AN: Thank you Goku275, yudhazebba, Wadeparker, NinjaFang1331, Xerzo LotCN, AliceCullen3, and SkyAlpha.
Xerzo LotCN, I suppose that Tempester did go down a little easily. Part of that is how it bothered me when he took down the Thunder God Tribe so easily, then was curb-stomped by Laxus in canon. The other part is that Tempester severely underestimated his opponents, as he saw a kid, a cat turned older kid, and a woman whose magic-binding spells would be useless against him. The shock of their actual abilities threw him off, something that they took advantage of to inflict some serious harm. Ultimately, given the damage he accrued, Tempester decided that self-destructing was more likely to succeed than continuing to fight.
SkyAlpha, you raise a good point about Face destroying the Ethernano-based demons of Tartaros. My best guess is that their bodies and books, while formed with Ethernano, were not affected by Face because something about their structure prevented Face from affecting it. It is also possibly that they were unaffected because they somehow shielded themselves and their books from Face ahead of time, sort of like how you can shield electronics from an EMP pulse. I supposed that, given how the demons were all born and reborn in a lab from some tentacled Etherious, they may have remade their bodies with Curse Power. This is all speculation, though.
That is all. Enjoy!
"…and so we're here to guard you," explained Natsu to the retired councilor, an old man named Michello. Happy was there too, currently in cat form.
Not long after the declaration of war on Tartaros, Millianna, Blaze, and Yajima regained consciousness. Though not fully recovered, Yajima was able to provide Fairy Tail with the addresses of several former councilors. Several teams of mages had been sent to each location, while the remaining members of Fairy Tail were busy identifying more ex-councilors and their current residencies.
"Kind of you to offer, but, frankly, you'll be in the way," responded Michello. "And how'd you know where I live, anyway?"
"Come on," said Happy. "Us cats need to stick together, don't we?"
"Who're you calling a cat!?" yelled Michello, though his hairstyle did make him look like one. "I know who you are! You're that problem guild! You're just using me as bait in your latest scheme, aren't you?"
"Grandfather!" scolded Michellia, the retired councilor's granddaughter. "They came here to protect you, and you're being rude! Let's work with them! Someone murdered the entire Magic Council. As an ex-member, how can you allow that to stand?"
Seeing that the old man was chastened by his granddaughter, Natsu deciding to ask a question.
"Old man, do you have any clue why these Tartaros bastards are targeting councilors?"
"There are countless possible reasons," replied Michello, ignoring the 'old man' part. "Powerful people are often the subject of many grudges."
"But if it's a grudge, then why are they targeting all councilors, old and new?" asked Michellia. "Wouldn't they just be focusing on those related to their revenge?"
"Wait…" said Michello, the words of his grandchild stirring a thought. "Are they after Face?"
However, before the old man could say more, Natsu smelled something dangerous.
"Get down!" shouted the dragon slayer, tackling the others. "They're here!"
Before anybody could respond, an explosion demolished the second floor of the house, leaving the sky visible to them.
"My house!" exclaimed Michello, distraught.
"Are you two alright?" asked Happy, already knowing Natsu was fine.
"I'm fine," answered Michellia. "But… how are we alive!?"
"Good," said Natsu, his belly momentarily bloated. "I was able to eat the explosion in time."
The former councilor and his granddaughter were baffled by Natsu's words, but their attention was quickly drawn away from the Fairy.
"What's this?" asked a man, clearly the attacker. "I thought you'd all be blown to bits. Just like the Magic Council!"
The man started laughing as if he said a joke. This pissed Natsu off.
"Who're you?" the man asked Natsu, irritated by the idea that a mere human had stopped his Curse from killing anyone.
"I'm Natsu of Fairy Tail!" declared the dragon slayer. "And it's time to hunt a demon!"
"Natsu…" thought the man. "This guy is Master E.N.D.'s host!"
"Well, Natsu," retorted the man, grinning. "I'm Jackal of Tartaros's Nine Demon Gates, and I'm about to have a blast!"
Minerva and Yukino stood in the remains of what used to be the home of a former councilor, talking to Macao through a Communications Lacrima they had brought with them. Sadly, they only had bad news.
"We were too late," said Minerva, grimacing. "Elder Hogg is dead."
"Damnit!" cursed Macao.
"We heard that someone rampaged through the town," added Yukino, downcast. "With all the destruction there is, I can't even imagine how monstrous the Dark Mage was."
"It doesn't matter how strong he is," comforted Minerva confidently. "We'll take him down."
Internally, though, the recently-promoted S-Class Mage considered teleporting her partner away if they actually did encounter a member of Tartaros. Unlike during the S-Class Trial or regular Jobs, there was a serious chance of dying if things went poorly.
"It would be safer for Yukino if I fought the Dark Mage myself," thought Minerva.
"How about you and Lector, Sting?" asked Macao, switching conversations. "How is Elder Belno?"
"He's also dead," replied Sting, scowling.
"There isn't any damage, though," commented Lector. "Instead of being attacking outright, he was probably assassinated."
"Elder Hogg and Elder Belno," muttered Macao. "That only leaves Elder Michello, who Natsu and Happy are going to guard, and Elder Yuri, who Rogue and Frosch have gone to protect. We can only hope they have more luck."
"Explode!" shouted Jackal, his Bomb Curse engulfing Natsu.
"A direct hit!" exclaimed Michello, terrified.
"It's all right," reassured Happy. "Natsu uses heat-based magic, so it doesn't work on him."
As the Exceed spoke, his partner began slurping up Jackal's explosion.
"He's eating my explosion!" shouted Jackal, feeling a storm of emotions. He was confused about how this was possible, irritated that his Curse was stopped, and awed by how powerful Master E.N.D. was.
Unfortunately for the member of Tartaros, his opponent was only angry. Natsu leaped toward Jackal, delivering a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist to his face before the Etherious could react. The force of Natsu's strike shot Jackal straight into the ground.
The dragon slayer followed up with another punch, slamming into Jackal as he tried to dodge. Natsu relentlessly pummeled Jackal until he passed out, bloodied and bruised.
"Mind boggling," uttered Michello.
"Oh yeah, we were supposed to get his secret base out of him," said Natsu. His words were more of an afterthought than a regret, as punishing a member of Tartaros for their guild's actions felt good to him.
"Also their goal," commented Happy.
Happy's words reminded Michello of his earlier realization. If Tartaros was after Face, it would be a disaster.
"I'll leave you people to clean this up," said Michello hurriedly, deciding to run away while he could. "I'm off to check on the other former Council members. Michellia, come with me. Now!"
"Old guy," spoke Natsu sternly, seeing through Michello's lie. "If you know something about this, then you'd better tell us."
"I know nothing!" yelled Michello.
"Is that right?" asked a voice that put everyone on edge; Jackal had regained consciousness. "Cause if you tell me what I want to know, I might just let you live."
"That might be Master E.N.D.'s host, but the Master himself won't wake up unless we complete Mard's plan," Jackal reminded himself as the ex-Councilor sputtered out denials. "For now, though, he's an enemy to be defeated. Luckily, he seems tough enough that I won't have to worry about accidently ruining Master E.N.D.'s body."
"Then that means you've got to die, huh," Jackal said to the former Councilor, who clearly wasn't going to talk. He then turned toward Natsu. "Hey, you!"
As Jackal spoke, several parts of Natsu's body began to glow.
"What's this!?" exclaimed Natsu.
"My Curse power," answered Jackal, smirking. "Anybody who touches me becomes a bomb. And how many times do you think you did?"
"Natsu!" shouted Happy, transforming as he ran toward his partner.
"Happy, get them away from me!" ordered Natsu.
"But…" hesitated Happy.
"Hurry!"
The Exceed grabbed Michello and Michellia, sprouting wings to fly them away from the dragon slayer as he detonated. Jackal grinned as the three flew away from the blast, relishing the idea of tearing the town apart as he hunted them down.
First, though, he had to confirm that E.N.D.'s host wasn't too badly hurt. As the smoke from the explosion cleared, Jackal saw that Natsu's body was, to his surprise, fully intact. More shockingly, the dragon slayer was still conscious (and pissed).
"Looks like I'll have to get serious," stated Natsu, a cold fury in his voice. Even with his resistance to heat, that blast had still caused some damage. Natsu knew that he would have to finish Jackal before the power of his Curse caused too much destruction, to him and to the town. "Dragon Force!"
"As if your magic could compare to the Curses used by me and the other members of Tartaros," retorted Jackal, although fear began seeping into him. Not only had Master E.N.D.'s host withstood Jackal's Bomb Curse, he only seemed mildly injured!
Rage engulfed Jackal's mind. How could a mere human, even one containing Master E.N.D., make Jackal feel afraid!? He was an Etherious! His opponent was a human!
All thoughts of preserving his master's body flew out of Jackal's mind as he initiated his own transformation. The Etherious roared as his body grew and morphed into a monstrous facsimile of his namesake.
"He turned into a monster," mumbled Natsu to himself as the transformed Jackal pounced at him. Natsu blocked a punch from the beast, only for the point of impact to detonate with an even greater force than any of Jackal's previous explosions.
"What's his problem!?" complained Natsu, his arms aching from the attack. "Does he want to destroy the town!?"
Jackal slammed his fist down on Natsu, which the dragon slayer also blocked. As he tried to crush Natsu under the force of his attack, Jackal started to rant.
"You humans should know better than to try and pick a fight with one of us demons! Even you should know your place!"
"Demons!?" exclaimed Natsu. "You guys are all demons!?"
Ignoring the dragon slayer's words, the rage-blinded Jackal filled his other hand with his Bomb Curse and prepared to strike his opponent. "This is your doomsday, humans!"
"Is that the whole reason you're fighting us!?" shouted Natsu, kicking the demon away before he could attack. "Well, we aren't like you! We're fighting for our wounded friends! We don't care if it's humans or demons or gods that we're fighting!"
Natsu pulled back his fist, gathering Magic Power into it. "Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist!"
Natsu smashed his fist into Jackal, pulverizing his body (along with the surrounding area) and sending him flying. The sheer amount of damage he received forcibly reverted the demon to his weaker form.
The Bomb Curse triggered on Natsu, apparently an automatic result of touching the demon, but he was able to eat the blasts before they caused any significant harm. The Fairy dropped to the ground panting, his Dragon Force deactivating.
"Natsu!" cried Happy, flying into view. The Exceed was still in his humanoid form. "Are you okay?"
"Just a bit tired," replied Natsu, grinning. "Even though I won, that guy's attacks really packed a punch."
Happy gave a relieved sigh. If Natsu could say that he was the winner, then he was fine. "Is he at least in good enough shape to give us information?"
"Kah ha ha," laughed Jackal self-deprecatingly. Natsu and Happy turned toward the demon. "Yeah, I got beat pretty bad. First time anybody's ever gotten this far with me! Man, this sucks… my bad Kyôka! But at least I can take some humans with me… when I fall!"
As he spoke, Jackal began using his Curse to transform himself into a bomb. It was his best chance to finish the mission, and he doubted that even this would be enough to put down Master E.N.D.'s host. In fact, it might just accelerate his awakening.
"What's going on?" yell Natsu.
"Is he trying to blow up the entire town!?" shouted Happy. The Exceed looked at Jackal and pleaded. "Don't do it!"
"You're too late!" responded Jackal. "The bomb is my own body! You could kill me and that still wouldn't stop it from going off! Kah ha ha! I'll see you in hell!"
As the demon gloated, Happy struggled to think of a solution. Natsu wouldn't be able to eat a city-sized explosion, and there wasn't enough time to evacuate the town.
Then, an idea occurred to the Exceed. If he couldn't get the people away from the explosion, he would get the explosion away from the people.
"I won't let that happen!" declared Happy, activating his Aera and grabbing Jackal. He flew the confused demon upward. "We aren't going to let a demon like you get the best of us!"
"Damniiiiiiit!" screamed Jackal as Happy flung him even higher. The Exceed bolted downward as demon burst into a massive explosion mere moments later. Using Max Speed, Happy narrowly outpaced the blast and landed next to his partner.
"Not bad," said Natsu, sighing in relief.
"Aye sir," replied Happy. "Now, let's go see what Elder Michello knows."
"He's not breathing," said Rogue, cradling Elder Yuri's corpse. "If only we got here sooner."
"What if he's holding his breath," suggested Frosch, carrying a Communications Lacrima. "He doesn't have any injuries."
As the Exceed spoke, Elder Yuri's eyes popped open.
"See!" exclaimed Frosch happily.
Wordlessly, the old man pointed at Frosch's Communications Lacrima and destroyed it with his magic.
"Why did you do that!?" shouted Rogue, instantly on edge. However, Elder Yuri simply collapsed to the ground, as lifeless as before.
"As I suspected," spoke a female voice behind the Fairies. "Using Macro on the deceased doesn't work all that well."
Rogue and Frosch turned to see a woman with horns growing out of her head. She sat on a chair, reading one of Elder Yuri's books.
"Who are you?" demanded Rogue. "What did you do to Elder Yuri?"
"I simply aided him in his trip to the underworld," answered the woman.
"You're a member of Tartaros!" accused Rogue.
"The books you humans write are so dull," stated the woman, ignoring Rogue's words. "Shall I spin my own tale? A story of demons."
"She's about to attack, Frosch," warned Rogue. "Get ready."
"Alright," responded Frosch, sprouting their wings and rising to eye level.
Suddenly, Rogue's arm shot out, grabbing Frosch by the neck.
"Huh?"
"Rogue?"
The dragon slayer and Exceed were bewildered. This soon gave way to panic as Rogue's hand began to tighten, choking Frosch.
"What's happening!?" exclaimed Rogue. He turned from his partner to the Tartaros woman. "What are you doing!? Stop it!"
"In demons' stories…" spoke the woman. "…the word 'mercy' is nowhere to be found."
Omake
Arcadios sighed as he read a report on the battle between Fairy Tail's Guild Master and Jackal of Tartaros. With the Magic Council still reorganizing after their destruction, it fell on his Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron to handle the aftermath of Tartaros's actions.
He was proud to serve his kingdom, but reading this report was just exhausting. Although there were no deaths, a number of people were injured, some badly, and a large amount of property damage occurred.
Normally, this wouldn't bother Arcadios. The consequences of the battle were a small price to pay, given that the people were safe and a dangerous Dark Mage had been stopped. Ultimately, it was just a single detail that was disheartening him so much.
When his knights investigated the scene of the fight, they confirmed that Natsu's final attack caused more damage than all of Jackal's explosions combined.
AN: Natsu's battle went differently from canon, lasting shorter. This was partially because of Natsu being stronger and partially due to Jackal focusing on E.N.D.'s host rather than killing Michello. Also, Happy got away from the explosion without a scratch, much less a blast-induced afro.
The character from the Omake, Arcadios, was that knight from the GMG arc in canon, the one who helped Fairy Tail after they broke into the castle to free Lucy. I needed somebody important who would realistically be reading a report on a battle with Tartaros, and he came to mind. I do not have any plans for him to appear again before my own 7th GMG arc, though.
That is all. Bye!