Chapter 33

'Thinking' – thoughts

"Speaking" – speech

'Thinking' – Dragon/God/Beast thinking

"Speaking" - Dragon/God/Beast speaking

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters they are property of Hiro Masima.

NinjaFang1331: Thank you

Thicc-Chugs: That is quite a nice idea for Ur, I haven't planned anything with her until the time skip, but the idea you have with Deliora sounds amazing, thank you.

Ushidi: 1. There are a few requirements in the story that will be explored in this arc that will give an idea to this question. 2. I really like the Dragon Slayers, If you want a general raking its close to what gen they are with 1 being up top and going down to 3 at the bottom

-Ancient abandoned cave-

A man sat pushed himself into a sitting position as his hand went to his forehead, covering a distinct tattoo over his right eye. The three other occupants waited in silence, one due to boredom, one hiding his excitement and the last in dread at her actions. The man lowered his hands and held them just above his lap, staring intently at both. A darker aura engulfed one hand while the other was engulfed in a golden sheen.

The man slowly brought his two hands together and when the two magical auras around his hands came in contact, the dark aura tainted the gold, darkening and dirtying it until it mimicked the dark colour of the other aura. As his light extinguished a malicious grin grew on Brain's lips.

"Jellal, feel out the source of Nirvana's power and lead us to it. The world will soon kneel before our might," Brain said as a faint, barely visibly dark green aura formed around Jellal's head.

"Preparations are required for the successful revival of the superweapon Nirvana," Jellal said. When he turned to look at Brain during his reply, Wendy saw his glazed-over eyes, seemingly devoid of life and felt dread seep into her very soul.

'What have I done? Did I not heal him? No, this is all my fault,' Wendy's innocent mind was being tainted and corrupted by the dark thoughts spawning from the seemingly dead look the man she had to heal now encompassed.

"Fear not Jellal, for I have seen to it that everything is prepared, now all we need is the location of Nirvana's resting place so that its magnificence may once more roam this world, whit us at its helm," Brain said with a gleeful undertone surfacing from his usual tone.

Suddenly a wave of heat flooded the cave and an orange light illuminated the entrance.

"Seems like Racer alone was not enough to deal with those who got close, how disappointing," Brain said, more to himself before he stood tall. "Cobra, hear my call and answer. There is an annoyance that needs to be disposed of. I will be heading to Nirvana to claim our destinies," Brain shouted.

-Somewhere in the Worth Wood Sea-

Standing in a sparsely wooded area, Cobra tilted his back in the direction of their temporary base. As the words of his Guild Master reached his sensitive ears a grin spread on his face, it only grew when he heard the crackling of flames in the following.

"I hear you loud and clear Brain. This will be much more enjoyable than searching for Nirvana. Time to show the old generation that their voices will soon fade into nothingness as the new era rises," Cobra answered, a dark maroon cloud of magic snaking its way across his fingers at the last part as the purple serpent let out a hiss.

It wasn't hard for Cobra to find the pyromaniac, even if he didn't have his enhanced sense, all he needed to do was follow the light show that illuminated the dark forest floor. An amused grin flashed across his lips as he saw the Fire Dragon Slayer delivering a beat down on one of the guilds working under them. Cobra waited patiently for Haru to take the entire guild of grunts out before deciding to reveal his presence.

"Hey there Hot Head, it's your lucky day. My Master doesn't wish to be disturbed so I'm here to deal with you," Cobra said as he dropped from a tree in front of Haru.

"Your one of the Oracion Seis, Cobra. This makes things easier. After I beat you to a pulp you will tell me where Wendy is," Haru said threateningly. 'I hope Happy and Carla will stay hidden until I roast this guy's ass,' Haru thought as his fists lit aflame.

"Cubellios, time to go hunting, I think feline is on the menu today," Cobra casually said as he stroked his snake companion's head. His comment gained a shocked gasp from Haru which in turn brought joy to the dark mage.

"Your fight is with me," Haru shouted as he jumped towards the snake that started slithering in the direction of his feline partner. Before he could land his flaming punch though, Cobra appeared between them, grabbing hold of his hand and allowing Cubellios to disappear into the undergrowth.

"Happy, looks like we are teaming up against this guy and his creep snake," Haru hollered. A burst of blue was quickly followed by a streak of purple as Happy came rocketing towards Haru with Cubellios close on his tail.

'Time to fry this overgrown worm,' Haru decided as both his hands lit aflame.

"Cubellios, up," Cobra ordered just as Haru shouted "Fire Dragon Wing Attack". The two flaming whips slammed into the ground where the snake was moments ago. Haru was surprised when he saw the purple snake sail over him and return to its master's side.

"And here I thought we could let the pets play together while I bury you in the ground," Cobra sighed as the snake curled around him.

"Happy's not a pet, he's my partner," Haru shouted as he started running at the dark mage, getting picked up by Happy as the blue cat reached his friend, increasing the speed of their approach.

"I really hoped you would prove more of a challenge, but your thoughts betray you. I can hear everything," Cobra taunted as he effortlessly dodge all of the incoming attacks.

"Don't underestimate Fairy Tail or you will find yourself on the wrong side of my first," Haru shouted as he called out "Fire Dragon Iron First".

"I'm quite comfortable over here, but I think I'll be generous and show you how to land a hit," Cobra said as he continued to dodge the incoming barrage of flaming fists.

"Poison Dragon Bane Fist" Cobra called out as his fist was engulfed by a poisonous haze. Delivering the powerful blow to Haru's side, Cobra sent the light mage flying on a course to make an impact with a tree. Luckily for Haru, his little blue buddy was still grabbing his shirt and was able to change course and came to a halt hovering above the dark mage.

"You're a Dragon Slayer?" Haru exclaimed in surprise.

"So he's not an idiot. Yes, I am a Dragon Slayer, but unlike you, I am a Second Generation Slayer, a superior Slayer to you First Generation Slayers,' Cobra said as scales started to creep over his arms and hands.

"I'll show you who is the superior Slayer," Haru said with a scowl as he began sucking in air. Cobra quickly mimicked the action before both of them released their spells, hollering "Fire Dragon Roar" and "Poison Dragon Roar" respectively.

-Ancient abandoned cave-

Midnight was now standing near the entrance gazing out at the stream of fire combating the wave of maroon poison.

"Cobra seems to be having fun Father, your path to Nirvana should be clear from here on out," Midnight commented before having to activate his magic as a wave of grey and purple magic almost caught him off guard. He wasn't ready for the follow-up punch to the gut that caused him to double over.

The deathly look he saw when he locked eyes with his adversary sent a shiver down his spine. Never before has he seen eyes filled with death like those before him now. Luckily he was sent rag-dolling further into the cave, no longer frozen in shock at the eyes that sought out death itself.

"Oh and who might you be, I do not recall seeing you in our previous encounter with the mages of light," Brain said as he looked at the cloaked individual who sported purple eyes that glowed with rage from beneath their hood.

"Nat…" Wendy started to whisper, having snapped out of her internal dread when Midnight flew past her, but her voice was filled with fear, dread and self-loathing.

"You will return the girl now or you will face the living incarnation of Death himself," Natsu growled out as the purple and grey aura around him thickened. His eyes landed on the terrified Wendy and his magic pulsed.

"I have no use for her, but it would be beneficial to eliminate the both of you now," Brain decided and started to turn to Jellal to give him an order but quickly found himself slamming into the cave wall with Jellal following him shortly after.

As quickly as the unknown player arrived, he disappeared, leaving only two confused occupants in the cave and one frowning man as memories bubbled to the surface. A shout in pain erupted from Jellal as he clutched his head in pain.

"Whoever that man was seems to have had a reasonable impact on Jellal's mind. I need to try and suppress his mind until he can reclaim his darkness. Midnight, I will ask you to guard this cave and not allow anyone else to enter," Brain said to himself before giving the order to Midnight.

"I will not fail you again Father," Midnight said, internally chastising himself for the mage that managed to catch him off guard and resulted in them losing the Sky Maiden. Midnight ventured out of the cave and stood in the middle of the ancient village, his sense on high alert for any indication of enemy mages nearby.

-With Natsu and Wendy-

Natsu held Wendy close to his chest as he sped away from the ancient village that was the temporary base of operations of the Oracion Seis. Once he deemed them far enough, Natsu came to a halt and gently looked down at the girl in his arms.

"Hello Little Dragon," Natsu softly said as he scanned her for any sign of wounds. Satisfied that he couldn't see any injuries on her, Natsu released the girl so that she now sat on the ground.

"N-Natsu… I-I'm so so-sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Th-They said they would k-kill him but I couldn't…" Wendy broke down, pouring all the emotions that bottled up inside her out to the person she saw as an older brother.

"Wendy, what happened?" Natsu softly asked as he laid a comforting hand on her head and used his other hand to gently wipe the tears from her eyes. He allowed the girl to calm herself, allowing his presence to be a source of stability she could latch on to.

"They forced me to help them, but I was too weak and now he's dead," Wendy said after she managed to reign in her emotions enough to say a sentence before more tears started to flow.

"Who are you talking about?" Natsu asked with concern laced in his voice.

"The man with blue hair," Wendy sniffed.

"Little Dragon, that man isn't dead, you could even see him walking around," Natsu gently explained.

"But you didn't see his eyes, there was no life at all," Wendy replied as she shuddered through the tears that were flowing freely once more. This caused a frown to form on Natsu's brow. He gently took Wendy into an embrace once again before letting his magic and senses reach out to the general location of the ancient village and cave.

"The man you saw isn't deal little one, he is merely possessed by some dark magic," Natsu gently whispered as he held the young Dragon Slayer close to his chest while a scowl formed on his face. 'They forced another darkness onto that man, they potentially put Mike and his family in danger, and they forced an innocent soul to take part in such a dark ritual with no regard for her mental state. They will soon face the wrath of the inevitable,' Natsu thought darkly.

"Wendy, I need you to focus for me. Erza Scarlet was poisoned and she is in a bad condition. Will you be able to help me out?" Natsu asked.

"But what if I mess up and she becomes the same as that man?" Wendy asked in a distraught tone.

"Little Dragon, your magic is the reason that man is alive, if you didn't constantly heal him he would not have survived what those dark mages did to him. You are a gifted healer and I can't even hope to achieve the amazing life-saving feats that you are capable of," Natsu encouraged.

"Do you mean that?" Wendy asked with hope starting to sprout in her heart as the man she looked up to the most encouraged her as she looked up at him with her brown eyes.

"Have I ever lied to you little one?" Natsu asked with a soft smile, happy to see hope in her young eyes.

"I'll do my best to help Erza," Wendy resolved as a look of determination claimed her facial features.

"Hop on my back so that you can conserve your strength," Natsu said as he knelt down in front of Wendy who quickly accepted his offer. Once Wendy had a secure grip around his neck, Natsu took off in the direction of where the comatose Erza lay.

-With Jura-

Jura took to searching around an area that has a lack of dense forests that combine to form the Worth Wood Sea. Coming out to a flat clearing with a few interesting rock formations Jura knelt and placed a hand on the ground. Sending a powerful pulse of his magic into the ground to see if he could pick up on any of the Oracion Seis member's magic signatures, his eyes quickly widened as he leapt into the air, barely avoiding the liquefied ground at his feet.

"What luck, with the underground bounty I can claim for the head of a Wizard Saint, I will have millions, oh yeah," a voice said as the large, geometric body of Hoteye came into view.

"I will give you one chance to reveal where you are holding the girl you kidnapped and what your plans are or I will not pull my punches and use alternative means to get the answers," Jura threatened as he slightly lowered his stance and extended one hand with his palm facing Hoteye, his index and middle fingers pointing upwards.

"There is no need to worry about the little Dragon Slayer, she will fetch a lovely price once our leader has exhauster her use," Hoteye said with a greedy grin at the prospect of acquiring a vase sum of money.

"Iron Rock Fist" Jura called out, initiating the battle with a large arm of rock hurtling towards Hoteye.

"Dissolving Palm" Hoteye countered, causing a palm-shaped extrusion of liquefied earth to blast up from underneath Jura's attack. Once the two spells made contact, Jura's attack lost its solid form and Hoteye easily parted the liquefied mass of rock as it neared him.

"My Liquid Earth magic is superior to your magic Wizard Saint. Now please allow me to claim your bounty for the Money, oh yeah," Hoteye said confidently before firing off another spell.

"Liquid Ground" Hoteye shouted as the ground around him started to liquefy, and like a wave in a turbulent river, it rose up and rushed towards Jura.

"One magic is never superior to another, whether a mage can overcome the obstacles before them is solely a product of their devotion and conviction," Jura declared before raising a defence by calling out "Iron Rock Wall". The wave of flowing ground met its match as it crashed against the sturdy iron-like wall of earth.

"I am impressed that your resolve is as solid as your defence, but money will always triumph over all. You won't be able to hide though as my Heaven's Eye will always snuff out even the small change, oh yeah," Hoteye shouted as he raised his index and middle fingers and placed them just below his eyes.

"Liquid Eruption" Hoteye called out as his eyes fell on Jura's form as the Saint was standing behind the Iron Rock Wall. The ground below Jura erupted like a volcano, sending the Saint into the air.

"Solidify" Jura called out, causing the liquefied rock around him to solidify before he called out "Rock Avalanche". The rocks around Jura suddenly flew straight at Hoteye who simply pointed two fingers towards them.

"Liquefy" Hoteye called out with a grin. The grin quickly turned to an expression of shock as nothing happened and the rocks simply continued on their solid path.

"My resolve to protect the light is stronger than your desire for fortune,' Jura said as the rocks surrounded Hoteye. Jura's brows knitted into a frown before calling out "Supreme King Rock Crush".

Powerful shockwaves of magic expanded from Jura. As the waves of magic reached the rock-covered Hoteye, two ethereal hands formed on either side and slammed together. A shout in pain erupted from the now uncovered Hoteye before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed, defeated.

"You were a worthy opponent, unfortunately, that means I will still have to wait a while until I will get the answers I seek," Jura said as his eyes rested on the unconscious mage. Jura proceeded with his search, just this time he also carried a large man over his shoulder. 'This might be easier if he could detach his body,' Jura thought in an uncharacteristic light-hearted way.

-With Brain-

"You finally quieted down," Brain sighed in relief as the screams of pain from Jellal finally stopped once Brain increased the hold that the darkness had over him.

"Now Jellal, lead us to our salvation, Nirvana awaits," Brain ordered. The completely blank expressions with eyes filled with inner turmoil didn't faze Brain as his goal was within reach.

Jellal started to move almost robotically while Brain followed with a grin. Suddenly one of the lines on his face started to disappear and his grin morphed into a concerned frown.

'Hoteye is defeated? How is this possible, could it be that the Wizard Saint faced his member, but to fall this early…' Brain thought. Midnight quickly saw Brain's expression and the lack of one of the tattoo lines but kept quiet to not disturb the man's thinking.

"Midnight, we are on our way to Nirvana, but Hoteye has fallen. Stay close and be on guard, we cannot allow all the demons to fall," Brain ordered. He received a nod from the younger man before continuing to follow Jellal.

'There seems to be some powerful prey around. After Father reaches Nirvana I might just go hunting," Midnight mused as a tiny malicious grin started to tug at his lips.

-With Lucy and Hibiki-

The two mages were conversing about just general small talk topics as Hibiki typed away on his Archive Magic while Lucy watched over Erza as the poisonous purple veins on her arm from the snake bite has almost reached her chest area.

"They will find Wendy shortly and then she will get you back on your feet. Please just hold out a little longer," Lucy softly plead to the comatose mage with a concerned expression that was plastered on her face since the knight went unconscious.

"I haven't heard anything from our mages yet but with the area, they are covering they will find her very soon. Heads up someone is approaching and it's not one of our mages," Hibiki said comfortingly before his head snapped to one side and his eyes narrowed as he gave the warning.

Lucy quickly took a defensive stance over Erza, her hands hovering above her key pouch. She felt nervousness invade her very being as she remembered the terrible power the Oracion Sies members displayed. 'I can't focus on that, Erza needs my help now,' Lucy steeled her resolve as she and Hibiki watched the direction Hibiki sensed the intruder.

A sense of relief washed over Lucy as she saw that it wasn't a dark mage that appeared but rather the mages they know as Death Walker. Hibiki however had a different reaction. Fearing for the safety of the ladies behind him Hibiki took an offensive stance and prepared a spell.

"If you value the life of Titania as well as your own you will dispel whatever you are casting. I am not here to fight you," Death Walker said as he approached.

"How do I know this isn't a ruse to get us to lower our guard?" Hibiki asked with his spell a mere thought away from being released. At this moment Lucy saw something she wouldn't have expected in a hundred years. Poking out from behind Death Walker's right shoulder was a mop of blue hair, a shade of blue that was very familiar to the mages of the Alliance. The only thing Lucy could do was utter "Wendy?"

That one word, one question, caused Hibiki to completely release his spell and turn all his attention to Lucy. When he saw her eyes locked onto the dangerous mage's location, He took a better look at the cloaked man. That was when he saw the blue colour of the innocent little girl that they met earlier that day. If he was one of the hot-headed mages from Fairy Tail he might have opted to attack the mage who took the girl, but he was the brains of the Trimens, he instantly knew that for a reason unbeknownst to him, Death Walker had brought Wendy here to heal Erza.

Stepping aside, Hibiki opened the way to Erza so that Wendy can heal her. Natsu allowed the girl to get off his back before standing back and giving her an encouraging nod. Wendy walked over to Erza and her hands were quickly enveloped in a light green glow. Wendy proceeded to kneel down next to Erza and brought her hands to the origin of the purple veins that threatened to invade the Knight Mage's heart.

Lucy watched with bated breath as the purple veins started to recede. Hibiki was fascinated as the healing magic slowly extracted the venom from Erza's bloodstream while Natsu watched with a hidden expression but if you could see it, there would be clear pride in his eyes to see the young girl he saw as a little sister overcome the fear she had a few minutes ago.

After an extended silence, the intrusive purple veins receded until they completely vanished and Erza's normal complexion returned to her as her muscles released the pained tension they were in. Wendy stood up with a weak smile on her wobbly legs. She tried to take a step back to the waiting mages but her legs refused to support her. Before she could collide with the ground though, she was caught in the gentle grip of her big brother.

"You have done wonderfully, take a rest and recover," Natsu silently said as he gently laid her down on the ground.

Hibiki felt the lingering cation start to wane from his mind as he witnessed the gentle interaction between the kind and innocent girl and the mage he was told was dangerous enough for a Wizard Saint to take drastic action changed his view of the man known as 'Death Walker'.

"Uhm, do you know what is happening with the rest of our friends out there?" Lucy asked as her eyes flicked from Erza's prone body to Natsu for a moment.

"All I can say is that powerful magical signatures are clashing, though I did not stick around to confirm what the status of each fight was," Natsu replied as he sat down next to where Wendy was resting. The two mages who were awake couldn't see that he closed his eyes but the mystery around the man and his satisfactory answer led them to not bother him.

"I will send out communications to the others to let them know that Wendy was found," Hibiki said but before he could activate the link he set up between the alliance, a beam of pure white energy surrounded by spirals of tainted black illuminated the space above the forest as the all the mages felt a wave of magic wash over the area.

"What was that?" Lucy asked with hints of fear edging in her voice.

"Nirvana," Natsu's deep voice answered while from beneath his hood, two glowing purple orbs pierced the shrouded darkness. Lucy waited for something more but after realising that she wouldn't get an answer she turned to Hibiki.

"Those beams are Nirvana's power. There wasn't anything concrete about exactly what Nirvana was but, likely, this is not its final form. According to my research, this is the first phase of Nirvana's awakening where its power runs rampant before the weapon fully awakens and its true form is revealed. There was no mention of what its true form is, but we need to get everyone to get to the source before the Oracion Seis gets their hands on it," Hibiki explained, a bit of urgency edging into his voice at the end.

Lucy saw a frown on Hibiki's face before he rapidly started to type away at his Archive Magic. While Lucy studied Hibiki, trying to decipher what is troubling the mage, Natsu noticed Erza starting to stir.

"This is a problem. The power that Nirvana is giving off is interfering with the telepathic link I set up between everyone. We need to inform them about Nirvana's awakening and that it's not yet complete so that we can stop it. But how will we find them?" Hibiki finally said as his magic deactivated and he turned to the gathered mages, asking his question with no answer to find everyone coming to mind.

"Haru and Gray will definitely head towards the beam of power because 'that will be where the fight is', or that is the best guess I have for them. As for Lamia Scale, I think they might conclude that Wendy will likely be where Nirvana's power is coming from," Lucy offered.

"Good thinking. I'm sure that Master, Ren and Eve will get to the same conclusion. I will have to get moving quickly to inform everyone of the situation. You can stay here and watch over Erza and Wendy," Hibiki replied.

"I don't think it's smart to go alone, you saw how strong the Oracion Seis members are," Lucy raised her concern. The problem she was facing though was that someone needed to be here for Wendy and Erza, at least until they recover, but letting Hibiki leave alone has a high likelihood of having him face a powerful dark mage alone.

"I will stay and watch over Erza and Wendy," Natsu reminded them of his presence, slightly surprising the two.

"Given our options that is the only one where we aren't acting recklessly," Hibiki agreed after a moment's thought. Having seen how Death Walker treated Wendy and the fact he mentioned that she will be able to help Erza, Hibiki decided to trust her safety with him. It also didn't hurt that he could stand up to Jura, even if they didn't use their full power in their brief scuffle.

Natsu watched as the two dashed off in the direction of Nirvana before rerunning his attention to the stirring Erza. Her eyes slowly started to open as she started to take in the world around her, but they quickly snapped wide open and she suddenly jerked into a sitting position as her magic power started to grow around her.

"The danger is not near, take a moment to gather yourself," a familiar voice said from beside her. Without dropping her guard or relaxing her magic, Erza turned to where her eyes met the cloaked Natsu and the sleeping Wendy. Concern quickly filled her eyes as she saw the girl who seemed exhausted.

"She just used a lot of magic to heal you after she already neatly exhausted herself with something else," Natsu explained. His calm tone along with her not sensing any other magic signatures nearby caused Erza to relax slightly.

"What happened after I passed out?" Erza asked as she inspected her fully healed arm with amazement evident in her eyes.

"Exactly what happened isn't of much concern, but the main points are that Wendy was taken by the Guild Master of Oracion Seis for something he will come to regret, I managed to retrieve her and she healed you," Natsu started but he was interrupted by Erza.

"What would the Oracion Seis want with Wendy?" Erza asked as her concern for the girl surfaced again. This received a sigh from Natsu.

"I was getting to that. They somehow found where Jellal was being treated and the Guild Master placed him under another possession spell. I didn't have time to figure out why they did it since getting Wendy out of there and back here to heal you took priority. As of now, the other mages who you allied with are somewhere in the Worth Wood Sea, searching for Wendy but they will likely head to the source of the beams of magic you can see in the sky according to the guy with Archive Magic and the blond from your guild," Natsu explained while indicating to the black and white beams of magic.

"Why would they need Jellal, and didn't he suffer enough with people using him for their nefarious deeds," Erza asked, more to herself.

"I believe it involves the knowledge he gained as a member of the Magic Council. There are many dark secrets that most would like to be wiped from history throughout the past of the kingdom of Fiore," Natsu reasoned.

"That is most likely the case," Erza agreed with a sigh s she gazed at her lap.

"So, what's your plan now?" Erza asked as she experimentally stood up and slowly started to test her muscles and movement. She looked over to the still-sitting Natsu.

"I will wait here until Wendy recovers, once she is awake, I plan to prevent Nirvana from causing piles of bodies to pile up at the feet of the Oracion Seis," Natsu said, a thin layer of power surrounding him at the end as his voice turned aggressive.

"Would you oppose if I join you once Wendy is awake? I would like to offer her my thanks as soon as possible," Erza asked. She could barely make out a faint smile on Natsu's hidden features but the nod of agreement provided her with the answer she needed. Erza took the time to stretch and loosen her stiff body while Natsu continued sitting in silence.

It didn't take long before Wendy started to stir as her brown eyes slowly opened until they fell on a smiling Erza.

"Erza, how are you feeling? I hope I got all the poison out, please tell me if I missed anything or if you are still feeling unwell," Wendy quickly rambled off her concerns. She tried to quickly stand up and hurry over to Erza but the sudden blood flow through her body caused her to feel lightheaded and almost fell over if Erza wasn't already in front of her to catch her.

"Easy there, I am not as skilled with healing others as you. You did a wonderful job, Wendy," Erza steadied her before giving her praise with a smile. Wendy returned a thankful smile as her body readjusted and her lightheadedness went away.

"I am going to head towards Nirvana. Wendy, this is where you need to make a decision that will affect your life. You can join me in heading to the Oracion Seis and prepare to oppose them, this will throw you into the harsh realities that most are hidden from. Or, you can decide to stay back and forge another path for your future, one where you will be sheltered from the truth of our world for a while still," Natsu said as he stood up and pulled his hood back, revealing his serious yet caring expression.

"This is your journey, your life, Wendy. You are the only one to decide where your life will head, and wherever that might be, know I will always be there for you when I can," Natsu said as he knelt on a knee in front of her and rested a hand on her head. Erza silently observed the interaction, surprised to see that the two had a special connection, one formed over a long time. Erza and Natsu could both clearly see that the young girl was taking the question very seriously.

Erza silently will the girl to take her first step into the woman she was meant to be while the girl had a look of deep thought as she searched for the answer. Natsu stayed in his knelt position but felt her head shift so that he was looking him in the eye. A look of determination and drive started back at him as Wendy clenched her fists, her decision made.

-With Midnight-

"You two are quite a bore. I would have thought that anyone who would try and follow us would at least be able to put up some sort of a fight, not the pathetic and feeble resistance you two think passes as magical power," Midnight sneered as he covered a yawn.

Facing the mysterious mage were two of the Trimen and their Leader. Ren and Eve definitely knew better days as they were standing brutalised while Ichiya sported a number of scrapes and bruises.

"This is quite the foe, my lovely Parfume seems to be disgusted by his vile appearance, Man," Ichiya said as he struck an unsteady pose.

"His magic, what can cause all of our attacks to simply bend around him?" Ren asked as he readied another tornado around his arms.

"It must be reflector magic, but how can we overcome it?" Eve asked as a blizzard started to gather around his hands.

"I will use my ultimate Parfume, one that will not be so easily warded, Man," Ichiya said as he pulled out two vials. "Manly, manly: Musk" Ichiya called out as he popped the corks of the vials and directed the contents at Midnight.

"You truly never learn, not that I mind," Midnight said with a disappointed look that quickly morphed into a sick grin. With a flick of his wrist, the murky green cloud quickly changed its trajectory, straight back at Ichiya. With a feeble call of 'Man', Ichiya was struck down by his own potent and unfiltered stench.

"Now that the annoyance is gone, I will show you two tRuE FEAR," Midnight said as his body morphed into a truly horrifying demonic being as the world around Eve and Ren turned dark and their consciousness left them.

"Pathetic, this is the resistance they throw at us. Is that cloaked mage the only one who will be able to entertain me?" Midnight said, his demonic appearance gone and a bored expression plastered on his face.

"Maybe if I brutalise them the others might have more motivation," Midnight said to himself as a grin returned to his lips. Raising his hand and preparing his magic, Midnight was about to release his spell when a slab of earth shot from the ground as he heard a strong male voice shouting "Iron Rock Wall".

"Oh, I didn't think you would come to me, I sure am lucky," Midnight said as he turned to the newest arrival. What surprised him though was the large man who was next to the bald Wizard Saint.

"Hoteye, what are you doing with the enemy and how does he know your name?" Midnight asked, slight anger entering his voice.

"Richard has seen the errors of his ways and he allied himself with us to bring your evil deeds to an end," Jura declared as he advanced to his downed allies.

"Love is the strongest power and the conviction of my comrade Jura has cleared my mind and opened my eyes, Macbeth,' Richard said as he held his two fingers under his eyes with his other hand stretched out. "Liquid Ground" Richard called out as the ground at midnight's feet turned to liquid.

"Go my trusted comrade, get these men to safety and continue to Nirvana, I will defeat Macbeth and join back up with you," Richards said to Jura.

"Stay safe Richard," Jura replied with a nod before lifting the three defeated Pegasus Mages and leaving the area.

-With Lucy and Hibiki-

As the two ran towards the source of Nirvana's power, Hibiki told Lucy about what he kept from everyone. How Nirvana has the power to turn light into dark, but a little-known thing was when it begins its awakening, the residual power that sealed it will fill the sky and the power that was held back will sway any with doubt in their hearts or instability in their minds to the other side. If any of their allies had doubts or an unstable mind, they might very well turn against them. This news shocked Lucy but she understood quickly how such news might drive those around them to have doubts. Keeping it hidden as long as possible was the only option.

A groan sounded as the two neared a stream and they saw Gray floating in the water. Lucy and Hibiki instantly skidded to a halt and changed their route to get to Gray.

"Gray, are you all right?" Lucy asked as she jumped into the shallow stream closely followed by Hibiki. They didn't receive a response from Gray until they reached him and gently shook him. That was when he slowly opened his eyes.

"Lucy Heartfilia, good body and easy on the eyes, sometimes annoying and, what is this, a Celestial Mage," Gray said with a grin as Ice quickly surrounded him and froze the water around them.

"What is going on Gray?" Hibiki shouted while Lucy looked at him in shock, partially due to his odd choice of words and partially due to him suddenly freezing the area around them.

"Hibiki Lates, Irritating pretty boy, think better of himself, requires a good beating," Gray listed as he turned to look at the Blue Pegasus mage.

"Seriously Gray, what has gotten into you? Could this be because of Nirvana, but you usually keep a cool mind?" Lucy asked, first directing the initial question to Gray before addressing Hibiki with the second.

"Something seems off, this doesn't seem like a turn in which side he is on," Hibiki said as he surrounded his fist in some of his magic and managed to break the ice. Usually, he would play a more intelligence-based battle, but he did develop some rudimentary combat-based spells for a situation just like this where some level of brute force is required.

"Hmm, seems like the pretty boy has some brains. Come now my precious Gemini, I think we can see how these followers of the light fare against the powers of the all-consuming dark, and with her being a Celestial Mage, I can continue to fill my collection after you have some fun of course," a female voice sounded from across the stream and when Hibiki and Lucy looked up the saw Angle staring back at them with a malicious smile.

"Pini, Pini," Gray said in a much more child-like voice as he began to glow, once the glow died down a copy of Lucy stood where Gray once was.

"What is going on?" Lucy shrieked as Hibiki readied himself for the inevitable battle.

"Open gate of the…" the copied Lucy started as a golden key on Lucy's belt started to glow.

There you have it, a small fight and the beginning of quite a few other ones. I have some fun conflicts and twists planned for the fights and the end of this arc. Wendy will also have a bit more of a role in his arc compared to canon. Let me know your thoughts with a review and I will see you next time.