Chapter 4: For The Sake of Our Mission

"It doesn't matter how small you may look. Anyone can be strong in their own aspects." -Levy McGarden

This is long overdue….(KEY):

Thoughts(of the character last referred to)

"Dialogue"

[Flashbacks/visions]

"Magic"

"Incantations"

Wendy couldn't help but gawk at the large amount of clearly powerful figures in the room. They looked nothing like the people at Cait Shelter did, each being unique in their own sort of way. While the mages of Cait Shelter usually could all be identified even without a guildmark, what with their similar garb of the ancient native tribes, each of the mages in front of her seemed to wear their own style. On the contrary, she had no idea who belonged to which guild besides the stigmas on their bodies.

They all look so powerful..oh I even see Erza! And Jura.. Oh they're all so intimidating! The girl thought to herself before mentally sighing. I'm not going to be any use here after all...

Sherry scoffed, tossing the perfectly tamed hair behind her shoulder. "Honestly, if it were her and some other more powerful figure it would be fine with me. But to only send a single child, what on earth is Cait Shelter thinking?"

"She is not alone!" said yet another female voice from the doorway. In came yet another talking cat, this one prim and regal with a soft coating of snow, with a scowl permanently etched into her features. "She has me."

"Oh! Carla, you came!" Wendy said, seeming partially delighted and also somewhat disappointed that her feline friend had accompanied her. I'm not some little kid anymore, Carla...

"Of course. I can't have you whimpering your way through such a dangerous meeting alone." the feline huffed, as f it was the most obvious thing in the world, and for the rest of the group it seemed to be just that.

Toshiro sighed turning to the group, as they ere still in discussion about what to do with the girl. "She must have been called for a reason. I don't see the big deal, especially considering you allowed me into the alliance with ease." Wendy turned to the boy who had spoken, and was surprised that he actually looked younger than she was. Not that it made a difference, considering the lean muscle on his arms and the long sword on his back. Even he was more intimidating than she was. But at least he's giving me a chance...

"D-don't worry about me! I can use plenty of support and healing magic.." Wendy whimpered once more at the boy's claim, not really doing much for her case. He nodded.

"There you have it. Now, instead of arguing about this, should we not be attempting to form a plan? Or are we going to defeat the Oracion Seis though sub-civil conversation?" he challenged, eyebrow raised. When no one objected, Jura nodded, but did nothing as Ichiya excused himself to the bathroom.

The much taller man wandered over to Toshiro, who looked up at him. "You have noticed, then? The power in that girl." he questioned

"It would take a blind Dragneel not to."

Jura chuckled lightly at the boy's comment. "May I have your name, boy?"

"It's Toshiro Hitsugaya, though I would appreciate it if you referred to me by surname." Very formal, isn't he? Jura wondered.

"Very well, Hitsugaya."

"Also, Jura," Toshiro said casually, letting his gaze move from the group to the bathroom, where Ichiya was returning. "I suggest you stay cautious. Not everyone in this room is our ally, and with your reputation, you are a target."

Jura raised an eyebrow, but had no time to question the child further as Ichiya called for attention and began to explain the plan.

In the front of the room, one of the Blue Pegasus delegates, Hibiki Lates, put up a large screen displaying locations and names throughout the region. Ichiya made his way to the screen, and turned to face the delegation.

"Our objective is Nirvana." Ichiya said seriously. "A weapon with so much destructive power that it was deemed fit to seal away for eternity. We can assume that this is nirvana's goal, and must obtain it!" he turned to Hibiki, who nodded. The playboy moved to the front of the group, displaying a form of hologram showing six faces.

"These six are our targets. There's Cobra, who specializes in the use of poisons and snakes." he pointed to a man with brown gravity defying hair, accompanied by a large snake coiled at his arm. Toshiro raised an eyebrow at this, wondering at the size of the creature.

"Then there is Racer, most likely using some sort of speed related magic." The screen switched to yet another man, this one wearing a sort of helmet. He had an unnaturally pointy nose, as well as hair that made him out to be "aerodynamic". He will pose an issue if the come in a group. Toshiro noted.

"There is Angel, is said to be able to see into a man's heart" He pointed to a beautiful woman dressed almost entirely in white, wearing a dark smile, but showing no hint of her powers. Toshiro had to think it would be light magic of some kind, judging from her name.

"Hoteye, who is said to be an all seeing eye, he uses some form of Earth magic." A man who looked to be made of many shapes, with red hair and a large hold on a book, though the nature of it couldn't be deciphered.

"and Midnight, who we haven't any information on." The man in this picture seemed to be sleeping, sitting on a floating carpet. Toshiro peered at the picture. Strange choice of image... unless there's a reason behind it? Does he benefit from sleeping in some way?

"Finally there is Brain, their leader." He pointed to a picture of middle aged man with tattooed lines on his face, which seemed familiar to Toshiro for some reason he couldn't quite place. Ichiya closed the screen. "Each of these members can obliterate a build single-handedly, so we will need to take advantage of our numbers."

"There isn't any more information on them besides this?" Lyon asked, seeming to agree with Toshiro's mental sentiments. Ichiya sighed at this.

"Unfortunately that is the case. Not many live to tell tales of their powers, I'm afraid. Hence why this group has been assembled."

"But, I'm terrible at fighting!" Lucy protested, Wendy nodding fervently in agreement.

"Worry not!" The red haired man said, turning to face the women with renewed vigor. "The plan is not fully action based. We will need to locate their headquarters. Once they are gathered back in this place, we will hit them with our secret weapon..." he pointed towards the window, where a large airship was stationed. Toshiro's eyes widened, surprised he hadn't seen it, due to its massive grandeur. It was a warship, lavishly decorated and massive in size, sporting the emblem of Blue Pegasus. A bomber.

"Is the plan clear to all of you?" Ichiya asked, voice grave. Toshiro narrowed his eyes.

The plan is far too simple. All the enemy needs to do is destroy the ship and we're sunk. And if they already know of it, there's no way they won't do anything about it. Not to mention there's a chance that it wouldn't even finish the job. There are too many variables and we are solely relying on this ship…. But if I say anything, the enemy may gain more information, not to mention I would draw attention to myself…

Natsu roared, interrupting Toshiro's thought process. "I'm gonna take all six of 'em on, just you watch me!" he yelled, rushing out of the room in the blink of an eye.

"Wait, listen to the strategy, Natsu!" Lucy yelled desperately.

"That idiot…" Gray groaned, running after him, followed by Erza. As the rest of the group filtered out, Toshiro shook his head and sighed.

"Honestly, he should try and be more cautious…" He commented, emphasizing the last word while giving Jura a pointed look, trying to convey a message. Jura nodded, understanding. The enemy is still present.

Wendy and Carla were the only ones besides Toshiro, Jura, and Ichiya who had yet to move. Toshiro walked up to Wendy, who seemed nervous at the prospect of facing the enemy.

"You shouldn't worry so much." he said, not stopping as the girl tried to keep up with his brisk pace. "You're our heal and support mage, aren't you? We cannot have you blubbering in fear when battling and in need of aid. Focus on what you can do instead of what you cannot."

The girl stopped shaking, watching as the boy seemingly disappeared, leaving her with Carla.

"He has a point, child. You need to prioritize." Carla chided. "Now, hurry up!"

Toshiro hated the fact that he was not only intelligent, but also cynical, for the sole reason that when he predicted something bad would happen, he was nearly always right. It was part of why didn't even bother looking at the sky as the bomber came crashing down, instead looking around as they were slowly surrounded. He drew his blade in apprehension.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Wendy hiding behind a rock and rolled his eyes, before returning his attention to the chaos that was surely going to ensue.

Their combination is deadly. Racer will most likely pose an issue if his speed is anything like Jet's. That Cobra too… he will be an issue if he gets moving. Taking them on one-on-one would be ideal… that's not going to happen though. Best to take out Racer before anything else. Midnight isn't going to move. As for Brain and Hoteye, that remains to be seen.

"We already took out Jura and Ichiya, so you can give up on hiding the plan." Angel said with a grin, holding a key in her hands. Celestial Wizard.

Toshiro groaned resisting the urge to smother his face in his hands. "I even warned him…" Best to at least fall for it for now. I highly doubt Jura would fall that easily after being warned ahead of time.

At this, the woman gave the boy a glare. "That you did…"

Suddenly, there was a sound of scuffling from the front of the group.

"Glad you saved us the trouble of looking for you!" Natsu said, charging in with Gray soon following. The Oracion Seis each made their opening moves and Toshiro cursed as he saw Cobra setting his eyes on him. Of course the poisonous one goes for me.

"Fine then." he muttered, satisfied as energy poured from him and the familiar draconic wings and tail attached to his being and he pushed off towards the sky. He felt the visage of his old caretaker encase his limbs, grateful for the feeling of companionship as he observed his surroundings, mostly for Racer. he watched Cobra's eyes follow his movements, seeming interested.

Lucy, meanwhile, was having the worst of it. She was getting beaten down by herself, for pete's sake! She couldn't tell anything that was happening around her, and it was only when she saw Toshiro transform that she realized just how much was going on around her. The lookalike of her was soon stabbed in the back by a few well placed icy shards, all of which managed to hit vitals. It was eerie, she thought, seeing her clone begin to scream and bleed profusely before dissolving back into the two twin spirits. She made a note to thank Toshiro for the save as she summoned Cancer. Racer seemed to have grown bored and was currently trading blows with Hitsugaya up in the sky, as he had been deemed the "fastest" of the group. The two were nothing but blurs in the clouds.

Erza, meanwhile, had opted to take on Cobra, but soon fell out of commission due to poison and continued battering from as many fronts as possible, with Racer and Hoteye distracting her from the snake attacking her. This had been a shock to Toshiro, mostly because he was sure that Cobra would have at least tried to make it last longer, considering her power levels. However, she now lay ont he ground writhing and hissing as poison swept through her.

The Seis were beginning to pick off people one by one.

They realized the mistake they made, and that lay in challenging all of them at the same time. Even one was enough to knock out a full guild, and as a tem they became near invincible. They were able to cover skies, ground, and all in between, and worked as a cohesive unit. This was something that the hastily assembled task force couldn't hope to chive, hence why they were soon all beaten and battered after a few minutes of confrontation.

Finally, seeing to have had enough, Brain raised a hand. "You insignificant pieces of trash should all just disappear…"

The air itself seemed to tremble under the amount of magic being exuded from the man, forces crushing enough to cause the battle members to buckle and fall to their knees. In response, Toshiro decided to release some of his own energy, seeing as he was the only one left "standing" to see the effect.

Focus… One bite from Cobra, you're dead. Don't let Racer get to you, stay in the air and Hoteye shouldn't be an issue, Angel should be out of commission… Now here's to hoping Midnight doesn't wake up. He reasoned with himself, trying to calm down his raging panic and adrenaline at the realization he was the only thing preventing them from killing every mage in the area, unless Jura or Ichiya arrived.

"I am surprised you can still fly, little dragon. But do you really think to take on the six of us?" Racer taunted, long nose bouncing almost comically in front of his face.

"I was told that all costs must be spent for the mission. That is what I will do." Was all the small boy said, watching as his stormy clouds began to gather, and snow began to fall. He had already cast a few protective barriers that should at least buffer any magic that would attack his comrades, who were currently protesting to everything going on.

He flew ahead, before feeling his entire bod bounce backward as he hit some sort of soft material. What the actual hell is going on now? He wondered, seeing a faint pink in front of his before some kind of dust began to fill the sky. No, not dust, he realized, sand. He began to look around for the source, all while dodging the many other attacks coming at him, only to realize it had been coming from the one member he had forgotten, who was smiling on the ground holding a key, while a menacing scorpion-humanoid-thing continued to obscure his vision. He cursed loudly, before slamming into a large amount of soft soil, which began to envelop him at alarmingly fast rates. he could feel the soil sinking his wings from the weight. I'm getting distracted! At this rate...he could feel Hoteye approaching him and froze.

"Cost, you say? Surely you realize the value of costs?" Hoteye said, eyes keening as if he were playing a game. Toshiro raised an eyebrow, stomping on the ground, immediately freezing it, before swinging out with his blade and speeding back into the sky. He felt part of his tail break off, but didn't bother worrying about it as he tried to get as far away from the ground as he could, deeming it far too dangerous.

He continued to fly, trying to regain his bearings. I don't know how much more Angel has up her sleeve, I can't believe I forgot about her! And this damn Racer won't stop moving around... He stopped his train of thought as he found himself heading straight towards Cobra.

"I can hear everything, you know. I can hear your frantic breathing, and I can hear the gears in your mind trying to figure out how to escape with your life. You can't escape." Cobra said with a smirk, seeming to urge Toshiro forward.

In response, he said nothing, dodging the attack from Racer. He didn't have time to listen to his opponents attempting to play mind games.

"Right into a trap, little dude." Racer grinned, causing the white haired boy's eyes to widen as he shot upward, just barely missing the snake's fangs as he whipped his sword around, swiftly taking off it's head.

At this, Cobra seemed to grow freeze, face contorting into something between grief and horror, screaming something that was most likely the name of the pet. Toshiro sighed. It didn't particularly matter to him, he had grown used to hearing the cries of loved ones as he tore down their friends and family. The horror and shock and guilt had all worn off, and all that was left was irritation at the amount of anger this man held. He was going to make things much harder.

"Halt, Cobra."

"Shut up, Brain! Let me at this asshole son of a-!"

"We need to retreat for now."

"No! Let me-"

Toshiro raised his sword to the sky. "Roar of the Ice dragon." he muttered, watching as the draconic visage of his foster father raised its head and began to roar at unimaginably loud volumes. For all Cobra's talk of being able to hear everything, it seemed to be backfiring as the man was visibly freezing from the inside out. Toshiro appeared behind the man, who was screaming in agony and cold. "Join your pet in the afterlife."

Brain retaliated before the final blow could be carried out as Hoteye swiftly destroyed the source of the noise, sparing Cobra from death, although knocking him unconscious, as parts of his arm chipped off from being turned to pure ice. At the very least e would lose use of a limb or two, possibly a few organs depending on the potency which was becoming very random as of recently.

Brain raised a hand towards the fallen companions, causing the clouds to shift towards his own control.

"Dark Rondo.."

"Tenso Jurin!" Toshiro called, watching as the clouds moved from mage to mage, magical energy colliding and buffering each other. He could feel the dark energy pulling at him, so powerful and potent that the boy found it hard to remain in reality, mind continuing to swirl into clouded ideals of life and form.

It was during this concentrated moment that he forgot entirely about Racer, who collided with him, knocking the ice mage towards the ground, only being saved by catching himself with his tail before returning to the air. He cursed as Brain prepared to complete his task, before buckling.

I can't...move… I used too much energy..

Wendy was scared, terrified really, at the sight before her. The youngest member of the group had just openly admitted that he was willing to give his life for the mission, and taken on the entirety of the Oracion Seis' attention. He was managing to hold his own, taking hits like a champion and even killing the snake that had poisoned Erza. She watched as the leader began to fire an attack at the fallen members, before being stopped by Hitsugaya yet again. The two had a power struggle and she could see Racer approaching him, she wanted to yell out a warning but it was too late as the boy was knocked down, only to catch himself on his tail and keep going. He buckled, most likely from the loss of energy, causing Wendy to whimper.

"Focus on what you can do instead of what you cannot."

That's what he had told her, right? She nodded. Time to apply myself. She stepped out from behind the rock, much to Carla's chagrin, but Wendy ignored her protests. She was not going to allow Hitsugaya to fight alone when she could do something to help, after all. She took a stance, preparing as magic circles appeared around her feet, and she knew they were connecting under the boy's feet as well, from the strange cold she felt connecting to her.

"Ile Vernier, Ile Arms, Ile Armor, Enchant." she chanted focusing her energy on Hitsugaya. The spell seemed to have worked, as he seemed to blink in slight confusion, before shooting an almost unnoticeable glance at Wendy and moving back into the fight. Brain, however, seemed to have noticed and stopped his spell.

"You're Wendy… the Maiden of the Sky… to see your work in action.. Spectacular." he muttered, stopping his attack. He sent a bit of dark energy towards the girl who yelped and tried to move, but was quickly knocked out of the way and into the air. Sheopened her eyes once realizing she wasn't in danger, looking down to see an icy tail trailing behind her, and gloved hands around her waist.

"Up my speed a bit more, unless you want to get captured." he muttered to the girl, who nodded and did so. She turned and noticed for the first time that the boy was being followed around by a set of purple icy petals. She recalled there had been 3 sets, but now she could only see two petals remaining. She wondered whether or not it was some sort of timer, and began to grow apprehensive as they flew at impossible speeds, avoiding the bands of energy. The rest of the Oracion Seis had retreated already, leaving only Brian who was completely focused on trying to grab the damned maggot currently carrying the key to his objective.

Meanwhile, Jura had made his way back on the scene, while Ichiya had begun to heal everyone taking the advantage of time that was being given by their ally at the moment. As soon as the pressure was off, Natsu and Gray seemed ready to head back into the fray, only to find they were being blocked off by Brain's in-progress attack.

"I swear to hell if that bastard puts one more mark on Toshiro I'm gonna kill him.." Natsu growled, attempting to break through the magic to no avail.

"Natsu, step back. I can undo this." Jura said, preparing his stance before even getting the full approval. Gray, however, was on the balls of his feet.

"Then hurry up, Jura. The kid doesn't have much time left. Probably two minutes tops." he warned, watching his almost-little-brother skillfully avoiding the probes of Brain on such elegant(if not dirty) wings, seemingly being given constant replenishment from Wendy, while Jura began to chant at an impossibly fast pace.

"Done!" Jura called, not seeming to realize he had been just a second too late.

Gray swore as blood began to fall from the sky, watched as Wendy was snatched from safety while screaming as loudly as her small lungs could manage, as Toshiro's wings fell, and he hit the ground as blood began to pour from him profusely, from the thousands of cuts on his person, just like they had the first night they had met him.

"Toshiro!" Lucy yelled in horror, running towards the boy who had seemingly ceased movement, ice breaking off of him.

"Wendy!" Carla called, flying straight passed the group, only to find that there was no trace of the Oracion Seis.

"They're gone…" Sherry said, getting up on her knees.

A group had appeared surrounding Toshiro, who began to stir. His eyes opened, and he abruptly and violently swore realizing what happened.

"What the hell are you all doing? The girl has been taken, we can't afford for them to have a hostage!" He prompted, not seeming to care about his injuries as he attempted to sit up, dirt and grime clinging to him, before letting out a cry of pain.

"That's impossible now, they're gone." Lyon said, not looking at the boy. "We have too many injured to do anything productive here, and while your efforts were commendable, they will soon recover."

"I see… so..rry.." his apology was cut off as he collapsed, blood now almost entirely covering his person.

While Ichiya began to administer his healing scents, Natsu slammed his fist on the ground. "Little brat… who does he think he is, taking on all of them at once?"

"It is commendable. Unlike all of us, he actually held his own against them for a long time, and even did a number on their forces." Jura said, arms crossed. "Had it not been for him, I would not have been able to survive Angel's attack, nor would I have had time to catch up and support you. My only regret is not being faster."

"While he may be commendable for his efforts, he still let them take Wendy." Carla huffed, staring down at the boy. "She went through the trouble of joining the fray, for this?"

"You damned cat, where do you get off saying stuff like that?! He did better than any of us could have done all for the sake of protecting her, and you have the nerve to complain?!" Natsu demanded, getting to his feet with fists clenched.

"I am simply stating facts they are." the feline said, turning away.

further into the clearing where they had set up a sort of camp, Erza wasn't doing any better, leaning against a tree and gritting her teeth in pain. With a swift motion, she grabbed Lucy' belt and quickly wrapped it around her injured arm, much to the latter's mortification.

"I can't fight in this condition… someone cut it off before the poison spreads." She ordered, biting down on a piece of cloth from her armor.

"Woah don't you think that's a bit extreme?!" Lucy protested.

"It's like Hitsugaya said… At all costs this mission must be completed." Erza said,, before biting down once more. "Someone hurry up and cut it off!"

"Don't be an idiot! There has to be another way!" Gray said, while at the same time Lyon picked up the sword. "Lyon?!"

"We've already lost one of our best fighters. We cannot afford to lose another." Lyon said, raising the sword in preparation. "If we fail this mission, then your friend's efforts will have been in vain."

"But that can't be the only way!" Lucy protested, only to receive a sharp slap from Sherry.

"Honestly, how dumb are you fairy tail punks? Your kid just put his life up for this mission, he understood the consequences. Erza understands what's going to happen if that poison spreads, or do you think her arm is more important than her life?" Sherry reasoned, turning back to the woman whose breath was beginning to shallow. "Who are we to deny her wishes? That's love, after all."

"Don't you people understand? This is going to seriously affect her for the rest of her life! She's a weapon master! We need to think this through!" Gray said.

"We don't have time for that, Fullbuster. Step aside."

"Stop it, Lyon!" Gray said, stepping front of the blade and blocking it just as quickly.

Behind the argument, Erza passed out as the poison continued to spread, after which silence permeated the group as the painkilling scent continued to waft through the clearing, mainly coming from where Toshiro still lay on the ground, cuts now at the very least not bleeding. The boy began to stir, eyes opening as he sat up to lean against a tree.

"Wendy can save her." Carla declared from her perch on the tree above Erza. "We shouldn't be arguing among ourselves. We need to save Wendy."

"She can use antidote magic?" Eve said happily.

"Not just antidote magic. She can cure all sort of ailments." Carla stated matter-of-factly. "She's the Sky Dragon Slayer, she uses sky magic."

~AN

RIP Cubellios. You didn't get a chance to show yourself properly :'(

To be perfectly honest I'm not too proud of this one... probably because most of it was just fighting. I tried to balance out the power levels... but I'm no expert here so who knows? Also, I know the point of views were a bit on the weird side in the beginning, that shouldn't be a recurring thing... hopefully.

I swear some of these characters need more fight time... Wendy's actually a really useful mage, she just needs to be playing the right role(When she plays support she's invaluable). And Toshiro... well I wish he could do this in canon Bleach to be perfectly honest. He deserves a good solid kill against a good opponent, where he doesn't explode shortly after(I'm looking at you Shawlong), an the opponent doesn't recover again afterward either. Is that too much to ask for? He worked really hard, but I think his most solid victory has been against Yukio... and he really shouldn't even count.

Next chapter will be kind of plot heavy to make up for a good 80% of this one being a virtually meaningless fight. The warning has been given.

Hope you enjoyed!

-jenumire