Now that's what I'm talking about! You guys really came forward last chapter, so thanks to juvia. hanks, Jessbae, Guest, Waffels and Silvx.
Here's the reply for those who didn't use their accounts:
Guest: Your theory on who the body belonged to was good, but I advise you to look at the date of the flashback, it proves that it can't be Juliet Heartfilia.
Your comment made me decide to add more Gray/Gajeel scenes, so I hope you'll enjoy them. It's a good thing that you love angst, cause this story sure is full of it. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!
Waffels: First of all, thanks :) :) The first scene does indeed have something to do with Juvia. It was meant to be the first clue to a plot that I intend to develop later in this story. Therefore, finding out who's the body will be crucial to understand Demons. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
So, chapter 4 will focus mostly on the Strauss siblings, specially Elfman. I advise you to pay good attention to the reveals in here because they aren't just random.
Happy reading!
Keep Your Eyes On Me- The Shack
Ain't it the sinner
Who gets all the grace sometimes
Ain't it the saint
Who picks up the pieces left behind
Yeah, and it's human to hurt the one
You hurt the one you love the most
And you can't find the sun
July 7th, X772…
"Daddy!"A loud scream tore through the house as the little girl watched her father fight against the strange woman.
"Come on, Lisanna. We have to go." An older girl with the same white hair and bright blue eyes whispered while grabbing her hand, but the younger one didn't move.
"Mira, I'm scared." Another child, a boy, said as he grabbed onto the arm of the older girl.
"Get out of here, you three! It's not safe." The man with white hair and small blue eyes yelled, panicking.
"It's no use. There's no safe place." The mysterious woman replied.
The three children turned to her, scared. She didn't look too threatening, with the exception of the horns that adorned her head, but there was something just wrong about her. Something dark and horrible.
"Don't you dare!" The man yelled before charging at the woman, his appearance suddenly changing to that of a black panter. The woman was caught off guard as he jumped on top of her and both fell to the ground. As the panter growled at her, she smirked.
"So you think that you can take me down in that pathetic form?" She pushed him off her and the animal was thrown back a few feet, but quickly recovered.
"Come, Lisanna." Mirajane whispered as she tried once again to make the younger girl move.
"But, daddy…" Lisanna whispered, glancing towards the panter as he made another jump for the woman.
"He can't take her down if he has to worry about us." The older sibling told her, but still she didn't move.
"Mira, please. Let's go." The boy pleaded, looking frightened. His grip on Mira's arm tightened as he watched their father hit the wall.
"Why can't you listen to me!" He yelled at the three children once his transformation wore off.
"Sorry, daddy. We'll be gone now." Mirajane told him before following Elfman towards the door. Once they reached it, though they quickly realized that it was locked.
"No one is leaving until Lydia arrives." The woman calmly told them while crossing her arms.
"Let us go!" Elfman yelled in a panic while trying to open the door.
"You leave my children alone!" Their father warned before transforming once again, this time into a tiger. He jumped at her, but all of sudden a knife came flying out of no where and it buried in his stomach.
"No!" The three children yelled in unison as he fell to the ground and returned to his human form. They quickly ran towards him and gadhered around him.
"Daddy, you're hurt." Lisanna worried while staring at his wound.
"I'll be fine, princess. Don't worry." He reassured her while taking out the knife.
"What do we do now, Mira?" Elfman turned to their older sister, always the leader.
"I don't know." She bit her lip.
"There's nothing you can do." The woman told them while a satisfied smile came upon her face.
And there really wasn't. In the few minutes that followed the unexpected attack, Mirajane, Elfman and Lisanna were forced to watch as their father lost his life. Back then, they didn't know how to use magic, so there was nothing they could've done to save him.
Even so, they had never forgiven themselves for what happened that night and the memory would forever serve as a reminder that you can't always protect the people you love.
Present day (5:15 PM)
"Please, no more." Elfman whispered brokenly as he held tightly onto the knife, hands shaking.
Lisanna's body was covered in blood from the slashes he had inflicted upon her. He had tried his best to fight off the spell that the mysterious woman, Seilah as she had introduced herself, cast on him, but it was no use. All he managed to do was to make sure that the cuts would only be inflicted upon her arms and legs, so there was still a chance that she could be healed if they got out of there.
"I didn't tell you to stop." Seilah said while watching him from her spot by the old, dark red couch. Her legs were crossed as well as her arms and she looked like she was enjoying herself.
"I don't want to hurt her anymore." Another broken whisper as his hand shook even more. So much pain and sorrow. Elfman had never thought that he'd feel worse than the day he nearly killed Lisanna, but this was too horrifying. What would Mirajane say if she found out what he had done?
"Then kill her. End her suffering and yours." The demon suggested and his eyes widened in horror at the suggestion. No. There was no way that he would kill Lisanna. He'd rather die himself.
"That's it." He whispered as an idea formed. He knew it was stupid plan that could end disastrously, but he couldn't keep hurting his sister anymore. With each slash he was beginning to lose his mind and Elfman wanted nothing more than for this to be over and for Lisanna to be safe.
He knew better than killing himself, though. That would only bring pain to those he cared about, but if he was able to fool Seilah at least, he might save her.
"What do you think you're doing?" Seilah stood up and stared at him firmly after he lifted the knife and held it against his throat.
"Let her go." Elfman whispered, trying to appear braver than he felt in that moment.
"I don't think so." The demon shook her head.
"Let Lisanna go or I'll kill myself." A small smile came upon her face.
"Do you really think that you're in a position to negotiate?" She couldn't deny that his ability to resist her spell had impressed her. No human had been able to do that before.
"You said you wanted revenge, so take it on me. But leave her out of this." He started growing desperate since his plan wasn't working.
A few minutes of silence passed as Seilah analyzed him.
"Alright, then." She replied at last, surprising him. He didn't expect her to agree so easily, but then again, he didn't know how demons worked. They always had a plan B that was even worse.
"Really?" She smiled before taking a few steps towards him.
"You can let go of the knife. I have a new task for you." He sighed in relief once he was able to drop the weapon onto the table.
"Stay strong, Lisanna. I'll fix this, I promise." He whispered and Seilah smiled. Humans were so foolish, always willing to sacrifice anything to make sure that the ones they loved remained safe. That's what made it so easy to manipulate them.
"You shouldn't make promises that you won't be able to fulfill." The demon warned and he looked back at her, determined.
"I'll do whatever I can to save her." He was sure that she was about to put his words to the test.
"Is that so?" Within seconds a circular lacrima appeared in her hands.
"What's this?" He asked, fearing the answer.
"It contains a massive amount of concentrated ethernano." Seilah explained before placing it on the table. "Imagine a Jupiter blast times 500." Elfman swallowed hard as he realized that this was a bomb. The only question was, where did she want him to place it?
"What am I supposed to do with it?" He didn't want to do anything with it, but Lisanna's life was on the line.
"You'll take it back to Fairy Tail." The demon replied, smiling when his eyes widened. She wanted him to destroy Fairy Tail? He couldn't do that! Elfman glanced towards his unconscious sister and his stomach dropped. Was he truly prepared to save her at any cost?
"Or you can kill your sister." Seilah added. He took in a sharp breath as he considered the possibilities. Could he live with himself if he chose to save Lisanna, but with the price of killing everyone else?
"No, I can't." Seilah's face turned to shocked.
"No?" He shook his head. No matter how much he loved his sister, Elfman knew that he couldn't place her above Fairy Tail. He needed to find a way to save them both.
"So you're not willing to destroy Fairy Tail in order to save your sister." There was a pensive look on her face. "What about your child?" His body tensed. "Yes, I am well aware of the woman you love who's carrying your child." She continued, smiling once again.
"You'd better stay away from Ever or I swear I'll…" He didn't finish his threat.
"Do what? Kill me?" She laughed mockingly. "You might share Lydia's blood, but you certainly don't share her strength." Hearing his mother's name, Elfman's anger increased.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He crossed his arms.
"So you really didn't know." She whispered, an amused look coming upon her face. "Seems as if Lydia kept it a secret after all." He tensed.
"What secret? What do you know about my mother?" He asked, glancing towards Lisanna as he tried to come up with a plan of escape. There seemed to be no way out of there without having to fight Seilah. Not good.
"She was a demon slayer." Nothing could have prepared him for this response.
Meanwhile, in Caracas…
Gray Fullbuster awoke with a loud groan as his entire body ached. He attempted to sit up, but after almost throwing up, decided to lay back down and await until he was feeling better. Dark blue eyes attempted to get used to the brightness and he took in deep breaths.
"Damn it!" The scream made him jump up and the dizziness came back. Once his vision was focused once again, he spotted Gajeel.
"Gajeel?" For a moment he was confused to why the dragon slayer was there, but then he remembered it. "Juvia! Where is she?" The ice mage looked around wildly, beginning to freak out once he didn't spot the water mage.
"She's gone?" Gajeel questioned before slowly standing up. "This is bad." His face was pale and Gray was sure his didn't look any better.
"Do you think... they took her?" The dragon slayer looked back at him.
"Damn it!" He yelled before punching the couch next to him, snapping it in half.
"I can't believe this is happening again." Gray shook his head as he was filled with despair.
"Don't do that." Gajeel warned and the ice mage stared at him in confusion.
"Do what?" The dragon slayer crossed his arms and gave him a firm look
"I know that you're probably blaming yourself for what happened, so stop. This isn't your fault." Gray shook his head, disagreeing.
"Of course it is. I was supposed to protect her." Gajeel sighed before uncrossing his arms.
"I know how you feel, man. I was supposed to protect her too, but we both failed." The ice mage could see it in his eyes, the same desperation and guilt that he felt.
"What are we going to do now?" The dragon slayer thought about it.
"There's no use in staying here, so we should go back to the guild and warn them about what happened." Gray stood up before looking across the room once again, hoping that Juvia would show up so he could stop worrying.
She didn't. She was gone, because of him. He'd never forgive himself for letting her go, but right now he needed to focus on getting her back.
"Hey, don't lose focus." Gajeel said, catching his attention.
"Right. Let's go, then. The sooner we get back to Fairy Tail, the sooner I can start looking for Juvia." Gray told him and he nodded.
"We'll get her back, don't worry." The due left the house and walked along the broken village towards where their ride awaited.
In their rush to get back to the guild, they forgot to search the village for any survivors, completely missing the cries for help of the young boy who'd soon become a huge part of Gray's life.
With Mirajane and Erza...
"Is that the last of them?" Erza asked while looking around at the soldiers that had come after the Chairman.
"Yeah. Nice work." Mira replied, though her mind wasn't focused on the battle. All she could think about was her siblings and the terrible feeling that they were in trouble.
"Rather odd, isn't it?" The red head said, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"What?" Mira asked while trying to focus on the moment.
"They went down too easily." Erza said, crossing her arms as a thoughtful look came upon her face. "Controlling the Former Chairman should be their priority, yet they only sent regular soldiers."
"You're right, Erza. Something's not right." They kept their guard up while waiting for the surprise attack the demons were probably planning. It never came.
"Where are they?" Erza whispered, finding the whole situation too strange.
"Erza, I...I don't feel so good." Mirajane blinked while her vision suddenly became unfocused.
"Mira!" The red head screamed just before the she-devil fell to the ground. "What is going on?" Fear rose as Erza suddenly began feeling dizzy. Was that the attack? There was no one else in sight, only the knocked out soldiers. Was one of the nine demon gates hiding somewhere?
She didn't have time to figure it out, for it wasn't long before she passed out as well.
Back with Elfman...
"What?" He was confused. Demon slayer? His mother?
"Yes. It's a rare type of magic, but it unfortunately exists." Seilah told him and his mind was swirling.
"This is insane." He shook his head, disbelieving.
"You'll have plenty of time to comprehend it later." The demon said before picking up the lacrima once again. "Now, it's time to make a decision." He tried to clear his head and focus on the matter at hand.
"I won't destroy Fairy Tail!" Elfman firmly told her.
"Then you'd rather kill your sister?" Seilah was beginning to get frustrated. It wasn't supposed to be this hard.
"No, I'll protect her from you." Since he couldn't leave without fighting her, then he didn't have a choice. "Take Over-Beast Soul."
"So predictable." The demon shook her head before placing the lacrima back on the table.
"You'll pay for making me hurt my sister." Elfman charged at her, but he wasn't even able to touch her. With a flick of her hand he was sent backwards until he hit the wall.
"I suppose that, like your mother, you won't back down easily." Seilah said before crossing her arms. "But perhaps this will change your mind." A crystal ball appeared on her hand. His eyes widened once an image of Mirajane appeared.
"Mira!" She and Erza were lying on the grass in front of a huge house, surrounded by knocked out soldiers.
"Tartarus has eyes everywhere, so we were able to easily capture your sister, Mirajane." Seilah told him before the image changed to one of the infirmary at Fairy Tail, focusing on Evergreen. "And killing her would be way too easy. One order from me and you'd lose both of them in the blink of an eye."
"Ever." His transformation wore off and tears filled his eyes as Elfman realized that no matter what he did, someone would get hurt. He couldn't protect Mirajane, Lisanna or Evergreen because he wasn't strong enough. Was anyone strong enough to defeat these merciless demons?
While he was lost in thought, Seilah took advantage of his distracted and vulnerable state to cast a more powerful curse on him. There was no way he'd be able to resist now.
At Fairy Tail… (6 PM)
The guild hall was full as everyone worked on finding out the location of all former council members. Sabertooth's Rogue, Sting and Yukino had just returned to the guild to aid them after warning their comrades about Tartarus.
"I feel like we're getting no where." Lyon said while putting another address book on the table after copying the ones they needed. Him and Meredy were sitting together on a table near the bar.
"At least we're doing something useful." The pinkette remarked. She hadn't taken lightly to Lyon's suggestion that she rest on the infirmary and had insisted on helping Fairy Tail with their search.
"I still think that you should be resting." He told her, concerned, and she rolled her eyes.
"I already told you, I'm fine. We're both fine, so stop worrying." She snapped and he sighed.
"I don't think I'll be able to stop worrying until this is all over." Her expression softened.
"That makes both of us." Her hands were placed on her stomach as a frightened look came upon her face. "I'm scared, Lyon." He knew what she was thinking.
"I am too." Lyon placed his hands on top of her. "But we can't allow ourselves to be distracted while wondering about all that could go wrong." Meredy nodded, understanding. Thinking about all the negative outcomes of this war would only stress her out, which was the last thing she needed.
"Gajeel!" A loud scream made their eyes turn towards Levy, who had been sitting on the table next to them with Jet after they returned from their mission. The petit woman ran towards the door of the guild where Gajeel and Gray had just entered.
"Juvia's not with them." Lyon quickly noticed, heart wrenching with fear. Had something happened to her?
"Come on, let's find out what's going on." Meredy told him before standing up and he followed her towards the small crowd that had gathered around Gray and Gajeel.
"I'm so glad that you're okay." Levy was telling her boyfriend once they arrived; her small arms wrapped around Gajeel's middle while she looked up at him.
"You know not to worry about me." He replied softly while tapping her back.
"I know, I know. But I can't help it." There were tears welling up in Levy's eyes.
"There's no need for tears, I'm here now." She sniffed.
"Right. I'm sorry." She didn't stop crying, making Gajeel confused by her hysterical state. He turned to Jet while raising a brow.
"What the hell happened?" The orange haired man had a sad expression on his face as he answered.
"She's upset because of Droy." For the first time since him and Levy had arrived, their guild mates noticed that the chubby nature wizard was missing.
"Where is he?" Master Makarov asked.
"He's gone." Levy answered, beginning to cry even harder.
"Gone?" Gray spoke for the first time since his arrival and Jet sighed.
"We were attacked by a member of Tartarus, don't know which one. They torn the house apart, so I took Levy away from there. We only made it a few miles before they caught up with us. Before we could even form a plan, they charged at us. Droy was quick enough to build a shield, but it wasn't enough to block the attack. He died almost instantly and we had to leave him there in order to escape." Everyone was horrified to hear it. How could a Fairy Tail member be taken out so easily?
"Thanks for bringing Levy back safe." Gajeel said after a few moments of heavy silence.
"Of course." Jet replied, nodding.
"I was so worried that I was going to lose you too." Levy admitted between sobs and the dragon slayer wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her and bringing her closer for a tight hug.
"Never." He whispered, though they all heard him.
"What about Juvia? Where is she?" Lyon turned to Gray now that this conversation was over.
"She was captured." The ice mage replied and all eyes turned to him.
"What?" Rogue asked, having approached them with Sting and Yukino.
"How could this happen?" Makarov asked.
"They took us by surprise, knocked us out. When we woke up, she was gone." Gajeel explained.
"This is bad." Lyon's face paled.
"This was exactly what I feared." Master said, shaking his head. "It's happening." They stared at him in confusion.
"What's happening?" Meredy asked, afraid of the answer.
"There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now." The older man bit his lip. "A few weeks ago, Carla came to me because the had a vision of the future." Gray's stomach dropped. Carla's visions were never good.
"Was it about Juvia?" Lyon asked and Makarov nodded.
"It was…unbelievable. We doubted it could ever come true, but now that Tartarus have managed to capture her, I fear for her life." That was enough to make them even more worried than they already were.
"What happened in the vision?" Gray asked, fear rising. Before the master could answer, though, there was a loud sound as the door of the guild was forced open.
"Lucy!" Levy removed her arms from around Gajeel so that she could run towards the celestial wizard.
"Levy! Are you okay?" Lucy asked upon noticing her tear streamed face.
"I'm so glad you're back." It was her turn to be confused when Levy threw her arms around her and began crying.
"What's that about?" Natsu asked, eying the two.
"Long story." Gajeel replied, sighing.
"I'm glad to see you've managed to return to the guild safely." Makarov greeted the newcomers.
"Sorry we took so long, Natsu and Happy wanted to get something to eat." Wendy apologised and the fire dragon slayer shrugged.
"I was hungry after taking down that demon." Gray raised a brow.
"You took down a demon? Yeah, I don't buy it." Natsu glared at him.
"I bet you couldn't have done it." Makarov decided to stop them before things escalated.
"That's enough." Both boys immediately silenced.
"Did everyone come back?" Carla asked afterwards, beginning to panic once she didn't spot Juvia.
"I'm afraid not. We haven't heard from Erza, Mirajane, Elfman and Lisanna yet." The mention of Erza's name had Lucy and Natsu sharing worried looks.
"Wait, you don't think that Erza was captured, do you?" Makarov sighed. He didn't have an answer to that.
"Master, before they arrived you were telling us about Juvia." Gray spoke, catching his attention.
"Where is she, by the way?" Natsu asked, looking confused.
"She was captured by Tartarus." Rogue answered, seeing as both Gray and Gajeel remained silent, guilty looks coming up their faces.
"Oh, no." Lucy's eyes widened and she began worrying for her cousin.
"How could you let this happen?" Natsu turned to Gray.
"It wasn't his fault, Natsu." Makarov told him.
"Yes, it was." Gray sighed. Ever since he had woken up on that cabin, he tried his best to suppress his fear, his anger, his guilt. But he couldn't do it anymore.
"I told you not to do that, stripper." Gajeel told him.
"How can you act so calmly at this?" THe ice mage finally exploded. "She is gone! We couldn't protect her and now she's gone. And who knows where they took her and or what they'll do to her." He paused as dark images came to mind.
"Do you really think that I'm okay with this?" Gajeel stared at him in disbelief.
"You don't seem affected by it, and people say I'm heartless." He was upset, so he was lashing out. They understood that.
"Look, she might be your girlfriend, but she's my best friend. She was there for me when no one else was, so this is killing me too." Gajeel admitted before taking a deep breath. "But I know that blaming myself for what happened isn't going to help Juvia, so we need to pull ourselves together so that we can find her."
"Gajeel's right. We can't stay around here anymore, we need to track Tartarus down." Lucy spoke and many people nodded in agreement.
"How are we going to do that?" Sting asked. Silence fell upon them as they tried to figure it out.
Only a few moments after Lucy suggested they start tracking Tartarus down, a new figure entered the guild. "Hey, Elfman." They greeted him, quickly taking notice of Lisanna's absence.
"Where's Lisanna?" Makarov asked, already guessing the answer.
"Gone. Captured by Tartarus." He replied grimly. It wasn't hard to notice that something was off with him, but no one could've realized that it wasn't just because of Lisanna's capture.
"Her too?" Lucy asked.
"I can't believe they're taking us out so easily." Sting said, shaking his head.
"It seems as if we underestimated the enemy's strength." Yukino added.
"Don't worry about Lisanna, we'll get her back." Makarov reassured Elfman.
"I'd like to be alone for now." He told everyone and they nodded, understanding. They knew that Elfman took it hard when he was unable to protect his sisters.
While they resumed the conversation about what to do next, Elfman went to the infirmary. It was empty once again, except for the few unconscious mages. He sat down by Evergreen's side and placed the lacrima that Seilah had given him on the bedside table before taking her hand.
"I'm so sorry, Ever." He whispered brokenly, unable to stop the tears that began streaming down his face. "I failed. I couldn't protect you, or Mira, or Lisanna." He shook his head, before burrying his head in his hands. For a few moments the room was silent with the exception of his cries and the low sound of the timer on the bomb. 5 minutes. 4 minutes and 40 seconds. 3 minutes and 20 seconds.
"I'll never forgive myself for this." Elfman removed his head and looked at his girlfriend. "But if we must die, then I'm glad that I got to spend my last few moments with you." A small smile appeared on his face and he took her hand once again before placing their joined hands on her stomach. "I love you." He loved them both, but it was far too late.
Only a few seconds after his confession everything fell apart as the bomb went off.
Back at Tartarus' base…
Erza Scarlet awoke to silence. No voices were heard, nothing. She immediately knew that something was wrong because her hands and feet were clearly tied and her body felt heavy. She kept her eyes closed for a few moments, wanting to assess her environment before revealing herself to the enemy.
However, since there were no sounds, it was impossible to know where she was or who had captured her. The only choice she had was to open them.
"You've awoken. Good." Erza was greeted by large, violet eyes. The woman had sandy long hair and a mask covering most of her face.
"What is this?" The woman smirked and it sent chills down her spine.
"You're a captive of Tartarus now." Flashes crossed through her mind. The Former Chairman's house. The attack. Her and Mira, fighting together side by side until they were knocked out cold somehow.
"What about Mira and the Ex-Chairman? Did you take them too?" It was the obvious conclusion, but the response was no short of unexpected.
"Crawford has always been on our side, so no one took him." The woman laughed. "As for Mirajane, well, I've kept her alive. I believe she will make a fine slave."
"No!" Erza screamed in horror. Fear overtook her as she realized that she and Mira were in big trouble.
"Now, listen closely." The woman grabbed her face forcefully. "I need you to answer a simple question. Where is Jellal?" Her body froze. So they were looking for Jellal. Did this mean that he was one of the three council members whose death could activate FACE?
"We are well aware that you two are very close." The woman continued, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"And? Why do you care?" Erza asked, heart beating fast. She would never tell them where Jellal was, even if she knew. But she needed to know the truth, why were they after him?
"Because I need to find him." Before she could ask more, she was overcome with pain. "I have a special curse that I only use for interrogations. It makes a home in your pain receptors and sets them to overdrive." More pain followed that explanation and the red head screamed.
"I wouldn't, even if I knew." She eyed the woman determinately, unwilling to give in. This time the pain was so intense that tears began falling down her cheeks.
"Our initial plan was to hunt down every former council member, one by one." The dizziness caused by the attack made it hard to hear the woman. "Now there's no need. We've found the names of the three keeping FACE sealed away. Two have been eliminated, but the last still eludes us." It was exactly as she had feared. Jellal was indeed one of the seals to FACE.
"It can't be." She shook her head, unwilling to believe that the man she loved was now Tartarus' primary target.
The woman watched her, amused for a few moments, before her face turned to enraged. She cast her curse once again, making Erza scream even louder.
"Where is Jellal?"
A few hours before, in the outskirts of Crocus…
"Are you sure about this?" Cobra asked while trying to catch up with Jellal and Dorenbolt, who were running ahead of him, Angel, Midnight and Richard. Racer had probably reached their final location by then.
"Yes, I'm sure." The agent replied shortly while speeding up.
"I hope we're not too late." Richard said, worried for the fates of who they suspected to be Tartarus next targets.
"So, remind me what exactly is our plan here?" Angel asked. Although they had spent a while discussing their course of action, it wasn't clear what she should do.
"We'll split up once we reach the castle." Jellal answered while panting. "You, Racer and Midnight can focus on finding the member of Tartarus while the rest of us get the king and princess to safety."
"Like they're going to let us do that." Cobra rolled his eyes.
"We have to try." Jellal replied firmly.
"With the council destroyed, the monarchy is the only thing keeping this world in order. If they're eliminated, chaos will follow." Dorenbolt explained.
"I'm just hoping that Tartarus will really be there." Angel said.
"If they're not, we're just wasting time." Midnight added.
"We're here." Jellal said and they stopped. The castle was still distant from them, but they only needed to get close enough so that Dorenbolt could teleport them there.
"Are you ready?" The agent asked and everyone nodded. Within seconds, Angel and Midnight appeared at the palace gardens, where Racer was waiting; Cobra and Richard appeared in front of the king's private chambers where he was currently talking to Minister of Defense, Darton; and Jellal and Dorenbolt found themselves in front princess Hisui's chambers, where they could hear her and colonel Arcadius.
"Do you sense it?" Jellal whispered once Dorembolt touched the door nob.
"Yes." Tartarus were there. Definitely. "Let's be quick." He opened the door and they entered the room.
"What are you doing here?" Arcadius yelled before positioning himself in front of the princess. Hisui stared at the unexpected visitors in shock.
"I apologize for the intrusion, your majesty." Dorenbolt told her.
"We mean you no harm." Jellal added, knowing they wouldn't believe him.
"I don't believe you." Arcadius said, keeping his guard up. Hisui looked more willing to listen to them.
"Why have you come here?" She asked, stepping in front of the guard, to which he glanced worriedly at her.
"We came to warn you that you might be in great danger." Dorenbolt told her.
"Because of Tartarus?" She asked, seeming unafraid.
"Yes. We figured that after taking out the Council, they'd come after you and your father." Jellal replied and she shared a look with Arcadius.
"Tell me, why should I believe that you've simply come to warn the princess?" He asked, sure that the two had an ulterior motive for being there.
"We're just trying to save her life." Dorenbolt replied firmly.
"Or you're trying to distract me so that they can attack." Hisui suggested and Jellal shook his head.
"That's not true." He was growing desperate as the presence he knew to be a member of Tartarus got closer.
"We don't have time to convince you." Dorenbolt realized.
"They're too close." Jellal muttered and Hisui shared another worried look with Arcadius.
"They're here, Arcadius. I can feel a dark presence nearby." The guard nodded.
"We must warn your father so that we can ready our defence." He began walking towards the door, but Jellal and Dorenbolt blocked their path.
"There isn't time!" The latter desperately said.
"Get them out of here!" Jellal yelled just before the castle was overtook by a large explosion.
So, thoughts?
What did you think of Elfman, Mirajane and Lisanna's backstory? I'm sure the reveal that Seilah killed their father and their mother was a demon slayer might seem to have come out of no where, but there's a reason for it.
By the way, did you like the changes I made in the battle against Seilah?
On another topic, Gruvia fans, how are you holding up? I hope the scenes I added were enough for Gray's reaction and next chapter we're gonna find out what's happening with her.
What are your thoughts on the plot with Jellal and Oracion Seis? I told you that they were going to take part in this war.
Lastly, let me just make a small mention for Droy. May he rest in peace, he sure didn't deserve to die like that. I'm afraid that the body count is only beginning. Are you sure you're ready for what comes next?
Next Chapter: Please, Don't Be Dead.
Summary: Tartarus' victory celebration is short lived for Fairy Tail is ready to strike back. However, just because they've found their target doesn't mean that the heroes will have an easy time defeating them. While Mirajane and Erza continue to struggle against their captors, two shocking deaths show them that you can't always protect the ones you love.
I'll be working mostly on Gruvia week for the next few days, so I'll won't have time to work on chapter 5 Until it's over. Therefore it will be posted between 8th and 15th of April.
Sorry, guys. But I do have a one-shot that I finished a few weeks ago and I'll post it next week. Here's the summary: What if those seven years had passed on Tenrou Island? And what if Ultear and Meredy had stayed? When the rescue team arrives, they find out that not only their friends had been alive this whole time, but they had moved on with their lives too. After all, time changes everything. Gruvia, NaLu, GaLe, ElfEver, Miraxus.
Can we try 5 reviews for chapter 5?