Risley, Kagura, and Millianna stood guard over their assigned councilman's house. Though they volunteered to aid Fairy Tail in their campaign against Tartaros, the three Mermaid Maidens were growing more and more restless by the second at the lack of action at their station.

"We've been here for hours~!" Millianna whined, slumping her shoulders. "Can we go back to the guild now?"

"Yeah." Risley sighed. "There seems to be nothing going on around here. Right, Kagura?"

"Even so we have to remain on guard." The swordswoman said. "The enemy could be waiting for us to leave so they can strike."

"Well if they're out there they need to hurry up and attack." Millianna pouted. "My feet are starting to hurt." Soon a warm glow emanated from the catgirl's shoulder bag. She reached inside, pulling out the communication lacrima. Cana was staring at her from the other side. "Hey, Cana. How are things going?"

"We're still scrambling here. How are things on your end?"

"All quiet over here." Risley reported. "We haven't seen so much as a bird, much less a member of Tartaros."

"Well stay on guard. They could be lurking around anywhere."

Millianna noticed the perplexed look on the fortuneteller's face. "What's wrong, Cana? You don't look so good."

Cana sighed reluctantly before telling the three what had happened. "A few of our guildmates were attacked by Tartaros members."

"Oh no." Millianna gasped.

"Are they ok?" Risley asked.

Cana nodded. "Yeah, they are, but…something else happened as well."

"What?" Millianna hesitantly asked. She feared for whatever development was to come next.

"Our people who were attacked…they were looking after Natsu and Erza's daughter, Aura."

Kagura's eyes began to widen. Cana continued.

"When we found them, she was gone."

"Gone?" Millianna questioned. "What do you mean gone?"

"We think they took her."

"But what would Tartaros want with a little girl?" Before Risley could have her question answered, Kagura ran off into the distance at top speed.

"Kagura!" Millianna shouted.

"Where are you going?!" Risley hollered.

Kagura could no longer hear her friends cries, she was already long gone.


Jellal stood across from the members of Oracion Seis. He was on his last legs, gasping in exhaustion, but no matter how much his body screamed for him to give in, he could not allow himself to falter.

"You say you're going to free us?" Midnight questioned, smirking in superiority. "What could you possibly do in your condition?"

"I can defeat you." Jellal argued.

The Oracion Seis were shocked at his will to continue fighting.

"Right now!" Jellal shouted, getting into a battle stance. "All of you are finished!"

Suddenly a spiral beam of dark energy zoomed past the members of Oracion Seis, piercing Jellal through the abdomen. Everyone looked back in shock to see Zero was the one who had fired that beam. "The one who is finished, Jellal, is you!" Zero shouted manically.

"Zero?!" Angel gasped.

"When did his wards fall?!" Racer questioned.

"He's still alive?!" Cobra added in complete shock.

Midnight continued smirking in satisfaction.

Jellal gasped, blood gushing from his mouth as he fell to the ground.

"Jellal!" Meldy screamed. She ran to his side. "Jellal!"

"Meldy…S-stay back…" he coughed up more blood. "You have to…run…"

"No!" the girl protested. "I can't just leave you here!"

"Get…away…"

"I said no! I'm not leaving you behind! You're all I have left! Don't give up! It's not over yet!"

Jellal managed to smile at her. "Right…it's not…"

Zero appeared again, crushing Jellal into the ground as Meldy watched in horror. "It is over!" the dark wizard laughed manically.

When the dust settled, Jellal was nowhere to be found, the only remains of him being a tattered shoe that blew past Meldy in the wind. The young girl fell to her knees, staring at the spot where her friend once lay. "Jellal…" she quivered before wailing in sadness.

The rest of the Oracion Seis – save Midnight – all shared in Meldy's shock.

"He…he wiped him from existence." Angel muttered.

Zero laughed again before the air around him began to crack. This began to shake Midnight's ever-present grin from his face.

"What's going on?" Racer asked, looking around at the cracks in the sky.

"I have no idea." Cobra answered.

Everyone shielded themselves as the sky broke apart and the pieces fell around them. From these breaks emerged Jellal.

"Impossible!" Midnight protested.

"Jellal…?" Meldy questioned, tears still in her eyes. "But how?"

"How did you see through my nightmare?!" Midnight interrogated. Upon closer inspection of the revived Jellal, he noticed that the blue-haired wizard's eyes were closed. "You shut your eyes?!"

"What the hell?!" Cobra yelled.

"No way!" Racer chimed in.

Soon beams of light surrounded the four Oracion Seis members.

"What is this?" Angel worried.

"A magic pattern!" Racer shouted.

Cobra looked up to the sky, seeing several magic circles floating above him and his comrades. "When did he have the chance to do this?"

Jellal – eyes still closed – held out his open hand, holding up two fingers in the middle with his other hand. The beams of light grew brighter. "You will be judged by the seven stars." He said.

GRAND CHARIOT

The beams of light enveloped Racer, Cobra, Midnight, and Angel, causing them intense pain. Jellal then shifted his stance, and the grand chariot stopped. The clouds in the sky began to swirl, revealing a crackling ball of light emerging from the eye of the storm.

Midnight looked to it in shock. "Is this true Heavenly Body Magic?!"

The gathered energy formed into a meteor that began to fall to the earth below.

SEMA


At the Fairy Tail guild, the frantic wizards began suggesting ideas on how to proceed against Tartaros. Everyone from the away teams had returned to the guild except for Natsu, Erza, Happy, and the Strauss siblings. With Natsu, Erza, and Mirajane missing, and the Thunder Legion still down for the count, Fairy Tail's fighting force was nearly cut in half, and with the recent revelation of the attack at the Connell house, things were only growing more desperate for the strongest guild in Fiore.

"We investigated the former chairman's home, or what was left of it, but…" Carla began.

"No one was there. Not Natsu. Not Happy. Erza. Mirajane. Anyone." Lucy finished. "It was all but abandoned."

Wendy sulked next to the pair, looking down at the floor in shame. "I couldn't pick up any of their scents either."

"What happened there?" Gray wondered.

"I'm worried about them." Juvia said.

"What about Alzack and the others?" Alana spoke up. "Are they alright?"

"Porlyusica is currently looking after them along with the Thunder Legion." Makarov said. "Luckily their injuries aren't too serious."

"And Aura?" Lucy implored. "Have we found out where they took her?"

"We tried sniffing around the place." Gajeel spoke up.

"But we were unable to pick up any unusual scents." Yukino regretfully reported .

"What the hell would those guys want with a little girl?" Jet questioned in anger.

"Yeah." Droy added. "Just how low are they?"

"If only we knew Tartaros' location we could counter-attack." Levy mused in frustration.

"Gajeel, perhaps you could find a trace of the chairman's smell." Pantherlily suggested. "Your nose is stronger than Wendy's isn't it?"

"Even if it was, a person's smell doesn't linger around all that long." He placed his hand on the still-sulking Wendy's head. "If the squirt couldn't pick up anything, then I wouldn't be able to either."

"I'm sorry." Wendy apologized again.

"Stop beating yourself up, child." Carla said. "No one blames you."

Makarov took in all of the information being tossed around and hummed to himself. He was deep in thought about what to do next.

"We can't get ahold of Lisanna or Elfman either." Cana reported. "That's only worrying me more."

"What about the other guilds who are helping us?" Max asked Laki. "What's going on with the other council members?"

"They're all reporting that no action has occurred." Laki reported.

"But Mermaid Heel reported that Kagura left her post." Kinana revealed.

"What?!" Warren shouted. "Why would she do that?"

"I don't know." Kinana shook her head. "They said she took off so fast that they lost her almost instantly."

"What is she thinking?" Max wondered in annoyance.

"Sorry, guys." Cana apologized. "That was my fault. I told them about Aura. That's probably why Kagura took off."

"We have to find out where Tartaros' guild hall is located quickly!" Makarov announced.

"We found it!" a voice rang out. Everyone looked up to one of the open windows, watching as a disheveled Happy floated in. "We found their guild hall!"

"Happy?!" Wendy shouted.

No longer able to maintain his wings, Happy fell from the sky and rolled along the floor before sliding to stop on his stomach. He then shot up, his arms waving up and down wildly. "Erza and Mira got captured! The former chairman is a traitor! And Natsu…! I even…!" his hysterical ravings were stopped by Carla slapping both his cheeks at the same time.

"Get ahold of yourself, tomcat." She demanded.

"Aye…" Happy said, finally calming down. Once he regained all of his faculties he told the guild everything that happened after he and Natsu found Crawford's home. His report only served to add more worries to the Fairy Tail wizards heads.

"The former chairman is in league with Tartaros?!" Laki gasped.

"How did they capture Mira and Erza?!" Warren shouted.

"There's another thing." Happy hesitantly looked up to Gray. He thought back on Silver's words after he froze Natsu. "Do not speak that cursed name." Happy then shook his head and looked back at the crowd, he thought it best not to mention that.

"What?" Gray questioned, noting Happy's hesitation.

"It's nothing." Happy lied. "Natsu was caught too." The blue exceed started to tear up when he thought of his frozen friend. "I wanted to help him but…I was too weak…and I was alone…and I couldn't…"

"This not the time to be punishing yourself, Happy." Pantherlily reminded. "Tell us about their base. Where is it?"

"Aye." Happy pointed to the sky. "Their base moves around in the air. It's some weird cube in the sky."

Everyone's eyes went wide with surprise.

"It moves?" Makarov questioned.

"So since it moves, we still don't know where it's really located." Cana sneered.

"Maybe we can!" Levy spoke up. "Happy, do you know where it was heading? Or what direction it was coming from?"

Happy moved his arms from side to side, trying his best to mimic the cube's movement. "It went this way and then that way. Then it went this way again."

"Alright! I can do this!" Levy shouted in confidence. "I can calculate their location and find out where they are!"

"Then get to it, Levy!" Makarov ordered. "The rest of you, prepare for battle!"

"Yes sir!" the guild shouted in unison.

As everyone shouted with reinvigorated spirits, Happy continued to wipe his guilt-filled tears from his eyes. "I left Natsu and Erza back there…and now Aura is gone too…"

Lucy smiled softly at Happy before picking him up and hugging him tight to her chest. "You didn't abandon them." She reassured, rubbing the back of his head. "You made it back here as fast as you could so we could save all of them, right?"

"A-aye." Happy whimpered.

A large figure lumbered to the entrance of the Fairy Tail guild. When they came into view, the wizards immediately recognized the brute.

"Elfman!" Jet shouted.

"You alright?!" Macao asked.

"Wait…" Droy noticed something was off. "Where's Lisanna?"

Elfman didn't answer his friends at first, his eyes were filled with Sayla's Macro influence.


"Let me go, you bastards!" Natsu thrashed in vain as two armored guards dragged him through the halls. Under Silver's orders he was to be taken to the jail cells. Thinking that he had a way to contact his comrades, he was also ordered to be stripped naked. When they reached his cell, the guards opened the door and threw the angry dragon slayer inside. "Hey, you jerks! You can keep my clothes, just give me my scarf back!"

The guards ignored him and kept walking down the hall.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me?! I said give me my scarf back!"

"Man he's annoying." One of the guards sighed.

"Just ignore him." His fellow guard said. "He'll tire himself out eventually."

Natsu sat back on the ground in frustration. He couldn't move much due to his arms handcuffed behind his back. "Damn them." He grumbled. "When I get outta here I'll-"

"Natsu?" a small voice called in the darkness. "It is you isn't it?"

"Huh?" Natsu turned his head, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw Lisanna in the cell with him. His surprise soon turned to fear and embarrassment when he saw that she was also naked. "L-L-Lisanna?! Where are your clothes?!"

"Hm?" Lisanna looked down at her bare body. It took her a minute for her mind to register her state of undress, but once it did she shrieked in embarrassment.

Natsu blushed hard, trying his best to look away. He was a married man after all. "I-I-I um…"

"Don't look at me!" Lisanna shrieked. "Turn around!"

"R-right!" Natsu nodded and quickly did as he was told. The two sat back to back, allowing themselves to cool down. "I can't believe they took our clothes." He griped.

"This is so embarrassing!" Lisanna cried, burying her face in her knees. "Why would they do something so humiliating? To show that humans are no better than animals?!" Lisanna's tears of embarrassment slowly stopped. Deep down, she didn't really mind Natsu seeing her in her birthday suit, but their current situation – coupled with the fact that Natsu was married – made it impossible to say that out loud. Besides, there were more important things at hand.

"So they got you too, huh?" Natsu asked finally.

"They did." Lisanna nodded before sinking further into her knees, this time in shame. "I don't really remember what happened though."

Natsu began to struggle in his cuffs. "We gotta find a way to bust out of here! They got Mira and Erza too!"

"They caught Mira and Erza as well?!" Lisanna repeated in shock. She then turned her head back to her knees. "They probably caught Elf too. What can we do? They've captured so many of us. They're stronger than anyone we've ever faced before."

"Nothing's changed!" Natsu declared, turning his head to Lisanna. "We're gonna pull through like we always do! But first we gotta get out of here!"

There it is again. Lisanna smiled warmly. He always knows how to make even the most hopeless situations bearable. "Natsu…"

"Yeah?"

She kicked him in the face, her embarrassment returning. "I said don't look this way!"

"Sowwy." Natsu's apology was muffled by Lisanna's foot in his face.

The youngest Strauss sibling began to fidget in her cuffs as well. "These shackles are preventing us from using magic. So how are we going to get out of here?"

"Just leave that to me." Natsu proclaimed. "I'll find a way out."


Sayla laid in her and Kyôka's bed, lovingly rubbing her face in her pillow as she thought of all the pieces she had put into place.

"You will have two tasks." Sayla explained to Elfman. "Your first will be to retrieve this girl." Sayla held her crystal ball to the takeover wizard, his eyes widening when he saw an image of Aura.

"Aura? But what do you want with her?"

"That does not concern you. You will bring her to us, and then you will commence your second assignment." She pointed to the lacrima she had placed in his hand earlier.

Elfman looked down at it. "What is this?"

"It is a lacrima that emits highly concentrated ether that is approximately 500 times stronger than the Jupiter cannon. You will return to your guild and place it somewhere no one will find it. Once it detonates, it will annihilate your guild in an instant."

Elfman's eyes went wide with horror. Neither task seemed appealing in the slightest. Kidnapping a child and handing her to demons. As well as destroying his own guild hall. "T-that's horrible." He whimpered. "There's no way I could do anything like that!"

"You will do it." Sayla corrected sternly.

There was a pause before Elfman spoke again. "…Yes."

"Good. Now go." Sayla ordered.

"Yes..."

Sayla nuzzled into her pillow, letting out a small giggle. "The fairies will all be destroyed from within."


Kyôka watched with satisfaction as Erza continued to bear the pain of her torture. "Are you ready to reveal Jellal's location?" she asked.

Erza looked away in disgust, gritting her teeth in anger. This only amused the demon more.

"Yakdriga…" she called to her pet. The frog demon slithered its tentacles towards Erza, wrapping tightly around her limbs. Kyôka smiled. "Do it."

Yakdriga emitted a strong electric shock that surged through Erza's body. The effects of the shocks on her body amplified by Kyôka's curse, the knight screamed in pain, tears streaming down her face as her body shook violently.

"Stop, Yakdriga." Kyôka ordered. The creature did as its master commanded and stopped its assault.

Erza fell to her knees, her bottom in the air as her head laid against the cold stone floor. Drool dripped from her mouth as her body twitched from lingering electricity. Any other person would have long expired by this point. She gasped for air as Kyôka approached her.

"Where is Jellal?" Kyôka asked once again.

Erza bore her pain long enough to look up at her torturer in defiance. "Give back Mira…and…my daughter…"

For the first time Kyôka's patience showed signs of waning. Sensing her displeasure, Yakdriga lifted Erza up once again. Kyôka grabbed Erza by the hair, forcing her to look into her eyes. "This one will have to multiply your sensitivity even more." She let her go and looked back to her pet. "Yakdriga, resume."

Erza felt the shocks coming and screamed when electricity once again coursed through her body. Her cries could be heard throughout the empty hall.


When the dust from the effects of Sema settled, Jellal was the only combatant left standing. The rest of Oracion Seis laid on the ground in defeat. Both Hoteye and Meldy looked at the carnage in complete shock.

"What terrible magic…" the reformed dark wizard shuddered.

Midnight stirred awake. Unable to move, he simply spoke. "I've lost…kill me…"

"I'm not going to do that." Jellal refused.

"Are you…going to take us back to jail?" Angel asked.

"No. I'm not going to do that either." Jellal answered.

"Then…what are you going to do with us?" Midnight inquired. "Leave us here to lick our wounds?"

"I want you to join Crime Sorciere." Jellal revealed to the shock of everyone. He walked over to the downed Midnight. "I'll make sure your prayers are all fulfilled. I promise." He knelt down, gripping Midnight by the collar of his shirt. "We both have the same enemy to fight. I want us to work together to take down Zeref! Will you help us?!"

Crime Sorciere was left speechless by the offer. They had no idea how to respond. Meldy on the hand smiled at her friend.

"Jellal…"

Midnight smirked. "I guess we have no choice then."


Back at the Fairy Tail guild everyone gathered around the returned Elfman, asking him question after question.

"Are you alright?!"

"What happened out there?!"

"You look terrible."

"Where's Lisanna?!"

"Why didn't you contact us?!"

"Lisanna…" Elfman began. "Was captured."

Everyone let out a collective gasp.

"No…" Happy whimpered.

"They got Lisanna, too?!" Lucy shouted in disbelief.

"We were too late to save Elder Yuri…" Elfman explained monotone. "I was right there with her but…but I couldn't…"

"No one blames you for what happened." Gray reassured. "It's not your fault."

"He's right." Pantherlily said. "Levy is currently locating Tartaros' base. There's no need to worry. We will get them back."

"Yes. Don't worry." Juvia nodded. "We will rescue Lisanna and the others!"

"Right…" Elfman trailed off.

"You're hopeless!" Cana chided to the surprise of the others. "You mean you let the enemy take your sister and you didn't go after them? You just tucked tail and came back here?"

"Cana!" Wendy shouted worriedly.

"Please calm down." Yukino pleaded.

"I-I lost them…' Elfman defended.

"How?! You can turn into a beast! You telling me you couldn't track them down?!" Cana interrogated.

"Cana, will you cut it out?!" Gray scolded.

"But it doesn't add up!"

Elfman turned away from everyone. "Sorry…I need to rest for a little while." He walked away, leaving everyone to their thoughts.

"You didn't have to jump on him like that!" Gray said to Cana.

The fortuneteller ignored him and continued to watch Elfman walk away. She knew something was off about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Once Elfman was far enough away he pulled the lacrima bomb from his pocket and clenched it tightly in his hand, thinking of his assignment from Sayla. "If I want to see Lisanna again…I have to destroy the guild."


Inside the floating Tartaros guild hall, Lisanna and Natsu continued their struggle to free themselves from their imprisonment.

"That's it, Lisanna!" Natsu shouted. "Just a little more!" Since her hands were bound, Lisanna attempted to use her legs to push Natsu's arms over his head as to allow him to regain some of his mobility.

"Don't look back here!" she shouted. "The pose I'm in is too indecent!"

"If we could just get these damn cuffs off!" Natsu snarled, trying to force his arms up.

After a few more seconds Lisanna's strength gave out and she lowered her legs. "It's no use." She gave up. "They're too strong for us to break."

Natsu turned his head to her. "Let me try yours!"

"I told you not to look at me!"

A cloak dropped into the cell, forcing Natsu and Lisanna to look outside. Natsu saw Silver and immediately moved to the bars. "It's you again!"

"Unfortunately I can't let you out." Silver grinned. "But I can't just stand by and let a young lady look so indecent."

Lisanna moved to the cloak, using her teeth to pull it onto her body. "T-thank you." She reluctantly muttered.

"Wait!" Natsu shouted as Silver walked further down the hall. "Who are you anyway?!"

"See you around." Silver waved limply.

Natsu sat back down on the ground, his scowl still present.

"Do you know something about that man, Natsu?" Lisanna asked.

"Not really, but…for some reason he smells like Gray."

Silver was long gone from the cell, but his ears still picked up on Natsu and Lisanna's conversation. "Natsu…?" he wondered. "No, it couldn't be."

Inside a giant room further in the guild hall, Crawford used his Super Archive magic. Establishing what he called a "real time link" he searched the entire continent for any trace of Jellal. Franmalth watched him wiggle his fingers before looking up at the giant hologram globe above them.

"Hmm." Crawford mused. "Let's see…" his eyes narrowed, a sadistic smile forming on his features. "There we are." He walked down the stairs of the tall platform, Franmalth following behind him.

"Have you found Jellal?" the demon asked.

"Even better." Crawford answered with evil glee. "I've transferred his key to me using my super archive powers!"

Franmalth was even more confused. "Huh?" he tilted his head.

Crawford sighed and held up his finger to explain. "In layman's terms I've take possession of Jellal's key."

"You have?!"

"Indeed." The former chairman nodded. "And using those same principles I'm able to transfer it to someone else on the continent and we can kill them to eliminate the ward! We could use one of those fairies we caught."

"Hold on, chairman. You're saying that you now possess the final key?"

"Yes, you nincompoop! To be honest, not even I thought this could be done! My Super Archive magic is beyond magnificent!" He looked back the transparent globe. "Now once we take down the wards around Face, the world will be ours to control!"

"Wow. It's hard to believe that such a well-guarded key could be stolen so easily." Franmalth marveled.

"This is just proof of how powerful I am!" Crawford boasted.

"I wonder if that is really the case." Franmalth said darkly.

"What are you-"Before Crawford could finish he was pierced from behind by a sharp blade.

"This would do away with the final ward, yes?" Kyôka asked. She was the one who stabbed Crawford.

The former chairman gargled and gasped for air before falling to the ground, dead.

"Oh my. Oh my." Franmalth cackled.

Suddenly the floating cube began to shake, alerting both Natsu and Lisanna.

"What's going on?" Natsu asked.

"The whole place is shaking." Lisanna answered, but she was just as confused.

The rumbling grew fierce enough that Natsu fell onto his side. "Lisanna! Are you alright?!"

The snow-haired maiden closed her eyes in fright. Mira…Elf…please be ok.

Kyôka looked around the shaking room, not the least bit fazed by the tremors. "Even the cube reacts." She observed. "Face's wards have been vanquished."


In a wasteland far away, inside a deep and dark hole. Rumblings were also heard. Three monuments situated in a circle around began glowing one by one. Once they were all glowing, the ground they circled began to crack a rise up. Slowly a statue head began to rise from the disturbed earth. Face had officially awakened.


As the cube continued to shake Natsu and Lisanna were slammed against the wall. Hearing a clink just up ahead, Lisanna looked to the bars of their cell.

"Natsu, look!"

The dragon slayer turned his head to her, unsure of what he was supposed to be seeing.

"Not me!" Lisanna squealed. She pointed her toes to the bars. "There! Over there!"

Natsu looked to the gate, finally seeing what Lisanna was referring to close to the bars. "A sword!"

"Maybe we can use it to break off these cuffs!" Lisanna suggested.

"Yeah!" Natsu got on his stomach and inched his way to the prison bars before sitting on his butt. He stuck his feet out, reaching for the sword on the other side. "Come on~!" He strained, his big toe grazing the hilt of the sword. "Almost there!" He reached out one last time, managing to grab the sword by the hilt with his feet. "Got it!"

"Way to go, Natsu!" Lisanna cheered.

Natsu pulled the sword back into the cell and turned to Lisanna. "Hurry and turn around so I can cut your shackles."

"Oh! Ok." Lisanna turned around, raising her arms as high as she could.

"Alright." Natsu raised the sword into the air. "Hold still."

"Be careful." Lisanna warned worriedly.

"Here we go!" Natsu swiped down, slashing Lisanna's shackles apart.

"You did it!" Lisanna exclaimed in delight. She rubbed her sore wrists as Natsu threw the sword down to her and turned around.

"Now me."

"Right." Lisanna nodded. She grabbed the sword with her newly freed hands and cut off Natsu's cuffs.

Natsu felt his fire returning, and ignited his fists before standing up, gripping the sword - which was also covered in flames. "Oh, I could have fun with this." he grinned mischeviously. He pointed his new blade to the prison bars. "Let's go save the others!"

"Ok!" Lisanna changed into her Cat Animal Soul and stood next to Natsu. When she looked upon him, her cheeks grew red again and she looked away. "We need to find you some clothes first."

Natsu looked down at his naked form, his own blush returning. "A-aye…"


Inside the archive room Kyôka and Franmalth were beginning to succumb to the effects of the tremors.

"This is quite the reaction!" Kyôka noted, trying to keep her footing.

Franmalth on the other hand was holding on to a pillar for dear life. "There's no doubt! The wards on Face have been released!"

"What are its coordinates?"

Franmalth slowly moved to a screen near the wall and typed away. "It's quite a long way from where we predicted."

"No matter. Begin the operation!" Kyôka ordered.

"Well…about that…" Franmalth began. Just as he was going to voice his concerns, the rumblings stopped. "Hey the shakings stopped."

"Never mind that." Kyôka deflected. "What were you saying earlier?"

"Oh. We can't activate Face from here."

"What?!"

"Face can't be controlled remotely." Franmalth clarified. "It can only be activated manually. Well to be more accurate, the chairman could have activated it but…" the demon began to cackle.

Kyôka grimaced, looking at the dead body of Crawford. "Perhaps this one acted…prematurely. We have no other choice, we must send someone there to activate Face."

"Fine with me! I just hope Fairy Tail doesn't interfere again!"

Sayla walked into the room. "You need not worry on that account. In but a few moments, the tale of the fairies will come to an end."


Inside the Fairy Tail guild Elfman knelt before the bomb lacrima he had placed on the ground. Looking for the most inconspicuous place, he chose the basement store room. Tears streamed down his face as the bomb reached critical mass. He hated himself for what he was doing to his friends and his home, but he wanted Lisanna back, and he would do nearly anything to see her again.

Cana – having followed Elfman from a safe distance – descended the stairs not long after he did. Though she was suspicious of his explanation earlier, she still felt bad about her harsh words. After a hard talking to from Gray of all people, she decided to see him. "Elfman…" she called, unknowingly startling her friend. "You've been acting strange lately. So I just came to check on you and-"when she entered the room she saw the glowing orb. "What's with that lacrima?"

In a rage Elfman leapt towards the fortuneteller. "Stay back! Don't interfere!"

"Elfman!" Cana was tackled into the shelf, knocking over all of the bottles and charts. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Get off me!"

"Don't interfere!" he repeated. "Don't interfere!"

Cana struggled under his grip, barely managing to turn her head to look at the lacrima again. She began to recognize the strange symbol. A bomb?! "Someone! Hel-"Elfman covered her mouth, muffling her cries to the others.

Is someone controlling him? Cana pondered in a panic. Her mind was racing, thinking of any possible way to avoid the bombs inevitable explosion. If I don't do something quick, we're all gonna be blown to hell! She managed to move her mouth free. "Elfman, snap out of it dammit!" she kicked against his ribs, but it had no effect.

"Fairy Tail will be destroyed…" Elfman muttered. "Destroyed."

Cana reached into her pocket and pulled out a blank card. "Sorry, big guy, but I have no other choice!" She slapped the card against Elfman's face, and pointed the index and middle fingers of her right hand at it. In a flash Elfman was sucked into the card, still repeating the word "destroyed" as he banged on the invisible barrier keeping him there. Cana grabbed the card and rose back to her feet. "Good thing that hot friend of Erza's taught me that trick a while back." she thanked. She looked back at the bomb and then ran up the stairs. "It's gonna blow any minute! I have to save the others!"

Above ground, Fairy Tail continued their preparations, unaware of the danger just below them.

"I got it!" Levy shouted. "I've located their base!"

"Good job, Levy!" Jet praised.

"I knew you could do it!" Droy cheered.

"Where are they?" Makarov asked.

"Right above us!" Levy pointed.

"Huh?" Lucy questioned. "What do you mean 'right above us'?"

"Judging from what Happy said, they were on the Bosco national border before he came back here. Judging by their speed and direction, they should be above Magnolia right now!"

Gajeel's eyes narrowed. "So they came to us."

"It seems that way." Pantherlily nodded.

"We can save Natsu and others now." Lucy said happily.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Gray shouted. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!" everyone yelled in unison.

Suddenly Cana emerged from below, a deck of cards in her hand. She swiped the cards, all of them flying towards her guildmates. "All of you, into cards!" A bright light enveloped the wizards, and soon they were all sucked into the card dimension.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked.

"What is this?' Yukino questioned.

"Wait, I know this magic…." Gray remembered.

"What's going on, Cana?" Levy asked worriedly.

SALVAGE

The cards holding her friends all returned to Cana's hand, she even managed to recover those in the infirmary. She then turned herself into one. "Happy! Carla! Lily!"

The exceeds – who remained in their normal states – ran to the cards.

"What is this?" Pantherlily inquired.

"The guild is about to explode!" Cana explained hurriedly. "Take the cards and fly us to Tartaros' base! It's time for a counter-attack!"

"Aye!" Happy saluted. He and his fellow exceeds each grabbed a handful of cards and flew out of the guild hall at max speed, barely escaping before the building exploded.


Inside the laboratory Lamy shook her butt happily from side to side as the Cube's shaking began to stop. "What'll we do? What'll we do if they're born early from all the shaking? Should I worry?" Lamy quickly grew serious, raising her arm to her forehead. "Never!" she then just as quickly returned to her happy demeanor. "I mean they're already revived, right?" She turned to a man with shoulder length blonde hair and brown skin.

The man raised his hand to his face. "Is this my new body?"

"That's right, Tempesta!" Lamy nodded.

"Tempesta? Is that my name?"

"It sure is! And look how hot you are!" Lamy gushed. "I mean if we have to revive you, then a hot guy would be best, right?!"

"I do not care about looks."

"What's the big idea?!" Jackal complained, emerging from his own pod. The only thing that had changed about him was his outfit, longer ears, and his now bushy tail. "How come you only did that with him?!"

"Because you were cute to begin with Jackal!" Lamy answered happily, hugging the revived demon's arm.

"Get off me would ya?!" Jackal pushed away. "You're creeping me out!"

"Jackal?" Tempesta asked.

"What's up, Tempesta? Guessing you don't remember me, huh?"

Lamy began to sob. "Tempesta loses his memories every time he regenerates. It must be because of his anti-magic particles." She wiped her tears away. "Poor guy." She once again turned serious. "But I am here for him!"

Jackal remembered the reason for his regeneration and began to grit his teeth in anger. He saw the faces of Natsu and Happy. "That spark guy and that blue cat are going to pay big time! I'm gonna crush them!"

"You're so hot when you're angry!" Lamy squealed. "It revives my spirit!"

"You're so annoying!" Jackal groaned.

Footsteps approached from the right. Each of the demons looked to the source.

"Who is that?" Tempesta asked.

"Yeah. Who are you supposed to be?" Jackal questioned.

The figure was a woman with long black hair and horns sticking from her head. Her right eye was covered by what looked like ink and she wore a cloak that opened in the front, revealing her bandage covered breasts and waist. A black mark trialed from her chest to her leg and her Tartaros guild mark was positioned on her abdomen.

"Oh yea, I forgot." Lamy giggled. "That's Minerva. She's a human that Mistress Kyôka found." Lamy sighed with boredom. "I gotta say though, I have no interest in girls."

Minerva looked at her newly formed claws. "So this is a demon's power? I can feel it coursing through my veins."

"Minerva." Tempesta repeated.

"A new member to the club, huh?" Jackal smirked.

"Speaking of things I have no interest in…" Lamy ran to another pod, pressing her face against the cold glass. Inside it was an unconscious Mirajane, whose limbs were being held by demonic tentacles. "What was her name again? Mira something, right?" A sadistic smile crossed the bunny girl's lips. "You think you're so cute, don't you?" she said to the unconscious Fairy Tail wizard. "Well I'm going to turn you into the ugliest caterpillar in the world." She began to laugh manically.

"Shut up will ya!" Jackal shouted. "You're pissing me off!"

Ignoring her new comrades, Minerva looked around at the pods in the lab. Her eyes stopped when she spotted a pod near the back of the lab. When she walked to it, she recognized that the person inside…was Aura.


Natsu and Lisanna ran down the corridors of Tartaros' guild hall, the dragon slayer taking out any guards standing in their way. Luckily he was now covered - or at least his lower body was - after having taken a pair of pants from a guard.

"How far is it?" Lisanna asked.

"Close. We're almost where Erza is being held. I can smell her."

Lisanna followed behind Natsu, slightly frightened by the intensity in his words. There was no doubt about it. He was angry. Perhaps the angriest he had ever been in his life. They turned another corner, reaching a short hallway with a wooden door at the end.

"There!" Natsu pointed. Throwing caution to the wind, the dragon slayer burst through the door with a flaming fist and entered the room. "Erza!" His eyes widened with shock at the condition he found his wife in. Her wrists and ankles were chained, hideous, bleeding scars decorating her body. Natsu's shock quickly turned to anger when he noticed the tentacled demon wrapped around her. Without hesitation he leapt forward, drawing back his fist and punching Yakdriga in the face. He punched the demon through the wall, scaring Lisanna. Erza limply fell to her knees, but before she bent over, Natsu caught her. He slashed off her chains, allowing her arms to fall to her sides.

"Is she ok?' Lisanna worried.

"Erza?" Natsu called. "Come on, Erza, wake up." He shook her lightly. "Wake up…please…"

Erza began to stir. "I don't know…" she mumbled. "I don't know...where he is…" She slowly opened her eyes, her first sight being the worried face of her husband. "Nat…su…?"

"Yeah." The dragon slayer smiled. "It's me. Sorry I'm late."

Despite her disheveled condition, she managed a smile. "It's ok. I'm just glad you're alright."

"You really need to start worrying about yourself."

Lisanna smiled warmly at the scene. She took off the shroud she was given and gave it to Erza.

"Thank you, Lisanna." Erza said.

"Can you stand?" Natsu asked.

"Give me a minute." Erza exhaled deeply before rising to her feet, Natsu and Lisanna helping her.

"Who did this to you?" Natsu asked, his rage increasing.

"A demon named Kyôka. She was torturing me in order to find information on Jellal's whereabouts."

"Why Jellal?" Lisanna asked.

"She said he was one of the links to Face." Erza answered. "They were planning to kill him."

"Do you know where he is?"

"No, I don't. But apparently she thought I did. If I didn't give her what she wanted she would have killed both me and Mirajane."

Lisanna's eyes widened. "Do you know where Mira is?"

Erza shook her head. "I don't, but Kyôka mentioned something of remodeling her into one of their number."

"Oh no." Lisanna gasped.

"Then let's hurry up and find her!" Natsu shouted, he started to run out of the room.

"Natsu, wait!" Erza called.

The dragon slayer turned around. "What? We don't have much time."

"There's something else…"


Kyôka watched Fairy Tail's explosion along with Franmalth and very pleased Sayla.

"It is as you see, Mistress Kyôka." Sayla smiled with pride, directing her eyes to the smoking crater on the screen.

"Excellent work, Sayla." Kyôka commended.

"I wonder how much life has been lost." Franmalth cackled. "How much?"

"If the fairies have been completely annihilated, then there is no need to guide the Cube into this airspace. We will return to our original objective. Face! The time has come! How fitting is it that the legacy these humans have created for themselves out of jealously and fear will ultimately bring their destruction! We will use Face to wipe out the humans, and usher in a new demonic age! Then all of our efforts will bring about the world our master Zeref dreamed of."

Franmalth saw lights flashing on a nearby screen and began to type. "Hmm? What's this?"

"What is it, Franmalth?" Kyôka requested.

"It looks like we're picking up multiple magical energy readings."

An armored guard rushed into the room. "There's trouble!" he shouted. "Scouts have confirmed three objects flying towards the Cube!"

"Three?" Franmalth questioned. "The scanners are picking up much more than that."

"We've only confirmed three, sir!"

"An explanation is required. Sayla." Kyôka requested.

The horned demon typed on another screen. "I will check the Under-Cube images."

On the screen Sayla was shown, the radar picked up three small dots, surprising both Sayla and Franmalth.

"What is that?!" Sayla implored.

As the objects drew closer, the three dots were revealed to be Happy, Carla, and Pantherlily.

"Cats…?!" Sayla questioned.

"I recognized that blue one!" Franmalth blurted. "He's from Fairy Tail!" an eerie smirk then crossed the round demon's lips. So Master Silver let one escape I see.

"You say there are multiple readings emanating from these small creatures?" Kyôka inquired.

"Look, Mistress!" Sayla pointed. "The cats appear to be holding something." She squinted her eyes to see. "Cards?!"

The Exceed Squad approached the Cube faster and faster.

"Those cards must be holding the Fairy Tail humans!" Franmalth deduced.

"No…" Sayla shuddered. "My attack…failed?"

Kyôka turned to the guard and began to give orders. "Establish defensive parameters! Engage the Under-Cube's gravitational field, and set the rear and side cubes to battle condition one now! Let none reach the top cube!"

"Yes ma'am!" the guard saluted and bolted out of the door.

Happy and the others closed in on the cube. "We're almost there!" he told his comrades. Suddenly they felt a force pull them to the underside of the cube.

"What is going on?!" Carla shouted.

"Were' being sucked in!" Pantherlily yelled.

Both Carla and Happy landed with a thud, but Pantherlily managed to land on his feet.

Happy stood up, noticing something quite odd. When he looked up, he saw Magnolia. "Are we upside down?"

"There's no time to worry about that!" Carla shouted, pointing to the group of armored men advancing towards them with weapons. "The enemy is approaching!"

"Ok!" Cana said, coming out of her card. "I'm going to release everyone!" With a wave of her hand, the other Fairy Tail wizards were back to normal. Each of them ready for battle. They began their charge. "Fairy Tail, attack!" Cana shouted.


Lamy stood in front of Mirajane's pod, an irritated look on her face as she listened to all the commotion from above. "There sure is a lot of noise going on out there." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled again. "Whatever. Who cares?" She turned back to Mirajane. "First, I'm going to mess up that pretty face of yours!" she giggled menacingly. She watched in shameless mirth as the tentacles holding Mirajane infused her with demon genes. "Well?" Lamy rhetorically asked. "How does it feel to have your body flooded with demonic genes?"

Mirajane's face began to react negatively, further amusing Lamy.

"You'll be reborn ugly!" the bunny-girl squealed. "So ugly that you'll hate it! You will hate it so much!"

Suddenly Mirajane's eyes opened and the pod holding her shattered, the force sending Lamy sliding across the floor. "W-What is this?! What is this?!" Lamy yelled hysterically.

"Sorry." Mirajane apologized. She turned to look at the surprised bunny-girl, the tentacles holding her now draped over her body. "I already have my fair share of demon genes thanks to Satan Soul, but I do thank you for the pick me up. Now I'm all revived."

Lamy shrieked in fright, scampering back to the nearest pod.


Kyôka hurriedly walked through the corridors of the Cube. Time was running short, and she needed a way to stall Fairy Tail. "Perhaps Erza will be of use." she implied. "Hostages tend to be the most effective with humans." When she approached her torture room, she was shocked to see that the door was completely destroyed. "What happened here?" When she entered the room her eyes went wider at the vacant space. "Where is Erza? Who made this hole?!" Kyôka felt a dark aura approaching from behind, before she could react her arm was trapped behind her back, and her neck was clutched tight. She reached for the arm around her neck, but the tightened grip of her assailant discouraged anymore more movement.

"I've got you now." A dark voice snarled.

Kyôka turned her head as much as she could, surprised to see Natsu was the one holding her. "How did you escape?" The longer she looked at Natsu, the more her spine began to shiver. The look in his eyes unnerved her. There was anger, sure, but there was also darkness that she felt was all too familiar. "You are…"

"You showed me such hospitality while I was your guest." Erza said, her voice echoing from the hole in the wall. She stepped out, carrying a defeated Yakdriga on her shoulders as Lisanna moved to her side. Erza also had regained enough strength to requip into her Sarashi and hakama pants. She looked to Kyôka, a sinister grin on her lips. "Allow me to repay you in kind."

Kyôka gritted her teeth in anger, her obstinate glare focused on her former prisoner.

"Or if you would like…" Erza trailed off, watching as Natsu tightened his grip on the demon even more. "I can leave your care in the hands of my husband. Though he may not be as gentle as I."


New Chapter! Since it's number 50 I tried to do something big. Hopefully I succeeded.

There's going to be a few character moments and changes when the fights start getting serious. Some of this I've been planning since the GMG! Get ready for those!

As always, let me know what you guys think and thanks for reading! :)