Hi all. Back with an extremely long chapter to make up for the wait. My longest chapter so far I believe.

kurahlieirtr JIO- I don't think Lia is necessarily another Zeref. You'll see why soon enough. I think all great companies have dark pasts, the same with Fairy Tail. Their past is a questionable one but to them it was was needed at the time. I hope one day the others won't hold it against them anymore. Although admittedly they do think too highly of themselves to see the obvious flaws in their thought process. Makarov doesn't remember future fairy tail at all since 1. he was so little at the time they came and 2. another secret reason ;). Our poor Mavis. Her past is so sad, i just had to touch upon it. If you haven't yet, you should read Fairy Tail Zero. A lot of the stuff I've used for the founders came from there. It's fairly short, only about a dozen or so chapters from what I remember.

zoey-the-catgirl : I'm not sure if you meant to review but if you have any questions/statements please feel free to message me or review :) And also thank you for favoriting/following.

Thank you to cakeisbest for favoriting/following too.

Chapter 21. Tunnel Vision

Six-year-old Lia clutched her mother's hand. She moved Ophelia's long skirt in front of her, to shield her face from the man that had come to take her away.

It was time for her 'awakening' as everyone told her. She knew it was a special ritual done to the members of the Three Holy Clans when they reached her age but she was frightened when she was informed it was her turn. When her brother came back from his, she was only two but their cousins told her he cried for weeks after his awakening and became more sullen and quiet. Each cousin retold their own experiences to Lia; each story sending her to into panic fits and nightmares invaded her sleep.

They would be exploiting a fear of hers and by the end of it she would be so either emotionally, mentally or physically stressed that an untapped amount of magic would escape awakening her true potential.

"Chibi-Lia," her mother crouched down. "Chibi-Lia, Mama's going to need you to be strong for me okay? Be a big girl and listen to everything they say. Don't cry. Remember what I always say?"

"Don't cry in front of monsters," Lia sniffed.

"That's right. Come here, sweetheart." Ophelia squeezed her daughter tightly and rocked her back and forth. She felt more afraid for her than Lia probably felt for herself. Memories of her own awakening flooded her uneasy mind. She placed one last kiss on Lia's cheek and let her say her goodbyes to her father and stepfather.

The gang was back into the past. They were currently in the country Tapia, home of the Tapia clan and part of the Alakitasia Empire. In ancient times, the nations of Kaneshiro, Fermata, Marchand, Tapia, Orlov, Samara, and Danchev, named after the powerful clans that inhabited them, were all united under Alvarez, the home of the Three Holy Clans. Collectively, they were named the Alakitasia Empire, after the continent they shared. During the reign of the Alakitasia Empire, a member of the Ten Imperial Clans ran each land. The Three Holy Families solely co-ran the country Alvarez, as they were the strongest, and Acnologia was chosen as the ruling royal family. The Acnologia clan ruled all of the Alakitasia Empire with the Ametsuchis and Wakahisas second in command. The other seven imperial clans had no authority over the big three, as they did not possess the Holy Trinity of Black Magic and the Gods given treasures. After the fall of the Three Holy Clans and the disappearance of the majority of important Ten Imperial Clan members, the empire fell. The united nations went back to being separate. The official fall did not happen until the Acnologia family was wiped out around the same time Mei died and the Seven Deadly seemingly vanished.

The Tapia clan's home was nestled in the mountains near the sea. The rocky terrain was exhausting for Mirajane. She was being carried by Laxus.

Earlier when they passed by the sea, a lone figure immerged from the water. It went to attack; Mirajane was the closest to its reach. Before it could touch her, it fell to the sand unconscious. Her take-over had worked on the demon.

Mirajane had Take-Over Satan Soul: Vepar. The demon gave her water based powers as well as the ability to have someone die over a period of three days by decaying sores and wounds causing worms to breed in them. It gave her a long fish tail on her lower back covered in green scales. She had a purple ripped top that reached to her belly button. A pearl choker adorned her neck. A golden trident that had electric shocks rippling through it was clasped in her right hand.

After taking over the demon, she felt tired and found it challenging to walk on her own. It happened whenever she got a new take-over as her body had to have time to adjust to the addition.

The group continued their trip to the Tapia residence. It was getting dark by the time they spotted the town containing the dark gray, looming castle at the base of a mountain.

They walked through the town, making their way to Tapia castle. Whispers followed them as the townspeople gossiped behind their hands.

"Is that The Seven Deadly?"

"Zeref's not with them."

"Of course not you idiot. He'd kill everything in his path."

"Prance got so handsome…"

"He's a bastard remember?"

"No he's the son of a bastard. Besides who cares about titles when you're laying underneath him."

"I heard he's dating Devi."

"Oh of course he's dating that spoiled brat. She thinks she so pretty and better than everyone else."

"Well she is. Besides I've met her before. She was really nice."

"Yeah yeah. Who are those other people with them?"

"I don't know but the men are good looking too."

"That one has pink hair."

"It's salmon!" Natsu yelled at the group of girls. They fell silent as the group passed by. The castle gates opened for them and the guards escorted them inside.

"Brace yourself we're in the viper pit," Prance warned.

"Behave yourself here. Please don't make any trouble. Don't speak out of turn. This isn't Fiore where you'll get way with anything. If anyone says something insulting to you, let Devi handle it as she's the only one of us, besides Prance who won't be in danger of getting their tongue cut out," Mei instructed. "And Prance only has the protection of carrying the Fermata name, which is on equal terms with the Tapias. Although since we are in their domain, he'll still have to tread lightly."

The castle guards searched and patted down all of them one by one. When they got to Devi, she glared at them and one of them fell at her feet choking.

"Did you have to do that?" Lucy scolded.

"That wasn't me…"

"It was me," a tall man with black hair and a stubbly beard arrived in the entrance room. "I can't let a filthy guard lay a grimy hand on you darling."

Devi stepped over the guards' body to greet the new arrival. "Adan, pleasure to see you again." He kissed both her cheeks, lingering far too long for Prance's comfort.

"Oh Devi, the pleasure is surely all mine. You look even more like your mother than the last I saw you. May she rest in peace," Adan raised a hand to the ceiling. Devi's eye's narrowed but she smiled politely.

"The Tapia's specialize in Maguilty Sense," Mei informed.

"I see you're still chocking people out to this day, Adan," Prance said rubbing Devi's shoulders.

"Ah. You brought the bastard with you," Adan observed.

"Yes, Prance is with me," Devi smiled harder. "I brought other friends as well. I hope it's not a problem," she said gesturing to the Seven Deadly and Co.

"Not at all. Father wants you escorted to the dinning room immediately."

They were seated at a long table in a medieval styled dinning room. Sitting there already were Dimas Tapia and his only living daughter Publana. Publana drank the entirety of her goblet before greeting Devi.

"Chibi-Lia! You're looking a bit peckish. I'm sure running around killing demons and such doesn't pay much to begin with but no lady of your station should be starving herself," Publana leaned across the table to give her a tight squeeze. Publana calling her Chibi-Lia was the same as Acnologia saying it. It didn't sit well with her but she ignored the backhanded show of affection.

"It doesn't pay at all. I hope you haven't been drinking too much. Your conversational skills did tend to waver into the obscene when you drank past your limit." Devi refused the alcohol the butler was trying to serve her.

"Come now Chibi-Lia. Loosen up. Drink your wine," Devi tipped the goblet over and the red wine spilled onto the stone floor. Publana called a butler over to clean the spill. When he went to wipe it up with a cloth she herself tightened his throat with the motion of a closed fist. He fell to his knees in front of the puddle. "Drink it up like the dog you are," she hissed. The butler did so without complaint. Erza, Natsu, Gray and Lucy almost made it out of their seats to object the poor treatment of the Tapia hired help but were restrained by Mei's light magic cementing their feet to the floor. She sent them a warning look; they knew not to try and cause trouble again.

"You really do look like your mother, may she rest in peace," Publana continued when the butler finished his cleaning. "Thank the Gods you inherited living magic and dark skin or else Shah, may he rest in peace, might have thought you were someone else's. Actually, you might have just gotten that shade because you ran around in the hot sun with riff raff all the time. Now that I think about it, wouldn't you be considered a bastard as well? Oh how disgraceful! I remember your parents divorced before you were born..."

"It was after, Publana. I'm not disgraced in anyway. If only everyone in this room could say the same."

"The only disgraced person is that son of a bastard. To bring him to this table, I find it highly offensive Devi," Dimas said.

"If only your father didn't stick his cock in other holes besides his wife's. Then you wouldn't have an unwanted sister and nephew," Prance dryly stated.

"Hold your tongue swine!"

Prance leaned back in his chair, and glanced at the smirking faces of his comrades. Dimas face was flushed red as he tried to control his breathing.

"How much longer is this going to be? I have to somewhere to be later tonight," Publana stated.

"Under someone more like it," Devi mumbled. Publana's sharp ears heard her and her lips curled.

"Stop slut shaming me, Chibi-Lia. Not everyone wants to be a virginal prude like you."

"But she's not a v-," Prance's mouth clamped when a well-placed boot slammed onto his right foot. Devi cleared her throat.

"I'm not slut shaming you Publana. If you want to have sex with dozens of men or women you can because I don't care what you do. I'm sure Dimas will think differently when your dresses tighten and you bring yet another bastard into the family. Your grandfather however, will be proud someone else is carrying on his legacy."

"Always spilling truths on others but can never receive any without lashing out. Your childish remarks are getting tiring Chibi-Lia." Devi rolled her eyes at Publana.

"Not that I don't find this back and forth riveting, but we do have more pressing matters to attend to. So, what was I called here for?" Devi asked getting to the point.

"We have two requests for you, Devi. As the only female left of both the Wakahisa and Ametsuchi clans, you have a great amount of influence in the meetings of the Ten Imperial Clans. As you are already aware from your involvement, we are no longer allowed to do the awakening process for the Holy Three-"

Devi cut Dimas off. "Well only the Acnologia family is left…"

"… because of your brother's invention, Event Horizon. As you know, the clans deemed it a more fitting way of awakening the Holy Three-"

"That is because the Kaneshiros ruled your methods cruel and unusual punishment."

"Yes, I am sure that had nothing to do with the fact that your step-father, may he rest in peace, was the one who brought it to court in the first place. Why he would waste his time on replacing tradition for a half-baked idea from your brother I will never know. Ophelia must have had a tighter grip on his cock than we realized. May she rest in peace. And your little spells Ananke and God's Mercy didn't help in the matter either. We are losing quite a bit of money from all these new 'breakthroughs' in the medical field, that we did not discover ourselves. Only those with both living and Spacetime magic can use those spells and our family possesses neither. It wasn't sensible to create those spells and have everyone so excited about them. People want to come to you now for assisted suicides now instead of us because they may feel 'pricks of pain'," Dimas said underplaying the effects. "Citizens are travelling out of the empire to track you down so you can kill them off. We are an ancient clan that doesn't appreciate being one-upped by over privileged children. Do it for the sake of the empire." Decisions that affected the empire as a whole were dealt with in meetings of the ten clans. During a meeting, any eligible member of the clan can go to represent their family. Usually those present were the leaders of their clans. Each clan specialized in and provided a certain building block for the empire. For example the Kaneshiros handled the judiciary and specialized in magic of the elements.

"Your entire awakening process consisted of torturing little children. I will not be convincing anyone of reversing anything. You don't have the vote of the Wakahisas, Ametsuchis, Acnologias, Kaneshiros, and certainly not the Fermatas from how you've treated Prance tonight!" It would be a five to five vote if the Tapias were able to convince the other four clans, the Marchands, Orlovs, Samaras and Danchevs to vote in their favor. If it was a tie the issue would be thrown out.

"Do you still get nightmares from your awakening Chibi-Lia? Is that why you won't help us? You can't stay bitter forever. Because you know in the long run it's best for the empire. And isn't it the duty of a Spacetime mage to always think about the big picture? " Publana asked after Devi's passionate dismissal of Dimas.

Devi's expression faltered. It reminded Natsu of when he asked about her fake smiles. How caught off guard she was.

"I-… don't know what you're going on about," Devi spurned.

"Oh but you do know, Chibi-Lia," Publana purred. "Uncle documented the event on lacrimas. He allowed the entire family to watch over and over again as you wept, begged and pleaded to be let go."

Devi stared at Publana while a rush of memories flooded her head like a tidal wave.

Devi was strapped flat on her back on a wooden board above the ground. A bucket was below her head, a mask over her head and a towel on her face. She didn't know what kind of method they were using, but still felt queasy.

The man in charge of her awakening was Sid Tapia, younger brother to Dimas and head of awakenings for the Holy Three. She was taken to the Tapia research center, an old castle on the countryside with a moat.

She felt her mask getting wet and held her breath. She could only hold it for about ten seconds; all her tiny lungs would allow her before she had to gasp for air. But she found it hard to breathe as the water dampened the mask and towel. Devi felt water seeping into her nose, mouth and lungs. She struggled against the restraints they put on her. She started chocking on the water before the towel and mask was ripped but the restraints stayed. They gave her a minute to rest before repeating the process for another hour. They thought waterboarding her would immediately release her magic but were mistaken. Yes, she was very terrified of water and drowning but was resilient. They'd have to up the ante for further results.

They sat Devi with her back to a filled tub. Cupping her head in his hands, one of the men pushed it back so it was submerged in water. She flailed her arms and legs, kicking and punching whoever was holding her. He released her when she dug her nails into his arm.

She was a fighter they concluded. Like her brother, father and mother. All five of them had to hold her down as her head was under the water. They could barely hold her before they were blasted into a wall. They celebrated thinking it was her awakening.

"Fools!" Sid yelled from an intercom. He was in a separate room watching the whole ordeal on several lacrimas. "You'll need to heighten her stress levels before we get full results. You only scratched the surface of her magic. She knows you'll eventually bring her head back up so she's not in her primal defensive state yet. We'll have to go with plan C."

Devi was carried bridle style to the moat surrounding the castle. Her voice was horse from screaming but they still heard her perfectly fine when she begged. "No please. Please let me go… no more… I don't want to do this anymore…" A spare tear dripped down her chubby cheeks. They almost gave into her pleadings thinking of their own daughters having to go through it but stopped when they recalled Sid's threats. The one holding her dropped her into the moat and she sank to the bottom, unable to swim.

She tried desperately to reach the surface but her struggles only made her sink faster. Her lungs convulsed, weak from the earlier torture. Her vision blurred and the last thing she remembered was her hand reaching out above her.

"Geez," one of the men said. "We have to get her before she drowns and dies. Let's go." They reached the edge of the moat before the ground collapsed underneath them. A tremor erupted into the surrounding earth and everything within a mile radius was destroyed by a surge of raw magic power.

When Devi fell unconscious in the water, her body bobbed around for a moment before her eyes flew open, red in color for the first time. Her magic went out of control and what happened next was a mystery to her until she woke up. She was underneath some rubble when Sid found her. He was able to gather the lacrimas recording the event and teleport to a safer location. Sid was the only survivor. Everyone inside the research center and living in the village nearby died from Devi's magic. In the ten years he was leader of the awakenings, Sid had only ever seen three others more destructive or on par with hers.

"It was a blessed gift that you didn't die that day Chibi-Lia. Else your entire family would be nearly extinct," Publana's smug voice broke Devi out of her thoughts. She swallowed, still tasting the dirty moat water in her head. She went on like nothing happened.

"It is because of your malpractice that I won't vote in your favor. Your uncompassionate and money grubbing ways have to stop before I can truly look at you as the clan in charge of medicine. I might have to convince the other clans to strip away your medical positions until we're sure you fully deserve it."

"Malpractice? Uncompassionate? Where are these terms coming from Chibi-Lia? We've done nothing but help this empire flourish and for you to threaten us like this is unconceivable," Dimas stated feigning hurt.

"Your daughter just said your entire family watched my awakening which under law should have never been seen by anyone that wasn't present. All night I've been listening to each one of you bring up my family and throw around, may they rest in peace…. But the thing about that, none of you have the right to say that me. Not only do you not mean it, but your own daughter Elodia betrayed her nation by participating in the genocide of two of the most important clans for our empire. She's a cowardly rebellious snake who ran away because she couldn't complete the job by killing me too. So please excuse me if I'm not jumping at the chance to help any of you in anything you do."

Devi's neck was snapped to the side after the stinging smack that Publana dealt her. "You must have lost your mind." Devi's eyes flashed.

"I want you apologize for what you said about Elodia-"

"Why would I care about what you want," Devi hissed. "It's not like Elodia is dead unlike my sister.

"I'm not even going to bother hearing the second request," she said suddenly. "We're leaving. Don't contact us again."

As they got up to leave, a horn sounded. The horn for battle.

Dimas chucked. "I thought you might reject. I grow tired of your disrespect for my clan and so we shall settle this on the battlefield. Because you are a member of the Holy Three I shall grant you all ten minutes to prepare yourselves before your absolute slaughter. See you out there." Dimas walked out of the dinning, taking off his robe to reveal armor underneath.

Publana cackled from behind the group. She stood at the other end of the room, her drink still in her hand. Devi kept her back to her.

"I think torture runs in the family," Publana started. "Elodia tortured the staff at your beautiful villa. Staining the walls, creating quite an artwork in their blood.

The group from the future were surprised Devi was keeping her cool. She made it seem like Publana was telling her a boring story rather than events that took place on her darkest day. They themselves would go over and shut up the drunken witch but knew they would be pulled back before they could touch her.

"Father will torture you all as soon as you step foot out of the castle. And of course uncle tortured you Devi, and Prance during your brother's awakening." Publana took a long sip.

"And you were of course tortured by the traitorous snakes, as you call them, that night. Oh you were so disoriented. You kept going in and out, I think. But your mother was wide-awake when they killed her. It really was traumatizing for you. I'm surprised you weren't seeing double that night." A sick smirk slipped onto Publana's face.

Prance switched his lance to a different hand. Mei closed her eyes. Flash played with his bangs. Brutus's eye twitched. Arc coughed.

Devi slowly turned her head, peering at Publana over her shoulder. "I'm sorry? What was that? I didn't quite hear you."

"I said you should have been seeing dou-"

Devi dashed across the room so fast the others didn't notice she was no longer beside them until Erza's sword was two feet away from Publana's neck. Publana raised her hand, pointing it to Devi. A pink beam shot out. She was trying to perform a sensory link between them. If Devi killed or hurt Publana in any way, she would have the same effects.

Prance bounded over to the pair, slashing Publana's outstretched hand off before the sensory link was completed.

Devi closed the distance, driving the blade into Publana's midsection. Publana screeched out a wail of pain. Her eyes searched Devi's red ones for an ounce of mercy. Devi leaned forward, her lips pressed against her ear. "I hope your sister joins you soon." The sword twisted, grinding her intestines. Blood spurted out her mouth. Adan watched the scene, stuck in place. He saw the light vanish from his sister's eyes. Devi yanked the sword out, splashing Adan with Publana's blood. He shivered from the warm, thick liquid.

His chills increased when his eyes caught Devi's. "Did you have anything to do with it?"

"…No. I- I didn't…" He was thankful he chose not to take part in the destruction of the Ametsuchis and Wakahisas. Blood had splattered onto Devi's face. She smiled with humor, making it seem like everything was a joke, but Adan knew that smile too well and took caution. Her bangs were pushed back to put her glowing red irises on full display. It was true that members of the Holy Three eyes glowed when using their magic, but also when their emotions were heated. When they had bloodlust.

Adan breathed out a sigh of relief when the red faded. At least Devi didn't have her magic to use against anyone.

Adan quickly left to join his father.

"We have eight minutes," Mei informed.

"Enough time to get weapons for all of us," Prance said. Devi handed Erza back her sword that she borrowed.

"Why would we need weapons? We got magic," Natsu said while making a fist. His eyebrows furrowed. "Hey what gives? My fire ain't coming out."

Gajeel tried making his arm into an iron sword but failed. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's a magic negation barrier," Mei explained. "I noticed one was placed around the castle and town once Dimas left the room. The caster can choose what kind of magic and who uses their magic within the boundaries. Even if you kill the caster, the field will stay up. There's only one way to nullify it. We'll have to make our way to the center of the barrier without getting killed and Devi will take care of the rest."

"What will you do?" Lucy asked Devi.

"Well I'll only be able to nullify the barrier for a short while. It'll still be up technically but you'll be able to use your magic too. What I need you guys to do is be my shield and sword until we get there. Do what you came to do, protect me." Devi evaded the question like every other time. They guessed they'd see it anyway so they weren't too peeved.

"This is not a honorable way to battle," Erza commented.

"The Tapia's are not known for their honor," Prance deadpanned.

"Take whatever weapon you can find on the walls," Flash said grabbing a pole arm. The dinning room was decorated in dozens of weapons. Each person picked an item they were comfortable with wielding. Gajeel and Arc swung their axes around, getting used to the heavy weight. Lucy preferred to use her whip, Erza her sword, and Prance his lance. Laxus and Brutus had studded gloves on, Mirajane a flail, Juvia a iron fan, Wendy a bow and arrow for long range attacks, Gray a mallet, Natsu a mace, Mei a small dagger and Devi a club. She was more comfortable with a club than a sword. During training sessions with other children, they would hide the swords from her, relegating her to use the club against their blades.

"It'll be better for us if we stay inside as long as possible," Brutus said. Mei nodded her agreement. "They won't be able to use too much of their offensive magic while in the castle, in fear of damaging it or causing it to collapse. We'll let them come to us, while we make our way over to the center of the barrier. We should stay in a tight circle with the ones more comfortable with their weapons on the outside. Everyone else crowd the middle. Make sure you have your shield close to you at all times, in case of any stray spells. Your mission is to get Devi and I safely to the middle. If we get taken out, there's no chance we'll all get out of here alive." Everyone followed Mei's orders and huddled around the short blonde and silver haired twosome.

They fended off the incoming soldiers belonging to the Tapia's well enough. They had it harder once they made it off the castle grounds. The town provided little coverage and hiding places. The citizens had sealed off their homes and business as soon as the horn sounded. Their bodies were taken quite the beating, as magic banged against the flesh, releasing pain sensors everywhere. More times than none, the male members of the Seven Deadly threw themselves in front of any incoming attacks for Mei and Devi. At one point Prance was meters away from Devi when a comet-sized spell was hurdling towards her. He sliced his way through the crowd, jumping in front of the blast. It reminded the future Fairy Tail of when he took the brunt of Chaos's spell during the Annual Wizard Celebration. They knew it had to do with more than just the mission. The total devotion clearly showed on Prance's face whenever he was within seeing distance of Devi. And when Flash kept his arm tightly around Mei's shoulders, while Arc stood at her other side. The dedication showed by the other members to protect the two women was astounding.

A single figure made his way behind Devi. He swung her around, catching her off guard because she knew that touch. A touch she hadn't felt since she left Alvarez.

"-KUN?!" Prances head snapped over to where Devi was standing. Fire blazed in his eyes when he spotted the man whose name slipped out of Devi's lips.

Prance had his lance poised at his neck before he could blink, mimicking Devi's actions against Publana earlier.

Devi pushed the lance down. Prance cut his eyes to her. "It's Seikun not Vidkun, Prance. See?" Prance eyed the man up and down before lessoning the grip on his lance.

"Prince Seikun, what are you doing here?"

Seikun cleared his throat. "It's actually Imperial Emperor Seikun now. Father died a few months ago…" Devi and Prance felt a pang of grief at the news. They had spent considerable amount of time at the royal palace and the former emperor had always been kind to them. It hit Devi that she would have most likely been empress that moment if she had not left.

Seikun was the eldest son of Emperor Takao Acnologia. He was set to marry Devi when she turned 21. That was before she left the empire after the assassination of the Wakahisa and Ametsuchi clans. The engagement was null the moment she set foot off the continent. Seikun's twin brother, Vidkun, was his brother's opposite in everything except looks. He never wanted the throne and loathed the clans' hierarchy. Vidkun would later become what people mainly thought of when they heard the name Acnologia. The Black Dragon in the Book of the Apocalypse.

"And for what I'm doing here, I heard the Tapias were planning to have you executed. I came here to stop their plans and deal out their punishment but found myself unable to use my magic when I was almost to the castle. You look good Chibi-Lia. I hope you both have been doing well since your departure."

A solider on the side of the Tapia's tried to sneak up behind Seikun. Seikun dodged his attacker, sensing his presence. When the soldier missed and stumbled forward, Seikun struck the back of his neck with a kick, knocking him down. The soldier scrambled up to his feet once he met the seething red eyes of his emperor. They let him get away, seeing it as an advantage.

The news spread like wildfire that Emperor Seikun had made an appearance on the battlefield, on the side of the enemy. The Tapia troops lost their sense of morale, too stilled with fear to oppose the Emperor and face capital punishment. "What the hell is going on here?!" Dimas marched up to Adan, his face contorted into a sneer. "Emperor Seikun is here," Adan said simply. Dimas face fell, paling at the thought of dealing with Seikun. He knew he would feel the wrath of the Acnologias along with the other families for taking war against Devi and Prance but had prepared a bogus explanation for his actions. But with the emperor there to witness his deceit, he knew his days were numbered. "And there's something else father," Dimas raised his head to look at his son. "Publana… she is dead. Devi killed her when she admitted to taking part in the assassinations." Dimas sighed, wiping his sweaty face. "That girl was a fool. At least Elodia left the continent afterwards, hiding so they couldn't find her… At least I'll get to spend my final moments with one of my children."

"Once this is over I'll summon the Marchands to take the Tapia's into custody," Seikun said. That was their cue to find their way to the center of the barrier.

"How exactly are you going to nullify the barrier again?" Lucy prodded hoping for a better answer than before.

"I have to change the coding to allow everyone else to use their magic," Devi said. She held a hand over her chest and her eyes once again turned red. A faint outline of the magic negation barrier appeared. Fairy Tail felt their magic flowing through their veins. They tested it out, seeing that they were back in action.

Mei stepped forward. "Fairy Law. Activate!"

Mei's eyes lost all color as a bright yellow ball materialized between her cupped hands. She slammed both hands and eyes shut, as the light got brighter. She reopened her eyes and a magic circle covered them, mimicking the humongous one covering the sky above. The light overtook everything in sight, blinding the viewers with its illuminating hue. Soldiers and Tapia members were immediately rounded up and put into custody by the Marchand police force following the casting of Fairy Law.

Emperor Seikun made his leave with his newly arrived royal guards after briefly questioning Dimas and saying his goodbyes.

The gang celebrated their win with rounds of drinks at a local pub on the outskirts of the town. They sat outside since the inside was too crowded.

Natsu slammed his drink down when he sensed strange presences in the area. It was a familiar presence. They felt similar to Lia when she unsealed her Spacetime magic during the debacle with Cain's Genesis.

He ran out into the street his fists ablaze. A loud gunshot went off, preceded by a violent white beam hurdling towards the table of allies. It missed Natsu by a hair, but he still felt the heat of the beam, feeling a slight numbness on his left side where it almost hit him. Devi swung her head around in time to see the beam. The last thing the others saw of her was her moving her hand to her chest before she vanished.

Horror chilled their spines as they stared at the spot she was just in.

"This-… can't be happening…" Lucy begged. She clamped a hand over her mouth trying to hold down the bile trying to make it's way up her throat.

"We failed," Erza stated. Her face was blank as her body trembled with fury.

"Now we're stuck here," Gajeel rubbed his tired face. The thought of never seeing his shrimpy bookworm again made his heart stop for a moment.

Out of the cover of the night came the cult of Spacetime mages opposed to Zeref, and of course, Devi.

"You really shouldn't grieve over that insolent child," Normus Netopia stepped forward out of the group, displaying his leadership. "She was only a dirty black wizard after all."

"How can you mock her honor as a wizard?" Erza demanded drawing her sword.

"A true Spacetime wizard would never stoop so low as to break a taboo. She signed her fate when-" Natsu's fist shut him up. Normus let out an enraged howl at the sudden punch. His skin on his cheek was blistering from the fire.

"Why are none of you reacting?!" Lucy turned her attention to the remaining Seven Deadly. They'd been silent the entire time, only briefly showing their surprise at Devi's disappearance.

"There's still someone that can help us," Brutus claimed.

Gray looked at them in disbelief. The emperor might have come to help them but he had no Spacetime magic, only soul magic. Next to the Seven Deadly, he was the most powerful person on the continent that could have the power to do anything. But even he couldn't.

"Who?" Gray scoffed.

The temperature dropped abruptly. Future Fairy Tail heart's dropped as they saw a silhouette step out of the shadows. His robes were being swept around by the cold night wind. His low bangs obscured his face, but they knew who it was. They could never forget.

"I can't sense Devi on Earthland anymore," Zeref said. He sent accusing looks to the other Seven Deadly, almost like he was scolding them. "How am I supposed to die peacefully if she's gone?"

Yay! Zeref has finally made his official debut I'm wetting myself with joy. His character is so interesting, the best part about the current manga arc in my opinion. Poor Lia, can't catch a break. Always disappearing and shitz. I wonder if Zeref will pull through and do something? My inner fan says no but we'll see. Until next time! R&R.