All in all, a year had passed since Kaelys escaped the asylum. She wasn’t stupid, so she had soon realized she wasn’t in her world anymore. However, she didn’t care. It only meant it would be more difficult for them to get her back. Plus, she was strong, now. She wouldn’t be trapped again.

They were now all standing in Brain’s office, their main mission put to a halt.

“Our search for Nirvana will soon be done,” announced the leader. “But the legal Guilds are gathering to stop our advance. They are forming the Allied Forces, which will be composed of members from Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Fairy Tail, and Cait Shelter. We already have information on all the mages who will form the team.”

He placed down a stack of files on the desk.

“They shouldn’t be much trouble but you are to read those files and find those you would fair best against. Truth, you know what to do.”

“Yes.”

Kaelys, or rather Truth, saluted him with a lopsided grin, before grabbing the first file.

“Now, to find some interesting magic… Ooh, wonder if they’re strong…”

“I can hear it…” Cobra stroke Cubellios’ head with a mad grin. “The sound of the breaking of the light!”

“He’s so overdramatic,” Truth snorted.

The boy, now man, shot her a glare at that, and Angel and herself exchanged a knowing look.

“Don’t be so hasty, Cobra,” then said Racer.

“Aa?”

“Well, being hasty ain’t so bad,” the blond took back his words.

“That magic we’re talking about is hidden here, Racer,” replied Cobra.

“A magic that will bring about darkness and break all light, yes!” nodded Hoteye.

“Nirvana…” added Angel.

There was a snore from Midnight, and Truth choked down a laugh.

Brain hit the ground with his staff.

“The legendary magic will finally be ours,” he stated imperiously.

“Is this Nirvana magic really all it’s cracked up to be?” wondered Racer.

“Behold!” Their leader gestured to the forest extending at their feet. “The land has already begun to die, just because Nirvana is nearby.”

“It doesn’t matter,” shrugged Truth, herself now also petting Cubellios’ head. “All that matters is finding Nirvana and activating it. I do wonder, though. Will it shift our allegiances too? You know, good to bad and bad to good… Wait, can we really call ourselves bad? I mean, there’s much more shades than black and white in the world…”

Cobra swatted the back of her head, earning a hiss from the girl.

“Stop it!”

“It’s too soon for your philosophical crap,” he replied flatly.

“Ooh, you can use big words now, uh?”

“Why you—“

“Enough,” Brain stepped in, cutting to the banter. “Nirvana will soon be in our hands, and the Allied Forces will rejoice soon. Don’t waste any more time.”

“Right!”

With that, they split up to start the search.

“They’re coming,” informed Cobra, listening. “Truth?”

“On it.”

She lifted her eyes to the gigantic horse-boat-thingy flying in the sky. Thanks to Angel’s Spirits, they knew all of the Allied Forces’ plan, so they could easily make their move now. Without wasting a second, she made Christina –that’s what the machine was called- explode. The pieces flew all around as it crashed to the ground, fire and smoke rising from the remains. Then, she went to hide in the trees as the rest of their Guild came out of the flames.

“Talk about dramatic,” she huffed a little.

She wasn’t allowed to come out as of now, for they had been careful as to not let her existence be revealed in the past year. Along with Midnight and Brain, who wouldn’t fight unless necessary, she was their trump card.

“The maggots have swarmed,” scoffed Brain.

“We saw through your plans,” added Angel, the Gemini Spirits by her sides. “We already got Jura and Ichiya! How do you like that?”

“What!?” a white-haired boy with a coat exclaimed.

“Impossible!” added another one in a suit.

“Lyon from Lamia Scale, Hibiki from Blue Pegasus,” recalled quietly Truth. “Lyon: potential target.”

“You’re trembling,” smirked Cobra. “I can hear it.”

“We should hurry up with our work,” Racer pointed out. “But you’re getting in our way.”

“Money makes people stronger, yes!” added Hoteye. “Let me tell you something nice. Money is everything in this world and—“

“Hoteye, shut up!” grunted Cobra and Racer, while Truth muttered the same under her breath.

Midnight only snored louder at that, and a blonde girl sweatdropped.

“I think one of them is asleep…”

“Lucy from Fairy Tail,” recognized Truth.

“I didn’t expect them to show themselves to us,” remarked a redhead in an armor.

“Erza from Fairy Tail: target.”

“Oi,” grinned a pink-haired boy.

“Yeah,” grinned back a black-haired one.

“Natsu from Fairy Tail, Gray from Fairy Tail,” the telekinesis mage shifted in place. “Natsu: target. Gray: potential target.”

“Eh, I can hear you,” Cobra’s eyes took a mad glint.

At that, both of the boys ran toward the whole group, ready to fight.

“Now we don’t have to go find you!” they exclaimed.

“Do it,” ordered simply Brain.

“Okay.”

Racer disappeared and reappeared behind them. Before they could react, he harshly kicked them around, sending them flying opposite ways.

“Natsu! Gray!”

But Lucy had her own set of trouble, facing a clone of herself.

“Sherry!”

“Yes!”

Lyon and the pink-haired girl made their way to Hoteye, but he was waiting for them. Activating his powers, the ground under their feet became mud, and they started sinking.

“Even without love, as long as you have money, yes!”

“I’ve lived with him for a year and I still don’t get that,” Truth rubbed her temples.

The Trimens tried to make their move but Racer got rid of them so easily it was kind of pitiful. At that moment, the Titania tried to intervene, Requiping in a blade armor and taking on Cobra.

“Ba-a-a-a-ka,” yawned Truth, growing tired of waiting.

She could have made them explode and be done with it, but Brain was extremely intent on her gathering as much magic as possible. And, what better than to take it from the strongest mages of each Guild?

‘Still boring’

‘Well, I find it interesting’

“It’s not so fun because we already know who’s going to win,” replied the black-haired girl.

And win they did, awfully fast and easily at that. With a heavy sigh, she watched as the battered bodies of the legal mages now lied on the ground, vanquished.

“Truth,” then called Brain.

“Yes, yes…”

Jumping from her tree, she instantly headed for the nearest one, Requiping a book in her hands.

“Gray Fullbuster.” She crouched next to him. “Ice Make Magic.”

She placed her hand on forehead and his eyes widened before he slumped to the ground as light emanated from the book.

Satisfied, she then went to the pink-haired boy.

“Natsu Dragneel,” she touched his forehead. “Fire Dragon Slaying Magic.”

“Why you—“

Before he could add anything, he fell unconscious. Getting back to her feet, she then went to the redhead, who had been mortally injured by Cubellios. She glared as Truth kneeled next to her, but found herself unable to flee as the teen touched her forehead too.

“Erza Scarlet, Requiping Magic.”

This one managed to stay conscious, which pleased Truth somewhat. Cobra seemed to have the time of his life earlier while battling her, and the teen couldn’t help but hope she’d be able to experience that kind of battle too.

“Wonder if I’ll be able to fight her.” Truth tilted her head. “Well, not with that injury of hers, that’s for sure.”

“W- what a- a- are you t- talk- talking ab- about?” Erza couldn’t move, though.

“Truth, move faster,” drawled Racer.

“Hey, I’m taking a lot at once, be patient,” grunted the girl, walking to her next target. “Sherry Blendy, Doll Attack Magic.”

“S- Sherry!” Lyon exclaimed, horrified as his friend slumped to the ground.

“Eve Tearm, Snow Magic. Not that strong but whatever. And Ren Akatsuki, Air Magic. Then again, not that strong but still useful,” she pursued, unperturbed. “Well, I’m done!”

She headed back to the rest of her Guild with a small smile, sending her Book back. She would have to do a lot of training later, but she didn’t mind. She was impatient to start, to be honest.

“W- what have you done to them!?” seethed Hibiki, struggling to get up. “W- who are you!?”

She turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

“Hibiki Lates, Archive Magic,” she recalled, tilting her head. “You would have been a target if I didn’t already possess Archive Magic. As for your question, it is of no importance. After all, why bother with answering walking corpses?”

“W- what!?”

“Trash.” Brain, taking his cue, raised his staff. “You should all vanish from this Earth. Dark Rondo!”

Dark Magic started gathering at the end of the staff, the air trembling and heavy. Truth watched, somewhat envious. That had been a Magic she hadn’t been allowed to copy, much to her chagrin. After all, it was incredulously strong.

However, before he could finish the lethal spell, his eyes widened and the magic energy dispersed.

“What’s the matter, Brain?” inquired Racer.

“Why did you stop the spell?” added Cobra.

“Wendy… There is no mistaking it. You are Wendy, the Maiden of the Sky!”

Instantly, the little girl let out a whimper while hiding behind the giant rock. Truth shot a look at Brain. That Wendy hadn’t been in the files, so she must have been the unknown member of Cait Shelter.

“I didn’t expect to encounter you here,” remarked Brain. “It looks like we picked up a nice present. Come!”

He grabbed the little girl with his magic and brought her to them. Truth watched in wonder as two cats, a white and a blue one, started running after her while screaming.

“Since when can cats talk?” she wondered quietly.

“W- what the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Natsu, who had woken up meantime, tried to get back to his feet.

“Money is the great equalizer, yes!”

“What is that even supposed to mean?” the girl asked Cobra as the older man used his magic to trap the legal mages.

“No idea.”

“WENDY!!!”

The girl had just disappeared in Brain’s portal, along with the blue cat.

“I have no more need for you, worms. Dark Rondo!”

But before he could crush any of them, none other than Jura appeared out of nowhere.

“Rockiron Wall!”

Using the momentum, Oración Seis escaped in a flash.

“They’re even more powerful than the data we collected on them suggested.”

The wizards of the Alliance were only now all understanding how outmatched and unprepared they had been. They even lost Wendy!

“And Christina has been destroyed, too,” remarked Sherry, clicking her tongue.

“Yes. That woman who can peer into your heart said that they knew everything about our plans,” confirmed Jura.

“W- what about the people that were on board?” frowned Lucy, worried.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” assured Hibiki with a slight smile.

“Christina was heading to its destination by remote control,” explained Eve.

“After we found their base, we were supposed to board it, however…”

“I’m glad, then,” sighed Lucy, relieved.

“I am also glad you remained safe, Jura-san,” added Lyon. “But I do worry about their new addition. Who was that girl? She wasn’t in the data at all!”

“It felt weird,” Gray frowned, looking down at his fist. “For a moment, it felt as if she was draining me from all my magic. But now, I’m totally fine. Well, as fine as I can be after that beat down.”

“Same,” agreed Sherry, Eve and Ren.

“And they kidnapped Wendy and Happy too! Damn those bastards…” cursed Natsu. “We’ll get them! We won’t lose again!”

“Ooh, I can’t wait to get started!” grinned Truth, checking the newest pages of her Book. “I’ve got some really strong magic too.”

“Strong?” scoffed Cobra. “They were awfully weak.”

“Magic’s strength depends on its wielder’s,” replied the girl. “And I think we can all agree that I am far from weak.”

“Still can’t beat me,” retorted the maroon-haired boy.

“Yeah? Well, Cubellios likes me better,” she pulled her tongue at him.

He seemed outraged at that notion but, as if to prove the teen’s words, the purple snake went and wrapped herself around the girl’s shoulders and body, making her laugh as Cobra gaped.

“What the hell, Cub!?”

“Quiet,” ordered Brain, not even looking at them.

Cobra grunted, before swatting the girl’s head. She glared at him, cracking his bones in answer. He bared his teeth at her, and Racer appeared between the two of them.

“You’ll have enough time to fight later,” he said. “Let’s hurry back for now.”

“Tche.”

“Whatever. I prefer Angel anyway.” As if to prove her point, she went to stand beside the white-haired mage.

“There is no love, only money!” chided Hoteye.

“Shut up, Hoteye!” they all replied as one.

Midnight kept on snoring.

When they arrived at the cave that they were using for their current base of operation, Brain released Wendy and the blue cat.

“Don’t be violent!” scolded the cat as the girl rubbed her sore arm. “She’s just a little girl!”

“Happy…” gasped the blue-haired kid.

Annoyed, Brain picked the feline up by the head, before sending him crashing onto the floor. However, before he could hit it, his fall was stopped by Truth, who glared at Brain while using her telekinesis to bring the cat into her arms.

“He’s just a cute kitty,” she huffed. “Don’t be so mean.”

“D- don’t worry, Wendy! I’ll get you out of here!” he assured, struggling weakly. “W- when I get free myself, I promise!”

Giggling, Truth petted Happy’s head before gently sending him back to the girl, who hugged him tightly.

“Brain, who is this girl?” asked Racer, lying against a wall.

“She has something to do with Nirvana?” added Cobra.

“Doesn’t look like it to me,” remarked Angel.

“I see! We’ll sell her for money, yes?” proposed Hoteye.

“Is that all you ever think about!?” the maroon-haired boy sweatdropped.

“As long as you have money, you can even buy love,” retorted the tall man.

“I don’t think it works that way,” Truth shook her head.

“She can use Sky Magic,” then answered Brain. “In other words, Healing Magic.”

“Healing Magic?”

“A Lost Magic…”

“An ancient magic that was thought to be forgotten…”

“Oh, right. The poison. The poison for Kuzco. The poison chose especially to kill Kuzco. Kuzco's poison,” mumbled Truth under her breath.

Cobra shot her a very unique look, but she ignored him.

“Ooh, this smells like money to me!” giggled Hoteye.

“This little girl?” scoffed Cobra, looking at her closer. Then, his eyes widened. “Impossible!”

“Exactly,” grinned Brain. “We will resurrect him!”

“Resurrect who!?” replied Happy.

“I- I don’t really know, but I’m not going to help bad people!” assured Wendy.

“Oh, you will,” retorted Brain. “You will indeed. You will resurrect him for us. Racer, bring him here.”

“That’s a long way,” remarked Racer. “It’ll take even me an hour.”

“No matter. I would have sent Truth, but seeing how she copied so many Magics not so long ago, she’ll have some trouble controlling hers for a while.”

“Ugh, don’t mention it,” sighed Truth in annoyance.

“I see,” Cobra nodded in appreciation. “If we resurrect him, Nirvana is as good as found. Is that what you’re thinking, Brain?”

“Cobra, Hoteye, Angel… continue to search for Nirvana.”

“But if we resurrect him, then that won’t be necessary,” Angel pointed out.

“I asked you a question!” Happy’s bravado was wavering, though. “Who are you trying to revive!?”

But they kept on ignoring him.

“Midnight, Truth and I will be remaining here to keep watch and to allow Truth some more time to settle her magic,” concluded Brain.

“Doesn’t look like Midnight’s going to do anything, though,” pointed out Hoteye.

Truth snorted at that. “You want me to wake him, then?”

At that, the man quickly shook his head in a negative gesture, making her outright laugh.

“You really are the only one with Brain who can wake him up without risking to get killed,” huffed Angel. “But I guess we’ll be off, then. I know, let’s race! The first one to find Nirvana—“

“Gets one million jewels, yes!” instantly jumped in Hoteye.

“A million? That’s a lot,” sweatdropped the white-haired girl.

“W- what kind of magic is Nirvana?” then asked Wendy.

At her question, a crazy glint shone in the leader’s eyes as the members of Oración Seis, saved for Midnight, Truth and himself, left.

“Magic that switches Light for Darkness” he finally answered.

“Light and Darkness?” repeated Wendy.

“I don’t get it at all,” Happy scratched the back of his head.

“I don’t really understand either, to be honest,” Truth sighed heavily, plopping down next to them without a care in the world.

They recoiled at her sudden proximity, Happy bravely stepping between the two girls. She blinked, surprised.

“They’re scared of me…” she thought out loud. “Is it just because I’m part of Oración Seis? Well, guess it mustn’t exactly be reassuring for them either…”

“She’s completely bonkers,” whimpered Happy.

“I’m not crazy!” the girl’s aloof attitude snapped to a tensed one. “Take it back!”

“Y- you’re’ not crazy! Waa, I’m sorry! Don’t eat me!” wailed Happy.

“Eat you?” repeated the girl, confusion replacing the coldness. “Ah, you’re funny! So, your names are Wendy and Happy, right? I’m Kaelys, but everyone calls me Truth, even though I don’t really get why we need codenames and all—“

“Don’t go blabbering too much, Truth,” Brain warned, narrowing his eyes.

“Hey, I might be unable to lie, but I know how to keep my mouth shut, you know?” she huffed, shaking her head. “So distrusting… Ne, how old are you? I’m fourteen!”

“T- twelve…” the girl relented.

While she was scared –for not saying terrified- of the Oración Seis members, that girl seemed the less dangerous of the bunch. But then again, she seemed to have copied the others’ Magics, though I don’t really understand how…

“W- what do you mean that you’re unable to lie?” the little girl couldn’t help herself.

“Wendy, don’t talk to her! She’s Oración Seis!” protested Happy.

“It means exactly that,” shrugged the purple-eyed teen. “I don’t lie because I don’t see the point and because I physically can’t do it. Weird, uh? Ne, ne, Wendy! You said you wouldn’t help us because we’re bad people, right? Why are you saying we’re bad, though?”

At the question, the Sky Dragon Slayer’s eyes widened

“I… I…”

“Come on, you can tell me! I won’t get mad, promise!” assured the girl.

“Y- you hurt the others,” Wendy lowered her gaze. “Y- you kidnapped me… You’re a Dark Guild… You’re searching for what seemed to be forbidden magic… You killed people, didn’t you? Only bad people do that!”

“Oh, yeah,” Truth blinked. “I did kill people. Loads of them, to be honest. Sometimes, I’ve got so much blood on me that I can’t tell the difference between it and my skin!”

Tears welled in Wendy’s eyes as she listened, horrified.

“The first people I killed were those who kept me in captivity.” pursued the black-haired girl, unbothered by the horror on the child’s face. “They tortured me for two years. And when I escaped, I was captured by slavers. That’s when my Magic awoke, too. I made their heads go BOOM! Isn’t that funny? They thought they could sell me but in the end, I killed them before they could kill me! Ironic, isn’t it?”

“It’s horrible,” whispered the blue-haired Dragon Slayer.

“Am I still a bad person?” insisted Truth, tilting her head. “I killed many, many people. But in the end, it was them, or me. Can you really blame me for being so selfish? I won’t deny being a monster, but does that really make me a bad person?”

“Truth, this is enough,” Brain intervened. “While you’re at it, would you be able to copy her’s too?”

“Uh? I guess I could… I’ll have to rest even more, though.”

“Do it.”

“All right, all right…”

Getting on her feet, she Requiped her Book before turning to Wendy, who was struggling to keep her tears from falling.

“Stay away from her!” Happy blocked her path.

“Sorry, no can do,” Truth smiled to him.

Using her telekinesis, she levitated the cat away and crouched next to Wendy.

“It won’t hurt, don’t worry,” beamed the girl.

Before Wendy could back away, the black-haired mage placed a finger on her forehead. Her eyes rolled in their sockets and she fell unconscious as the Book shone once more, another page adding to the girl’s collection.

Satisfied, she then put both the child and the cat down, Requiping her Book away.

“Wendy!” exclaimed Happy, running to the girl’s limp body. “What have you done to her!?”

“I copied her Magic in my Book,” answered Truth, sitting down again. “It’s Thief Magic, a Lost Magic I have learned to use many months ago. It allows me to copy the Magic of any mage I had physical contact with and use the stolen Magic afterward as my own. Each new spell used by the one I stole the Magic from will be added to my arsenal, and can’t ever be erased unless I do it myself.”

“But—“

“Truth, say no more,” ordered Brain. “You never know what can happen with that kind of information. Just get some rest to allow your Ethernano to stabilize.”

“Okay!”

Without another word, she went to Midnight and, without much more ceremonies, plopped down on the carpet next to him. He didn’t even stir from his slumber, too used to her invading his sleeping space by now to wake up. Then, leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes and let herself go to sleep.

There was a sudden surge of magic and, next thing Truth knew, she was awake and a newly resurrected blue-haired boy/man stood in front of Wendy and Brain.

“Did I miss something or what?” she stretched a little, feeling better. “Hey, isn’t that the guy I was sent to retrieve a few months ago?”

“J- Jellal!”

At the voice, she turned to see Natsu standing at the entry of the cave, staring at the blue-haired mage in dumbfounded horror.

“I’m sorry…” sobbed Wendy, kneeling on the ground. “I’m… sorry… so sorry… this person saved my life…”

“Wendy! You used your Healing Magic?” exclaimed the white-haired cat. “What were you thinking? If you use that power recklessly—Wendy!”

As if on cue, the little girl slumped to the ground, exhausted. Jellal glanced at her unmoving form, face blank.

“Why are you here?” snarled Natsu, his fist flaming. “Jellal!”

Not caring about the three other members of Oración Seis, the pink-haired boy ran to the resurrected mage, fist blazing with fire. Raising his hand, Jellal sent him away with a blast of magic as if not even trying.

“Natsu!”

“Tremendous magical power as always, I see,” remarked Brain, going to stand beside Jellal.

The boy snapped his head to the leader of the Dark Guild and sent him flying away without another care in the world. Instantly, Truth jumped on her feet, her eyes losing their usual aloofness.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she inquired quietly.

He looked at her, raising his hand. Before he could summon his magic again, she grabbed his hand.

“Jellal Fernandes, Heavenly Body Magic.”

He flinched from the sudden drain of power as she gasped in pain, pulling away.

“I copied too much…” she muttered, shaking a little. “His Magic is too strong. I have to make some place!”

Requiping her Book, she instantly got rid of Air Magic, Doll Magic and Snow Magic, their pages covering with Jellal’s powers. Using her moment of inattention against her, the blue-haired man sent her crashing against the nearest wall, before heading outside without another glance behind.

Truth could only watch as Natsu, Happy, the white cat known as Carla and Wendy left too. Soon after, the ground exploded, revealing Brain.

“That… did not go as planned,” he sighed heavily. “Well, it is my mistake for releasing him from his restraints. He’s never been hostile towards me before, though. Could he have overheard the discussions about Nirvana, even as he was sleeping?”

“For all we know, he might be intending on taking Nirvana for himself,” replied Truth, lifting him from the hole in which he was trapped.

The leader’s eyes widened in understanding at her words.

“Damn that bastard… I will not allow it! It is ours! We will not hand it to anyone! Cobra! Can you hear me!? Jellal has escaped, go after him! Nirvana should be where he is heading!”

Knowing he heard him, Brain then turned to his youngest recruit, who sported pained frown.

“I copied his Magic, but it’s too much at once,” she scrunched her nose. “Fighting will be a pain.”

‘That’s a euphemism’

‘Are you sure you can handle it?’

“Not like I have much of a choice anyway.”