Chapter 7: Darkness Can Co-Exist With Light

"The minute you think of giving up, think of the reason why you held on so long." -Natsu Dragneel

"He's completely lost it…" Hibiki breathed out, watching as the child in front of him began to smile, and then laugh as well. It was the happiest he had heard the child, that was certain, bu for all the wrong reasons.

"Hibiki, what's the situation?" came the oh-so-familiar voice of authority from behind the group. He turned, to see that Erza had finally woken from the commotion. Her eyes were trained on the boy standing above on a pillar of ice, raising an eyebrow at them.

"Something's wrong with him!" Carla barked, never leaving her spot beside the unconscious Wendy. "That strange wave of energy hit, then we were about to head out to find the source when suddenly he attacks! I'm telling you that child is dangerous!"

Hibiki moved closer to the woman, who had changed to a more defensive armor at this revelation. "Someone's awakened Nirvana. Shortly after, he attacked without provocation of any time, and started going on about not caring if he hurts people around him any more." He noted, before turning to Wendy who was still unconscious. "He was really hard on himself before too. Said he still failed because Wendy was taken away."

Natsu, who had been thrown to the ground in the already-made crater, stood in front of the group, rubbing the blood from his mouth without turning to his comrades. "I'll take him on. I've been meaning to get a rematch with him anyway!"

"Natsu, wait. I have a plan-" The archive mage's words were cut short as he shot backward by a seemingly invisible force due to its sheer speed. The rest could only watch in shock and horror as a miniature serpentine dragon of ice coiled itself around the Blue Pegasus Mage with ruby eyes gleaming, its hold growing tighter and harsher until the man let out a scream accompanied by loud cracking of bone after bone, cuts digging into his skin before freezing shut almost instantly as cold began to penetrate the man's veins.

"Hibiki!" Erza called, rushing over while this process occurred, only to be flung backward by the tail of the beast. Hibiki's now limp form was attached to a tree by the dragon as if it were rope, a horribly surreal sight. She turned to the white haired prodigy, who was sheathing his sword with a shrug.

"What an idiot. He should know better than to say things like that in front of an opponent with enhanced hearing. Such a nuisance." he taunted waving a hand as if to dismiss the occurrence the echo of cracking ice nearly audible in his tone.

At this, Natsu growled. "Why you bastard…."

"Come at me, then, Dragneel!" The smaller mage continued to taunt. "I've failed already, but let's see if you can do something different!" He drew his sword again, grinning maliciously.

"Bring it on, midget!" Natsu yelled, jumping into the air, only to be thrust back down by an icy beam jabbing him in the gut.

"Please Natsu! He's clearly not in his right mind, he won't listen to anything you have to say!" Happy pleaded, trying to shake his seething friend into sense.

"Then I'll pound him until the damn kid comes back!" He practically yelled, turning back to his opponent, letting his legs burn alight as he prepared to launch himself into the air once again. "I'll beat him, and punch him, and smack him around until he wakes up."

Toshiro blocked the punch with his forearm, freezing the place where skin touched skin causing Natsu to hiss and move backward. Similarly, the white haired boy's hand was steaming. He glared icily at the cause, anger flashing in his eyes as he held out a arm and muttered under his breath, causing golden chains to fly at Natsu, who broke through them with ease. When he looked up, the enemy was nowhere n sight, but the dragon could tell that the other was still nearby.

Feeling cold touching his neck, Natsu turned, placing a well aimed punch at whatever was behind him, only to realize that whatever had been there had moved again, kicking him in the groin and sending him into a canopy of trees.

Taking the advantage of the offensive maneuvers, Toshiro swung his sword in an arc, encasing the entire clearing in frost before hailing to the sky, where dark clouds began to circle. He then moved it upward, causing icy pillars to rise in a circle around the whole clearing.

"Come on Dragneel, what happened to beating me senseless?" He teased, bringing the sword down once again as the now very familiar serpentine dragon followed his movements, beginning to circle around the field. He twirled a gloved finger, watching as the air seemed to flow around it moving swiftly from liquid to ice, before launching itself into the trees.

Natsu growled, melting the ice on contact before jumping straight back into the sky. "Oh you have it coming! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The prodigy sheathed his sword, hand coating itself in a seemingly icy armor as he went to meet the blow. The force between the two attacks meeting in the middle, allowing steam to fill the entire area with mist, sticking out starkly against the dark clouds swirling above them, threatening to storm as dragons flew about.

The fight was seeming more and more hopeless to the spectators on the ground. It was clear that Hitsugaya had far too many of his specialties covered, such as log range, close range, and multiple styles of combat. This combined with his boosted power and keen senses created a living machine set on killing everything in sight, and Natsu just kept being thrown back before coming back for more. The fire mage was durable, more durable than eve the average knucklehead, but Toshiro had already created the clearing to become his home turf the moment he had frosted it over, those strange pillars glinting as they basked in the influence of Nirvana.

Meanwhile, Erza had destroyed the dragon that had a hold on Hibiki, and was protecting the unconscious mages from attack via yet another draconic familiar that was constantly circling the field, regenerating any parts chopped off by the blademaster. She had adopted for cold resistant armor, switching to defense and back at speeds that seemed nearly impossible for any mage other than herself, meanwhile the two cats were trying their utmost to wake the unconscious bodies on the ground.

Erza mentally cursed, realizing how horrible the situation truly was when Natsu was once more thrust to the ground, a grinning Hitsugaya casually twirling around his katana by the chain. Has he gotten stronger? I had no idea he was capable of this... She wondered, before turning her attention to the ground freezing over and quickly halting the process. This thing is such a nuisance! Just like that snake Cobra had, only made into a blind follower with much more power and durability. She continued to switch her armors rapidly, sparing only one more glance at the sky. Hang in there, Natsu.

Natsu, on the other hand, seemed to have no inhibitions. He lit his arms alight once more. "Kid! Is that all you can do, order around some icy snake? Come at me like a man!"

The ice mage disappeared, and Natsu steeled himself before turning around to where he knew that the boy would appear, blocking the oncoming punch. However, the smaller only grinned, kneeling the larger mage in the gut, headbutting him, and then jabbing at his neck with the hilt of his blade.

"Is this all you can do, Natsu?" Toshiro sneered. "I haven't even gone into dragon force yet! Pathetic. I thought you were going to protect everyone, huh? Why not try it?" He jumped away aiming his sword at the sky. "Roar of the Ice Dragon!"

The serpent on the ground reared its head to the clouds, while another descended from above to take its place. With its roar finally able to be heard by the other mages, they were surprised at how realistic it sounded, a loud rumbling storm rushing through the clearing, pervading mind, muscle, and bone as cold began to wash through every mage in the area. Erza could feel her blood literally running cold, heart slowing and numbing as everything seemed to stop. Out of her peripheral vision, she could see the unconscious mages faring much better, though the slow process was clearly still in the works. She realized that the only reason she was still faring was because of her cold resistant armor, which was pulsing heat throughout her body trying its best to regulate against the intruding magic, which seemed to vibrate through the very ice pillars they had been forced to lean against for balance. She moved her hands to her ears, trying her best to muffle the sound, as plans began to rush through her mind, before a sudden wave of unimaginable heat seemed to completely silence the noise.

She felt a huge sigh of relief, watching as the twin dragons screamed in unison melted away and trees were burning in the area. Natsu…!

"I dare you to try that again, you bastard." Natsu growled, grinning as the heat began to show up in waves, distorting the vision in the sky as it filled with steam, and the clouds began to change and stir. "I'm all fired up!" he said, watching as the ice mage's discomfort became apparent, and took the opportunity to move in. He was in his element after all, it made him feel empowered and energetic.

At this, the boy's eyebrows knit and he quickly gripped his sword and muttered something. Once again, the temperature changed plummeting harshly and returning to a frigid cold as ice and snow exploded around the area, and flecks of snow began to rain down from the clouds. When the steam cleared, Toshiro had taken to the sky on his icy wings. He narrowed his eyes at Natsu, who was hanging on a tree branch to avoid the ice shards flying at him. Those teal eyes, filled with anger.

"Don't think you have an advantage, Dragneel! The entire sky is my domain!" he called angrily. "Guncho Tsurara!"

All the while, the rapid changes in temperature and climate in general were severely affecting the mages on the ground, serving as a wake up call for a certain blonde. Erza, who was still recovering from poison and the dragon's roar from earlier, knelt on the ground, opting to try to wake up Wendy. They needed her heal and support now more than ever, she thought, as she turned back to see those icy wings glistening from Nirvana's light.

[She didn't realize she had been knocked to the ground for a long while, as was so focused on comforting the small girl in front of her. She knew the girl was on the fragile side, it wasn't Wendy's fault that she was scared and confused. She must have been, with so many things happening in quick succession. Lucy was relieved when the girl offered her a smile, and nodded. It was some improvement, at least.

"Heartilia." said a voice behind her. She turned to see none other than the other child of the group, bending over slightly to hold a hand out to her. She blinked, before realizing she was on the ground. She looked up, ready to thank the boy and take his hand, before noticing something.

The boy's eyes were one of his distinguishing features. Lucy knew this well. Always filled with intelligence and calmness, his eyes were pools in which one could dive in and learn. Yet she could always see a hint of pain in them, always shoved out of the way for indifference and ice. Lucy knew this was apart of his personality, he hid things well. The identifying thing from his was the fact he was so unreadable.

The issue presented itself that Lucy could read everything on the boy's face in that moment. She could see pain, regret, anger, and amusement. She could see something bitterly dark behind them, as she backed away slightly.

He blinked, before trying to offer a reassuring smile to her, which was the moment when Lucy knew that something was off.

He didn't smile. Not for something like this. He was too stubborn for that.

Her eyes widened as he saw that smile begin to move, words forming on his lips, before an astonishing cold washed over her and all she could see was darkness…]

When she came to, she was surrounded by carnage. The ground was cold, yet the air above was cold and wet, and signs of burns all over the clearing were easily visible. Erza was hovering over her, seeming alarmed as she shook the blonde awake. Lucy shot up, remembering what had happened.

"Toshiro!"

Erza winced. "Are you alright, Lucy?"

She nodded. "I'm fine, but what happened? Where's Toshiro?"

At this the warrior shook her head. "It appears something is controlling him. They are currently airborne in battle as we speak." She pointed upward, where Lucy indeed saw Natsu jumping from tree to tree while Toshiro flew across the sky on large wings, sword drawn.

"Isn't there anything we can do?"

Erza bit her lip. "Hibiki mentioned knowing something, but Hitsugaya heard him and attacked. I have yet to wake him up, but his injuries seem serious." she pointed to a spot right next to Lucy, where indeed, Hibiki lay on the ground with several cuts and bruises, breathing irregular and sharp. She turned to Carla, who was still working on waking up the unconscious healer.

"Oh my god…" Lucy gasped. "So he did all of this? Did he say why?"

"I was only partially conscious for a part of it. He only started speaking coherently after he seemed to have lost all sanity. Going on about how he doesn't care if people get hurt anymore. He seems to be trying to get Natsu to prove something to him, kept saying Natsu would rise where he failed to protect others. " she shook her head. "We were so focused on Wendy we didn't even realize that he was being taken in too."

"By what?"

"Nirvana." came a male voice from behind the two. They turned to see none other than the archive mage, turning his head, giving a sharp intake of breath as he tried to sit up, but failed.

"Hibiki! Your injuries!"

"Here! Let me help!" came a high pitched voice from behind, at which Erza sighed in relief as the the small blue haired healer rushed forward and immediately began healing.

"Thank goodness you're awake, Wendy."

"What happened? Why is it so cold…." she looked around at just how much carnage was in the area, surveying the various injuries before looking up and realizing what was going on. "Wh-What?! Why are they fighting?!"

"Toshiro attacked us…" Lucy said quietly, not looking up. "He was taken by something, and he's trying to cause as much damage as he can. Erza was pushing herself to protect us." Wendy's eyes widened, turning to Erza but never stopping her healing process.

"You can't push yourself, Erza! The poison needs to calmly exit your system! You're still weak!"

Erza chuckled. "That explains why that attack too such a toll on me. But I had no choice, Wendy. It was either I fight or he kill us all."

"K-Kill?!"

"I wish we could do something…." Lucy muttered, seemingly on the verge of tears.

"You might." he coughed out, ignoring Wendy's indignant noises to stay still and not overexert the body. "He's acting like that because of Nirvana's magic. It has the power to switch darkness and light."

"Darkness and light?!"

"Yeah. If a person is wavering between the two, the person will be switched to the opposite alignment." he said, wincing once again before continuing. "For example, Hitsugaya. He was probably blaming himself for the entire incident, thinking if he had protected Wendy from harm at all costs, then Jellal would have never been reincarnated, and Nirvana wouldn't have been unleashed. He feels he isn't adequate, and those feelings have been judged by the Nirvana. He's been taken over by it, and switched the the alignment of darkness."

"Is there anything we can do?" Lucy asked immediately, still tossing her head over her shoulder. The two dragon slayers seemed to still be focusing on the fight, Natsu taking up all the child's attention.

"He's already on the dark side. If we want him back, he will have to be brought to a wavering point again, so Nirvana will switch him back on its own. Otherwise , we may have to kill him… though I would rather leave that option for very last."

"We aren't going to kill him! He's our friend!" Lucy said almost out of instinct.

"Yeah, but if we can't revert him then he could potentially cause way more damage than the Oracion Seis could. A disorganized mind brings more senseless carnage than any sane one. So unless you want that to happen, we need to stop him somehow." he let out a long sigh as Wendy finished her treatment. "Thanks, Marvel."

"E-Erza! Please let me heal you!" she said, turning to Erza who also seemed to be in bad shape. Carla scoffed.

"She can manage, child. Erza here was doing fine, so you shouldn't use up all your magic power unnecessarily." she said. Wendy opened her mouth to object, before Erza spoke up.

"She's right, Wendy. I'll be fine, conserve your strength. You never know when he will attack us again."

She looked unconvinced, but sighed, looking up at the dark sky and shivering. Those wings which she had thought were so elegant and beautiful the first time, seemed so terrifying now. "Poor Hitsugaya…." She whispered, loud enough for Lucy and Erza to hear. "He probably didn't say a word about this…" she said, watching as Natsu was tossed upward into the air before being flung down into a tree once more with ruthless force.

She's right… Lucy thought to herself, looking up at the sky, feeling snow falling on her face as the temperature continued to drop, and her breaths became visible. If he doesn't realize how wrong he is, he'll never come back. He's always been so kind…

["What is the point in saying this? You're my comrade, of course I would aid you."]

["I am quite sure you had the ability to get out of that even without me. I just sped things up."]

["Lates, Heartfilia, While I appreciate your words, I know full well that the world is not one of fairness and praise."]

Lucy nods to herself. "I'll do it."

"Do what?" Happy asked in a small voice, seeming genuinely concerned. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll talk to him. Get him back."

Erza immediately stepped forward. "That's suicidal, Lucy! His fighting style will destroy your body before you even get near him!"

"I have a plan… I think. Happy, could you get this message to Natsu?" She asked, turning to the blue feline, who moved closer to hear the blonde's words.

Natsu had to admit that this fight was getting nowhere. The kid was too persistent, and had way too much magic power to waste. He had tried to gain control again, but the air seemed to be too frigid to even properly keep a fire going long enough to emit proper heat, by which point the ice mage would personally put it out. He looked around at the icy pillars surrounding them, noticing how they began to sway now and then, still seemingly in perfect condition.

He was run ragged. He could barely stand, knowing he had already broken at least half of his bones. Whether he liked it or not, Toshiro was strong, and much stronger when Dragon Force came into the mix.

He felt himself being thrust backward into the trees that seemed to have been permanently damaged from his continually using them to break his falls, surprised when he heard a loud "ow!" from underneath him.

"H-Happy?! I'm kinda busy right now!"

The blue cat simply shook his head. "Just listen, Natsu! Lucy came up with an idea to get Toshiro back! She said she'll explain later, just do what I tell you."

"I'll take anything. Hurry up."

The cat relayed the girl's idea, at which Natsu cocked an eyebrow, before shrugging. "I don't get it but I'll do it, I guess."

He jumped back into the fray to meet his increasingly irritating opponent, watching as yet another petal crumbled away, leaving seven left.

They continued to exchange blows, atsu continuing to heat up his body as they fought, gradually so the boy didn't immediately notice. He attacked, knowing by this point what the boy would do, and let himself be thrust into the pillar right above where his friends were waiting. He could feel the ice melting behind him, and kept his body there for as long as he could.

The ice mage, however, seemed to tire of this, sheathing his sword and making strange movements with his hands, making a vertical line, and then a horizontal as designs followed his hands forming a circle. Natsu realized what the boy was doing, mentally cursing. He knows a secret art!

"Do your best to stop this from hitting them, Dragneel." Toshiro said, the air around him literally freezing as a hole appeared in the clouds. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Hyouten-"

Natsu jumped off of the pillar, diving at the boy as he heard his friend being thrust up beside him and yell "Gate of the water bearer! Aquarius!"

He dived straight onto the boy just in time to stop the attack, letting the both tumble in the air before jumping off each other.

Natsu panted, turning to see that it had worked, before running at the ice mage once more, grabbing the crescent shaped blade attached to his sword by a change, yanking on it and securing Toshiro in standstill. He couldn't let go of his blade, but since Natsu had more muscle than him he had to use both hands or he would lose his grip and most likely fall over, leaving himself open to the attack approaching from his side. He cursed, trying to coax Natsu off of him with magic, to no avail. "Let go, damn it!"

Due to the horribly cold atmosphere, the water sent at Toshiro almost immediately froze, allowing the celestial mage to dive across, switching to Taurus.

Lucy felt time slowing down as she approached the boy who was still in a deadlock with Natsu, but never looking away from them. She steeled herself as Taurus jumped into the air, bringing down his axe as Toshiro jumped upward and kicked backward, sending back into his gate. However, the movement combined with Natsu yanking on his chain caused him to be left unbalanced, and it was now that Lucy grabbed onto the boy, and did the first thing she could think of.

SMACK!

She feels her heart racing at a mile-a-minute as she draws her hand back from his face,the small body seeming frozen in front of her, hesitating in making any other movements. She thought quickly, wrapping her arms around the boy's torso, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"Get off of me!" he struggled and struggled, (He choked out words that she could vaguely make out as "Ran...ku") but his hands were now literally tied from being tangled during his move to avoid getting bludgeoned by a cow. His movements were strong, but half-hearted and weakening.

"No one blames you Toshiro. You did everything in your power, and we all hold responsibility for what happened. Not everything is about you, you hear me?" She hugged him tighter. "Just let someone carry the burden with you. We get hurt because of our own choices, you're not bad luck or anything like that. So let us in, let us help you, and let us share this battleground with you. Okay? Never once have you failed us."

He didn't move for a while, but she could feel the both of them slowly moving downward, and could feel the ice on his body crumbling away. Natsu had let go of him, but he still hadn't moved, and instead he relaxed, so did she.

When she finally pulled away, he still seemed dazed, at which Natsu decided to move in and did what he did best, sending a closed fist into his friend's jaw.

"You heard her, you little brat! Stop pitying yourself and come back to us already, or I'll punch you again!" he breathed out, trying to pretend he wasn't run ragged.

At this, the boy scoffed, turning away and crossing his arms. "I've told you many times now, Dragneel. I'm not a brat, nor am I little. And I'm in no way pitying myself."

"Right, right, Mr. Everyone-Around-Me-Gets-Hurt. You're just an idiot!" After stating this fact so plainly, the fire mage proceeded to pass out on the spot. Wendy yelped, running over to heal the poor sucker while Toshiro practically seethed.

"Why you- Dragneel!"

"Toshiro, are you back to yourself again?" Lucy asked tentatively. He turned to her, regarding her with a stare that she couldn't quite figure out. She saw his eyes change once again, and knew her answer before he said it. Unreadable... just like always.

"I am. Thank to your efforts." He turned to the place where the white pillar still pulsated, black tentacles of light seeming to be beckoning to them to come forth, watching as the clouds cleared away. "That power… is quite potent." He looked around, surveying the damages that had been caused, from injuries to collateral. He turned to the group, kneeling down so his head touched the ground. "My deepest apologies for the massive damage caused here. I am fully responsible, and while I don't plead forgiveness-"

"Hey!" Lucy interrupted, hands on her hips as she leaned down. "You weren't in your right mind! Nirvana was twisting your thoughts, it wasn't really you! So don't even apologize, you're already forgiven!" He looked up, and saw the smiling faces of the rest of the group.

"We're just happy you're on our side." Hibiki said, hand on the back of his neck. "We'd all be goners if you weren't." At this Toshiro raised an eyebrow, but didn't persist.

"Toshiro, you know you don't have to protect anyone. You said it yourself, life isn't fair. It isn't your fault." Erza said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "We stand here on the same battle ground. Our choices should be ours alone. Never give in to the adversity that life offers, you are better than that."

He looked down again, rising to his feet. He let out a small chuckle, and offered the smallest of smiles, one that seemed perfectly genuine.

"Fools, all of you. I should have known."

~AN

Cliche? Yes. Cheesy? Absolutely. Lesson learned? Erza has armor resistant to severe climate change, and Toshiro doesn't like being out of his element.

But when in doubt… Friendship!

…. Yeah okay fine I'll leave now.

Uhhh quick note on pairings: I honestly hadn't had any in mind for this... most of it is friendly bonds and all that stuff. It's one of those things where everything is there if you look for it. Unless the story goes in direction where a pairing becomes natural, I'll probably leave that open.

Hope you enjoyed!

-jenumire