Standard disclaimer... Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Merlin, Belial and this plot are mine. As a note, this happens before the Tartaros arc, as such the demons all have their debut appearances, which is different than after they go through the Hell Core. So please keep that in mind.
Lucy fell to her knees and drew in large gulps of breath, feeling her bones ache and muscles twitch in fatigue. When Mard and Corvus left, the town grew eerily quiet and then out of nowhere the chaos started. She had punched, kicked, whipped and summoned till she was ready to collapse, but as she looked around her, it was worth it.
Many of the town's people were on the ground, sound asleep and not smoking under the bright afternoon sun. Natsu and Meredy were curled up against each other near the diner's entranceway and Lucy smiled at them. She let out a breath and wiped the sweat from her brow, trying to fully sort out all the commotion.
Something happened, something triggered these people into mindless action, and she hoped Mard had answers for her. Lucy fidgeted with the silver ring on her finger, Loke gave it to her when he appeared to help shield her from the madness. She twirled the plain silver band and watched when it blinked out of existence. Lucy looked around and saw the last few bits of golden dust float in the air where Loke once was.
She sat back on her heels, "thanks Loke," she whispered before she licked her dry lips and wished for some water. As she slowly coiled her whip, she felt a hand on her shoulder and startled, she looked up. The waitress from this morning was standing there smiling, most importantly she was holding a glass of water.
"You look like you needed that," she said with a small smile on her round face.
"Yeah, thank you," Lucy said as she took a long drink, enjoying the cold water.
"What happened?" she asked as she stood there with her hands in her white apron pockets.
"People went crazy," was about all Lucy could think for an answer. She honestly had no idea what the fuck had happened but was glad Mard warned her to have Loke here. As Lucy thought of him, she hoped he was okay. It felt like he had been gone for an eternity.
"Yeah," the waitress toed one of the sleeping people with her dingy tennis shoe, "a lot of that since this like religious group moved into the woods."
"Religious group?" Lucy asked before she polished off her water.
The young woman shrugged and reached out her slim hand for the empty glass. "Yeah, they came into town like once a month to spout their nonsense and get supplies."
"Did anyone ever go with them?"
"No clue wasn't my thing. Fucking wierdos if you ask me, something about giving into the beauty of madness or whatever. I'm over here like, bitch being crazy isn't beautiful or fun, ask my shrink." The waitress laughed, "anyways, come on in and get a snack. On the house."
Lucy's stomach rumbled and now a snack sounded like an excellent idea. She slowly stood up before she heard the waitress scream and ran back inside the diner. She held her hand up over her eyes and saw Mard in his large dark demon form racing through the sky coming at her.
He landed a few feet away and changed back into his usual self, only holding a book and looking a bit more frazzled than she was feeling. "Rosebud," he said as the pair gravitated to each other and embraced.
"You're okay, where's Corvus?"
"He was attacked by an Abyssal creature and I am assuming went to his native Plane to heal."
Lucy sighed, "poor Corvus," she ran her hands along Mard's sides and was glad she didn't feel any cuts or see him leaking blood anywhere.
"He risked himself to give me an opening, I owe him one for that." Mard pursed his lips and looked around, "you have been equally busy."
"After you left it all went quiet and then suddenly…" she waved her arm over the area.
"Probably at the same time we accidently activated the altar," he kissed her forehead, "I am sorry Rosebud."
Lucy smiled at the affection and could see the guilt etched across his elegant face. She gently cupped his cheek, running her thumb along his cheekbone, "Mard, you couldn't have known. What did you find out?"
He tilted his head into her touch for a moment before taking her hand in his own. "I want to discuss this with everyone here, to do that I need Merlin."
"How do we get her?" Lucy asked.
"Ask nicely, or send a panicky Raven spirit," Lucy heard the voice and spun around seeing a slightly banged up Corvus and Merlin standing there. She ran to Corvus and hugged the spirit, double checking him for any more injuries.
"I'm okay Queenie, just got the wind knocked out of me. When I got back to my nest I thought Merlin could help, so I had to track her down." Corvus said with a little smile on his face.
"What's all the fuss?" Merlin asked.
"I will explain but first I need you to play fetch for me," Mard said as he gripped the strange book a little tighter.
"Who?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and making it clear she didn't like being ordered around. Least Lucy thought so, but she also knew she didn't know much about Merlin to make any judgements.
"The Eight Demons of Tartaros that are on Earth Land and Belial and Cobra in Hell. I will also need a portal to the Underworld that I can march an army through."
"Ya want fries wit that?" she asked and both Lucy and Corvus chuckled as they watched the scene.
"Merlin, this is serious, and I need you to trust me on this," Mard pleaded and Lucy blinked to hear the vulnerability in his voice.
"Ya want me ta open a portal ta help ya march an invasion force through," She countered, her voice on edge and accent thickening a little.
Mard shook his head, his thick dark plum pony tail swaying, "not an invasion force, defense garrison."
Merlin got close to him and tilted her head, the demon king and mage stood silently, their eyes locked on each other. She wanted to say something but could suddenly hear both Mard and Merlin in her head.
Oi, make it good old chap.
Plane of Madness is planning an invasion, they are using a sentient virus to prepare the population.
Blimey, ya should have started wit that.
I only wanted to explain it once, please hurry. We need to prepare to defend the humans from the Abyssal creatures.
Why do ya care?
Mard let out a breath and looked over at Lucy, she gave him a small nod and he smiled at her. "Because Merlin, I have come to understand that humans are not more or less than my own people. They are just different and that is both wonderful and annoying. They care for their weak and young. They fight for convictions and laugh at the worst of times. They are worth protecting, they are worth respect, and they are worth fighting for."
"Right, two shakes of a lamb's tail," Merlin said before she blinked out of existence.
Lucy walked over to Mard, wiping away a small bit of moisture along her eye. "Did you mean that?"
He nodded, "I did. I must because one day our own demonlings will be half human and they deserve a better world. They deserve to know this part of themselves."
"I love you," she whispered before she got up on her tiptoes and exchanged a kiss with Mard.
"Love you too, Rosebud," he replied.
Lucy tilted her head and then quickly reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. "Your ears…" she smiled, "they're gone."
Mard smiled and looked relieved, "good, I did not want to handle Silver's comments about them."
"About what, boss man?" Lucy heard a gruff voice and looked over her shoulder. She saw Merlin standing there with a group of people she had never seen before, except for Cobra, Jackal and Belial.
"Nevermind," Mard looked around and walked over to a sleeping Natsu and Meredy, he knelt down and shook Natsu, "wake up."
Lucy looked over the group, "hi, I'm Lucy."
A woman with large golden horns, pale skin and vibrant purple hair gave her a cooled look before she sniffed the air. "The Definitive Demon has chosen… you?"
Lucy rolled her eyes, "more like I chose him. He's a pain most days but," she let out a sly smile, "a pretty decent lay."
The woman moved towards her and was quickly pulled back by Jackal, "Seliah, settle down. This is a fight you cannot win."
"Our great King has apparently had a lapse in judgment," she growled, her glare murderous.
"Enough," Mard said his voice dark and sharp.
Lucy put her hand up and took a few steps towards Seliah. She could feel this internal push to exert herself, despite the fact she was tired and weak. Something inside of her was telling her to handle this in a way that would settle matter. It was a little outside of her norm, but it felt right.
"Better me than you, can you even stand up to him? Can you challenge him on an intellectual level?" Her voice was steady, elevated in pitch but not tone, she kept her eyes focused on the demoness. "Can you surrender to his passion and expect his surrender in return? Can you be his strength when it's late at night and no one is around, or would you only think of yourself and harm him for your own gain? Can you do anything to balance out his darkness and fill in the gaps with your own light?"
She stood there, unable to move or relax her posture, keeping every bit of focus on Seliah. Lucy's heart wasn't even racing, she'd hit a new level of rage.
Stillness.
The woman dropped to her knee and so did the other demons, Lucy stepped back as Mard put a hand on her shoulder. It drained the rage and adrenaline out of her system, letting Lucy feel a bit more normal. "They are accepting you - for now. Let them rise. We only have so much time, Rosebud."
"Um, rise," she squeaked, and the motley crew did just that. Lucy looked up at Mard and could see the emotion in his eyes, pride.
"I will only explain this once, listen carefully." Mard said as he discussed what Corvus and himself found at the cabin. He even read the diary entry before handing the book to Merlin. His old friend started reading through the horrendous book, her usually sun kissed skin growing a few tints paler as she made it through the end.
"Wait, so that thing that killed my pack. They were going to invade the Underworld?" Jackal asked.
Mard nodded, "yes. Belial or Merlin correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the creatures of the Plane of Madness cannot procreate. They can only infect new cultists of madness."
"That is correct, but we always assumed it was magical based or only resided in the mind. We never thought to look at it as a parasitic infection," Belial pursed her lips and took off her glasses before pinching the bridge of her nose, "damn my own stupidity."
Mard watched how Cobra put an arm around her before he whispered to her. Mard figured those two were going to become close and he wished the pair the best of luck. More so Cobra, Hell – outside of its majestic cities - was not a comfortable place even for demons.
"Cause it dunna act like a normal virus, ya. Also, ya can't keep an Abyssal outside of their home Plane or host long enough to study it. Chin up Belle, ya still damn clever." Merlin added as she set the book on fire and then waved it away. Mard was grateful to have that thing gone.
Corvus shrugged, "you could in the Plane of Mists before they go to Purgatory or Oblivion but even then, it's just the spirit of the infected host."
"Mard what else do ya need me to do?" Merlin asked as she wiped her hands on her faded and ripped up denim pants.
"You would meddle?" he asked, lifting a slim brow.
"This is my home," Merlin grinned, and he almost forgot that his friend was a native to this Plane. "I won't snap my fingers and make it go away but what can I do ta help?"
"The portal and did you gleam any insight out of the book over when the invasion should begin?" He asked, feeling a bit relieved that they were ahead of this problem.
"Three days, there's a rare solar eclipse, it'll provide enough magical energy for the spell to rip open the Planar Gate."
"Where?" Rosebud asked.
"Seven, I can teleport ya all there and if you stop them now, ya won't have ta worry about it."
"Three days, I think we can make up enough of the antiviral to save the human hosts. In theory. We only just discovered it thanks to Cobra's antibodies." Belial added, "at the very least if you could get an estimate over the doses needed, it might help up accommodate it faster."
Mard pursed his lips for a moment as he calculated things out and he noticed how Merlin was eyeing the moving clock tattoo on her forearm. He had to make a fast, decisive decision to use the resources he had now. He hated working like this, but battlefield tactics and urgency trumped his analytical planning style.
"Merlin teleport us all about five miles from where the cultists are gathered. Belial get back to Hell and get that antiviral ready, if you can aerolize it, that would be better than syringes. Tartaros, we will lead the main scouting parties to get a headcount for Belial and her team. Rosebud, I will need you to help me coordinate and plan. Corvus you will have to run our logistics and Planar messages."
"What about us, Mard?" Natsu asked and Mard looked over his shoulder as he saw the couple sitting on the ground looking a bit confused.
"Natsu, we would not have the knowledge to handle this without all that you have put yourself and mate through to get to this point. Honestly, take a break and enjoy your life changes. There will be other battles."
For a second Mard saw Natsu's eyes flash in pain before he ran a hand through his pink hair and grinned as he looked at Meredy. "Thanks, but next mission…"
Mard nodded, "next mission, you are free to kick all the ass you want." The couple looked relieved as they let out a small breath before getting off the ground. Rosebud went over to them hugging the couple and whispering her gratitude.
"Mard, time is tickin'," Merlin said.
"Get us over there, Corvus stay with Rosebud and bring her and supplies to us later. Till then does everyone understand the plan?" He asked.
"You got it boss man," Silver said as his demons all stared at him. Mard figured after they got to Seven, he could discuss the details of what happened to him. Omitting a few intimate things, of course.
Belial and Cobra gave him a firm nod before they vanished, and Merlin began to chant. He looked over at Rosebud and waved goodbye as the teleportation magic took hold and he was transported to a small grassy field near a tiny lake.
"Five miles towards the Solemn Mountains, they have a base camp at the bottom of the tallest peak," he followed her slim finger and nodded his understanding.
Proud of ya, she said into his head and Mard was going to ask about the curse but as he looked over, she was gone. He felt a bit of magic around him and he looked down noticing how Merlin had provided him with his usual attire instead of the human fashion. All he needed was his book, but right now it was not that important.
"Your highness, if I may," Tempester began and Mard looked over at the rather large and feral looking demon. He scratched at his brown beard against a square jaw, "what happened to you?"
"That is a fair question and you all deserve answers because many things will be changing from this moment onwards." Mard replied as he looked over his demons. He cleared his throat and began to tell the story of how he got here, what he's learned, and where things are moving. It was the most honest and exposed conversation he had with his demons, opening himself to show a bit of vulnerability but above all true growth.
They listened intently, expressions ranging from confusion to shock and a few snickers at interesting moments. Mard ignored it all as he finished, "the only true changes you must worry about is that I now have a mate and I intend to make her a full Queen. Also, we have to reconsider our grand goal of destroying our creator. I believe that Fairy Tail," he slid off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing the pink guild mark on his chest, "can be an asset. They have a unique strength to them, family I believe it is."
The demons looked around at each other and back to him for a moment. Mard could hear their broadcasted thoughts and worries. It ranged from questioning his ability to lead and doubt if the humans had weakened him. There was only way to settle that and Mard had learned this from Fairy Tail.
Fairy Tail brawled and challenged each other to have fun and to understand each other. They used the fight to strengthen their relationships not to necessarily show dominance over each other. It was different from his world, but he could use this idea to reinforce the goals and bonds between demons. Albeit in a more serious direction and though he wouldn't normally go this route, it should be done.
He tossed his coat and rolled up his sleeves, "if you doubt my strength because of the events I have been through and this damned curse, I will allow for Thronritus de Budathein ." Mard took a fingernail to his wrist and sliced a small wound, letting his blood drip into a thin line in front of him. He invoked the demonic rite of throne, allowing anyone who dared to cross the blood line to fight him to become the next Underworld King or Queen.
He watched the group try to gather themselves and he waited patiently, knowing that there was a chance he may fail Earth Land and lose his kingdom. It had to be done, if he didn't rise to their expectations and show that his changes had not made him a simpering weakling, he would forever be sleeping with one eye open.
The wind blew, rustling the thin grasses that came up to his ankles and carrying the scent of wild flowers and earth. He watched and waited, hoping to never have to stand here again. That this would be a one-time thing, but the wayward thoughts and emotions filtering through his telepathy had him leery.
"This is stupid," Jackal said and Mard blinked. The blonde demon walked up to him and carefully stayed away from the line. He nodded before turning around addressing the demons, "running the Underworld is lame, it is paperwork, diplomatic deals, stupid conferences and not a lot of fun. You would be an idiot to want the job," he looked over his shoulder, "no offense Mard."
"None, taken?"
"Come on guys, we got bigger problems and let's be honest. Mard getting laid on occasion might be a good thing, think less flayings." Jackal added with a slight laugh and Mard rolled his eyes. It was crude but not a bad way to phrase things in his favor.
"He's got a point," Silver added as he took the next step forward and joined with Jackal, standing in front of Mard.
One by one the demons mumbled things and joined with the others, the last holdouts were Kyoka and Seliah. Mard knew that Seliah would only move if Kyoka did, the two practically bonded at the hip. Kyoka removed her mask and helmet, tossing them to the side.
"The argument is not your strength, my King. We will want to challenge your Queen. Your line is most important. The goals of Tartaros as a guild and an empire will not be swayed and as long as you do not put these pitiful mortals above those, I will continue to follow." Kyoka said her voice strong and weighted with her words. She took Seliah's hand and walked to stand with the group.
"I understand, in time and after this has passed. I am confident my Queen will accept those challenges. I only ask that you give her some time to adjust. Our way of being is not the friendliest."
"One year, one day as tradition." Kyoka added and Mard nodded.
"Then we have an understanding and with that settled. Let us begin." He grabbed his jacket, careful to not let the demons see the relief over his features. Now all he had to worry about was, what was taking Rosebud so long?
Thanks for reading, hope you've enjoyed the ride thus far.