Date: XX/XX/0791

Time: 1900 Approximately

Location: CLASSIFIED…Magic Council Headquarters

Mest held his notes up to compare against Lahar's…which is to say his one page of a few words against his partner's entire booklet filled with any and everything the demon had said, "…you didn't have many friends in school, did you?"

Lahar pushed his glasses up his nose with a huff, "I'll have you know that I was actually fairly popular all throughout my education."

Mest gave a witty smile at that, "Were all your fans teachers?"

Lahar didn't bother commenting, merely giving a sigh before combing through his notes again. Not everything End had said was accurate to the reports he was given about Fairy Tail's past. There were certain inconsistencies here and there, such as Natsu following close behind Erigor when the report stated he was stuck in the Wind Wall spell with the rest of the Fairy Tail guild. Or how he clearly stated that Kageyama was absorbed by Lullaby and subsequently died as a result, when his reports showed nothing like that. From what he read, seven years ago Kageyama was put into custody, and spent around five years in prison after cutting a deal to bring down Eisenwald for the Council, "It doesn't make sense…"

Mest looked over at his partner confused, "What doesn't?"

Lahar began marching down the hall, his eyes not leaving his notepad even an inch as he and Mest walked away from the interrogation room where they held the Etherious, "End's story, that's what. Either the Magic Council's reports on these matters are filled with mistakes and fabrications, which doesn't seem too outlandish seeing as they're seven years old at this point, or End is lying."

Mest hummed at the observation, "I noticed that too. When I went undercover seven years ago, I studied the past of Fairy Tail from the logs we had…he's not being truthful."

Lahar furrowed his brow in thought, "But why lie? It's not as if he's trying to completely lead us around in circles. It's the little things, like not explaining the rescue of Macao, or the Everlue mission, or his recollection of the state of certain people like Kageyama. Why would he lie about such inconsequential information?"

Mest shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know…the guy's obviously crazy, and it's like you said it was seven years ago, his memory is bound to be fuzzy."

Lahar looked straight into Mest's eyes, "It was seven years for us, it was only about a year for him. And I don't know about you, but I think I'd remember every detail about the day I defeated a demon and a dark guild."

Mest chuckled at that, "Clearly you don't know Fairy Tail then, that's an average week for those lunatics."

Lahar's glasses reflected the lamplight, shielding his eyes from view, "Perhaps…" Before turning and walking back, "We'll know soon enough with this next session."

Mest was slightly surprised at Lahar turning back, "Huh? I thought we were done for the day?"

Lahar looked straight ahead without any emotion in his features, "Evil doesn't rest, and neither do I…" Before turning slightly to face Mest, "Besides, this walk was just so I could stretch my legs. We've still got a lot of work to do before our job's done for the day."

Mest gave a sigh at that, "Fine, I might as well check his memory on his next piece of the story. After all, it's the part where he disrupted a Magic Council's hearing. It'll be the best place to see if he's lying, seeing as almost every part of that day was documented extensively because of his outburst."

Lahar and Mest stopped at the interrogation room's door, "My thoughts exactly." As he opened the door again to reveal a soundly sleeping demon on top of the room's table.

Mest felt annoyed, they were only gone for a few minutes! How was he already asleep!? Mest kicked the table causing the loudly snoring Etherious to jump awake, "Hey demon fuck! What the hell were you doing sleeping on the table!?"

End laughed his unsettling laugh before slipping back into his chair and leaning back into the shadows, "Well, you didn't give me a bed. Had to settle for the next best thing."

Mest felt a tick mark form on his head as End continued to laugh at his expense. Luckily Lahar was there to defuse the situation, "Now, now…I'm sure we can continue to act like civilized human beings-"

"You guys can." End interjected, "But I'm afraid I'm not human…so don't expect me to act like anything more!" End's mouth opened wide to cackle, his orange rings he called eyes pulsating orange in an unsettling light show.

Lahar ignored End's statement, "Anyway…why don't we continue where we left off. You said you were heading back to the guild, and that you had challenged Erza to a friendly spar, correct? How did that go exactly?" End simply smiled in the dark at the two men, the outline of his grin shining through, even in the shadows.

Date: XX/XX/0784

Time Left: Approximately Seven Years Before Disaster

Location: Fairy Tail Guild

Natsu's head hurt. It was starting to hurt a lot. What was once a dull sensation in his brain, had swiftly started growing until it had become hard to ignore. Not to mention all the weird stuff he had been seeing, the fire…the brimstone…the suffering…Natsu shook the thought from his head before gulping down another glass of beer, the sensation in his head dulling until it wasn't there anymore. He gave a sigh of relief as the alcohol took effect. He knew it wouldn't last forever, his Dragon Slayer physiology made the effects of alcohol and other similar substances pass a lot faster when compared to a normal mage, but at least it would give him a moment of relief.

"So…you've decided to try and get completely destroyed by Erza again." Natsu turned to see Cana throw back what had to be her twentieth beer of the day before giving a drunken chuckle, "Good luck with that. Just don't expect it to end any other way than it has in the past."

Natsu frowned at the lack of faith, "I'll have you know that I've been training non-stop since our last spar! I'm more than ready to take her on!"

Mirajane placed a nice well-done steak in front of Natsu with a soft smile, "Well…my money's on you Natsu. I've seen how far you've come and I'm sure you can beat Erza this time."

Natsu smiled back at the barmaid before taking a hearty bite out of his steak, "See Cana! Mira believes in me! I'm sure the rest of the guild does as well!" The rest of the guild grew quiet at that, no one else speaking up in favor of the Dragon Slayer, not even Happy. Natsu faltered in his bravado, "Come on you guys! Have some faith!"

Elfman crossed his arms against his broad chest with a hesitant expression on his face, "It's not that we don't believe in you Natsu, we do, honest! It's just…Erza's manlier than manly! I don't think anyone other than Laxus or Mystogan could beat her…"

"Well I can!" Natsu shouted, "I'll beat Erza, Laxus, Mystogan, I'll even beat Gildarts, just you wait!"

The guild was quiet for a second, before exploding in laughter. Saying you'd beat Erza or Laxus was one thing, but Gildarts? Gildarts was a monster in a league of his own. Not even Makarov would be dumb enough to fight a man who can shatter everything in a general direction just by looking that way. It was just the truth of the world, the sky is blue, grass grows, and nobody can beat Gildarts.

Natsu once again lost all of his bravado, slumping back on the barstool as he ordered another glass of ale to go alongside his steak. As soon as Erza got back from cramming all her luggage into her apartment, they'd fight, and then he'd show them…he'd show them all that he wasn't just another forgetful mage! He'd show them that he was so much more! He was Natsu Dragneel, Dragon Slayer! And today is the day he beats Erza's ass!

"I'm back." Erza appeared in the doorway, her presence was completely missed by the cacophony of guild mates laughing at Natsu's claims.

Natsu's grin grew wide as he finished up his meal before hopping to his feet, "Finally! You better watch out Erza, I've been practicing!"

The entire guild began to move outside, Cana and Max had even set up a betting booth for people to use. Erza and Natsu started getting warmed up, the Dragon Slayer and Titania both stretching and checking to make sure their magic was in order.

"So…" Lucy scooted in next to Gray, a speculative look on her face, "Who do you think is going to win?"

Gray swiftly threw his jacket off with a huff, "Erza's got my money. Though, Natsu has gotten a lot stronger the last couple of months. Must've been doing some pretty intense training…"

Lucy nodded her head at the assessment, "So, pretty even?"

Gray took a cigarette out and lit it, "Pretty even." Before taking a drag of the cigarette, "But Erza's still got my money."

Lucy understood what Gray was saying, she'd seen Erza fight and Natsu fight, and while Natsu might have sheer firepower on his side, Erza had far more versatility with how many weapons and armor she had, "It's still crazy that two members of Fairy Tail's strongest team are going to fight one another…"

Gray snorted at the statement, "Fairy Tail's strongest team? What kind of braindead moron told you that?" Off to the side Mirajane overheard Gray's harsh words, and crumbled into tears as a result. Gray realizing what he did, went to apologize profusely to the sobbing woman.

Lucy tilted her head in confusion, "But if we're not the strongest team…who is?" Though Lucy wouldn't get her answer any time soon. The crowd of guild members roared in cheers as Natsu and Erza got into sparring position.

Erza covered her form in magical light before her normal armor was replaced with flaming red and gold armor as well as a similarly colored broadsword appearing within her gauntlets, "Don't think I'll take it easy on you just because we're sparring Natsu. This is a test on your overall battle prowess, so I'll be fighting you with everything I've got!"

Natsu slammed his flaming fist into his other hand's palm as a wild smile plastered itself on his face, "I wouldn't have it any other way! I'm all fired up!"

Happy floated in next to Lucy with a large fish in his mouth, "That's Erza's Flame Empress Armor, it allows Erza to only take half the damage from fire magic. It's been Erza's go-to armor for beating Natsu for years…and it hasn't failed yet."

Natsu overheard Happy's description from the sidelines. It's true, whenever he and Erza fought she always brought out that armor to completely counter his magic in the past. But…today was different. Because today he had a foolproof plan to get past that piece of flame resistant metal.

The air was quiet for a second, just a second, before Natsu took a deep breath and prepared his spell, "Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Erza weaved around the large column of flames that spewed from Natsu's mouth before charging through the leftover embers to slash at the Dragon Slayer, "Soaring Fire Blade!"

Natsu grinned as he dodged the initial slash only to gulp down the fire that exuded from the sword, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" His flaming fist slammed into Erza's stomach, pushing her back but otherwise doing nothing to her form. Natsu smiled as he began to get worked up in the heat of battle, "Come on Erza, you know better than to use fire against me! Fight me like you mean it!"

Erza smirked as her red sword disappeared in a flash and was replaced with a long sword composed of a crystal-like material, "You're right Natsu, let's switch things up." Without warning, Erza swung the blade and sent a crescent shaped wave of water at the Dragon Slayer.

Natsu's pupils dilated for a split second before he ducked underneath the slash and righted himself once more, "Fire Dragon's-!" Though Natsu couldn't get the incantation out before he was assaulted by a variable whirlpool of water from her sword. He couldn't move out of the way in time, and was swallowed whole by the torrent.

The crowd cheered in excitement as Natsu was thrown about within the whirlpool, before he was unceremoniously tossed out onto the ground more disoriented than hurt. Natsu stumbled to try and get on his feet, but instead fell onto his knees and vomited the contents of his stomach…which was mostly meat and alcohol.

Erza didn't let up however, taking this time to summon a large buster sword from her inventory and bring it over to slam down onto Natsu's skull, "It's over!

"Not yet!" Natsu screamed out in defiance as he clasped the buster sword just before it connected with his head. He struggled to keep the sword from moving any further, but was immediately caught off guard when Erza kicked him right in his stomach, sending him tumbling back in pain.

Erza flashed in a bright light, her weapons being replaced with the Flame Empress Sword once again, "It's okay to surrender Natsu, you can try again after a bit more training. There is no shame in defeat."

No shame in defeat? What a joke. There was nothing but shame in defeat! Natsu clutched the left side of his face as the headache he'd been staving off with booze had come back now that his stomach was empty of it. Natsu's other arm clutched his bruising stomach, Erza's boots were covered in shard spikes meant to dispel flames, it was no wonder he was so hurt from just one kick. He tried keeping his breathing in check, keeping his heart rate down, and stopping himself from losing control again, but it was so hard to do that when in the middle of a fight with an S-class mage. Natsu felt his pupils shrink even further. There was nothing but shame in defeat…nothing but shame…Natsu let out a guttural snarl, one that was unheard by the roaring crowd. There was nothing but shame in defeat…and he will not be shamed!

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu expelled an inferno of flames directly at Erza so fast, she couldn't dodge. It didn't do much but cause light burns across her exposed skin, but that wasn't the point, the point was to blind her for a second as he closed the distance, "Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow!" Natsu pulled his fist back, but instead of engulfing it in flames like before, he spewed a jet of fire from his elbow, rocketing his fist directly into Erza's Flame Empress Armor and shattering its midsection from the force of the punch.

Erza skidded to a halt with a look of surprise on her and everyone else's face, "W-what?"

Natsu smiled, this was his plan from the start, he knew burning through his magic reserves just to cause half as much damage to Erza was just not a viable option. So the answer to that problem was to get her to change armor. Though the only issue is that he only knew Fire Dragon Slayer spells, and Erza wouldn't just switch out of her fire resistant armor unless she was forced to. Luckily, Natsu had an idea. The Flame Empress Armor was just resistant against fire magic, so all he had to do was use his fire to amplify his physical attributes without the fire being the main focus of the spell! And thus, the Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow was born!

"Ha! This was my plan all along! Your move Erza!" Natsu patted himself on the back for that one, honestly his brain, it was just so massive sometimes. Suddenly a sharp pain stabbed into Natsu's left side of his brain, causing him to falter slightly. He was going to need to end this fight soon, he didn't know how much longer he could keep fighting with this stabbing pain in his head.

Erza looked at her armor, it was ruined. She clicked her tongue before being enveloped in a bright flash, her red and golden armor was replaced with a dark green armor that was absolutely covered in spikes, a dangerous aura surrounding her entire form as her eyes seemingly grew red with murderous intent, "I think I'm done playing around Natsu…now you face my Purgatory Armor!"

Happy and the rest of the guild gasped as Erza summoned a large, similarly themed mace and slammed it to her side, shattering the ground in the process, "That's Erza's Purgatory Armor, no one has faced against that armor and lived to tell about it! It carries the power of Destruction Magic with every attack!"

Natsu felt a twinge of fear fill his mind, he had been on the receiving end of Erza's wrath before, but she had never brought out that armor to fight before. He was certain that with only one strike of that armor, he'd be spending the next month in the infirmary mending broken bones. A smile grew across Natsu's face, sounds like an interesting challenge to him, "Let's get this party started! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Erza brought her mace back and charged at her guild mate, the ground cracking from her launch, "Purgatorium Strike!"

The two were just about to make contact with each other, before a voice halted them in their tracks, "Stop where you are!" Just as they were ordered to, Natsu and Erza stopped as a…frog…wearing robes flanked by a squad of Rune Knights waddled up to the mages before pulling out a scroll and clearing its throat with a croak, "By decree of the Magic Council over the Continent of Ishgar, one Erza Scarlet from the guild Fairy Tail is hereby placed under arrest and is to stand trial for the destruction of Clover town as well as the unauthorized contact with a dangerous magical artifact. Will you come peacefully, or will it be by force?" The Rune Knight's grips on their spears tightened as they readied themselves for the worst.

Erza, as well as every other member of the guild was taken aback at the brazen accusation that was being thrown at Erza. Though, the Titania put on a stoic face and changed into her normal armor, "I…understand, I will come along peacefully."

The Rune Knights let out a small sigh of relief as one member slapped a pair of magic suppressing handcuffs on her gauntlets. Though one Dragon Slayer wasn't having it, "What the hell!? You Magic Council fucks are just gonna arrest Erza after everything we've done for you!? Fairy Tail was the one that saved your sorry asses from that demon in the first place!"

The frog person let out a long croak at Natsu's outburst before responding, "Mr. Dragneel please control yourself. You're lucky we're only arresting the one responsible rather than your entire guild-!"

"But she's not the one responsible!" Natsu cut the frog off, his eyes growing more and more murderous by the second, "If you're gonna arrest anyone, arrest me! I'm the one that shot the fireball that caused Lullaby to fall on Clover! I'm the one you-!"

"Natsu!" Erza yelled, causing the fire mage to stop and look at the disapproving glare she sent his way, "It's fine, just…calm down and accept the Council's wishes, okay?"

Natsu felt his anger subside as he looked into Erza's soft eyes, "Erza…I-"

"Enough!" The frog person said before marching off with Erza in tow, "I swear, if your guild didn't have such an astounding success rate in missions, the Magic Council would've shut you down ages ago!"

Natsu held out a hand as they put his friend, his family member into the back of their magic transport, before quickly riding off, "…wait…"

"We have to do something!" Gray shouted at Makarov, the ice mage having lost his shirt some time before.

"The Council has decided to charge her with those crimes. Even if I could speak with them, they wouldn't listen to my plea." Makarov took a sip of his ale, his eyes closed as he thought about their next actions.

"Bullshit…" Makarov opened one eye to look at the guild's resident Dragon Slayer, Natsu having taken to clenching his fists tight in one corner of the guild. The fire mage hid his front half in the shadows, hiding the sight of his left eye twitching from the rest of the guild. He didn't even notice the guild giving way to that all too familiar hellscape, because right now the only thing he could feel…was hate.

Makarov sighed, Natsu was always one of the more…loyal when it came to the guild and its familiar connection, "Now now Natsu, I'm sure it will all work out. Why don't you come over and share a drink with me? My treat." Makarov gave a warm smile towards the young mage, a smile that was completely unseen by the man.

"…no…" Natsu turned and walked out of the guild, the air around him spiking in heat as he did so, "I don't think I will…"

Happy flew next to Natsu with a smile, "You want me to come along Nat-!" Before the doors slammed shut behind him, "Oh, okay then…"

Makarov gave another sigh though this time it was far more exasperated, "Ughhh…I just know this isn't going to end well…"

"Master?" Makarov turned to find a nervous Lucy fiddling with nothing in her hands, "I think I need to talk to you about something that happened on our mission…"

Makarov's curiosity peaked at that, "Of course my child! Come, let's go to my office so that we can discuss in private." Makarov left his murmuring guild downstairs as he and Lucy made their way into his office. It wasn't anything special, just a small room with a desk, a couple chairs, some filing cabinets, and a stack of paperwork he hadn't gotten to yet. Makarov sat down at his desk and motioned for Lucy to take a seat as well, "Now, what can I do for you!?"

Makarov was clearly trying to lighten the mood with his grandfatherly energy, but it did little to calm Lucy's nervous demeanor, "Well…I'm sure you've been informed that the mission wasn't without…casualties…"

Makarov nodded in a saddened fashion, "Yes…it's a tragedy, the loss of life, but one that sometimes cannot be avoided. I understand if you are having second thoughts on having joined the guild after witnessing the darker side of guild work-"

"No." Lucy stated before immediately backtracking, "I mean, it's not like I like the deaths or anything! Or that I haven't been having second thoughts or anything like that! It's just…" Lucy slowed down her words, and strung her next sentence together very carefully in her mind, "Erigor, one of the people that was killed, the way he died was very…different…"

Now Lucy had caught Makarov's attention, "Different?"

Lucy looked off in embarrassment, "You know, different. I don't know the exact details of the battle between Natsu and him, but I did see the result and…well…" Lucy leaned in and her voice became a whisper, "I've never seen anything like it. Craters, smoldering, burning craters all around. It was like a hundred miniature suns exploded, and I was just wondering…if you possibly knew anything that could explain it?"

Makarov leaned back in his office chair, a hum escaping his lips as he went through his decades worth of knowledge on magic within his head, in particular what he knew about Dragon Slayer Magic, "Dragon Slayer Magic, it's a form of Lost Magic, magic that has been lost to time either because of its uselessness, lack of practitioners, or because of the side effects that come from using the magic…" Lucy paid close attention to every word Makarov said, "There's said to be a state that Dragon Slayer's can achieve through enough training, or through immense amounts of magical consumption of their specific element. That state is known as Dragon Force."

"Dragon Force?" Lucy said confused, "Sounds like the name of a kickass rock band."

Makarov laughed at that, "I suppose it does, but make no mistake, Dragon Force is the strongest state a Dragon Slayer can achieve, giving the mage power equal to that of an actual dragon. From what you've told me, I believe Natsu must have tapped into this state while fighting Erigor." Makarov stroked his mustache in thought, "Though, for him to access it so early…without any external flames to give him that extra boost he should have needed…I wonder if he did something different instead." Makarov waved off the train of thought before jumping from his chair and walking towards the office door, "Bah! It doesn't really matter, just the dottering of an old fool, I hope I've been of some help Lucy."

Lucy bowed towards Makarov with a sweet smile on her face, "You have Master, I was just curious if I had to be worried or something."

Makarov smiled in return, "Don't mention it, I'm sure that for Natsu, we have absolutely nothing to worry about!"

Natsu slammed a flaming fist into a tree as he stalked closer and closer towards the Magic Council Headquarters, his left eye rolling around uncontrollably in his socket. Those fucks…they think they can just waltz right into his guild and take his family member right as he was about to beat her in a duel, right as he was about to prove how strong he had gotten!? No…no! He was going to go to the headquarters, kick the asses of those old coots for daring to interrupt their spar, and then he was going to finish said spar with Erza and be victorious!

Natsu let a heavy breath full of embers escape his maw as he smashed through another tree unnecessarily before continuing his trek towards the Magic Council. It wasn't too far now, just an hour of walking at most-!

Natsu was caught off guard when something fast grabbed his wrist and yanked him to the ground before he could react. Natsu felt something claw and bite at his chest and almost on instinct, he slammed his flaming fist into whatever was on him and sent it flying with a yelp. Natsu immediately got to his feet to see what exactly attacked him, only to see a skinny wolf with matted gray fur and wild eyes slobber in his direction. Natsu sighed in relief, he thought it was something more than a simple wolf…that's when the others made themselves known. Over a dozen hungry wolves started circling around Natsu in a predatory fashion, sizing the mage up as they waited for an opening.

Natsu frowned at the wolves, they were hungry, starving even. He felt sorry for the pack, but he wasn't going to be dog chow tonight, "Sorry fellas, but I'm not on the-!" Natsu was tackled to the ground as the dozen or so wolves pounced on the now down mage, scratching, and biting into the Dragon Slayer's flesh. Natsu yelled out in pain as he exploded in flames to get the mangy mutts off him, causing them to do just that, yelping out in pain at having been burnt by the fire.

Natsu panted in exhaustion as he continued to surround himself in fire to ward off the wolves, his eye at this point going completely crazy in his socket as he began flickering back and forth from reality to the hellscape in his mind. Natsu let a snarl escape his throat as he looked at the wolves that circled around him once more with malice.

"You're an idiot, you know that right?" Natsu looked over at one of the wolves that spoke to him, its slobbering maw opening and closing like a puppets would.

Natsu sneered at the wolf, "Don't call me an idiot you fuck!" Before sending a fireball that blew the wolf into burnt flesh pieces.

"Look how many people you've hurt. Don't you have any regret for what you've done?" Another spoke, much like the first.

Natsu turned his attention towards that one, "What the hell are you talking about!?" Before sending a stream of flames that burnt that mongrel alive.

"I didn't bring you back just so you could kill all those people. Do you not remember how we lost our family to similar flames!? That you were killed with such fire!?" Yet another spoke, the muddled voice growing more and more clear as Natsu listened, almost as if he was recalling an old memory.

Natsu clenched the sides of his head as the hellscape began to take shape more and more, "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!"

"I suppose there's no denying the truth, dear brother. You are, and always will be, a monster…" Natsu let the flames around his body falter for a second, which was more than enough for the wolves to take advantage of as they all pounced onto the mage once more. However, instead of tackling him to the forest's floor like before, Natsu reached out, and grabbed one of them by the throat.

A disturbing chuckle rang out from the smiling lips of Natsu Dragneel, his left eye rolling back into his head as black tendrils reached out from somewhere within, "You…" Natsu tightened his grip around the rabid dog's neck, the wolf whimpering as if to plead to the demon that stood in front of it. Natsu's chuckling grew into full blown laughter as an aura of despair filled the forest area, the wolves and the very trees cowered away as they now stood in the presence of something wrong, "You annoy me…" The wolf gave one last look of plea to its pack…before its neck snapped with a crunch. The wolves decided the potential meal wasn't worth it and bolted to the woods, only, the moment they turned their backs to him, he appeared in front of them, "I'm gonna have s̵o̷ ̶m̴u̵c̷h̷ ̶f̶u̷n̷ ţ̷̊ȩ̷͝a̶̪͒r̶̝͝i̵̥̇n̸̘͂g̷͔̀ ̷̩́ẏ̴͈o̴̥͠ủ̵͎ṛ̶̐ ̶̮̓b̷̙̈́o̸͉̾d̴̙̃i̸̜͝e̸͇̎s̷͓̍ ̸̦͋a̴̜͗p̴̛̬â̸͉ŕ̷̢ţ̷̌!̷̮̉" One wolf didn't even have time to react before Natsu grabbed the inside of its jaws and pulled. The dog couldn't do anything as Natsu ripped it in half, blood and gore flying everywhere as a result. The rest of the wolves scurried off into the underbrush as a maniacal Natsu looked after them and laughed his unhinged laugh, "Why are you running? All I want is to make you s̶̬͝u̷͈̓f̴̧͝f̷̻̓ḙ̷̈r̴͉̈!̸͓͝"

That day, a couple of hunters could have sworn they heard the brutal wails of the very forest cry out for help, before it was silenced by the quiet, yet still unholy, laughter from what could have only been a demon. Though anyone who listened to their tale didn't believe a single word. After all, something so monstrous that it would make nature itself cry out for help, could never exist in the real world. Right?

Jellal waited with baited breath for his dear Erza to round the corner so that he could present himself to his long lost 'friend.' After all, it was his idea to use her as a scapegoat in the first place. Criticism at the Magic Council was starting to mount, too many average day people were complaining about the overabundance of magical restrictions on everyday items and artifacts. That mounted with the destruction of Clover town due to a left unchecked demon flute was just the cherry on top for public opinion to shift away from the Council.

He couldn't let that happen. The Magic Council was just too perfect for his plans! Old, out of touch, morons so stuck up their own asses that they didn't even notice all the suspicious behavior he and his partner Ultear had been up to recently…such as the tower…

He couldn't let any of them get voted out, or heaven forbid, impeached before he could finish the preparations. The answer? Use pretty little Erza as the sacrificial lamb. That way the Council can feel all happy that they stuck one to Fairy Tail, and the public thinks that the Council is actually doing something. Jellal had to stop himself from laughing. The day the Council did anything of importance was the day pigs fly!

Ah! There she was now…Jellal adjusted his white robes and stepped out from behind the marble pillar with a stoic expression on his face, "Hello, Erza."

Erza stopped in her tracks, her eyes widened for a second, before furrowing in anger, "Siegrain…"

"Leave us." 'Siegrain' ordered, causing the Rune Knights escorting the mage to bow in respect before walking away. 'Siegrain' gave a sigh before looking at the shackled form of Erza Scarlet and allowing a small smile to etch onto his face.

What looked like nothing more than a friendly expression towards a friend to any onlooker, was actually the best Jellal could do to hide the evil feelings within his heart. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his Projection's fingers around her pretty little neck and squeeze the life out of her. It'd be so easy too. She was in magic suppressing shackles, she was completely unguarded, he was a Wizard Saint who could charm his way out of any legal trouble! Oh, how he wanted to snap every last one of her bones! To make her suffer a thousand times more than she ever suffered while in that fucking tower-!

"It's been some time, Siegrain." Erza spoke, bringing Jellal out of his thoughts before they became any more vile.

He nodded his head slightly at that, "It has. I'm just here to let you know that we don't actually intend to hold you to any of the crimes you're charged with. This entire 'trial,' if you could even call it that, is little more than a sham." He cocked his head in what anyone else would see as charming, but for Erza was sleazy, "Off the record of course."

Erza didn't allow her hostile gaze to leave Jellal for even a second, but still mulled over the words he told her, "You've got some balls coming to tell me that all alone, if it wasn't for these cuffs, I wouldn't hesitate to beat you to a pulp, you villain."

Jellal sighed, really he expected nothing less from his dear Erza. Even after all these years, she still didn't trust him. Jellal couldn't help the smile that started to creep across his face. Good…it was so much more fun to have her distrust him, "You'd be happy to try, though I'm not sure how much damage you'd do to a Thought Projection." Jellal fizzled slightly to emphasize that point, much to Erza's chagrin, "Though…if I remember correctly, the first time we ever met was when you were brought in after accidentally destroying a Council member's personal mansion while in a fight." Erza didn't comment, not letting her gaze leave the man in front of her. Jellal continued, "When you first saw me, you tried ripping my face off! Calling me Jellal over and over again. Course, that was before I informed you that I was in fact his twin brother, so no hard feelings on that front-"

"Go to hell!" Erza growled, her pupils growing tiny in pure disdain.

Jellal chuckled to himself, before suddenly appearing right next to Erza's head, his lips centimeters from her ear, "Now, now my dear…it's quite rude to interrupt a man like myself when he's taken the precious time he has out of his day to speak to you. So why don't you shut those pretty little lips of yours and listen while I talk." Erza wanted nothing more than to bash the man's head in, but stayed quiet due only to the sheer lack of control she had in this situation, "Now…you are going to go into that courtroom, you are going smile nice and wide for all the little people on the stands, and then you are going to be sent back to that disgusting fucking bar you call a guild right after. Do you understand what I'm saying, Scarlet?" Erza nodded her head slowly, and for a split second, she could have sworn she felt the man breath down her neck, "Good…guards!" Immediately, the Rune Knights rounded the corner once more and moved to the sides of their prisoner, "Oh, and one last thing…" Erza felt a shiver run down her back as 'Siegrain' smiled a thin, cruel smile, " I don't think I have to remind you, but don't mention 'that' to anyone, got it? I'd really hate to have to call up my brother and tell him to discipline your old pals for your misdeeds…"

Erza felt her skin crawl as the Thought Projection in front of her fizzled out of existence. She didn't care how many times she met the man, that guy always gave her the fucking creeps.

Erza started to zone out from the Council's constant talking. Ever since she first took to the stand it had been nothing more than legal mumbo jumbo, and dumb questions that even an infant could answer. It was clear for everyone to see that this whole trial was little more than a formality. Just like Siegrain said, this entire thing was a sham. The verdict was already decided before she had ever walked into the courtroom. Her face soured at the thought. Politics…she hated politics…

A muffled boom could be heard outside the courtroom door, causing Erza and the Council to stop their discussion and look towards the door in confusion, "What was that?" An elderly woman asked, just as another boom was heard outside the door. Then another, and another, and another, each one growing closer and closer to the courtroom-! Then there was silence, "Huh…guess it was noth-!"

The door blasted off its hinges as a man with pink hair exuded burning orange flames from his body. Those with careful eyes could clearly see the stains of blood that covered his form as he continued his rampage much to the Magic Council's horror, "You fucks! We were in the middle of a fight! I was about to win! Let her go this instant, or I'm gonna burn this whole fucking building to the goddamn ground-!"

Natsu couldn't finish his threat before he received a quick chop to the back of the head from a very pissed Erza, and fell to the ground unconscious. Erza bowed and began to apologize profusely for Natsu's behavior, "I'm so sorry Magic Council, I swear I knew nothing of my guildmates behavior…"

"You…" The older man in the middle of the Council, obviously the chairman, stated through gritted teeth, before motioning towards the guards, "Take these hooligans to the dungeons below! We'll discuss their punishment at once!"

Erza bowed her head in shame, before letting herself and Natsu get taken away by the Rune Knights, "Our sincerest apologies, Chairman Crawford…"

Jellal let out a thin grin at the antics of the Dragon Slayer as the rest of the Council began arguing with one another about what just happened. And here he thought the most interesting part of his day was meeting Erza again, "Ultear." Jellal directed his attention towards his fellow Council member directly to his right, "Please go and make sure that those Fairy Tail mages don't try anything more…reckless, while in custody."

Ultear nodded her head, "Of course Siegrain. Make sure these old fools don't jeopardize our plans." Before she fizzled out of existence.

Jellal continued to smile, things were really getting interesting…

"Let us go you bastards! I'll kill all of you!" Natsu pulled at the bars as best as he could, though without the use of magic thanks to the cuffs they slapped on him, he couldn't do a single thing to them.

"Natsu!" Suddenly, the Dragon Slayer became very aware of the killing intent exuding from the redhead behind him, "Why are you here?"

Natsu felt sweat begin to pour down his back in nervousness, "To break you out of course. We both know you aren't responsible for the destruction of Clover town. We saved them from a freaking demon for crying out loud!"

Erza slapped him across the face, even without the aid of magic, it still hurt, "You idiot, this entire thing is a sham!"

Natsu blinked in confusion, "Huh?"

Erza let out a sigh before sliding down on the cell wall and sitting on the floor, "They were going to convict me, then let me go. All of this was just a show, so that the people would think that the Council is actually doing something about the Clover town incident!" Erza's eyes grew very intense for a moment, "But thanks to you, we're stuck here for who knows how long."

Natsu slumped his shoulders in defeat, before taking a seat at the opposite end of the cell, "I'm…I'm sorry Erza. I didn't mean to…"

Erza gave an exasperated sigh, before her gaze fell on the red stains of blood that covered the young man, her face conveying the concern she felt, "Who's…who's blood is that?"

Natsu looked confused for a second, before he seemingly noticed that he was covered in what was unmistakably blood. He gave a quick sniff of his scarf before an even more confused look crossed his face, "Huh…smells like wolf's blood."

Erza didn't know what to do with that information, "Did you fight wolves on your way here?"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders, "I guess I did, weird I don't remember it though…"

The two sat in silence after that, mulling over what the other said but not saying much more. Natsu, for a brief second, thought he could smell someone closeby, as if someone was attempting to listen in on their conversation. Though it must have been nothing, since he couldn't smell anyone after that.

"How have you been?" Erza asked, catching the Dragon Slayer a tad off guard by her question.

"Uhm…good. The guild has been just as rowdy as it's ever been. Mira's doing well too, she said they're going to be moving her therapy sessions to only once a week and…I think she's making really good progress." Natsu added, a kind smile stretching across his face as he thought about the bright presence that Mira always gave him.

Erza gave her own smile at that, "Good, I'm glad the guild is doing well. I was afraid that the guild wouldn't be able to function without me there to discipline them." Natsu wasn't the biggest fan of Erza's 'discipline' but decided to keep that little tidbit to himself, "What about that new member? The Celestial Spirit mage, Lucy? It seems you've taken quite a liking to her."

Erza gave Natsu a mischievous smile, one the fire mage didn't really appreciate, "Hey! Playing matchmaker is Mira's job, I don't need two people trying to put me together with every lass that wanders into guild now!" Natsu let out a childish huff, "We're nothing more than friends, barely even that as well. I just met her a few weeks ago. I just want her integration into the guild to be as seamless as possible."

Erza nodded her head at that, "I understand, not a lot of people can handle the guild life. It's good you've taken her under your wing."

Natsu chuckled at that, "Well, it would look bad on me if one of the only people I've ever brought in to join quit right after they joined." Natsu looked off to the side, "It's like you said, the guild life isn't a normal one, or an easy one. We lose people, friends, family…some of us know this better than most…" Images of a smiling young woman with white hair flashed in his mind, "I know it's kind of foolish of me, but I want to keep her safe. Luce is stronger than she looks…but not by much. She's got a long way to go before she'll be able to handle the more dangerous aspects of the job by herself." Natsu looked at Erza, only to find an amused look in her eye, "W-what is it? Did I say something dumb again?"

Erza chuckled at Natsu's reaction, "No, quite the opposite in fact. It's nice to see you grow up and mature after so long." Natsu wasn't sure how to take the compliment, so he just squirmed uncomfortably in his corner of the cell. Erza sighed as she thought to herself, "Though…apparently not by a lot if our current situation has anything to say about it…"

Natsu's expression soured at that comment, "I'm sorry okay! I just didn't want to see you suffer alone for what Team Natsu did as a whole."

Erza quirked an eyebrow at what he said, "Team Natsu?"

Natsu faltered for a second before rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment, "Cana recommended it, I thought it sounded pretty good…"

Erza couldn't help but chuckle at that, before her chuckling became full blown laughter. It didn't take Natsu long to join in as well, filling the dungeons below the Magic Council Headquarters with joyous laughter between two guildmates.

Date: N/A

Time Left: N/A

Location: N/A

Keyes let his empty eye sockets roam the room full of reanimated bodies as they tirelessly worked to write inside the large leather books. Keyes rarely ever left the Cube, after all, he was in charge of Tartaros' workforce. The workforce being the hundreds, if not thousands of corpses that he reanimated to do all the nitty gritty grunt work that no one wanted to do. Sure they had non-corpse members of the guild that did similar work, zealous religious types that were hand picked by Tartaros to join with the rest of the guild. Most of them were lesser demons that were native to certain parts of Ishgar, but some, a very select few, were actually human.

A common misconception that his fellow guildmates had about Keyes, was that he hated humans, that he despised them with every fabric of his being, but…that simply wasn't true. No…in reality, Keyes loved humans, he adored humans with all of his non-existent heart! As long as they were dead, that is…

The fact is, human emotions, their very soul, was flawed. Those 'feelings' they had, little more than weaknesses that got in the way of bigger, better things. If it wasn't for human conflict brought on by hatred for their own kind, humanity would have surely brought about world peace by now…but no. They had decided to wallow in their own mediocrity, to forever slave away in their futile existence brought on by those pathetic, illogical, 'feelings.'

The dead didn't have that problem. Corpses had no soul to guide them, no feelings to ruin their perfect forms. Oh how Keyes absolutely loved the human form. It was simply perfect in every way…man, woman, young, old, all of them! How many days did he toil away, dissecting every human he came across? How long did he work to understand the inner workings of the human body, studying the pieces that his creator, Zeref, had made him without? Those were some of the best moments of his life. Then, almost out of the blue, Mard Geer had requested him to do something…different.

He had asked Keyes to use a few of the thousands of corpses in his collection…to write the doctrine of E.N.D. Doctrine that would be disseminated to the humans of Ishgar. Of course Keyes accepted, he knew better than to defy the direct orders of the Underworld King. It's just…at first he didn't understand why.

Why write the doctrine of E.N.D? Why give it to humans when they'd just throw it away after realizing what it was? Why waste the valuable manpower they had to write silly words in a silly book that silly humans would never understand?

But then…they started reading it. Then, they started preaching his message. Then, people started speaking the Demon King's name as if he was a god. A god of destruction, a god of death, a god of chaos, but also a god of love, a god of righteous fury, a god that would burn away sin and leave only perfection! That's when Keyes understood why. He had spent so long studying the human form, that he never stopped to study the human mind.

Ishgar didn't have a concrete national religion. Most humans worshiped nebulous things, such as magic as a concept, or certain idols that were without form. The closest thing the continent had to a religious structure was the various cults that peppered the land, some of which directly worshiped his creator, Zeref.

Human's needed something to believe in, they needed someone or something to put their faith into. That's why the cult of E.N.D was one of the fastest growing religions in the whole of Earthland. Sure, it was still only in its infancy, the Magic Council seeing it as nothing more than a passing fad, but Keyes knew the truth. As did every other demon in Tartaros. It was only a matter of time until their true master was revived, and when he was, it wouldn't be to the wails and condemnation of the masses, but rather their applause and cheers.

Keyes continued to watch over the corpses with an attentive eye socket as they continued to write at a pace impossible for any living being, his stitched mouth opening slightly for him to let out a soft murmur, "Such lovely creatures…humans are…"