Saying Goodbye

The main group was taking a slight break after they had successfully beaten Zero and the Oracion Seis, but more importantly, they needed a slight respite after saving Wendy's guild Cait Shelter. There was however the small matter of what to do with Ping and Jellal. In Jellal's case he was leaning against a wall of rocks away from everyone.
"Hey, who is that guy?" Toph asked feeling his footsteps for the first time. "I don't think I've met him before?"
"No idea." Gray replied. "Maybe he's one of those from Blue Pegasus?"
"If he was I would have felt him before, no we haven't seen this guy before. Like ever." Toph said.
"Really?" Lucy asked.
"Well let's ask him?" Sokka said.
Zuko though stopped him. "Probably not a good idea, you see…" he let out a slight sigh before dropping the bombshell on them. "Guys… that's Jellal."
"WHAT?!" The four of them were shocked beyond belief. Lucy and Sokka's eyes had turned to white circles, though comical all the color had washed away from Sokka given that he was almost paralyzed with fear.
"That's him!?" Lucy exclaimed.
Toph immediately prepared to attack him. "What's he even doing here!? I thought we were done with this creep!"
"Well I'm just as shocked as you are." Ping said. "I thought I wouldn't see him again after the whole tower and using us thing."
Erza had stood beside all of them. "But that's not the Jellal we know."
"It seems he lost his memories." Wendy said.
"Yeah, I'll be the judge of that! Let me talk some sense into him." Toph was about to march over to Jellal but Erza stopped her.
"No, I will be the one to talk to him. I need you to trust me."
While the Earthbender was against the idea, Erza could more than handle herself if something went wrong. So she silently backed down, Erza had smiled and mouthed a 'thank you' to Toph, though she was still going to make sure Jellal wasn't going to try anything, so her focus turned to his and Erza's footsteps.
"This isn't good, what if Jellal tries something?" Sokka asked.
"I'm sure it's fine." Wendy cheerily assured. "Jellal is actually a good person!"
"Are you sure you didn't knock your head on the way here?" Toph asked, completely confused as to why Wendy thought Jellal was a good person.
Katara had sat by Aang and she heard their conversation. "Are you sure, Jellal is on our side?"
Aang smiled slightly. "Well I can definitely say that he isn't the same Jellal Natsu and I fought. He was influenced by some evil spirit or something. Maybe that spirit and his memories left him after Natsu and I beat him."
"Well that's a stretch, but if you say he is alright… then I'll believe you… but I think we should keep an eye on him."
Erza had walked over to the lone Jellal. "What do you plan to do after this?"
"After this? I don't know…"
Erza looked away from Jellal who had his eyes locked on the ground below him. "That sounds about right. Answers do not come so easily for you and me…"
Jellal's stance had tightened and he started to shake. "I am scared."
"Scared?" Erza repeated.
"What if my memories return…?" he continued to shake in fear of this. Erza had curiously glanced at him before her expression warmed into a smile, perhaps she was confident that the old Jellal she cherished was slowly coming back.
So she replied to him with three words that would really help Jellal get through what he was going through. "Jellal… I'm with you." Jellal had looked on as her in shock, he never expected forgiveness from anyone, much less Erza. Yet here she was trying to console him. "Even if we come to hate each other once again, as you are now, I cannot leave you be."
"Erza…" Jellal had stood and saw Erza closing her eyes while her head was facing slightly downwards.
"Jellal…I"
"Oww!" they all heard Zuko's pained yelp and he looked like he ran into an invisible wall. He placed his palm on it and his hand was stopped by an invisible barrier. "What magic is this?"
Wendy had looked close to where Zuko was standing and she had eyed purple glowing inscriptions on the ground around where the invisible barrier was. "There are some markings on the ground…"
Sokka looked at them as well and his hand touched the edge of the barrier too. "Wait a second, I've seen these before… they're…"
"Runes!?" Everyone besides Ping and Toph yelled.
"Wait… you're saying someone trapped us here?" Ping questioned… "They could be more bad guys trying to finish us off!"
"But… when did someone put this here?" Carla asked.
"The same Runes as Freed?" Gray questioned. "No… it feels even more powerful!"
Toph was seen shooting a large boulder towards the barrier, and the boulder shattered into pieces. "Show yourselves you cowards!"
Zuko looked to her. "Cowards…? Plural… there's more than one?"
"Runes can't stop me from feeling vibrations, and right now I feel a whole mass of people surrounding us. Like a whole troop." She explained.
"A whole troop, you mean we were ambushed?" True to Toph's word. A troop of robe wearing, spear wielding wizards had surrounded both ends of the barrier, giving them no room to escape.
"W-who are they!?" Wendy asked with a scared expression.
The lead figure, which wore similar robes, and had a pair of glasses, had walked forward towards the barrier. "I wish to do you no harm. All I desire if for you to stay here, without moving, for a little while."
"Yeah I'll bet!" Toph exclaimed. "So who the hell are you?"
"I am Captain of the Reformed Magical Council's 4th Enforcement and Detention Corps. My name is Lahar."
"WHAT?!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Reformed Magic Council?" Gray questioned.
"What?" Toph questioned with a blank expression.
Zuko only looked on and was glaring at Lahar, out of everyone who heard this, he looked the least intimidated. "The council is already already back in business?" Lucy questioned with a scared looking in her eyes.
"So if you're here… Then we're in trouble aren't we?" Katara questioned.
"We have been reborn, to uphold the law and protect justice. We have no mercy for those that do evil acts." Lahar said.
"Right… cause you guys were so good at upholding justice before." Sokka sarcastically jabbed. "So why are you guys really here?"
"Yeah… just send the bill to the Master like you always do." Toph said.
"Y-yeah…" Happy shakily said. "We haven't done anything bad!" Behind the two cats, Natsu was shaking while Aang had a cautionary look on his face.
"R-right…" Natsu fearfully agreed.
"That didn't sound very convincing…" Lucy said feeling the same amount of nervousness.
"I am aware." Lahar said. "Our purpose is to arrest Oracion Seis and all those who allied themselves with them. The first one is codenamed Hoteye."
Toph and Jura were surprised and they immediately stepped in front of Hoteye. "Wait a minute!" Jura exclaimed. Many of the knights behind Lahar prepared to attack with their staffs.
"Nu uh! Not gonna happen!" Toph said. "He helped us take down the Oracion Seis, what are you gonna arrest him for!?"
"It's okay…" Hoteye said. Both Jura looked back to him while Toph was surprised. "Even if my soul has been awakened to righteousness… That does not wipe clean my past evil ways. I wish to start over from the beginning." He then looked upwards in optimism. "That way, when I finally reunite with my brother, I can look him in the eye."
Jura smiled and Toph turned around. "Then in that case, we'll look for your brother while you do your time big guy."
"You will!?" Hoteye jubilantly asked.
"Please tell me your brother's name?" Jura asked.
"His name is Wally. Wally Buchanan."
Though the name didn't strike any familiarity to anyone, Erza was quick to figure it out. "Wally?"
When Erza mentioned his name, Natsu, Aang, Toph, Gray, Lucy, Sokka and Happy quickly remembered him. "THE BLOCKHEAD!?" they all exclaimed in comical shock as they imagined Wally's blocky face.
"Yes… Wally was… truly an honest and kind younger brother." Hoteye began to remiss the time he spent with Wally when he was younger. He remembered the two of them plowing dry, barren fields. In their younger years, their faces less resembled their polygon-like faces in the future. They worked hard to try to make the fields they worked on prosperous. According to Hoteye if they worked hard and believed in the light, their efforts would pay off despite the barren field they were on. This only inspired the younger Wally to work even harder.
"My brother and I lost our parents when we were very young. But we both worked together and managed to live!" He remembered when their efforts were soon paying off and they had a field with growing vegetables to show for it, unfortunately, the scorching sun had all but dried up their crops. "Then it happened… Right when we began growing vegetables."
Wally was just about ready to give up on their efforts. But as if it was a sign from the heavens there was one plant that was greener than the others and it looked in good health. They had somehow managed to harvest a large potato much later on. Wally wanted to eat it right away but not before Richard said they had to give thanks. Hoteye then generously offered his share of the potato to Wally. Wally decided to break the potato in half and offered his half to his brother.
"I have not forgotten the taste of that potato, even now…" Hoteye said. Jura smiled while Toph had a satisfied look on her face.
"Actually, I know that man." Erza said walking up to the three. "He is a my friend." She said with a smile.
"Yeah, we ran into him a while back." Toph said. "He said 'dandy' a lot too."
"Right now, he is energetically traveling around the continent." She revealed.
When Hoteye/Richard had heard the news of his brother's safety and happiness, he was brought to tears. He sobbed as he was filled with happiness. "Is this what they call a miracle, bestowed only to those who believe in the light?" he sobbed. He thanked them while he was on his knees and he covered his face.
Everyone was warmed by this display, and it even brought slight tears to Katara, Lucy and Ping. "I feel so sorry for him." Lucy said.
"There isn't much we can do for him." Carla said.
"Though I'm glad he knows his brother is okay. I'm sure that's going to be a huge motivation to keep him going." Aang said with a smile.
Ping looked at him and she had a thought of her own. "Brothers huh? Hoteye… I wish I could be feeling how you're feeling now."
Lucy noticed the distant looked that Ping had. "Ping, are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah… I'm alright… I just thought about some stuff… it isn't important." She said with a smile.
Zuko then gave a serious look to Lahar. "Right… are we done here!? You got what you came for."
"No, our true objective is not Oracion Seis." He revealed. Zuko's glare hardened and so did Jura's and Toph's. "The one who infiltrated the Magic Council, destroyed it, and fired Etherion… as well as the rogue wizards who had helped him and even became an ally of the Oracion Seis." He adjusted his glasses and they let of a bright glare for a second. "There are far greater evildoers among you, yes?" his eyes turned to two individuals. "Jellal, Ping! You are hereby under arrest!" Jellal had a depressed look while Ping looked completely shocked, almost frightened as her pupils had shrunk.
"W-what…" Ping stuttered as she took a fearful step back.
"Come. If you resist, I have orders to use lethal force!" Lahar commanded, the Rune Knights prepared to attack if they tried anything.
Erza was just as shocked as Ping was.
Though Natsu, Wendy, Katara and Lucy were quick to come to their defense, "Hey, wait!" Katara exclaimed.
"Hold it a second!" Natsu growled.
"S-sure they have done some bad things but…" Lucy said
"They are dangerous." Lahar said as he glared at the two. "The world will be in danger for as long as they are loose."
Jellal only looked down while Ping continued to be scared. 'Dangerous' that was the word used to describe her. The fact that Lahar had viewed her with such contempt was slowly convincing her that she did not deserve forgiveness, she did not deserve to be fighting alongside those who wish to combat evil, and she did not deserve to have friends. "I… I… deserve this…" she mournfully thought.
Both Jellal and Ping looked to each other before giving each other a slow nod. They slowly walked up to the knights and silently offered their hands in surrender.
"J-Jellal…" Erza trailed off.
"Ping…" Lucy worriedly said.
Both Jellal and Ping were placed in magical hand cuffs and stood in front of the knights with their backs turned to them. One of the knights held Ping's sword. "Jellal Fernandez… Ping…" Lahar started. "I hereby place you under arrest for the crime of high treason against the state."
Everyone had different looks; Gray, Lucy, Katara, Ichiya, Wendy and Aang were concerned. Zuko, Carla, Jura and Toph had angrily glared directly at Lahar. Sokka and Happy were slightly scared. Erza showed little emotion as her hair had hidden her eyes, and Natsu looked furious.
"Please, wait!" Wendy yelled. Her outburst had gotten Jellal's attention. "Jellal has lost his memories! He does not remember a thing!"
"By clause 13 of the criminal code, that is not a valid defense." Lahar said.
"That doesn't sit right with me." Everyone heard Aang said. "The both of them helped us to bring down the Oracion Seis… If Jellal wasn't there, Zero would have beaten us and then you'd have a much bigger problem on your hands!" he exclaimed. "I think they've earned their freedom."
"A right doesn't cancel out a wrong, Elemental Wizard." Lahar darkly said. "Their assistance in this matter doesn't erase their past crimes; hence why they should pay for said crimes." He looked to the wizards standing next to him. "You may release them from their runes." He said.
"But…" Wendy started.
"It's okay…" Jellal said. "I have no intention of resisting. I am willing to face my punishment."
"What he said…" Ping said in agreement. "I know I'll never be able to fully atone for what I've done and all the people I've hurt… so if this is how I can earn trust and forgiveness… then so be it…" she looked directly to Aang. "It's the way it has to be. And don't worry, I won't say anything I shouldn't." she winked at him, hinting that she would keep his Avatar status and bending a secret.
Jellal looked to Wendy. "I never was able to remember you…" he could see that Wendy was on the verge of tears. "I am truly sorry, Wendy…"
Carla had stepped to the side of her friend. "She tells me that long ago, she was saved by you."
"I see…" Jellal said. "I do not know how much suffering I must have caused all of you. But to hear that I saved one person makes me glad."
"You helped more than just Wendy." Aang said. The revelation slightly shocking Jellal, "You've saved countless lives by helping us stop Nirvana; I couldn't care less what the Magical Council says, you're good to me."
Jellal gives a small smile and nods. "Thank you, Aang."
Ping looked at all of them and a smile crept onto her face. "All things considered, I don't have any regrets… I'm glad I got to get on good terms with all of you…"
Natsu had looked to Erza and saw that she was withholding her feelings as she looked away. Jellal then said "Erza… Zuko, thanks for everything."
Both Jellal and Ping had started to walk towards the prison caravan.
Erza was shaking and she took a small step towards the direction of the caravan. This didn't go unnoticed by Toph. "I must stop him." Her fists were balled as she stood in a stiff stance, looking like she wanted to stop what was happening… but she would not allow herself to cross that line. Natsu had noticed this. "It's for me to stop him… Jellal is going away…" her teeth were clenching as she tried to make herself stop Jellal from being arrested. "Jellal, finally awakened from his long nightmare, is… How can I just let him be shut up in the darkness yet again?"
Jellal and Ping had stepped to Lahar, the last step before entering the caravan. "Is there nothing left you wish to say?"
Jellal looked back to the others and so did Ping. "It wouldn't change your opinion on us would it?" Ping rhetorically asked.
Lahar then continued. "It's pretty much guaranteed you'll be executed or given life without parole." Lucy and Toph heard what he had said and Toph balled her fists and clenched her teeth as well.
"But that…" Lucy breathlessly said.
"Council bastards…" Toph muttered in frustration.
Lahar continued to pile on. "You two will never see another human face for as long as you live."
Wendy was crying and Aang was trying to suppress his anger.
Erza had enough. "I'm not letting you take-"
"YOU ain't takin' him!" A certain pink haired wizard had beaten her to the punch. Natsu had jumped into the crowd of councilmen to try and get to Jellal. Erza was completely shocked.
"NATSU!" Aang exclaimed.
"They're from the council!" Lucy exclaimed.
Lahar was completely shocked. "Why you."
"They're our allies!" Natsu exclaimed. "We're takin' em back with us!" these words and actions surprised Erza. Wendy had her hands over her mouth in shock.
"Natsu…" she breathed. Aang stood by contemplating if he should help or stay put. Carla had her mouth agape at Natsu's actions.
"L-Leave me be…" Jellal said.
"Seriously, don't do this! We're not worth all this trouble!" Ping exclaimed.
Lahar shot his hand forward in order. "Restrain him!" Council grunts sped to Natsu who had already taken down the grunts that had tried to stop him.
Suddenly a mass of earth pillars had launched several grunts away from Natsu. Toph then slid her foot forward and she made an earth pillar that had crashed into the bottom of the caravan and flipped it over onto its side.
"Sorry, but they aren't going anywhere!" Toph exclaimed. "You council people had this coming for a long time!" she shot her hands forward and launched several council grunts into the air away from Natsu.
Gray had punched a grunt out of Natsu's direction. "Go, Natsu!" Gray exclaimed.
"Gray!" Happy exclaimed.
"Toph!?" Lucy yelled in a similar fashion.
Zuko was next to jump into the melee with Gray. And shot a fire jab to two grunts. "Zuko!?" Katara yelled.
"The council aren't exactly innocent either!" Zuko exclaimed. "Rules be damned! They want to arrest them? They'll have to go through us!"
Gray had kicked a grunt out of his way. "Guess there's not stopping Natsu after all. But this isn't right, they helped defend you from Nirvana!" Gray said and he dispatched of three more grunts. "And you don't even give one word of thanks?!"
When Gray was about to be ambushed, Toph stepped in and she forced them back with an earth wave. "Where were you people when all this was happening huh!?" She exclaimed. "All the council does is complain and try to clean up their own messes! Well guess what, this is one mess that can't be cleaned! Cause if you arrest them, I'm gonna clean your clocks!"
Jura had clenched his fists. "It is unjust to arrest people like this."
Even Ichiya was against all of this. "If those two are taken away, me and Erza will be deeply saddened!" Ichiya had thrown punches to grunts that ran towards him.
Lucy, Sokka and Happy were simply just throwing punches to the air, desperately trying to keep the knights away from them. "Don't blame me if anyone gets hurt!" Lucy exclaimed.
"I think it's too late for that!" Sokka added
A grunt roughly grabbed Wendy's arm and Carla was trying to force him to let go. "Please! Don't take Jellal with you!" she cried. A thick blob of water splashed into the grunt and Katara looked at him with a hateful glare.
"You'd attack her even when she did nothing wrong!? Jellal and Ping may have hurt people, but they are a lot more redeemable than all of you!" she swung her water blob and used it to slap the grunts that were speeding to her and Wendy.
Natsu was held up by two guards. "Jellal, Ping! Hurry up and come with us! You're with us now." before long, a figure jumped up over the grunts and he landed in front of Natsu and a large burst of air was shot in every direction, sending the guards around Natsu flying. Aang stood in front of Natsu with a serious expression and his glare shot directly to Lahar.
"End this now, or we will!" he threatened. But they didn't listen as they tried to swarm him. Aang made a ring of fire around himself to make them stop, when they did, he stepped on the ground and made a blocky earth wave bulldoze through the grunts.
"Jellal, Ping… We're with you!" Natsu exclaimed. "So come here! We stand with you!" he yelled while everyone else was being overwhelmed by the council grunts. "Are we not allies?!"
Jellal looked down in slight guilt while Ping had covered her mouth with her hands, tears were rolling down her cheeks. She was incredibly touched that they would go through such lengths for her and Jellal.
The only one not to make a move was Erza.
Lahar then had enough. "ARREST THEM ALL! For obstructing government officials and aiding in the escape of criminals!"
Natsu and Aang were being pushed back from them. Though Aang managed to free himself. "If he's going to arrest us anyway!" He freed himself by unleashing a powerful burst of air. His arrows glowed for a second and he send an attack made of fire, earth and air and it was heading directly for Lahar. His eyes grew as he saw the attack was aimed at him and he had no time to dodge.
"ENOUGH!" Erza yelled. Aang's attack had quickly ended his attack and only a slow gust of wind had blown past Lahar. "That's far enough!" Erza yelled with her right arm stretched to her right. Everyone was shocked by her order to stop. "I apologize for the fuss we've caused. I… will take full responsibility." This got Lahar's attention. Aang looked back at Erza and he could see how much pain she was going through. He lowered his stance before Erza continued. 
"Take them." She angrily seethed.
"ERZA!" Natsu exclaimed.
"All of you stand down now!" Ryu yelled. 
After the caravan was flipped back into its wheels, Jellal and Ping were being taken away; sniffles from Ping could be heard as she hadn't stopped crying as of yet. Jellal turned back, specifically to face Erza. "Oh right…" Erza flinched as she realized that Jellal was looking at her. "I remember the color of your hair." that response had meant a lot to Erza, hinting that maybe he was recovering some of his memories.
Jellal steps onto the caravan, but Ping suddenly stopped. "Oh right, before I go." She turned to Erza. "Could you find someone to take care of my swords for me?" she said this to Erza and she tilted her head to the Rune knight that was holding her blades. "I mean, they're kinda useless where I'm going, right?"
Since Erza was still stunned Zuko had grabbed her swords from the guard. "I'll take care of it." He said.
"Thanks… and all of you… for what it's worth. I'm truly sorry." She apologized before she bowed to them. She trailed Jellal onto the caravan and the doors were closing.
Jellall ended with one final goodbye. "Farewell, Erza."
Erza did her best to hide her emotions, and there was a long period of silence as they watched the caravan being dragged away. Her fists still clenched and her lips were quivering, after she had watched Jellal getting taken away.
…
The sun was starting to slowly rise over the horizon, everyone was trying to rest, though they barely could because everyone was on low spirits.
"Where do you think Erza is?" Happy sadly asked, as Erza hadn't been around them for a while.
Toph breathed out a long sigh. "Maybe it would be a good idea if we left her alone for a while." She said as she felt how much Erza was trembling, and even though she could tell the others where she was. It was very obvious that she needed some time to herself.
Wendy was on her knees and tears were falling from her eyes. She remembered the words that Jellal had said to her. "…to hear that I saved one person makes me glad." Carla had sat next to her and Katara had silently sat down next to her too and placed her arm on Wendy's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
They looked at a nearby hilltop to see that Erza was sitting by herself with her arms folded; her eyes were unreadable because there was a dark haze that covered the top half of her head. Ryu was with her. She remembered back to the time she had met her friends in the Tower of Heaven. She remembered that Wally was going to have trouble remembering Jellal's name. 'Jellal Fernandes' at the time it seemed like a mouthful. Of course Jellal made the point that 'Wally Buchanan' wasn't going to be easy to remember as well.
When it came time for Erza to introduce herself, she introduced herself as 'Just plain Erza.' Jellal being a lot nicer back then thought it was kind of sad. His childlike mind immediately went to Erza's hair and told her it was a pretty scarlet which flustered her a little. Jellal then finally decided that they would call her 'Erza Scarlet'. Wally was opposed to the idea of Jellal flat out naming people, but Erza seemed to like it and she accepted her new name. Jellal decided to name her Scarlet, the same color as her hair. That way, he would never forget her.
Erza was holding back the tears as that memory replayed itself in her head. The sound of stone breaking could be heard as Ryu punched the ground directly in front of her. 
"Why did this occur?" He asked himself in anger over what just happened. Before Erza could allow herself to cry, she had heard footsteps behind her. She didn't even acknowledge who was there as she continued to look down, ignoring the person coming up to her, and the pinkish red morning sky.
The person sat down next to her and he looked to the sky as well. "Are you okay?" She looked to see Zuko sitting next to her. She quickly rubbed her eyes so that Zuko couldn't see the developing tears.
"Yes…" She unconvincingly replied.
"You're going to have to do better than that is you want to convince me, Erza." He calmly replied. "I know you're thinking about Jellal, that you didn't want to give him up without a fight. He was coming around and then they showed up. But as long as Jellal stays on the right path, he'll be fine. He has you to thank for it after all." Erza decided to give him her attention. "Remember back after we thought Jellal was done for. You said that you'd be there for me if I needed someone to talk to. Well that goes for you too. I'll be there for you too Erza, you don't have to shoulder the weight alone."
Erza then latched onto Zuko and buried her face into his shoulder. She began sobbing loudly, breaking down, deciding to not hide her feelings anymore. As she cried, Zuko gently placed his hand on her back, trying to comfort her. Ryu stared down at the ground with a angry expression on his face.
Not very far from where they were, Wendy was watching the two of them with growing tears in her eyes. She smiled slightly when she saw that Zuko was comforting her.
----Later the same day, the sun was already high in the sky above the Cait Shelter guild. Staying there were the allies which included the three guilds of Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus. They decided to stop by after they completed their goal of defeating the Oracion Seis.
Inside one of the rooms, Lucy and Katara were standing next to each other. They were in different outfits that looked like they would be worn by genies. Lucy's was maroon colored while Katara's was dark purple. Their hair was tied into buns
"We look so cute!" Lucy gleefully said. "Wait till Aang takes a look at you." She said while nudging Katara's shoulder.
"Well… it's a bit much…" she admitted. Both of them had light bandages on their arms and two on their faces.
"Oh? Really?" they looked towards Sherry. "I'm far cuter." She said, posing while she was winking. Her outfit was a red top with orange tassels that draped on the front. Below that was a dark purple skirt with white frills underneath, she had a pale green ribbon at the top of the dress. She also had white sleeves that resembled avian wings near the end of her arms.
Wendy stood not too far from them. "The entire village here is part of the guild, so clothing production is a thriving business." She happily explained. She changed her outfit too; it was a dress that stretched down from the strap, tied around her neck. It was sky blue, green, and yellow before transitioning to a darker green to cover most of the dress. She had bronze coloured bands around her upper arms.
Carla stood next to her, oddly enough she was wearing a school girl themed outfit made to fit her.
"Is this like Nirvit traditional sewing?" Lucy asked.
"Now that I think about it… Maybe it is?" Wendy answered sounding unsure.
Toph stood by a wooden pillar as Sherry kept looking at herself in the mirror. "Yeah, well you ain't getting me to play dress up. Plus, you didn't know that your guild had the whole, Nirvit descendant thing did you?"
"Well, I'm the only one who joined afterwards."
While they talked, Erza had her eyes looked to the floor, refusing to face anyone as she was still reeling over what happened to Jellal. Katara sat next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay. Trust me, it will work itself out."
Erza looked at her before she nodded and gave a small smile. "Yes, thank you." she nodded to her after she thanked her.
Sherry then turned to Wendy. "Speaking of which, Wendy… When did Caitshelter join the League of Guilds?"
"Why do you want to know that?" Toph asked.
"Well I apologize for being blunt, but until this mission began, I hadn't even heard of your guild's name."
"Now that you mention it, neither had I." Lucy realized.
"Is that so…?" Wendy awkwardly said. "My guild must really be one of the more obscure ones…"
"You're right about that." Toph said. "We needed help taking care of the Oracion Seis one of the most dangerous dark guilds in the country and the only backup Caitshelter can send is a crybaby Dragon Slayer and her mommy cat."
"Toph!" Katara scolded.
"C-crybaby…?" Wendy said sounding sad, almost instantly proving Toph's point.
"Seriously, must you just lash out for no reason?" Carla said glaring at the Earthbender.
"I'm just stating what happened kitty." Toph said. "Not to be mean… something just doesn't seem right."
Katara jerked her thumb to Toph while looking at Wendy. "Please excuse her, she's really nice when you get to know her."
"Who cares?" Carla said. "Everyone is waiting…"
"Yes ma'am mommy cat ma'am!" Toph mockingly said.
Carla then gave a long sigh. "I will be so glad when we are rid of you…"
…
Soon they were all standing outside by the large outdoor complex that housed the Caitshelter guild, in their new clothes that Caitshelter made. Their guild master stood in front of his guild mates while the allied guilds stood opposite them.
"Fairy Tail… Blue Pegasus… Lamia Scale… Also Wendy and Carla." He went on to congratulate them as everyone stood in the main foyer. "You have done well in defeating Oracion Seis and stopping Nirvana. As a representative for the Local League of Guilds… I, Robaul, say job well done. Thank you." Each one of the members gave their own reactions, to him thanking them. "Nabula!"
Before long the short, statured form of Ichiya had popped out in front of Robaul. "It was our pleasure, Master Robaul!" he proceeded to turn on the Ichiya charm. "The fight with Oracion Seis was one fierce battle after the next!" he jerked his body in a pseudo sensual manner. "There was not a single easy battle! But the bonds between us allies… gave us our strength!" he posed while a spotlight had shone on him.
"You said it, Sensei!" Eve, Hibiki and Ren said in unison while applauding Ichiya's words. Ichiya ended his speech with his usual "Men!" and he tried to look like he was in deep thought.
"Uh… were you even there? You only showed up for like the last part." Sokka pointed out.
"Did he even fight anyone?" Lucy asked.
"Bet he ran and hid like the cowardly runt he is." Toph said while her arms were folded.
Jura then congratulated his Lamia Scale teammates. "You two did well yourself!" he said putting his large hands on their shoulders.
"Jura…" Lyon answered with a small smile.
"Hey!" Natsu excitedly yelled. "You're supposed to throw a party now, right?"
"Aye sir!" Happy chimed in.
"You're only saying that because you're hungry." Aang said.
And while Blue Pegasus started to dance by themselves. Grey threw off the jacket he was wearing. A blush was seen on Lucy and Katara's faces. "A party huh?" Gray excitedly said.
"And off go the clothes!" Lucy exclaimed.
A chuckle was heard and Lyon had thrown his shirt off as well. "No way, not another one!" Katara yelled. "Is this a common theme with ice wizards or something!?"
However there was some unease that came from all of the Cait Shelter members, barring Wendy and Carla. Toph sensed it and she pointed at the Robaul. "Alright… you all suddenly tensed up." Toph revealed. "There's something you aren't telling us."
There was a long silence and Robual cleared his throat before he addressed Toph's suspicions. "You are right. I am truly sorry about hiding our legacy as Nirvit."
While there was a short pause, Happy addressed what most of them were thinking. "You running the mood just to say that?"
"We never really minded, right Aang?" Natsu asked.
"Well… I mean it doesn't really change anything."
Wendy looked to her guild master. "Master, I don't mind either."
He then opened his slanted eyes and he had a look of seriousness. "Everyone, please listen carefully to what I'm about to say." He took another pause before he continued. "To start, we aren't the descendants of the Nirvit…" Wendy let out a small gasp before he continued. "But rather, we are the Nirvit themselves!" Everyone was stunned but prepared to listen to his explanation. "400 years ago, it was I who created Nirvana."
"You did what?" Sokka asked.
"R-really?" Lucy stuttered.
"400 years ago?" Happy dully asked while slightly tilting his head.
"Hey, Aang is like over a hundred remember… so don't act so surprised." Toph muttered to Happy.
Natsu was trying to process the information… mostly the 400 year old bit. But no one looked more shocked than Wendy.
"400 years ago, in order to stop the war that was raging across the world, I created Nirvana, a magic that inverts light and darkness. Nirvana became our country, and for a time we went through a period of peace. However…" he paused before continuing his story. "Great power will, without fail, give rise to a great power opposing it. As much as Nirvana changed darkness for light, Nirvana itself became wrapped in darkness."
Aang and Wendy looked to gasp at this revelation.
"It was to maintain balance." He continued. "It was impossible to change people's affiliation to light without limit. As light rises to oppose the darkness, darkness rises to oppose the light, without fail."
Gray thought about what he said. In his head he remembered that Sherry and Hoteye had switched their affiliations. Sherry went from light to dark, and Hoteye, from darkness to light. The two balanced each other out. But after realizing that, there was something else that had bothered him. He immediately flashed back to Ping when he fought her in the Tower of Heaven, then to when she had switched and became incredibly sweet and helped them out. So that meant if Ping went from light to darkness, then someone would have had to give themselves over to the dark side. He immediately thought of Kobu. "We're going to have to be careful around him if we see him again."
"The darkness lost from the various peoples came back upon us Nirvit."
"Oh no." Wendy was starting to shake as she feared what would have fell upon all the Nirvit after being bathed in darkness. Unfortunately for her, her fears were greater than she would have imagined.
"We killed each other… Until no one was left."
Everyone fell silent. Ichiya's jaw had fallen to the ground with how shocked he was. They couldn't have imagined that such a terrible fate had befallen the Nirvit. That is perhaps why the city of Nirvana was deserted for so long.
"I am the only one left…" though he could see how that information could confuse them. So he continued. "Well, at this point, that's not exactly true. My physical body has long perished… I am what you might call a spectral form now." Wendy gasped again. After revealing this fact, a gust of wind blew past all of them. "You might call me a ghost… A weak ghost trying to atone for his sins of the past, I watched over Nirvana for 400 years until someone appeared who would be able to destroy it." His lips were forming a very faint smile. "And now… my role is finally over."
Wendy didn't want to believe what she was hearing, her whole body was shaking and her fists were clenched. "W-what are you saying…?"
"Now it all makes sense." Ash commented. 
"What are you talking about?" Katara questioned the Dragon Slayer.
"Something felt off about Wendy's guild after I saw only a single person from Cait Shelter joining us, so I decided to look into it closely with Hibiki's help while you guys were fighting." Ash explained. 
"I now know why no one's heard of Cait Shelter before our fight with the Oracion Seis." He continued speaking. "It doesn't actually exist. The people in front of us are just projections."
"Projections." Wendy gasped.
"Wait! All of you!?" Carla exclaimed.
"This is getting freaky!" Sokka fearfully said.
"Impossible, they're all disappearing!" Hibiki said.
Seeing this happen in front of her was too much for Wendy to bear. The friends she had been with for a long time, eaten with, shared stories with. They were disappearing right before her eyes, and there was nothing she could do about it. 
"No! Everyone!" She cried. "I DON'T WANT ALL OF YOU TO DISAPPEAR!" Tears were falling down her face.
"That Dragon Slayer is right." Robual genuinely said. "All the members of the guild are illusions created by me."
This fact only looked to devastate Wendy even further, while the others increased their shock as another bomb shell was dropped.
"WHAT!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Illusions with their own personalities?" Lyon gasped.
"What incredible magic power!" Jura complimented.
"You created a whole guild full of illusions… but why?" Aang asked.
"You see, long ago. I lived alone in these ruins, protecting Nirvana. Then 7 years ago, a single boy came here." Wendy remembered this; it was Jellal who brought her to the same village. He had asked them to take care of Wendy. "I couldn't turn down the request of that boy and his fierce, honest eyes… Even thought I had promised myself I would stay alone…" He told them that Wendy had already missed her Jellal and that he was taking her to a guild. Robual couldn't let Wendy become sad again, so he started the ruse of the Wizard's guild that was Cait Shelter. It brought a smile to younger Wendy's face so he felt justified with his actions. "And so I also created an illusory family."
"So… you created an entire guild for Wendy's sake?" Katara asked.
Wendy had covered her ears and she continued sobbing while shaking her head. "NO I DON'T WANNA HEAR THAT! ALL MY FRIENDS ARE GOING TO DISAPPEAR!?"
"Wendy, Carla… You no longer need a foster family." Robual said. He pointed to the members of Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus that were on his opposite side. "After all, you have made new friends, no?" After all the weight was lifted off his shoulders. Robual started to disappear as well. "Your future… has only just begun."
Wendy couldn't let it happen if she could prevent it, so she ran to his disappearing body. "MASTER!"
"Everyone, truly, thank you. I leave Wendy and Carla in your hands." When Robual fully disappeared, Wendy couldn't believe what had just happened to her. Then the Caitshelter guild marking on her right shoulder had started to disappear. Once again just like when Grandeeny left her, she felt alone, and abandoned. She stared up to the sky looking at the sparkles, hoping, praying that Robual would come back, that somehow her family would return to her and everything would go back to the way it was used to, Carla was also shedding tears but she tried to keep her emotions in check. Finally it sunk in.
"MASTER!" She screamed up into the heavens and she was fully sobbing. Everyone had sympathetically looked to her as she was crying, but they weren't sure of the right words to say to her. The family she had grown up with were gone, and no one really could put their feet in her shoes… accept one.
She felt a hand fall on her shoulder. Erza, Lucy and Katara gasping slightly when they saw it was Aang trying to comfort her. He remembered when he had first saw the decaying corpse of Monk Gyatso and having to deal with the fact that all of his people were gone.
"I'm so sorry Wendy. I know exactly how you feel." Thinking back to his situation he came up with the right words to say. "How it feels like, when your entire world, everything and everyone that you knew just vanishes before your eyes. I know just how much it hurts, and how it seems like the end of the world. But trust me, it's not. You will heal, we can help you."
Wendy who had listened to his words had looked back to him with teary eyes, though there was a slight glimmer of hope within them. "Come with us. Be a part of Fairy Tail."