Another chapter up, but I'm going to be super busy the next couple of weeks with final exams, so we'll see if I manage to get any more updates done.

As always, please review and thanks for reading!

Chapter 34: Life or Death

Natsu, Lisanna, and Sting had just reached the stairs to the level Mira was supposed to be on when they heard the stomping of boots and a shout, "There they are! The escaped prisoners!"

Upon seeing the group of minions, Sting bared his fangs distastefully, "Crud, they found us."

Natsu cracked his knuckles, "Lisanna, keep on going. We'll catch up with you!"

"But…" Lisanna frowned, "Are you sure?"

"Go save Mira!" Sting lunged at the grunts with his twin right beside him.

Lisanna nodded and rushed up the stairs, entering the next corridor on her way to the laboratory.

Natsu and Sting crashed into the enemy with an explosion of heat and light, "HAVE SOME, BITCHES!"

The attack instantly defeated all the grunts, sending them flying away.

Natsu grinned, "That's what we can do with magic!"

Suddenly, the area around them turned pitch black. The peons were suspended in midair before they could hit the ground.

Sting's eyes widened, "What the…"

"They froze in midair?" Natsu stared in disbelief.

"So you made it here, after all. I knew you would."

The Twins spun around at the sound of the voice and immediately went very still at the sight they were met with. Cloaked in black with a white toga, eyes of jet-black watched them calmly, with a hint of amusement.

"This is Zeref's Bookshelf, Tartaros," murmured the Death Wizard, "The city where my books live."

Natsu stared back, "Zeref."

"So it was you who froze these guys?" Sting asked, gesturing to the grunts.

Zeref nodded, "This guild is composed of the demons that I've created. I myself am called Tartaros. That being said, I didn't create the guild myself. It would seem Master E.N.D came up with that idea."

"E.N.D?" Natsu's eyes narrowed, "That's the demon Igneel wanted to kill."

"Or rather…" Zeref smiled faintly, "The demon Igneel couldn't kill."

"In that case, I'll beat that bastard down!" Natsu snarled and requipped his Igneo sword, "I'll carry out my father's will!"

Sting grabbed the Heat Blade and lunged, "But regardless, we'll cut you down first!"

The Twin Dragons both slashed at Zeref in unison, aiming for his head and torso simultaneously. The blades seemed to make contact, but where they should impacted, a black wave encased them and left the Death Wizard untouched.

Zeref's eyes narrowed, but in amusement rather than anger, "You might be capable of pulling it off."

Natsu and Sting stared at their weapons, dumbfounded to see that both blades had been completely and utterly erased by Zeref's magic. They were nothing more than useless pieces of steel, now."

"But remember this," Zeref continued, "Igneel could not kill him."

Sting glared back at him, "What are you trying to say?"

"The most powerful of all the demons I created, E.N.D," his eyes flashed red, but the color was a cold shade, "Soon you will be faced with the same decision as Igneel. Let him live, or let him die? The choice is yours."

Natsu and Sting blinked uncomprehendingly, sensing a hidden message, but not understanding it.

Zeref's form started to flicker, "Well then, I'll take my leave."

"Wait!" Natsu shouted, "What are you saying?! What do you mean by that?!"

He did not address the question and sighed, "Look at all Tartaros is doing just in order to meet me. These little visits I make don't seem quite fair in comparison, do they? When one finally reaches me…will it be you? Or E.N.D? I await your decision. Farewell."

With that, Zeref disappeared. And with his absence, the black field dematerialized and unfroze the suspended peons, letting them collapse to the ground in defeat.

Sting stared at where the Death Mage had been standing, "What was that about?"

"Who knows…" Natsu muttered, holding up his ruined Igneo Blade.

"Sorry your sword got destroyed," Sting looked at his twin sympathetically, "It was a token you kept from Edolas."

Natsu shook his head and requipped it away, "No use crying over it now. I'll just fight as I normally do. Come on, we have to go help Lisanna."

"About that…have you been listening?"

"Hmm?"

The Twins paused and focused their hearing. Both of them realized there was a mass of sound coming from somewhere in the floors below them. The sounds of a battle.

"Is that Erza?" Natsu asked.

"It sounds like more than just Erza," Sting decided, "I'm guessing the others from the guild found Tartaros' base. So how about this? I'll go meet up with our reinforcements and you go after Lisanna. Sound good?"

Natsu nodded and held up his fist, "Sounds like a plan. If you see that Jiemma bastard again, kick his ass for me."

"Will do," replied Sting as he bumped fists with his twin. The two Dragon Slayers then headed off on their separate paths.

Erza requipped out of her Lancer Armor and started falling back towards Undercube's surface, much to her surprise.

"Erza!" Lucy cried joyously, "You're okay!"

"Lucy!" Erza exclaimed, "Everyone! You're all here!"

She landed easily and stared around her, "What's going on?"

"No time!" Rogue told her quickly.

Gray started running towards the hole, "We need to get inside! We'll use the gap Erza made to penetrate Tartaros' defenses!"

"Sting, Natsu, and Lisanna are all ok!" Erza shouted, "All that's left is Mira and Elfman!"

"I'm just fine," Elfman growled as he led the other mages into the pit, "Leave the rest to me! I'll save Mira!"

Porlysuca called after them, "Don't forget about the blood sample from the one with Magical Barrier Particles!"

As Erza adjusted to the surrounding battlefield, she was suddenly grabbed by Kyouka's extended talons and yanked into the air.

"Erza!" Yukino shouted in alarm.

"I'll take care of her!" Titania yelled, "Don't worry about me! Face has been released! Find a way to stop its activation!"

Lucy and Yukino grabbed Wendy and leaped into the pit, determined to fulfill the task their friend had given them. Lector, Charle, and Frosch quickly followed them.

Kyouka slammed Erza into the ground, but the impact gave Titania a chance to break free of the demoness' grasp.

Erza sneered at her enemy, "You're not sick of dealign with me yet, eh?"

"You?" Kyouka snickered, "I'm starting to like you. You're a glutton for punishment, it seems."

"Touché, you bitch," Erza growled.

"Mira!" Lisanna called desperately, glancing around the laboratory for a sign of her sister, "Where are you?"

"Lisanna?" a voice called back, "Lisanna, is that you?!"

The younger sister immediately looked to where the voice had originated and saw her sister. Lisanna ran up to her and hugged her tightly with a cry of joy, "Mira! Oh, I'm so relieved!"

Mira hugged her sister back, but frowned, "Why are you in Animal Soul?"

"Well…" Lisanna smiled a bit, "I needed something in place of my clothes…"

"How did you escape?" Mira asked.

"Natsu, Sting, and I found a way to get free," she murmured, "But Erza was captured too."

Mira's eyes widened, "Natsu, Erza, and Sting as well?!"

"They're safe now," Lisanna told her, "But Elfman is still in here somewhere…"

"That person was not caught."

The Fairy Sisters spun at the all-too familiar voice, finding Sayla approaching them with unnerving calm. The demoness' eyes were glowing with a menacing force.

"You…I remember now…" Lisanna bared her sharpened teeth, "You're the one who controlled Elfman…"

"Step back, Lisanna," Mira held out her arm, "Now that I've gotten my Satan Soul back, I can deal with her. But first, you will tell us where our brother is!"

"The person called Elfman was given the order to blow up the Fairy Tail guild," Sayla muttered, "And he did just as instructed. The guild was vaporized."

Lisanna and Mira stared at her, horrified at Sayla's words.

"However…" the demoness hissed in anger, "Not a single person was killed. That failure is now on my head."

While the news that no one had been hurt was a relief to both Mira and Lisanna, Sayla's rage had grown considerably. She glared at the elder of the two sisters, "I was shamed before Lady Kyouka all because of that man. As compensation for destroying and ruining my reputation I'll be taking the youngest of your siblings."

Mira glared back at her, "You aren't going to lay a finger on Lisanna."

"That's what you think," Sayla whispered in fury, "Mark my words, human. I'm taking her after I personally kill you. She belongs to me."

"She belongs to you?"

Sayla turned around at the voice, arching an eyebrow in irritation. Lisanna and Mira stared past her.

"And just what," snarled the Salamander with bared fangs, "Gives you that's idea, you demented bitch?"

Mira smirked, "Seems like reinforcements have arrived…"

"Natsu, are you okay?" Lisanna asked.

The demoness' eyes narrowed, "This one…"

"I'll be just fine after I burn this one into cinders," Natsu growled, igniting his body in a furious blaze. The image of a snarling fire dragon appeared behind him, producing a fearsome mirage.

"No one tries to hurt Lisanna and gets away with it," he hissed, "Didn't Zeref ever teach you not to threaten a dragon's mate?"

"I see," Sayla muttered disdainfully, "A Dragon Slayer? What an irritation."

In the Tartaros control room, Franmalth was directing Cube's path to get closer to Face's coordinates. He mumbled thoughtfully to himself, "Hmmm, I suppose it is all rather strange. Face appeared somewhere other than where we had expected it to. Of course, I calculated a small margin of error, but this exceeds anything I expected."

The door behind him suddenly creaked open. Franmalth immediately bolted for the cover of the nearest pillar, having detected intruders.

Lucy led Wendy, Yukino, and the three exceed inside. She glanced around, "This place…"

"There's lots of symbols on the wall," Wendy noticed.

Yukino pointed at a huge globe floating in the center of the room, "That looks like a map of sorts."

"I'm guessing this is Tartaros' control room," surmised Charle.

Franmalth watched them with surprise. How unexpected! They made it this far already! Those good for nothing guards! How much will their blunders cost us? How much?!

Lucy looked over the monitors and frowned, "Just as Erza said, Face has been unsealed."

"Can we shut it down from here?" Yukino asked.

Lucy fiddled with the controls for a moment, but shook her head, "It looks like it has to be shut down manually. This monitor has been locked down so I can't access it. The good news is this-"

She pointed at another monitor. Lector floated up beside her and read it aloud, "Face must be activated manually on-site? So wait, that means they can't turn it on without being there?"

"Fro thinks so too!" agreed Frosch.

The monitor suddenly beeped and the mages froze.

"It's activating!" Yukino gasped.

Franmalth smirked. That was quick, Ezel!

Wendy looked above the monitor and paled, "This says…forty one minutes before Face goes off…"

Lucy blanched, "That's all the time we have?!"

"Just forty one minutes before all the magic in the continent gets wiped out?!" Yukino exclaimed, "W-we have to warn the others!"

"Can't we just smash everything in here?!" Lector demanded.

"It won't do us any good if everything has to be activated on-site!" Charle muttered, "We don't have the time to warn the others! We'll have to go destroy Face ourselves!"

They suddenly heard a jingle of metal, similar to that of wind chimes. The mages spun around to see a cloaked figure walking towards them with a staff in his hand. His face was that of a skeleton, and likewise, his hands were also nothing but bones.

"The despairing prayers of young maidens…are the resounding chimes of hell's bells. Your fading magicks will breathe anew and restore life into the lands. You maiden faeries who have fallen into Hades' maw…shall become corpses and drift into purgatory."

Lucy started shaking, "A-a skeleton…"

"Uh…" Yukino's eyes grew large, "That's not..real…right?"

"That's just a..a mask…" Wendy gulped in fear, "It's gotta be…"

The skeleton stared at them with lifeless black eyes, "I am Keith, the Ebony Cardinal of the Nine Demon Gates."

Lucy glanced at the clock and frowned as it ticked down, "No time to think about it. We'll have to distract him just long enough to escape."

"Understood," murmured Yukino.

"Things won't be good if Face activates…" Wendy muttered as she prepared for an escape.

"Things are already not good, little dearies!" Franmalth popped out from behind Keith, "Gehehehe!"

Lector bristled, "That's the guy Sting fought earlier!"

"Leave him to us!" Yukino whipped out a Gate Key, "Gate of the Ram, I open thee! Aries!"

"Gate of the Golden Bull, I open thee!" Lucy chanted, "Taurus!"

Both spirits appeared in a burst of light, surprising the two demons.

Aries cast her hands out and created a sea of pink wool, "One Hundred Percent Fluffy-Fluffy-Wool!"

The stifling force of her attack immobilized Franmalth, though Keith simply ignored it. In the meantime, Taurus swung his axe in a huge circle, "Moo! Wool Typhoon!"

Lucy glanced at Lector, "Now's our chance!"

"Ok!" the red exceed picked her up quickly.

Charle grabbed Wendy, "Does anyone know where Face is?!"

"It's the Great Cave in Poison Jelly Valley!" Yukino exclaimed as Frosch lifted her and started flying alongside the others.

"Let's hurry!" Lucy shouted.

They flew through the corridors at breakneck speed, thinking they had left the demons behind, but suddenly a black mist lunged past them and materialized into the skeletal form of Keith, who blocked their path.

"Didn't we leave him behind?" Yukino gasped.

"I guess he predicted our course of travel…" Wendy muttered, "We'll just have to rush him!"

Keith held up his staff and murmured darkly, "Gaze upon it…the Malefic-!"

He was suddenly struck from behind, but rather than take damage, he simply dissolved into black mist. Gray appeared as the one who had ambushed the demon with a shout, "Out of my way!"

"Gray!" Lucy exclaimed.

The Ice Mage blinked in surprise as they flew towards him, "You guys- whoa!"

He had to duck as the three girls shot past him, nearly taking his head off by accident with their speed.

"Sorry!" Yukino apologized, "We're in a rush!"

"Thank you, Gray!" Wendy shouted back at him.

Gray stared after them, "What was that all about?"

Keith reformed and studied the young man, "You. You are Silver's…"

"Ah?" Gray eyed the skeletal demon disdainfully.

Elsewhere in the castle, Gajeel, Rogue, and Pantherlily were rampaging through masses of grunts in a narrow hallway.

"Iron Dragon's Guillotine!" Black Steel slammed into the ground with his iron legs and smashed into several enemies, sending them flying.

Rogue decimated a group with shadows dancing from his arms, "Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash!"

Pantherlily's sword glowed and grew into a huge blade, "Musica Sword: Goliath Form!"

The three mages were positively destroying the grunts, leaving not a single enemy standing. After a while, Gajeel started to get bored.

"This fodder is doing nothing but annoying me!" he snarled, "Where are those supposed badasses that took out Salamander and that Lightning Bastard, huh?!"

"I believe you're referring to me."

The three turned towards the voice, noticing a dark-skinned man with claws approaching them. He gazed at them calmly, "My name is Tempesta. My Magical Barrier Particles are the ones which poisoned that Dragon Slayer you're talking about."

Rogue's eyes narrowed, "Then we'll be taking your head."

"If you can."

From the opposite end of the hall, a burly, red demon with shark-like fins stalked up to them, "Our duty is to eliminate the enemy. My name Is Torafusa of the Abyss. On my pride, I shall cut you down."

Gajeel sneered, "You will try…"

Lucy and the others were almost out of Tartaros when they saw a mass of pink wool filling the hall ahead of them. Caught off-guard, she and Yukino crashed into it, finding themselves trapped. Only Wendy and Charle managed to avoid the sudden ambush.

It was clear that the attack was from Aries' arsenal, but the one who used it was Franmalth, who now sported the Ram Spirit's horns and wool over his body. The demon cackled, "I won't let you get away!"

"Lucy! Yukino!" Wendy shouted.

Yukino struggled to escape, "Wendy, there's no time!"

"You have to destroy Face!" Lucy called to her.

Wendy nodded, "Okay! Charle, fly!"

The white exceed made to escape, but Franmalth reached after her with an extended arm, "Where do you think you're escaping to?!"

His wool arm suddenly exploded with a flash of light, surprising the whole group.

Sting cast aside the mass of wool that had been pursuing Wendy with a sneer, "We gotta stop meeting up like this, cyclops freak!"

"Sting!" Lucy exclaimed in relief.

"You saved us!" Lector cried joyfully, "You're okay!"

Franmalth blanched, "You again?! You got thrown in prison!"

"I busted out," Sting grinned, "By the way, Natsu and Lisanna are free too. Oh, and Erza. You guys are so royally screwed, I almost feel bad for you."

"Perfect timing, Sting," Yukino complimented as she struggled free of the wool.

"Fro thinks so too!" cheered Frosch.

He gazed after the disappearing Wendy, "Where'd they rush off to? Also, how'd you guys even get here?"

"No time for that!" Lucy chastised as she got loose, "Face has been activated! Wendy's going to stop it manually!"

Sting cracked his knuckles as he faced Franmalth, "Then I guess we need to clean up these guys here."

"GAAAAHHHH!" Franmalth suddenly started glowing and swelled in size. He suddenly took on the appearance of Taurus- minus his single eye and mouth, "Evolution!"

Yukino gasped, "Taurus?! He absorbed our spirits?!"

Franmalth snickered, "Hehehe!" The souls I absorb I can use as catalysts to perform Evolution…but more importantly, how much will the reward for that escaped brat be? How much!?"

"You're even uglier than before," Sting mocked, "And for some reason, that makes me even more pissed off at you."

"I never asked you!" Franmalth shot back indignantly.

Lucy glared at the demon, "Give us back Taurus and Aries!"

"Why would I do that?!" the demon exclaimed, "Do you have any idea how much my collection of souls is worth?!"

Sting's fist became wrapped in light, "Then I'll punch your gut so hard, you puke those souls out!"

He lunged at Franmalth, but the demon's face suddenly morphed and turned into that of Aries. The Ram Spirit wailed in fear, "Sting, don't do it!"

Her cry gave Sting pause, allowing Franmalth to land a sucker punch on the Dragon Slayer.

Lector bristled, "That's dirty!"

Franmalth made a grab at his enemy, "I'll just go ahead and absorb your soul, too!"

Sting rolled away quickly and got back up to charge another attack, "You shit…"

This time, Franmalth's face turned into that of Taurus, who whined, "Please stop, Sting!"

"Taurus!" Lucy gasped.

However, it didn't faze the White Dragon, who kicked Franmalth in the face and generated an explosion of light magic, "Bad choice! I have no issue with beating that guy senseless!"

Franmalth was caught completely by surprise and went flying, screeching in shock.

Lucy sweat-dropped, "That's so mean…"

"I guess I get where he's coming from, but…ehehe…" Yukino scratched her cheek sheepishly.

"It's kind of evil, isn't it…" Lector snickered.

"Fro thinks so too!"

Franmalth got up with a growl of annoyance, "Grr! You brat! I'll show you the strongest of my souls!"

His whole body flashed black and suddenly the demon was enveloped in an oppressively powerful force. Dark magic danced around the shadowy form, giving Franmalth a menacing appearance.

Lucy blanched, "No way…"

"This is…" bristled Lector, "How'd he get his soul?!"

"His power is still rising!" Yukino gasped.

Sting bared his fangs uneasily. He recognized the magic power all too well.

Franmalth snickered, "Gehehe! Get ready to feel the wrath of Hades, the strongest human dark mage that ever lived!"