Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Zero grinned maliciously as he stared down the opposing mages. There was little reason for him to be afraid at the moment. He'd already proven his ability to pierce Gaara's shield of sand, and put Jura on the defensive at the same time. The only others on his radar were Jellal and to some extent Erza, but they were already weary from fighting his alter ego. Zero resumed his usual posture with his hands behind his back and waited for the mages of the alliance to make a move.
Over on the other side of the conflict, Gaara and the others were preparing, flaring their various magics about their bodies. The ratio of roughly twenty to one still gave them a confidence booster, but after seeing Zero's earlier display of magic, it was far less than before.
Natsu charged, igniting his fists as hey bolted forwards. Gray soon followed with his shirt already off and away. Erza requipped into her Black Wing armour and dashed towards Zero alongside the other two Fairy Tail wizards. They were supported by a barrage of magic from their allies behind them. Eagles of ice, monsters of earth, and enormous pillars of solid stone shot forth from the three Lamia Scale mages, and not far behind them were blasts of air and snow from Blue Pegasus.
Zero dodged to the side, avoiding the magic projectiles shot by Ren and Eve. He was quickly forced to raise his arm to defend against a flaming punch from Natsu. And the barrage never stopped. The attacks were non-stop, either coming from the back line mages or the ones directly in front of him, assaulting him in close combat.
They seemed to be at a stalemate. Zero's defensive magic was able to block anything the light wizards could throw at him, and due to the number of enemies and relentlessness of their attacks, he was unable to do any permanent damage to them.
But that all changed when Zero forgot one crucial fact; Gaara. A thin tendril of sand snaked it's way up from the ground behind one of Zero's feet. It wrapped itself around his ankle and retracted, tripping him. Zero's eyes widened as he felt himself fall. "What?!" He exclaimed in surprise and anger.
The Fairy Tail mages were quick to follow up on their enemy's momentary lapse in concentration. Gray got into his signature ice make stance, and created a pillar directly beneath Zero, shooting him twenty meters into the sky. Erza flew up with her Black Wing armour and sliced at the icy pillar in rapid succession, shattering it and putting Zero into a free fall. Natsu took advantage of this by deftly jumping up and landing a devastating kick onto Zero's torso, which sent the evil guild master shooting down like a meteor into the ground below.
Natsu landed on the ground beside Gray and Erza, who was back in her Heart Kreuz armour. The wizards of the alliance watched the down form of Zero with bated breath as they waited to see if he would rise again.
Sure enough, Zero lifted himself off the ground with seemingly little to no effort. He looked back at them with an arrogant smirk, and mockingly dusted off his green coat. Natsu growled. "Damnit!" He yelled.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Violently. It felt like an intense earthquake, but judging from the grin upon Zero's face the wizards could derive that it was something of his doing. It was confirmed as true when the ground beneath them gave way, and the mages of light fell into darkness.
Their free fall was quickly halted by a wall of solid limestone. The sudden shock of falling was enough to knock them all to the ground and temporarily disorient them. When they rose from the ground and gained their bearings, what they saw was a shock. What they had thought to be the earth beneath them was actually a gigantic spider leg, made completely of stone. Not only that, but they were over a hundred meters elevated in the air.
The leg they were standing on appeared to be one of six, spread equally and originating from a spherical base. The bottom half of the middle was jagged stone, as if it were just a chunk of rock stolen from the earth. in between the top and bottom there was a big hole, though they weren't able to see anything inside of it.
The top half of the sphere was much different than the bottom. To put it simply, it looked like a city. Complete with roads, houses, buildings, and all the rest. And to top it all off, it was made completely of stone. At the very peak of the sphere, there was a tower-like building that rose higher than the rest. That was where they assumed Zero to be.
A banged up Jura scanned over the group. They looked worse for wear. Erza was supporting Jellal, with one of his arms slung over her shoulders. Gaara had an obvious wound where Zero's magic had hit him, and blood stained a wide area on his clothes. The rest were simply scratched and bruised. They all looked to Jura for instructions.
He turned and looked up at the monstrous arrangement of buildings and houses that formed the city in front of them, only a few hundred some odd meters from them. All they would have to do to reach Zero would be walk forwards on the leg.
Jura turned back to the group. "We must continue trying to defeat Zero. With him gone, we can focus on destroying Nirvana, which I can only assume to be whatever we're standing on at the moment." He said, taking a glance at the stone leg beneath him.
Natsu released a small plume of fire from his mouth. "Yeah! I want another crack at that scrunchy nosed freak show!" He exclaimed exuberantly. Erza and Jellal smirked and nodded. "Agreed." Erza said.
They began walking towards the inner part of Nirvana, step after step towards what would be the hardest fight of their lives for most of them. Silence filled the air as they mentally prepared themselves. Meanwhile, Gaara was internally conversing with Shukaku.
"Shukaku, I require your assistance." Gaara called out in his mind.
The one tailed beast seemed to sigh before responding. "I see. What's the matter?" Shukaku responded.
"I assume you watched our short encounter with the one known as Zero?" Gaara questioned.
"Then you assumed correct." Shukaku confirmed.
"Good. I need to know if there's a way to block his magic without simply increasing the amount of sand shielding me." Gaara stated.
Shukaku thought for a moment before answering. "I can think of a few ways. Why though?" Shukaku responded with a question.
"Wendy seems to be a common target for our enemies. I need the extra sand to be close by her." Gaara answered.
Shukaku wasn't convinced. You've never cared about the safety of a comrade before. Why now?"
Gaara was silent for a long moment before answering. "Just tell me how to do it."
"Fine." Shukaku responded. "The easiest way I can think of at the moment would be to mix your sand with random minerals and rocks that are in the ground. While it'll make your sand heavier, it'll also increase the level of stability and hardness it possesses. It should work until we can find a more... permanent solution."
"I see," Gaara said, "Thank you for the information."
Interesting... Shukaku thought, reviewing his recent conversation with his host. I wonder just who this Wendy kid is? Then a thought struck him, and he internally giggled. Hehe... even the mighty Gaara can't overcome the forces of nature.
Only moments after Gaara finished speaking with Shukaku, the ground beneath him and the group began to shake violently, which could only mean one thing. Nirvana was moving. Gaara used chakra to stick his feet to the leg upon which they were standing. The others weren't so lucky.
Natsu immediately hit the deck, going a sickly shade of green from his comical case of motion sickness. Most of the others wobbled for a bit, before regaining their balance by holding onto the floor with their hands. All but Wendy, who was the closest to the edge. She was unable to find purchase on the cylindrical leg of Nirvana.
For Gaara's shinobi senses, all he needed was the sound of a sharp intake of breath and fabric scraping against stone to make him turn. All he could make out by the time his head turned were the tips of blue locks disappearing from sight over the edge of their makeshift walkway. The others gasped and snapped their heads to where Wendy was. "WENDY!" Carla screamed.
Happy decided now was the time to step up and impress his newly made crush. He stepped forward with his hands on his hips like a charismatic hero and unfolded his aera wings. "Don't worry, I'll get her!" He exclaimed, preparing to fly off the ledge. Unfortunately, his short lived glory was stolen away by none other than Gaara.
With a casual peek over the edge, he spotted a distant blue haired figure below. He pointed his palm in Wendy's general direction, and in an instant the sand was flowing from the gourd strapped to his back. It bolted towards her and formed a cloud beneath her. Slowly, he broke her fall before bringing her to a complete stop.
The rest of the mages standing beside him breathed a collective sigh of relief. Wendy was safe. Happy slumped in defeat, but Natsu was quick to cheer him up. Carla on the other hand grew her own pair of wings and hopped off the edge, presumably to speak with Wendy.
WITH WENDY
Wendy sat up from her position on her back, eyes wide and breathing hard. The blood was still rushing throughout her body, but the adrenaline rush was already wearing off. After a few deep breaths, she was able to calm her self down enough to think straight. She took a curious glance over the edge of her little bed of sand. Despite being hundreds of feet in the air, it didn't bother her in the slightest, for the same reasons Natsu wasn't afraid of extreme heat.
She looked up. Carla was coming! She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. I could really use a friend right now. She thought in earnest. Almost falling to their doom makes a person want a little comfort. The fact that she was a mere hundred meters away from death was quite the mind blowing and scary thing to think about.
But as Carla came closer, and Wendy could make out her facial features, it became clear that Carla was not going to be the supporting shoulder that Wendy needed. Rather than sympathy and worry, all Wendy could ascertain was an expression of disappointment and frustration. Wendy sighed as she prepared herself for the humiliation and embarrassment of being told off by a talking cat that was a fifth of her size.
It made her think back to the last few weeks. Carla had always been like a mother, in a strange, convoluted way. But recently, things had begun to change. Carla's verbal discipline had been getting more and more harsh, almost as if Carla had these expectations that she expected Wendy to live up to, and on the flip side of things, Carla's caring side was coming out far less than it used to.
Wendy's bed of sand rose higher and higher as Carla descended lower and lower. The two met fifty some odd meters from where the group was waiting on the leg of Nirvana.
"WEN-DY MARVEL!" Carla pronounced in a stern voice, floating in front of the blue haired girl with her paws on her hips.
Wendy flinched. "Hey Carla..." She responded in a quiet, soft tone. It was clear the girl was uncomfortable. Her arms were folded and she was frowning. Her body was turned away slightly and her eyes were locked to her feet.
Carla huffed. "Do you have ANY idea how out of hand this is getting, Wendy?" Carla said. "You're lack of awareness is infuriating!" Carla exclaimed.
Wendy lowered her head and curled her arms into her chest. "I'm s-sorry Carla..." Wendy squeaked out in a meager tone.
Carla looked like she was ready to go off again, but it was at that moment that several thin ropes of sand snaked their way down and wrapped themselves around Carla. "What in the-" Carla was able to get out, before being yanked away. Wendy sighed in relief. She looked up, where she saw Carla rising to where Gaara was standing. Thank you...
Carla found herself pulled up to eye level with the blank stare of Gaara. His unwavering glare was unnerving to say the least, and being completely immobilized didn't help either. The others were all speaking with one another, so nobody else was paying attention to the two of them.
Gaara did not like what he had just seen. He would normally not be the one to help any person other than himself, but there was just something about Wendy... seeing her get talked down to like that. It made him hurt a little on the inside. It didn't show on his features, but it reminded him of his childhood back in Suna. Nobody to stand up for you, just yourself to fight it out.
Any other person and he couldn't of cared less. But Wendy had somehow found a way past Gaara's cold exterior and made herself the first human he'd ever considered a friend, no matter how small those feelings were.
"You need to speak less, cat." Gaara told her, refusing to use her name despite knowing it.
Carla felt a bead of sweat role down the fur on her face. Mustering her courage, she glared back at him. "She needs to grow a backbone and her magic." Carla said.
Gaara shook his head. "No. You need to speak less." Gaara said yet again.
Carla growled. "And how would you know? You're nothing but a cold blooded killer." She snarled at him.
Gaara threw her back onto the leg of Nirvana. He focused on raising Wendy faster. He remembered himself, in Suna. A four year old kid crying in a dark street corner, curled into a ball and clutching a run down teddy bear. I know because I've seen it before.
He allowed the others to see Wendy before him. They swarmed her, asking questions such as "Are you ok?!", or, "What happened!?". But overall, they were just making sure she was alright. Having all these people just caring about her well being instead of being mad at her was a big boost to her mood. After getting through the many, "Yes, I'm ok."'s and "I'm alright"'s, the group returned to their walk towards Zero.
Only this time, instead of walking with the four Fairy Tail wizards, Wendy decided to walk beside Gaara. She figured he could use some company, having been walking all alone, and she wanted to thank him for saving her.
But she couldn't help but frown when she noticed that Carla just stayed with the others, as if she didn't care at all. It was almost like Carla didn't even notice her leave. What's going on with her? Wendy thought to herself.
Gaara saw Wendy walking towards him. He tried to prepare himself for a conversation mentally. What should I say to her? He wondered. Having little to no experience talking to someone who was either afraid or commanding him, he had no idea what to say. Where do I even start? "Are you alright?", "Are you injured?". I don't know! Maybe I should talk to her about the cat?
"Hi Gaara!" Wendy chirped. The sound of her voice snapped him out of his internal thoughts and back into reality.
"Hello." Gaara returned the greeting. Indecision held him back from saying anything about the incident.
Wendy rubbed her hands anxiously. "So... um... I just wanted to thank you for saving me." She said. "Again." She added on with a small giggle.
Gaara almost cracked a smile. But he didn't. "You're welcome." He responded, switching his gaze from ahead of him to her.
Things were quiet for a few moments as they walked, before Gaara decided to just go for it and use his observations of other people to find something to say. "Are you... ok?" He asked, half questioning himself on if he said the right thing.
Wendy smiled broadly and nodded. "Yep!" She responded brightly.
Gaara faltered for a second. "I see... that is good." He said. Out of all the things he had done, he would've never expected just talking to someone to be as difficult as he was finding it. Then he remembered one thing that he was sure of saying. "You should ignore whatever the cat told you down there."
Wendy's smile dropped and she began staring at her feet as they both moved forwards. "A-are you sure?... But what she was saying was true..." Wendy commented sadly. She looked to Gaara for his response, only to find him shake his head once. Wendy's eyes brightened. "R-really?" She asked him. He nodded.
Her eyes took on more of a determined look. She looked him right in the eyes. Gaara's eyes widened. Th-that look... it's the same as...
FLASHBACK
He had been fighting the one he knew was the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. Somehow the annoying blonde managed to interrupt his sleeping jutsu, and made him wake up.
Gaara growled. "Grrrr... You undid my jutsu..."
Naruto wasn't done. He began running on Shukaku's head towards the place where Gaara was ingrained into the great beast's head. "I have to protect Sasuke and Sakura!" He yelled.
Gaara had enough. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE ALREADY!? SAND COFFIN!" He exclaimed.
Sand quickly pooled around Naruto's feet, stopping him in his tracks. The sand tried to swarm him, but Gamabunta was quicker, and wrapped his long tongue around Naruto as a shield. However, Gaara had a way around that.
"What do you think I am, a fool?!" Gaara screamed at the pair. Inside Gamabunta's tongue, sand began to swirl upward from the ground, and began to encase Naruto. Gamabunta rapidly retracted his tongue.
Naruto clasped his hands together, desperately trying to gather more chakra. An orange aura of energy appeared around him. "I am going to protect EVERYONE! Get ready you crazy monster!" He yelled.
Gaara's vision went red. His eyes went white in fury. "DIEEEE!" He roared, forming a ram seal.
Naruto jumped at him, but his sand caught him mere feet away from contact. Naruto struggled against the grasp of the sand. And that was where Gaara saw the blonde's determined blue eyes. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. The look of someone ready to go to hell and back just to accomplish their goal.
"I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU!" Naruto exclaimed, and landed a mighty headbutt on Gaara's forehead.
END OF FLASHBACK
It's the same as... as him! He thought in shock. Wendy had the same look in her eyes as Naruto did on that fateful day of the Konoha Crush. Gaara mentally pictured the boy's face. Yellow hair, blue eyes, whisker marks and all. Just the thought of it brought a sneer to his face. I can't believe I was defeated by that moron. He thought in anger.
Unknown to him, his face had turned from it's normal neutral expression to an evil sneer. Wendy reached up and tapped him on the shoulder. "Gaara? You alright?" She questioned.
Gaara refocused on Wendy and wiped the expression clean off his face. "Yes." He replied.
Wendy nodded. "Good, because I want you to help me become a better mage." Wendy said in a determined tone to match her eyes.
Gaara's eyes widened yet again and his mouth parted in shock. He stopped moving, and his hands dropped to his sides from their usual crossed position on his chest. "Y-you want... me... to?" Gaara stuttered out, unable to believe his ears.
Someone wanted his help. A human. They wanted his assistance, and it wasn't just for Shukaku. He knew for certain since he hadn't told her about it. For the first time in over eight years, someone voluntarily decided to be near him. After six years of solitary separation from other human beings from the moment Yashamaru tried to assassinate him, he didn't really know how to react.
Shukaku watched silently from his seal. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty at Gaara's current predicament, despite knowing it wasn't his fault. I would say something... Shukaku thought to himself, But this is something Gaara needs to work through on his own. For the sake of himself.
Wendy nodded yet again. "Mhm!" She confirmed.
Gaara would've said yet to a question like the one Wendy just asked him. Just for fear of another heartbreaking betrayal like the one handed to him by Yashamaru. But after learning about the Shukaku's true nature, and gaining a new friend along with it, maybe things were starting to go his way for once? He decided to risk it.
"I accept"