort.

"I'd never put my hands anywhere near your mouth, Elise," he retorted. "Lest they be taken off." Nashi giggled at this, watching as Simon grabbed a bun from her pile and pulled it apart with his teeth.

"Have you seen the others?" She asked curiously. "Who else is up?" Simon chewed silently for a moment, seemingly counting in his head.

"I've seen Michael around," he said. "Other than that, no. Seems everyone else is still out cold or resting anyways." nashi nodded along as she swallowed, understanding why.

"I can't blame them," she said.

"Neither can I," he said. "I'm just worried they won't be ready to go when we have too. We can't stay here forever."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Elise said, head still buried in her food. Simon wrung his hands together on the table, exhaling slowly.

"I'm not so sure," he said quietly. "I think some of us are in a bad way." Nashi frowned.

"You mean Ul," she said softly, making him look up. "After what happened with Keiko, out in the woods."

"Yeah," Simon agreed, nodding. "I didn't know when it happened that was Keiko, but...I'm really concerned about her. I haven't seen her yet, although it's not like she's the only one still in her room."

"So go check on her then," Elise said with an annoyed expression. "Sitting around lamenting about it isn't going to make her feel better. I'm sure she'll answer the door if it's you." Simon raised an eyebrow at this.

"What does that mean?" He asked. Elise just snorted, making Nashi giggle.

"Nothing," she replied. "Dumbass. Just go check on her when you have time. Make sure she's good to go." Simon didn't seem like he grasped what Elise was mocking him for, but nodded along nonetheless. Nashi could guess what she meant based on what she'd seen the last few months.

"I guess I can go do the rounds and see who's up," Simon said, standing up and grabbing a few more buns from Nashi's plate. "I'll see you guys later."

"Good luck," Nashi called as he walked away.

"Be gentle," Elise shouted at his back, making him visibly wince and Nashi laughed.

Several Hours Before...

The sight of the Capital City as the sun came up over the horizon was objectively a very pretty sight, but it did nothing to quell the storm in Apate's mind.

She sat on the windowsill of her room, playing with her Disciple pendant as she watched the city began to light up. She hadn't slept a wink the night before, her mind a maelstrom of confusing and conflicting emotions. She didn't really need to sleep, seeing as she was a God, but the idea that her thoughts had kept her awake was an irritating one.

She still could not get over the fury and disbelief she felt over Zomrus' allowing what he was. The fact that he was allowing that Apocalypse shade to take members of Fairy Tail, who had capitulated and were now living here, to the North in an attempt to blackmail the children did not sit well with her at all. It felt like a betrayal of the world he claimed to want to create, and it annoyed her that she was the only one who seemed to have a problem with it.

It wasn't like she didn't understand Zomrus' reasoning. He was correct when he said that they could only begin building the perfect world once Nashi Dragneel was out of the picture. He was correct in saying that extreme measures were warranted given that she'd made it to Mother. But that did not stop her doubts from festering. Like a virus, her doubts had infested her and weakened her resolve, making her feel weak and sick. The idea of allowing that Shade to kill innocent people was making her angrier by the second.

But what choice did they have? As far as they knew, this Mother figure would instruct the children on how to defeat Zomrus, and they could start to form a legitimate threat to their new world. They needed to do something that would make the children come out, make them show themselves so they could be taken out. It made sense. So why was she so torn?

That wasn't her only concern. She did not like that they had been instructed to form armies from the populace. She did not like that they intended to hide behind regular mortal humans if the battle did eventually come here. She understood that Zomrus wanted to keep them away from danger, but was it really so dangerous that they couldn't do anything? Really? Regular people sent out against the strongest witches and wizards of the age was better? She did not agree.

She growled at this and clenched her pendant in her fist, trying to vent her anger. This was so annoying. She couldn't keep dwelling on this, she needed to speak her mind. But to who?

Only one person came to mind, so Apate hopped off her windowsill and made for her door, throwing it open and walking down the hall. The portion of the castle that housed her and the other Disciples was massive, each of them getting a room as large as they wanted. She herself did not need a massive room, so hers was relatively small. However she got the feeling that the person she was heading to had a rather grand bedroom.

Walking down a flight of stairs, Apate walked the few remaining steps before she got to the door she was looking for. She rapped her knuckles on the door, waiting for a moment to see if there was a response.

"Philotis?" She asked, "are you awake? I wanted to talk to you." She could vaguely hear a grunt from inside, and the sound of footsteps. The door soon opened, revealing Philotis in her pajama's, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Apate?" The Disciple of Friendship asked softly, yawning. "What are you doing here? It's the crack of dawn."

"Couldn't sleep," Apate replied, actually taking in her friends appearance. "You have pajama's?" Philotis rolled her eyes.

'What, a lady can't enjoy her eternal paradise with some comfy pajamas?" She asked. Apate just snorted, shaking her head.

"My bad," she said. "You're right. Can I talk to you a moment?" Philotis exhaled slowly, but nodded and moved back.

"Sure, come on in," she replied sleepily.

Walking into Philotis' room felt like walking into a different dimension than the rest of the castle. Contrary to the black stone that made up the building, Philotis' room was bright red, the carpet beneath her feet and soft white color. Off to the side was her bed, a massive piece with a canopy made of black wood and red curtains. Her bedsheets were also red, sporting a nice weave pattern on it.

"Nice room," she commented as Philotis closed her door.

"I like to be comfortable," Philotis said. "So I made my room feel like my old room." Apate nodded along, walking to the bed with her. Philotis tossed herself down on the bed and pat it with her hand. "Sit down and ramble, sister," she said. "I'm all ears." Smiling, she took her up on that offer and sat down on the edge of the bed. It was extremely soft and comfortable, making her wanna lay down.

"Thanks for inviting me in," she said as Philotis kicked her feet, looking up at her canopy.

"Of course," she said. "We're friends, aren't we? I'll lend an ear." Apate smiled softly at this. They did feel rather friendly. "What's bothering you?" Apate frowned, wondering how exactly she was going to phrase this.

"I'm still...hung up about yesterday morning," she said tactfully.

"What, about Zomrus letting that revenant take members of Fairy Tail up North as leverage?" She nodded, making Philotis sigh. "I can't believe you talked back to Zomrus and he congratulated you."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't make swallowing this any easier," she replied as she stared ahead, lost in her thoughts. "I mean, how exactly are we creating a better world if we're going to use lives as leverage, or throw regular people in front of us and tell them to fight? I don't like it."

"Do you think Zomrus does?" Philotis asked. She looked back at her friend, who patted the bed. "Lay down, let's talk." Considering this for a moment, Apate finally nodded and laid back on the bed next to Philotis, staring up at her canopy. "You seem to be under the impression that anyone likes having to do this."

"I never said that," Apate replied defensively.

"You implied it," she countered. "That just because you spoke up, you're the only one who doesn't like it. I'll tell you for free, I don't like it either."

"So why didn't you say anything?" Apate asked, turning her head to look at her. Philotis turned to her as well, her expression serious.

"Because I'm looking at the bigger picture here," she said. "What if we decide not to use members of their guild as blackmail, and those kids get what instructions they need and disappear again? They could go anywhere."

"..."

"What if they raise the army they'd need to take the city?" Philotis pushed. "What if they found the gaps in our armor and stabbed us? What then?"

"...I don't know," Apate answered, making Philotis snort.

"Yes you do," she replied. "They'd have a real shot at undoing all of our hard work. They'd have an actual chance at stopping us. We cannot allow them any chances, or they will hold onto them for dear life and never let go. We must squash their embers of hope now, before they grow into a raging fire that could consume us."

"...I know that," Apate mumbled, looking back at the canopy. "Deep down I do. I still can't rid myself of the disgust and anger I feel about it."

"I don't blame you," Philotis replied. "Like I said, I don't like this either. I don't want life for people to be difficult here. I don't want them to fear us. Why do you think I'm so kind to those living in my district? Because I want to make the best of this for them. I let that Kagura and her daughter go see the Father because I wanted them to feel a little more at ease living here."

"Deimos thinks you're soft," she reminded her.

"Deimos can kick rocks," Philotis said. "He can do as he pleases in his own district. But I intend on making this transition as painless as possible. But all of this, all the possibilities of this new world, they go away if Nashi Dragneel is given the tools and allies she needs to stop us. We must stop them, Apate. We cannot afford to play nice. If there is even a sliver of a chance that letting Apocalypse drag members of their guild up there solves this issue, then we should let it happen."

"I thought we were trying to be better?" Apate asked, looking back at her again. Philotis had a pained expression on her face, her mouth twisting into a frown.

"Being better doesn't win wars," she replied softly. "It just provides the enemy more places to hit you."

Apate watched her quietly for a moment before looking back up at the canopy, digesting her words slowly. It was the same argument she'd been making back and forth with herself for a day now, and it still was not helping her accept this. Not even in the slightest.

"Maybe something's just wrong with me," she mumbled. "Am I the problem? Am I too soft to be a Disciple?" This made Philotis scoff and sit up, looking down at her.

"Too soft?" She demanded, "from the woman who questioned Zomrus out of turn yesterday? I beg to differ." Apate rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Don't butter me up," she muttered. "I'm just soft. Too weak-willed to do what we have too." Philotis was quiet for a moment, not saying a word. Apate looked back when she felt the other girl place her hand on her stomach, smiling down at her.

"Please don't turn into another Deimos," she said. "It's compassion and kindness like yours that we need to make this world work. Fear and anger will only get us so far. Don't try and be like him, or Cain. You're better as you are." Apate still resisted the compliment, but it did make her wonder.

"Was I like this before my memory got all jumbled?" She asked, "I still don't remember much before I was given Godhood."

What happened next was hard to describe. Philotis' expression did not outwardly change. Her smile was still soft, her eyes still kind, and the hand she had on her stomach was still feather-like and reassuring. But despite outward appearances, Apate still sensed a shift in the conversation. Like asking this question had somehow made the room darker, colder. Like something was fundamentally wrong, but she could not place it.

"Of course you were," Philotis said. "Kind and wonderful. Just like you are now." The look on her face was so at odds with the feel of the room that Apate sat up, unable to meet her eyes any longer.

"Thanks for the talk, Philotis," she said, wiping at her eyes. "I needed it."

"Any time," the other girl said. "I'm here if you ever want to talk. We need to stick together these days, especially since Zomrus wants us so close at hand all the time." She nodded along silently, mind racing trying to figure out what exactly that feeling had been. She didn't detect any deception in Philotis' words, and she would know, since she was the Disciple of Deceit and Trickery. Philotis was being honest, at least outwardly.

So why was her stomach turning.

"I'll let you go back to sleep," Apate said, patting her friend knee as she stood up. "I'm sure you're still tired."

"I am," Philotis agreed. "Somehow my Godhood hasn't got rid of my love for sleep." Apate made for the door quickly, desiring nothing more than to get out of the room that seemed to suffocate her more and more by the minute. "Hey, Apate." She paused at the door, turning to look over her shoulder.

"Yes?" She asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"If this is all bothering you so much," Philotis said, "you should go talk to Cain. He and Apocalypse are choosing who to take today, so maybe you can convince him to take it easy and not hurt anyone. Cain may be devout, but he's still sensible." Apate considered this momentarily, wondering if Cain would be reasoned with.

"Maybe I'll do that," she replied, looking back at the door. "See if I can make this as painless as possible for everyone." Philotis laughed.

"See?" she said, "your empathy isn't weakness. We need people who think like you do, or this all goes downhill." Apate offered her a weak smile, now unsure of how to take any compliment given the raging storm in her stomach.

"Thank you, Philotis," she said. "For your help." Philotis smiled at her, yawning.

"Any time, Apate," she said as she laid down, her back facing her. "Any time. See you later."

"...Yeah, see you." As Apate left the bedroom, she remained still in the hallway for a moment as she contemplated what had just happened. She did her best to digest all the thoughts and feeling she was having, but it wasn't working out very well.

Sighing, the Disciple of Deceit turned and walked down the hallway, intent on finding Cain. She needed to make sure nothing went horribly wrong.