Chapter 62

It's A Raid!

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Skip

The guild swarmed the large man and questioned him. "Lisanna… was captured by Tartaros." He confessed, shocking the guild. "Master Yuri was dead before either of us arrived. If we arrived a few minutes later, we never would have run into them." Makarov lowered his head as Elfman hung his in shame. "I failed."

"Don't worry, we'll get her back." Gray declared.

"Levy is working on their base location right now." Pantherlily added. "She's as good as saved."

"Stop trying to comfort him." Cana spoke up. "A real man wouldn't have let them take his sister."

The guild turned to the brunette as Elfman stared at the ground. "I-I tried to help her, but…"

"But what!? They outran you?" She added as Elfman walked away. "Like I'd buy that! You transform into animals! Get back here, you coward!"

"Cana, enough!" Makarov ordered.

"No, I deserve it." Elfman said. "Forgive me, I just… I need some rest." He walked away from the other member as they all chastised Cana.

Entering the basement, Elfman's dark orders played again and again in his head. "Do as I say, or I'll make you wrap your hand around your sister's throat again. Return to your guildhall and place this lacrima anywhere inside it. It will admit a vast amount of concentrated Ethernano. Imagine a Jupiter blast times five hundred. Your guild-mates deaths will be swift and painless."

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out the bomb and stared at it. "To save Lisanna, I'll do anything you say."

Tartaros Jail Cell

"Keep pulling, Lisanna!" Natsu was sat in front of the girl as she pulled on his cuffs with her feet.

"Don't you dare turn around!" She shouted back. "I'm in a pretty compromising position and I don't think I'm ready for it."

"Ready for it?" He repeated in confusion. "If you can just get your cuffs off…"

"I don't think they can be broken with normal human strength." Lisanna said as she dropped way. "I'm probably more likely to rip your arms off first."

"Want me to try?" He suggested.

"I said don't turn!" She shouted back, a blush on her face before a scrap of clothing fell into the cell. "What?"

Natsu slammed into the cell doors and saw Silver walking away. "I can't exactly let you two escape. But I also can't let the little princess stay like that any longer." He chuckled.

"Wait a minute! Just who the hell are you!?" Natsu shouted, but his question went unanswered. "That guy… he smells just like Gray for some weird reason."

Torture Chamber

Erza writhed in pain as the frogtopus demon held her up. "Do it." Kyouka ordered before Yakodoriga zapped the redhead with electricity. Kyouka chuckled before holding up her hand. The voltage stopped and Erza dropped to the floor, spazing. "You know where he is, so tell me."

"Mira…" She mumbled, confusing the demon. "Nicholas… let them go."

Kyouka stared at her before starting to walk forward. "Continue, Yakodoriga." She ordered before pulling Erza's hair up. "After I double her sensibility to pain." A green flash flickered off her head before the creature zapped her again, making Erza scream in pain.

With Crawford

"Not to rush you, former chairman, but our plan are kinda on hold until you locate Jellal." Franmalth said.

"Cease your yammering." Crawford demanded. "This is incredibly complicated magic. My Super Archive is the only spell powerful enough to locate every wizard on the continent. It needs time to-"

"Great story. Tell me all about it when your JOB IS DONE!" Franmalth shouted back. "Have you found him yet?"

"If you want him found quick, than be quite!" Crawford ordered. He suddenly froze in shock as he stared at the screen.

"What does that look mean?" Franmalth asked in confusion. "Did you screw this up!?"

"For once in your life, stop talking." The human requested. "It seems there is no longer any need for Jellal. Thanks to my Super Archive's power, I've managed to transfer Jellal's seal to myself. And now I can transfer it to someone else, maybe one of the Fairy Tail prisoners. We kill then and then Face will be unleashed!"

"Amazing. It's hard to believe such a securely hidden key could be so easily transferred." Franmalth chuckled.

"That's the power and authority of an ex-chairman for you." Crawford chuckled. "Now, do we give it to one of the girls or-"

A sharp talon shot out of his chest, instantly killing Crawford. "So it's safe to say that the seal is now broken?" Kyouka asked as she retracted her blade. As Crawford fell to the ground, the entire base started shaking, catching Franmalth off guard. "Even the Cube is reacting. Face must be unleashed."

Prison

Natsu crashed to the ground as he kept his back to Lisanna. "Are you okay, Lisanna?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied. "But what about Elfman and Mira?" Another quake rocked the prison and something clanged against the cell bars. "Natsu, look." He pushed himself up and turned to the door, finding a bright red sword against the bars.

"Think it'll get us out of these cuffs?" Natsu questioned.

"Only one way to find out." She replied.

With Kyouka

"Such a powerful reaction." Kyouka observed as she struggled to stand up.

"What was wrong with a little red light?" Franmalth shouted as he held on for dear life.

"Coordinates, now!" The demoness ordered.

"One sec." Franmalth grew another arm and typed into the computer. "It's quite some distance from where we were expect."

"Just activate it!"

"Nice idea, in theory." Franmalth replied as the quakes finally stopped. "Oh boy… you aren't gonna like this. I can't do it from here. We could have, back when the former chairman was still alive. But seeing as someone decided to kill the only person who knew how to use this Super Archive properly, we're just gonna have to activate it manually."

"It would seem that I have blundered." Kyouka confessed. "Impatience got the better of me. Send someone there at once."

"While we cross our fingers in hopes that Fairy Tail doesn't interfere again?" He questioned.

"You need not worry about them." Both turned to see Sayla walking over. "It shouldn't be long now. Very shortly, Fairy Tail's fable will come to an unhappy end."

Laboratory

A black haired girl with rabbit ears skipped around before coming to a stop in front of one of the tanks. "Good thing those quakes didn't screw up with your rebirth." She chuckled, turning to a dark skinned man.

"So, this is my body…" The man mumbled, staring at his hand.

"That's right, Tempester." The girl nodded, ogling the muscles and face. "Oh, I turned you into such a hunk! It's so cool!"

"Oi, Lamy! Why the hell is he the only one who got a makeover!?" Both turned to see Jackal standing over them.

"You're already a hunk. I'd never dream of improving you.!" The demon replied, rubbing against his arm.

"That's enough, you little creeper. Get off me." Jackal pushed her away, an anger in his eyes. "That fireball and blue cat are gonna pay for what they did to me."

"You're so beautiful when you're angry!" Lamy squealed, annoying the blonde.

"Someone there?" Tempester asked, making Jackal turn as well.

"Oh right, her." Lamy was completely uninterested as Minerva walked forward, a pair of horns on her head and black marking covering her body, including one of her eyes. "Some human that Lady Kyouka captured or something. I think her name was Minerva. I try to be open, but girls just don't do it for me..

"So this is the new me…" She stared at her clawed hand and smirked. "And I thought I was strong before…"

"Always good to have some new blood." Jackal chuckled as Minerva nodded.

"Oh, well. Guess I might as well finish modifying this one top." Lamy slammed her face against the tube containing Nicholas, his body coated in tentacles and strange markings. "Lady Kyouka wants a pet? I'll give her the hunkiest guard dog ever."

"Are you certain that he'll even listen to us?" Minerva asked. "I recall this fool. He's blindly loyal to both Fairy Tail and some girl."

"Once I'm done with him, he won't even think about crossing us." Lamy chuckled. "Now, what to do with that face…"

Fairy Tail

Elfman sat on his knees, staring at the glowing bomb with tears in his eyes. "Lisanna, I love you."

"What are you doing?" He turned around and found Cana walking down the stares. "Is that some kind of lacrima?"

Instantly, Elfman was on top of her, pinning the brunette to the ground. "Why did you have to come here? I can't let you leave!" Squeezing on her head, the glow only brightened as tears fell from his eyes.

'Is he under some kind of spell?' Cana questioned. 'What do I do?' "Stop this, Elfman! Think about what you're doing!" Her words fell on deaf ears as Elfman squeezed harder. 'So be it. No hard feelings, big guy.' She slapped a card on his face and instantly he was placed in the paper.

"Ah, I can breath again." She sighed before catching the card. "Crap, it's about to blow!" Racing up the stairs, her mind was coming up with a plan as fast as she could.

Up the stairs, everyone was oblivious to the threat just under them. "Based on everything Happy told me, I've done it." Everyone cheered as Levy pointed straight up. "Above us."

"The hell are you talking about?" Gajeel asked.

"I know how it sounds, but when Happy escaped, they were on the eastern border." She replied. "Unless they changed directions, they'd pretty much be on top of Magnolia now."

"Everyone, prepare for war!" Makarov shouted as the guild cheered.

"Card Dimension: All!" Cana burst through the basement door and trapped everyone in a card. "Some of you are too slow or hurt to get out in time." The cards flew back into her hand and stacked up. "You four!" She shouted at the Excceds, untargeted by the spell. "The guildhall is about to explode! Get us out of here and head to that Tartaros base!"

A bright light signified her own capture as Happy caught the deck. The four split it and quickly flew out an open window before an explosion encompassed the entire guildhall.

Cube

The three demons smiled at the apparent success of Sayla's plan. "I can scarcely imagine how many bodies must be under that rubble!" Franmalth cheered.

"We've eliminated Fairy Tail in one move." Kyouka chuckled. "Seems there was no reason to mobilize the Cube against them after all. Now we can put all of our efforts into activating Face. The White Legacy, foolishly built by humans will now destroy them. Once it has cleansed this world of magic, they will be powerless. And then the age of demons shall begin. And all of this is to prepare for the return of Zeref."

A beeping caught their attention as Franmalth turned to a small screen. "Well, that can't be good."

"Is there something you like to tell us?" Kyouka questioned.

"Yeah, I'm picking up a bunch of magic signatures." He replied.

Two soldiers raced and came to a stop. "Lady Kyouka, our sentries have spotted four individuals flying towards the Cube."

"Four? I'm reading enough for an army." Franmalth declared before pulling up a projection. Happy, Carla, Lily and Slate were flying towards the Cube, each holding something. "Cats!?"

"What are they holding?" Sayla questioned as the camera zoomed in. "Cards? What could they-" Her eyes went wide as everything fell into place. "They had a wizard capable of this feat? I… failed lady Kyouka…"

"Establish a perimeter!" The bird demon shouted at the soldiers. "Deploy a gravity field beneath the Cube! Formation one battle stations on ALL six of our sides! Keep them away from the top of the cube at all costs!"

Undercube

A strong pull of gravity slammed the cats into the rock, soldiers charging in on them. Cana shot out of her card before unleashing the entire guild. Everyone charged into the fight as Elfman stared up at the ground. "What the?"

"You back to normal?" Cana asked.

"What… what did I do?" He choked out from his tears.

"You wanna save Mira and Lisanna?" She asked back. "Then pick yourself up and start fighting."

"I know…" He mumbled standing up. "I'll make this right."

Laboratory

Lamy stared at the source of the noise in annoyance. "Getting kinda noisy out there…" She mumbled, walking over to Mirajane. "Finally I can start with you. First, I'll mess up that pretty face of yours." Tentacles slithered down onto her face and latched onto her. "How's that demon blood feel!? You're gonna be positively hideous when I'm done!"

The trapped woman's eyes snapped open before the tank exploded, blasting Lamy back. "Sorry, but I already have a bit of demon blood inside me. It's how I can use my Satan Soul." She chuckled, the tentacles wrapped around her. "Thanks for the wakeup call." Lamy crawled up against a nearby tank, screaming for her life.

With Kyouka

"I'm glad we have Erza and those other two here." She mumbled as she walked down the hall. "Hostages tend to be very effective against humans." The demoness turned the corner and found the chamber door smoking, shocking her.

"Sure took ya long enough!" Her arms were gripped and she looked at Natsu and Lisanna holding them tight.

"How did you get out of-" She started, thrashing in their grip.

"This sword is super powerful." Natsu chuckled.

Kyouka looked at his back and found the sword attached to his hip. "The Heat Blade!? What have you done with Erza!?"

"Since you showed me such kindness…" She turned back to the door and saw Erza walking forward, Yakdoriga hung over her shoulder. "I thought I'd do the same." Instantly, her shackles were clasped onto Kyouka and she was hung up. "I'll take revenge for all you did to me."

"Why is she so scary?" Lisanna mumbled.

"Where are Elfman, Nicholas and Mira!?" Natsu demanded, the first name catching Erza off guard.

The redhead placed her blade agaisnt the demons neck. "I don't know any Elfman." She confessed. "The other two are in the lab on the 3rd layer, but it might be too late."

"Bastards." Natsu growled.

"I'm going there." Lisanna declared.

"Natsu, go with her. I'll stay here." Erza ordered as the other two left. The two women stared at each other as Erza kept the blade on the neck. "What was that vibration?"

"Face's seal was removed and our castle reacted to it." Kyouka confessed, shocking Erza. "We didn't kill Jellal, but we broke the seal with a different method."

"What's your goal?" Erza demanded.

"Face is a weapon able to wipe out all magic from a continent." Kyouka explained. "It is a necessary step to return to Zeref's place." Her shackles shattered and she charged at the redhead. "You fell for it. These shackles are made to seal magic! They don't work on our curses!"

She swung her hand and Erza managed to block it before kicking her back. "Do you blindly believe in Zeref?"

"We were born thanks to Zeref's love from the books he wrote." Kyouka snapped back, sending her fingers flying at Erza who blocked with her sword. "It's only natural that we'd believe in our creator."

"You can believe whatever you want." Erza said. "But it's your heart that ultimately decides."

"Humans cannot understand!" The demon shouted, charging the redhead.

"Humans have faith too." Erza replied, her body glowing. "It's important not to lose yourself. The strength to think, the courage not to run away!" Clad in knights armor with a massive lance, she stabbed Kyouka and the two crashed through layer after layer of the Cube.

Light suddenly entered their view as they burst through one layer, finding themselves upside down. Kyouka gasped for air as Erza noticed her guildmates around her. "A BREACH! CHARGE IN!" Makarov shouted as the two women landed on the surface.

With Natsu and Lisanna

"The jailbreakers are there!" Guards shouted as they charged the couple. "Lisanna, go ahead!" Natsu declared as he jumped off the stairs. "I'll leave Mirajane and Nicholas to you!"

"Okay." She replied as she left.

Natsu punted a guy in the face before delivering a flaming kick to the group. "If I can use magic, it's as easy as this." Natsu chuckled. The world around him froze and caught Natsu off guard. "They stopped in mid-air?"

"You were able to come this far." A voice from behind caused him to turned, his eyes wide at what he say. "Well, I expexted this. This is Zeref's bookshelf, Tartaros. The place where all my books live."

"Zeref…" Natsu mumbled in shock.

Well, how's this going to turn out? I think we should have been a bit worried about the ending of FT when no one died in that MASSIVE explosion in the guild hall. But I have plans for that in the future of this story. Not really much left to say so see you next time.

Beta read by General Feng Xiang