Master Zero blasted away from Kai, a stream of blood following him from where Kai broke his nose. He flipped and caught himself in the air, still able to fly like he could in Nirvana, and unleashed yet another vicious laugh.

"Well, someone's a might bit stronger!" Zero raised his hand at Kai. "Or so it would seem."

Kai adjusted the stance of his blade, coated with ice magic. "Come and see if you can find out. Or, at least, try again."

Zero's hand flashed and several beams of the black-green light launched at Kai, who deflected both. Zero held one hand behind his back and nodded.

"You'll be sufficiently fun until I can get my hands on Jellal," Zero said. "So, let's see how we can destroy you once again, Dragon Slayer!"

Zero flew into the air and then flew down at Kai, who aimed his sword at Zero.

"Frozen Sword Formation: Tundra Third Layer!"

A three-layer magic circle appeared in front of the sword and a beam blasted at Zero. Zero swatted it aside and landed just in front of Kai, not nearly fast enough to dodge Kai's kick. Kai pursued. Zero slammed his foot down and tried to ram his shoulder into Kai who intercepted it with his own shoulder, absorbing most of the blow.

The two's fists collided and a gust of wind blew out. Kai sneered and kicked out at Zero, giving him a bit more room before Zero launched several more attacks at him.

Kai deflected them with his blade. Zero's pace quickened, and a successive wave of magic launched at him.

"Gotcha! Dark Gravity!"

A sphere burst around Kai, one that he hadn't even noticed, and at once everything around him seemed to crunch down and he buckled down, hearing the bones in his body crack as he withstood the weight.

"Ah, look at that, you're able to stand!" Zero shouted. "You are a fun one! But you're also a nice target!"

Kai balled up a fist. Zero crossed his arms then held them out in front of him.

"Dark Delete!"

Several orbs of dark magic spun around his arms before flying at Kai. A wall of ice shot up in front of gravity boundary and blocked the attacks.

"Move, damn it," Kai grunted, shuffling back bit by bit. The gravity wasn't terrible, but the width of the area was quite large.

Kai snarled, gathering more of his power. Ice crept along his body. Zero laughed and launched the spell again.

Kai glowered at it. Wait a second…

Three orbs slammed into him and had enough force to knock him back, out of the gravity boundary.

Zero flew over and landed by Kai as he managed to get to his knees. He held both arms out.

"Too slow."

Master Zero obliterated the area with Darkness magic, destroying all trace of the area around him. Even Cobra, standing nearby, gasped.

"No way," the Poison Dragon Slayer muttered.

Zero grinned. "He was nothing. As I assume Jellal's allies are, though at least they're easy on the eyes. Maybe I'll—"

A foot slammed into Zero's head and sent him flying away. Kai adjusted, brushing off some dust and sighing. He'd only just gotten out of there with the help of an Ice-Make: Copy. Zero snarled and unleashed powerful waves of magic toward Kai, who sprinted forward.

"No more games," Kai said, punching Zero hard across the face, forcing him right into the ground. Kai flipped over, holding his sword over his head, then aimed it down at Zero. "Ice Make Twister!"

The concentrated power of the twister formed and slammed down on where Zero was, burying him deeper into the ground. Kai slid back, away from the fierce winds.

Everything, near him, fell still for a moment. The battle with the Seis and Jellal raged on behind him, something Kai just couldn't focus on yet. Cobra was likely laying in wait to kill the winner of the fight between Kai and Zero.

A beam of black magic shot out from where Zero had been, and then, another, but closer to Kai, who adjusted and held himself steady.

"You, Dragon Slayer, have proved a greater pain," Zero said, his voice all around Kai.

Even Cobra glanced around, eyes leered.

"But you would have been a valuable asset. How I did not acknowledge your powers at the Tower of Heaven may remain my greatest regret. But it is not too late. When I defeat you, I'm sure the great Lady Seilah will have use of you, just as she will make use of your guild."

"Fairy Tail?"

Another beam, away from Kai. Zero chuckled, his voice echoing off the walls of Kai's mind, or perhaps the boulders.

"Oh yes. She and the rest of Tartaros have great plans for your guild and your country. All shall soon be brought to ruin, and you and I will help her. Perhaps even my children, the Oración Seis!"

Cobra grunted. "Don't think so."

Kai glowered at Cobra. "Where do you fall, anyway?"

Cobra stayed silent.

Where the hell was Zero? How was he just hiding underground. Kai shifted his feet around, trying to sense tremors, but the loud sounds of battle on the other side kept drawing his attention away, kept drawing his full senses away.

Another beam. Kai tensed, as this one was much—

The ground beneath Kai broke. He just managed to get away as Zero burst out underneath Kai.

"No you die and shall be reborn!"

Zero swung his arm down but, mid-swing, a dark red blur flashed in front of Zero. Kai hit the ground and slid back, away from Zero whose eyes had rolled to the back of his head as he hit the ground, standing initially, before falling back.

Part of his chest had been ripped open, quite cleanly thanks to some magic.

The fighting stopped on the other side of the area. Cobra slid to a halt, changing his arm from the draconic form to a human one.

"I wouldn't join him," Cobra said. "But it doesn't mean I need to join you. If anything, I just didn't want to see Zero take you out. You deserve a better death."

Kai got to his feet. "You deserve a better life."

Cobra gestured. "Why don't you go see what sort of life I've got ahead of me?"

Kai nodded, and stepped away, peeling his eye off of Cobra. Cobra grunted, but didn't make a move. Kai sheathed his sword and crested the ridge.

The Oración Seis, obviously besides Cobra, were all down and defeated. Hoteye remained standing, as he hadn't joined in on the fighting. Really, it'd only been Angel, Racer, and Midnight.

Jellal towered over all of them, his eyes bleeding quite profusely.

"What the hell happened?"

"The Oración Seis has been defeated," Ultear said.

Kai turned toward Cobra, who scoffed. Kai grimaced.

"Not all of them," Kai said.

"You don't want to fight me."

"I don't. And I won't. But I want you to see that you're free now, Cobra."

"I'm not free."

"Zero's dead."

"And yet if I ran into Doranbolt or Lahar or any of those other idiots, what would they do? They'd condemn me. And why shouldn't they?"

"Because, Erik, your life is still ahead of you, and you can, for once, make a positive difference."

Jellal crested the rocks as well. The color faded from Cobra's face at the name "Erik." Was that his real name, changed by Brain during the experimentation?

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because you have a dream. All of you do. And they won't be fulfilled if you wander around as aimless criminals. Join my guild. You'll find your prayers answered, and you'll help others find their prayers as well."

"I don't believe you."

Kai grit his teeth, then unsheathed his sword and flung it at Cobra, who easily caught it. Kai stepped down from the rocks and approached him, getting within striking distance of the blade.

"I'm going to defeat Acnologia," Kai said. "I'm going to avenge my misguided father and find the dragon who raised me. I'm going to marry the greatest woman in the world. But you can end all of that right now, Erik, with that very sword."

Cobra locked his good eye with Kai, shifting his grip on the blade.

"Just like, if you strike me down, there's a good chance someone will hunt you down and end your dreams. As long as we're alive, our dreams stay alive. You know what it means to be in a guild, Cobra. You helped each other out, all the detriment of others. Now imagine that power if you turned it to do good."

"We don't deserve it."

"Nobody deserves anything. You earn it."

Cobra held the tip of the sword against Kai's chest. "Have I?"

"Find out. Join Crime Sorciere."

"To do what?"

"We're going to rid the world of its greatest darkness, of the reason why you're all tormented and can't sleep at night. The very same reason we all suffer. We're going to destroy Zeref."

Cobra did not take his gaze from Kai, who stood with his back straight. Neither moved or spoke. No nerves flowed in Kai's body—his hands did not tremble, his eyes didn't waver. He stood cold as ice before Cobra.

"If we destroy the darkness, the light comes out, right?"

Kai nodded, Jellal not saying a thing.

The sword shifted in front of Cobra and he flipped the sword over, so he held the blade and the handle out to Kai, who took it.

"Fine." Cobra glowered at Jellal. "But don't get too comfy throwing the name around."

"We'll see," Jellal said. He nodded to Ultear, who set about healing the rest of the Seis.

Kai and Cobra rounded the corner and joined the rest. Hoteye comforted the Seis, who sat and stared at one another, a bit confused, a bit worn out. Kai approached Jellal.

"We could use their help right now."

"You think they want to fight?"

"Of course we do," Cobra said, sneering.

"Tartaros is a problem. They know more about Tartaros than anyone. The four of us can lead them in battle."

Jellal glanced past Kai toward the resting former criminals. "Kai, that's asking a lot."

"You're also asking a lot of Fairy Tail to just abandon them to war against Tartaros. We could really use their help."

"That's not my decision."

"As Guild Master?"

Jellal shrugged and turned back toward everyone else. They'd gotten back on their feet. Cobra tried not to make eye contact with Kai.

"You know what we have to do."

"Picking a fight with Tartaros isn't how I thought I'd start the day," Cobra said.

"Those demons must return to the shadow," Hoteye said. Kai's eyes widened.

"Wow, I thought he was a pacifist," Meredy said.

"Not when it comes to them," Hoteye said. "They are a true enemy of love. I will stand by Fairy Tail and Crime Sorciere against them. You have my aid, good Dragon Slayer."

Cobra sighed, glancing at the others. "Look I…I think I got reason to help Fairy Tail, too. There's someone…"

His face turned red and he swore under his breath. Kai's mouth almost dropped to the floor. He wanted to clap Cobra on the back but thought it'd be weird. They weren't friends; hardly acquaintances, even.

"No way," he muttered.

"Shut up or I'll rip your eyes out!"

Kai suppressed a laugh.

"Well?" Cobra growled at the others.

Midnight sported a small grin. "Tartaros are indeed demons, but they never wanted to do proper business with us. They thought themselves the best of all of the Balam Alliance."

"Yeah, I'm alright with bringing them down to Earth," Racer said. "Besides, I could go with beating the crap out of something right now after what just happened."

"Not the biggest fan of fighting Fairy Tail, but perhaps I'll get to show that Lucy girl a thing or two." Angel shrugged.

"It's settled, then," Cobra said, and locked an eye with Kai. "But don't think you'll just lead us marching into battle. Like you said, we know Tartaros much better than you. All of you. So you better listen up."

"Not a problem, just don't try and kill me."

"Collateral damage is known to happen when Fairy Tail is around."

Kai sucked in a breath and mentally rolled his eyes but just nodded at Cobra. He turned back to the original Crime Sorciere trio.

"So how do we get to Tartaros, do we know where they are now, how they'll attack?"

"Ultear?" Jellal asked, and Ultear reached behind her back to some of her pouches. Her orb appeared and flashed an image not of any Tartaros members but of Doranbolt.

"We're ready."

"For what?"

"To join to the fight. Tartaros has made their moves, right?"

Though it was rather hard to see through the orb, Kai easily made out that Doranbolt grimaced.

"Come get us. We'll bring Tartaros to their knees."

"It may not be enough."

"You're underestimating us, then," Cobra growled.

Frustration flared over Doranbolt's face and he vanished from the orb. Ultear let it float around them.

"I thought you could teleport?" Kai asked.

"Not too many people, it's not my specialty," Ultear said. "I can take you and Meredy, that's it."

Kai nodded, and not a moment later, Doranbolt appeared, breathing in a deep breath. He blatantly ignored the Seis and turned to Jellal and Ultear.

"It's too dangerous for you."

Kai stepped forward. "Why?"

"Tartaros is attempted to activate FACE."

Jellal and Ultear stepped back, the color drained from their face. Such shock sent a ripple effect through Kai and Meredy. Even the members of Oración Seis took pause.

"What?" Jellal muttered.

"They can't not without council authority."

"Somehow they've found a way to override that by killing council members." Doranbolt gestured at the Ultear and Jellal. "You two are the only ones left."

"You have to stay out of this, then," Meredy said.

Jellal balled a fist. Kai stepped forward, but before he could say anything, Ultear stepped forward.

"Then we're going to show Tartaros that former council members aren't all frail old men," she said. "You're going to bring us there right now, Doranbolt. FACE's activation absolutely cannot happen."

"What does happen?" Kai asked, rather warily. What could spook these two, and the others, so badly?

"FACE is an anti-magic weapon," Jellal said. "It's activation would wipe out magic all across Fiore."

"What?" Kai burst. "The hell?" So many question blitzed through his mind, but he couldn't even summon any words. The only one that got out was, "Why?"

"Tartaros doesn't use magic, remember? They use curses. FACE's activation would eliminate all magic, all threat, from Fiore. They'd take over everything in a matter of days."

Doranbolt nodded. Jellal stepped forward and grabbed his collar.

"This isn't the time to be afraid, got it?" Jellal asked. "It's the time to act."

"Yeah, stop chickening out, Doranbolt," Cobra said, chuckling. "I thought you liked helping out Fairy Tail?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Crime Sorciere has expanded," Jellal said and he released Doranbolt. "That's all I have time to explain for now. Get us to Tartaros's base and let us handle the rest."

Doranbolt glowered at the Oración Seis, then Jellal, but his gaze softened on Kai, a member of Fairy Tail, who just nodded. Doranbolt was the key to Fairy Tail's only reinforcements. Kai could only hope the battle was going well so far, and that Fairy Tail knew about the direness the situation.

Doranbolt held his hand out. "Grab my arm, then. It may take a few jumps, though, it'll cost me a good bit of magic to jump across the country."

"Don't worry," Ultear said, and put her hand on Doranbolt's back. Magic flowed from her into him. "I'll keep your magic circuits overloaded. You'll be a bit tired for a moment afterward but should be fine."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. Let's go."

Everyone grasped Doranbolt's arm, much to his clear chagrin. He closed his eyes, and the world disappeared around them.

It quickly reformed, though, in the shape of a castle-like hallway and with the sound of tons of shouts, explosions, and shifting walls around them. Ultear stepped back and Meredy caught her.

"This is it alright," Cobra said, taking a look around. "And it sure sounds like Fairy Tail is here making a mess. Especially Natsu."

"No surprise there," Kai muttered, and at once, his senses caught up with him. Familiar scents burst into life around him: Natsu, Erza, Lucy, Gray, Iggy. All here, in this castle.

The ground shifted again, and Kai attention got caught outside the window: they were floating over the sky, moving at an incredibly slow pace, but hovered over a familiar city: Magnolia.

Kai's heart sunk. They sought to attack Magnolia? Was FACE somehow hidden there or something?

Thankfully, they were also moving away from Magnolia, but at too slow of a place.

"Alright, there's nine Demons of Tartaros," Cobra said, catching Kai's attention again. "And eight of us. Hopefully Fairy Tail can take out one of them."

"But they have tricks, Tartaros," Midnight added. "Of staying in a battle long beyond their lifespan. We'll need to ensure that trick comes to an end."

"Destroy anything that has to do with FACE," Jellal said, mostly to Ultear and Meredy. "And help Fairy Tail. If you encounter a Demon Gate…"

"Give 'em hell," Cobra said.

Everyone braced to move but Meredy quickly shouted to stop them. Doranbolt did vanish, but nobody noticed or cared.

"Let me attach Sensory Links to everyone," Meredy said. "That way if one of us is in trouble we'll know where to go."

Before anyone could protest, though Kai was certainly okay with it, Meredy shot them with little blasts. Pink chains flared on everyone's arm and vanished into a tiny pink mark on their wrists.

"Alright, if we're done with the pleasantries…" Racer shrugged, then burst off. "I'm gonna kick some ass!"

"I'll go find that Lucy girl," Angel said, and also ran away, with Cobra following after her. Midnight floated out the window and Hoteye diligently waited for a command from the original members of Crime Sorciere.

Only one person occupied Kai's mind: Erza, and he could sense her not far away. He nodded to the rest and sprinted away.

He ducked into another hallway and was quickly lost in the great maze that was Tartaros's base. It probably looked quite splendid, if also quite dreary, in normal times, but several walls had been blown down and destroyed (likely by Natsu).

Kai entered a long area and sprinted down it, still sensing Erza up ahead. He stopped short of a wall as an explosion consumed it and followed it down into another room, a wide room.

Erza had just been there! Kai almost sprinted ahead but something, a chill, froze his feet in place.

"Well, well, look at that. It's not every day you can run into two Dragon Slayers in the sky."

The friendly voice came from behind Kai, forcing him to slowly turn around.

A dopey figure stood there, in black ropes with a long white sash and matted black hair over a grinning face. But darkness emanated invisibly off this one, seeping out of their soul, pouring into Kai's senses in a way he'd only felt before: Acnologia.

Was this a demon of the book of Zeref? Kai's hand drifted to his sword.

"Who are you?" Kai asked.

The man smiled. "Believe it or not, a family friend. My, look at you. Kai, right? Kairi didn't give you the most creative name."

Kai's grip tightened around his sword. "What?"

"I was wondering if I would get to meet the other dragon children. One of them scampered out of here earlier, I believe she's done some damage to my children's plans."

His children? Knowing Kairi?

Wait…wait…

Kai unsheathed his blade but couldn't move it when it was out.

Zeref grinned. "Save your energy, you'll need it to defeat my creations. Some of them are particularly nasty. Not nasty enough to kill me, unfortunately, but they'll be more than a handful for you and Fairy Tail. A good test, I suppose, for what may come. Just don't stir things up too much. Wouldn't want your uncle appearing, would you?"

Kai couldn't speak, Zeref held him completely still in place. Zeref folded his arms behind his back.

"It'd be a shame if you died to him before reuniting with Kairi," Zeref said. "I hope their plan comes to fruition soon, it's been a long time coming. I suppose time—heh—will tell soon. It's been nice meeting you, Kai. When next our paths cross, I can only hope you're closer to defeat Acnologia. It'd certainly save me time from needing to do so."

Zeref flashed Kai another smile then vanished, releasing him. Kai stumbled back, dropping his sword.

He panted, deeply inhaling and exhaling, while he tried to contain and gather his thoughts. But he found he still could not move.

Zeref.

The Dark Wizard.

Zeref.

He knew so much of Kairi, so much more than even Kai. Maybe. Anger boiled in him. How could she be friends, or acquaintances, with someone like Zeref, the most powerful and dangerous wizard to ever live?

But, what was that he said about the beings of Tartaros? They weren't strong enough to defeat him? Why would he want that, didn't he create them?

Kai snapped his wrist, snatching the blade out of the air. It brought him instant comfort and he sighed.

He turned toward the rest of the room. Erza was up ahead, getting a bit farther, and someone else was near her. He took a step, then the entire building shook.

Something was wrong.

Kai sheathed his blade, but a sensation of wrongness continued to permeate the room.

"Hello there, Fairy Tail and Crime Sorciere, and welcome to our home, the Cube."

Kai glanced around. Telepathy. The voice, sinister, slithered around in the back of his mind.

"Your intrusion has caused us some problems, but rest assured, our plans shall carry forward as planned. There is nothing a pathetic guild of good wizard and bunch of has-beens can do against us. My name is Mard Geer, and let my voice be the last you hear before eternal damnation!"

The walls quivered once, and that sensation burst around Kai.

"Meet Alegriai!"