Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.

Fair warning: this fic is rated M for a reason.

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

"It feels like Zeref's magic, but…" Meredy furrowed her brow in thought "it's different."

Mystogan and Crime Sorciere pondered about Meredy's words before reaching their own conclusion. While Jellal thought it was related to Zeref, Mystogan and Ultear believed it was a completely different entity; from her brief time with Zeref, and for what he heard from Natsu and the others, Zeref was not a bloodthirsty killer like the old books depicted him.

"Sorry, that's all I can get" Meredy apologized to the group while Jellal merely shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. Besides; we still have that other lead in the grand games."

"The grand magic games, what do you mean?" Mystogan asked.

"Each year we have felt a presence there. We suspect, no, we believe that Zeref is involved" Jellal said to his counterpart "But since we can't get close to the tournament with all those guards nearby, we can't be certain it's really him."

"But this year we have a plan" Ultear said"and for that, we'll need Fairy Tail's help."

Hearing this Mystogan narrowed his eyes; even when so far they showed no ill intentions, he was not about to trust them just yet "Help in what?"

"We'll discuss this with Natsu and his team soon, for now take this" Jellal withdrew something from his robe and presented it to Mystogan "When time comes, we'll contact you so we can meet up and tell you the rest. If you need to summon us, just insert some magic into the lacryma and we'll come see you."

Mystogan inspected the lacryma Jellal gave him, finding nothing strange about it he proceeded to store it on his bag. As the group headed out, Ultear slipped something in Mystogan's cloak without Jellal or Meredy noticing it. The Edolas mage raised an eyebrow, but Ultear merely smiled and put a finger on her lips for him to stay quiet about it. Once outside, Jellal faced Mystogan.

"Farewell. And, um…" Jellal seemed to struggle to form the words "if-if you see Erza…tell her…that…never mind."

Ultear and Meredy shook their heads, not believing Jellal's lack of confidence when it was about Erza. Fortunately for him, Mystogan saved him from further embarrassment.

"Don't worry, I'll say hello to her when I see her." Mystogan smirked after he said that, not that they noticed since his face was cloaked.

Jellal was grateful with him before he realized Mystogan's words. "Ultear, Meredy, let's go!"

Once Crime Sorciere left, Mystogan withdrew the item Ultear slipped into his cloak. It was a simple letter addressed to someone.

"To Gray" Mystogan stared at the letter for another moment before putting it back into his cloak "What am I: a message boy?"

Chapter 31: The Return

"This is fun, right!" Cana exclaimed with one hand snaked around a barrel and the other holding a guy in a headlock. Expertly dodging a chair thrown at her, the card mage knocked out the guy she was holding and drank the contents of her barrel in one go.

Across from her, Gray punched the lights out of a drunken guy and turned to engage another one: "You and I have a very different meaning of fun."

Hours ago, Gray and Cana had gone out on their official first date, well, if you could call 'going to bars and picking up fights' a date.

"Come on, lighten up!" A tipsy Cana drank from a new barrel, her cheeks already a bit red "It's almost the same like in the guild!"

"I guess you're right"

"Of course I'm right! Just imagine these losers are Natsu, but this time you're the one kicking his ass, not the other way around."

"Yea…What!?" Gray got distracted by Cana and didn't see the table hitting him in the head.

"Oops, hehe" The brunette nervously giggled after seeing what her words caused. Deciding he could use some help, Cana withdrew some cards and attacked the drunken men with keen precision, at least in her head.

A combination of lightning, hurricane winds and bikini clad girls flew around the tavern, decimated the place. It didn't take long for the sound of soldiers approaching to reach their ears.

"It's the royal guard!"

Those still conscious scrambled away. Getting the same idea, Gray grabbed Cana's hand and made a beeline to the nearest exit to escape imprisonment.

"Weeeeeeee! That was fun!" Cana yelled from her spot on top of Gray. The card user was a bit tipsy and was having trouble walking straight, so Gray volunteered to carry her piggyback style "Let's go to another one!"

"To wreck the place, thanks but I'll pass. 3 brawls are enough for one night."

The two of them were currently crossing the city's park, from there it would be a short trip to drop Cana at Fairy Hills dorm.

"Come on! It's still early" Cana pumped her fist into the air, causing Gray to almost trip by her sudden movement "It's more fun when I go with you."

Knowing that the guards were still around, Gray tried to dissuade her "We can go another night. Why don't we do something else?"

Resting her head on his shoulder, Cana whispered into his ear "Like what?"

"I-I don't know… whatever you want."

Cana didn't have to be told twice; in an instant, she dragged Gray to fall down on his back with her on top, surprising the ice mage: "How the heck did she do that?"

The card user closed the gap between them until her lips almost brushed with his; giving him a sensual look she asked "Whatever…I want?"

Mesmerized by her rosy lips, it took a moment for Gray to recover his voice "Y-yeah, whatever you want."

"Good, cause what I want to do… is you"

Without waiting for an answer, Cana captured Gray's lips in a sloppy, yet deep kiss. The Ice mage returned the favor and soon they found themselves battling with each others tongue for dominance; while Gray's kiss felt cold, it didn't seem to bother her. As for Cana, her mouth still had that lingering taste of alcohol, but Gray had long since gotten accustomed to it; in fact, he wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

While the rolled around the grass, One of Gray's hands found itself touching by accident the hook of her bikini top. Cana moaned when she suddenly found the lock being released, it seemed that Gray was not only good at getting naked in a flash; he was also very adept in doing the same to others.

"Sorry, force of habit" Gray said breaking the kiss only to freeze; having a blushing Cana looking straight at him, adding to that, her bikini dangerously close of falling off, had a noticeable effect on his lower regions. And judging by her small moan and smirk, Cana also noticed his 'not so small' effect. As she went for another kiss Gray moved his face away from her, confusing her.

"What's wrong?"

"We shouldn't do this" Gray said, and before she could speak he added "You're drunk, it wouldn't be right."

"Gray, I'm always drunk" Cana went for another kiss, but Gray didn't relent on his decision, exasperating her a bit.

"I'm serious. I want our first time to be because we both want it, not because we drank too much."

"What makes you think it's my first time?" Cana said holding a smirk on her face, but dropped it by the knowing look Gray was giving her "Ok, got me there."

Lifting her bridal style, eliciting a yelp from her, Gray resumed his way back to Fairy hills. Resting her head on his chest, Cana whispered to him "I want you, to be my first and only…"

Gray couldn't help but feel a smile etching on his features. To have a girl (even slightly intoxicated) telling him she wanted only him, increased his ego.

"And I'll be your only one, promise me that…"

For a moment, Gray hesitated on what answer to give; memories of Ultear swarmed inside his head, fortunately for him, Cana had succumbed to sleep, saving him from answering her. As he carried her to her dorm, the ice mage fought an internal battle inside him: on one side, he felt a deep connection to Ultear, with time he could learn to love her further like she loved him. On the other, the feelings he had for Cana were deep; she had been her friend for years and was the first one to confess her affection for him.

Looking down at her sleeping form he reached a decision "Cana, you deserve better…that's why I'll make it up to you. I promise."

The next morning at Fairy Tail:

Natsu, Lisanna and Angel walked inside the guild and were surprised to see it a bit empty. Looking around, the dragon slayer failed to find the person he was looking for.

"Hey! Where's Gildarts?"

"Ah, it's you Natsu." Macao greeted him before answering his question "Gildarts left on a job with Vergil this morning, he said he'll be back in a few days."

"Darn it! I wanted to ask him something" Natsu found a bit strange that Vergil actually agreed to go with Gildarts on a job, but he had other things on his head.

Macao looked towards Natsu and eyed the mysterious girl resembling Angel at his side "Natsu, who's that?"

"What do you mean who am I" Angel latched onto Natsu "I'm his girlfriend."

The present mages spilled their drinks at the girl's declaration, all wondering how did Natsu managed to get a third girl so fast. Recovering from the initial shock, Macao grinned at Natsu "Natsu, you sly dog! I didn't know you were into older girls."

The guild suddenly grew quiet to the point they could head the drop of a pin. Lisanna face palmed at Macao's slip of words while Natsu was lost on what he meant by that. Angel retained her smile, but the giant vein mark in her forehead predicted pain…excruciating pain for Macao.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY OLD!? I HAVEN'T AGED A DAY, YOU ASSHOLE!"

It took the combined effort of Erza and Natsu to restrain Angel from killing Macao, who was now in a deep hole on the ground due to the celestial mage's rage. It seemed like not only her features changed, but her strength had also increased a great deal.

After a brief explanation about her changes, and several death glares directed from Angel to Macao, Makarov arrived at the guild followed by Lyon. Noticing him, Gray called his rival:

"What the heck are you doing here?"

"I am on official guild business." The way Lyon said that, told Gray it was something serious. Getting the message, the ice mage from Fairy Tail kept his mouth shut as Makarov spoke:

"Where's Gildarts?" while the small wizard looked around, Mirajane told him what Macao said to Natsu moments before "What!? He's the master now! He can't leave on a mission whenever he wants."

"Its ok master" Mira replied "He told me you would cover for him while he was away."

Makarov sunk a bit after realizing that Gildarts might do this often. Regaining his serious look he addressed the present mages "Listen up! I have just come back from a meeting with the council."

Team Natsu started sweating, trying to remember what they might have done to piss the council, until Makarov added: "Most of you might not know this, but a few days ago there was an attack to the Phantom Lord guild."

"Phantom Lord?" Some mages asked while Erza spoke "Master; wasn't Phantom Lord dissolved years ago?"

Makarov nodded to Erza "It seems like Jose was trying to resurrect it, but that is not the important part." Pausing a moment he added "Everyone was killed in the attack."

Silence enveloped the guild after Makarov's revelation; almost every member of Fairy Tail recalled the gruesome war they had with Phantom lord, but no one felt glad to hear about their gruesome fate. After a moment, Makarov told them the rest.

"The same man responsible attacked Lyon's team recently. In the ensuing conflict, Jura was injured and part of his magic was stolen. While his life is in no danger, his condition is not improving."

Lyon stepped in front and said to them: "The man responsible calls himself 'Deimos'. I was unable to face him due to intervention from one of his accomplices, a sword wielding woman called Ikaruga."

Recognizing the name, Erza asked for details, which Lyon confirmed "I take it you've faced her before. She is an extremely skilled opponent."

Before they deviated from the main topic, Makarov spoke: "The council has requested my presence at Jose's funeral. That's not all; they called me for a private meeting to discuss possible candidates to replace Jura."

If anyone was more disgusted by the council's actions, it was Natsu "Those bastards! They're already talking about Jura like he's dead!"

"I agree with you Natsu" Makarov said to the irate slayer "Since the council is too busy looking for replacements and not taking action to stop Deimos, myself, along with the guild master's of Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus have agreed to join forces one more time to stop Deimos before he can cause more harm to others."

"Just like the old days" Lucy said, feeling a wave of nostalgia hit her. Erza and Gray nodded while Natsu was already bursting in excitement.

"Just like the old days, when you kicked my ass" Angel sweat dropped.

"Right now we are searching for any clues as to where Deimos might be" Lyon informed them "once we have a solid lead, we shall regroup for a full assault."

All of a sudden, everyone, except Makarov, fell asleep. Natsu, Erza and Lyon tried to stay awake, but in the end succumbed to the powerful sleeping spell. Once everyone was out cold, Mystogan walked into the guild.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't do that anymore" Makarov said to the cloaked mage who merely shrugged.

"Sorry, force of habit"

"Do you know about the S rank missions?" Vergil's lack of response told Gildarts he didn't knew, or cared about it. "Well, they divide into three categories"

"I am not interested" Vergil interrupted him, clearly uninterested in what Gildarts had to say. "What I want to know is where are we going?"

For the last few hours, Vergil had been following Gildarts to who knows where and it was beginning to tax the half devil's patience. After abandoning Magnolia, they followed a path through a dense forest before climbing a mountain, which is where they are right now.

"Patience is a virtue Vergil" Gildarts said to his companion, ignorant that Vergil was very much tempted to slice him in half with Yamato. "I suppose you are ignorant about the stories of old as well?"

Vergil removed his hand from Yamato, for the time being, and decided to listen to what Gildarts had to say. "It has been…a long time since I last walked this earth."

"Yeah, I figured as much"

Vergil waited for Gildarts to say more, but after a while it was clear that the guild master was not going to say anything else "What else where you going to tell me?"

"Hmm?" Gildarts gave him a questioning look "about what?"

Gritting his teeth, Vergil forced to calm himself "About the stories you mentioned."

"Oh that! I asked if you knew since I need a small reminder of them." After saying that, Gildarts burst laughing.

That was the last straw for Vergil; withdrawing Yamato, he closed the gap between himself and Gildarts and stabbed the guild master in the back.

"Ahh, here we are!"

Vergil woke up from his daydream by Gildarts voice, if there was something Mavis left clear for him, it was to never (seriously) hurt another member of fairy Tail. Gildarts watched the vast desert past the mountain and motioned Vergil to look.

"Crossing this, we should arrive to our destination."

Vergil inspected the badlands behind the mountain "And what exactly is our destination… guild master?"

"Remember what I said about the old stories and the S rank missions." Getting an affirmative answer from Vergil, Gildarts continued "Aside the normal S rank ones, which only S class mages can take, there are two more ranks for missions. Come to think of it, I should promote you to S class one of these days…"

"Gildarts"

"Right, right, anyway; after the S rank there's the SS rank job, which are dubbed the ten year job. After that, there's the SSS rank job, the 100 year job."

"I am guessing all of this has a point."

"I once tried to accomplish the 100 year job, and failed miserably." Gripping his restored hand Gildarts added "On that job I faced the dragon that attacked Tenrou Island, I almost didn't made it out alive. These jobs are only given to the strongest mages for a reason: "Turning to face Vergil, Gildarts said "They involve going to the forbidden grounds, the place where legends say was the place where Zeref was defeated in the last war."

It didn't take long for Vergil to realize something: "That is why this land is like this"

Nodding, Gildarts took a step forward into the sand "Normally, it would take me days to cross this place, but since I got all my real parts back what say we have a small race?"

Without warning, Gildarts started running at an extremely fast pace through the badlands, lifting sand high above the air. Not one to back down, Vergil did the same and soon matched his speed.

"If you think this place is something, wait till you see what waits beyond it."

Erza groggily opened her eyes and looked around until her eyes landed on a patch of blue hair: "Je…Jellal!"

"Yes, in a way it's me" Mystogan said to her before giving her a hand to get up from the floor. "I'm actually his Edolas counterpart."

"Mystogan!?"

"Prince!"

Erza and Pantherlily asked, they as well as everyone else, were surprised by Mystogan's presence. "but how?"

"It's a long story"

As before with Ultear and the others, Mystogan told them his story on how he came back to Earthland; how he arrived 5 years after they vanished at Tenrou, grieved for them before deciding to help keep Fairy Tail standing with whatever job he could take for them and all about his anonymous interventions when Twilight ogre came to wreck havoc to their guild.

"I would have wanted to act more against them" Mystogan explained "but Master Macao wisely advised against it."

"If they knew Mystogan was the one that attacked them, who knows what they would have done to our guild" A battered and bruised Macao said to them.

"Those guys deserve an ass kicking!" Natsu stood up and headed to the door, before Erza dragged him back.

"We've already taken care of them" Makarov informed Natsu while Erza and Mirajane nodded as well. The present mages shivered by the meaning behind those words; if Erza and Mira were involved, they almost felt bad for the Ogres. Almost.

"Wait a minute! I understand about keeping it a secret from Twilight ogres, but why didn't anyone tell us about you" Lucy asked.

"That's easy, no one, except Macao and Wakaba knew." Mystogan said to her.

"Well, now that you told them your story, it's time you tell us what you found on your mission." Makarov said.

"Yes, of course. Last night I went to inspect the Phantom Lord guild for clues about the incident that happened there, with some unexpected guests."

They were curious on who he meant, but decided to listen to him first "After some deliberation, we concluded that dark magic similar to Zeref was used to kill Jose and his mages, but it was different somehow."

"It was Deimos" Lyon filled the gaps for Mystogan about the unknown man.

Mystogan nodded to him before turning to team Natsu, in particular to Erza, his eyes lingered on her the most. No one seemed to notice, except Lucy.

"About my unexpected companions: they asked me to give you a message, but I'm afraid this time it must be for your ears only."

"Very well, let's use master's office for that."

Before following Erza, Mystogan said to the resident ice mage "Gray, a moment?"

Wondering what he wanted, Gray approached Mystogan and received an envelope directed at him.

"I think you know who this is from."

It took a moment, but Gray realized it was from Ultear. Offering a low thanks, he was going somewhere private to read it when Mystogan stopped him.

"Gray, thread carefully. You're walking on thin ice here."

Gray stared at Mystogan for a moment before saying "Was that a pun?"

Mystogan stared at Gray before saying "It was a joke. And people wonder why I always put you all to sleep when I come to the guild."

After telling team Natsu about Crime Sorciere wanting to contact them, Mystogan gave Erza the lacryma Jellal gave him. Each member went their separate way to think about the proposal of meeting them, leaving Erza alone with Mystogan.

"The tournament is still 3 months away; you have some time to think about meeting them or not."

Erza nodded as both of them stood outside. She felt strange talking to Mystogan, even when he had his mask on, she knew that behind it he looked exactly like the Jellal she knew, her Jellal.

From the corner of her eye, Erza spotted Gajeel and Levy talking about something involving Phantom lord, by the looks of it, Levy was comforting Gajeel. Erza wasn't really sure why, but seeing them gave her the push she needed to ask Mystogan about Jellal.

"Mystogan, did Jellal say something about me?"

"Yes, he did" remembering his other self's fiasco of a message, Mystogan said to her "He told me to tell you: hello."

"Just that?"

"Regardless his simple message, I know what he really meant to say was: I'm glad fate gave me another chance to see you again." Mystogan finished, locking eyes with her.

Erza felt her cheeks get warm after hearing him; she wasn't so convinced Jellal gave him that message to him, but even if Jellal did say those words, hearing them from Mystogan had an unexpected effect on her.

"A-Are you sure he really meant that?'

Nodding, Mystogan never broke eye contact "We might be from different worlds, but we think the same. That is what I would tell you."

She stared back at him, getting lost in his dark eyes. Feeling more confused than before, Erza changed topic. "Mystogan, do you miss Edolas?"

Ever since he revealed himself, Erza had not called him by his real name; instead she opted to use his nickname. In a way he knew it was for the best, but he couldn't help get a bit disappointed. Remembering her question, Mystogan said: "Sometimes"

"Did you leave someone back there…someone close to you?"

Mystogan noticed how she casually looked away, feigning she wasn't curious. Smiling behind his mask he said "There was someone back there, but things didn't work out."

"Oh! Sorry to hear that." Even when she said those words, Erza felt something akin to relief wash over her.

"I realized that even when they looked the same, that person was not the one I truly wanted to see."

"Then who…."

"Mystogan! Fight me!" Natsu bumped into their conversation, getting an angry glare from Erza for interrupting them. "Last time it was faked, but now it's for real."

"Maybe another time Natsu" Mystogan politely declined the slayer's offer. Natsu was not about to take no for an answer, but to his good (or bad) luck, Erza accepted the challenge.

"I'll take you on Natsu!"

Mystogan watched them go before deciding to speak to Makarov. When he turned around he was startled to find someone behind him.

"Lucy. What can I do for you?"

Lucy smiled knowingly, confusing Mystogan "oh, nothing. I was just walking by and I saw you talking to Erza."

Realizing what she was hinting, Mystogan excused himself, leaving Lucy behind with a large smile on her face.

Gray read the letter for the third time before sighing. Last night it all seemed so simple for him; pick Cana over Ultear, but now he was back where he started. "How the heck does flame head make it seem so easy?"

Then again he wasn't a dragon slayer. The idea of getting his hands on an ice lacryma came to mind before he dispelled the thought; there was no way he was following Natsu's footsteps…was he?

Jumping down from the guild's roof, Gray was heading to his house to rest when he noticed Juvia. Granted, he really never paid attention to her antics, but now there was something in the way she acted that reminded him of when he first met her.

"Hey Juvia"

"Gray-sama" Juvia's eyes seemed a bit empty as she directed her attention to him "What can Juvia do for you?"

Gray was taken back a bit; she usually acted more…Juvia-like when it was about him, but now she seemed detached "Are you alright?"

It took a moment before Juvia answered him "Juvia was just thinking about Master Jose. He was not the nicest person I've known, but Juvia is still sad to hear he passed away."

"I can't say I feel bad for him" Gray said to her "He did try to destroy our guild back then."

"Juvia knows Gray-sama is right, but I can't help but feel sad. Master Jose was one of the first persons to accept Juvia for who she is, a rain woman" As on cue, a light rain started dropping over them "I'm sorry, Juvia promised to go with Gajeel-kun to inform Totomaru about the funeral."

Before Juvia could head out, Gray's hand reached out to grab her "I know how you feel Juvia, if you ever need someone to speak to, feel free to come anytime."

A light blush adorned Juvia's cheeks, returning some of her real persona into her being "Gray- sama…Juvia will hold you on that promise."

The rain slowly died, revealing the sun in all his glory. As Gray watched her go, he cursed himself. "Great, here I am deciding between Ultear and Cana, and now I'm thinking about Juvia too."

Gildarts and Vergil had been running nonstop for a few hours when something was becoming visible on the horizon. Even from afar, Vergil started recognizing the structures coming to view; as they got closer he was certain his eyes were not deceiving him.

"Those are… buildings"

It didn't take long for them to reach the buildings; coming to a stop both men inspected the man-made structures before Gildarts spoke:

"Impressive are they? The first time I saw them I stayed all day just wandering the city"

The buildings were black, like they were completely charred, but what really caught Vergil's attention was the fact that these structures were very different from the ones found in Magnolia. In fact, they seemed…

"…From my time."

'Huh? You say something?" Gildarts asked.

"These buildings are from my timeline, but that cannot be." Vergil said, earning a questioning look from Gildarts.

"How so?"

"They do not seem so decayed. Judging this world current technological level, from where I come from, a couple of thousands of years must have passed, enough to turn these structures into dust."

"I thought the same thing" Gildarts added "Zeref's war happened some time after you last walked this earth. So something must have happened to our world that changed it before Zeref first appeared."

Images suddenly flashed before Vergil's eyes; Dante, Nero and a third person were standing in the middle of this city. It was only bits and pieces, but he could clearly see who they were fighting.

"It was Mundus"

"Mundus! Who's that?" Gildarts asked while Vergil clutched his head.

"A demon from my time" Vergil replied "I still cannot remember it all, but this city's destruction was the result of that fight."

"I see. Then it wasn't caused by Acnologia" Gildarts mused "that explains why we can feel all this darkness around this place."

Another flashback told Vergil there was something he needed to see in the middle of the city. Without word he proceeded to start walking there when Gildarts words stopped him:

"Remember when I told you about that promotion to S class?"

"I do not care for titles."

"Too bad, since I'm the guild master you have to listen to me."

After he said that, Vergil stopped and leveled Gildarts with a glare. "Fine, promote me and get over with it!"

"Not so fast, there's still a test you must pass" Gildarts smile turned into a serious expression "Defeat me, and the title is yours."

Vergil was pushed back by the intensity of Gildarts magical aura, forcing the half devil to stand his ground.

"looks like I'll have to face you for real from the start "Reaching Yamato, Vergil unleashed his devil trigger, surprising Gildarts by the sudden transformation.

"Show me what you got"

Erigor's footsteps echoed through the stone hallway as he ran to Deimos's chambers. He had been on guard duty when he spotted an approaching airship inbound to their position.

Deimos's chambers were located on the center of the structure; he specifically chose this place so he could conduct the necessary ritual with the water they had procured days before, and because it still had Lacryma shards he could use.

Before Erigor arrived, the cloaked girl entered his chambers and kneel before Deimos ."My lord, I did as you ask, but…are you sure it was the right thing to do?"

"You doubt me?"

"No milord! I would never do that! But, to lead…"

Before the girl could say more, Erigor burst into the chambers "Master! There's an incoming airship to our position!"

The girl glared at the intrusion, but Deimos didn't seem to care: "Defend the borders with Ikaruga. You must not let them intrude in here."

"Only us two?" Erigor was not a coward, but even he knew the odds were not in his favor.

"We must remain here to complete the ritual, but nonetheless my presence will accompany you outside the battlefield."

Dark shadows started emanating from Deimos and raced past Erigor to greet the unwelcomed guests.

"My honey, it is so good to fight alongside you once again… Men!" Ichiya's actions were starting to get on Erza's nerves, but she managed to keep them on check so far. "Have I told you, your perfume smells lovely this evening?"

"Yes, you have…for the last hour or so" Erza took a step away only for Ichiya to get close to her to try and sniff her. Meanwhile, Erza was not the only one having a bad day:

"Are we…gulp…there yet?" As usual, Natsu was feeling horrible due to his motion sickness. Having Lisanna and Angel next to him eased his nausea, but only a bit.

"Aye, I can already see it!" Happy said, pointing below.

Lifting his head from the rail fence, Natsu and his girls watched as the ruins of Nirvana came to view; a day ago an unknown informant told Lamia Scale where Deimos was located, after Lyon's team verified that Deimos was indeed in the ruins of Nirvana they informed Fairy Tail and Blue Pegasus to head out and take him out. Mystogan offered to accompany team Natsu (plus Lisanna and Angel) in the joined mission to stop Deimos. Knowing that Deimos was a dangerous foe, Makarov wanted to send Laxus too, but the lightning mage was already on a job with the Thunder God Tribe.

"Nirvana" Angel reminisced her time with Oracion Seis and how they were the ones that unleashed the forbidden magic back then. Putting those thoughts aside, Angel clutched her keys in preparation to fight.

Back with Erza, Even when the rest of the trimen were across sea on another job, Ichiya was enough to exasperate Erza. Not taking it anymore, she was about to punch the diminutive man off the ship, fortunately for her, Mystogan resolved the situation peacefully; Ichiya soon found himself running in circles on the ship's deck following an invisible Erza while saying weird 'men' phrases.

"That should keep him busy for a while" Mystogan said before returning his gaze to the forest below.

"Thanks"

Even when she didn't seem like it, Erza was glad to have Mystogan here. Then again, with Lyon's team and Ichiya here, they were more than ready to take on any foe that came their way.

"Something's coming from Nirvana!"

From the ruined six legged structure, hundreds of dark shadows emanated from every opening, crack, fissure, and headed towards Christina. At first glance, Fairy Tail recognized them:

"Those are like the one's phantom lord used against us seven years ago" Lucy exclaimed, only for Gray to shook his head.

"Correction; those Are the shades Jose used. Deimos must somehow steal people's magic just like he did to Jura."

Acting fast, each mage fired their attacks at the incoming waves of shades. But just as before, for each one taken out, two more took their place.

"It's no use, we must take out Deimos to end them" Erza said to the group. While the ship descended to ground level, the mages on board did what they could to keep the shades at bay.

"…Happy..."

"Aye!" Grabbing hold of Natsu, Happy carried him into the air. With his nausea instantly away, Natsu was ready to enter the fray.

"Well, well, well, this surely is a blast from the past" Erigor levitated in front of the allied mages "this sure brings back memories."

"Erigor" Reequipping to her black wing armor, Erza jumped off the ship and slashed at Erigor with her sword.

The former Eisenwald mage parried with his triple blade scythe and said to her: "I'm not interested in fighting you, but someone inside is. Don't keep her waiting."

Erza knew who he was talking about, but she wasn't going to abandon her comrades while Erigor was here.

"Erza, let me fight him" Natsu yelled at her "I wanna wipe the floor with him"

Nodding, Erza disengaged from Erigor and flied straight at Nirvana's ruins. As he watched her go, Erigor's smirk was erased when Natsu punched him with a fiery fist to gain his attention.

"Hey! Your fight is with me!"

Erigor rubbed his chin and smirked at Natsu "Yes, it is." Brandishing his new scythe he added "Remember this? Heard it cut your skin way back. Care to do a repeat performance?"

Natsu recognized the scythe, it was the same one Jashin used seven years ago. Lifting the scythe, Erigor sent several wind blades straight at Natsu who dodged them thanks to Happy's help. With his attention on Natsu, Erigor failed to see the attack coming from behind him.

"Flame sphere!" Lisanna rammed her attack into Erigor's back, sending the wind mage crashing down on Christina's deck. "I also remember that thing, and let me tell you: you wont get a chance to use it!"

"Why you…!" Erigor raised himself from the rubble to come face to face with Ichiya.

"Christina's deck is only for comrades and good looking people like us, Men"

"Shut it dwarf" Standing up, Erigor directed his scythe at Ichiya. Opening a bottle of perfume, the ace of Blue Pegasus grew in size and muscle, much to Erigor's horror.

"Oh shit…"

Shades still kept pouring out of Nirvana, but Erza made quick work of them as she headed to face Deimos. Only by defeating him would the shades attack end.

Mist suddenly appeared next to her, materializing into Mystogan "Erza wait! I know what you intend to do, but it's dangerous to head alone."

"Listen to your boyfriend" Ikaruga emerged from within the dark corridor "You never know what you could find."

"Ikaruga" Requipping to her battle outfit, Erza stood ready for whatever she might throw at her.

Ikaruga seemed to feel like she had met Mystogan before, but brushed it aside in favor of facing Erza.

"You were the only one that was able to defeat me, Erza. I never forgot that." Reaching into her kimono, Ikaruga withdrew a cursed blue blade and pointed it at Erza. "I will kill you and recover my honor, as well as my sister's!"

Erza and Ikaruga clashed in the middle of the hallway where their blades met each other in a dance of sparks and dark magic. Mystogan grabbed two of his staffs and went to helf Erza, but stopped when she called his name.

"Mystogan, let me handle her."

Reluctantly, Mystogan put his staffs back and stayed in the sidelines of their fight. Ikaruga gained some space between herself and Erza and sent hundreds of slashes in a second. Erza expertly dodged each slash and countered with a slash of her sword. The former Dead Head Caucus mage blocked the attack with her sword and praised Erza's prowess.

"Still fast as ever Erza, but I have some new tricks up my sleeve." Pointing her katana down, Ikaruga rammed it into the ground. After a moment of nothing happening, Erza decided to attack the distracted Ikaruga when a large blue blade emerged below her position, she managed to dodge the fatal attack but the blade still managed to cut into her shoulder.

"Erza!" Mystogan ran to help her while Ikaruga laughed.

"This is it Erza, die!" Ramming her sword back on the ground, dozens of blades emerged from below and raced towards Erza. Clutching her shoulder, Erza realized she was not going to make it when Mystogan scooped her out of harm's way.

"Mystogan" Erza blushed by the close proximity of their bodies while Mystogan carried her bridal style. Feeling a bit disappointed when he put her down, Mystogan said to her.

"Remember our mission; we must defeat Deimos as fast as possible to stop his shades. Let's fight her together."

Nodding, Erza changed into her heaven's wheel armor while Mystogan rammed some staffs on the ground. Ikaruga dealt with each sword coming at her and managed to reach Mystogan before he could set the fifth staff.

"Die!"

Erza watched in horror as Mystogan was cut in half, only for the cloaked mage to turn into mist after her attack. Before she realized what was happening, Ikaruga was tied by several belts followed by being sent into the air.

"What the fuck is this!?" while Ikaruga was trapped in Mystogan's Skyscraper illusion, the real Mystogan said to Erza.

"She's all yours."

"Thank you" calmly walking over to Ikaruga, Erza punched her in the face, knocking Ikaruga out. She then shattered the cursed blade with her purgatory's sword to end the threat.

While the rest of the mages stayed behind to deal with the shades, Natsu, Erza, Mystogan and Lyon raced towards Deimos chambers to stop him once and for all. Reaching a large sealed door, they decided this was the place.

"Stand back. Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Natsu's flames collided with the large door and in instants his flames blasted it away, as they got a closer look inside, they realized that deimos had transformed the place into some sort of vast water pool with a long bridge leading to an altar where Deimos and someone else awaited. The cloaked girl turned to glare at them while Deimos continued to kneel in an altar.

"Astria, deal with them"

"My pleasure" removing her cloak, the girl known as Astria revealed her long blonde hair and beautiful face. If ichiya was present, he would be fawning all over her by now.

"Deimos, surrender at once; we have you outnumbered"

Both Deimos and Astria ignored Erza's order as the blonde mage revealed a black key from her robes.

"Open the Hell gate: Belphegor!"

Outside, Loke, Lucy and Angel felt something strange coming from inside Nirvana. While both celestial mages wondered what it could be, Loke's eyes widened in fear.

"No, it can't be…"

By Astria's command, A monstrous, bearded demon with horns and sharp-pointed nails emerged from a fissure in the ground and roared. Raising his fist, Belphegor brought it down with the intent of crushing them. Natsu rolled and countered with his fire roar, which had little effect on Belphegor.

"What the heck!?"

"That thing comes from hell, where fire is a common thing" Lyon said to Natsu "Let's see how you like ice"

A flock of ice eagles created by Lyon raced towards Belphegor, staggering the demon a bit. Erza requipped to her purgatory armor and lunged to attack it's legs in an attempt to trip it while Mystogan charged his attack.

"Five Layered Magic Circle: Sacred Song!"

A tower of light burst from the ground, engulfing Belphegor as it roared in pain.

"Natsu Now!"

Catching what Erza meant, Natsu directed his fire roar to the stone ceiling to crumble it on top of Belphegor, the combined attacks were too much and forced the demon to vanish in a burst of flames. Unfortunately for them, Natsu's attack caused a chain reaction that crumbled Nirvana's ruins all around them.

"This place is falling down, we must escape!" Lyon informed them. Natsu wanted to fight Deimos, but Erza grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and tossed him out of harm's way.

For the first time since the start of the fight, Deimos stood up and glared at the four mages: "You Fools! You have no idea what you've done!"

"Forget that, we must all escape or we'll die here" Erza countered. Deimos and Astria ignored her and stayed rooted in place. The scarlet mage of Fairy Tail was not about to leave them here to die, even when they were foes, but Mystogan caught her attention by grabbing hold of her hand.

"Leave them Erza, if they want to stay so be it!"

Nodding Erza and Mystogan barely made it out before the ceiling completely collapsed on them. Taking one last look back, the four of them ran outside as Nirvana's ruins crumbled to the ground.

All of Deimos's shades popped out of existence now that their lord was no more. Ikaruga felt the power Deimos gave her leave her body and her sword shards shattered into dust. As for Erigor:

"NO NO NO NO!" One by one, all of Erigor's hair started falling, leaving him completely bald. "GOD DAMMIT NO!"

"You joined Deimos…to keep your hair?" Angel asked, to which Erigor nodded with tears running down his face "That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard."

"You should have used the same brand I use, Meeen!" Ichiya said with starts sparkling around him, showing off his red mane.

"The vanishing of the shades can only mean that Deimos was defeated." Erza said to the group before turning to Lyon "I bet that Jura must be recovering his strength by now."

"Let's hope so" Lyon replied "But something tells me you are right."

As they decided what to do next, Lucy noticed that something troubled Loke: "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, is just that…" Loke turned to see Nirvana's ruins before saying "What we felt before, if that was really what I think it was, there was no way it could have been defeated so easy."

Below Nirvana, at an underground chamber:

"My lord, it seems that all worked according to plan. They now think we are dead." Astria said before sighing "It's a shame about Erigor and Ikaruga."

"They were expendable from the beginning."

"I know, but was it really necessary to exclude them from our plan." Astria said, referring about how it was she who leaked the info to Lamia scale about their whereabouts, all following Lord Deimos orders.

"To deceive our foes, one must first deceive his allies. Do you feel sad for them?"

"Of course not" The girl only known as Astria said before asking: "but, may I ask why all this trouble just to restore her?"

Astria pointed towards the wooden cage box, where a naked, shoulder length haired woman rested. The woman in question was unconscious, which saved Astria and Deimos the trouble of dealing with her.

"It was never within my interests to restore her, but it was the only way to get my brother's power back. After all, she was the one who drained it when she casted that ice spell on him."

"And you already got those powers back" Astria walked over to the cage and placed a knife to the woman's throat "Can I kill her now?"

"No, even when I do not care about her well being, she is fundamental in finding the last piece of the puzzle." Deimos reached down and caressed the woman's face, earning a small groan from her. "She will lead us to it."

Vergil slowly opened his eyes and realized that night had fallen. As he tried to sit up a sharp pain forced him to lie back down. Looking down, he realized someone tended and bandaged his wounds.

"Take it easy, you got hurt badly" Gildarts informed him before grinning "I know, cause I was the one that caused them."

The half devil ignored his comment and tried to sit again, this time he managed to do so with less pain. Looking around he noticed they were camping inside one of the buildings, a bonfire illuminated the darkness around them. Gildarts offered him a cup of warm coffee which Vergil accepted. Seeing that Vergil was not in the mood to talk, Gildarts returned to pocking the bonfire with a stick.

"The list of people that can defeat me is short. You are now one of them."

Gidarts smiled; that was the closest Vergil would come to admit defeat. "Sorry for dragging you here to fight you. But judging by the level of destruction we caused, it was for the best."

"I want a rematch" as Vergil said that, the pain in his chest protested "in a distant future."

"Fine by me, I'm not eager to fight you again anytime soon. Oh, by the way, congratulations on your promotion to S class"

Vergil said nothing at first and decided to lie back down to get some sleep. "Thanks"

The following morning, Vergil woke at first light followed by Gildarts. The Master of Fairy Tail watched with wonder how most, if not all, of Vergil's wounds had healed overnight.

"You heal fast"

"I know" Vergil started walking towards the center of the city, followed closely by Gildarts.

"Where are we going?"

"I am not sure" Vergil replied "I feel… like something is calling me."

As they got closer to the center of the city, the destruction all around became worse and worse. After an hour of nonstop walking, the two of them reached an immense crater.

"Holy…I actually never reached this place" Gildarts said in awe "Last time, Acnologia appeared before I could reach the center."

Vergil caught a glimpse of something shining in the middle of the crater and decided to jump down to investigate. Ignoring Gildarts warning call, the half devil made haste to the epicenter of the crater where something was half buried in the charred ground. Once his eyes got a closer look at it, Vergil was in disbelief.

"This is…" brushing some dirt from the handle, Vergil recognized the familiar blade. Grabbing the handle, Vergil pulled it out of the ground to find the blade was still in optimum condition.

"Wicked sword you found there" Gildarts said as he studied the large broadsword in Vergil's hand. The blade was big, bigger than Yamato's, the sword grip was fashioned to look like a skull with red eyes. Gildarts directed his attention from the sword to Vergil, who studied the blade with something akin to sadness in his eyes.

"This was my brother's sword" Vergil said as he watched the blade "Rebellion"

Author's Notes:

No omake this time, but look below for an extra scene of next chapter.

Wow, this chapter was a pain to write, why you ask? I'll let you in on a little secret: I hate writing fight scenes. During the Vergil vs Gildarts fight, I was going to write one, but decided to leave it like that. Vergil Will get a complete fight scene, but not just yet. As for Vergil finding Rebellious, more about Dante's last fate will be disclosed in future chapters.

Someone asked me if there was going to be lemons in this story; the answer is Yes, but not on this site. I will upload lemon scenes at another site which I will link in my profile page. Stay tuned.

Seems like this chapter was more focused on Gray and his girl problem than Natsu's harem, but never fear! Natsu and his girls will return with a vengeance soon. Just you wait.

Also, for manga followers, while it's a drag to wait two weeks until the main story returns, I was surprisingly glad to see a small Flare scene in the last chapter. What could this hint us? Is she going to join Fairy Tail or die at the end of the current arc? Who knows? Regardless, I already have plans for her on my story. As for the girl Jellal saw, I have a theory it could be future Lucy, Layla Heartphilia, Edo-Lisanna (the lisanna that supposedly died in edolas) or someone like Zeref but related to Natsu (Natsu's friend, sister, mom?)

Yukino's enlistment into Arcadios army is quite a surprise; something tells me she might be sacrificed for the Eclipse plan without her knowing it, let's hope not.

As for the anime; I haven't watched all of the new episodes, but someone told me that Angel is going thought some weird changes in the next episode. For now, I am distancing myself from this anime arc (since it's not cannon) and coming up with other ideas for her. Also, someone asked me if Angel will meet Aries. That's a yes.

There might be some doubts about this chapter, if so; feel free to review and I will answer them in PM or in the next chapter.

Now, moving to the reviews:

trinityblade13: I agree with some of your suggestions, but Romeo doesn't quite fit in, and Vergil won't accept because Vergil is… Vergil.

Dante will throw more than a letter to Vergil one day but for now you'll have to wait for future chapters for that.

Hawner: Short chapter? It was 18 pages long! By the way, this one is 23.

I haven't decided if either pair Erza with Jellal, Mystogan or both men just yet. Also: Who said that Angel's current look is her Devil trigger?

Shadow of the Fire: More bad news; Dante won't be opening a 'Devil may cry' guild anytime soon; I have other plans for him.

As for the wedding, Gildarts will probably give Lisanna away. Vergil might be the closest to a biological father she has, but Gildarts has been like a father figure for all the orphans in Fairy Tail over the years.

Inferrinizard: Who's Masta? Is he the blue cat from the anime arc? Anyway, Makarov will perform the ceremony. Being a wizard saint must allow him to marry people too, I guess.

Ryvius: Let me pull a sudden plothole twist and say that Mystogan didn't turn to mist since it was all an illusion inside Ultear's head. Or let's just say that I forgot that detail hehe.

Changing topic, who would you nominate for Mira. Just not Freed, since people tend to pair them together for no apparent reason (and because Freed's GAY!)

Rest assure there won't be any character bashing here; I've read enough unjustified bashing in other stories to do the same. I've always thought that if people don't like a character, then they shouldn't write about them. Unfortunately, Jellal plays a large part on this story. Sigh.

Masterofbalance: I decided to take your suggestion and start including the demon keys on this story. I know the first one seemed kinda weak in this chapter, but remember that it was all set up to trick Natsu and the gang.

xgensean: I will probably start on the grand games just after the wedding.

Xafnir: Mira and Laxus? Mmmm… that might work. But it won't be because of a one night stand.

If someone has another suggestion to pair Mira with, let me know.

Well, that's about all for now. Read and review (in fact, it's encouraged).

Until next chapter

Demonwithasoul

Hargeon Port:

A Ferry docked at the port and proceeded to lower the ramps to allow its passengers to disembark. Amongst them, a woman with short purple dark hair touched ground and watched the port city.

"Everything's changed so much"

An old fisherman heard her comment and said to her: "Oh really? Has it been a long time since you came here?"

"Yes, years actually" The woman said to him "Can you tell me if the train station is still in the same direction?"

The fisherman got a confused look but confirmed the location nonetheless. Thanking him, she proceeded to walk away when the fisherman asked her one more thing:

"Where exactly are you going?"

"To Magnolia" Ur answered with a smile "A student of mine lives there and I haven't seen him in a long time. Its due time I paid him a visit."