Alrighty, update deadline missed… school and work schedule have been relentless lately! Sorry for the wait lovelies!

Hopefully this seriously action-packed chapter is worth the extra wait.

~Onward

54

-Turned-

"How dare you," Lucy growled low.

Brown eyes hardening further in response to the blank look she got in return. She released her magic, not allowing time for whatever response the Etherious might give her. Celestial magic spiking, Lucy cloaked herself in gold as she sprang forward at a rapid speed. She reappeared from the burst of light, thick long braids, and the panels of her now dark purple skirt, slitted nearly to her hips flapping around her. Lucy dipped low and buried her fist into enemy's stomach, launching her into the air in a broad arc.

The petit demon back-rolled midair and landed soundlessly on the balls of her feet a couple meters away. She crouched down until her fingertips were splayed in front of her in a cat-like posture. "Wait you have horns now! But you aren't a demon, are you?"

Just the sentiment pissed the stellar mage off more, she had no desire to humour anything the brat might say. Lucy was already back in the air, ignoring the question in favour of launching another pre-emptive strike. Her heel smashed into the ground, cracking the marble tile where her foe had been just a second earlier.

With more of that cat-like agility, the girl had jumped to the side, sliding across the sleek floor, and was already resuming her previous posture. "Aww come on, don't be like that, I don't like fighting!" she whined childishly, "it's so barbaric, can't we just play?"

Lucy gritted her teeth angrily. "You should have thought about that before you made an enemy of Fairy Tail!" she retorted bitterly, "Open, gate of the goat: Capricorn!"

In another gold flourish, the tall goat spirit appeared, arms crossed over his broad chest and stance deceptively nonchalant. She could see his curiosity even through the dark shades he always wore, Leo was usually her go to in situations like this one… but Capricorn couldn't know that Lucy hadn't been able to bring herself to face their leader just yet. He didn't voice the question, "I am at your service, how may I assist, miss Lucy?"

"Woah, hold up! You're Lucy?! –Lucy with the Fairy spells?!" their foe shouted; her gushing marred in exacerbation.

Putting her attack plan on pause, Lucy turned a deadpanned expression on the Etherious. "And you're one of the Thirteen Gates of Tartaros," she replied coolly. The kid wasn't one of the Gates Lucy had been previously aware of, but she still got the undeniable feeling that her foe wasn't some run of the mill demon either.

Head cocking to the side in wonder, wide gold eyes glittered with something Lucy couldn't quite place. "You're real smart!" she chirped, raising her hand in a wave, "Fourth Gate, my name's Lullaby! Nice to meetcha!"

Lullaby? Lucy wondered, where had she heard that name before…?

She didn't return the introduction, choosing to signal to Capricorn and launch back into combat instead. They pinned the demon between them with a barrage of martial arts that Lullaby continued to dodge effortlessly before vanishing in a puff of black smoke. Both Lucy and her spirit skipped back in alarm, attention whipping to their foe's giggles behind them. Lullaby now sat perched on one of the tall podiums that framed the room with her legs swinging carelessly, "You know what? I change my mind, this is fun!"

This demon wasn't anything like the demons Lucy was familiar with… Actually, she reminded Lucy more of the playful and harmless demons she'd met on Galuna island than the ones she associated with Tartaros. The image of another demon picked at her memory, and she realized with a wave of confusion where she remembered the name. But Lullaby was an enormous, monstrous demon. That is, if the stories and the media coverage on its rampages had been correct. And if the media had properly named the demon, then it was also, already dead.

"Natsu and Haru killed Lullaby!" Lucy shouted abruptly.

"Yes, yes!" the girl chanted, "that Salamander and his friend are something else! No mage had ever done much harm to my pet before they showed up!"

"Your pet?!"

"Mm!" she hummed happily, "and you're wrong about another thing…"

Lucy exchanged an uneasy glance with Capricorn, both maintaining defensive stances, ready for whatever Lullaby might do next. The little demon withdrew a creepy looking flute that had been hidden beneath her shirt, hanging from a string around her neck. Purple etherious swelled around the instrument as it floated away from her hands until it hovered between them. Lucy took a shaky step back, her muscles corded with the stress of a yet to be revealed, new threat. Then the same black smoke that had facilitated Lullaby's retreat from their earlier onslaught, seeped from the various holes of the flute. The council building rumbled around them as a massive magic circle, corrupted with demonic power appeared beneath them, encompassing the entirety of the courtroom.

"What the hell!" Lucy barked, tumbling back as the stone structure of the building began to fracture under daunting pressure. The same massive demon Lucy remembered from the news article that had given her a sliver of hope of the Twin Dragons' survival, began to appear out of nothing. The building's foundations began to crumble, unable to contain the hulking shape of Lullaby's pet, as its size continued to grow.

"Look out miss Lucy!" Capricorn called, and then she was suddenly being torn from the ground by her spirit, whisked away from the rubble that was falling in chunks all around them. Just minutes later, Lucy was blinking down at the twisted form of the beast from a temporarily safe distance. Their next challenge stood amidst the now collapsed epicenter of Fiore's council building. The outer chambers remained intact for now, likely due in part to the extra thick layers of ice reinforcing it.

"Oh Gods! Jellal…" Lucy breathed, eyeing the ruins in trepidation.

"I've got him."

Lucy looked around Capricorn and found her ever-loyal friend offering her an apologetic smile as he carefully propped Jellal against a rock. "Leo…"

"I know you need space," he said quickly. "I know I betrayed your wishes, and by extension, our contract… If you choose to absolve it, I will accept your decision. But let me aid you one last time, I can make sure Erza and Gray are safe, at the very least."

Despite everything… despite Lullaby's beast rampaging behind them, despite not knowing the status of her teammates trapped inside, despite her pain… a bitter chuckle escaped Lucy's throat. Both her spirits looked at her like she'd lost it. "You know, that's the funny thing about contracts," Lucy started, suddenly misty eyes downcast, "you had one with Natsu too…" She finally met the Zodiac leader's gaze as she let the slightest smile tug at her lips. "You'd have broken a contract regardless; you just chose to uphold Natsu's final wish over mine."

Leo flinched at the truth, as though expecting her to deal him a final blow for his betrayal. "You made the right decision that day Leo… as much pain as it has caused me…" she crossed the distance to stand in front of him and wrapped her arms around him. "I forgive you."

Leo's body shook, as his emotions finally swelled over, and he hesitantly returned her hug. "I hate to interrupt this touching moment miss Lucy, but time is of the essence here," Capricorn reminded them, not that Lucy needed any such reminder with Lullaby's beast roaring behind her.

Gaze returning to the situation that demanded their attention, she quickly accepted Leo's offer to check on her friends. As her Star Reform wings formed at her back, she called instructions to Capricorn as well and then took off in a straight line for the demon with no hesitation.

Water afforded Torafuzar all the same advantages Haru usually claimed in the water. His speed was inhuman, the water bent to his will, and if that wasn't bad enough, the demon could breathe unobstructed under water. Unlike Juvia with her Water Body, the Water Slayer had no such ability. He dodged to the side, riding currents of water that he manipulated to carry himself behind the demon and retaliated with a volley of ice blades.

Their underwater fight had already gone beyond twenty minutes easily, and Haru was only still managing thanks to the pocket of air he'd trapped in a mini dome of water before he'd been fully submerged. If Torafuzar managed to pierce it, Haru would have twenty to thirty minutes, tops. His lung capacity far exceeded most, due to the enhancements of Water Dragon magic and the amount of time he spent free diving during his training… But with the oxygen demands of a fight, he could be in real trouble much sooner.

He needed to get this fight back outside, and fast.

The water rushed outward, turning turbulent against the walls of the small chamber as Haru and Torafuzar both launched attacks, aided by the water they each manipulated for more momentum. The impact whipped the water into a whirlpool around them, but they continued to exchange hits, seemingly unaffected. Bright blue light flared around Haru's fist and refracted against the rippling water, he ducked under the demon's punch and answered with his own. A Blizzard Dragon's Iron Fist that crashed into Torafuzar's face and erupted into a thick crust of ice over half the demon's body.

Haru realized too late the demon had purposefully taken the hit though. Distracted as he gathered the power of his Secret Arts, he was unable to react fast enough to the Gate blowing his icy prison apart first and his air supply just a second after. Stupid! Haru berated himself internally, having just barely succeeded in sucking in last gulp of air before his water shell shattered. He took another hit to the sternum and clamped down on the wind attempting to escape his lungs under the blow. Haru's back hit the wall and he locked eyes with the demon who was lazily treading in place, rows of shark-like teeth bared in a malicious grin.

The demon cocked an elbow back and shot at him like torpedo, razor sharp teeth closing in at breakneck speed. Haru kicked off just in time to avoid the punch. Whirling around to find the stone fractured heavily, a starring around Torafuzar's fist that was currently embedded in the wall. With a growl, the demon tore his fist from the wall, but this time Haru had his Secret Arts at the ready, and there was plenty of water at his disposal for a devastating counterattack.

The entire chamber's water swirled toward a point at Haru's fingertips. At the same time, the water around Torafuzar froze itself solid at Haru's command. Blizzard Water Dragon's jagged tsunami!

Currents of escalating ferocity barrelled into the immobilized demon. The damaged wall cracked more with each hit until it exploded in a shower of water and stone, expelling Torafuzar along with it. Haru gasped as the last wave crashed through the hole taking up most of the wall. His boots hit the remaining pool of water that still flooded the room to his mid-calf.

The building rumbled around him, sending unnerving ripples across the water. Haru had noticed the chamber quaking while he was fighting, but being submerged had muffled a lot, and he couldn't have been sure the vibrations weren't due to his own fight.

He scanned the room now, noticing the stone walls sealed between layers of his ice were fractured beyond any hope of stability… When his ice came down, so would the building. "Lucy?" he asked, trying to connect with his team once more. Someone else had to be responsible for damage at this scale, and that meant one of his comrades had to be fighting as well. It made him uneasy, but at least that hopefully meant they weren't unconscious or worse. "Anyone there? Jellal?"

"I'm here Haru—"

"Lucy! You're okay… thank goodness! Do you know where the others are?" he asked as he cautiously made his way to the edge of the room, trailing after his own opponent.

It didn't take long for Haru to spot the bulky water demon, Torafuzar stood on a rocky outcropping almost dead ahead. "Got my hands full Haru—" Lucy's voice cut off again, and Haru ground his teeth together absently. He needed to get to the rest of his comrades, but Torafuzar appeared largely unscathed, even after his last attack. Propelling himself with a jet of water, Haru landed silently just a few meters in front of his enemy again.

"It is ridiculous to ever think you could pierce my armour with my own element…" the demon droned, the smooth planes of metallic armour appearing jet black in the dark night. "You're strong, but I am the Strength of Tartaros, no one can match my defense… And unfortunately for you, of the 13 Gates, I am the worst match up you could have faced."

Haru chewed on his foe's statements irritably. He wasn't wrong… Torafuzar negated his water-based spells, just as he negated Torafuzar's in turn. Their battle would be a stalemate, if it wasn't for the Gate's steel armour, that Haru's ice was largely ineffective against. A loud roar reverberated off the ruined council building behind him making his ears throb. Haru dared to take his eyes off his enemy to get a quick glimpse of whatever was happening.

"What in the hell?" he shouted, "that's impossible!"

He and Natsu had wiped that monstrosity from Earthland over a year ago, but his eyes certainly weren't lying to him now. Haru couldn't tear his eyes away, even knowing Torafuzar was within striking distance. He watched as the beast reared back and kicked a massive leg through a section of the building still precariously standing. A golden streak followed, shooting across the sky and slammed into the side of its head. Lucy. The demon responded, an orangey glow building at its jaw and unleashed the ray of cataclysmic energy.

"LUCY!" Haru screamed.

"Humans really are illogical. Why do you worry about your friend when you should be worrying about yourself?" Torafuzar asked as he launched a powerful kick that obliterated the rock Haru had been standing on. From the air overhead now, Haru swung a hammer kick down, catching Torafuzar at the base of his neck, sending him faceplanting into the ground. The hit resulted in a domino effect of multiple rocky points being destroyed under the impact and a plume of rubble filling the air. Despite the point-blank attack, Haru knew his foe's armour would still be completely intact.

He'd have to figure out another strategy.

But he didn't have time for that now.

Not waiting for Torafuzar to recover from the blow, Haru melted into the watery arches of his Flash Steps and skipped across each jagged peak toward Lullaby. "Lucy, I'm coming—Tell me you're okay!"

Receiving no answer, desperation and anger flooded through him, there was no way in hell he was going to lose another friend. He had to protect Lucy, for Natsu.

Concentrating his magic to his feet, he launched himself skyward, flying at the beast at blinding speed. "Dragon Slayer's secret arts: Ocean's vengeance, raging typhoon!" Spinning through the center of blizzardy winds and whirling waters, Haru collided with the giant demon and pierced straight through its chest like a drill. It gave an agonized shriek, as the Water Slayer's spell hit a threshold. Haru flipped, getting his feet back under him and absorbed his breakneck speed with a pulse of water aimed at the ground. Skidding to a stop, he looked around wildly, calling for Lucy.

"Oh! It's you again!" a voice chirped.

Haru spun, locking eyes with a new demon he hadn't seen before. "You're Salamander's friend!" she announced with a finger jabbed in his direction. He couldn't help but flinch at the blunt reminder of the partnership he'd lost and glared back at her. "Why do you keep insisting on spoiling my fun… and we were all having so much fun too…"

She twirled around, looking skyward at something Haru hadn't noticed in his distraction. Her hands suddenly morphed into larger paws with long purple claws. "Weren't we?" she asked as she thwarted a sneak attack from Lucy, catching her by the ankle, mid-kick. Showing off half a face full of fangs that contradicted her child-like image, the demon pivoted and whipped Lucy right at Haru.

"Oh shit!" Haru exclaimed, barely managing to brace himself in time to catch and cradle her into his chest. But unable to absorb the hit properly, they both went flying into the rock behind them.

"Oh my gosh, Haru! Are you okay?" Lucy asked hurriedly when he choked out a lungful of air beneath her.

"Me?!" he rasped, "you took a direct hit from Lullaby!"

Lucy blinked back confused before realization dawned in her eyes. "Oh! Actually… That's Lullaby," she clarified, pointing to the small girl. "And besides, I wasn't hit by her pet either but when I saw you rushing in for a counterattack, it seemed like the perfect cover to blindside her. Unfortunately, her reflexes make yours look sluggish…" Lucy growled irritably.

"Okay then…" Haru started, his mind still reeling over the stellar mage's information. "Let's switch then," he suggested telepathically, gesturing toward Torafuzar who was stalking toward them. "He's a water demon with some souped-up armour, so my attacks aren't doing a damn thing."

"I don't know Haru…" Lucy said, eyeing their enemies, "your enhanced hearing could be a real disadvantage against Lullaby."

"What do you mean?"

"Her song is supposed to put anyone who hears it into an eternal sleep, I only escaped from it thanks to Mavis."

Haru turned to her, "Good to know, but I'll be fine!" he told her confidently. She didn't appear any more certain though. "Just trust me Lucy, I can take her. Can you handle Torafuzar?"

The hesitation in her brown eyes wavered, and she gave him a cocky smile full of resolve, "Yeah. Let's take 'em down!"

Hell's Core

Natsu pounded on the glass for what felt like the thousandth time, he'd been in this damn tube for at least two days. The wounds he'd sustained had closed fully and his strength seemed to have returned but he couldn't break the fucking glass! Not surprisingly, his magic evaded him, but he couldn't seem to get a handle on Portal either. He growled angrily, thrashing in the liquid that kept him suspended. "Fuck! Kyôka, you bitch! Let me out of here NOW!" he roared furiously.

Silence.

Then, a steady clicking that echoed from somewhere deeper in Tartaros' headquarters reached his ears. "KYOKA!" he yelled again; anger born of vulnerability climbing to a peak. He couldn't explain why seeing the Slave Demon, after she'd tortured and ultimately killed him, would feel like progress… Maybe he just needed a target to direct his rage at. Regardless, he found himself willing her to appear.

The clicking had stopped, but it hadn't faded away either, as if someone nearby was pondering whether to indulge his yelling. He hadn't seen the sadistic demoness since she'd declared him the Thirteenth, before promptly spinning and striding purposefully away from Hell's Core. Her unknown purpose made him uneasy too.

There were far too many unknowns for his comfort recently.

Lamy still sprung up like clockwork, puttering about the lab, and eye ogling him between tasks. She did this so often he'd gotten over his visceral reflex to cringe away from the glass at the way she licked her lips when her eyes dropped too low.

The clicking renewed, drawing closer now. Natsu's jaw clenched as he glared at the mouth of the corridor that led out of Hell's Core. His eyes widened when the owner of the clicking steps emerged from the shadows and closed the distance to stand in front of his current prison.

"Well, well... I see little dragon was doing you a great disservice..."

Natsu flushed indignantly. He hoped the green fluid surrounding him, hid the heat in his cheeks. For some reason, being in a position of vulnerability in front of the time mage made him uncomfortable in a completely different way than what the rabbit demon's presence inspired.

"Oi! The fuck Ultear?!" he barked angrily, glaring as the raven-haired woman smirked at the shaky tone that he wished he'd kept from his voice. Her eyes slowly trailed up to meet his, and the unbelievable look of superiority on her face pissed him off even more then her objectifications had. He directed his anger into starting their usual self-righteous debate to distract himself from his undignified position. "I know you have some screws loose but getting in bed with Tartaros is a little fucked, even for you."

She tilted her head, dropped a hand on a cocked hip, "Goals haven't changed litt—" she paused, eyes flicking downward briefly, "—big dragon." He growled again, desperately wishing he could access his Requip magic in the strange tube. It was infuriating trying to get anyone to take his threats seriously behind a layer of thick glass, magicless, and bared to the world.

"Zeref will finally usher in a perfect world, a world free of the corruption of magic," she lectured, if it wasn't for his situation, he might have considered it nostalgic. Instead, a snap of anger blew through him.

"How can you possibly be this stupid?! Magic isn't corrupted!"

"Magic is borne of darkness. Borne of desperation and hopelessness. It has always been corrupted; humanity just chooses not to see that."

"And how would eliminating magic make anything better? Demonic power being the only usable Ether doesn't seem like a solution to me!"

Ultear looked away, eyes flicking over to the tube beside his as the fluid frothed into a bubbly mess. Natsu couldn't help abandoning the argument with his long-time adversary to the curiosity taking over his attention either. He stared at the neighbouring tube as the bubbles dispersed, revealing another Gate. "Tempesta?!" Natsu said in surprise, Kyôka's earlier words replaying in his head… Only true Etherious REGENERATE…

Well shit, if that didn't pose a huge problem for Fairy Tail…

The brawny demon looked at him with confusion, eyes slowly widening as memory filled in the blanks for him, "You… the fire kid…"

"Well, if it isn't a Gods damned family reunion!" another familiar voice barked boisterously.

Natsu cursed as another pair of the Demon Gates entered the lab, one of which he'd finished off himself. Jackal's ears twitched in apparent amusement as a wide grin that was all fang peeled across his face. "Natsu fucking Dragneel, I heard you dropped in…" he continued in bemusement, "but I'd never 've believed it, if I wasn't looking at cha right now!" Claws and talons rang across the concrete until the two new arrivals stopped beside Ultear. Kyôka made no effort to acknowledge Natsu this time, fixing her attention entirely upon her newly regenerating comrade.

"Jaaaackal!" The cringe-worthy squeak broke everyone's conversations momentarily. Natsu watched with steadily growing distain as Lamy fired herself across the lab from who knew where and latched her entire body around Jackal's waist, dragging her cheek up and down his biceps.

He keeled back with a grunt of displeasure, "Get off me you damn leech!" he cried, expression a mix of incredulity and disgust.

The entire scene was like the most fucked-up circus Natsu could imagine; he observed the group blankly for a long moment. Lamy showered the blonde demon with unrequited flirtation, Ultear stood watching her apparent comrades with as much distain as Natsu felt, and Kyôka ignored all of them in favour of conversing with Tempesta. The Calamity Demon appeared to be in far worse shape than Natsu had been when he first awoke. With most of his torso and entire limbs missing, Natsu wondered who'd managed to kill him in such a spectacular fashion.

Somehow, he needed to get word of Hell's Core to his comrades, or better yet, destroy the facility… If he couldn't do that, he and his fellow Fairies would be locked in a war where their victory was impossible. Though, he was begrudgingly thankful for the lab's existence, being that he'd (still) be dead without it.

He had no plans of dying again.

Tired of being ignored, Natsu snapped at Jackal and Ultear who were still in front of him even if they paid him no mind. "How 'bout you let me out of here and I can knock you around some more, eh Jacky?"

"Oh, come off it," Jackal said as one sharp eye flicked over to him, "whether I like it or not, you're one of us, ya pink-haired prick. And whether you like it or not, you're going to help us put humanity in their rightful place, beneath our feet."

"You're fucking crazier than I thought, if you believe that." Natsu growled, "I'm human, or did you forget?"

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Even if what you imply was true, everyone I love is human, I would never help you," he spat.

Jackal's tail flicked back and forth as though he were gearing up to pounce on unsuspecting pray, a malicious grin split his face again, opening with a rebuttal on his tongue. But Kyôka cut in, cold, merciless eyes finding Natsu's, "You won't have a choice, Lord END," she told him.

He swallowed thickly, his title turning to a desert in his throat. Had Zeref told her?

Jackal's and Tempesta's jaws both dropped at the new revelation. "You will cooperate with us," Kyôka continued, "maybe I'll even have you deliver that little blonde whore of yours, to me. Don't worry, you can have her back when I am done with her."

Her words had red soaking through Natsu's vision, finally banishing the green filter that had been dominating his vision. An alien sensation ran through every inch of him, a searing heat that contradictorily froze him to the core all at once.

"You will NEVER lay a finger on her, so long as I am alive!" he vowed angrily.

All the eyes on him looked unnerved suddenly. With another burst of demonic power, Natsu thrust both hands out against the glass and his Etherious roots answered with a deep red pulse that exploding off him. His restoration tube shattered in a storm of glass shards that had the lab's occupants flinching away and whipping arms up to protect their faces.

Natsu reappeared on the other side of the lab behind Ultear and the Etherious, muscles shaking under his rage as he shot across the room in a blur. He tore the Slave Demon off the ground, a clawed grip wrapped dangerously around her throat as he growled up at her, noting the flicker of terror that flew across her face.

"N-now… Sei—do… it—" she rasped as he gradually crushed her trachea.

"STOP!" Natsu whirled to face the new voice, never relinquishing the stranglehold he held on Kyôka. His body froze. The golden-horned demoness who now stood in the entrance appeared calm, a chilled detachment in her manner as she observed with an air of grace. Extending her hands out in front of her, she commanded him, "release her."

Natsu let go.

Fiore Council Branch

Lucy and Haru had sprang into direct assaults right away, wasting no time in charging and unleashing some of their most powerful spells. Capricorn's Star Dress had little effect on her new foe. His armour was simply impenetrable to even a Taurus-enhanced kick. She changed tactics, and her Star Dress. Adopting Virgo's and began tripping up the water demon with various pitfall traps and earthen attacks.

Something about Torafuzar's steel-like body kept picking at her mind while she fought. Steel wasn't immune to rusting, she knew that much from Erza. The Knight had to do weekly maintenance on her blades and amours to keep them in pristine shape, especially if they'd been exposed to water. Yet, Torafuzar seemed very certain he couldn't be effected by the element he wielded.

Was it simply a matter of time under exposure?

But if that was the case…

She didn't have anything to lose in trying… "Open, Gate of the Clock: Horologium!" All she had to do was manipulate the time effecting the overall accumulation of damage that his own element inflicted on his self-proclaimed unbreakable armour. "Horologium!" she called to the tall clock spirit now balancing on the point of a rock to her side. He couldn't truly change time itself, but he could certainly impose the wear of time on any non-living substance and that included Torafuzar's armour. "Rust him up!" Lucy commanded knowing the intelligent spirit would catch on.

The hands on his clock-face ticked forward, whirling faster and faster until they appeared as a blurred circle. Torafuzar appeared confused at first, eyes flicking between Lucy and her spirit in befuddled analysis of the new strategy. It didn't take long before he realized exactly what was happening when a chunk of chest plate cracked. He looked down, wide eyed at the thick crust of rust that had spread over most of his body, "What have you done?!" he yelled furiously.

"Time's up," Horologium announced, arms ticking to a stop as his body shimmered and faded.

"Great work Horologium!" Lucy cheered as he vanished, her grin widened dangerously as she repeated, "time's up, Torafuzar…"

Across from her, Haru had forced Lullaby back toward her fellow Gate as well, the pair of demons now pinned between the Fairy Tail mages. Lucy caught Haru's blue eyes, even at the distance, "It's been awhile since we teamed up Haru, what do you say?!" she said.

"Let's show Tartaros the power of our teamwork Lucy, for Natsu."

"For Natsu."

The Water Slayer swung a hand forward, summoning a towering wave directed at the Gates. Torafuzar scoffed and split the wave down the center, protecting himself and Lullaby with his action. The resulting halves rushed by the demons, breaking to either side of Lucy. Not missing the chance her comrade presented, Lucy quickly summoned Aquarius from Haru's spell and built on their momentum. For once her temperamental spirit didn't give any lip at her direction, simply whipping her urn around in a wide arc to produce a second destructive wave.

"Have neither of you learned yet?" Torafuzar grumbled, holding a clawed hand out and taking the full brunt of Aquarius' attack head on. "Rusted armour or not, water is useless against me; it is my element!"

"No. It is mine." Haru corrected from the opposite end of their current battlefield.

"And that wasn't meant for you," Lucy added, expression bright with triumph as she released the golden aura of her Star Reform magic.

Torafuzar spun, watching wide-eyed as Haru inhaled every drop of the spell, the visible blue aura of his own magic responding to the boost. "What the Hell?!" he yelled.

"You're finished!" Lucy declared, her magic pressure hitting a peak that had both demons hesitating. "Urano Metria!"

"Ocean's vengeance, jagged tsunami!"

Lucy's ultimate star spell collided with the power of Haru's Secret Arts, sending luminescence rippling through the wave just as she remembered. The wave bent as the two elements coursed around each other into a raging vortex that trapped their enemies within. The wide vortex narrowed rapidly and then exploded into column of jagged ice that towered into the sky.

"Haru—"

"Yeah… I only see Torafuzar…" Haru confirmed. Lucy scanned the icy prison, the water demon sealed fully near its base, eyes wide and pupils barely visible. Lullaby was gone. Cursing, Haru snapped his fingers and the ice tower shattered, shattering the rusted remnants of Torafuzar's armour along with it. The demon fell limply and remained unmoving.

"Nirvana—" Lucy gasped, looking at her comrade with urgency. She launched herself into the air as Haru began leaping after her, darting between the rocky points agilely. Lucy's Star Reform wings appeared, flickered, and vanished, dropping her with a yelp toward the sharp rocks.

A spray of moisture fanned across her skin as Haru materialized next to her, and caught her again. "You're out of magic," he pointed factually as he continued to dart over the jagged earth. Biting back the string of curses she wanted to let loose, Lucy begrudgingly confirmed the statement. She'd been summoning spirits without pause for the better part of an hour, in addition to many of her high-level spells. Haru jumped off one last rock and landed soundlessly on a platform of marble floor, the only part of the council building still largely intact. The rest of the structure lay in piles of rubble around them.

Haru set Lucy back on her feet, "I suppose asking you to stay here would be pointless?" he asked.

"You're learning!" she joked back, jogging past him, "Mavis will lend me her power if we get into trouble!"

"What do you mean if?!" Haru grumbled. Sighing in defeat he followed her toward the courtroom where the vault entrance was hidden behind the main podium. He caught up beside her, both mages' eyes continuously sweeping over what remained of the ceiling, prepared to dodge anything that broke loose.

A large hole dominated the front of the courtroom, and they slowed to a stop for a minute before cautiously picking their way to the edge. Ten feet below and forward, trailing under a ceiling that looked minutes from crumbling, the staircase picked up again. Haru and Lucy exchanged a weary glance before the stellar mage shrugged and jumped. "Really Lucy?! At least let me reinforce it first!" Haru snapped. Kneeling down, he brushed his fingertips over the ground and his ice quickly spread until it had covered the entire stairwell in layer of ice. Then he leaped to join her. "You're doing a real bang-up job of keeping Natsu's recklessness alive, and me on my toes…" he told her sarcastically.

Lucy's wide grin faded to a small smile as she adverted her eyes to the stairs before them and for a second Haru regretted the comment. "I'm glad we can still talk about Natsu," she replied softly as she started down. "It seems like even Dragon Soul avoids saying his name now…"

"Everyone's hurting, and I'm sure our team is feeling guilty… I know I sure am—"

Brown eyes snapped up to his as she interrupted, "—You can't blame yourself Haru—"

"That's not exactly what I meant, I just mean everyone is still processing the loss, and the helplessness that comes with that," he clarified. "They just don't know how to act around us yet, but no one is going to let his memory fade, you'll see Lucy."

She hummed a response, not quite agreeing, though she saw logic behind his sentiment. She continued until the dark folding around them prevented her from going further safely. It didn't slow her down much though, star magic danced over her palm with a snap of her fingers, illuminating their path. The air around them grew cooler as the stairs wound them deeper underground, despite the coating of ice now a bare sheen against the rock.

. . .

"I smell Lullaby, she's definitely still here…" Haru alerted his companion telepathically.

Lucy gave a fleeting nod, and her pace hastened, skipping down the stairs two at a time. Blowing out a breath of frustration, Haru followed her again, straining his senses for additional information. He'd released Dragon Force to conserve his magic power when they'd realized Lullaby had escaped. Thankfully Drive gave pretty extensive information still, including the whisper of cracks that suddenly started rippling through the rock ceiling overhead…

"Lucy!" Haru lunged from multiple steps above the blonde, catching her arm as she turned with a questioning look. He whipped his weight around, tossing her out of the way of the hunks of stone that had broken loose. Losing his precarious balance to the momentum of the hurried rescue, Haru tumbled backwards down the steps. "That… hurt…" he groaned, glancing up the stairs to see the stairwell now blocked, separating him from Lucy.

"Haru!" her paniced voice ripped through his head, causing him to wince at the shrill pitch. "Haru, just hang on, I'll get Taurus to—"

"No, Lucy, don't!" he quickly ordered, "it's too unstable, if we go blasting through this, the rest of the mountain could come down on our heads!"

"You could reinforce it again," she pointed.

"Because that worked so well the first time?" he asked sarcastically. "I'll go after Lullaby, don't worry, I'll be careful. Find Erza and the others, I'm worried about them, but Nirvana took priority."

Lucy didn't respond right away, and Haru could practically see the stubborn look on her face as he got back to his feet and started down the stairs once more. "Okay… But stay in touch."

"Of course."

The stairs finally ended not too long after, leading into a wide passage without the slightest light filtering into the space. Haru wondered if the Etherious shared the innate nocturnal vision that all Dragon Slayers possessed. If they didn't, he'd imagine Lullaby at least, must, or he'd have likely noticed a dull glow emanating from deeper within. Without knowing how much of a threat the Nightmare Demon would present, Haru entered Force again, before navigating any further.

The vault room was larger than he'd have expected, and empty, as far as his eyes told him at first glance. He could still smell her though. He kept close to the edge of the room, hoping Lullaby's sight wasn't as keep as his while he scanned the room. A soft melody began to filter through the silence, barely audible even to Haru's enhanced hearing. Confusion was his first response, until he remembered Lucy's warning from earlier. He slapped his hands over his ears even as he pondered how a song so quite could possibly be effective, he'd never have heard it at all, if it wasn't for dragon senses.

Wait. So that was Lullaby's trick then… her curse would put people to sleep without them ever becoming aware to her presence. That was how she'd gotten Lucy, and their friends most likely.

"What is with you Fairies and not playing the game fairly?!"

Haru faced Lullaby, cautiously dropping his hands when he realized the song had gone silent. He noticed she held Nirvana between her hands and wondered if he could succeed in stealing it back with his speed. Lucy's earlier observation about the Nightmare Demon's reflexes gave him pause though.

Lullaby's malicious grin, packed with rows of jagged teeth seemed an impossible contrast to the hauntingly beautiful sound that had met his ears earlier. She didn't give him a chance to respond before resuming her singing, a simple tune bleeding into his consciousness even after he'd covered his ears again. Drowsiness began to plague him immediately and he inhaled deeply, blowing a wide jet of water at the Demon Gate in attempt to deter her. She only skipped to the side though, her song not pausing for a second. He couldn't very well fight with his hands clamped over his ears, but he also couldn't just rely on high-volume water attacks in an enclosed space. He'd drown himself with her.

Shit…

Lullaby placed the cube on the ground and pounced at him. She swiped at him with claws the length of his fingers, and the action still did nothing to tinge her voice with the slightest strain. Haru ducked, whirled, and flipped, dodging each attack with precise movements and answered with various ice hardened kicks. But now in closer proximity, he could swear her curse was penetrating deeper into his mind. He wavered on his feet, his head lulling in desperation to keep himself awake.

Shit…

Vision blurring as his eyelids became heavy, Haru used his Flash Steps to get behind her and swung his fist in a wide arc. His punch slammed into her temple from the side, but still her song continued. Stumbling forward as consciousness gradually abandoned him, he dropped to his hands and knees. Lullaby recovered while Haru was busy fighting with himself just to remain awake. She crouched in front of him, the playful look of her eyes contrasting her monstrous grin once more.

Shit…

No choice.

Water welled around Haru's fists, as he took in a couple breaths to steel his resolve. With one last sharp inhale, he slammed his palms back over his ears and forced the water through his ears at concentrated pressure. His pained scream startled Lullaby, affording him precious seconds to adapt to rupturing his own eardrums. Haru swung his counterattack straight into her gut before the ringing in his head or the piercing pain had even faded. It took a few clumsy strikes before he was able to rein his balance back into control, but he was able to do so soon enough.

Lullaby's mouth was working furiously, complaining—no doubt—about how he was cheating again. A heavy burst of curse power surrounded her, and her child-like form began to morph. Black coated her skin until her body was unrecognizable as a silhouette that blended perfectly with the black. Dragon sight would not help now. Lullaby was darkness. He could feel her laughter vibrate through him, as hit after hit landed their marks.

The reality of what he was going to have to do settled over him. It was crazy. He'd just have to have faith it could work. Maybe Lucy wasn't the only one who Natsu's recklessness had rubbed off on…

Haru released as much of his magic pressure as he could, ripples of bright blue magic thrashed around him as he wove the power of his Secret Arts. Water and icy winds whipped around the room, until the layer of ice covered every inch of the floor and erupted into a carpet of jagged spires.

Lullaby's mouth twisted in pain as a scream that remained silent to Haru tore itself from her throat.

Jumping up and between the spires, Haru threw himself at the idle cube of Nirvana. "Melt!" he breathed as he snatched the weapon from the ground. Every inch of ice in the room answered his incantation in an instant, and water rushed to fill the chamber as he sped past Lullaby for the stairs. Water overtook him right away and tossed him harshly, into the wall of rock that blocked his escape. Planting a hand against the barricade, he began releasing controlled pulses of blizzard magic to freeze the water leaking into the cracks and let it expand.

He'd wanted to break through gradually as to not disturb the foundations too much, but Lullaby was apparently going to force his hand. Black smoke that somehow moved through the water as though separate from it entirely, collided with him and tendrils wound around Nirvana. Tightening his grip on the weapon, Haru wound back with an Iron First prepared and slammed it into rocks. At the same time, a second powerful burst of magic crashed into the other side, disintegrating the rock between them.

The waters flooding the lower chamber burst over the higher stairs, throwing Haru through the new opening. Looking up with a groan, he found Lucy above him, extending her hand to help him to his feet. As soon as she'd pulled him from the water, Erza was thrusting her Lightning Staff into the water and unleashing massive torrents of electricity. Lucy was saying something, something that seemed to amuse her, as Erza sprung around them both.

"I can't hear you," Haru told the blonde, shaking his head. Lucy cocked her head, not understanding, before leaping to help their redheaded friend. The earth forming the stairwell rumbled again, and then a loud splash proceeded another collapse. Before Haru could assess how bad it was, Lucy caught him under both arms. Then with a snap of golden wings, she and Erza, clad in her Black Wing Armour, were flying to safety at breakneck speeds as the stairwell caved in behind them.

Gray, Jellal and Mira ran toward them cheering in relief as soon as the girls shot out of the gaping hole. Mira threw her arms around him as soon as Lucy released him and then everyone was talking suddenly. Their gestures were as animated as their expressions, influenced by surprise and relief and whatever else. All of it lost to Haru who observed with a blank expression. Mira had let him go and was talking to Erza, and it was only then that Haru realized the redhead had Lullaby with her, unconscious and back in her previous form. The Water Slayer's eyes swept around the group, getting increasingly lost and frustrated… why was Mira—and Mest, apparently—even here?

"Hey!" he snapped telepathically, linking the entire group instantly. His comrades all froze at the unexpected connection, mouths still agape as they faced him with rising eyebrows.

He released a drawn-out exhale but before he spoke Lucy smacked the heel of her hand to her forehead, "Riiiight, you said you can't hear," she mused, "wait—you still can't hear?!"

"What? Why? What happened?" Mira asked in a rush of words.

"Is Kyôka here?!" Erza asked at the same time, causing them all to tense at the mention of the Slave Demon and her sensory curse.

Haru rolled his eyes at all the frantic questions blending through his head. "It wasn't Kyôka, and it isn't important, Wendy can heal me when we get back," he clarified dismissively. "Why are you here Mira?"

"Master sent me with Mest. Sabertooth requested our aid," she explained.

"We were just trying to decide who should go, because Mest can only take one of us that distance."

"I had to teleport Laxus and the others with the Princess to Crocus, I'm low on magic."

Haru wanted to ask why the Princess had returned to Crocus, what with Mercurius' destruction, but that wasn't important right now. "I'll go," he said. His comrades, namely Gray and Erza argued about them each having more of their magic stores untouched. "Lucy replenished my magic, and the simple truth is, I'm the strongest one here." The surprise his team cast his way was expected; Haru still ardently avoided any form of spotlight, so he wouldn't typically just bluntly remind them of the power he held. But under that, there was fear at the prospect of him, (or any of one of them), going alone, so soon after losing one of their own.

"Haru can handle this," Mira said then, stunning the Water Slayer. He thought she would have been the loudest proponent to letting Erza handle whatever it was Sabertooth was facing and dragging him back to Fairy Tail by his ear. In fact, it had crossed his mind that might be her purpose in having come in the first place. "We don't have the time to waste arguing about this, and we need to get Nirvana and Lullaby back to the estate and subdued, before she wakes up."

"Mira, I…"

Mira turned, her concern notable even if she was trying to bury it under a layer of overt confidence. "I know you can do this Haru, so go back up Sabertooth. Carla and Lily are already on their way with reinforcements. My magic will keep Lullaby under control in case she wakes up…" Starting to understand Makarov's decision, Haru just ran his fingertips over the angle of her jaw and drew her in for a kiss, prompting their friends to advert their eyes and begin departing the ruined Council building. Pulling away, Mira's bright blue eyes searched his for a few seconds. "Just come back to me soon Haru… I love you," she told him softly.

"I love you too Mira," he said, dipping to press a second kiss to her forehead.

Mest fit his hand over his shoulder, drawing his attention away, "No time to wait. Ready Haru?" he asked.

"Let's go," he replied, releasing Mira's hand, and preparing himself for the nauseating spin of the teleportation spell. "See you guys soon, be careful!"

Tartaros

Ultear relaxed into her chair, hands clasped in her lap as her eyes swept around the table. Mard Geer was noticeably absent again, Tartaros' guild master made it no secret that he had been less than pleased when she'd shown up with Zeref. Creator or not, Zeref was still human, and Mard Geer had no love for any human. His motive was and had always been, finding the last remaining Gate. So, it also came as no surprise, that he wasn't overly impressed when he'd learned that END had basically been in a hibernation-like state, living amongst humans. Loving humans.

That END would rather have used his power to fight against them, then take his rightful place as their leader infuriated him to no end.

"It would seem Torafuzar and Lullaby have run into trouble with Fairy Tail… again," Kyôka was telling the Gates that were gathered in her meeting chamber. "It is becoming increasingly apparent we won't be able to leave them to their own devices much longer. They must be subdued before we can—"

"Why do we give a shit about those fairy scum?!"

Kyôka turned to the interruption with an unreadable expression that screamed danger, but it was Tempesta that spoke. "There was a time, recently in fact, that I viewed them as nothing more than an insignificant nuisance as well, Ezel. But you didn't see what they did to me."

"We must not underestimate them," Kyôka agreed.

Jackal let his whole body fall back with barks of laughter, triggering the Slave Demon's sharp stare. "Something funny Jackal?" she asked coolly, "those lightning and water users brutalized Tempesta so badly it took four days to regenerate him… and correct me if I'm wrong, but Natsu Dragneel landed you in Hell's Core as well."

Jackal's jaw snapped shut with an audible click, ending his laughter abruptly as he postured and slammed his fists down on the table. He glared back at her defiantly, "Dragneel is fucking Etherious! –the supposed strongest of us in fact—"

"Your temper tantrum is unbecoming of the Gates. It wasn't Lord End that killed you… it was just Natsu." Kyôka countered, "just average Fairy scum…as you all seem quick to dismiss."

Ultear glanced at Zeref beside her, the Black Wizard looked exhilarated, his eyes bright, ecstatic, and deranged. By contrast the look on Kyôka's face was deceptively calm, just daring Jackal or any of the others under her command to make another joke or belittle the threat Fairy Tail presented. Her mute blue eyes snapped over to the Gate directly across from her, "Anything to add?"

"Underestimating Fairy Tail would be a profoundly stupid mistake," came the monotonous confirmation. END shifted and dropped the boots he'd had kicked over the tabletop to the floor as he sat up and focused his attention on his fellow Etherious properly. "Humans aren't weak. You'd all do well to remember that, unless you fancy a vacation in Hell's Core…Right, Jackie?" Indignation rolled off the Bomb Demon, but he angrily bit back his retorts when END raised a brow at him. "But to our benefit, they do have weaknesses that are easy to exploit."

"Being?"

Shrugging, he listed, "Their ideals. Their morals. Their loyalties…especially, their relationships." He scoffed, and added, "I thought that'd be obvious, given that you only succeeded in killing Natsu because you attacked his mate."

Something in Ultear's gut twisted in watching Natsu aid Tartaros in strategizing for an assault against his chosen family. After all the years of taunting the Fire Dragon Slayer, and fighting on opposing sides, she'd never once considered him an enemy. An infuriating and cocky mage who was constantly challenging her plans, yes, but not an enemy.

Hearing him talking about 'Natsu' as though he was now an entirely separate entity from the pink-haired dragon slayer set an old familiar ache in her. Her thoughts flicked to a certain pink-haired girl, and a mild surprise melted that ache. She hadn't thought of Meredy in months…

She didn't care, right? This was what she wanted, wasn't it?

END lazed back in his chair again as the other Gates broke into deliberations, appearing all too bored with the conversation. Ultear's gaze crawled over the black marks that twisted up his arms, across his naked chest and neck, two tendrils snaked across his eye and ended before the bridge of his nose. His guildmark was still present, the magic forming it shining through the ebony marks in a blood red and Tartaros' own mark now marked his other shoulder in the same shade. He rhythmically tapped black claws over the arm of his chair and sleek black-copper horns poked through the familiar pink locks. The eyes that took them all in, in large sweeping glimpses were washed out in a deep red, a far cry from the warmth of the onyx she was used to.

He stood, rolling the tension from his shoulders and neck, and headed for the door. "Human or demon… meetings still aren't my thing. Let me know when you all get your shit figured out," he ordered without looking back at them.

. . .

"Lord End."

END tipped his head back, glaring at the ceiling as he listened to Kyôka's steps ring through the hall as she approached. He'd known she was there before she'd spoken of course, and he didn't need to turn to know it was her. Her steps always rang with a certain self-assuredness, superiority, different from the rest.

He had no desire to deal with the Slave Demon.

"What?!" he growled impatiently.

She stopped in front of him as he turned to face her, hands on wide hips as she met his eye challengingly. "I didn't dismiss you from the meeting," she pointed.

"True Master of the Thirteen Gates, remember?" he retorted tonelessly, parroting her past words back to her. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he added, "don't mistake me for another of the Gates you can order around, Kyôka."

Shivering despite herself, the demoness still managed to purse her lips in a display of irritation, though she seemed to think better of challenging him. "There's someone I need you to go pick up, it's critical to our mission. Will you do it?" she asked.

END's eyes narrowed, he couldn't decide if she was testing his obedience (slim chance of that), or his loyalty. He knew full well, some of his fellow Gates questioned his allegiance and his true intensions. Seilah among them, even appeared unsure of the reaches of her Macro curse being capable of fully supressing the Fairy Tail mage within.

"Well, spit it out then, and it doesn't bore me, maybe I will."

A/N.

Fun fact: Did you know the longest breath-hold was over 24 minutes, and the average free diver can hold their breath for 10+ minutes?

Reminder: Creative licence and AU… Many things can and will be changed, I'm not going to explain or defend my choices. :P

Shout outs: Crazy Random Writer, SuperSayajin4Vegeta, Valerioux, MPrime, AliceCullen3, EternalFlame, Joker D. Zero, FireShifter, Jaffa3, Emerald117 and Guests. Thaaank You for all your thoughts!

Predictions?

'Till next time,

R&R

~LokaMuse