"This is getting ridiculous. That seasonal cat almost figured out my secret plan." The putrid breath of darkness peered over the Conference Room as Mard Geer sat at his throne with a bored expression. He groaned, "I should've known better than to trust your Element 4 dunces to eliminate Natsu's stooges this morning."

From a holographic protection in his large round table, Mard and his guests watched Phantom Lord's Element 4 facing Romeo, only to be defeated in more than half an hour. The Lord of the Dead gestured to the two guests in question— the masters of the Phantom Lord and Twilight Ogre guilds, Jose Porla and Banaboster.

"They're a disgrace to the Phantom Lord Guild," Jose stated angrily. "They're the strongest wizards in my guild, and this is how they repay me? They couldn't even stop one of Natsu's inferior friends! Natsu Dragneel garnered so much credibility that all of Fiore paid less attention to us! Phantom Lord lost the title of the most dominant magical force, because of him!"

Banaboster added, "And to make matters worse, days after the Snake Charmer was destroyed, Natsu came out of nowhere and beat the tar out of my guild. He says it's payback for all the abuse we heaped on that sad sack of dust named Fairy Tail since Gildarts died." He then shuddered, "I still had the nightmares! Thanks to Natsu, the whole guildhall was smashed to bits, and most members were sent to the hospital!"

"That is why we came here to the Underworld two days ago, Lord Mard Geer," Jose said. "We wish to seek council with you on how to get rid of Natsu and his meddling friends once and for all."

Banaboster agreed, "That's right. We can't stand Natsu. You can't stand him, either, so we're even. We want revenge. We want to take back our lives, our careers, our recognition."

"I've tried," Mard responded. "That accursed nephew of mine made mincemeat out of every demon I've sent. Azuma, Ophiuchus, Erigor, Kawazu, Yomazu, Trinity Raven… I've lost count."

Jose exclaimed, "Natsu is your nephew?"

Mard rubbed his head in agitation, "Details not important."

Banaboster laughed jokingly, "Pretty soon, the Underworld's gonna be standing room only."

"Shut up," Mard snarled lowly. "It's that Fire Dragon Slayer's fault, not mine. He thinks he's invincible."

"Hey, since he's a Dragon Slayer, maybe another one can take him," Banaboster suggested.

"What?!" Mard exclaimed in surprise, quickly darting from his throne. "What did you say?"

"I said, another Dragon Slayer can take him," Banaboster repeated. "Why not just bring back a Dragon Slayer who's already dead and save him the trouble?"

Mard took Banaboster's suggestion with much consideration. Then, his lips formed a menacing smirk. There was still time to dispose of his nephew before releasing the Eight Demon Gates after all.

"A dead Dragon Slayer…? Dead... Dead is good!" Mard beamed. "And I know just the man to do it."

The Lord of the Dead padded across the chamber— Jose and Banaboster followed him— and arrived at a steep ridge. Looking downwards, the three villains turned their attention to a green whirlpool of endless souls drifting aimlessly in the abyss.

"If you don't mind me asking…" Banaboster spoke hesitantly. "What's down there?"

"The Pit of Souls, the Underworld's deepest dungeon," Mard answered. "It's where I keep the souls of those who died. This time, I'm bringing out the mother of all bad guys."

"You don't say?" Jose raised an eyebrow.

Mard held out his hands, forming a sphere of emerald green fire on each. He dropped the flames into the Pit of Souls, and as a result, a pillar of pure black smoke radiated from the whirlpool. Mard watched as a lone figure stepped out of the cloud and touched the ground. He was a muscular man with long spiky hair dressed in a black sleeveless tunic with studded edges, brown pants, black boots, gloves, a wing-like ornament, and a black scarf around his neck. His most notable feature was the metal dots surrounding his eyebrows and forearms.

Mard laughed proudly at his work; he was confident that his newest pawn would finally get rid of Natsu. He began with a courteous smile, "Hello, Dragon Slayer. Welcome to the Underworld, the domain of Mard Geer Tartaros. Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Here's the deal I'm going to offer you. I brought you back to life, and in return, you will serve me. All for one little favor." He added excitedly, "Fight Natsu Dragneel, another Dragon Slayer… to the death!"

The man's reply was a fit of mocking laughter. Mard was confused at first. Finally, the man answered, "I'm 'Black Steel' Gajeel Redfox. I'm the Iron Dragon Slayer. I would never bow down and serve low-class scum like you." He then got into a fighting stance.

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?!" Mard bellowed, his temper reaching a boiling point at Gajeel's refusal. "I am the Lord of the Dead!"

Gajeel scoffed with a grin, "No wonder no one wants to die."

"YOU ARE FIRED!" Almost immediately, Mard ignited his demonic powers to the next level and dashed with his fist raised.

"Iron Dragon's Sword!" Transforming his arm into a living blade of indestructible metal, Gajeel clashed his attack with Mard's, creating a shockwave that caused the Conference Room to rumble. In an intense duel that lasted less than five minutes, the two smashed and blocked each other with punches, kicks, and magical attacks, the walls and jagged rocks fracturing with each impact.

"Scatter!" Jose screamed, and he and Banaboster ran off.

It was at that instant when Wendy, Romeo, and Carla emerged from the swirling vortex, witnessing the ongoing commotion.

"What's going on here?" Romeo questioned. "Who's this guy fighting the other guy?"

Carla gasped, pointing at Mard, "I know him! That face… That figure… It's Mard Geer Tartaros, Lord of the Dead!"

Wendy exclaimed, "It is really him?!"

"YOU!" Mard yelled, noticing Wendy and her friends.

"Iron Dragon's Club!" Gajeel transformed his arm into an extendable iron club and slammed it across Mard's cheek. The impact sent him skidding across the chamber and crashing into the wall. Mard managed to pry himself from the wall just in time to block another Iron Dragon's Club with his palm.

"Rose Explosion!" Mard threw his hand and generated countless white rose-shaped explosions that decimated Gajeel and sent him away. The Iron Dragon Slayer landed unceremoniously on the floor, moderately injured. Mard moved in to finish the job, but was disappointed when Wendy and Romeo stood between them.

"Leave him alone!" Romeo shouted.

"What're you doin', kids?" Gajeel grunted, trying to push himself up. "Get outta here. You don't stand a chance against him."

Wendy assured firmly, "Don't worry, mister. We'll protect you. You can count on it!"

Gajeel chuckled weakly, admiring Wendy and Romeo's bravery, "For a bunch of kids, you've got some spunk."

"Mard Geer Tartaros, we'd like to have a word with you," Wendy demanded. "Why are you trying to kill Natsu with all the monsters you sent?"

"Goodness gracious, are you just that clever to figure it out!" Mard laughed mockingly. "That's right, my dear. I tried to kill Natsu with all the demons in my disposal as the first step of my ultimate plan. You received an A+ for passing the test, Miss Wendy Marvell and Mr. Romeo Conbolt."

Romeo gasped, "You knew our names?"

"That's right," Mard chuckled sinisterly. "You're the sidekicks of Igneel's little boy, aren't you? You're Wendy, a human born from Granny's womb, and Romeo, the son of a washout wizard who became a wimpy master of a wimpy guild."

"Wimpy?!" Romeo glared at Mard for insulting his father. "Take that back!"

Ignoring Romeo, Mard continued, "You kids were very smart in knowing the fruit of my grand scheme. Well, at least HALF of it. But the bad news is…" He added maliciously, his dark aura glowing, "This is the part where you WON'T live to tell the tale. This is also the part where YOU WILL DIE!" Wendy and Romeo staggered back from Mard's erupting aura.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" At the last moment, Gajeel breathed a gust of metal shards that collided with Mard's chest. The Lord of the Dead was thrown backwards by the attack and shot out of the Conference Room, providing them enough time to escape unnoticed.

"Let's get outta here!" Wendy cried. "We need to warn the others!"

"I saw a gateway not far from here," Gajeel stated. "It can lead us outta the Underworld! Quick, follow me!" With that, Wendy, Romeo, and Carla followed the Iron Dragon Slayer out of the chamber.

Ten minutes later…

The group took a pathway to the central cavern of the Underworld to the far left. Once they reached a safe chamber, the heroes settled themselves, panting heavily and recovering slightly.

Wendy admired, wiping sweat from her forehead, "You're really good, mister. Are you some kind of Dragon Slayer?"

"Yeah," Gajeel nodded. "Well, I used to be, until I was sent to the Underworld. The name's Gajeel, by the way."

"I'm Wendy," Wendy introduced herself. "I'm a Sky Dragon Slayer."

"Romeo the name," Romeo added. "I use Rainbow Fire."

"My name is Carla," Carla added. "I'm an Exceed."

"I had a feelin' we're destined to meet," Gajeel said smugly. "You're gonna need a guide if you're gonna blow this joint."

"Thanks," Romeo acknowledged. "That makes me feel so much better. I thought we'll be stuck here forever."

"How did you get yourself in the Underworld, Gajeel?" Wendy asked.

"I'll make this short and sweet," Gajeel cleared his throat. "It all started when I was a wizard in Phantom Lord, until Master Jose betrayed me and left me for dead…"

Back at the Conference Room, Mard recovered from Gajeel's sneak attack and was pacing around the room irritably. Jose and Banaboster were lucky to have survived the destructive battle, and they returned to the chamber.

Mard snarled, "Those idiots! Discovering my ultimate plan was bad enough, but those brats escaping with a Dragon Slayer I was supposed to pit against my nephew was even worse!"

Jose asked, "Why don't you kill him yourself?"

"Oh, sure, I would've killed Natsu myself when I had the chance, but nooooooooo!" Mard yelled sarcastically. "Igneel and the Olympians would be suspicious! My plans will be ruined! But not if we ruin them first!"

Mard snapped his fingers, and from the windows emerged the head of Deliora, his hungry growls vibrating against the walls. "Deliora, find them!" he ordered. The demon responded to his master's call and ran off in a hurry. Mard turned to Jose and Banaboster, "You two, rally up your guilds! Go, now!"

"Yes, sir!" Jose and Banaboster complied Mard's orders.

Due to Gajeel's well-played shortcut, Wendy, Romeo, and Carla managed to reach the small gateway that served as an exit from the Underworld and into the mortal world, in the form of a glowing staircase. "Well, that was easy," Romeo remarked.

Gajeel stated, "Ever since I'm trapped in the Underworld, I've known every shortcut and every direction."

Carla sighed in relief, "We finally made it to the exit."

Wendy agreed, "Now we can go back home."

Gajeel chuckled confidently, "I guess I'll have to thank Mard for bringing me back to life. Just a short walk upstairs and I'm kissin' mortal life again!"

That momentary façade was interrupted when wizards from Phantom Lord and Twilight Ogre blocked their path.

Gajeel groaned in annoyance, "You gotta be kiddin' me!"

"Wizards from Phantom and Twilight!" Romeo cried.

"They're trying to prevent us from escaping!" Carla shouted.

"Not today! Sky Dragon's Wave Wind!" With a wave of her hand, Wendy summoned a powerful tornado that instantly engulfed all of the wizards. The others watched in awe as the Phantom Lord and Twilight Ogre guildmates scattered into the air and flew miles away.

"That was cool!" Gajeel commented. "Not as cool as my Dragon Slayer Magic, but still! You're a tough kid!"

Wendy giggled at that compliment, "Why, thank you! I've trained a lot, after all."

"That was too easy. What could get worse than that?" Romeo wondered.

Just then, a resonating snarl rebounded against the shadows of the Underworld. Wendy and her company turned towards the noise and struggled to stay on their feet as the behemoth dropped from the air and rattled the area.

Carla recognized, "That's Deliora, the guardian of the entrance to the Underworld! Mard must've sent him after us!"

"Well, well," Gajeel grinned, cracking his knuckles. "So Mard's pet dog decided to chase us here? This is gonna be interesting!"

Wendy said, "I guess we have no choice. We have to fight him!"

Romeo agreed, "Might as well have another workout in the Underworld! This'll be a big story to tell back home!"

"Let's go!" Wendy, Romeo, and Gajeel shouted in unison, and they ran in to fight Deliora. Their combination of attacks kept dealing damage to the spiked demon. Deliora leapt into the air and nearly smashed all of them with his massive claws. The shockwave sent them flying back with great force, but Wendy summoned a gust of wind to help the group skid to their feet.

"Iron Dragon's Sword!" Gajeel spun in their air with his sword-transformed arm, slicing Deliora's skin in a fury.

"Yellow Fire: Big Bang Meteor Punch!" Romeo kept striking Deliora's chest with his yellow fire-pulsing fists repeatedly.

Wendy was about to strike Deliora's head when she saw his claws coming in at her, about to tear her body apart. Wendy braced her arms and legs out, stopping them but leaving her vulnerable to Deliora's mouth. The demon's head leaned back and was about to come in at Wendy, his fangs open wide. She immediately flipped herself out from between the demon's claws and leaped into the air. Charging up, she unleashed a shuffle of Sky Dragon Slayer spells that smashed Deliora multiple times, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Now's your chance!" Carla shouted to the others. "Finish him!"

"Shattering Light: Sky Drill!"

"Karma Demon: Iron God Sword!"

"Rainbow Fire Ultimate: Rainbow Connection!"

Wendy, Romeo, and Gajeel unleashed their ultimate attacks against Deliora, the spells decimating and grievously injuring his body. The demon collapsed to the ground, moving no longer.

"We did it!" Wendy cheered, jumping into the air.

"Couldn't have finished it without that crazy stunt you pulled," Gajeel remarked. "I gotta say, kid, you're just plain crazy."

"Look who's talking!" Romeo retorted, elbowing him, and causing the rest of the group to laugh.

"Not so fast!" a voice boomed.

In a loud explosion, Wendy, Romeo, Carla, and Gajeel found themselves grasped by dark thorns erupting from the ground. The submission was so tightening that the four cried in pain, feeling their bodies squeezed.

With a monumental effort, the four titled their heads to get a better view as Mard Geer Tartaros came up to them with a sinister smirk. He chuckled, "You wouldn't think I would let you escape from my world, do you?"

Romeo grunted, "No! It can't be!"

Wendy cried, "How did you know we were here?!"

Gajeel replied, "Because it's his Underworld. Mard is its god."

"Oh, don't worry, my friends," Mard assured. "I'll escort you out of the Underworld. In fact, I've got bigger plans for you." His face contorted with false sympathy towards Gajeel, "Especially you, Gajeel. Since I'm being such a nice god, I'll let you return to the mortal world. But it won't be a very pleasant homecoming!"

The Lord of the Dead broke into laughter as he wrenched his fist, the thorns tightening their grip on Wendy and her friends as a result.

A large squeeze, and they fainted unconscious.

"…Natsu ain't gonna know what hit him!"

Wendy, Romeo, Carla, and Gajeel woke up in a cold place, and they lay on a stone floor with their arms and legs held tightly by a great force. The light was bright due to the lampposts beside them, casting grid lines of shadow on the wall. They were imprisoned in a hidden storage room, with their arms and legs strapped by Mard Geer's thorns.

By the time they regained consciousness, three silhouettes emerged from behind. They turned to see Mard Geer, with Kain Hikaru and Rustyrose beside him.

"Rest assured, my lord, Natsu will never find them in here," Rustyrose promised.

"Yeah!" Kain agreed. "This Domus Flau storage room's somethin' you ain't gonna find in a million years! It'll take a miracle to find it."

"Nice work, boys," Mard congratulated, clapping his hands. "I love the way your slimy little minds work!"

"All in a day's work," Kain and Rustyrose nodded, accepting their boss's appreciation after so many failures.

Mard turned to his captives and said, "I must admit, you and your posse got off on a shaky foot with my pet, but… I couldn't help but admire your talents. I mean, with all the stuff you did under Natsu, you were begging to come into the Underworld for any exchange of top secret information from me, thanks to Chagot's little help."

Carla asked incredulously, "You knew we were going to the Underworld?!"

Wendy stammered, "B-But how did you…?"

"It never hurts to have friends in high places," Mard gestured to Kain and Rustyrose, who played an important part in his scheme. "All it takes is a little manipulation, just a single movement, and BOOM! The strategy plays out. I'm sure Chagot and her little creations were glad of the accommodations I gave them…"

Carla's eyes widened in horror. "What have you done with Mother?! What did you do to Extalia?!"

"Oh, I just gave the cat family a no-expense trip down below," Mard explained with a jeer. "They're trapped in a giant thorn dome I've created around Extalia, and no one ever found out or got out! Now Extalia just got turned into Ex-Thornia, and when Chagot changes the weather, instead of spring with flowers, it'll be spring with thorns!" He concluded with maniacal laughter.

Carla growled, an intense rage burning in her stomach for the way Mard treated her homeland and her mother. "How dare you…"

"It won't be long now," Mard smiled cruelly. "The time will draw near. I will finally have my long awaited revenge against Igneel and all of Olympus for abandoning me to rule this sad excuse of an Underworld!" He glared at Wendy and her friends, "The only people that can trip me up are standing in front of me."

"What are you gonna do?" Gajeel growled. "Send us back to the Underworld?"

"Not this time. Instead you will learn, there are things worse than death," Mard replied.

"What do you mean?" Romeo asked nervously.

"In twenty-four hours, you'll find out soon enough," Mard answered with a grin. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a whole lot of preparations to arrange for an upcoming ceremony, where I just can't wait to be king."

"You won't get away with this, Mard Geer!" Wendy screamed angrily. "Natsu will stop you! You can't beat him! You never will!"

Mard was unfazed by Wendy's threat. He replied with an ominous chuckle, "Oh, I think I will…"

With a hiss, the Lord of the Dead and his minions disappeared, and the storage room's lampposts were extinguished. The area was plunged into darkness, but the thunderous echoing of Mard's evil laughter remained.

"Well, this sucks," Gajeel grumbled. "How are we ever gonna get outta here?"