It wasn't long before the Gaara and the group of guild mages crossed the leg of Nirvana and arrived at the main body. It was even bigger than it looked when you got closer. The bland stone walls rose up hundreds of feet above them, with no apparent way to get over or through them. Atop the wall there were towers made of a lighter colour stone, evenly spaced along the wall. It made Nirvana look somewhat like a castle. Sitting hundreds of metres above the ground.

Jura stopped and turned around to face the group. He looked straight at Gaara. "Can you lift us with your sand?" He asked Gaara.

Gaara didn't reply verbally. He simply nodded. Without moving a muscle, the lid of his gourd popped off and sand began to ooze out and form a platform beneath them. Before long, the platform began to rise, taking the mages and lone shinobi with it.

Unfortunately for Natsu, his subconscious decided that travelling by floating sand was not on his list of acceptle vehicles. He hit the deck like a soldier under fire, and became greener than grass. He curled into a ball and groaned in pain. All he could do was wait it out.

Gray and Lucy sat beside the downed form of Natsu, using the time on their makeshift elevator to take a small break. The grim silence of the journey on the leg continued during their ascension.

But it wasn't long before they reached the peak of the outer wall circling Nirvana. They found that on the inside, the ground floor of the city was far higher than the legs. Their sand ride down was much shorter. When they reached the ground, Gaara retracted his sand, leaving the mages to drop a few meters to the ground.

Once again, they decided to split into groups, though this time opting for smaller groups as to find and defeat Zero faster. Almost automatically, the mages formed themselves into parties with their respective guild members. All except for Wendy. The girl decided to go with Gaara in a team of two. She really just didn't want to be around Carla at the moment. She hoped that the white exceed would go back to her regular self sooner rather than later.

At first, Erza was reluctant to let a team of two go alone, especially with those two being their youngest mages, but Gaara was adamant that if he was going to go with someone, it would have to be Wendy. Natsu was more concerned for Wendy's safety, still not trusting Gaara. Of course, his protests were quickly silenced after Erza stepped in.

And so off they went, marching throught he winding, maze like streets of Nirvana. The tall and dark buildings had their ominous aesthetics amplified by the over abundance of dirt and grime. It truly fit the bill for a city hidden underground for hundreds of years. An eery wind blew past the two small figures as they traversed the ancient city.

Wendy shivered and looked around nervously. Gaara remained steady and stared forwards as usual. He would be lying if he didn't feel the slightest bit unnerved by the strange area they were exploring, but after years and years of solitude and fighting as a shinobi nothing truly struck fear in his heart.

Wendy on the other hand was having some difficulties. Her eyes darted around anxiously, as if she were anticipating a horrible creature to jump out from one of the shadows at any minute. She subconsciously began to walk just inches behind Gaara, only peeking out periodically from either side of him.

It was almost dead silent. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of their shoes tapping against the cobblestone streets upon which they were walking. Wendy swore she could've heard another set of footsteps... somewhere.

Tap.

She began to focus on their individual footsteps.

Tap.

Then, a second later:

Tap.

Wendy froze. One too many... She realized with dread. She stopped walking and tugged Gaara's sleeve. Their footsteps stopped, but not before Wendy heard another extra tapping sound.

"Gaara!" Wendy whispered urgently. Gaara stopped and turned his head towards her. "What is it?" He replied, also whispering.

Wendy's eyes darted around before locking back on Gaara. She leaned into his ear by standing on her toes. "There's someone following us." She whispered to him.

Gaara looked around at their surroundings without moving his head. "How can you tell?" He asked her. He was surprised that she was able to detect something that he wasn't after all his experience in espionage as a shinobi.

Wendy smiled proudly. "Dragonslayers like Natsu and I have enhanced senses. I can hear and smell things better than other people." She explained, putting a finger to her chin. "I think we have better eyesight, too."

Gaara considered this. "Interesting... that's quite extraordinary." He responded. "Be careful. Stay close to me just in case." He advised her. Wendy nodded and held on to the band of cloth holding his gourd.

It was a good thing, too, because only moments after they began walking again Gaara's sand rose from the ground to defend the pair from a stream of purple haze. Gaara grabbed Wendy with his sand and jumped back from where the violet smog originated from.

Cobra stepped out from the shadows of an alleyway with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a huge smirk on his face. He let out a small snort of laughter. "Heh. I'm impressed you were able to hear me, Sky Maiden, you're the first." He admitted.

He then addressed Gaara. He nodded his head at him, maintaining his laid back posture. "And what's up with you, kid? I don't think I've ever met a person I couldn't hear."

Gaara didn't reply. All he did was stand still with his arms folded beside Wendy, but to Wendy's surprise, Cobra spoke again as if Gaara had answered him. "Wha?- Who's that?! What the hell?!" Cobra exclaimed in surprise. He jumped back with his hands now out of his pockets. He glared at Gaara with a stern expression. "There's something seriously wack with your head." Cobra told Gaara.

Gaara let a small smirk dance across his normally monotone features. "I know." He retorted. Both Wendy and Cobra looked shocked by his answer.

Wendy tapped Gaara's shoulder. "Umm... Gaara? What do you mean by that?" Wendy asked, confused at Gaara's response. He responded without even turning his head. "Nothing you need to worry about right now." Gaara answered her. Wendy, although still confused, nodded. Gaara would tell her when they were safe.

Suddenly, Cobra's eyes went wide, and he recoiled from Gaara strangely. "H-huh?! Whaddya mean?!" The snake charmer seemingly asked Gaara, despite the fact that Gaara hadn't asked him anything.

Unknown to Wendy however, was that Shukaku was having a great time scaring and confusing the living daylights out of poor Cobra. The man really had no idea what to make of this. Out of all his time using his magic to hear people's inner thoughts, he'd never once heard two voices in the same head, even with possessed people such as Jellal.

Cobra's gaze hardened. He pointed at Gaara and glared. "I'll be back, so you'd better hope you have all the sand in the world when I return, psycho." Cobra declared with a growl. Cobra leaned back and disappeared into the shadows of one of the dark alleyways Nirvana held.

Gaara whipped back around and grabbed a hold of Wendy's hand, startling her. "Come, Wendy. If Cobra was here, that means the others are most likely under attack from the other members of Oracion Seis. We must move quickly." He didn't trust his allies to defeat their respective opponents on their own.

The pair began to run through the abandoned streets of Nirvana, led by Gaara. They weaved left and right, running down streets that looked the exact same to Wendy, but she trusted Gaara to lead them in the right direction. But it sure did seem like he had no idea where he was going.

The evening setting sun cast elongated shadows down on them, creating a sharp contrast between the warm oranges and hard blacks. Although Wendy couldn't trust her sight, due to the shadows being nigh impossible to see through, her enhanced hearing and smell combined with Gaara's automatic defense gave her confidence. One thing she had to admit though, was that the city was incredibly beautiful. She only wished she could've seen it during it's prime.

Suddenly, they stopped. She looked up to Gaara, to see if something was wrong. Gaara frowned and muttered, "I've been a fool." Wendy tilted her head. "Huh?" She responded.

Gaara didn't answer her, but instead formed a cloud of sand beneath their feet, and began to lift them into the air. It was clear that they should've been doing this since they began running.

From their position, Wendy could see the most amazing view she'd ever had the privilege of viewing in her short life. They were almost at the height of some of the nearby mountains. Below them, the massive city fanned out. Beyond that, the Worth Woodsea spanned out seemingly infinitely, only being cut off at the sides by the mountains.

The glowing sunset provided a beautiful golden lighting to everything, which was enhanced by the shadows the mountains cast over the forest. For a moment, all Wendy could register was her, and the landscape around her in that serene moment. She was truly breath taken.

She was snapped back into focus by Gaara willing the sand cloud to move. She began to look at the city below them, in hopes of catching a glimpse of their allies. Although if they were too late, she could perhaps see the flashing lights and explosions of a battle.

It was Gaara who finally spotted a friendly face; the Fairy Tail group. He lowered themselves down to land next to the rambunctious wizards.

"Wendy? Gaara? What are you two doing here?" Erza questioned. Natsu, Gray, and Lucy turned their heads towards them.

"We were just attacked by Cobra." Replied Gaara. "He retreated, but we should all regroup so they can't pick us off one group at a time."

"I see. You're right then, we need to find Jura and and others." Erza agreed thoughtfully. The others nodded. "Let's go!" shouted Gray, and they all ran off.

Meanwhile, things weren't going so great for the not-so-formidable mages belonging to the Blue Pegasus guild. The infamous trio, along with their head honcho, Ichiya, were on the ground, heavily bruised and scraped. The opponent they had been facing was none other than Midnight.

The fight was nothing more than a complete blow out. The Tri-Men squad stood absolutely no chance. All Midnight had to do was wave his hand four measly times, and his four enemies were down for the count. It couldn't of been more of a disappointment for him. He was the ultimate mage, unable to be defeated by any other wizard unfortunate enough to face him. After all, who could claim victory against a magic that renders all other magic useless?

Midnight climbed back onto his magic carpet, preparing to keep drifting and hopefully find more enemies. He was about to fall back asleep when Cobra walked out of a nearby alleyway. Midnight's carpet rotated to allow the two to talk.

"What is it?" Midnight asked impatiently. He wanted to get back to sleep.

Cobra looked anxious. "I just had a run in with that little red-head kid that took out Racer. The Sky Maiden was there too, but it was just them." He replied.

Midnight raised an eyebrow. "Well? Did you eliminate them?"

Cobra clicked his tongue and looked away. "Tch, no. There's something seriously wrong with the ginger, so I don't want to mess with him yet." He explained.

Midnight furrowed his eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean? Couldn't you have just had Cubellios take out the girl?" He questioned.

Cobra shook his head. "The kid would be way too fast for her. You saw how he blocked Racer's attacks, what makes you think Cubellios would have a better time getting past him?"

Midnight tilted his head in contemplation, before nodding in agreement. "Yes, you're right. Very well then, I suppose you should report it to Zero. Maybe he's figured out some way to defeat him." Midnight advised.

Cobra turned away and hopped onto Cubellios' back. "I sure hope so..." He muttered as Cubellios ascended, carrying him towards their guild master. Because I don't want to spend any more time around him than is required...

After fully regrouping, the mages of the light alliance were now on their way towards the center of Nirvana, where they had collectively agreed was the most likely place for Zero to be located.

Natsu was being carried a foot of the ground by Happy, who did not look all too pleased with the situation. A heavily bandaged Hibiki was working with his archive magic while they traveled to try and find a weakness in the monstrosity called Nirvana. At the back of the group, Wendy and Gaara quietly conversed.

"Gaara?" Wendy asked quietly.

Gaara looked at his feet. Damn, I thought she'd forgotten about this for now. "Yes?" He replied.

Wendy looked nervous. "What exactly did you mean when you agreed that something is wrong with you?"

Gaara kept walking and maintained his cool gaze, but on the inside he was reeling. What do I say? What do I say? Damnit all! Gaara thought. Luckily for him, it was at this exact moment that Hibiki had a breakthrough with his research.

"Guys! I just figured out how to defeat Nirvana!" The primary member of the Tri-men declared. They all stopped.

"How?" Jura asked simply.

Hibiki clicked around on his keyboard. His eyes darted around the screen rapidly. "According to what I'm seeing here on this map, there are six main sources of magic running this thing." He pulled up a larger window of his archive magic for the whole group to see clearly. "They are located at the the six joints connecting each leg to the main body of Nirvana. If we destroy all six, theoretically Nirvana will have no power source to run off of, and shut down."

"Furthermore," Hibiki continued. "Lacrima this big will need to all be destroyed simultaneously, otherwise it won't work."

"Why is that?" Erza questioned.

"It's due to the fact that all these lacrima are connected. If one falls under attack, the others wil lend it magical energy in a sort of balancing mechanic." Hibiki explained.

"So all we have to do is hit all these things at the same time. Great. But how are we gonna time it properly?" Gray inquired.

Hibiki had an answer for that too. "My Archive magic allows me to setup telepathic links between people. I'll create links connecting myself to each of the six people at a lacrima."

"Let's get going then! What're we standing around for?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Just hang on a moment Natsu, it's quite possible that Zero will be at one of the lacrima to defend it. After all, all he needs is for one of the six to survive and Nirvana would be fine." Said Erza.

"Not only him, actually. It's likely the other Oracion Seis are each defending one lacrima." Hibiki added.

"So each team going to a lacrima will have to fight one of the six." Gray summarized. The group was silent.

"Hah! Don't worry guys, I know we can take 'em!" Natsu encouraged. His outburst seemed to breathe a new life into the weary mages.

Erza smiled and nodded. "Agreed. Let's go finish this." She said. "Gray and I will form a team, along with Natsu and Lucy. That's two of the six we need."

Gray froze. "Er-r... ehe... uhm, do you think we could... uh... yknow... switch up the teams?" Gray asked tentatively.

Erza turned her sharp glare on him. "You object to my plans?" She questioned.

Gray jumped and saluted. "NO MA'AM!"

Erza smirked and put her hands on her waist. "Good."

"Lyon and Sherry will go together, and I will go alone." Added Jura. "That's four. The remaining two teams will be made up of Gaara and Wendy, and the Blue Pegasus mages."

"Let's go!" Erza shouted. The other nodded and replied with, "Right!"

"Finally here I see." Declared Master Zero, standing at the base of the gigantic lacrima in the middle of the plain-looking room.

It was just Gaara at the lacrima. Wendy had been forced to remain with the other members of their make-shift alliance, who had been injured while fighting the remaining members of Oracion Seis. She was the only one who could heal Cobra's brutal poison, and after team Blue Pegasus encountered him, all they could do was try to hold out until Wendy heard the battle with her extreme senses. When she and Gaara arrived, Cobra was no match.

Jura had come across Midnight on his way to the lacrima, and only through use of his most powerful spell did he claim victory, although not without heavy injury. He managed to limp his way to the designated lacrima.

Natsu and Lucy made quick work of Angel, who really stood no chance in a two on one battle. While Lucy occupied her celestial spirits, Natsu had free reign to attack Angel, who had little in the way of physical defensive capabilities. It was a quick fight.

Erza and Gray came across the one known as Hoteye. The largest member of Oracion Seis proved to be a master of stalling, as his liquefied ground was impossible for Gray to freeze and too difficult for Erza to dash over. The only way they could get to their lacrima in time was for Gray to remain behind to take care of Hoteye while Erza maneuvered by with her flight armour, although she barely got through.

While Lyon and Sherry had the fortune of being the only group to get to their lacrima without resistance, Gaara ended up against Zero, alone, and down a quarter of his chakra from dealing with Cobra.

Gaara said nothing in return, walking forwards with his arms crossed. His cork slid out of his gourd with a faint pop, and sand began to leak out, leaving a trail of sand in his wake.

"Y'know, I've been looking forwards to fighting you ever since I first witnessed you fighting Racer." Zero continued. "A light mage who kills without a second thought..." Zero snorted. "Who would've thought."

Gaara didn't bother with responding, but prepared for a tough battle none the less. He had never failed a mission before, not even close. Gaara of the Desert Sands did not fail.

And he didn't plan on starting.