Next chapter of the story! Sorry for making you all wait! Enjoy and review!
(The Cube, Hell Core)
Several soldiers of Tartarus were working around a single tube, filled with sin or demon particles as humans called them. The tube had multiple tentacles connected to it from the top and the sides, with a few within the tube. Those that were inside the tube were holding onto what look like the few remnants of a body. To the side, a bunny-like demon could be seen as she watched her team at work.
The sound of the door opening could be heard. Turned around, the bunny eared demon, Lamy, saw that it was her superior Kyouka, followed by Mard Geer and E.N.D. "Lamy, is it prepared?" Kyouka asked her subordinate.
"It's all set and ready to go Kyouka-neesama!" Lamy declared in her usual goofy tone. "I was really surprise that even a little bit of him managed to return even after Strafe ate him up." As she looked back at the tube. Indeed within the tube were the few remains of Ezel, multiple tentacles wrapped around what was left of him.
"He must have returned to Hell's Core just before Strafe completely consumed him. Though it is quite an impressive feat that he managed to return within that small time table." Mard commented.
"However with so little of him left, it will be several weeks until Ezel is fully restored." Kyouka commented as Curse Particles began to seep within the demon's form.
"Time we do not have. The plan is nearing its completion and we need all the resources that we can muster." E.N.D stated. He approached the vat, ignoring the bowing cloaked servants as they made room for their Master.
The strongest Etherious placed his left hand on the tube and suddenly black blood began to seep out from his palms. As it entered the tube, the black tendrils of blood headed straight towards the severed head and the other miscellaneous pieces of flesh. And then they began to glow, briefly illuminating the vat. The light died down seconds later, revealing a partially restored Ezel.
"It is done." E.N.D said as he lowered his arm.
Mard Geer walked up to his master and bowed. "Master, I suggest you return to your personal quarters. It has been a while since you've done a force regeneration on damage as extreme as Ezel's." Mard Geer suggested.
"That is not necessary Mard Geer. Besides I still have business I need to do." E.N.D replied as he made his way out of Hell's Core, his cloak swaying behind him. His second in command followed close behind him while the others checked up on Ezel's status. "I shall be out for a while Mard Geer. You will be in charge until then and keep me posted on Palu and Torafusa's mission."
Mard Geer internally frowned at that. While he did not doubt his Master's intentions, the Etherious was not very enthusiastic of E.N.D leaving the guild until the time came. Tartarus had already lost its Guild Master once, and Mard Geer did not want E.N.D to disappear again, a settlement shared by the other Etherious. But Mard Geer knew better than to question E.N.D's decisions. "As you wish. May I ask where you will be going Master?" The Underworld King asked.
E.N.D paused in his steps as he turned his face slightly to look at Mard Geer. "Just making a few stops. There are some people I want to see before we begin final preparations towards our goal." He answered before disappearing in a swirl of smokes and flames.
(Magnolia Forest)
"Get your hands off Lucy!" Lisanna yelled as she activated her Animal Soul Take Over. She was now in her Cat form, claws ready to strike at Palu. Behind her Elfman also took action, transforming his right arm into a large stone arm.
Palu did not seem faze. Instead she smirked and raised her left arm. Her fingers suddenly shot out at incredible speed, heading straight towards the charging humans. Lisanna managed to dodge them thanks to her enhanced reflexes granted by her Take Over. Elfman used his stone arm as a shield to block the blows. Lucy was busy trying to reach for her keys while still wrapped around Palu's arm.
Lisanna had managed to reach Palu and was prepared to strike the demon to free Lucy. But just as she was about to pounce, she was suddenly strike by an oncoming projectile that exploded upon contact. "Kyaah!" The youngest Strauss cried as she was sent skidding across the ground.
"Lisanna!" Lucy cried as she watched the white haired girl hit a nearby tree before landing on the ground hard.
"Who the hell did that?!" Elfman roared…before suddenly being rammed in the stomach by Torafusa, who had just arrived onto the scene. The demon's blade arm caused the mage to let out a gasp in pain before the demon grabbed Elfman's arm. Than Torufase performed a strong throw as he tossed Elfman over his shoulder, causing him to hit the ground painfully.
"Elfman-san!" Wendy yelled as the other Strauss sibling was knocked to the ground. He tried to get up but was swiftly knocked out by a well-aimed punch to the head by Torafusa.
"I guess we should have expected others to have come with the target." Torafusa commented as he looked down at the unconscious human.
"Another Tartarus demon!" Carla shouted. Levy and Wendy were about to spring into action, but they too were swiftly incapacitated by two more arrivals. Carla and Happy also tried to move but two multi-color projectiles struck them, sending the Exceeds to the ground.
The three newcomers soon made themselves known. The largest one was a male with pale skin and obese. He had a large round face that did not seem to the match his arms and legs, which were slightly smaller. He had what looked like a pig nose on his face and a curly tail sticking out from his rear. The other male was around normal size and had what looked like silver hair in the shape of a spiraled horn pointing forward, similar to a pompadour. And the last one was a female, and a familiar one too.
"Minerva of Sabertooth?!" Lisanna cried as she recognized the second female Etherious.
"And those two are from Grimoire Heart!" Levy added as she recognized the two males from Tenrou Island.
"Ah the fairies and devils meet once more. However here we stand in just the opening of the apocalypse that is yet to come." Rustyrose said in his usual dramatic voice as he did a flamboyant pose.
"Er, er, I-I feel like I seen them somewhere. Woo-wee." Kain said followed by a pig honk. Minerva just remained silent during the whole ordeal, a neutral look on her face. "O-oh yeah, you guys are the one who beat us before!"
Lucy grunted as she tried to free herself from Palu's grip, but to no avail. "Please do not struggle, Leandra-san. Our Master would be most displease if you were presented with injuries on your person." Palu commented as she stared at the blonde.
The Celestial Spirit Mage just glared at the she-demon. "Where is Erza?! What have you done with her?" Lucy demanded.
Palu smirked. "The redhead? She and the white haired girl have been taken back to our base for interrogation and later conversion." The blue haired demon explained.
"White haired girl…Mira-nee?!" Lisanna exclaimed as she struggled to get up from Rustyrose's blow.
"Both of them were captured? How?" Levy asked, completely bewildered that two of their strongest mages were defeated and now in enemy hands. The thought just seemed inconceivable.
"You shouldn't be so surprise. After all just look at your current predicament." Palu said mockingly as she walked next to Torafusa, Lucy still trapped in her grip. "After all, you humans have been our puppets for decades. It is only natural for you to fall before the might of the Demon Lords of Tartarus."
"Enough" Torafusa said. "We have what we came for. Let us leave before we test his Majesty's patience." The lizardman said sternly.
"I cannot leave while my soul is screaming for revenge." Rustyrose said as he approached Elfman, who was still recovering from Torafusa's attack. The former Seven Kin transformed his right arm into his signature Jet Black Sword.
"Uh, uh yeah! We need to make them pay for…for humiliating Grimoire Heart! Woo-wee!" Kain declared in agreement.
However both Dark Mages were soon clutching their heads in pain. Dropping to their knees they managed to look up and saw Torafusa with his hand raised, a displease look on his face. "As one of the Demon Lords, we are given the permission by Master E.N.D to punish subordinates if they should step out of line in following orders. This mission is of great importance, given to us by the Master himself, I will not allow you two fools to mess it up. You are no longer members of Grimoire Heart, you are now soldiers of Tartarus and thus soldiers of his lordship. Understood?" The Demon said sternly.
Meanwhile, the Fairy Tail mages were watching the scene as they tried to think of a plan to get out of this mess. They didn't know if anyone has noticed their absence and they couldn't do anything reckless while Palu still had Lucy in her grasp. But before any movement could be made, something made a loud bang as it crashed into the ground nearby. Shocked, the Fairy Tail Mages and Tartarus Demons watched in cautious uneasiness as a figure's silhouette could be seen through the rising dust. In a few seconds said being walked out of the crater it made, showing everyone who it was.
"Strafe!" Palu gasped as she stared at the tall masked man with a look that was a mix of hate and fear. Torafusa cursed under his breath.
"The one who saved Bisca and Azlack…" Levy murmured as she stared at the tall and imposing black clad man. "Why is he here?"
Eventually the tense moment was broken by Kain, who had already taken out his Mr. Cursey. A strand of his hair was attached to the doll as Kain changed the doll's material to iron, hardening his body with the same property and increasing his physical capability. "Woo-wee! It is time for the Great Kain-sama to shine! I'll show you the power of Grimoire Heart-er I mean Tartarus! Woo-wee!" Kain declare as he charged straight towards Strafe.
"You fool! Stop!" Torafusa ordered but Kain paid no attention as he neared Strafe, who remained perfectly still.
"Dodoskoi!" Kain shouted as he slammed his palm right into Strafe's chest. The impact caused a small shockwave with dust picking up again. To everyone's shock however, Strafe did not budge an inch. In fact it looked like he hadn't even felt the attack.
"Woo-wee-" That was the last thing Kain uttered as Strafe swiftly decapitated him. His right arm was once more in its blade form, the large wicked looking blade covered in Kain's blood. Said person's head hit the ground with a thud, followed by the body.
The atmosphere was filled with horrifying dread as the Fairy Tail mages and hybrids stared at the headless corpse. Also the look on Kain's face was one of complete surprise, as if he had not registered even after being killed. The only ones who remained calm were Palu and Torafusa. The latter let out a curse. "Idiot"
Strafe then shot forward towards Torafusa and Palu, changing his blade arm into claws, while his left arm changed into enlarged muscular black version. He lunged at Palu first but Torafusa managed to intercept him, his blade arm clashing with Strafe's claws. The mask man then thrust his muscular left arm towards the side of Torafusa's head. The Demon had no time to react as the punch made contact, the impact sending him flying backwards. With him out of the way, Strafe lunged at Palu again, who had just morphed her free arm into a sword blade.
But once again Strafe was stopped when several projectiles flew at him. With inhuman reflexes the hooded man jumped back to avoid the explosions caused by the attack. Turning his head, Strafe saw that Minerva was the source of the attack. Already her hands were covered in wave-like matter
Strafe glared at her behind his mask before shooting towards her. His right arm morphed to resemble the left one, a black enlarged muscular version. Minerva fired barrages of spatial matter. Strafe however merely raised his arms and deflected the attacks even when they exploded, his wounds would just heal. He had just about reached Minerva when he had to block an attack from Rustyrose's blade.
"You shall pay for taking Kain's life bastard!" Rustyrose roared as he brought his Jet Black Sword down for another strike. But instead Strafe managed to grab the arm and launched his own punch towards the former Grimoire Mage.
"That which dwells in my left hand, is a golden shield that pushes everything back!" Rustyrose chanted as his left hand turned into a large golden shield, ready to take on Strafe's attack. However he was not prepared for the enhanced muscle mass of granted thanks to Strafe's Curse. The enlarge fist left a large dent in the otherwise impenetrable shield. The impact also caused Rustyrose to go flying backwards, toppling over a tree before losing conscious.
With him out of the way Strafe focused his attention on the two Demon Lords, who were joined by Minerva. Beneath his mask Strafe's eyes shifted towards Lucy, who was still being held in Palu's grasp. Torafusa and Minerva once more stood before him as Palu morphed her other arm into a sword. The mages of Fairy Tail could only watch from where they laid, the damage they received still holding them down…until Elfman suddenly sprung forward, changing into his Beast Soul.
"Elf-niichan!" Lisanna cried in shock. But it soon turn to confusion when she watched Elfman attack Strafe. Said person easily dodged the punch, but Elfman continued his attack, throwing rather uncoordinated punches at the mask being.
"Elfman, what are you doing?!" Lucy shouted, still trying to free herself to no avail. The other Fairy Tail mages were also confused by Elfman's strange behavior. However the members of Tartarus, excluding Minerva, seemed to have already figured it out.
"Looks like Sayla's Macro is still working on him." Torafusa commented as he reached for something in his coat.
"Macro…?" Lisanna muttered as her mind went back to when she and Elfman encountered that Tartarus member at the former Council Member's house. "So that's what her curse does…she can also use it from a distance?!"
"While the puppet keeps Strafe distracted, we'll be returning to Cube with Leandra-sama." Palu said as Torafusa brought out a round object the size of a marble. It glowed briefly before a circle with the Tartarus' symbol on it.
"The Curse Circle is ready, let us go." Torafusa ordered as he, Palu and Minerva prepared to enter the circle. Lucy was now desperately struggling to get out of Palu's grip, still to no avail.
"Lu-chan!" Levy cried as she finally got up. She could only watch helplessly as her best friend was about to be taken away.
As if answering her unsaid pleading, an arc of ice came soaring through the air. No one had time to react as the ice cut Palu's arm in half, freeing Lucy. As she landed on the ground with a grunt, Palu howled in pain at the loss of her arm. "T-this ice…!" Palu gasped as her arm began to regenerate though the pain was still there.
"Shit, withdraw now!" Torafusa ordered as he grabbed Palu and jumped into the circle, followed by Minerva. The Curse Circle closed just as ice froze that area.
Silver suddenly appeared, an annoyed look on his face as he stared where the Tartarus members were. "Tch, almost had them." He muttered.
"Silver-san?" A voice asked timidly. Said person looked down and saw Wendy and the others staring at him. They all had a mixture of surprise and relief in their eyes as he came out of the forest.
BAM!
The loud noise got everyone's attention. Lisanna was the first to look and her eyes widened in horror. "Elf-niichan!" She cried.
Lying on the ground before Strafe's feet was Elfman's still form. He had reverted back to his normal appearance and fortunately, his back was gently going up and down, a sign of him breathing and thus alive. Strafe looked down at his opponent's prone form before his gaze looked up, meeting Silver's.
The two stared at one another for a silent moment. Each of them trying to decipher what the other would do but both were ready for a fight. Eventually Strafe's arms changed back to normal and swiftly retreated into the forest. His form soon disappeared amongst the clustered trees.
Once he was sure Strafe was gone, Silver let out some air. He then looked at the others who were getting up. Lisanna was the first one up, already at her brother's side. Levy was helping up Lucy, checking her friend over, and the Exceeds, especially Carla, were assisting Wendy. "You kids okay?" Silver asked.
"Yes, thanks to you." Levy replied as she finished checking over Lucy. "Why are you here anyway Silver-san?"
"Gray and I just came back. But as we were about to head back to your guild building I sensed the familiar presence of demons nearby so I decided to check it out. Good thing too, had I been any slower and they would've taken Ms. Heartifilia back to Cube."
"This wouldn't have happened if I wasn't fooled by that fake. I can't believe I let that happened." Happy lamented as his ears dropped.
"Don't blame yourself Happy. You didn't know." Lucy said as she walked over to the others. "For now let's help Elfman and get back to the guild. We need to tell them about what we just learned." Lucy said.
"We had better bring this person back as well." Silver commented as he picked up an unconscious Rustyrose by the jacket collar. "Also there are two girls at the guild too, from some Independent Guild I think."
Lucy and Levy blinked at that bit of information. Who did they know that belonged to an Independent Guild?
(Later in the guild building)
"What?! Erza and Mirajane have been captured by Tartarus?!" Makarov exclaimed in shock.
His feelings were shared by the rest of the guild. To think that both Erza and Mirajane, two of their strongest mages, were captured was not only shocking but inconceivable. Combine those two could take down enemies that even Gildarts would have trouble dealing with. But it seems that the two were now indeed in Tartarus' clutches, and with Gildarts still recuperating, only Laxus and Makarov were the guild's remaining top fighters that could take on S-level or higher combatants.
Nevertheless this was a serious blow to the guild's pride. The only bright side to all this was that now they knew and they could at least plan a rescue mission. Along with that both Silver and Gray had returned, with the latter now possessing a tattoo on his right arm, which signified him as a Devil Slayer. Furthermore they managed to prevent Tartarus from capturing Lucy, for whatever reason the mages had no idea. Finally they had a prisoner now, said person being interrogated by two of his former comrades.
"It's been a while huh?" Rustyrose asked from his spot on the chair. Both his wrists and ankles were held in Sealing Magic Chains while at the same time restraining his mobility. That way he could not use magic or even escape. Standing before him were his former guildmates, Ultear Milkovich and Meredy. "It seems that these past seven years have been kind to you."
"Unfortunately the same can't be said about you Rustyrose." Ultear replied as she gazed at the man's demonic appearance. She had a neutral gaze while Meredy's was a mix of concern and curiosity.
"True" Rustyrose commented with a grim smile.
"Hate to interrupt the reunion but I need some answers from this person." Makarov said as he approached the three. Along with him were Silver and other core members of the guild. Once he had the Tartarus mage's attention Makarov got straight to the point. "I will only ask this once, where are Erza and Mirajane being held?"
Seeing as his fate was already sealed, Rustyrose answered truthfully. "Both were captured by Abaddon-san when they went to investigate the former Chairman's house. Last I checked they were taken to Cube, Tartarus' base. The one named Erza was sent to be interrogated by Kyouka-san, second-in-command of the Demon Lords. While Mirajane was taken to Hell's Core, to be modified."
"Hell's Core? Modified?" Lucy repeated. Everyone then turned towards Silver, who had a troubled look on his face.
"Hell's Core is a special lab within Cube. Essentially, it's where members of the guild are reborn if killed…and where humans are taken to be remade into demons to serve the guild." Silver explained.
"Wait. You mean Mira-nee will be…?" Lisanna began as horrifying realization crept onto her and the others. Elfman, who had woken up a while ago, placed a hand on Lisanna's shoulder in an attempt to calm her but he was also feeling unnerved by this.
"Don't worry Lisanna, we will save Mirajane and Erza no matter what. Fairy Tail doesn't abandon their own." Makarov assured the girl.
Rustyrose let out a dry chuckle, getting everyone's attention. "Do you really think saving them will be so easy? You're all taking E.N.D way too lightly. I learned that the hard way." He said as the fearful memories came back to him.
"What do you mean?" Meredy asked.
The Embodiment Mage was silent for a moment, as if deliberating. Then he spoke. "After our failure on Tenrou Island, when Zeref killed Master Hades, Kain and I took command over the remnants of Grimoire Heart. Using my Arc of Embodiment, it was easy for me to put the illusion that we were still at full power. But that changed two years ago when many of Grimoire aligned Dark Guilds began to disappear. We were able to deduce that it was Tartarus's doing. So Kain and I, using two duplicates of Zancrow and Azuma that I created, stormed their base in an attempt to intimidate them and regain our missing subordinates. That's when everything went wrong."
The Fairy Tail Mages, Silver and the two Crime Sorcière mages noticed how Rustyrose's body begins to tremble and a look of fear appeared on his face. "We were confronted by Kyouka, who used her curse to immediately incapacitate us. And that's when we felt…E.N.D" There his voice began to strain and sweat started to slide down his face. "I'll never forget that feeling. I can still remember those two red eyes staring at us, the eyes of the Devil. Even if he wasn't there physically, I could still feel E.N.D's presence engulf the entire place, like an endless abyss of flames burning my body so fast that I didn't even get a chance to scream. I thought we would be killed but instead, like some twisted sense of mercy, E.N.D had Kain and I modified and turned us into Hybrid."
There was a long moment of silence as everyone took all of that in. From the way Rustyrose described him, it was if E.N.D was some kind of God. A Dark God, but a God nonetheless and the description of him did nothing for the moral of the guild. Finally Makarov broke the silence. Despite what they just heard, they needed useful information, such as E.N.D's goal.
"Do you know what his plans are? All we know is that it involves Zeref." Makarov said, recalling his conversation with Hestia an hour or so ago. Said person was somewhere in the building, possible talking to the Sentinels.
"I do not know the specifics of his plan. All I know is that it does not involve Zeref at all." Rustyrose revealed, much to everyone's surprise. "In fact, from what I heard E.N.D is after someone named Ankhseram."
"Ankhseram…?" Levy muttered. "I feel like I've heard that name before."
"That's all I really know. My standings in Tartarus was nothing more than a meager grunt." Rustyrose explained before adding. "Though I doubt they would allow me to live despite by position." He said before his body burst into blue flames. Everyone let out surprise gasps, taking a few steps back from Rustyrose. Meredy was the first to move, trying to reach her fellow comrade and help him. But she was stopped by a barrier that appeared all of a sudden. She and everyone else looked up to see Hestia, floating in the air, wearing her robe and had brown sandals on her feet.
"Purifying Flames" Hestia commented, a frown on her face, as she answered the unspoken question. "Flames that only burn those who were either alive or use to be. Touch them and the flames will spread. They also cannot be extinguish until the person has been reduced to ash." She explained as bits and pieces of Rustyrose's form began to crumble. Strangely though, he was not screaming in pain. "E.N.D must've put this as a failsafe if his subordinates were every captured. He was dead the moment we caught him."
"Heh, I was dead the moment I became a hybrid." Rustyrose replied as the flames consumed more of him. He took one last look at his former guildmates, both with sad looks on their faces, Meredy even had tears in her eyes. However a gentle smile on his face. "Meredy, Ultear-san. Though we never fully saw eye to eye, I'm glad to have seen you…one…last…time…"
Those were the final words of Rustyrose, member of Grimoire Heart's Seven Kin of Purgatory. For soon the blue flames completely consumed him, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes on the chair he sat on. Everyone just looked at the remains in silence, minus Meredy who was now crying, Ultear comforting her.
"Makarov" Hestia began as she landed besides the Guild Master. The Wizard Saint looked at the young pinkette. He had a million questions running through his mind and she knew that. "I will give you all the answers I have but not now. I've just pinpointed Cube's location and discovered that E.N.D is not there at the moment." Hestia revealed, causing Makarov and Silver to look at her in surprise. Both of them wondering how she knew all that. "If you want to save those guild members of yours, now is the time."
(Somewhere in Fiore)
"It's been a long time E.N.D." Zeref said to his strongest demon.
The two were sitting side by side on top of a hill that looked upon a large wasteland that stretched for miles. The Guild Master of Tartarus had his hood off, revealing his spiky pink hair as he and the Black Mage gazed upon the terrain in comfortable silence.
"You don't have to call me that. I prefer we address each other by our birth names, big brother." E.N.D said as his cloak fluttered in the breeze.
Zeref smiled fondly upon hearing that. While a bit disappointed that he wasn't here to kill him, the Black Mage was glad to know that they still held a brotherly bond with each other. "Very well, what did you want to speak about, Natsu?" He asked his younger brother.
The former Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail simply smiled mysteriously as his crimson eyes narrowed a bit. "I have been thinking that, given the return of that woman, and the fact you being the emperor of the strongest empire in the west, that perhaps you would be considering of forming…an alliance?"
And there we go! Sorry it took so long, I was just stuck of how to reveal E.N.D/Natsu to the rest of Fairy Tail. Anyway please leave a review!
Legion: Strafe's curse allows the user to manipulate their own body's organic mass and biological structure at a cellular level for different effects.
If it helps, imagine Strafe's abilities similar to Alex Mercer and James Heller from Prototype.