Hey, sorry it took so long. Irl is kicking my ass and not being broke took over this story for a bit. I'm already warning you, that I might edit this chapter later, so if you see updates in the upcoming days, it's because of that. My mind's been a little cluttered these past months, so the level of writing may be lower. I'll try to fix that. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it!
4:30 PM
Jellal knocked on the wall of a large cliff that stood by the side of a river. The location was rather remote, about 50 kilometers away from Magnolia, which did not go unnoticed by anxious Cobra. After several rather anxious tries, the wall began to shift and soon opened to reveal the annoyed face of Rustyrose, who scouted every single unwanted guest with disgust written on his face.
"How can I help you?" he asked Jellal, clearly annoyed.
"I'm here for that favor you promised me." he declared and forced himself into the hideout. It was well furnished, with various antiques, artifacts and fancy carpets lying around the hollowed out cliff. His companions followed him in suit and soon the door was shut close by a very irritated Rustyrose.
"And I suppose there is no way I would have to run away again after this visit, correct?" he asked sarcastically and glued his eyes to Rickard.
"Trust me, I care about you about as much as the shit I stepped into two hours ago." Rickard waved his hand and curiously examined an ancient vase that stood by Rustyrose's kitchen. The man squinted but said nothing.
"I take it you've heard the news already?" Jellal asked him, having ignored his worries entirely and sat down on a chair. He raised his eyebrows and adjusted himself, taking its comfort in.
"The attack? Yeah, I've heard." Rustyrose said and poured himself a glass of whiskey which he then downed in one go. "Not surprised in the slightest." he said and then watched from above his glassas Oracion Seiss helped themselves to his pantry. He blinked and immediately poured himself another one, as his face began to take up a color of bright red.
"Why, you all-seeing or something?" Racer asked with a scoff and a mouth full of cheese.
"Because if there's one guild dumb enough to attack the Council in daylight, it's Tartaros." Rustyrose replied and poured another glass. This time, however, he slid it across the table in Ultear's direction, which she accepted with gratitude. "Had they done if years ago it would've been one thing, but to attack the current Council...They must either have an ace up their sleeve or they've finally lost whatever braincells they've had."
"Do you have any ideas on what their potential ace could be?" Meredy asked.
"No." Rustyrose shook his head and slid a glass in her direction, but she politely declined.
Cobra grabbed the glass and downed it in her stead. He put it down on the counter and looked at Rustyrose. "What do you know, then?"
Rustyrose blinked. "Not much, if anything at all." he replied with a sigh. "None of them are human. They are demons of The Book of Zeref, creations given life by Zeref himself. Each of them has a piece of his soul embedded into their flesh, with a fragment of his power to use as their own. They don't use magic, rather their abilities come closer to curses than anything else. Although they use magic power, they do not replenish it in the same way us humans do. One could call them meat puppets, or robots, because they are all programmed by Zeref's will. What his will is, I don't know, but each of them operates with a specific order engraved in their brain. Their bodies are nearly indestructible, they can survive wounds that'd kill humans ten times over. They have several hearts, and only once they all stop do they die."
"Not much, my ass." Angel scoffed under her breath.
"I've always liked to keep tabs on my rivals. Baram Alliance wasn't exactly a friends club." Rustyrose admitted and adjusted his glasses.
"What about their hideout?" Ultear asked.
"All I know is that it moves." Rustyrose shrugged and swirled the booze in his glass. "I don't know if it's a ship like ours was, or a train, but it never stays in one place for too long. I've seen it only once in the dark and it's gigantic. "
"There's no way it teleports." Rickard said. "This much magic would never be unnoticed, there's always a trace to follow. It can't travel underground either, because the tunnels would be easily found."
"Air it is, then." Jellal deduced with a tired sigh.
"That's the most likely outcome." Rustyrose nodded. "That's all I know. Anything else is just my guess, and I suppose you don't care much for those."
"Haven't you heard about anything unusual, anything at all?" Rickard asked him.
"No. Just that people have been going missing left and right and that Tartaros made a move."
Jellal blinked and turned to Rickard. "I need you to be honest with me. What is the estimated number of the missing?"
The Captain hesitated. "At least 2,000." he replied, much to everybody's shock.
"2,000?! How could you cover this?!" Angel asked him in an outrage. "Have you not learned anything the past two times this happened?!"
"We have." Rickard replied sternly. He was sweating, clearly not proud of this decision. "As soon as the numbers hit double digits we rounded up our troops and raided every single place we suspected. We've even managed to raid the Underground, first time in history. We found nothing related to the case. This number has been piling on for a better part of the year. It's not just civilians, it's soldiers, dark mages, thieves, criminals stolen from a convoy along with the guards, even officers, all gone without a trace, spread all over the country. We've been dealing with this issue from one border to another."
"So even if Tartaros is the main culprit, they have a strong network that does most of the muscle work for them." Ultear said.
"Exactly." Rickard sighed and massaged his tired eyes. "We've had some success here and there, but whoever we caught was always just a pawn of a pawn of a pawn."
Jellal sighed and stood up. "Thank you for your help." he said to Rustyrose "Like promised, our business is concluded."
"Glad to hear it." Rustyrose said and set his glass aside. "Now leave me alone." he said and walked out of the room,. leaving the group alone with their thoughts, as they tried to come up with their next move.
5 PM
Natsu's feet touched the tall grass as he landed by the ex-Chairman's house. It was trashed, with windows broken and ripped out of the hinges, the door lying on the floor in pieces and the interior turned inside out. He scowled, having already picked up on many mistakes whoever did this made and stepped inside the house.
"They must have fought hard..." Carla said as she examined a broken cabinet, its door sliced in half. "This place is a mess."
"This wasn't done by fighting." Natsu stated as he examined a cup in his hand. He sniffed it for a moment and threw it aside afterward, the strong smell of tea lingering in his nose. "First of all, the door was kicked down from the inside." he stated and pointed at it with his finger. Upon giving it a short thought, Carla had to agree; it was on the wrong side. "The windows would have been reduced to bits if someone broke through them, not to mention the furniture that was clearly just thrown to the ground for the sake of it. None of this got destroyed by fighting."
"What are you trying to say?" Carla asked. "You think the Chairman did all this?"
"Not himself." Natsu said and spotted something on the ground. He picked up a cup from underneath a table and gave it a sniff. Just how the smell spread across his nose, he felt anger spread across his body like a wave of hot water. He grit his teeth and clenched his fist, the cup still in his hand, as it shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces. Carla got startled by this and flew back a little bit.
"Sleeping drugs." Natsu declared with a shaking voice and swatted his hand aside, pieces of porcelain dropping to the floor. "I was right. The Chairman is with Tartaros and took Erza and Mira."
He stood up and began to deeply breathe through his nose. His face was twisted, guilt and fury blended together into a grimace so severe his face began to cramp. Unable to control his rapidly increasing emotions, he gave them a release by punching the floor of the house as hard as he could.
"Fuck!" he cried out as his fist shattered the floor and shook the entire house down to its core. His breathing was irregular and loud, hit mind already growing desperate, but he wouldn't let it. He had to remain calm and push those feelings down as best as he could.
"Could you fly around, see if there's any trail, any sign of where they could gave gone?" Natsu asked Carla, who nodded and flew outside. As he watched the Exceed leave he shut his eyes, desperately trying to stop reciting the warning the old hag gave him weeks ago, something that's been pulling on his heart ever since. Now, it grew in size enough to swallow it on one bite.
He searched around the house for more clues, but with not much luck. Whatever new thing he found only made him angrier, for the clues supporting his theory kept piling on. After a while he picked up a very faint smell by the door, and as he placed his nose directly against the floor, he smelled Erza's shampoo. Blood rushed to his brain as another wave of fury spread over him, but he contained it. He gulped, his throat dry, and began to follow the trail that led him to the grass that was on the other side of the house, opposite from where he and Carla came from. He followed it for a good 100 meters before getting up with a scowl on his face. The grass behind the trees he wandered into was squashed, something huge having clearly landed there not so long ago, or at least hovered low enough to squash it with pressure.
"There you are!" Carla called out to him from the sky as she descended towards him. "I was about to come get you. I saw this almost immediately, but I also wanted to make sure we wouldn't miss anything."
"There is nothing else." Natsu declared with a sigh. "This is where the trail would normally end. Luckily, my nose is unlike any other. They went that way." he pointed with his finger into the sky.
Carla felt lost, but didn't dare to argue and simply nodded. She grabbed him by the collar with her paws and launched them off into the air, as Natsu gave her directions.
After about 25 minutes Natsu's eyes narrowed as anger once again began to spread over his mind. There, in the distance, just beneath the clouds, was a giant, square object with dangling legs, a spiky tail and a mouth big enough to swallow an entire village. It made its way through the air, and as the duo flew closer to it, the smell in Natsu's nose began to grow stronger with each passing second. From what it looked like, the place was not on high alert, as the creature hovered peacefully, making an occasional grunt and groan here and there. As they got closer, Natsu could spot several rocky formations on its back and sides, with a giant castle crowning the very center of the middle island on top of its head.
"What the hell is this thing?!" Carla gasped to herself as they approached it. Only now have they started to truly fathom the size of this thing; it was easily half as big as Magnolia. The castle alone appeared to be just as big as Domes Flau.
"Probably a demon." Natsu said, unimpressed, and pointed at the castle. "Can you get me there?"
"I can." Carla declared and spiked down towards the castle. As they made their way through, she looked for an optimal spot to enter, and upon finding one she started to slow down as to not crash into the building.
"I want you to drop me in there and go back to the guild." Natsu told her suddenly. "You have to tell them where it is and which direction it's going."
"What about you?" Carla asked.
"I'm gonna look for Erza and Mira. Maybe see if they have anything related to Face on-board."
Carla nodded and like instructed, let go of Natsu's jacket. The Dragon Slayer spiked through the open window into a well decorated hallway and rolled on the floor to cancel out his momentum. Upon doing so he immediately got back to his feet and hid behind a wall, whilst signalizing Carla to go. The Exceed gave him one more look before flying away towards he guild, which, much to her dread, was in the exact same direction this thing was flying towards. Although already very tired, she gave it her best and maintained a steady pace ahead of the demon.
In the meantime, Natsu quickly adjusted the carpet he'd messed up with his landing the best he could and took a deep breath. Erza's smell was still lingering, but it grew weaker. With his chest heavy and his mind sharpened, he slowly began to make his way through enemy territory, looking for clues.
8 PM, Fairy Tail's HQ, outskirts of Magnolia
Lucy wiped her wet hair with a towel and sighed deeply, finally feeling somewhat relaxed. The sun behind the windows was already setting, the orangish light breaking ino the guild and giving it a cozy feel, something they definitely needed now. She and Wendy have just returned from their mission. Saint Michello and Michellia were taken under the Council's wing, who provided help to the injured and devastated town folk. It took hundreds of soldiers over an hour to extinguish all the fires and dig out all the civilians from rubble, which luckily wasn't a high number. Had Natsu been with them it would've taken much less time, but Lucy knew just how much he had on his plate. If there was one person who could help Erza, it was him.
As she thought that, her face grew grim as she spotted Makarov's defeated figure hovering over a lacrima. It was the 7th time he tried to contact her, and with no luck. He'd already been informed of the ex-Chairman's alleged treachery, but that didn't stop him from trying to contact them either way. The unfruitful attempts only made the accusations more valid.
"Have Gray and the others returned?" Lucy asked Cana, who handed her a bottle. Out of habit, Lucy declined.
"It's sparkly water." Cana said, to which Lucy nodded and accepted the bottle. "Yeah, they're still outside. We're missing only Natsu, Carla, Erza and Mira."
Lucy took a sip and gulped loudly. "I'm sure they're fine." she said, more for herself than Cana.
"How's Wendy?"
"Managing. She's tougher than someone her age should be." Lucy said. She then looked at the door, faint noises coming from the outside. "Something going on there?"
"Master is on a line with Jellal and the rest, they finally managed to get in contact. Apparently they found out a great deal about Tartaros and are now sharing the intel with everybody involved."
Lucy hummed. "I must say, I'm not used to the Council being this competent."
Cana gave a faint smirk. "Can't argue with that." she then took a sip from her own bottle, which was definitely not sparkly water, and sighed. "How the hell did this happen? I went to sleep in a good mood, I wake up and the Council's in ruins, Laxus and the Thunder Legion almost died, demons are killing people left and right and now the guild's split apart. Most of our best fighters are unavailable."
Lucy looked at her for a long while. She then reached out and took Cana's bottle out of her hand, before taking a big swing. The alcohol burned her throat as if she swallowed red-hot coal, but it also burned the anxiety in her chest. "We'll be fine." she wheezed out. "We always get through whatever is thrown at us."
Cana smiled and took back her property. "Yeah."
Suddenly, Gajeel barged in through the front door. "Come. It's important." he declared and left without further explanation. The girls looked at each other in confusion, but complied and followed him outside. There, they spotted the guild standing in a circle around a workbench, on top of which sat exhausted Carla, her tiny paws tightly locked around Gray's water bottle.
"What's going on?" Lucy asked Juvia.
"Carla just fell on top of that table, she's only just now regained consciousness." she explained.
Carla stopped drinking with a huge sigh of relief and wiped her face with her paw. "There's no time for worrying about me!" she declared fiercely, although still sounded weak. "We've been betrayed! The ex-Chairman is a traitor and works with Tartaros, just like Natsu suspected."
Everyone looked shocked.
"Are you sure?!" Makarov asked her. "This is a very serious accusation!"
"We went to his house and found it ruined, but Natsu said it was done on purpose. He found cups belonging to Erza and Mira, which had been drugged. We then followed their smell and found the enemy's hideout."
Everyone went pale. "Erza and Mira have been captured?!" Gray asked in shock.
"Sis!" Elfman growled and clenched his fist.
"First Laxus, now them..." Wakaba clutched his head in despair. "What are we going to do?!"
Jellal, who'd remained silent this whole time, had a grimace on his face. Deep down he was worried for his old friend, but felt like he had no right to express those feelings. He gave them a release with a tight squeeze of his robe, which did not go unnoticed by his guildmates.
Rickard, who'd been standing just behind Jellal throughout the entire call, pushed him aside to have a better view. "Where is it?" he asked the Exceed.
"It's...Truthfully, I don't even know what it is. It's huge and it can fly. The enemy's headquarters are in a castle located on top of that thing's head, and it's huge. Natsu decided to stay there and find out what happened to Erza and Mirajane." Carla said. "But that's not the worst part: it's headed this way. I don't know if it changed course but I do know it was still flying here an hour ago."
Rickard squinted. "Thank you for this information. You've done more than you could possibly imagine."
"They're coming here? Why?!" Max panicked.
"Not necessarily." Levy said and scratched her chin. "If I were given their exact location from an hour ago, I could calculate where they could be. If it's really Magnolia,. I can at least tell when they will arrive."
"That's a great idea." Rickard said and pulled out a notepad. "I'll help. Can't hurt to have us both do the math."
Levy nodded and turned to Carla, who explained in great detail where exactly she'd seen Tartaros' headquarters last. Elfman and Macao, who had nothing better to do, decided to dig through their library in search of any useful books that could be lying around.
After around 10 minutes of thinking and rigorous writing, Levy wrote down her answer and immediately became drenched in sweat upon seeing it. She slowly lifted her head to look at her guild and licked her lips. "They'll be here in 5 minutes." she announced.
Everyone took a second to register this information. Then, Makarov straightened himself in his chair and announced in a booming voice. "Get ready! We don't know the enemy's motives, but we can prepare ourselves for what's to come!"
Fairy Tail nodded and began to get ready as best as they could in 5 minutes. Gajeel quickly ran out into the open and began to scan the darkening sky. There, in the horizon, he spotted a weird object just under the clouds, and scowled. With a grunt he ran inside the guildhall and joined the others.
Rickard, who'd come to the exact same conclusion as Levy, shut his notepad close and stuffed it behind his breastplate. He disconnected from the call and immediately dialed a number on his private mobile lacrima.
"It's me." he announced. "Gather our troops, we march onto Magnolia at once. Tartaros is headed there. I'll tell Org the details, just mobilize as many men as you can and begin marching. I will meet up with you by the northern river." he ordered and hung up. He then faced Jellal. "I think this is where we part ways. I have no problem with you tagging along, but I don't feel like explaining myself to my men, who may not be okay with it."
Cobra scoffed. "So you just dragged us around for nothing?" he asked.
"I'm still letting you lot go. That's about as good of a deal as you can get." The Captain replied and began dialing another number. "I have to tell Org."
"No need." said a new voice.
Everyone jerked upon hearing it and soon all eyes fell on Mest, who stood in the middle of the group with a sweaty face and a phone in his hand.
"You!" Racer exclaimed and put himself in position to strike. "You've been following us?!"
"Yes." Mest agreed in-between his irregular breaths. "But I have no desire to take you back. I simply followed you in fear Captain Rickard was working with Tartaros, but my doubts are now gone." he said.
The Captain smirked. "Kudos for not overreacting. I must have given you at least five chances."
Mest nodded. "Here, this is for you." he said and handed Rickard the phone. The Captain took it and pressed it against his ear. "Yes?"
"Rickard." Org's voice boomed into his ear. "What's the status?"
"We've successfully pinpointed Tartaros' location, sir." he said. "We believe they might attack Magnolia in the next few minutes. I have already mobilized my troops to meet me there as soon as possible."
"Very well. Seeing as Mest is with you, I am granting you partial command of Lahar's division. I want you to annihilate Tartaros and bring back peace." Org declared.
Rickard smirked into the phone. "Yes, sir."
"Avenge our comrades, Rickard." Org said and disconnected.
Rickard tossed the phone back to Mest, who seemed aware of the call's nature. He then faced Jellal and shook his head whilst smiling. "7,000 men marching onto Magnolia to destroy the Baram Alliance once and for all...Never thought I'd see the day." he said and began walking. "See you some other time, Heavens!" he threw in farewell and waved his hand.
Jellal simply watched him walk away, annoyed with the nickname. "What do we do?" Angel asked him.
"Do not forget about us, Jellal." Cobra warned him. "We still do not entirely trust you."
Jellal blinked. "I understand." he said and turned to face them. "Is fighting me the only way we can settle this? Surely you can read me like an open book. I wish you no harm, Erik. I need your help."
Cobra frowned. "Yeah, that may be right. But the reason I want to bash your face in is something else entirely. You can't just remove your past, that's not how it works."
"I am aware of that." Jellal replied. "That is why I do not deny it. I know what I've done, consciously or not. That is why I focus on what is happening now, rather than dwell in the past. I can't change it, but I can change the present."
"Do you wish for salvation?" Midnight asked him. "Is that the reasoning behind your actions? To repent?"
"These intentions are my own, and are true to who I was before I was corrupted." Jellal said calmly. "I've always had some darkness to me, and I still do. However, even if it hadn't been for all those years I've spent as a member of the Commandments, I'd still wish to destroy Zeref and everything related to him. My past acts as additional fuel to my resolve."
"Resolve is often driven by personal desire. Are you certain there are no personal wishes behind your actions, yes?" Hot Eye asked in his booming voice.
Jellal looked at him. "Of course there are." he said. "There are those, whom I've hurt. I want to make up for it, but if they decide not to forgive me, I will not dwell on it. Killing me will not change what I've done, but if I am alive, maybe then I can make a change. I am not asking you to forgive me, I'm asking for your help, so that we can fight for all those, who haven't gotten the chance we were given. Those, who may one day find ourselves in our old position. Those are the people we're fighting for!"
Cobra's eyes narrowed. He knew the man was speaking the truth, and not even thanks to his abilities. He could see it written on his face, plain as the day. Yet it still made him angry, and with a loud scoff he turned away from Jellal. "Lead the way. We won't kill you, but we're not totally on your side, either. We'll follow you, because there's nothing else."
With that said, he began to walk away. Hot Eye and Midnight joined him, both smiling, fully content with his decision.
"Sorano, Sawyer. I know you must-" Jellal began.
"Spare us." Angel cut him off, but there was no more poison in her voice. "Prove it with actions, not words." she said, with Racer nodding next to her.
Jellal gave her a faint smile. "Thank you. I will not disappoint you."
"Yeah, we get it. Now come on, it's getting cold and we're still starving" Racer said and joined his friends up front, who were already quite far ahead.
Jellal nodded and felt some relief. Their attitude towards him has most certainly changed from this morning, which was most definitely a good sign.
"Are you sure of this?" Meredy asked Jellal with concern. "You don't want to help them with the fight?"
"We'll go with you if you ask." Ultear added.
Jellal smiled. "I appreciate your offer, but that fight is none of my concern. We've done all we could within our strength, pursuing it any further may only end badly. It's like Rickard said, he can not vouch for us forever."
With that said, he pulled his hood over his head and began walking towards the darkening horizon, as they followed him in suit whilst talking amongst each other.
8 PM, Tartaros' Headquarters
Two men walked through the dark corridor, the candles causing them to cast shadows much larger than their already enormous statures. One of them was an armor clad green demon with a single eye placed at the center of his round head. His cane echoed throughout the hallways and announced his arrival almost as loudly as his grating cackle did. His companion was an older man with a bald head and a grey, thick beard which he stroked with his right hand.
"I still can not believe you managed to capture those pesky Fairy Tail worms!" Franmalth cackled at the thought. "Your part in this plan is most certainly growing to be more profitable with each day, yes!"
Crawford gave a laugh of his own. "You're too kind. I was hoping to get some alone time with them, but it can't be helped. The plan takes priority."
Franmalth laughed. "I'm afraid your fun has been stolen by Miss Kyouka! She's currently keeping her in her personal chambers! However, I'm sure she'd be happy to give her away to you, once she's done, of course!"
Crawford sighed in defeat. "There won't be much to enjoy, then. But as long as that red hair is intact..." he lamented and ducked under to pass through a door. "What of the other one?"
"She's currently in Hell Spawn. Her abilities are a perfect match for our project, yes indeed! She will make a powerful soldier!" Franmalth said.
Crawford hummed to himself. "How is the plan going, by the way? I was kept out of the last few meetings. I'm starting to feel unwanted."
"Nonsense!" Franmalth said and waved his hand in the air. "We needed to clear you of any suspicion prior to phase one. Any risk could jeopardize years of hard work!"
"I suppose you're right." Crawford nodded. "Then again, there's not much need for sneaking anymore. Once we get rid of magic in Ishgar, there will be no one capable of stopping us."
"You're as sharp as cunning, my dear friend!" Franmalth croaked. "Although, there has been a mishap. We've managed to secure only three Faces. That damn fool Jackal failed to kill the fourth Sage!" he yelled out in frustration and smacked his cane against the floor.
Crawford clicked his tongue. "Out of all of them, Michello was the one I wanted to see dead the most...That weasel has done it yet again."
Franmalth chuckled. "Now that I think about it, I've yet to ask you. How does it feel to have the blood of your former comrades on your hands?"
"I put more value and care into this carpet than I ever have into the Council." Crawford replied as he readjusted the wrinkled carpet on the hallway. "There's no saving these fools. Dying is about as good of a use they can provide for us."
"Spoken like a future demon!" Franmalth nodded eagerly.
"Speaking of that, how's the progress going? Last time we spoke there's been issues with sustainability." Crawford asked.
"Gone completely! Our chief engineer, Lamy, successfully managed to put those notes we extracted from that old hag and completely fixed the problem!" Franmalth announced proudly.
Crawford whistled. "So, the plan's about ready to enter phase two?"
"Yes, indeed! Once we activate Face on Ishgar, we shall unleash hell upon these lands and start the rule of demons!" Franmalth said."Humans are truly repulsive, it baffles me to think they are the dominating race in these realms. No matter how you look at it, us demons are vastly superior in every area!"
Crawford laughed. "Oh, how eager I am to no longer feel this age of mine! Humans are truly flawed, I see it more so with each passing day!"
The two have now reached the deeper parts of the hideout, where lights were no longer as common. After walking a few more meters they stopped by a giant, steel door, muffled growling and screeching still audible from behind, despite the thickness of the door.
"What numbers are we currently at?" Crowford asked as he passionately caressed the door with his hand.
"6,000, give or take." Franmalth responded. "Specially programmed to fully obey the Nine Demon Gates."
The feral growling and screaming grew louder, as whatever was behind that door started to realise there was someone nearby.
"I think it's best for us to take our leave, my friend." Franmalth said and put his hand on Crawford's back. "Your still very human smell is making them...agitated, to put it lightly, yes."
Crawford nodded and the two began walking back to from whence they came. "So, the procedure...Was it truly perfected thanks to that woman? It was only a blind guess of mine..."
"And what a guess it was! Yes, this woman had knowledge and resources that even we have not seen before! Luckily, with the absence of Fairy Tail, taking her was an easy job!"
"And she cooperated?" Crawford asked, shocked. He was quite familiar with the woman's attitude.
"Not at first, but as you've probably learned by now, Miss Kyouka has her own ways of...persuasion." Franmalth chuckled.
"And where is she now? Dead?"
"No, no. She's grown to be far too useful. She's currently in the depths of The Cube. It took rather long to earn her...cooperation." Franmalth added emphasis on the last word. "Miss Kyouka decided to let her rest. It'd be a shame if she died from shock, she is not that young, after all. But even then, she's extended her lifespan through experiments and knowledge! Humans may be repulsive, but they just never stop surprising me!"
Crawford laughed out loud. "Oh, how much would I give for her knowledge ten years ago! Now, I am glad to be this close to immortality!"
"And you have truly earned it!" Franmalth assured him with a cackle. "Come, let us meet with the rest of the Gates. Jackal should be just about ready to come out of his chamber. Second time this day! Unbelievable..."
The two then took a turn to the right and continued to talk. Out of the shadows of the hallway emerged Natsu, his face twisted and on the verge of breaking. Upon finding out Erza's smell he'd been following was on the ex-Chairman, Natsu decided to tail him. He tried to remain calm, which proved to be just about the hardest thing he's ever had to do, as the new information raced in his mind. Cover the continent with demons made out of humans? Mira being turned? Erza being kept in someone's chambers? All of this made Natsu's head spin and as he carefully made his way through the enemy base, he picked something up. Erza's smell has once again filled up his nostrils, and this time it came from someplace other than Crawford's robes. He stopped in his tracks and began wrestling himself in his thoughts.
On one hand, he wanted to stop whatever it was they were doing to Mirajane. On the other, he had no other was was happening to Erza, and that made his heart as heavy as an anvil. After a short while, having made up his decision, he followed the new trail with hope that he'd have enough time to get to Mira before something terrible happened.
Kyouka took a deep breath and put down her bloodied whip on her metal tray. All of the other tools next to it were soaked in blood, making the whole set give off a sadistic, complete look. She looked at her work from top to bottom and licked her lips in anticipation. Despite using most of her tricks, such as enhanced pain, playing on past traumas and using every piece of personal knowledge she'd known, her work produced nowhere near as much progress as she'd hoped for. Excited for what was yet to come, she licked her bloodied claw and curved her lips into a smile so poisonous it could kill.
"We shall continue this later." she announced and exited the room, the heavy door creaking behind her as she shut it, as well as extinguished the light on her way out. She then put a lock on it and cut through the short hallway that led directly into her personal room. There, on her bed, she spotted a familiar woman with dark-purple hair and horns, who was reading a thick book.
"Seilah." Kyouka muttered and closed the door. "Do you have business with me?"
Seilah looked up from her book, slightly offended. "Do I need to have business to see you?" she asked.
"It's far too early for our nightly ritual." Kyouka said and poured herself a glass of wine from the bottle on her nightstand. "But, I could make an exception..." she purred and licked her lips.
Seilah blushed and closed her book. "That might have to wait." she said, flustered. "There's a small problem in Hell Spawn. I think you should come and see it in person."
Kyouka blinked and put down her glass.
The two then went down to the Hell Spawn and entered it whilst dismissing the two guards standing by the door. The room was enormous, with several glass tanks that were connected with organic tubes to a giant, pulsating mass of flesh, purple in color. The tanks looked almost like fruit of the mass, each of them filled with a green, bubbly liquid. Inside one of them floated Mirajane, naked and connected to the tank with a few thinner tubes. Her face was peaceful, almost as if she were taking a nap.
Kyouka approached the tank and caressed it with her hand. "My new toy. I can't wait to bend you into shape." she said and licked her lips. "How's the progress, Lamy?"
Lamy, who was sitting by her desk, jumped off her chair and quickly ran up to the demons. She had black hair cut into a bobcut, with black rabbit ears sticking out from her head. She was wearing a lab coat with furred collar and a purple sweater underneath.
"As all my work, perfect!" she announced cheerfully. "Almost too perfect." she then added, her tone dropping to ice cold, as she glared at Mirajane. "Who does this bitch think she is?! With this silky white hair of hers...I'll pluck it as soon as I get a chance! I will make sure the rest of you looks like that disgusting right hand of yours!"
"So, what is the emergency?" Kyouka ignored Lamy's rant and asked Seilah, confused.
Seilah blinked. "Jackal." she said and pointed at the other side of the door. There sat Jackal, clad in nothing but a blanket, shaking and cursing under his breath as he sat by his tank, his back plastered against the cold glass. Kyouka blinked and approached her comrade.
"Is something the matter, Jackal?" she asked.
The demon jumped, unaware he wasn't alone. He perked his head up and looked at Kyouka, his eyes full of fear. "Quite a fucking lot." he snarled and stood up from the floor, furious. "Why would you send us out without doing any scoutin' first, huh?! First Tempesta, then me?! Or did ya do that on purpose?!"
"Watch your tongue." Seilah snarled at Jackal and clenched her book a little bit tighter.
"Make me, bitch." Jackal said and flipped her off, which made the woman's blood begin to boil. "You're not the one who had to face a monster!"
"A monster?" Kyouka frowned. "What are you talking about, Jackal?"
"Fairy Tail's got a freakin' monster in their ranks." Jackal said and began to sweat at the sheer thought back. "No matter what I did, he'd just brush it off. His punches hurt so much I was hopin' he'd just kill me already, but more would come instead! That guy can't be human, I refuse to believe it!"
Kyouka scowled. She watched the sorry state Jackal was in and went through everything she'd just heard.
"Oh, my poor Jackal!" Lamy cooed and hugged him around the waist. "You've been through so much! But look at you! You're perfect, as expected of me!"
"Get off, bitch!" Jackal yelled and pushed her off, before storming out of Hell Spawn.
"I can not stand this man." Seilah said with disgust. "He gets crazier each time he regenerates."
Kyouka gently shook her head. "No, not this time." she muttered quietly. "Jackal may be a fool but he is no coward. To terrify him to this extent...It takes a lot." she said and turned to Seilah. "This connects with Tempesta's report. He also was stopped by a human so strong he made Tempesta resort to his last card. I suppose Fairy Tail ought to be given the respect their reputation commands."
Seilah's face relaxed. "What shall we do, Miss Kyouka?"
"Notify Master. There's no need to be alarmed, but two Gates have been killed today. This hasn't happened in decades. If we are to succeed, the destruction of Fairy Tail may be a necessary precaution."
"Speaking of Fairy Tail..." Seilah said as she held her fingers against her temple. "It seems we're approaching Magnolia. According to reports, their guild is located on the outskirts of the city."
Kyouka blinked and gave it a short thought. "Oh, is that so? Perhaps we ought to take a chance so graciously given to us." she said with a smirk. "Let's go to the control room."
Few minutes later the two demons entered the control room of The Cube, which was full of lower rank demons, operating and maintaining the ship via machines and control panels. Kyouka approached the visor and, just like Seilah said, Magnolia was visible in the short distance.
"Shall I notify Master?" Seilah asked.
"No need." Kyouka said. "I will take full responsibility. Locate their guild and destroy it. I shall not take any chances."
Seilah nodded and gave the other demons an order. As The Cube flew over the Fairy Tail guild, a hatch on the stomach of the flying demon opened and dropped a carriage sized bomb onto the guildhall. As Kyouka watched it descend upon the wooden structure, her lips curved into a sinister smirk that, once the sound of the explosion going off hit her ears, turned into a full-blown grin. Next to her Seilah's face lit up, with a gentle blush forming on her face upon seeing her order being fulfilled successfully.
The explosion shook the entire city and reduced the guild into smithereens, with only a burning, scorched crater remaining of the building. The trees and grass that were nearby have been either reduced to ash or flattened by the impact, as the pieces that were still in the air fell to the ground one by one, like a rain of fire and ash. The flames have slowly began to spread onto other plants and trees, carried by the gentle, evening wind.
"Target eliminated." Seilah announced to Kyouka, who gasped.
"See me in my chambers." she muttered breathlessly to Seilah and left the control room, leaving the flushed demon behind. She was just about to leave as well, but something got her attention, her expression dropping instantly.
Back in Hell Spawn, Lamy, now undisturbed, stared at Mirajane through the glass. She muttered obscenities and threats to herself, all of them aimed at the woman. Just as she was about to press a button that'd electrocute Mirajane, her eyes opened.
The glass blew up with tremendous force, pieces of glass plunging themselves in Lamy's face, which was very close to the explosion. The green fluid spilled out onto the floor and Mira jumped onto the floor. She then ripped all the cables connected to her and took a deep breath, as Lamy's screams of agony bounced off the falls of the spacious room.
"You bitch!" Lamy screched. "My beautiful face! My laboratory! How are you already conscious?!"
"I'm very familiar with demon particles." Mirajane said with a smirk. "What you morons thought was a corruption process was, in reality, a nice, relaxing bath for me. All you did was heal my body past its limits. That's quite the equipment you have here...but I'm afraid I can't let you keep it."
With a smile challenging that of actual demons, Mirajane caused the entirety of Hell Spawn to blow up. Each container blew up one after another, with the main body exploding from within at the very end. The green liquid that was present in all tanks was now oozing out of it through multiple gigantic holes, as the body itself began to deflate and lose its color, now turning ash grey.
"You whore!" furious Lamy roared on top of her lungs through the alarm that was now blasting all over The Cube. "Do you have any idea what you've done?! I will feast on your eyes and tongue when the Demon Gates are done with you-"
Mirajane, with an expression that showed almost as much emotion as one would show whilst washing dishes, decapitated Lamy with a swift swipe of her right hand. The demon's head fell to the floor, her face still twisted in agony, as her main body just stood there for a moment, before toppling forward to the floor.
Mira slid her wet hair back with her clean hand and looked at the corpse before her. "You've messed with the wrong guild." she said ominously and wiped her right one on Lamy's white coat. She then looked around and grabbed a blanket that was by Lamy's desk.
"I gotta find Erza." she said to herself as she wrapped the blanket around her torso and ran out of the Hell Spawn, the sound of multiple footsteps echoing throughout the halls, some of them heavier than others.
Natsu ran down the corridor, having decided to drop his sneaking after the alarm began to blast throughout the entire base. The scent he's been following for the past few minutes was getting stronger with each taken step. Now that he was this close, he could smell other scents, ones he wasn't able to catch earlier. The stench of iron and salt filled up his nostrils and made his head spin. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help it when his legs picked up the pace on their own, as he now sprinted, barely making it around the corners on the slippery floor.
Another turn.
He slid on the floor with his heels and kicked it as hard as he could, now sprinting. The smell filling his nostrils was unbearable, it made his head dizzy, his throat dry.
Yet another turn.
He was now just in front of the door. His last threads of reason left him as he jumped in the air and kicked the massive iron door down. It fell to the ground in slow motion, with a loud thud echoing across the corridors behind him and raised a giant cloud of dust in the air where it had fallen.
The room was dark, dark enough to render him blind. He took a step inside, his whole body shaking. Slowly, but surely, he raised his right hand and set it on fire, the light spreading across the room. He raised his eyes off the floor and looked at what was in front of him.
Time froze. Or at least this is what it felt like. He lost control over his own body. He simply let his jaw freeze, slightly agape. His eyes were wide open, his pupils barely existent and shaking like crazy. They burned, and he had no strength to stop them. His voice was dead, not a single sound coming out of his mouth. Not like there was any human sound that could be found suitable for this moment. For the first time in years, Natsu felt completely hopeless. Broken. Empty. He dropped to his knees and could simply stare at what, or rather who was in front of him in almost complete silence, with her raspy, pained breathing and blood dripping onto the floor being the only audible sounds in the room.
"My, oh my. Now that is a sight I haven't seen in years."
He finally moved. The sound of this familiar, despicable voice echoed in his ears, adding yet another sensation onto the pile - disbelief. His tense neck slowly turned to his right, his onyx eyes picking up the sight of a tall man with long silver hair, his right hand on his chin and the other resting on his right bicep. The man noticed Natsu's eyes and met them with his crimson irises.
"Don't mind me." said the man. "I've also found myself quite taken by the view."
Natsu's throat was dry, but despite all of that, he was able to breathe out one word.
"Silva."
Silva put his index finger on his mouth and looked away. "I know you've got a lot of questions, Natsu, but please, for the time being, keep them to yourself. Let me admire the view."
Natsu opened his mouth to speak out, but he couldn't find anything suitable that could speak out his mind, his disbelief and shock blocking out all reasonable thoughts. How was this possible? How could he be here?
While Natsu continued to try and come up with an explanation for this madness, Silva chuckled to himself.
"Forgive me, I simply find this view way too satisfying." he said and gently shook his head with a smile. "When you think about it, I am currently looking at the source of my demise. Well, you did the honor" he said and pointed at his scarred temple "but we both know how it came to that."
After sending the source of his amusement one final look, Silva turned his attention to Natsu, who continued to blindly stare at the man.
"Forgive me." he said with a mocking bow. "That was tactless of me. After all, you are a man I owe quite a lot."
"W-what?" Natsu wheezed out, questioning his sanity at this point.
Silva smiled and began to walk, slowly circling around Natsu. "You have destroyed my dreams. You have ruined everything I held dear. And yet, you have also helped me see something clearly. You made me realise, that I was mistaken in my way of thinking. Wrong; obviously not. A God is never wrong. But I lacked something in my resolve, and you helped me find it."
The man continued to walk in circle around Natsu, whose eyes were now glued to the floor. Was he finally going crazy?
"I've told you many times, that fate cannot be changed. That no matter what we do, it will happen. I lived under the impression you would die by my hand in the Tower. You didn't. You struggled and came victorious. However, answer me this."
Silva stopped and looked deep into Natsu's eyes, a sinister smile forming on his face. "How did that turn out for you?" He then quickly stepped to the side and forced Natsu to take another look at what was in front of him, despair once again grasping his heart. Smirking in triumph, Silva began to walk once again.
"I have realised, that unlike my previous beliefs, fate can be tricked. It can be postponed, rescheduled. But never changed. You can struggle, you can scream, you can fight. But eventually, it will happen, the ink is dry. It can only remain wetter for a couple more moments."
The God walked up behind Natsu and placed his hand on his shoulder. He leaned in and put his mouth near the Dragon slayer's ear, forcing him to look straight ahead. He then smirked and whispered. "Once a slave, always a slave."
Natsu did not say a word, his hair covering his eyes. Taking his silence as a sign, Silva leaned back and continued to torment Natsu.
"You've once told me you were going to change. I think under current circumstances we can both agree how foolish of a wish it was. I don't think I've ever been so disappointed in my life. A man famous for besting a God, turned into this pathetic pile of weak, indecisive flesh? You insult not only yourself, but me as well."
Natsu's fists started to clench. "I have changed." words have finally come out of his dry, tense throat.
Silva blinked, seemingly surprised by being replied to. "Tell that to all the people you've watched die today." he said to Natsu's dismay and then turned around to start walking in a circle. "People like you can never change. You can try, but what you'll come up with is not that different from what we have here. You are free to struggle, but no matter how hard you try, you can never truly change. The world will do everything in its power to prevent it, to destroy it and drag you back to the starting line."
"Shut up." Natsu growled.
"You could have killed that demon any time you wanted, but subconsciously you wanted to make him pay for all those deaths, didn't you? And where did that lead? More death."
He does have a point, you know. said a voice in Natsu's head.
Silva carefully watched Natsu's reaction, whose teeth were now grit.
"Perhaps you think I'm lying?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. "Suit yourself. I have no power over you, at least not anymore. You are free to stay in this delusion you call change, I would lie if I said I didn't love seeing you like this. Broken, unsure what to do, struggling to keep your instincts in tact, all of this for the sake of one person. But answer me this: what has become of this person? I think the answer is quite clear to see, for the both of us." he pointed his arm at what was in front of them with a chilling smile on his pale face.
No matter what you do, there's always someone who will try to beat you down, and drag you to where you started from.
Natsu's eyes shifted to the left. There he saw himself, only much dirtier and ragged, his hands covered in blood and his face covered by his scarf and a bandanna pulled down all the way to his nose, his eyes staring at him from behind the cover like those of a rabid dog on the hunt. Natsu's eyes then twitched, as he looked to his right. There, he saw something move in the shadows, something twisted, broken, encased in black and red, his pupils small and shaking, almost as if he were confused and in pain, as he gently sobbed to himself in almost child-like manner and pulled on his pink hair.
Now fully convinced he'd gone crazy, Natsu's hands relaxed at the sight, too shocked to express anything else. Taking it as a sign of an already secured victory, Silva walked up to the Dragon Slayer so close their faces were almost touching and dropped his facade, his face now twisted in a happy, amused expression.
His other self was no different, spatting insults and accusations at him from the other side of the room. Do you remember? The old days where we were one? But then you've decided to shut me down, and how did that turn out for you?
"I've already told you. Fate can never be changed. She tried to fight it" said Silva, his right hand pointing at the center of the room "and this is how it ended. This alone should be enough of a proof to finally make you realise, that what you've been doing was futile." whispered Silva, his voice poisonous. "Actually, now that I think about it, you are partially to blame for this!" he added with a chuckle.
None of this would have happened if you hadn't tried to cut me off. We could have made her switch with us, you know that drug would reek from a mile away.
No answer, to either attack, however deep down, Natsu could not bring himself to disagree with, well, himself. He sat there in silence, not reacting to what was said to him, but that didn't matter to Silva anyway.
I've always been a part of you. We both have. You just refused to accept it. You're too gullible on your own. You know you need me.
"You've accepted her ideology, you've allowed yourself to be tamed and because of that, she is there and you are here. All of this, caused by your delusional will to change."
Take me back.
"You can deny my words, you can unleash your fury on Tartaros, but you will never, ever be able to run away from this terrible truth."
Accept me.
Silva once again leaned in towards Natsu's ear and whispered. "You have brought this onto yourselves. None of this would have happened if you'd stayed true to your instincts, to who you really are."
Do it.
"But that's not you, right? You are more comfortable in this illusion you call a change."
Do it!
"So stay in there, suffer, deny me all you want, but deep down, you know I'm right, and that knowledge shall be my salvation. Your victory over me may have broken the chains on your wrists and put them on mine, but what does it matter, when shortly after you put a new pair over those scars of yours, just with a different coat of paint? To be fair, I enjoy watching you like this, Natsu. You-"
By accident, Silva made eye contact with the Dragon Slayer. It took just one glance to make the Commandment realise, that a God could in fact be mistaken.
"Oh." he whispered slowly, his voice dancing on the line between excitement and fear. "My apologies. It appears I got the wrong person."
In one quick move, the Dragon Slayer raised his right hand and set half of the room on fire, Silva's phantom, as well as the two others quickly catching in flames, along with the bricks and vines hanging on the walls. They began to turn to dust almost immediately, but not without staring at him, almost in anticipation.
"So, you've finally broken out of the shell." Silva breathed out to his adversary, as he stared into his eyes, his pupils turned into slits, his face no longer containing any pieces of mercy, compassion, or self-restraint. Just when he was about to vanish in the flames, Silva grinned, his voice echoing across the room like an ominous record.
"Welcome back, Salamander."
"No."
Natsu's voice echoed throughout the chamber, now loud and clear. It was full of fire and anger, but it was controlled, focused even. His eyes, although fierce and burning, looked ahead with no fear or confusion, but instead acceptance and understanding. For the first time in a very long while, his mind felt clear, although in enormous pain and grief, as a few tears ran down his face.
"My name's Natsu."
End of Chapter 53. To be continued in Chapter 54: Nine Demon Gates.