AN: Thanks Goku275, AliceCullen3, NinjaFang1331, Xerzo LotCN, Wadeparker, skyalpha27, and ArcticKyuubi21. skyalpha, I am pretty sure that Zeref had already gone slightly insane by the time he revived Natsu as E.N.D., so I do not think he added a safety mode to E.N.D.
Xerzo LotCN, my "E.N.D. as a program" comment was a way of expressing that E.N.D.'s sole purpose for existence was to kill Zeref. Nothing else was relevant, so E.N.D. felt nothing other than the desire to kill Zeref and did nothing other than act on that desire. I do not fully understand the rest of your comment, but I feel like pointing out that Natsu's life between being resurrected as E.N.D. and adopted by Igneel was never elaborated on in canon. For all we know, he remained unconscious the entire time, before waking up in front of Igneel.
Regardless, I hope you enjoy my portrayal of E.N.D. and this story in general.
Minerva was furious. Tartaros had harmed her little sister (in spirit)! They had taken control of Rogue and used him to try and destroy her family! As Happy flew her up to their base (with Lector accompanying), she could only think of how to pay them back one million-fold.
Suddenly, she and the Exceeds felt themselves getting pulled toward the Cube. To their shock, they landed on the bottom side and found that gravity was reversed. Or rather, the Cube had its own gravity, which, in their current position, was opposite the normal direction.
"No matter," brushed off Minerva, refocusing on the enemy. More specifically, the enemies charging at her and the Exceeds. "Fairy Tail, to battle!"
As she spoke, Minerva released her entire guild (minus the members captured by Tartaros) from her Territory, directing them toward the dark guild's forces.
Lector grabbed Sting and they flew at the enemy. Yukino summoned Pisces and Libra. Macao and Romeo kindled Purple Flares in their hands. Wakaba produced smoke from his pipe and Max gathered sand by his arm. Jet, Droy, Nab, and Vjeeter charged, preparing to use their magic when the enemy got within range. Alzack, Bisca, Laki, Millianna, and Reedus stood protectively around Blaze, Iggy, Asuka, Kinana, and Porlyusica.
Meanwhile, Rogue sat on the ground, in control of himself again. "What… what have I done?"
"Something stupid," answered Minerva bluntly. She had noticed that Shadow Dragon Slayer's depression and stayed back. "But you're going to make up for it right now by helping us rescue everyone and obliterate Tartaros. So, unless you want to let somebody else save Frosch, get to it!"
Her words snapped Rogue out of him funk. He got up, and the two of them joined the fray, determination etched onto their faces.
"Lightning God's Bellow!"
"Memory-Make: Shrine of Turbulent Fang!"
Orga and Rufus unleashed black lightning and a collection of twisters on a group of demons, demolishing them. The two of them had been making their way through Tartaros's base, destroying every demon they came across.
Unfortunately, things were about to get much more difficult. A swarm of books shot at the two with great intensity, forcing the two to dodge. They turned to the source of the attack, seeing two female Etherious.
"Kyôka, should I kill the enemies, or do you still intend to remake them into demons?" asked one of the women. The books moved to her side, signaling her as their master.
"Destroy them, Seilah," answered the other Etherious more calmly. "They must learn the consequences for ignoring my magnanimity."
"It's not like you could transform us anyway," taunted Orga. "The first the we did after breaking out was demolish that creepy lab!"
Kyôka scowled. Not only would it take time to fix whatever damage the humans caused, it would be impossible to revive any demons until then. As unlikely as it was for mere humans to defeat two of the Nine Demon Gates, Tempester and Jackal's defeats had already proved that it was at least possible.
"Seilah, you handle the brute," spoke Kyôka after a pause. "I will deal with his compatriot."
"Understood," responded Seilah, shifting her gaze to Orga.
Not one to wait for his opponents to act, Orga took the demons' conversation as an invitation to strike. He charged at Seilah, body sparking with lightning. He tried to punch her, but she avoided the blow by leaping backward.
Rufus frowned as his partner chased after the Etherious. She was clearly trying to split the two up, and Orga was playing right into her hand. When he tried to join the pursuit, however, five whip-like tendrils cut him off.
"You should not be worrying about your guildmate," said Kyôka as the 'tendrils' contracted, turning back into her fingers. "Not when you have to face me."
Rufus's frown deepened. It seemed he and Orga would have to fight their opponents separately. "Very well. Prepare for a battle you will never forget!"
"Holy Ray!"
"Territory Explosion!"
Shadow Dragon's Roar!"
Sting, Minerva, and Rogue unleashing a barrage of attacks on a large squadron of demons, destroying them. As they did, many more battles raged on around them.
Yukino's Celestial Spirits obliterated enemies with crushing gravity and waves of water. Jet, Nab, and Vjeeter attacked the Tartaros grunts physically, supplemented by their magic and assisted by Droy growing a variety of useful plants. Max and Romeo used their sand and fire to break apart crowds of demon, keeping them disorganized. Warren, Macao, and Wakaba provided everyone with support, preventing the enemy from exploiting any momentary slip-ups, distractions, or openings between spells. Laki, Millianna, the Connells, and Reedus took out any foes who got too close to the guild's non-mage members.
"How many of them are there?" complained Jet.
"They just keep coming!" added Droy.
"We're stuck here!" said Max. "We've got to protect the ladies and kids too!"
"Why'd you bring those five along!?" Macao asked Minerva over the roar of battle.
"They would have gotten blown up if I didn't!" snapped Minerva. "It's not like I could keep them in my Territory either! That takes Magic Power, and I get the feeling that I'm going to need every last drop of it! Besides, it would be much worse for them to suddenly pop out in the middle of a fight, just as I run out of strength!"
Macao grimaced, accepting her argument.
"We can't seem to find a place to break through!" said Romeo. The battle had raged on, endless waves of demons refilling Tartaros's numbers whenever they dropped. "How are we supposed to get to the castle!?"
"We're on the bottom part of Cube now," spoke Happy. "We need to get to the top."
"But how?" asked Millianna, cursing the fact that her magic wasn't more useful.
"While we're thrashing grunts here…" began Sting, pausing as he punched a 'grunt' unconscious. "…Natsu and the others are…"
Thankfully, luck was on the side of Fairy Tail. The ground started to rumble and grow hotter. Every Fairy who was on the scorching land hurried off of it, leaving only demons to be caught in the eruption.
And erupt it did.
A gigantic torrent of fire burst forth from the land, like the flames of Hell. However, rather than fear, the members of Fairy Tail felt joy. They knew this fire, even if it wasn't being used by its regular mage.
"Memory-Make: Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" declared Rufus as his spell propelled Kyôka through the outer layer of the Cube. He had originally seen Natsu use this spell to annihilate Sabertooth's base, so it was only fitting that Rufus now used it on Tartaros's.
"He broke through!" cheered every Fairy present. The tide of this battle had turned.
As Rufus unleashed his conflagration on Kyôka, he felt gravity reverse himself. Disoriented, he landed amongst, to his surprise, the majority of his guild.
"Rufus!"
"You're safe!"
"Nice work, man!"
"What's going on?" asked Rufus, confused. "How did all of you get here?"
"It's a bit complicated, but there's no time for that now!" replied Sting. "We need to go through that hole you made! Tartaros… they kidnapped Frosch, and even captured Natsu somehow!"
"Really?" exclaimed Rufus, surprised at their guild master's imprisonment. "Well, you'll be glad to know that Orga is free and smiting demons."
"That's good to know," responded Rogue as he prepared to jump into the newly made hole. "Now, let's go! I'll save you, Frosch!"
The rest of the guild followed suit, until only Rufus and Millianna were left. Rufus moved to jump back into the Cube, only for Kyôka's elongated fingers to wrap around him and yank him into the air.
"Rufus!" cried Millianna.
"Don't worry about me!" he shouted back. "Go on!"
Millianna nodded, leaping into the Cube as Kyôka slammed Rufus into the ground.
Rufus locked eyes with the Etherious, smirking. "I'll make sure they never forgot why nobody messes with Fairy Tail!"
"120mm Black Lightning Cannon!" yelled Orga, firing a blast of lightning at Seilah.
Before it reached the Etherious, though, one of her books intercepted the spell. Despite this, Seilah frowned at the god slayer.
"Just what… are you?" asked Seilah. "It is difficult to believe my Macro has no effect on you."
"Marco?" echoed Orga. He fired another lightning spell at her, which was again blocked. "If that's one of those Curse things that you demons use, then it's probably because I'm a god slayer. Demons are weak to divinity, after all."
"I see…" replied Seilah, her frown deepening. It was a shame she hadn't used Macro on that Exceed in the frog suit. With the Shadow Dragon Slayer dead, they were the only possible hostage she could have used against this human.
Sadly, it seemed she would have to resort to a more… drastic measure.
"This is a command!" declared Seilah, to Orga's confusion. "I hereby order my limiter… RELEASED!"
The demon screamed as her body transformed, entering its Etherious Form. Her hair and clothes began flapping as energy flowed from her body, and a dark pattern spread across Seilah's skin.
In an instant, she closed the distance she had been keeping between herself and Orga, clotheslining the god slayer with enough force to rocket him into a nearby wall.
"First she avoids all my hits, then she hits like a fucking train," grumbled Orga as he moved to the left to avoid Seilah's follow-up strike. As he complained, the god slayer grinned. "After all those lackeys earlier, I'm finally getting a real fight. This is going to be fun!"
"Aaaaaaaargh!" screamed Natsu, as E.N.D. gradually awakened within him. The left side of his face start to transform, a small horn starting to emerge from his head.
Mard watched the dragon slayer writhe, until Franmalth contacted him via a Communications Lacrima.
"Sir Mard, we have a problem," reported Franmalth.
Mard scowled, regretted that he sent Silver away after initiating E.N.D.'s awakening. The demon slayer could have handled this while he focused on Master E.N.D.'s resurrection. "What is it?"
"Our bombing of Fairy Tail…" began Franmalth. "…it failed! They all survived by using Spatial Magic and are currently invading the Cube! Also, the two humans that Crawford brought us broke free!"
…If he weren't an Etherious, Mard would be getting a headache right now.
Mard started to respond, but he stopped when he noticed a change in Natsu. The human's screaming stopped, and he rose to his feet.
"If… my guild's… still fighting…" spoke Natsu through unbearable pain. "…then… I'd be… a shitty… guild master… if I… didn't do… THE SAAAAAAAME!"
As he finished his sentence, the dragon slayer's words shifted into a roar. Scales grew on the right side of his face, while the left side regressed to a more human state (though the horn remained). Flames ignited across Natsu's body, a response to him activating the Dragon Force.
Mard raised an eyebrow. "It appears you've found a way to postpone Master E.N.D.'s reawakening. Impressive, but ultimately futile. You likely bought yourself less than an hour."
"So what!?" dismissed Natsu, his pain diminished. "I only need half an hour to kick your ass, and my guild will destroy yours in even less!"
With that, the human/demon/dragon slayer breathed in as he prepared one of his signature spells.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Franmalth sighed, exasperated. The screen he was looking at indicated that Face had emerged far from the estimated location. "What else could go wrong?"
"What is this room?" asked Sting as he entered the room with Lector, Yukino, and Rogue. Franmalth hid behind a pillar, silently cursing the fact that he jinxed himself.
"There's a lot of floating letters," noted Lector.
"There's a huge globe up there," observed Yukino.
"A control room, perhaps," guessed Rogue. "I wonder if they keep prisoner information here. We could find out where Frosch is being held."
The four Fairies looked at the screens, only to find nothing but bad news. All three of Face's seals had been released. The wards could not be reapplied. And, though Face could only be activated manually, it had already been started up. In just 41 minutes, Face would detonate.
Chank! The sound of metal clinking drew the mages' attention. They turned to see a skeleton in fancy clothes carrying a staff.
"O young fairies who have fallen into the Underworld…" spoke the skeleton. "Shed your mortal forms and wander the paths of Purgatory."
"A skeleton?" wondered Sting.
"A mask!" exclaimed Lector nervously. "It must be a mask."
"Or an Etherious," suggested Yukino.
"We do not have time for this!" shouted Rogue. "Face is going to active in 40 minutes, and Frosch is Tartaros's prisoner! We should find an opening and run for it!"
"You're fools if you think you can just run from Keyes and I, Franmalth," spoke the Etherious as he stepped out from his hiding…err… observation spot. "We are both members of the Nine Demon Gates, after all."
"There are two now!?" exclaimed Lector.
"Leave this to me!" declared Yukino, pulling out Libra's key. She summoned the Celestial Spirit, who amplified the gravity of the demons to hold them in place. "Sting, Lector, fly to Face and shut it down! Rogue and I will keep searching for Frosch!"
The humans and Exceed fled the control room and split up. However, Sting and Lector soon found themselves running into Keyes.
"How!?" yelled Sting. "We left you behind in the control room!"
"Regard… the star of destruction's…"
Before he could finish speaking, Keyes's upper body was reduced to a black mist by a fist cloaked in magic.
"Territory Nihility!" shouted Minerva as she punched Keyes. "Sting! Lector!"
"Can't talk!" yelled Sting as he and Lector passed her by. "Gotta stop Face!"
The duo found a window soon after and smashed through it. Meanwhile, Minerva noticed the black mist reforming into a finely dressed skeleton.
"Thou shall regret harming Keyes of the Nine Demon Gates," spoke the skeleton darkly. "Not even death shall end your suffering."
Omake
"Before we split up, I just want to apologize for attacking you in the guild hall," Rogue told Minerva. The two of them had entered Rufus's hole in the Cube moments ago.
"No need," replied Minerva nonchalantly. "Not like you were even able to harm me."
"But still…" went Rogue, feeling no less guilty. "Is there a way I can repay you?"
"Hmm…" hummed Minerva as she thought of something to request. "If you really feel like doing something for me, I wouldn't say no to a meal at 8-Island once Yajima rebuilds the place."
"Alright."
"If things go well, we could continue our clash in the guild hall."
"Underst— huh?"
"Obviously I'd be on the top, though."
"That is not funny!" shouted Rogue, his face turning crimson as he realized what Minerva was implying.
The Territory user chuckled, regretting that she lacked Rufus's perfect memory. It wasn't very often Rogue got flustered like this, so she wished to remember it as clearly as possible.
AN: it always stood out to me that, when Larcade used his perverted spell in canon, Rogue and Minerva were the only two members of Sabertooth shown affected by it. That's why, in the Omake, I had Minerva imply that he should take her on a date as an apology for his actions while affected by Macro. I don't have any plans to have them get together, though, as I would rather focus on the story's plot.
Also, Lightning God's Bellow is not a spell from canon, but there was a Fire God's Bellow and Sky God's Bellow, so I decided to add it in. That is all.