Chapter 8

As Erza and Lucy sat in front of Moka, a handful of demons—ranging from children to elders—came out of hiding to listen.

"As you can see," Moka said, "we did not gather to cause harm, but merely to avoid it." He gestured to the silent demons behind him. "All of us heard of the soon-to-occur demon gathering in our city, and we wanted no part in the impending bloodshed. They seek to destroy humans, whereas we desire to live in peace."

While Erza assured the demons that they would not be turned over to the DDA by any means, Lucy thoughtfully stroked Happy's fur. "I'm sorry if this is ignorant," Lucy said, "but why do you need to hide from your own kind?"

Moka rubbed his forehead. "The demons involved in the gathering are what we refer to as radicals, for they have no desire to coexist with the humans they deem beneath them. And, these radicals are not opposed to using violent measures to persuade other demons to their cause."

He hesitated, then looked at Erza, who he'd rightfully designated as the leader of their group. She gestured him to continue.

"To have opposed demons join them, the radicals rely on a variety of painful measures. Some demons are forced to ingest human blood until they become addicted to its taste and power, whereas others are blackmailed into joining—it is to fight with the demons or to have their families ripped apart. There are others who are publicly exposed as demons, leaving many abandoned by the humans they had once deemed friends."

Lucy winced. "That's—"

"Horrible," Erza finished. "None of you should be forced to go through that."

Moka let out a bitter laugh. "They plan to rid of humans, as you are aware. None of us should be forced through this. Both humans and demons alike."

Lucy could only stroke Happy's fur as Erza rubbed her armor.

A demon with red-colored skin stood up, his stern gaze focused on the door. "I hear it—someone's coming."

Hushed murmurs emerged as several demons hugged while others appeared on the verge of crying. Lucy turned to Erza; the knight pointed towards a door near the back.

"Make sure they are safe," Erza told her. "I shall handle whoever approaches."

Lucy gave her a thumbs-up. "You got it, Erza."

With a wave towards Happy and the demons, who ran or stumbled after her in reply, Lucy led the scrambling crowd towards and out of the nearby door.

When the warehouse's front doors swung open, Erza stood with her sword in hand. Once she saw the intruder, her grip loosened on the sword.

She stared at the female demon before her, whose brown hair and cat ears matched with her brown tail flicking back-and-forth.

"Is it really you, Millianna?" Erza whispered.

The demon smiled. "Long time no see, Erzie."

Natsu felt helpless, and he hated it. He could only stare at Gray, debating whether to step in and expose his cover. Gray avoided Natsu's gaze, his glare focused on the two demons before him.

"I'd rather not do this," Gray said. "I mean, I'm sure we can solve this without—"

The demon with lion ears snarled. "I ain't gonna listen to a traitor!" He pounced at Gray, his fist extended. Gray side-stepped his blow, and the demon stumbled forward.

Raising his arms, Gray brought together his own two fists. A ray of blue ice, swirled with dark black, shot at his opponent.

The demon, still off-balance, failed to dodge. He could only crouch, hoping for the icicle to fly over. It didn't. The icicle slammed against his chest, knocking the wind out of him. As the demon struggled to breathe, he fell to a knee.

Gray turned to the other foe, but the demon had voluntarily dropped to a knee. "I surrender," he said, lowering his head.

Natsu silently pumped his fist. He knew that his rival would win—not that he would admit it aloud. Ever.

Minerva's arms remained crossed for the entirety of the brawl, though she turned her sneer on the two kneeling demons. "I have yet to decide which is more pathetic—is it the demon who foolishly stumbled, or the demon who cowardly surrendered?"

Neither of the demons spoke, awaiting her verdict.

She turned to the crowd of onlookers. "These vermin are a mere step above those insects. They are a disgrace to our own kind, for falling so pathetically."

She locked her predatory gaze on Gray. "As for you. You are a different breed of vermin. You are a mixed blood, as evident from the blue-black mix of your magic. Yet, when you were given the option to stand with the demons, you chose the insects instead. It is a shame, but considering your role as the victor, I have decided to give you another chance."

Minerva's smirk only heightened Natsu's gut instincts that told him to take the ice princess bridal-style and run. "With the meeting now over, everyone else will clear from this room. Except for the two little vermin on the floor, myself, and—of course—this little traitor."

No one moved.

She turned towards the rest of them. "Didn't you hear what I said? Get out of here. All of you."

The two exits overflowed with the scrambling demons, excluding Natsu. He hadn't moved—no, he couldn't move.

When Gray finally caught his gaze, Natsu mouthed, 'What's the plan, ice cube?'

'Get out, flame brain,' Gray mouthed back. 'And tell Erza, cross.'

Cross? Did he get that right?

Natsu felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Gajeel, who nodded towards the door.

"We'll find you," Natsu whispered. When he reached the exit, with Gajeel's hand clenching his shoulder, Natsu looked back to see Gray standing near Minerva with clenched fists.

They left the building, entering a nearby alleyway filled with dumpsters. Natsu turned to the Draconis.

"What's your problem?"

Gajeel scoffed. "My problem? What's your problem? You were planning on fighting all of them!"

"There were only a couple demons. I could take them."

"That woman was a member of Tartaros. I don't know who you are, but if you're some sort of magic whiz, maybe you could take her one-on-one. But her and her goons? Good luck getting out alive."

"Tartaros," Natsu spat. "Is that something to mean something to me?"

Gajeel growled. "The hell it does. They're the strongest demons, under Zeref and Acnologia themselves!"

There was that name again—Zeref. And the name Acnologia, too. When Natsu had been with Igneel, he could've sworn that Igneel cursed Acnologia's name under his breath several times.

"What's it matter to you, anyway." Natsu's tone was calmer, though it failed to cover his seething rage. "Shouldn't you be throwing me in for being a traitor, too?"

Gajeel scowled at that. "If I did, the little shrimp would get hella mad at me."

The little shrimp? "Am I supposed to know who that is?"

"Little shrimp, Levy. Same person, whatever."

Well, Levy was small... Natsu wrinkled his nose. "How do you know her, anyway?"

"That's not the point. All you need to know is that she told me you'd be stopping by this area, and if I saw a certain pink-haired guy with weird marks or a black-haired ice demon, then I was supposed to make sure you didn't get stuck in some shit."

Gajeel looked around the alleyway. "Your friend, though... his current shit's too deep, even for me."

Natsu softly snorted. "That's one way of saying it. Guess I should say something about getting on your case. It's just—"

"That's what you Fairies do, protecting and all that." Gajeel let out a little laugh, though it sounded more like a 'Gee hee.' "I already know."

With that, Gajeel jumped onto a dumpster and launched upward, landing onto a roof. From there, Natsu couldn't see him against the dark sky, almost as if the Draconis had vanished.

Natsu still wondered who that iron-smelling Gajeel was. He obviously had no real interest in the meeting, so why the heck was he there? And why hadn't Levy ever mentioned meeting a Draconis?

For now, though, Natsu had other objectives. When he caught the faint smell of lavender through the putrid smells of dung and rotten banana peels, he followed.

They were supposed to go out the back exit. That was the plan, but Lucy realized soon enough that the evacuation wouldn't be simple. When they had reached the next room, Lucy leading the crowd of demons with Moka and Happy following closely behind, she came to a halt.

Someone was there. At the exit.

A woman with long, dark red hair leaned against the doorway. She stepped towards Lucy, her crimson dress trailing behind her, and opened her mouth to reveal a forked tongue.

"Hello, Blondie."

Lucy looked at the demons behind her. "Is there anyone else?"

The red demon from earlier shook his head. "Can't hear any others. She probably came in when the front doors opened, so I didn't notice her coming."

"It's best if you guys get out of here, then. I'll take care of this." I'm a Fairy Tail wizard now, after all.

At her firm expression, a demon punched a hole in a nearby wall, allowing the rest to escape through the make-shift exit. Moka caught Lucy's glance, silently asking if she needed assistance. She shook her head. With a soft "thank you," Moka and the other demons climbed through the hole.

Stepping in front of Happy, and unfolding her whip, Lucy assessed her strangely patient opponent. "Aren't you going to stop them from leaving?"

The demon cocked her head. "Once I'm done with you, I'll have more than enough time to catch the little rats."

Lucy smiled as she rubbed the sides of the whip. "Then it's a good thing I'm not going to lose."

"We'll see about that, Blondie."

The demon's hair lengthened, the split ends bursting into flames. Like an uncurling viper, a thick strand of hair shot at Lucy. She barely jumped back as another strand of hair slashed at her like a knife, nearly missing her arm.

Lucy swung her whip at the approaching strands, though the hair retreated only to strike again. It was like taming a lion—if the lion had no fear of the tamer.

The demon let out a cackled laugh. "My hair has stopped bullets. Your stupid whip can't cut it, you dumb blonde!"

A strand of the crimson hair shot past Lucy's whip, curling around her ankle. She didn't have time to kick or swing her weapon as the hair pulled Lucy off the ground and flung her into the air.

She'd closed her eyes, waiting for the impact of the fall. But it never came. Lucy felt two hands—no, paws—gripping her shoulders. She glanced over her shoulder at Happy, who was holding her up in the air as he flapped his white wings.

Lucy deadpanned. "Since when do you have wings, of all things?"

Happy's wings flapped faster. "Since I was born. I'm an Exceed, didn't I tell you?"

"Yeah, but you never mentioned anything about flying!"

"And you never mentioned how heavy you were. Jeez, Lucy, how much do you weigh?"

Resisting the urge to strangle the fur ball in mid-air, she looked back at their foe below. The demon was no longer smiling, though Lucy doubted that was an improvement; if anything, her impassive expression further contributed to her countenance of insanity.

Lucy was convinced that the demon's hair could reach them from here, considering the impossible lengths it had already extended to. But she needed time to think, to figure out the best plan of attack. Lucy still had the advantage, as she hadn't revealed her magic yet, so it was best to make the most of it.

Aloud, Lucy exclaimed, "The name isn't Blondie, it's Lucy. Also known as the human who's going to take you down."

The demon gave a mock curtsy. "They call me Flare. I'm sure that you'll remember it, when I burn your pathetic ass to ashes."

What to do, what to do… Attacking the hair itself wouldn't work, if uselessly striking with the whip revealed anything. She had to get past it somehow, to reach Flare's body and take her down. But the hair moved fast, insanely fast, offering little hope for an opening.

When Lucy heard Happy panting behind her, she knew her planning time had ended.

"I d-don't think I can h-hold you much longer, Lucy. I've n-never carried a h-human before."

"It's fine, Happy. Put me down, and I'll settle this."

Happy placed her back on the concrete floor, and his wings disappeared as he collapsed onto his fours and closed his eyes. Lucy reached into the side of her boot and pulled out her knife. She held it in front of her and forced her magic to flow through its steel edge.

"What's the matter, Erzie?" Millianna strode forward as Erza stepped back. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Erza looked away. "I thought that... that you were..."

"Dead?" Millianna humorlessly laughed. "It's easier to think that, isn't it? It would save you a guilt trip, after all."

"But, this can't be… I've looked for you, and Sho, and Wally... but..." Erza rubbed her eyes. "I just… you were never..."

Millianna, ignoring Erza's incoherent stammering, looked at her sharpened claws, and then at Erza's sword tossed on the floor. "Really, Erzie, this won't be any fun. How am I supposed to enjoy myself when you won't give me a challenge?"

Erza shook her head as she stepped back further. "This, all of this, is a misunderstanding. If we simply talked this through..."

"And I'd reach the same conclusion. That you betrayed us."

"Please, Millianna, just listen to me—"

Millianna pounced at Erza mid-sentence, her claws flying at Erza's chest. The claws scraped against wood when Erza reequipped, a staff appearing in her hands. Claws struck over and over, swiping incessantly for blood. Erza blocked each strike with a swing of her staff, leaving her on the defensive.

Millianna leaned back, snarling. "Even now, you're so full of it. You think I don't deserve your sword, only some stupid stick."

Erza stamped the staff against the ground. "That's not it, and you know it! I cannot use my sword, not against a friend."

The half-demon stood still. "A friend," she whispered. "I'd called you that once, didn't I, Erzie-chan?"

Erza couldn't speak, not at Millianna's bitter gaze. None of this made sense to Erza. Where had been Millianna been up until now? Why was she with the revolting demons? Why hadn't she contacted her?

"What happened?" Erza softly asked. "To you? To Wally? To Sho?"

Millianna was silent, but Erza recognized her silence as not of contemplation, but of fury.

"You," she hissed, "of all people, don't deserve to ask of them. Not after him—not after Simon!"

Erza's heart clenched. "You're right," she acquiesced. "I deserve nothing, for compared to him, I am unworthy."

She didn't move when Millianna came at her, pounding her fists against Erza's chest. Over and over, the punches came, followed by claws that scratched away at her battered armor. She could only listen to Millianna's sobs, of why Erza had left her, of being abandoned to suffer, of how this crippled world deserved to rot.

The demons had raised them not as living beings, but only as blood bags for profit. They had no morals to speak of, not even for mixes like Millianna, claiming such a mixture of blood was exotic to a certain class of customers.

All of what followed… it was Erza's fault to bear. Erza was the one who had led the revolt with Jellal against the monsters, and she was the one who should have died when the demon swung from behind.

Simon wasn't supposed to step in front of her. Jellal wasn't supposed to leave the mixes behind in their sector of the prison when they escaped. Erza wasn't supposed to be knocked unconscious by Jellal when she planned to return for those abandoned at the tower.

Erza had done nothing to deserve Simon's life, to have a chance of freedom over Millianna. Her freedom, after all, came with the burden of eternal guilt.

Millianna had given up on pounding against Erza as she leaned against the scarlet knight. "You're supposed to fight back... you're supposed to be the villain, not the one in shining armor."

Golden light covered Erza. When it faded, her armor was gone, leaving only a bra on her upper body. "The pain has never faded, Millianna. Jellal said that those with demon blood would never be killed, and I—like a fool—believed him. I left you to suffer in my place, and that is my sin to bear."

Erza stretched out her arms, exposing her armor-less body. "Strike as much as you want, Millianna. I will give whatever you need to be satisfied."

Millianna shook her head as she lowered herself to the floor. "You don't get it Erza. I can't be satisfied, not anymore."

She looked up at the warrior with glazed eyes. "You really thought we were dead, didn't you. That the operation had ended."

"I'd gone back there, multiple times, to that Tower of Heaven. I never realized they had changed locations, and they'd taken you with them. If... If I'd known..." Erza swallowed. "I would've been there."

I would've taken your place.

Millianna pressed her arms against her legs. "Believe me, it's better you didn't. You were right about the operation ending, but it wasn't the end for us. We became new recruits for the growing demon army."

Erza hesitated, then slowly reached out a hand to Millianna. "There is so much I have to say. Of Jellal, of misconceptions, of both our subsequent futures."

Millianna batted away Erza's hand. "Even if I'm giving you the benefit of a doubt, that you truly hadn't meant to abandon us, we're still enemies. That hasn't changed."

"But can I? Can I call you a friend again, one day?"

Millianna picked herself off from the ground and headed for the opened wooden doors. "I might've lost this round, but as of now, I'm fighting for the demons. I don't have a choice in that—not yet, anyway."

She looked over at Erza. "But if we meet again... maybe you can show me another option. Until then, Erzie."

Millianna closed the doors behind her, leaving her old friend to collapse on the cold floor alone.

Practicing with the sphere hadn't gone to waste, Lucy noticed. The density of light surrounding the knife had become heavier, shaping the weapon to appear like an extended sword. When a strand of Flare's hair struck, Lucy's knife slashed through it. The hair, supposedly invincible, tore against the flimsy weapon.

She watched Flare step back, the hesitation evident in her widened eyes. Lucy knew that her knife, on its own, was useless. But covered with her light magic, she could force the demon's hair to singe.

Flare tilted her head to the side, far more than humanely possible. She revealed her fangs in her full-teeth smile. "You're going to pay for that, you little bitch."

Flare's hair extended outwards, branching off into hundreds of flaming strands. They came from above, from the left, from the right. They curled around her arms, her legs, her chest, her hands. Lucy struggled against the strands' firm grips, her knife falling to the ground with a single thud. The hair—it covered all of her, up to her neck. A single strand tickled Lucy's chin, forcing it upward to meet Flare's hideous gaze.

"I won't be covering your hideous face, Blondie. I want to see your frightened eyes while you scream."

Lucy could hear Happy moaning behind her as he failed to rise from his collapsed position. He couldn't even move, let alone save her from the demon's grasp. As the tips of Flare's hair turned aflame, slashing against Lucy's body like a flaming whip, Lucy bit down on her tongue to hold back a scream. Her clothes ripped, exposing her bare flesh to the monster. She couldn't think, couldn't speak, couldn't breathe from the prolonged agony. Scorch marks formed on her skin, and she closed her eyes to prevent the tears from falling.

It continued long enough that the pain went numb. Seconds, minutes, hours... Lucy couldn't tell. Maybe Moka and the others were far enough away, free from this fire demon's wrath. That was the only mission Erza had given her—to keep them safe. It wasn't a failure, Lucy drily mused, if she herself didn't survive.

I'm here, Luce.

Natsu—he'd said that to her, when he came to save her from Totomaru. She wasn't sure why she'd thought of him now, of all things, though she could only bitterly laugh. He wasn't here, and he wouldn't be coming. He wasn't there to save her. Not this time. There was nobody here, nothing else, save for an increasing desire to live and to hurt the flame bitch before her.

This couldn't be it. This couldn't be her end. Not now, not yet. She would be a failure to her fading mother's memory, and a failure to the guild members who'd taken her in as family. She was weak, she was beaten, but she was still alive. And she would not allow her tale to end as a tragedy.

Lucy didn't notice when her skin began to glow with her magic, turning those burning strands of hair into ashes, nor when she was dropped to the floor. The only thought, the only purpose to her movement, to her staggered steps in her torn and mangled clothes, was a fundamental instinct to survive. As she stumbled forward, Flare's hair uselessly lashing against her to crumble into ash, she stood a foot apart from the demon. She leaned forwards, closing the gap between her and the wide-eyed demon, and spoke in a soft whisper.

"Holy Metria."

The ball of light, coming from the tips of Lucy's fingertips, forced Flare to her knees. The demon could only pant as she looked away from the glowing human—no, the angel before her.

"D-Damn... B-Blondie," she seethed, hacking out a cough. "This… isn't o-over."

Lucy couldn't move her mouth to even utter an insult. Her legs collapsed, and she silently watched as Flare pulled a bottle out of her dress. She opened it up, allowing the black liquid—oil, Lucy vaguely recognized—to spread on the floor.

"If I'm going to fall," the demon promised with a smile, "then you will fall with me."

Lucy stared at the oil as the demon set it aflame with her hair. She could feel Happy pulling on the remaining fragments of her shirt, telling her that he was strong enough to fly again. She felt weightless when the Exceed clenched onto her shoulders and brought her up, gazing at the spreading fire where a crippled Flare laid in the center of it all.

Happy gently placed her in a nearby alleyway, away from the burning warehouse. Lucy registered the sound of approaching footsteps, of Happy sighing in relief, and someone's hand wrapping around hers.

"It's over, Lucy," the voice said. "You did it."

Natsu, she thought, before her vision faded.

He didn't need to see the building to know it was aflame; his sense of smell had confirmed it. He found Lucy lying against a dumpster, with Happy standing over her. Natsu ran over and bent down, running a hand through her golden locks.

She… she wasn't a pretty sight. Although her face looked calm, her body was covered in scorch marks and bruises. While Happy explained that the demon Lucy fought had burned to death, Natsu felt the urge to find the corpse and destroy whatever was left. But he couldn't leave her side, not when she needed him.

He didn't speak when Erza came over with a medic, nor when the medic took Lucy to a nearby hospital. He stood next to her when she entered the gurney and when she was placed on the hospital bed. He vaguely heard the medic's message of a full recovery, only after a week of resting followed by walking with a crutch.

All he could do was stand there, staring at his companion. She hadn't done anything to deserve this. Why hadn't she run from the demon? And why, why didn't he get there any sooner? Erza, Gray, Lucy, and even Happy… they'd all been fighting while he stood on the sidelines. He failed Lucy, he failed Gray… he failed everyone that he cared for, including Igneel.

When a nurse entered the room, asking him to allow Lucy to rest, he leaned into Lucy and whispered, "I'll be stronger, Lucy. For the both of us." It was neither a proclamation nor a hope; it was a vow.

A/N: This was my first attempt at multiple fight scenes, so I'll have to apologize for their rather rushed nature, particularly for Erza and Millianna's meeting. (At some point, I hope to rewrite the fight scenes and separate this chapter into two.)

Overall, I hope the chapter was satisfactory, especially with its length (the longest chapter yet!). Next chapter, several… interesting characters will make an appearance. Their roles will be different than expected, though that will only come to the forefront later on. Until then.