Cobra peeked out from behind his tree, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Jellal. The man had been weaving through the trees, his gait steady and focus intact. Cobra's frustration was growing, brimming like a steady volcano, waiting to burst. Considering he could hear someone's souls, and by extension their intentions as easily as hearing someone speak, to be shut out from someone and being helpless- or worse, normal, didn't sight right with him. It was like losing a sense, as if he suddenly lost his ability to see or touch or taste. He could feel his temper rising and every fibre of his being urging him to just attack. To force the blue haired asshole to tell him where Nirvana was. He was stronger, he hadn't been locked up in a coffin and had to be resurrected by a mere child. He could take this man easily and squish him like a bug.
Grinding his teeth, Cobra ignored every instinct that told him to rip this man to shreds, for having the audacity to somehow evade his soul-listneing magic. He focused on his breathing, trying to temper the burning rage. Brain would be most displeased if he ruined the plan because of his temper, so he had to wait, and make his move when he was ready.
He slipped behind another tree, making sure Jellal wouldn't hear or see him. He doubted he needed to worry though, the man was a zombie- his focus fine tuned like a laser.
"I need to follow the plan. Though it's weird, I know the Woodsea well, and I've never been here," he muttered, frowning at that realisation. "Maybe Brain was onto something after all."
Finally his unknowing guide stopped before a tree that radiated magic. How had I not felt this before? Cobra wondered, his eyes focused on the way Jellal pushed his power into the tree, making it positively luminous. Grimacing, he averted his eyes, holding his arm up to help try to split the light. It slowly ebbed, and he removed his arm, a wide smirk splitting his face.
As his eyes drank in the light, he couldn't help but chuckle darkly. Finally, after all their planning, something was going right. "It's Nirvana, it has to be!" He screamed, making sure his voice didn't carry.
Without another word he watched, transfixed as a burst of light shot into the sky, ribbons of darkness threaded through. "Finally, after all our work, we found it!" He shouted, glee coating his words.
"It's Nirvana!"
"Hibiki!" Natsu shouted, earning a harsh glare from Gray.
"Flamebrain you iditon! Do you want to send the enemy a formal invitation or something?" he snapped back, injecting his voice with as much sarcasm as he could muster.
Before Natsu could snap back, the two flying cats had dropped the squabbling boys in front of a shocked Hibiki, though he regained his composure with speed. "What are you guys doing here?" Hibiki asked, slipping his hands into his pocket.
"What are we doing here?" Natsu asked, throwing his hands in the air to emphasize his disbelief. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to be with Lucy!"
"Yea man, what happened? Is she doing okay?" Gray asked, managing not to scream like his flame brained companion.
"Her Spirits are with her, and I lost contact with Ren and everyone. I figured I had run out of range so I came closer, hoping I could regain the signal." He said calmly, not phased by Natsu's temper tantrum.
"If her Spirits are there with her she couldn't be safer, Natsu. You know how much they adore her." Gray said, tactfully not adding Loke in there and how he especially adored her.
Growling, Natsu let out a burst of flame from his mouth, needing an outlet for his temper. "Fine, I guess you are right. I just hate this." He snapped, growling as his dragon stirred. "Though I guess with you here you can sense out Wendy, or whatever it is you do."
Hibiki just gave him a level look, but ultimately nodded. "It'll take me a bit, so I'll need you guys to cover me." He said, getting serious nods from the other boys.
"Lead the way, radiohead," Natsu said, making Gray facepalm at his ridiculousness.
"Only you, Natsu. Only you," Gray groaned, walking off with Hibiki in tow.
"What was that Ice Prick!" Natsu screamed, racing after Gray, who growled and turned back to him.
"What did you call me, Flame brain!" He snapped, slamming their foreheads together.
"You heard me, you ball-less snowman!" Natsu growled back, the tension rising.
Before he could say anything out, a sonic boom eviscerated the area, sending them flying apart. They skid on the ground like a stone on a calm lake, before coming to a standstill. Groaning, they pushed themselves up, horrid gasps ripping out of their throat. Above them, was a column of pure energy, splitting the sky apart. Ribbons of darkness threaded through, moving like blacked veins. The two boys exchanged wide-eyed glances, their minds blanked from thought.
"No way, they got it already?" Gray shouted, pushing himself back onto his feet.
"Must be why my telepathy has been acting up. They must've been closing in." Hibiki theorised, his mouth a grim line.
"What's the plan? Do we go to the light and hope Wendy is there?" Natsu asked, his body shaking with anger.
" Back when I was younger, we lived on the highest point of the mountain. It gave us the best outlook." Gray began calmly, his eyes like steel. "If I was them, I'd want to be on higher ground, so I could survey everything that is going on. That light doesn't seem to be in a place of high altitude, so I doubt Brain and Wendy will be there."
"Our team is too split up, we need to get together again to re-group," Hibiki added, getting a terse nod from Gray.
"I can try to head back to the ship, it is reinforced to stop with outside interference." he paused, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Well, mental interference."
The other two boys shared a look, before nodding. "Okay, Hibiki, you go back to the ship, try to get everyone linked again. I will go up to the highest point and see if they are there, I will set up a flare. Hibiki, if you can radio everyone to send up a flare where they are to send up a flare of power, that'll be great. Then I can see where everyone is." Gray soad, getting a nod from Gray.
"And Natsu-" Hibik asked, looking around, before a puzzled expression settled on his face. "Where's Natsu?"
Gray looked at him, a small smirk on his face. "He left when I said I'd take the mountain.. Come on, we don;t have time." Gray said, already beginning to sprint away.
Hibiki just looked on, slightly shocked at the turn of events. A slow smile spread on his face, and he shook his head. "They may be rash, but they get things down." He whispered to himself, before turning back in the direction he came from.
"Ren, look!" Eve shouted, pointing to the spear of light slashing the sky. "It's Nirvana!"
Ren stood there, his mouth in a straight line. "The question is, is it the allied forces, or them?"
The two boys stayed in silence, neither having the answers. "Hibiki, come in Hibiki," Ren said, moving his hand to his temple to try to tap into the network.
"He's not answering," He growled, tearing his hand away from his temple.
Even ran a hand through his hair, growling in frustration. "What should we do?" Eve asked, trying to smother the feeling of hopelessness.
Ren let out a frustrated growl, feeling his control spiralling. Taking a deep breath, he centered himself, clearing his mind. "You focus on finding Wendy, I'll go find out what's up with Hibiki." Ren said, and Eve nodded.
"Stay safe, Ren." Eve said, pausing before running off, leaving his teammate behind.
Ren paused for a moment, gazing at the light. Shaking out the feeling of dread he sprinted off, forcing his mind back in the game.
Keeping a constant supply of magic in his veins, Midnight floated forward. Wisps of magic floated around, searching eagerly for his prey. He could sense magical energy ahead, a slight chilled quality to it. Either one of the Ice Mages or the Snow Mage, he thought to himself, blocking the stream of magic that kept him invisible. Smirking, he slipped off his carpet, letting it wait for him like an obedient dog.
He could hear footfalls and slipped into the clearing, walking as if going for a stroll not an assassination mission. He entered the clearing the exact time that the blonde haired boy did, his confident smirk adorning his face.
"Oracion Seis," he hissed, getting into a defensive stance.
"A fan I see, well unfortunately for you, I don't care about my fans." Midnight said calmly, his voice.
"White Fury!" Eve shouted, throwing his hand forward and sending a stream of snow and chilled air towards Midnight.
Midnight just stayed still, barely reacting. The magic seemed to stop, as if it didn't want to touch him. Eve's eyes widened, fear slicing through his heart.
A twisted smirk slid onto Midnight's face, as he took a step forward. "Now," He said, oppressive magic streaming around him. "It's my turn to play."
Staring down at the blonde's prone form, Midnight let out a disgusted sigh. These were the people picking off his team? Pathetic. They deserved to go down if they were this week. Giving Eve another kick that sent him rolling and sprawling, he nodded to himself, pleased that he had succeeded in crushing this vermin.
"Shame you didn't know where your little friends were, would have made this easier-"
"Air MAgic, Aerial shot!" A burst of wind and rocks swept up shot towards Midnight, who just signed boredly as his magic negated the effect.
"What have you done to Eve!" Ren snapped, preparing another attack. "Aerial Phose!" He shouted, spinning his arms like a windmill and thrusting them forward, a cyclone of air spinning chaotically to Midnight.
He just rolled his eyes as the winds dissipated, his magic activating. "Impossible!" Ren shouted, his mouth slack jawed. "How did I miss you?"
Midnight narrowed his eyes, blades of invisible energy slashing at Ren. He groaned as he collapsed, pain radiating from his body. "How… how could I… miss you?" He weakly asked, collapsing on the ground and losing his grasp of consciousness.
"Tch," Midnight sighed, slipping his hand in his pockets. "How pitiful. These are the best they have? They may as well hand us Nirvana at this rate." He sighed, striding forwards and back out of the clearing.
"Oh well, I will continue my hunt," he muttered, walking over and landing gracefully on his carpet. "And pick them off, one." he paused, a vicious smile on his face. "By one."
Hey everyone! Sorry I've been absent, personal things I've had to take care of. This chapter is short, but I've got a lot going on so I hope you'll forgive me. Nirvana is here finally! Our poor hero's can't catch a break. Next chapter will involve Midnight's continued rampage, some fun with Erza, more Laxus and Lucy and of course, our favourite Flame Brain.
I can't say when I'll update, though hopefully early next week. I'm also working on my own original fiction, so I have a little bit less time.