A/N Hey everyone, the only thing I really have to say is that the next chapter will be posted on Monday and it'll be pretty long. The only reason this one is not super long is because I wanted to cut it off here, so there you go and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.

Chapter 51

Nirvana: Skies in Front of the Apex…

For the entirety of their fight thus far, Natsu had been completely unable to land a single hit. He hadn't taken much damage up until this point, but it was still starting to wear on his nerves.

'I got ya now!' Natsu thought.

He sent a punch directly at Cobra's cheek, though he quickly found out that such an attack would fail to land a hit. The maroon-haired teen carelessly dodged, and the tail of Cubelios quickly forced Happy to retreat across the skies in order to avoid any damage.

'Damn… this guy's tough…' Natsu thought.

"Why thank you." Cobra replied cockily, causing the Fire Dragon Slayer's eyes to shoot wide open.

"HUH?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"W-What, Natsu? What is it?" Happy asked confusedly.

"H-How'd you do that?! Don't tell me I was talkin' when I thought I was thinkin' again!" Natsu exclaimed.

"…again? You mean that happens often?" Cobra asked, sweatdropping slightly.

"S-Shut up! Anyway, what the hell was that?!"

'W-What's wrong with Natsu?' Happy wondered.

"He's probably got a screw loose or somethin'…" Cobra commented.

"WHOA!" Happy exclaimed.

"What is it, Happy?"

"H-He totally just… he just read my mind!" Happy shouted.

"He totally did that to me, too! I knew I wasn't saying what I was thinking!"

"Again, why the hell were you not convinced of that from the start?" Cobra asked.

"Shut up!"

The battle came to a momentary halt, though that was only externally. Internally, Natsu was just debating what his next course of action should be. However, he quickly realized, upon seeing his opponent smirk, that doing so was the wrong course of action.

"THAT'S TOTALLY NOT FAIR!" Natsu shouted angrily.

"Hey, don't blame me for being able to read your thoughts. Think of a way around it, if you're even smart enough." Cobra taunted.

"Natsu, what're we gonna do…?" Happy asked worriedly.

"Don't worry… I think I've got a plan." Natsu replied, flashing a toothy grin.

"…but doesn't that mean he knows it."

"You're gonna make my mind blow up…"

"Let me guess… you're gonna attack from the right while thinking about attacking from the left. Was that it?" Cobra inquired. The expression of surprise that his words elicited was proof enough that he was correct. He could tell that much without reading the dragon slayer's thoughts.

"You're not the first to come up with that plan and you won't be the last. Do me a favor and at least try to be more original…"

The pink-haired teen began to growl in an annoyed fashion, clearly becoming rather agitated with how his fight was currently unfolding. No matter what plan he tried to come up with, it appeared as if it simply wouldn't work since Cobra would almost immediately know about it.

Deciding to no longer give thought to the current situation, Natsu signaled Happy to move forward. Seeing the dragon slayer move forth, Cobra couldn't help but smirk.

"Tch, I told you that you're wasting your time." Cobra said arrogantly.

He dodged Natsu's right uppercut, at which point he blocked a kick intended for his ribcage. However, the next attack that came, much to his surprise, landed directly on his cheek.

Cobra recoiled slightly, his eyes wide, but he almost immediately thereafter gathered himself and continued to dodge. Contrary to what he thought, he was once again hit by a punch in his shoulder.

'What the hell?' Cobra wondered.

"Heh, ain't so tough now, are ya?!" Natsu exclaimed.

It was then that the maroon-haired teen blocked Natsu's incoming fist by catching it within the palm of his own hand.

"Heh, guess my little trick ain't gonna work if you up and shut off your mind. Oh well…"

A split-second later, Natsu felt his hand begin to burn, and not as if it were being touched by flames. He instantly pulled back his fist, at which point Happy flew the both of them backwards in order to put some ground between them and Cobra.

It was then however that Natsu noticed that his opponent's arms were far different then prior. His forearms were now covered by red scales and his fingernails were now claws. It looked like his hands had become those of a dragon. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing, yet he knew his eyes were not deceiving him.

"Tough luck, cuz' you're dealing with the Poison Dragon Slayer now." Cobra proclaimed.

"This guy's a dragon slayer?!" Natsu uttered in a tone of clear shock.

"No way!" Happy exclaimed.

"Yes way, and you may as well give up now. I hadn't expected it, but your mind is goin' into overdrive since I said that a moment ago. Looks like it'll be a lot harder for you to shut it off." Cobra mused, his own words prompting him to smirk.

"Natsu, just shut off your brain again like you did before." Happy stated.

"I would if I could, but, ever since he said he was a dragon slayer, my mind is goin' at a mile a minute." Natsu replied.

"So you can't shut it off again? I mean, you don't use it very much, so how could it be that hard…?"

"Are you calling me an idiot?!" Natsu shouted.

"No, but you can do some stupid stuff…"

"Why you…!" Natsu growled out.

"If you two are done…" Cobra said, getting the attention of the bickering duo.

"Grrr… Happy, fly us in. I'll take it from there."

"Aye sir."

The blue-furred Exceed did as he was told, during which time Natsu lit his fist with fire and prepared to smash his opponent with all his might.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

As if to counter the attack before it managed to get within close enough range, Cobra called forth a magic circle directly in front of his body, preparing to deal with his opponent's force with his own.

"Poison Dragon's Fang Thrust!" Cobra exclaimed.

Out of the magic circle came a large wave of shimmering red poison that took the form of a large snake head. It then outstretched towards Natsu's fist, catching the fire-covered hand between its fangs.

A large wave of fire and poison shot across the skies, but the two were far from done. Despite having his attack blocked, Natsu retreated for only a moment before he attempted to counterattack.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu shouted.

A massive wave of fire shot forth, heading directly for Cobra and his snake companion without relent. The Poison Dragon Slayer only smirked before his serpent shot further up into the skies and evaded the attack.

The fire slammed into the base of the city, creating an uproar of ash and flame that stretched a good amount of distance. Still, it hadn't been enough to land a decisive hit.

Now it was Cobra's turn, as evident by the maroon-haired teen extending his hand and gathering a large amount of magical energy within his palm.

"Poison Dragon's Scales" Cobra uttered.

A large series of scale-shaped poison projectiles were then fired directly at Natsu and Happy, who could only fly away and evade as Cobra and Cubelios continuously came up on their tail.

Natsu almost immediately realized that he needed to do something to change the pace of their fight, otherwise he knew his opponent would just be playing target practice with him until he landed a hit. Knowing that, he turned in order to counterattack yet again.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Yet another large wave of fire shot across the skies of Nirvana, though once again Cobra evaded the attack. This time however, it allowed Natsu to gain a bit of breathing room.

Seeing that Cobra was yet again trying to recover from the forced-evasion, Natsu signaled Happy to move forward yet again, this time deciding that he both wanted and needed to be the aggressor.

To his mild surprise, Cobra seemed to smirk as he flew towards him, which only meant, to Natsu, that he somehow had seen it coming a mile away. Needless to say, he was aware of just how terrible the situation could get if that was the case. He couldn't do much about it though.

"Poison Dragon's Roar!" Cobra exclaimed.

A massive wave of poison shot straight at Natsu, effectively coating both he and Happy in a wave of shimmering red. They got out of it as quickly as they could, but by then it was too late to stave off the effects.

"W-What the hell…? Why do I feel so much… weaker?" Natsu wondered aloud.

"S-So do I, Natsu… I don't think I can fly for much longer feelin' like this." Happy stated.

"That's only natural. After all, you did just get hit by my Poison Dragon's Roar. Anyone who does get hit with my poison will slowly weaken until they ultimately die. That's the power of the Poison Dragon, so this fight was over when you took that hit just now." Cobra explained.

"Tch… dirty trick if ya ask me." Natsu replied.

"You don't see me tellin' you how to fight." Cobra sneered.

"Either way… we need to finish this quickly…" Natsu whispered.

"I've got one charge left in me, Natsu." Happy said.

"That's all we need, little buddy." Natsu assured.

"Heh… if you two are done your little strategy meeting, I may as well show you to other reason why you can't win." Cobra mused.

Before the opposing dragon slayer could even ask what he had meant, Cubelios released a cloud of poison into the air around both she and Cobra. Shortly thereafter, Natsu's eyes widened in realization, and the fact that the poison cloud was gradually being absorbed only solidified what he had guessed was happening.

"H-He's eating the poison…!" Natsu uttered worriedly. More than anything, he knew how much compounding one's magical energy was in a fight between dragon slayers.

"Thanks, Cubelios. That was a good meal." Cobra said, wiping his lips with the back of his hand and smirking devilishly all the while.

"That's cheating!"

"Deal with it!" Cobra shot back.

"Tch…"

It was then that the Fire Dragon Slayer shot forth with Happy backing his charge and keeping him steady in the air. With a flame-lit fist, he made to hit Cobra with everything he had left.

Somewhat to Natsu's surprise, Cobra brought up his fist and blocked the attack, backing it with his own poison. The result was for a symphony of flame and shimmering poison to shoot out in almost every direction during the collision, though it stopped the second that Natsu was forced back.

Seeing that he had a wide open shot at his opponent, Cobra held both of his hands outwards and charged them with large amounts of his magical energy.

"Poison Dragon's Twin Fang!" Cobra shouted.

He crossed his hands, at which point numerous arrays of snake-like poison shot forth, overwhelming Natsu and consuming his entire body all the while shooting him across the air that was currently their battlefield.

When Happy and Natsu finally stabilized, they found themselves barely staying in the air, each breathing heavily and feeling their vision start to fade.

"N-Natsu… I'm…" Happy barely squeaked out.

"I know, buddy… I know… Just hang in there for a little longer." Natsu said.

"A-Aye…"

"I'm pretty surprised you're still awake after absorbing that much of my poison. I might even say I'm impressed." Cobra stated.

"Heh… don't act like this… is over…" Natsu said, still breathing heavily all the while.

"N-Natsu, I can't fly anymore…" Happy said through strained speech.

The Fire Dragon Slayer looked around the battlefield, trying to think of anything he could possibly do that would change the course of this fight. After all, Ichigo was relying on him, as were the rest of his friends. He'd be damned if he let them down.

'Maybe if I could… Wait, that's it!' Natsu thought.

His eyes landed on the fire that was caused by Ichigo's primary attack, which luckily still raged within the confines of the city despite the time that had elapsed since it started.

'If I can make it down there… then I've got a shot at recharging and beatin' him!' Natsu thought.

'Heh… so that's your brilliant plan to get yourself out of this? The moment you thought that was the moment you could no longer get away with it.' Cobra thought cockily.

"Happy, steer us towards that fire right over there… got it?" Natsu said.

The blue-furred Exceed looked downwards towards the raging flames that Natsu had attempted to point out, at which point he nodded and haphazardly started to make his descent to the grounds of the city.

"Tch, as if I couldn't hear your thoughts or your voice!" Cobra scoffed.

Cubelios flew across the skies directly overtop Happy and Natsu. Cobra then jumped off of his companion and slammed his foot directly into Natsu's ribcage, using all of his strength to do so.

The Fire Dragon Slayer shot down into the ground like a brick, slamming into a building and causing it to fall to the ground around his defeated body. Moreover, it was further away from the fire that he was relying on to recharge his powers.

'In other words… this is game over.' Cobra thought.

Before he hit the ground, Cubelios flew underneath him and picked him up, which was subsequently followed by Cobra gently being guided to the ground where he then dismounted the serpent and began to walk towards the rubble that Natsu and Happy were currently lying in.

Somewhat to Cobra's surprise, Natsu burst out of the rubble, carrying Happy within his arms. With his body beaten and bruised, and with the Exceed actually unconscious, Natsu made his way out of the debris.

"You're one durable guy, I'll give ya that…" Cobra commented.

"Heh… you should see… Ichigo…" Natsu replied through strained breaths.

"Regardless, this is over. You shoulda known that the second the thought of recharging your power with the flames from his first attack passed through your head." Cobra stated matter-of-factly.

"Maybe you're right…" Natsu mused.

The pink-haired teen then put Happy down on the ground a short distance away before he walked back to where he previously stood and faced his opponent once more. His stance implied he was still able going to try and fight.

"You can't be serious…" Cobra said in a tone of disbelief.

"Why not? Fight ain't over if I'm still movin', is it?" Natsu shot back.

"Tch…"

The Poison Dragon Slayer almost immediately shot towards Natsu and landed a punch directly at the center of his stomach, causing him to fly backwards and skid across the grounds before coming to a stop.

Natsu didn't get up this time. Rather, he had started to crawl towards the area away from his opponent. Cobra then looked and saw that the older generation dragon slayer was trying to head towards a cloud of smoke and fire that his own flames had caused. He shook his head amusedly and then started to lazily walk forward.

'This idiot… is he seriously going to try and eat his own flames?' Cobra wondered amusedly.

He quickly reached Natsu's side despite having walked at a slow pace. Despite this, the latter didn't stop his crawl forward.

"Heh… you must be really desperate to win if you're tryin' to eat your own fire. I'm a dragon slayer, remember? That means I know what eating your own magic does to you. Tell me somethin', you got a death wish?" Cobra asked.

"Won't know until I try, right?" Natsu shot back, flashing a grin as he continued to crawl.

The maroon-haired teen released an amused chuckle, at which point he picked up Natsu by his collar and threw him as far as he could, subsequently causing him to land at the foot of the cloud of widespread embers and smoke.

"Be my guest. If you kill yourself, then I still win. To be honest, I'm kinda curious as to what happens if you really do it." Cobra said with a wide grin.

For a time, Natsu didn't say anything. He made his way into the range he needed to in order to absorb the flames, at which point a toothy grin that put Cobra's to shame took its place on his lips. He began to chuckle, which naturally made his opponent exceedingly confused.

"Ya know what… I don't think this is my fire." Natsu thought aloud.

"W-What?!" Cobra immediately exclaimed, sweat dripping from his brow.

"Yeah… I coulda sworn that this was caused by mine, but it looks like I was wrong. I'm not really good at keepin' track of stuff like that, ya know?" Natsu said.

The pink-haired teen then began to consume the flames, sucking in each and every last bit of the flickering embers that he possibly could. Cobra, during the interim, wasn't even able to contest the technical recharge. He was still flabbergasted that such a thing happened.

'W-What the hell just happened?! Did he really get the flames wrong and just get insanely lucky or did he actually trick me?! I can't even tell if this guy's a genius or an idiot!' Cobra raged in thought.

In a short period of time, Natsu got up off of his feet and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, releasing a slight cocky grunt after doing so.

"Looks like I'm all fired up…!" Natsu mused.

"Tch… eat as much fire as you want, but the poison will still wear you down." Cobra stated. Cubelios quickly came up to his side and prepared for battle, likely sensing that the fight was not yet over.

"Really, cuz' I think that…"

Abruptly, Natsu ceased his speech and froze in place. He began to release a series of pained moans, almost as if his body was in such agony that he could barely manage to do so. His pupils shrank and began to shake, and his muscles tensed.

'What the hell is…? Wait a minute.' Cobra thought.

It took only a moment to realize what was going on, and that realization prompted the Poison Dragon Slayer to smirk contentedly. He had been worried for a second, but it appeared that his opponent's plan backfired.

"The fire you just ate was a result of Kurosaki's attack, meaning you're trying to eat his power. Sadly, his power's a bit strange, isn't it? I'd assume that eating something like that, even if it's the fire that results, would be even worse than eating your own fire." Cobra stated.

Natsu then began to scream as if he were in agonizing pain. His fell to his hands and knees and clenched the ground, still wailing all the while.

Cobra inwardly debated on whether or not to strike, but he somewhat sympathized. After all, that much pain was something that couldn't possibly be replicated.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Natsu roared.

The cries of Fairy Tails hallmark dragon slayer awoke Happy, who weakly shifted his head over to his best friend and stared at him with worry evident in his eyes.

"N-Natsu…!" Happy weakly whispered, though he was unable to do anything.

"That's what you get for doin' something so stupid. I'd say maybe next time you'll know better, but there probably won't be one…" Cobra mused.

It was then that a massive spike of energy caused his eyes to shoot wide open. It was so familiar and powerful that he instinctively look towards the spire, believing that he was going to get some form of a new arrival.

'That energy… it has to be Kurosaki.' Cobra thought with worry.

However, he quickly realized that the source of the familiar energy was directly in front of him, and that sent a chill down his spine.

"What the hell…?!" Cobra uttered.

Natsu began to scream defiantly, getting up off of his hands and knees and rising up with his head held high. An enormous column of fire covered his entire being and shot up into the sky as far as the eye could see, piercing the clouds in the sky.

The flames, once a brilliant orange, began to shift color, the sight of which caused Cobra's pupils to shake. Natsu's fire very quickly shifted into a vibrant light blue color, the very sight and feel of which mirrored the power that Ichigo possessed. The column continued to shoot into the sky, acting as if it were an unrelenting fountain that refused to cease its flow.

"What's happening?! How on earthland can you have that kind of power?!" Cobra exclaimed.

All of a sudden, the column of energy stopped its flow, and with its ceasing so came the end of Natsu's screams. The Fire Dragon Slayer started to breathe heavily, his shoulders moving up and down a good amount with each passing breath.

"I wasn't expectin' that… but looks like it worked." Natsu mused.

He then stared directly at Cobra, his body still the same and showing no changes. His fists lit up with brilliant blue flames, the color of which matched Ichigo's spiritual energy and the feel of which was much the same.

In response, the Poison Dragon Slayer just stared back at him incredulously, checking for and form of changes. After that display of power, he assumed at least something would have changed.

Sadly, Cobra didn't even have a chance to observe for more than a few second's time, as Natsu lunged at him at speeds that the snake wizard simply wasn't expecting. He moved naturally, but faster than he'd seen almost anyone move.

'What the hell?!' Cobra wondered.

Without relent, Natsu slammed his blue flame-coated fist directly into Cobra's stomach, effectively sending him flying into the sky so quickly that velocity rings formed around his body.

Cubelios didn't even bother attacking Natsu. Instead, she prioritized stabilizing Cobra's position and preventing his fall to the grounds below.

Natsu just watched as the serpent caught his opponent, though he didn't make any attempt to stop it from happening. He was far too focused on how his body currently felt to even want to land another hit in such rapid succession.

"What the hell happened…? I feel really… strong. It's like I can feel so much power just welling up inside me… but is it because I ate flames that were started by Ichigo's attack?" Natsu thought aloud.

Regardless, he certainly felt strong, stronger than he ever had. The amount of pain he had to go through was almost unfathomable, but at current he had no complaints.

'I wonder if this is what it feels like to be Ichigo… It's pretty awesome!'

From the skies above, Cobra just stood on the back of his companion, breathing heavily and glaring down at the form of his opponent. He didn't know quite what happened, but at current he had time to stop and think.

"At the very least, the cat's out of the way, so he won't be able to fly. That means that I just have to stay up here and think of a way to recover." Cobra thought.

"Hey, are you gonna come back down here or not?!" Natsu shouted.

"Why don't you come up here and make me?" Cobra taunted.

"Why you…!" Natsu growled out.

In a fit of agitation, the dragon slayer bent his knees and entered a jumping position, appearing as if he intended to truly jump such a high distance. Needless to say, his opponent couldn't believe his eyes.

"Wait, he's not seriously gonna try to…" Cobra thought.

Natsu jumped into the air before the maroon-haired teen could even finish his sentence. In fact, he managed to jump into the air and hit such speed that Cobra immediately knew he was somehow going to land a physical jump that high into the air.

Cubelios flew backwards, evading the Fire Dragon Slayer's attack by simply moving off the side. Despite the impossibly high heights off of a normal jump that Natsu had made, he still couldn't follow up.

"Crap…" Natsu muttered.

He began to fall back down to the grounds of Nirvana, though he would at the very least soften his landing by way of his own magic.

Natsu willed flames to cover his feet, though in doing so he came to a complete stop. He blinked several times before looking down, only to see that he was, in fact, standing in the skies overlooking the vast ancient city.

"A-Am I flying?!" Natsu exclaimed in a shocked tone.

The second he realized it wasn't the poison giving him hallucinations, Natsu began to dance in the air, raising his hands in the air like an idiot and grinning so widely that no one would think he was near death just a short time ago.

"Alright! How do ya like that?!" Natsu taunted.

"This guy's an idiot… but he's a flying idiot. Just how the hell is he even in the air?" Cobra said to himself.

"Hehe… you don't know how Ichigo's powers work, do ya? He told me once that he doesn't even fly, he uses his power and creates solid ground beneath his feet, or he uses it to propel him forward. I didn't think it'd turn out like this, but looks like my flames are actin' a lot like his power."

"This is ridiculous… The nature of his flames changed? What the hell was in that fire?" Cobra uttered, sweating slightly.

"Doesn't matter, does it? Get ready, cuz' now it's payback time!" Natsu exclaimed.

A large amount of light-blue fire coated his fists, at which point he used the flames keeping him in the air as if it were solid ground and jumped towards Cobra yet again.

He arrived so quickly that the Poison Dragon Slayer couldn't even react. As a result of this, he was unable to defend against the flame-lit fist that slammed into his cheek.

Cobra flew into a nearby building, slamming into the wall and cracking it and shaking its foundation to the point that it began to fall. Before it did, he gathered his wits and jumped back into the air, getting atop the back of Cubelios before turning his attention back towards his opponent. He didn't have to look too hard though, as the enemy dragon slayer was already shooting right at him.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The maroon-haired teen brought up his own energy-coated hand, making to meet the attack with nothing but raw power. To his surprise, his own magical energy buckled under the pressure, which was then followed by the fist coming into contact with his chest.

This time the blow was weaker as a result of being blocked for a short time, though Cobra still fell off of his serpent's back.

'How the hell is he that much more powerful?!' Cobra wondered.

He saw Cubelios start to make her way towards him, though his opponent evident wasn't going to allow him to regain his bearings so easily this time around.

Upon seeing Natsu build up a large amount of magical energy within his body and take the stance of his traditional dragon's roar, Cobra scowled.

"Fire Dragon's…"

"Poison Dragon's Snake Fang!" Cobra roared.

A large torrent of red magical energy erupted from his right hand, taking the form of a snake whose head soared through the air towards the esteemed Fire Dragon Slayer. While it was a good effort, the fact of the matter was that it came nowhere near the level of power it needed to be in order to stop his opponent's next offensive.

Seeing the approaching attack, Natsu only smirked. With as much power as he was about to release, there was no chance that something like that would stop him from beating Cobra down.

"…ROAR!" Natsu shouted.

A colossal wave of light-blue energy ripped through the sky, tearing through Cobra's attack as if it were nothing and heading directly for the Poison Dragon Slayer.

The dark wizard's form was eclipsed in the ray of light. It simply swallowed him whole and continued to rage on in its path. When the ray finally hit the grounds of the city, a large explosion ensued, the likes of which could likely be seen from anywhere within the confines of Nirvana.

"Heh… I think I set a new personal best. That explosion was awesome!" Natsu thought aloud, chuckling to himself upon finishing.

He started to feel a slight aching in his joints, which made him cringe. Natsu half-expected that though, especially since his abruption of Ichigo's power, or the residuals thereof, caused him a great deal of pain.

Realizing that the aftereffects were likely going to be a pain to deal with, Natsu began to shoot down towards the grounds of the city, ensuring that he didn't crash into anything and hurt himself more than he already had.

He stepped onto the ground and stretched his limbs. When that was done, he released a tired sigh, but that was the last thing he did before falling flat on his back and hitting the dirt beneath his feet.

"Well… guess that took more out of me then I thought it would." Natsu mused.

The pink-haired teen shut his eyes and started to rest, deciding to take a page out of Happy's book given that his furry comrade was currently down for the count. However, it wasn't long before the familiar voices of his friends caused him to open his eyes and shake off his fatigue.

"I think it came from over here you guys!" Wendy's voice sounded off.

"Really, are you sure?" Lucy questioned.

"With how destructive that idiot tends to be, you can never be too sure." Gray commented.

"Gray, you wanna-be-stripper bastard, come here and say that to my face!" Natsu shouted angrily.

"What'd you just say to me?!" He shouted.

"Just come here and find me so I can yell at ya, popsicle!" Natsu shot back.

"Be careful what you wish for, flame-brain!"

"Can you two stop fighting?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah, seriously!" Wendy added.

That was the last thing that was said before the group made their way into the clearing and found Natsu lying on the ground with his body outstretched and immobile. Happy was off to the side, clearly passed out but breathing all the same.

"Now… repeat what you just said to me, flame-breather." Gray growled out.

"Gladly, ya no-clothes-wearin' snowman." Natsu replied.

"That wasn't what you said and you know it!" Gray exclaimed.

"I know that, dumbass! I said it cuz' ya piss me off!"

"That's my line, dumbass!"

"Goodness sake… even the blue-furred cat is preferable to you two bickering twits." Carla said.

"Do you really mean that?!" Happy shouted. Evidently he wasn't quite passed out enough not to hear that.

"…I had thought you were asleep…" Carla said, sweatdropping.

"The power of love woke me up!" Happy chirped in a dramatic tone.

"Oh brother…" Lucy sighed out.

"Anyway… What was up with that huge power surge, Natsu? I thought, for a second, that Ichigo had jumped in and saved your sorry hide." Gray said.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too…" Lucy commented.

"Hey, I can handle myself!" Natsu exclaimed.

"We know, but it just really felt like him." Lucy replied in a serious tone of voice, which immediately prompted the dragon slayer to drop his faux-agitation.

"I ate the fire that resulted from Ichigo's attack… the uh… Getsuga Tenshou! Yeah, I totally got that right!" Natsu said, appearing to be impressed with himself.

"Could you not get sidetracked…?" Carla requested.

"Sorry… Oh, yeah, so I ate the fire and I… Well, long story short, I think it had some weird effect on me. My flames turned blue, so I was confused as can be. Still, I won, so it doesn't matter, right?" Natsu mused.

"So that blue pillar and that blue flash of light we just saw really was your fire?" Gray pressed.

"Sure was!" Natsu chirped, grinning proudly as he did so.

"But if eating the flames that came from Ichigo's attack gave you that much juice, then why are you still lying on the ground?" Gray inquired.

"Cuz' I kinda can't move… heheh." Natsu chuckled.

"You bonehead…" Gray sighed out.

The look he donned, in addition to his dismissive shake of the head, piqued Lucy's curiosity, mostly because she just didn't understand why Gray seemed to think what Natsu did was idiotic.

"W-What's with that look? It's a good thing that he won, right?" Lucy mused.

"It ain't that, Lucy. Natsu can eat pretty much any fire except his own, but fire that was caused by one of Ichigo's attacks… Well, you know how Ichigo has that spiritual energy stuff? I'm assuming that fire laced with that stuff should go on the list of things he shouldn't eat. He probably knows that better than anyone, but he still did it anyway." Gray explained.

"Is that true, Natsu?"

"I dunno, maybe." Natsu replied nonchalantly. The blonde just glared at him in response.

"N-Natsu, do you need me to heal you? If I do, then I'm sure the effects of whatever your body went through will be lessened." Wendy offered.

"Before ya heal me, take care of these two and Happy. I'm sure they can use it more than me…" Natsu replied.

"Do we look like we need to be healed, Natsu? Wendy took care of us before we even got here." Gray stated.

"Yeah, we're fine." Lucy added.

"Huh, but the two of you…"

Natsu's eyes shot wide open as if in realization, shortly after which they narrowed to the size of mere slits.

"W-What is it, Natsu…?" Lucy uttered worriedly. The look he was giving them was simply unnerving.

"I can smell traces of something on you two that's not magic energy. What the hell did you guys fight? Tell me now." Natsu said seriously.

"Did you hit your head or somet…"

"I said to tell me… now." Natsu repeated, his eyes holding a darker look to them than prior.

'S-Scary!' Lucy thought, actually feeling a chill run down her back.

"Calm down, moron. We got hit by some attack while Jura was fighting some guy… Though, now that I think about it…"

"Some guy?" Natsu uttered confusedly.

"Yeah… some guy that wasn't a part of the Oracion Seis. He just showed up and took down Jura in an instant. The attack he used… I can't even remember what he called it, but it was devastating. Like you said though, it ain't got the feel of magic, at least none that I've seen before." Gray replied, sounding concerned himself.

It appeared that the subject was danced over due to the fact that they had been told to run for their lives while Erza held off Midnight and the mysterious teal-haired man. Thinking back on it now only served to illustrate how weird the situation was, and just how terrifying that fact could be.

"You need to find Ichigo, now. If some guy's roamin' around and usin' powers that don't feel like magic, he needs to…" Natsu began, though he was cut off.

"Relax, Natsu… Erza's takin' care of it, and I felt Mira's presence nearby. Those two can take down anything, right?" Gray stated.

"Plus, it didn't feel exactly like Ichigo's powers do. It was weird, but not as… Well, you know?" Lucy said.

"Potent?" Wendy submitted.

"Staggering?" Carla uttered.

"Powerful?" Wendy said.

"Awesome?" Natsu and Happy asked in unison.

"You get the point…" Lucy muttered.

"…I guess, but it still doesn't sit right with me."

"It ain't your problem for now. You did good, Natsu, so just let Wendy heal you and Happy so we can head off to help everyone else." Gray said.

"Yeah… you're right. For the record, you did pretty good too, Gray. Takes a real man to take a hit like you did…" Natsu begrudgingly complimented.

"Thanks, Natsu. Means a lot comin' from you…" Gray replied, giving honest respect to the Fire Dragon Slayer in a rare moment of candor.

"Right back at ya." Natsu replied.

"…bonehead." Gray mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that!"

Nirvana: Western Section…

"Mira, hit them now!" Erza exclaimed.

"Evil Explosion!"

A large burst of dark purple magical energy shot directly at the teal-haired man, who happened to be the clear target of the attack.

While he dodged, Erza flashed towards Midnight, still donning her Robe of Yuen, and then delivered a hard punch to his chest. The end result was for the dark-haired wizard to fly backwards into another building, which, to his credit, didn't quite finish him off despite his injured state.

Erza made to leap back towards him in order to deliver the blow that would render him incapable of fighting any longer, though she was very quickly stopped.

A static buzzing sound echoed in the clearing, which was immediately followed by Knight appearing directly in front of Erza with his sword at the ready.

Erza brought forth her polearm and clashed with the mettle of Knight's blade, which only lasted for a brief moment before she leaped backwards and gained some form of distance in order not to take damage from what was to come.

"Evil Spark!" Mira exclaimed, sending a large shockwave directly at the teal-haired man.

"Dark Barrier." Knight uttered.

A half-sphere of dark light extended out from his left hand, which effectively absorbed the magical energy from the attack and rendered it ineffective.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Erza used her Requip magic and called forth her Flight Armor. She then charged at the assumed dark wizard without any hesitation.

They clashed at what seemed to be a mile per second, but the exchange yielded no advantage to either of them.

In a manner typical of how the fight had transpired thus far, Knight vanished from plain sight, after which he appeared directly across the battlefield. Their positions were practically reset, ending the small series of bouts in what appeared to be a draw.

However, one small detail caught the attention of both Mira and Erza, and it unnerved them greatly. The teal-haired man had, at his side, Midnight in all of his worn-out glory.

It was perfectly clear that he was incapable of traveling at such speeds, therefore making it seem almost impossible that he was directly across from them and making an attempt to gather himself.

'W-Wait, when did he…?' They wondered in unison.

"Are you alright, Midnight?" Knight asked, almost uncaringly.

"I'll be fine…!" Midnight shot back.

"That's the spirit. Never give up, am I right?"

"You honestly and truly get on my nerves."

"Yet you're only conscious right now because of me, so deal with it." Knight replied. His 'comrade' went silent at that.

"Speaking of which, why is it that you aren't going in the offensive? It's starting to irk me a great deal…" Erza commented.

"You find me irksome, is that it?"

"Answer her question…" Mira said warningly.

"So scary… But if you must know, I'm just not able to get past either of your defenses. It's quite scary to face opponents as powerful as you are." Knight replied.

His answer made both of the Fairy Tail beauties scowl heavily. They each knew that much was a flat-out lie, but they couldn't understand why he had told it or why he wasn't trying to be the aggressor. For someone who had no ties with the Oracion Seis, it was just too much to believe that he was doing what he was doing solely to ensure that Midnight continued to survive.

"Mira, on my mark, we're going…"

"Got it."

There was a silence that coated the air of the battlefield, though it was ironically not Erza and Mira who broke it. At the abrupt sighting of a raging blue torrent of energy shooting through the skies of the city, everyone simply lose their place.

Even Knight, for a brief moment, marveled at the large outburst of energy, though the aftermath of the attack meant one thing and one thing only. His senses confirmed that much a split-second later, and that prompted him to smirk heavily.

"Looks like I'm done…" Knight mused.

The dark wizard's words drew the attention of everyone present towards him, and it inspired a great deal of confusion. Confusion however, gave way to surprise, as a moment later Knight turned to Midnight and drove his hand directly into his stomach.

"GUH!" Midnight grunted painfully.

He was about to fall backwards, though Knight grabbed his shoulder and kept him steady, almost exclusively for the purpose of making him experience even more pain than he already had.

'What is he doing? Did he just… did he just turn on his comrade? Does that mean they weren't even comrades from the start?' Mira and Erza wondered similarly.

"I'm truly sorry about this. I take no pleasure in causing you to go through this agony, but you see it's a problem if you're conscious at this point in time." Knight stated.

"Y-You… y-you…!" Midnight uttered, blood dripping from his mouth as he spoke.

He couldn't even muster the strength to say another word before his eyes shut and he went into an unconscious state. At this, Knight gently guided the raven-haired teen down to the ground, withdrawing his hand subsequently thereafter.

"What on earthland did you just do?!" Erza exclaimed, jostling her twin blades in order to get the man's attention.

"Before you become upset about me 'betraying my comrade' or whatever it is that you Fairy Tail wizards can't stand, you should know that he isn't dead and he isn't my comrade. Moreover, I was asked to do this." Knight stated, turning once more to face the Fairy Tail duo.

"You were asked?" Erza uttered.

"And what did you mean when you said you weren't comrades?" Mira added.

"Yes, I was asked. With his defeat, the entirety of the Oracion Seis, save for one, have been defeated. At the moment, Brain is likely at the apex of the city about to let him loose. As for me not being their comrades… I won't even entertain such a joking notion. It makes me laugh just thinking about associating with these people." Knight replied, chuckling as he finished.

"If that's the case… then what's your motivation? Why are you here? Why did you fight with the Oracion Seis?" Erza pressed, leaving aside the fact that she was curious about why he was asked to take out Midnight. More things than simply that needed to be answered when it came to this man.

"I simply want to see some fireworks, and they were the match I needed to set them off. However, I'm afraid the show hasn't started, so it looks like you two will need to keep me company until it does." Knight mused.

"Just hope we don't smash you into tiny bits and pieces, coward." Mira growled out.

"Oh~, so scary." Knight replied.

It should come as no surprise that the first to lunge at him was the demoness, though Erza was a close second.

A/N Alright, so the next chapter will be posted next Monday, and it'll probably be relatively long, as I planned.

Explanations:

Natsu Eating the Flames: For this, it's easier to compare it to consuming Etherion, but it's not quite the same since obviously consuming Ichigo's spiritual energy of all things will have more potent effects. His flames become laced with spiritual energy and they take on the appearance of Ichigo's Getsuga in his Shikai state. Essentially, this grants Natsu immense strength and speed, and also the ability to hover in air by means of lighting up his feet with flames. As a heads up, this is a mode that he will have access to in the future, mostly just because it's too awesome for me to not give it to him.

Why is Ichigo not in this Chapter?: Well, I initially planned it out that way, but if I wanted to bring this chapter to a good cut-off point, it would have ended up being 17k words long, or thereabouts. So, in light of that, I decided to cut it off here. Since the next chapter is Monday and Ichigo is, of course, back, I don't think it's such a huge deal.

What's Next?: Cool stuff, cool stuff, and cool stuff. Did I mention cool stuff?