E.N.D. Rises

Chapter 3:

A Fight for Freedom

...09:30 p.m. (9 hours since Lisanna's demonification started)...

Lisanna wasn't sure how she was breathing despite being submerged in the demonification liquid. The throth bubbles tickled her skin as they floated past her and the ends of her short white hair brushed against her face. She didn't have the strength to open her eyes but she was pretty sure she didn't want to. The tentacles of that demonifing beast slithered under Lisanna's skin and caused her to mentally whither in pain. She wanted to scream and thrash around and break the glass but her body felt like it was not hers to control. She could barely cringe when Lamy alerted her appearance to give her two small brown horns on the sides of her head. That was so painful that Lisanna wished she could scream just to release her pain and anguish.

"She's almost ready, you flaming hottie," Lamy said as E.N.D. looked up at the rebirth pod "Are you pleased with my work? It normally takes a couple of days but I managed to rebirth her as a demon within mere hours. We're just lucky no one had to regenerate today!"

Lisanna weakly managed to open her eyes a tiny bit and saw E.N.D. looking up at her. A light blush dusted over her otherwise pale face as she closed her eyes again.

"Natsu, E.N.D., E.N.D., Natsu... I don't care anymore... just as long as that boy loves me," she thought "What am I saying? E.N.D.'s... he's... pretty hot, actually... and so powerful..."

She weakly managed to open her eyes again and saw E.N.D. grinning at her.

"I know you can hear me, Lisanna. I just wanted to tell you that your demonification is nearly complete..." he said but his smile turned sadistic "And your friends are here... Elfman, Mirajane, Sting, Yukino, Lyon, Gray and Juvia as well as that Exceed, Lector. Wouldn't you like to get out and greet them? Pity you can't, we still have to give you a Curse and the one I've been working on for you... What a doozey,"

E.N.D. changed some settings on the rebirth pod and pain shot through her like a white-hot iron. Her muscles contracted on their own and she threw herself back and forth as she trembled. Had she not already been submerged, she would have noticed the tears that came from her eyes. E.N.D. reached out and put his hand on the pod.

"Don't you worry, Lisanna, it'll be over soon..." he told her with a hint of genuine concern for her well-being.

Lisanna looked down at him as a deep violet washed into her once dark blue eyes.

"Lord E.N.D.," she thought "My... love..."

The foreboding feeling started as soon as they entered Demon's Layer. The eery glow of the burning candles unsettled them further as they headed through the corridors in search of Lisanna. Pushing their fear aside, they worked their way through the castle until they reached the Grand Hall.

"Okay... does anyone even know where we're going?" Gray asked "Because we need a better game plan than 'wander aimlessly',"

Sting sniffed around but the overwhelming smell of fire and brimstone covered any trace of Lisanna. When they heard talking, the Freedom Fighters climbed to the top of the pillars to hide.

"You think she'll make a decent demon?" Jackal asked.

"I don't know... but if it's what Lord E.N.D. wants..." Seilah responded.

"Yeah, he gets what he wants and destroys anything in his way... or anyone," Jackal laughed "Oh, man, it's just like the good ol' days when we used to destroy a city in an afternoon!"

"Indeed, the writing of our story has continued at long last," Seilah agreed "But we still have a problem..."

"Yeah..." the two demons stopped at the foot of the pillars "the fact we have an infestation of humans in here!" Jackal yelled.

They immediately kicked the pillars down and the Freedom Fighters fell to the ground. Anyone could tell a fight was about to start and so the humans drew their unique weapons. Elfman had silver knuckles, Mirajane was gifted with a dagger, Juvia utilized a chain with a blade at its end, Lyon and Gray both used retractable spears, Yukino relied on a pair of escrima sticks and Sting... he just hit demons over the head with a pipe. Jackal grinned before backflipping over to them, making definite contact with the floor and punched Mirajane in the face, making her explode. Elfman ran at him but the floor where he'd touched it exploded beneath them, leaving only the demons unscathed.

As Juvia flew through the air, she threw her bladed-chain at Jackal but he bent back and gracefully dodged the blow. Seilah then jumped and kicked the former Water Mage to the ground, cracking the brimstone floor. Gray swung his spear at her but the female demon took controlled of his attack and sent it at Lyon.

"Dang it..." he hissed "Quit controlling me!"

"Why would I do that, Son of Silver?" Seilah asked, making him attack Lyon once again.

Mirajane ran at Jackal with her dagger but the moment the tip of her blade touched him, there was another explosion.

"Stupid, humans!" Jackal laughed "Did you forget that anything I touch I can turn into a bomb?!"

Sting came up from behind and hit the explosive demon in the head with his pipe. Jackal grabbed the pipe as he fell and pushed Sting in the face as he set up the combustion. Sting was thrown back when he caught a whiff of Lisanna. He made eye contact with the Strauss siblings and nodded to them.

"Go! We've got this!" Lyon said as he fought off a controlled Gray.

"GAAH! This sucks!" Gray yelled "Someone stop me!"

Lector hopped onto Sting's shoulder as the blonde boy sniffed down the missing girl. Elfman, Mirajane and Yukino followed behind him as they ran through the castle's corridors. They headed down multiple staircases until they were deep underground.

"I may not be allowed to change how you look... but I can change how - GAAH!" Lamy didn't get to finish her evil monologue because Yukino used an escrima stick to knock her out.

Elfman then smashed through the rebirth pod and landed hard on the ground. Mirajane jumped threw with a blanket in her arms and wrapped it around her sister as she tackled her out of the demonification liquid. When they hit the floor, she tucked the blanket around her and grabbed a random scrap of material (that was actually Natsu's scarf) and tied it around Lisanna's waist to keep the tucked blanket closed around her like a make-shift wrap dress.

"Lisanna!" Mirajane cried and she saw the little horns on the side of her head "LISANNA!" and she hugged her.

Yukino took off her jacket and put it over Lisanna's shoulders. Lisanna's demonified appearance made her skin marble-white with black markings spread across her like poison ivy vines. Her lips were a deep dark red and her eyes a gold-dusted black. Lisanna's eyes fluttered open momentarily to reveal they were an enchanting violet now.

"Lisanna! You're going to be okay, we're here now!" Mirajane cried "C'mon, let's go!"

Elfman scooped Lisanna up in his arms and they ran out of Devil's Heart and back through Demon's Layer.

"DON'T! Lord E.N.D. will destroy me if I lose that little brat!" Lamy yelled.

The Freedom Fighters ran through Demon's Layer and regrouped with those who were fighting Jackal and Seilah. What was odd was that they didn't pursue them. It could only be assumed there was already a plan to thwart them before they escaped with Lisanna.

Upon being released from the rebirth chamber, she had felt her mobility return but she still didn't have the strength to move. She licked the back of her teeth and discovered her fangs had grown like Natsu's. Lisanna's nose twitched as she regained sensation in her face. Her eyes flickered open and she gasped as reality came back to her.

"Don't worry, Lisanna, we'll get you outta here!" Elfman panted as they ran.

She screamed and flailed in his arms.

"Lisanna! Don't worry! It's us! Your brother and sister!" Mirajane exclaimed.

Lisanna suddenly punched Elfman right in the face and kicked Mirajane in the head as she freed herself from her brother's grip. She fell to the ground and stammered to the wall to support herself. The Freedom Fighters looked at her as it dawned on them... She'd been corrupted by Curse power.

"I know who you are! So stay away from me!" Lisanna shouted "Stupid humans... I don't need any siblings, all I need is - E.N.D.!"

She ran back up the corridor and threw herself into E.N.D.'s awaiting arms.

"As you can see, Lisanna's quite happy here so you can all leave her be," he said with one arm around her waist.

"Lisanna..." Mirajane croaked as she broke down "We were too late..."

A long violet-scaled tail slipped out from Lisanna's covering and coiled around E.N.D.'s leg to keep him close. She gripped his arm when he took her into his arms and lifted her hands up with his.

"Why not demonstrate your new Creature Whisper Curse?" he whispered into her ear.

Lisanna grinned, showing her fangs and violet light cracked along the skin of her arms before jumping down like a spider's web to the floor.

"Creature Whisper: Brimstone Panthers," she said.

The floor cracked and broke apart to form two panthers made of brimstone with cracks of purple light running across them. They growled as a purple smoke escaped them. Lisanna smiled with E.N.D. grinning behind her.

"Now, my pets, hunt!" she commanded, happily.

"Lisanna... no..." Mirajane croaked as tears ran down her face.

"Time to go, sis!" Elfman yelled and he pulled her along as they ran.

The Brimstone Panthers chased after them and E.N.D. happily turned Lisanna around in his arms so she'd be facing him. She happily wrapped her arms around his neck and the two demons kissed one another as her tail unwrapped from around his leg and began swaying to show her content.

"Now, my sweet Lisanna, I think it's time you get some actual clothes on," E.N.D. whispered against her lips "C'mon, the female demons have something for you,"

Lisanna grinned and kissed him again before scampering off to find something to wear.

The Freedom Fighters ran through the forest despite having already lost the Brimstone Panthers. Tears flew from Mirajane's eyes as the thought of losing her sister again tormented her. Elfman rammed through anything in their path as they went down the mountain. By the time they returned to camp, Erza was already fuming.

"WHERE HAVE YOU LOT BEEN?!" the scarlet-haired woman yelled.

"We... we went to save Lisanna..." Gray stammered.

"AND HOW'D THAT WORK OUT FOR YA?!" Erza continued to yell.

Mirajane fell to her knees with her hand over her mouth as if she was going to vomit. She stared at the ground as tears filled her eyes. Her friends got to their knees beside her as she tried to come up with the words.

"We... we were too late..." Mira stammered "LISANNA'S ALREADY BEEN TURNED INTO A DEMON!"

Everyone dropped what they were doing to stare in shock at the white-haired woman as she broke down into tears. Elfman comforted her in his arms and wished he'd been "man enough" to stay and fight for his little sister. Erza had a particular look of fear on her face, one that hadn't been seen since the Tower of Heaven incident.