Chapter Fifty Two: Darkness

"YOU MISS US!?" Natsu asked cheerfully as he and Anna popped out from the bushes, the celestial mage quickly placing down the two exceeds who were wide awake

"NATSU!" Lucy called out completely ignoring Anna who merely mumbled "I'm here too" causing Hibiki to immediately give the crystal eyed girl a glass of juice

"How's you do that anyway? All of a sudden your map popped right into my head" Natsu questioned completely ignoring the older Heartfilia who gloomed sadly in front of a nearby tree

"I'll explain it to you later is Wendy alright?" Hibiki asked a sigh escaped his lips when  Natsu told him she is unharmed but unconscious

"TIME FOR YOU TO WAKE UP KID!" The dragon slayer stated shaking the sky dragon slayer "I SAVED YOU NOW YOU GOT TO SAVE ERZA!"

Immediately Natsu was hit in the face by a pillow which Anna had gotten from her space compartment  "Can you be LESS dense Natsu!" She snapped before Wendy began to wake up gaining their attention

A frightening scream escaped Wendy's lips as she shuffled away from the salmon haired wizards tears falling from her brown orbs "I HAD TO DO IT! Sorry!" She apologised

However Wendy wasn't expecting Natsu to bow towards her his hair overshadowing his facial features "I'm willing to overlook that right now Erza was bitten by a poisonous snake she's in bad shape please save her!"

Anna's eyes widened in realisation 'he is using the dragons bow.... He truly is Igneels son' she smiled at the salmon haired male that she had grown attacked to over the years

"She's hurt?" Wendy asked before glancing towards the red headed warrior who was currently unconscious the venom almost overtook her whole arms

"We need Erza to defeat the Oración Seis we don't stand a chance against them without her help" Hibiki stated gaining Wendy's attention before she saw Anna too bowed like Natsu

"YEAH! I'll try to take her! No. I will!" Wendy declared as she shuffled over towards Erza her hands began to glow as a light blue magic energy appeared within her hands

Everyone watched in complete amazement seeing that the venom was slowly leaving Erza's system. Anna let out a sigh of relief Natsu had somehow brought the celestial mage into his arms both their hearts beating rapidly at one another's closeness

"Well that should do it" Wendy declared the glow emitting from her hands vanished "I got rid of all the venom now all we have to is wait"

Anna nodded in approval towards the sky dragon slayer  while the others gasped out 'wait?' Seeing that Erza won't wake up soon they groaned but as soon as they did the red heads eyes squinted causing them to cheer! Especially Natsu

"SHES AWAKE!" He exclaimed picking up the celestial mage who merely chuckled as the dragon slayer spun her around ignoring the hateful glared Lucy sent towards them

"Nice job Wendy!" Natsu called out to the fellow dragon slayer the two high fived causing Wendy's cheeks to tint pink "guess I owe you one!" He smiled 

"She's probably not gonna wake up for a little while but she'll be back to normal when she does" Wendy said solemnly

"That's incredibly who knew sky magic was so strong, she's already looking much better" said Hibiki who was leaning over the red haired warrior too close for the others liking

"Excuse me!" Carla inclined gaining everyone's utmost attention "please don't make Wendy use her sky magic again she'll insist that she's fine but I can tell that she's exhausted by the look on her face"

"N-no that's not true!" Wendy exclaimed before she stared at her feet "I'm just worried is all"

"We're gonna strike back as soon as Erza wakes up there's no need to worry okay?" Hibiki smiled at the blue haired girl who merely stared at him with wide eyes

Suddenly a blinding white light gained their attention they watched as leaks of black magic stretched from the ground

"A giant pillar of black light!" Wendy pointed out as she stared at the dark magic rising within the air

"He actually found it...." Anna whispered narrowing her eyes at the magic radiating from the dark magic that began to stretch around the centre of Worth Woodsea

"ITS BEEN UNSEALED! NIRVANA!" Hibiki exclaimed in complete shock "yeah that's definitely it!"

"Seriously?" Lucy scoffed "how did the Oración Seis beat us to the punch?" She asked

"They didn't" Anna answered quickly her sister quickly snapped her head in her direction "in fact it wasn't even them who unsealed it"

"JELLAL IS THERE!" Natsu declared his tone darknened at even mentioning the males name while Lucy began to ask a bunch of questioned about 'Jellal' once again being left out of the bush.

"NATSU YOU IDIOT!" Anna snapped seeing that the fire dragon slayer had ran off she couldn't sense his anger emitting from him that anger was there all because of Jellal

Somehow Erza had managed to vanish out of think air, Anna watched her eyes softened seeing that Wendy was blaming herself for reviving Jellal saying that she would never have done it

'I'm sorry Wendy....' She thought a line tear escaping her crystal blue orbs yet she wasn't expecting Hibiki to use his magic to knock the blue haired mage into an unconscious state his hands glowed a brightly

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING STRIKING A CHILD!" Carla cried out just as Hibiki picked Wendy up so that she was laid on his back her eyes became swirls while they began to run towards the dark magic

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you all but she's gonna be fine I just knocked her out" Hibiki informed them never taking his eyes off the light in the distance

"Why'd you do it? And why are we suddenly in a hurry!" Lucy demanded an answer all the more shoving Anna out of her way so she could get close to the blue Pegasus member

"We've got to catch up to Natsu and Erza! Just keep running 'till you reach the light" he ordered panting slightly due to the amount of running

"Why should we take orders from a brute like you? I realise Wendy can be a bit of a whiner that's no reason for you to strike her!" Carla scolded the male

"NOT COOL DUDE!" Happy replied whole heartedly agree ding with the female exceed

Hibiki sighed sadly slowing down his paste "I did it because I had to I haven't been completely honest I know a lot more than Nirvana than I originally led on"

"WHAT? Why didn't you tell us?" Happy asked Anna was leaking. Killer intent her anger reaching the member of the Trimens her glare sent shiver down his spine as well as the others

"I couldn't because of the nature of the magic I couldn't say a word even just mentioning it now is risky and might put us in danger that's why guild master Bob only told me about it" Hibiki admitted solemnly as he looked down at the ground below him

"The others don't know?" Anna asked the killer intent no longer leaking from her "what exactly did master Bob tell you about Nirvana?" She asked softly

"Nirvana is a terrifying magic like no other it alone has the ability to turn light into darkness" Hibiki replied

"ARE YOU FOR REAL!?" Happy gaped

"My words..." Carla exclaimed

"It can switch them!?" Lucy asked the male completely ignoring the fact that the keys where still burning her in fact she didn't even realise that the spirit keys were about to do more damage to her than what she thought was impossible

"But that doesn't happen until it's final stage, the first thing it does when it's been unsealed is shoot off a black beam just like this one in front of us then it goes in search of those who are weak it'll switch anyone wavering between light and dark to the opposite alignment" Hibiki explained

Flashed of images popped through Anna's mind in fact she was given intel from Hermes that Lyon had sacrificed himself to save Sherry and Gray... his body nowhere to be found

'I have no doubt in my mind that Sherry would be the one affected the most' Anna thought clenching her hands into fist before she ran off the others cried her name as they followed her deeper into Worth Woodsea

"WHATS GOTTEN INTO YOU!" Lucy screamed at her little sister who suddenly stopped in her steps the eldest Heartfilia found herself face first on the ground

"What's wrong with me? Wasn't you listening to anything Hibiki said!" Anna snapped as the male himself flinched away not wanting to be involved in the fight "if one of our comrades is affected by Nirvana they could possibly try to take down one of our own as well!"

"Not like your powerful enough to stop them! Father was wrong about you! Your not worthy of those keys I am!" The eldest snapped she went to grab Plue's key who a scream immediately tore from her throat as she saw her skin began to bubble up dark red burns appearing as well

"What's going on?" Hibiki asked seeing the affect the celestial key had just done to the blonde wizard only to see Anna glaring at her own sibling "Anna?"

"Lucy isn't supposed to become a celestial mage, if the key is in the wrong hands it will harm the person holding them slowly hurting them from inside and out" she stated calmly watching Lucy roll on the ground in pain dirt attached onto her clothing

"D-damn you!" Lucy growled throwing the keys towards Anna who gracefully caught them with a small smile as soon as the cold metal hit her fingers they hummed knowing that they were back with their true key holder

"See? That wasn't so hard was it? Now Lego!" Anna declared as she and Hibiki ran off leaving a crying Lucy Heartfilia by herself who slowly made her way back towards Bobs mansion grumbling disturbing incarnations beneath her breathe