Chapter 35: Even If The Light Fades Once More 1/2

Chapter 35. My buffer zone is back up just in time as I focus on a load of other Coursework. The chapters will continue on regardless however. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Bleach. Shame, it would be great if I did

Protector Of The Fairies

Even If The Light Fades Once More

Erza glanced around the cave, seeing nothing. Sighing one last time, she left it and headed back outside, sparing a quick glance at the pillar of black light that had burst from the ground. She wanted to head straight there but she had to check back in with Hibiki so she could find what was happening with the others.

Where was Wendy? She had to check multiple times just to satisfy her curiosity but there was nothing. She was sure the girl had been there. The Magic in the air still had a faint presence in it that belonged to her. She wished she could track Wendy down with it but that was impossible for her, and by the time she found someone capable of doing that the presence would be gone.

So for now she needed to know what their next move was. Wendy was still a pressing issue but so was Nirvana, because that had to be what that light was. It was dark, but it was also light. The Magic radiating from Nirvana seemed like both, which was surprising. How could something be both light and dark? It was unusually one or the other or sometimes even neither. But to be both at once was impossible.

She reached her lone arm up to her neck and tabbed the symbol on her nape. Static filled her ears for a moment which she winced at before Hibiki connected her through. "Sorry about that. I'm getting some interference here, what with Nirvana being released."

"You sensed that right?"

"Not completely, but the others have a particular idea of what is happening. They're telling me something's wrong with it. That Nirvana is emitting Magic that is both light and dark at the same time."

"I'm getting the same feeling from it. You don't seem surprised."

"Yes. The Master said that he didn't understand exactly what Nirvana was, but he did say to be careful when the light rises from the ground. Those between both light and dark may find their allegiances switched. I wasn't meant to tell you this-"

"Because of an increased risk of falling to Nirvana's influence," finished Erza for him. "Don't worry, my resolve is strong right now. Did you say others before?"

"Yes. Wendy's here, and Ichigo's back on his feet somewhat. Natsu's still asleep but he's likely to wake soon."

Erza let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. How did Wendy get to you lot? Did someone beat me here? You didn't seem to know where she was when I contacted you before."

"I didn't." A pause happened, Erza frowning at the strange tone in Hibiki's voice. "Someone helped us."

"Someone? Who?"

"That's not important."

Her frown deepened. "I'd quite like to know who is helping us. It seems fairly important as it can't be one of us, else why not say it."

She could practically sense Hibiki sweating from the tone of her voice, the subtle anger focused as best as she could at him. She was about to ask more when-

"Toushirou," Hibiki muttered. "I don't want the others knowing how close things got and that we had to call him in. I finally found him with Archive, and trust me it was hard, what with having to widen the search area to locate him. He rushed forward and got her, though I didn't know he was successful till he got Wendy back here for us."

"Then why not have said that to me originally?"

"Look, I don't want the others knowing that we had to rely on more help like this as morale is already low, and Toushirou is still just a kid. He doesn't inspire people as much as Ichigo or Shinji would. And he can't stay with us anyway, what with Nirvana now being released. He had to retreat to get ready for a possible sealing."

Erza took another glance at the black light in the sky. "You don't think Nirvana is completely released?"

"No. A stationary light like this doesn't fit what we know of Nirvana. It was meant to be a powerful weapon, not something that people can easily avoid."

"So what do you want me to do?"

Hibiki sighed. "There are still three members of Oración Seis out there. Midnight, Cobra and Brain. I'd have to say these are the top three, and some of us are still out there. Eve and Ren are with Ichiya, Happy and Carla on Christina. We're all planning to head out there soon when it reaches us. Lucy and Sherry should be on route to meet it as well."

"What about Gray and Lyon?"

"No word yet. They've gone dark, and I'm not sure how to reach them."

"I see." Erza straighten up and began walking. "I'm heading to Nirvana then."

"Yes… WAIT WHAT!"

"I have a decent idea on how Gray thinks. He'll likely be on his way there too, or at least somewhere nearby it. He won't miss the opportunity to try and catch a member of Oración Seis unaware, and I'm sure Lyon must be of a similar mind. And if Nirvana is interfering with Archive from where you are, is it possible that you can't reach them because of their proximity to Nirvana?"

A pause. "It's possible… Fine then. But be careful. You've already fought one member of Oración Seis, and don't forget that you are missing an arm too. I don't care how strong you are, that still takes time to adjust to. You can't fight in all the same ways as before."

"I know that," Erza snarled back at him. "I know my limits from my last fight, but I'm still a threat as long as I can hold a blade. And if I find Gray, they'll be three of us. That will even the odds if necessary."

Erza smiled as she heard a sigh from Hibiki. "Very well, but do be careful. There is no telling what it will be like right by Nirvana."

"I'll be fine. I'm a Fairy Tail Mage."

Protector Of The Fairies

In a far off location, a group of ten Mages gathered into one room, taking their respective seats around the table. At the head of the table sat an elderly man wearing some small armour, most of it hidden behind a cape. A large black hat rested on his head while a long gray beard stretched down to the middle of his chest. By his side was a large staff, a serpent carved into the top of it.

To the man's right, Org sat, nodding at the Magic Council's new Chairman. Gran Doma had been an unorthodox choice at the time, but he couldn't argue that the man wasn't capable. He had spent a lot of time as a researcher and scholar but he still remembered when Gran Doma had been fighting as a Rune Knight years back, and he still had a lot of the Magical Power he had back then.

If there was any problem he had with the man then it was that he was far too strict. Maybe it was because of the old Chairman and Gran Doma's comments on Juushirou's failing to stop the Etherion Cannon from firing but that was hardly the man's fault for being sick. If anything it was himself that had been at fault since he had agreed to fire the cannon, despite his initial misgivings about using it.

He didn't like this new Council. He liked the old one, when Juushirou had been in charge. That man had been fair and kind, some would say too kind, but he could be harsh too. And the other members of the Council had provided a balanced opinion on matters. There was never a complete consensus, and that was good. It made things harder but it let them weight up decisions more easily. And when they did agree, it was in a wider range of people's interests.

This Council though was different. With the previous one disbanded and Juushirou nowhere to be found, Gran Doma had been elected quite quickly by a majority, and the man had been happy to accept the position. He had immediately started scouting possible Council members after that, prepared to redeem the Magic Council in the eyes of the public and to regain their trust.

And he was doing that. Etherion now required at least nine members to agree on it, making sure it couldn't be wrongly used like it was last time. But Gran Doma was much stricter than Juushirou had ever been, and wanted people to reflect his own views too. The new Council members were more agreeable to him, fewer differences of opinions among them.

He had been surprised when he had been asked back to join the Council, but he knew why. He had been the most agreeable out of all the previous Counsellors, his attitude matching Gran Doma's more closely.

He couldn't deny that man, not after seeing the people he had gathered. They weren't bad, and they truly did think about the sake of the world, but they didn't think of different ways. He hadn't agreed with half the stuff Juushirou did, but he had never denied that they didn't work. And he had seen Juushirou reconsider ideas because of his own input.

The worst was that Gran Doma had his own old attitude towards guilds, particularly Fairy Tail. He couldn't exactly blame the man, but he was pushing way too close against them that he should have been. Ichigo's inclusion to the Wizard Saints, along with Juushirou's last order that acted alongside Ichigo's rank, allowed Fairy Tail some reprieve. Gran Doma didn't like that. He was pushing closer and closer against it, seeing what he could do and what he couldn't. The man didn't like Fairy Tail, but he couldn't just outright defy Juushirou's old order without reason. Despite being the new Chairman, people still remembered Juushirou and how loved he had been by the people.

A way would be found though. He wished he hadn't grown to have like that guild because then he could have watched happily. Now he knew how Yajima felt for all those years as he defended Fairy Tail. He had been doing the same a lot recently, and maybe it was payment for what had almost happened to the Fairy Tail Mages at the Tower of Heaven, but he didn't care. Fairy Tail wasn't the problem that should be focused on. They were a nuisance, not something to eradicate. And they had their uses too, no one could deny that about them.

A slight cough caught his and the other Councillors' attention, all eyes drawing towards the Chairman. He slowly rose from his seat, an almost invisible aura showing around him which transmitted a feeling on how serious the situation was. "Thank you for all gathering so quickly. I assume you all heard the alert?"

Everyone nodded, even if they didn't know what the alert was for. It could have been any variety of things so long as it posed a significant danger to the world itself.

"Not twenty minutes ago did we sense the activation of a long sealed weapon, one that should have remained sealed for many more years. I am of course referring to the Magic known as Nirvana."

A few short breathes were taking. They all knew exactly what danger Nirvana posed to everyone in the world. And suddenly gathering in the short time they had previously was no longer an annoyance. Everyone paid close attention to the Chairman's words, letting him explain what had happened.

"Since its unsealing, the Magic has bounced around the world, alerting many people to its return. Most won't recognise what it is but a lot of the Guild Masters in Fiore have contacted me about it, asking what was happening. The Guild Masters of Blue Pegasus, Fairy Tail, Cait Shelter and Lamia Scale have all admitted to having prior knowledge of this event, something they will all be punished for later due to not informing us of this previously."

They had been contacted? Org scratched his beard slightly, wondering what Makarov had said about the situation. Perhaps he was about to find out?

"When asked why we weren't informed, they all claimed they had believed that they could stop Oración Seis, particularly Fairy Tail in this regard, and that the Rune Knights would not have been capable of such a task."

There was the subtle jab but he couldn't deny why they had done what they had done. He still believed in the power the Rune Knights possessed but they were effective in large numbers. A small strike team of Mages could be very effective at breaking the enemy by catching them unaware.

"From what knowledge I have obtained from Makarov, it seems they have at least that the foresight to prepare for their inevitable failure. On site is currently three Shinigami, somehow all not a part of our all forces except for one, and even his loyalty is limited."

Org held back a smirk. He remembered that kid. He had proved his use time after time, making it reasonable to keep Fairy Tail around as long as he had worked for them. And it seems Gran Doma didn't like having a Shinigami at Ichigo's level around when his loyalty wasn't to him. He wasn't Juushirou after all, and he doubted Ichigo's loyalty extended to Gran Doma like it had done with Juushirou.

"However they have agreed to try and halt Nirvana's progress, using a Kidou Barrier of some kind to hold it at bay if it tries to leave the area. I have already sent out the order for the Rune Knights to mobilise. One of our generals has already volunteered to lead our forces out there, and they should reach Nirvana sometime in a few hours time if they can move fast enough."

"Are we sending one of the Shinigami?" asked one of the Councillors.

"Yes. I believe his abilities will be more than suitable for the task ahead."

"So it isn't Isshin then," muttered another of the Councillors. "Being suitable for tasks has never the way people describe that man."

"After the situation has been resolved, they will apprehend on Mages present on sight, both Oración Seis and the Guild Mages present."

Org couldn't take this, stepping up from his seat. "Chairman, with all due respect, we should avoid trying to arrest the Mages present. They are trying to help the situation after all, and what kind of message would it send if such prominent Mages were locked up because they tried to stop such a dangerous guild?"

Gran Doma raised a hand to his chin in thought. "They still have caused a lot of problems here. Incidents like this must be handled by the Magic Council alone, not random guilds. Why else do we exist if not to protect the people from threats like this?"

"If Lamia Scale is involved, it is likely they have sent Jura Neekis with them. And one of the Shinigami on sight must be Ichigo. They are both Wizard Saints, and as such represent us. It would be a simple matter to say that they were acting on our own authority instead of saying that four guilds illegally attacked a Dark Guild. And imagine what people would say if we did arrest these two when they would have been helping."

Gran Doma nodded, making Org glad he still carried influence with the man. "Agreed then. Any objections?" No one vetoed at which Org raised a point of his own once more.

"If you would, I would advise information to be sent out to them ahead of time."

"About Nirvana?"

"Yes."

Gran Doma sighed. "There is no choice on this matter. We cannot get there fast enough, so they might as well be better prepared as to hold Nirvana back."

With a flick of his wrist, a large globe appeared above everyone, rapidly scanning the area where Nirvana currently was. "So he is there is he," muttered the Chairman before a screen appeared with a download bar on it. When it finally reached one hundred percent, all the screens vanished, a sigh escaping the man's lips. "We are lucky that the hacker Blue Pegasus has is there. He should have received the data quickly enough from the Super Archive. It is the origin of his Magic after all."

Org lowered himself back onto his seat, a smirk hidden from his face. He'd done his job, keeping those Mages out of trouble and making sure they had the help they needed. Now all they could do is wait, hoping that they would pull out a miracle. If Juushirou had believed in Ichigo, then he guessed he would do the same too.

Protector Of The Fairies

"Why did you lie about Toushirou?"

Hibiki glanced towards Ichigo, the Shinigami in question stretching slightly to get rid of stiffness in his limbs.

"Why are you sure it's a lie?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I know Toushirou. He isn't here, and he isn't the type of person to bring someone aid and then leave until he knows if they will be alright. And I don't sense him anywhere nearby."

Hibiki sighed. "You're right. I didn't want to risk her knowing about Jellal?"

"Jellal?" Ichigo turned his head to look at where Jellal was standing, still staying near the edge of the group and obviously uncomfortable with the distrust he was facing. "Wait, hold on. Isn't that Siegrain?"

Jellal looked confused at the name. "Siegrain?" He quickly turned to Wendy. "I thought Jellal was my name?"

"It is," interrupted Jura. "But you went by another name at one point. Siegrain, a member of the Magic Council and a Wizard Saint, also responsible for destroying the previous Magic Council and creating an international incident."