Hi everyone. Thank you again for waiting, as well as all your votes in my recent poll. With an overwhelming majority, it appears I will be including demonic foes from other franchises into my series, though they will have their origins changed to better fit into the Devil May Cry lore.

Now with all that being said, let's get started.

A Girl Named Patty

It was rather late at night as two individuals walked down a street. One was a tall young man with white hair who wore a long red coat with an upturned collar with short sleeves and black cuffs. On the back of his red coat bore the large black emblem of the Fairy Tail guild. Underneath his jacket, he wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a red vest and black clasps over it. He also wore red pants, two black belts wrapped around his right thigh, with black boots. He also wore a pair of black finger-less gloves.

On his right was a blonde teenage girl, her hair tied in pig tails. She wore a light blue, sleeveless, jacket that stretched down to her back with gold trims at the edges. She also wore separate sleeves on her arms. Her white and blue shirt covered her breasts as it had a gold trims on the edges with a blue heart in the center. She also wore a silver amulet around her neck with a red jewel in the center. She wore a short black skirt with a belt that kept a rod on her right side and a pack of keys on her left side. She also wore brown boots with black thigh-high tights on her legs. She also had the pink Fairy Tail emblem on the back of her right hand.

The man and girl walked from the street toward a set of stairs that led down to what appeared to be the basement of a building. The man opened the door first, ringing the customer bell, as he and the girl behind him entered what appeared to be a bar. The only occupants besides themselves and the bartender were three men who appeared to be smoking and playing poker at a nearby table.

"What'll it be?" The bartender asked as the pair sat down at the bar.

"Two strawberry sundaes." The man in red answered.

The bartender gave an amused scoff as if they told him a joke. "This is a bar, mister. No place for a couple of kids."

"Well I don't drink alcohol." The blonde girl said. "Plus, it be nice to have something sweet every now and then. But the two of us here are more interested in this rumor we've been hearing about." She said as a moth flew above them to land on the only lamp in the bar that hung from the ceiling.

"They say that somewhere around here there's some bar, more like a dive." The man in red continued. "A place where they'll take someone's life in place of money."

"Isn't that a scary thought?" The blonde girl asked rhetorically.

At the table behind them, one of the men grunted in frustration as the man next to him had a better hand it would seem. "Sorry, forgive me pal."

"Royal straight flush, is it?" The man in red asked as he and the girl next to him glanced at the table behind them. "Laying a hand like that could kill a guy."

The man with the royal straight flush stood up to address the pair. "How about, I buy you two a round?"

Suddenly, the man in red flashed his Ivory pistol over his shoulder and shot the man in the head. However, as the moth flew over the man's falling body, spreading some kind of special dust over it, the man suddenly transformed into a demon and lunged at the pair; but they pushed themselves away from the bar as the demon crashed into it. Both the man and girl stood back-to-back, revealing themselves to be Dante Redgrave and Lucy Heartfilia, both of the Fairy Tail guild.

The other two men playing poker, revealed to be demons as well, tried to lunge at the duo, but Lucy quickly flashed her rod, revealed to be her magical whip, the Fleuve d'etoiles, which she extended and used to ensnare the two demons before flailing her whip and sending them crashing right into the bar where the first demon tried to recover. While all three of them were down, Dante extended his hand to call forth Rebellion as he cut them down in one single slice with little issue.

They're work appearing to be done, the two cousins proceed to walk back up the stairs and out of the bar, leaving the three demon corpses behind. However, as he was the first to approach the door, Dante held out his hand to keep Lucy back briefly before he drew Rebellion to not only cut down the moth from before, but slice through the door to impale someone on the other side, revealed to be the bartender as his shocked face broke through the glass before falling over, seemingly dead, as Dante and Lucy walked back outside.

"Next time you open up shop, don't forget to add strawberry sundaes to the menu." Dante commented as they walked toward the street.

However, a second moth flew over the body of the bartender, spreading the same kind of dust over it. Once the dust made contact, the bartender shed his mortal skin to reveal himself to be a demon as well. He tried to lunge and catch the pair by surprise, only to find himself completely entangled by the Fleuve d'etoiles whip. He growled as the last thing he saw were the smirking faces of Dante and Lucy, the former pointing his Ebony pistol at him as they both said one single word.

"Jackpot."

*Bang!*

The Next Day – Fairy Tail guildhall

"So, first job as a Devil Hunter. How'd it go?" Macao asked Lucy as she sat at a table along with Wakaba. At the same time, Kinana was at the bar as usual, while Dante appeared to be talking with Morrison at a separate table. But what was most odd was that there was a girl in the guildhall that nobody recognized as she just appeared to wonder around the place.

"Eh, not bad." Lucy shrugged. "Those guys were nothing compared to Grimoire Heart, or those other demons at Temen-ni-gru."

"You sure it's a wise thing to tag along with Dante on those kinds of jobs?" Wakaba asked. "You might be his cousin, but he's half demon and you're all human. Not to mention all the experience he has."

"Trust me, I know." Lucy said. "Don't worry, I'm gonna be working with Trish and Lady so I can better help at fighting demons. You never know when we have to face another demonic apocalypse."

"Lucy Heartfilia the Devil Huntress." Macao said with a smirk. "That actually has a nice ring to it."

"Are you listening to me, Dante?" Morrison spoke to the red-clad Son of Sparda as the group at the other table, the aforementioned devil hunter had his feet kicked up on the table while reading an issue of Sorcerer Weekly as it didn't appear, he was actually listening.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm studying." Dante brushed off. "Yeah, I know the guild's at the bottom barrel right now, and I might take the occasional odd-job here and there, but I've got no desire to babysit some brat." He commented, referring to the unnamed blonde girl that continued to wonder around the small guildhall.

"Brat?" She questioned with an irritated look on her face.

"Sorry young lady." Dante spoke to the girl directly. "Maybe in ten years or so, I'll ask you out on a date."

The girl looked away, trying to act all lady-like. "And I'll tell you 'no' in ten seconds. Me, I'm only into younger guys."

"Oooh, burn by an ankle-bitter." Wakaba smirked as even Macao and Lucy both chuckled.

Morrison gave a sigh as Kinana gave him a mug of beer. "Thank you." He told her before addressing the Devil Hunter again. "Listen Dante, she may be a kid… Oh, sorry, my apologies." He quickly said to the girl who gave him a stink-eye at that 'kid' comment before turning back to Dante. "But the young lady standing before you is not just any girl. She's Patty Lowell. The Cinderella-girl who's heiress to the Lowell family fortune."

That name got Lucy's attention. "Hold on, did you say Lowell?"

"You heard of em?" Wakaba asked.

"Yeah, my dad mentioned them a few times before I left home." Lucy explained. "He did business with them and they're pretty rich. Not as rich as my family was, but still pretty loaded."

"Doubt anyone was as rich as your family, Lucy." Macao commented in a joking fashion. "Pretty sure you could have bought a whole country with that kind of dough."

Lucy chose to ignore that comment before speaking to Morrison herself. "So, this girl is part of the Lowell family?" She asked as Patty sat down at a table where Kinana provided her with some apple juice.

"Illegitimately, but yeah." Morrison replied. "She's been living as an orphan in downtown Magnolia."

"I can tell." Dante said. "Kinda like Cinderella but after the magic wore off."

"Actually, it's the opposite." Morrison responded. "The head of the Lowell family passed away. When the will was read, the existence of an illegitimate child came to light."

"And our lucky winner was Ms. Patty Lowell." Macao said referring to the girl in question as she drank her apple juice.

"Precisely." Morrison confirmed. "In other words, the 'magic' is just about to begin."

"If you like, I could always hire you as my very own personal servant." Patty teased Dante, much to his irritation and everyone else's amusement.

"Basically, it's been requested that you escort Miss Patty to the mansion by 6pm tomorrow." Morrison told Dante. "Think you can handle that?"

"That's all?" Dante asked.

"That's all." Morrison nodded.

"Then I won't do it." Dante said. "Like I said, I don't babysit. Go get Erza, she's good with kids."

"Erza's not here." Morrison replied. "Besides, they asked for you specifically."

"Why me?" Dante questioned.

"All they would say was because of your… skillset." Morrison said, giving a subtle hint to Dante, which he seemed to understand.

"Alright, fine." The youngest Son of Sparda gave a reluctant sigh as he threw his jacket back on. "Come on kid, let's go."

However, before either he or Patty could walk out, Lucy made her way to them. "Hey Dante, how about I tag along?"

"Seriously?" Dante asked. "Why?"

"Well everyone else is gone…" Lucy began to list. "Erza dragged off Natsu, Gray, and Happy on a job, with Juvia following them for obvious reasons. Wendy and Carla went with Modeus to train some more, and Romeo tagged along. Levy and the rest of Shadowgear are also out and Gajeel and Lily decided to follow along. And Lisanna went with Mira and Elfman to try and help Lady with her new Devil Slayer Magic, and Trish decided to join them to. I don't wanna be stuck here with nothing else to do."

Dante shrugged. "Sure, make things easier." The trio proceeded to walk out of the guildhall.

"Oh, and Dante you forgot something." Morrison called to them before he handed Dante a leather guitar case. "You've got a show to play, right?"

"Yeah, right." Dante and Lucy both got his hint as Dante took the case and slung it over his shoulder before they finally left the guildhall.

Dante and Lucy walked with Patty through the streets of Magnolia as Lucy looked over the map that marked their destination. "This shouldn't be too hard. The train at Magnolia Station should take us the mansion by later tonight."

"Assuming we don't hit any roadblocks along the way." Dante commented.

"I could come and see your show." Patty said, trying to strike up a conversation. "I mean, there must not be anyone who comes to see you otherwise, right?"

"Are you trying to sneak in a jab there, kid?" Lucy asked Patty with a half-cocked smile.

"Sorry, my shoes are for adults only." Dante answered Patty.

"Hey, are you two dating or something?" Patty asked the pair.

"No, we're cousins." Lucy answered.

"Good, cause you could do a lot better, sister." Patty cracked, resulting in Lucy laughing with Dante rolling his eyes.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Dante however came to a small stop by a nearby alleyway as he sensed something unusual in the air.

"Dante… This girl's life is mine!"

Lucy and Patty turned back to see him still standing by the alleyway. "Dante?" Lucy asked.

"Sorry ladies, you go on ahead. I gotta take a leak." He said as he walked into the alleyway.

"Is he seriously gonna go to the bathroom in an alley?!" Patty questioned, sounding rather disgusted. "He couldn't wait to use a restroom at the station?! He's so disgusting! How are you related to him?!" She asked Lucy.

However, Lucy was able to get the subtle warning in her older cousin's message. "Come on, let's keep going. He'll catch up to us." Lucy put a hand on Patty's shoulder and proceeded to walk away, at somewhat quick pace.

"I swear, most men have no decency, but he's the worst of the bunch." Patty continued to pout as Lucy discreetly tried to get her to hurry along.

Meanwhile, as Dante made his way deeper into the alleyway, he came to a stop near a brick wall before he quickly flashed his Ebony pistol and shoot straight up into the air. Suddenly, a large mass fell down behind him as Dante turned around to see a multi-limbed demon with a series of bleeding bullet holes in his hide, lying in agony on the ground.

Before the demon could pick himself up, Dante put his foot onto his chest to keep him down as he pointed his Ebony pistol at his head. "Why are you after that girl?"

"So… the rumors are true…" The demon spoke. "Sparda's youngest son has returned… and what's more… you survived an encounter with the Dragon Butcher… that's quite an achievement…"

"You didn't answer me." Dante glared as he pressed his pistol closer toward the demon's face. "Why are you after Patty?"

The demon only spat out blood in response as he smiled sadistically. "Figure it out yourself." He said in a laugh before Dante finished him off with a headshot from Ebony.

"Can't you do something about this, bro?! You are a lawyer, aren't you?!" One of three men, who appeared to be a trio of brothers, questioned irritably as they all sat in a large living room area of a certain mansion.

"There's nothing that can be done!" The brother who was apparently a lawyer, named Brian Lowell, responded. "If the person who sent that letter, Patty Lowell, actually does exist, the fortune belongs to her!"

"You're kidding me!" The first brother, Alex Lowell, stated in clear frustration.

"Relax. Take it easy, big bro." The youngest of the brothers, Christopher, said as he looked out the window. "If that letter isn't a fake, then Patty Lowell will come around six o'clock tomorrow evening."

"That's what I'm worried about!" Alex Lowell exclaimed as he stood up. "Tomorrow, at six in the evening! That makes exactly one week, doesn't it?!"

Brian gave a chuckle. "If Patty Lowell's existence is authentically proven within one week of death of the Lowell family's head, then the entirety of the family fortune is to go to Miss Lowell." He looked at the massively framed picture of a man on the wall. "Unbelievable, that our ever-so-serious brother had an illegitimate child all this time."

Meanwhile, in another city, Makarov, who was clad in his white Wizard Saint's robe, walked alongside Jura towards a large building where the Wizard Saint's meeting was to be held. Jura looked towards his elder and fellow Wizard Saint to see a smile on his face.

"You seem rather excited." Jura noted.

"Of course, it's been a long time since I've seen any of them." Makarov said. "I'm curious as to see how things have changed in these past seven years."

"Not all that much, I'm afraid." Jura replied with a small smile himself. "Though, given you've been away for so long Makarov, your ranking has dropped somewhat significantly."

"Hopefully I'm still at least in the top running." Makarov said in a joking sense, causing Jura to chuckle.

"We'll sort that out later." Jura said as they entered the building. Once inside, the first person they saw appeared to be a humanoid tree, wearing a light green kimono, loose trousers, a coat, and a pair of boots. "Warrod!" Jura called out to him. "It's time for…"

"I'll be with you in a minute." The tree-man Wizard Saint named Warrod answered. "I'm watering the plants." He appeared to be watering a group of potted trees, but at a certain angle, it seemed like he was actually peeing on them, much to Makarov and Jura's comic shock.

"Sir Warrod…. You can't just…" Makarov stuttered.

"Just kidding!" Warrod trolled with a grin as he held a watering pot in his hands and only held it low to give the idea he was taking a leak. Causing Makarov and Jura to look in exhaustion with humorous smiles of their own. However, the second Warrod's eyes set on the small and old man, comic tears of joy flowed through his eyes as he suddenly pulled Makarov into a hug. "MAKY! So good to see you after so long!"

Makarov, though surprised slightly, gave a chuckle as he was set down. "And it's good to see you as well, Sir Warrod. I see you're as lively as ever."

"You know how us old men can be." Warrod smiled. "Especially since we both led the same guild."

It was true, Warrod Sequen, was indeed a founding member of Fairy Tail. Makarov knew that. However, as he also understood that Sparda was a founding member as well, there were undoubtedly some questions he wanted to ask his senior, but that could wait till after the meeting.

"Honestly Warrod, that demeanor of yours continues to grate on my nerves." Another man stepped forward. He was relatively short, not as short as Makarov, but still shorter than the average person. He wore a dark-colored shirt, a light-colored vest over it, with dark slacks and a large blue hat. He also wore a pair of glasses with a single earring on his right ear. Suddenly, he transformed into a massive green-scaled beast and loomed over Warrod. "Act your age for crying out loud!"

Despite the enormous beast that he faced, Warrod retained a calm demeanor. "And you could stand to loosen up a bit, Wolfheim." Warrod told his fellow Wizard Saint.

"Don't take that attitude with me!" The beasty-Wolfheim looked ready to attack, prompting Makarov and Jura to try and step in, but somebody else had beaten them.

"Calm down." A man spoke calmly as he made his appearance. He was between the age-group of middle-age and elderly, evident by his facial features. He carried himself in a gentleman-like fashion with dark purple hair and a small mustache with red eyes. He wore a button-up dress shirt, a lightly decorated vest, dark-colored slacks, and a black bowtie; over all of that, he wore a black cape that sported light-colored crosses toward the mid-line. "We are all Wizard Saints, so we must behave accordingly and act professionally."

Wolfheim appeared to have calmed down as he turned back into his short humanoid self. "Of course."

"Sir Makarov. I am pleased to see you after so long." The well-dressed man smiled.

"Sir Draculos, it has been a long time, at least from your point of view." Makarov greeted his fellow Wizard Saint with a smile and a nod.

"Hey, hey, look who's back! We got the whole gang together!" The group turned to face three more individuals as they made their appearance.

The one who spoke was a middle-aged man with a well-built muscular body. He had brownish-colored skin, with long and spikey dark red hair that stretched down from his head to the back of his waist. He wore a black, unzipped, jacket to expose his muscular chest, which carried a series of scars. His jacket carried a red flame-like pattern on the bottom and the end of the sleeves. He also wore black pants and boots and appeared to have a sheathed sword at his back.

On the man's right was a young woman who appeared to be clad completely in golden knight-like armor. She had long black hair and green eyes and carried a friendly smile. Across from her, on the man's left, was another woman whose face and features were hidden by a black hooded robe. The only distinguishable features she had appeared to be long black hair.

"Maky, good to see you're as short and old as usual." The man said with a friendly and joking grin.

"And good to see you haven't matured all that much either, Bruni." Makarov greeted the man named Bruni, also a fellow Wizard Saint, before he addressed the two women with him, who were also among the Wizard Saint's ranks. "Lady Aurora, Lady Gandelina, I see the years have been treating you two well. At least for Lady Aurora as I can actually see her face."

"Just try not to grab my ass again, old man. Or else you're in for a beat-down." Aurora, the woman in gold armor, said with a challenging smirk, while the mysterious Gandelina simply smiled and nodded.

"Good to see you too." The hooded woman greeted.

Makarov smiled brightly as he was in the company of his fellow Wizard Saints. "I'm pleased to see that you've all…"

"Oh please, drop the friendly attitude."

Makarov's smile faded as he recognized that voice, as did the other Wizard Saints as they turned around toward the entrance to see someone else enter the building.

This individual was a man with medium-length, wavy orange hair, must of it jutted upward at the top like a pair of rabbit ears. He wore a fancy white robe with a red collar over it, all underneath blue sleeves with a pair of blue pants and black boots. What stuck out the most was the large wheel of blades on his back that resembled a dharma wheel. This man's aura just breathed over-confidence, and it was something all the eight present Wizard Saints knew all too well.

"Sorry I'm late, but I think you can understand given how infamous I am!" The man announced as he took a dramatic pose, much to the Wizard Saint's irritation. "And here we have Makarov Dreyar, back from the dead! You look pretty health for a zombie!"

Makarov gave a subtle glare at the man. "God Serena, I had hoped that attitude of yours would have humbled slightly these past few years."

"Please, I'm the second strongest Wizard Saint in this country! Only one can ever surpass me, and it isn't you, old man." God Serena smiled almost sadistically as the shorter man. "But, if you wanna challenge me for the top spot, I mean you fell in quite a bit due to your seven-year nap, but your guild…" He laughed almost mockingly. "Man… they really hit the fan."

Makarov, along with Bruni, Aurora, and even Wolfheim were ready to strike at him just for his attitude, with even Draculos about to give a scolding. However…

"That is enough!"

Everyone turned their attention toward the deeper insides of the building to see a woman who appeared in her late 30s to mid 40s. She wore an aqua-green dress that seemed like something a queen would wear, complete with the cape of the same color flowing down to her heels. She had aqua-colored green hair with aqua-colored eyes as well. In her right hand was a fancy trident that she used like a walking stick. Her voice carried a firm, yet gentle authority to it.

"God Serena, you know better than to agitate your comrades." The woman reprimanded. "We are all Wizard Saints! Ranking doesn't matter, all that matters is how we use our power to protect the people! Nothing else! Am I understood?"

God Serena glared at the woman, but he knew better than to challenge her. "Yes, Lady Kurenai…"

The woman named Kurenai, the strongest of the ten Wizard Saints, and the guildmaster of Mermaid Heel, turned toward the shortest man with a welcoming smile. "Sir Makarov. I am happy to see you again."

"Lady Kurenai." Makarov smiled back. "I'm sorry to have made you worry so. I see the years have been good to you as well. I've also heard that Mermaid Heel has climbed all the way up to the number two spot. You must be quite proud."

"Oh yes, my daughters have made this old woman quite proud." Kurenai smiled. "And I hope that you and your children can reclaim the glory that was lost these past seven years."

"One can only hope." Makarov replied.

Kurenai then addressed her fellow Wizard Saints. "Alright, now that everyone is all here, let us get this meeting underway."

The train had left Magnolia a couple hours ago and was well on its way toward its destination, with the sun already starting to set. The car that Dante, Lucy, and Patty were in wasn't all that occupied, save for only four other passengers, a young man, a couple, and an old man. Dante and Lucy sat on one car seat with Patty on the other, and the guitar-case on the other.

Patty noticed the amulet around Lucy's neck. "You know that's a really pretty necklace. Did your boyfriend give it to you?"

Lucy smiled as she held her half of the Perfect Amulet. "Nope, this guy here did."

"Really? He gave it to you?" Patty said somewhat skeptically.

"I did." Dante confirmed. "What about your thing right there?" He asked, referring to the locket that Patty wore around her own neck. "Let me guess, a picture of your boyfriend?"

That only seemed to irritate Patty even more. "No, it's my mom you half-wit!" However, Patty's mood went from angry, to almost sad. "But… I don't remember anything about her." That got Dante and Lucy's attention. "My mom got sick… and died when I was just a baby… That's what the hospital director said… that's why I don't remember anything… about my mother."

"Patty… I'm so sorry." Lucy said sympathetically. "My mom died when I was very young, too. And my dad also passed away recently."

Right as Patty looked towards Lucy with her own sympathetic expression, the train passed through a tunnel, and the whole car became dark for a few seconds. When the train left the tunnel, the young man suddenly appeared right next to Patty.

"Wow, that's one pretty lady." The man said as he looked at the picture of the woman in Patty's locket. "That wouldn't be a picture of your mother, would it?" He saw Patty's surprised face. "Hey, you're pretty charming yourself."

Though Patty smiled at that; Dante and Lucy shared concerned expressions as this man came out of nowhere, and something didn't quite feel right about him.

"Mind if I sit here?" The man asked.

"There are open-seats all over the place…" Dante said, but was quickly interrupted when Patty threw his guitar case at him, as well as Lucy, much to their surprise.

"Here you go!" She offered the man the open spot next to her.

"Thank you." The man sat down. "Hope I'm not bothering you."

"Nope, you're not bothering anyone." Lucy said as she subtly looked toward him with suspicion. Call it gut instinct from being in Fairy Tail for so long, or something of intuition she picked up from her cousin, but something inside told her to watch out for this man. Dante also picked up on it as well.

"Can't promise you'll live long, though." Dante said suddenly.

The man looked in surprise, while Patty seemed more irritated than anything else. "And what is that supposed to mean?" Suddenly everything went dark as the train entered another tunnel for a few seconds before coming out. "I mean, really? Why would anyone need a promise like that? Just because they can sit…" Patty then looked in clear shock to see that the man sitting next to her suddenly appeared dead, his head appearing caved in, and blood already spilling all over the floor.

Patty looked in obvious shock and fear, prompting Lucy to run over to her side and place her hands on the younger girl's shoulders in protection. Dante looked more annoyed than anything else. 'Here we go.' He looked at the seemingly dead body

Two minutes later; while most of the car's passengers, along with Dante and Lucy, inspected the body; Patty sat, huddled in the corner, in a seat at the farthest end of the car, along with Lucy's Celestial Spirit, Virgo, protectively holding the girl.

"Oh Mommy… Oh Mommy…" The shaky Patty looked the picture of her mother in her amulet, trying to find some form of comfort and safety from it.

"Do not worry, everything is going to be fine." Virgo assured as she stroked her hand across Patty's back. The maid-spirit glanced towards Lucy on the other side of the car with a nod, as Lucy nodded back. While Dante and Lucy looked into this, Virgo would protect Patty should anything happen.

"Looks like something beat him to death." Dante observed.

"It can't be… who did it…? Was it you…?" The old man asked as he and a younger man looked in clear fear.

"No, we're members of Fairy Tail." Lucy showed her guild emblem. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out."

"Over here!" The woman who was part of the couple led the conductor to the body as she went to her boyfriend who held her in comfort.

"Geeze, what is this?" The conductor questioned before looking toward Dante and Lucy. "So, you two are part of a guild? How'd this happen?"

"Alright, let's go over the details." Dante began. "For the ten seconds or so that this train was in the tunnel, in this car there was those three…" He referred to the old man and the couple at first. "Along with the two of us and the girl."

"Ten seconds." Lucy followed Dante's train of thought. "Unless you have magic power, no human could kill a man this quickly. And it doesn't seem like anybody here has magic power, aside from the two of us and we didn't do it."

"So, who did…?" The train conductor asked.

"Unless, it's not so simple." Dante said, causing the conductor to look in confusion. "Look at his leg…" Everyone looked to see something attached to the body's right leg… or rather, it was part of the leg. It looked almost like a tail, or some kind of other inhuman appendage that stretched out of the window, and above the train car outside. Dante pocked the appendage, causing it to twitch slightly.

Seemingly unknown to everyone else, a shadow loomed over Patty. Though she tried to see what it was, Virgo already stood up to block Patty's view as she briefly saw the face of a large demon before delivering a powerful punch through the glass at its face, right as the train entered another tunnel, causing everything to turn dark again.

A series of gunshots were heard before the train left the tunnel and the setting illuminated the car again. Patty looked in surprise to see a hole in the window, with Virgo standing calmly in front of the girl.

"Apologies." Virgo bowed to Patty. "There was a wasp. I saw to it that it would not sting you."

However, that was not truly the case as Dante had previously shot through the train's roof to kill the large demon that was stretched all around it, its tail leading back toward the seemingly dead man, only to reveal it was almost like a second head. It tried to get back up, but Dante finished it off with a shot from his Ebony pistol.

Lucy then had a serious expression as she turned to the conductor. "Pull this train over. Contact the Rune Knights."

The train came to an early stop at a station near a small town that was a few miles away from the group's intended destination. Just as the Conductor had done once the train was stopped, he called the Rune Knights. As Virgo sat at a nearby bench, looking after Patty who sat next to her, Dante and Lucy went over the final details with the Rune Knights before walking up to join the pair.

"Sorry Patty, but you're not gonna make it to the mansion tonight." Lucy told the girl. "We'll stop at a motel nearby and get some sleep before heading out in the morning."

"I will accompany you, just in case we run into trouble." Virgo said.

"Thanks Virgo." Lucy nodded.

"Come on, we should find a place before it gets too dark." Dante said as the sun was almost completely set, while the group made their way towards the town.

"That man on the train… do you know who killed that guy…?" Patty asked nervously.

"Who knows?" Dante shrugged. "Let the Magic Council guys worry about that."

"It was a demon… he was killed by a demon… wasn't he…?" Patty stuttered.

"No. There was no demon on the train. I fear you are mistaken." Virgo lied.

However, Patty was convinced otherwise. "Could a demon be hunting me to…?!" She was sounding terrified. Suddenly, Lucy kneeled down to her level and firmly put her hands on the young girl's shoulders.

"Patty listen to me. Nothing is going to happen to you." Lucy told her firmly. "I promise, Dante, my spirits, and I will take care of you. You'll be safe, I swear it. That's a promise from a wizard of the Fairy Tail guild."

Though she was still understandably concerned, Patty did find some form of comfort in Lucy's words. "Okay…." She nodded slightly as Lucy took her hand and were quick to catch up with Dante and Virgo as they made their way toward the town.

Meanwhile, the meeting of the ten Wizard Saints was well underway as all ten of them sat at a large round table to discuss matters, or rather, to catch Makarov up on what's been happening these past seven years. The primary focus on this meeting seemed to be a new guild that had recently been formed shortly after Tenrou Island's disappearance.

"Crime Sorciere." Makarov said in acknowledgement.

"Yes." Kurenai nodded. "A small, but powerful independent guild. It only consists of five members, but each of them is incredibly strong in their own right. Its leader, or unofficial guildmaster, is the former Wizard Saint, Council member, and convicted criminal; Jellal Fernandes. It's members include former Council member Ultear Milkovich and a girl calling herself Meredy Milkovich, both of the Eight Kin of Purgatory group from Grimoire Heart; Sorano Agira, formerly known as 'Angel' of the Oracion Seis, and a girl under the name Sheeree Marvell, former member of the Seven Sins' group of Devil Hand."

"Since their founding, they've been attacking numerous dark guilds throughout the country, most of them are from the Baram Alliance." Bruni continued. "With the fall of Grimoire Heart seven years ago, as well as the defeat of the Oracion Seis before that, the Baram Alliance has lost a considerable amount of its strength."

"What of Tartaros?" Makarov asked.

"Unknown." Jura responded. "They've gone into hiding. Neither we, nor the Magic Council, have been unable to locate them. And it seems that Crime Sorciere is unable to as well."

"Have we tried to make contact with Crime Sorciere?" Makarov asked.

"No." Draculos shook his head. "The Magic Council has specifically prohibited our interference in that matter."

"They were almost set on labeling them as a dark guild and staging a nation-wide manhunt for them, due to all their members being former dark wizards." Aurora said.

"We were able to convince the Council from doing so." Warrod put in. "Even so, they are still attempting to locate and detain them."

God Serena gave a slight scoff. "If those losers can't track five burnt out dark wizards, then they don't deserve to be the head of state. Honestly, what was the King thinking picking that idiot Gran Doma to be the new chairman?"

"Despite Serena's terminology…" Kurenai flashed a brief glare at him before speaking forward in a professional manner. "He does hold a point. Gran Doma, as well as most of the council, have been furious with Crime Sorciere's activities."

"Can't say that I blame them." Wolfheim commented. "They've been causing a headache for us as well. Yes, it's true that Crime Sorciere has done a great deal of good by eliminating all these dark guilds, but they don't answer to any sort of authority. They're vigilantes."

While Makarov did see a reason to be concerned about this, there was another matter that was on his mind that he needed to discuss with his fellow Wizard Saints. "What of Zeref?"

There was a subtle face-twitch from mysterious Gandelina, which only Kurenai appeared to notice before answering. "We've had no contact with him sense the events of Tenrou Island. The only thing we can confirm is that he is indeed alive, and out there somewhere."

"And Acnologia?" Makarov asked.

"Same thing." Bruni answered. "Hasn't been seen once these past seven years."

"Which brings us to another topic we should discuss." Draculos began. "Shortly after Acnologia's attack on Tenrou Island, the remnants of Grimoire Heart were arrested and detained by the Magic Council's forces. Two from the Kin of Purgatory have confirmed that the master of the dark guild, under the alias Hades, now confirmed to be Precht Gaebolg, is dead."

Both Makarov and Warrod had complicated expressions on their faces; they each knew him personally as not only a founding member of Fairy Tail, but even Mavis' successor as second guildmaster, and it was almost heartbreaking to know just how far he fell into darkness and how much destruction he was responsible for.

"But this is where it gets interesting." Aurora continued. "The one who killed him was Zeref." That got Makarov's attention. "Based on the testimonies from those Kin of Purgatory that were captured, it would seem that Zeref actually stands againstthe Demon Emperor Mundus, as opposed to Grimoire Heart's previous belief that Zeref was the herald to Mundus."

"He stands as Mundus' enemy?" Makarov asked with genuine surprise.

"The only thing we have to go on that is the word of two dark wizards." Jura answered. "However, the Magic Council ran them through a series of tests to indicate they were speaking truthfully. Up to the point where they stated Mundus possessed the body of Gaebolg, and Zeref declared open war on him."

"Oooh. The Black Wizard vs. the Demon Emperor." God Serena looked intrigued. "Now that should be an epic showdown!"

Everyone however chose to ignore his comment and continue with the meeting. "Despite this however, Zeref has completely vanished." Gandelina spoke.

"Which leads us to another topic." Kurenai began. "Ever since Zeref and Acnologia's reappearance seven years ago, there's been a sharp uptake in attacks from demons across the country, and it's only grown these past few years. Despite the successfully repellant activities from the Rune Knights, as well as the guilds including my own, as well as Lamia Scale, and even Sabertooth; these attacks don't show any sign of abating."

"Crime Sorciere has even gone up against these demons as well." Jura put in. "But as Lady Kurenai has said, even their efforts don't seem to be halting these attacks."

Makarov had a serious expression on his face. "Could the reason for this sharp intake in demonic activity be the result of Zeref and Acnologia's appearance? Could these demons be the servants of Mundus, acting in retaliation to Zeref's apparent declaration of war?"

"I am doubtful of that." Warrod replied. "Most of these demons are rather weak, at least compared to what we've been told about the Underworld's most upper-level demons. So, I am unconvinced this is Mundus' retaliation; that is not to say I believe he won't retaliate."

"Still, we need to be concerned about all of this." Bruni said. "Even if they're small-fry, people are dying. We need to find a way to get stronger and suppress these demons before some of the Underworld's big guys get any funny ideas."

"And on that note, you should know Makarov that there's another group that just appeared rather recently." Wolfheim got the attention of the Fairy Tail guildmaster. "They've been trying to fight off the demons to, but they're not part of the Magic Council, nor are they a guild."

"Who are they?" Makarov asked.

"They call themselves the Order of the Sword." Wolfheim answered.

Lowell Estate

"Checkmate." Brian smirked as he put used his king to topple his opponent's.

"Damn, I lost again." Alex cursed.

Brian chuckled. "Ever since we were kids, you've always run out of steam in the closing-stretch. And that is why Jenny left you."

"It was because you got in the way!" Alex argued.

Christopher stifled a chuckle as he turned away from the painting he was staring at with a cup of tea in his hands. "No, it was because you were at fault for jumping to conclusions."

"Shit…" Alex looked away with a sulk, resulting in Brian laughing before turning to his younger brother.

"But what I'm wondering is, why you seem to love that painting so much?" Brian asked.

"Yes…" Christopher began as he looked at the painting once more. It was a painting of a large stone bridge over a river. "I guess because looking at it puts me at peace. And I think, when we divide the fortune among us, I'll take the artwork that's here."

"Me, I'll take cold-hard cash." Alex said.

"Hey, don't get ahead of yourselves." Brian told his brothers.

"We know, but we have to be prepared for the worst." Christopher said with an ambitious smirk. "That's all we're doing."

Meanwhile; Dante, Lucy, Patty, and Virgo had found a hotel that would be decent enough to sleep in for the night. The man at the front desk wore something like a casual business suit, minus the jacket. He had slightly tanned skin, pointed elf-like ears, a port-wine-like birthmark over his left eye. What stood out the most was that his eyes appeared to suffer from a form of Exotropia.

"Welcome to our hotel." The man greeted as Dante and Lucy were at the front desk, with Patty by the wall and Virgo staying very close toward her.

"Give us your cheapest room." Dante said. "I don't give a damn if it gets sun or not."

"We'll be out first thing in the morning." Lucy also said as Dante paid the fee.

"Three adults and one child…" The man provided a key.

"Oh, I won't be staying." Virgo spoke up. "I'm a Celestial Spirit so I'll be returning to the Spirit World soon."

"Alright, two adults and one child." The man corrected as Dante took the keys.

"Oh, she's not a child, she's a young lady." Dante said in a joking sense as he and Lucy were about to walk up the steps.

"Come on, Patty." Lucy called to her, but the young girl seemed more focused on a poster on the wall.

"That's my mother." She said, causing Dante and Lucy to look in surprise as they saw the poster as well. It had the image of a blonde woman at the opera on it. "My mom…" She then turned to the man at the front desk. "Mister!"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Where can I go to meet this woman?!" Patty asked urgently.

"Well…"

However, before the man could offer a response, Dante and Lucy were already trying to get Patty to their room. "What are you talking about? I thought your mother died. Come on." He and Patty, though the later was somewhat hesitant, went up the stairs. Virgo followed, but Lucy cast a glance towards the man at the front desk before walking up to join them, seemingly missing the chuckle the man gave.

"Miss Lucy, I really should be going." Virgo told her master as everyone else got settled in their room. "I'll be sure to tell the others to be on standby should you have need for us while you are on this mission."

"Thanks Virgo, I appreciate the help." Lucy thanked before Virgo gave a final bow and vanished in golden particles.

Patty looked at the display in awe. "So… she was a spirit?"

"Yep." Lucy smiled as she sat down on the bed next to Patty and presented her bag of keys. "I've got a whole bunch of them right here. These keys let me summon any spirit I want to come and help me if I need it, and every one of them has their own special magic ability."

"That's so cool!" Patty smiled with stars in her eyes. "I always read about wizards at the orphanage, and I've seen some of them in magazines, but you're the first real wizard I ever met! That's so amazing!"

"Well thank you, I am pretty amazing, aren't I?" Lucy smirked.

"Eh, you got a long way to go before you're at my level of awesomeness, cousin." Dante joked as he tried to lie down on the couch, but it was a bit too small for him as his feet were up against the wall and his head on the arm. "This is a tight fit. I'll take the couch, you two can share the bed."

Patty looked indifferently towards Dante. "That jerk is really your cousin?"

Lucy smiled. "Don't let his rough exterior and bad jokes fool you. Inside, he's a big old softie."

Patty shrugged skeptically before looking at Lucy's keys again. "So how did you get these keys?"

"Most I found on my own, others I inherited from my mom when she died." Lucy answered. "She was a Celestial Wizard too."

Patty's smile faded, however. "I didn't tell you the truth… My mom didn't actually get sick and die. She disappeared." That got Lucy and Dante's attention as they continued to listen. "I happened to overhear the hospital director talking about it. My mom was being hunted by a demon… and she didn't want me… a baby… to be in danger so she put me in the care of the orphanage." Patty's voice began to rise with a sob. "Anyone who isn't a wizard and is hunted by a demon is as good as dead! Is my mother really dead?!" She asked the pair. "Am I going to be killed by a demon, too?!"

"I… Patty…" Lucy wasn't sure what to say at first. "I'm sorry… but I don't know anything about your mom. But you remember what I said before, right? Dante and I won't let anything hurt you."

"Not even demons?!" Patty exclaimed.

"Not even demons." Lucy confirmed. "Believe it or not, we've got plenty of experience when it comes to demons, especially him." She pointed to her cousin.

Patty had heard some of the exploits of Fairy Tail growing up in Magnolia's orphanage, but she also heard how much it had gone downhill when she was only a toddler. So, there was still a part of her that was skeptical, but that wasn't all she was thinking about.

"I don't care…" Patty continued. "...About any fortune… and I don't care about my family's inheritance. If I were to get a little money, I just want to use it to buy lots of clothes and sweets and stuff like that for the other kids at the orphanage." However, Patty only looked more down in sadness. "…But then… clothes and sweets and those kinds of things aren't really what they all want. Like me, they just want to see their mothers and fathers, more than anything!"

"Yeah… sounds about right." Dante said, causing Patty to look at him in surprise. "Everyone wants to see their parents."

Both Dante and Lucy knew exactly what that was like, despite finding a family in Fairy Tail, neither of them would ever stop missing their own parents. And the same goes for their other friends in the guild; Natsu with Igneel, Wendy with Grandeeney, Gray with Ultear, Erza with everyone who died in the Tower of Heaven, Lisanna and her siblings with their parents, and even Gajeel with Metalicana.

"Come on, we should get some sleep." Lucy told Patty as she proceeded to tuck the young girl in before climbing under the covers herself. Dante let himself drift into sleep soon after.

Lucy was startled awake by the sound of a woman signing, like something one would hear at an opera. "What was…?" However, when she glanced to her right, she saw that Patty was no longer there. "Patty?" She looked around to see Patty wasn't even in the room, causing her to get up from the bed. "Dante!" Lucy quickly got up and shook her cousin awake. "Patty's gone!"

Dante's eyes shot open. "What?!"

The two wasted no time in running back downstairs to the main desk. "Hey, where's the girl?!" Dante questioned the same man who was still there from before, who had his back turned to the pair.

"Girl?" The man asked, trying to sound innocent.

"The little blonde girl we checked in with!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Hmm, I don't know what you're talking about..." The man said.

However, Dante quickly pulled out his Ivory pistol and shot at the poster of the woman that Patty identified as her mother, his instincts telling him that was not a coincidence. That was proven true as the poster shifted its appearance to reveal its true form as a large moth-like demon before its lifeless body fell to the ground.

"Bastard." Dante crushed. "The hell are you?"

Suddenly, the man in question, who was actually a demon himself, had appeared behind Lucy with a gun pointed at her back. "The name's Sid. And you should know I know all about you, Son of Sparda. You might be able to survive a gunshot, but what about this mortal girl?"

"You sure that's a good idea?" Lucy asked, not sounding remotely intimidated. "Do you know what I've got there?" She asked Sid, referring to the pack on her left side. "Ten of the Gold Keys of the Zodiac, along with five Silver Keys. Even a low-level demon like you must have heard of the Zodiac tribe, right? Each of them has taken down hordes of demons far worse than you, and I don't even have to summon them. Many have proven to be able to pass the gate all by themselves. So, that being said, you thinking pointing a gun at their master and friend is the best idea?"

With that, Sid had lost all confidence he had. He had indeed heard of the Zodiac Spirits and was well aware of their strengths. That, and also being in the presence of the Son of Sparda didn't help much either. He thought he could at least take the girl hostage to keep Dante at bay, but he clearly underestimated her.

Dante however smirked at how his cousin handled that like a badass while Lucy flashed a glare at Sid. "I'm only gonna say this once, pal. Where. Is. Patty?"

Sid lowered his gun in defeat. "Well alright."

Sid drove a car, which he powered with his own demonic energy via an SE plug, which seemed to serve as an efficient fuel source as he drove Dante and Lucy toward Patty's location while also explaining a few things to them.

"So, you see… ever since Acnologia and Zeref's reappearance seven years ago, things have started to get rather hairy, both here in Earthland and in the Underworld. Even the Three Demon Kings are back at it, trying to vie for power."

That got both their attention. 'Three Demon Kings?' Lucy thought in surprise. 'I know I've heard that before.' She instantly recalled the battle against Grimoire Heart on Tenrou Island, specifically when she, Natsu, and their other friends ran into Bluenote. He said the same sort of thing as well.

"You said three Demon Kings." Dante noted. "I thought Mundus was calling the shots."

"He is." Sid explained. "Mundus is the Demon Emperor. However, below him are three powerful demons; though they're not as strong as Mundus was in his prime, they're all significantly powerful in their own right, hence why they're called the Three Demon Kings. There is Abigail, Argosax, and Urizen. Ever since Sparda and the Dragons defeated Mundus two thousand years ago, the Three Demon Kings have been trying to take his place, but because of the seal the Dark Knight and his allies used to separate Earthland from the Underworld, they haven't been able to do much. But now they're on the move once more. Things are certainly about to get scary around here."

"But what's that got to do with what's going on now?" Lucy questioned Sid. "Who's after Patty?"

"Is it someone from the Lowell family?" Dante questioned. "How the hell did they get demons to do their dirty work?"

"I… I have no idea…!" Sid tried to tell them. "I'm telling the truth, I'm just one of their grunts! They don't tell me anything at all!"

Patty had arrived at the opera house that the poster back at the hotel advertised. As she walked inside, she heard the sound of a woman signing, which drew her deeper inside the building. It wasn't long before the song had led her to the auditorium. There wasn't a single person in the audience, but there was one individual at the stage, a spotlight shined on the woman onstage. It was a woman that Patty recognized instantly.

"It's Mommy!" Patty exclaimed with a wide smile as a spotlight shinned on her and she ran down the stairs towards the stage. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" She ran on stage and wasted no time in hugging the woman she believed to be her mother. "Oh Mommy! Mommy! I wanted to see you so bad for so long!" She cried pure emotional tears.

"I'm sorry Patty, I won't do anything that'll make you feel lonely again."

"Oh Mommy, you promise…" However, when Patty looked up, she saw not the face of her mother, but a demon with crazed eyes and mandibles stretching out of its mouth.

"Because you're about to die right now! And your mom's gonna kill you!"

A backdrop was suddenly dropped to the ground depicting all sorts of crooked buildings. But out of the black spots that depicted shadows, were at least a dozen black demons with glowing red eyes and mouths. The shadow-demons, as well as the mother-demon were about to slice down and rip Patty limb-from-limb, but before they got the chance…

Something swiped Patty off her feet and dealt a series of rapid-paced punches and kicks to send all the demons crashing through the backdrop. Patty felt herself flying through the air as she looked in surprise to see herself being carried by the Celestial Spirit Capricorn.

"Forgive me for not arriving sooner, Young Patty." Capricorn apologized as he had leapt all the way from the stage back up toward the entrance of the theater, still carrying Patty in his arms.

"Who… who are you…?"

"I am Capricorn the Sea Goat. A Celestial Spirit in the service of Lady Lucy."

Patty looked in shock. "You're… you're with Lucy…?!"

"Yep." A familiar voice confirmed as a certain red-clad Devil Hunter walked up next to Capricorn with a casual and cocky demeanor. "Believe it or not, Lambchop here ain't' the weirdest spirit my little cousin has got in her arsenal."

"Dante!" Patty exclaimed with a smile as Capricorn set her down. "I'm… I'm sorry!" She quickly apologized. "I thought my Mommy was…"

"You might wanna hold off on the apologies kid, we ain't done here." Dante told her as they heard a series of growls as they looked back down toward the stage to see the demons were already recovering.

"Young Patty, please stay back." Capricorn flashed his hand back, gesturing Patty to stand back. "Leave these beasts to Dante and myself."

"But…"

"Listen to the goat, honey; this show's for adults only." Dante said as he brandished his Ebony and Ivory pistol before pushing Patty back out the door which closed behind them right as the pair leapt toward the demons in mid-air.

Dante wasted no time in firing his pistols to tear the front-most shadow demons to shreds, while Capricorn used only his hands and feet to deal powerful blows that shattered the demons' bones with each single strike.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door outside the auditorium, Patty stood in front of the door. Even though she couldn't see what was going on, she heard the sounds of gun shots, roaring, yelling, and all sorts of crushing and crashing noises. She was about to try and peak in to see what was happening but gave a gasp when someone suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder. The person in question turned out to be Sid.

"I'm so sorry miss, but I'm afraid that it is now time for you to die." Sid told her with an evil smile. "Because I was promised that I'd be greatly rewarded by my masters if I killed you if the others failed to do so."

However, a certain glowing, celestial whip ensnared Sid by the neck as he was pulled back towards the angry Lucy wielding the Fleuve d'etoiles whip. "You're not gonna lay so much as a finger on her!" She exclaimed as she pulled Sid toward her where she gave a powerful roundhouse kick to the face to knock some teeth out before sending him crashing into a wall.

Sid attempted to recover as he saw the glaring Lucy standing protectively in front of Patty. And she wasn't the only thing he had to worry about as the doors to the auditorium suddenly burst open to reveal Dante and Capricorn walking side-by-side, having finished their work. They joined Lucy in surrounding Patty while also giving the weak demon death-glares, which was enough to make him tremble.

"Hit the road." Dante told him.

Deciding to forsake any reward for his own life, Sid wasted no time in running away from the scene; leaving not only the three heroes of Fairy Tail with the girl in their protection, but also the bloodied and ruined auditorium filled with the slaughtered and pulverized corpses of all the demons.

Lowell Estate – The Next Day

The grandfather clock rang once the hour-hand struck the number six. Brian blew out a cigarette in mild celebration. "Time's up."

"Brother, we did it!" Alex exclaimed in a celebratory fashion as well, while Christopher merely sat down with a smile and enjoyed a cup of tea. "The fortune is ours! This letter was just a bunch of nonsense!" He was ready to rip up the letter containing their late eldest brother's will when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

The door opened to reveal a butler. "You have a guest." He told the three Lowell brothers.

"A guest?" Alex questioned.

The guest in question turned out to be a young woman with blonde hair, green eyes, wearing a fancy red dress business attire. "Thank you." She told the butler as he left.

"And who might you be?" Christopher asked.

"Oh my, that's not funny." The woman smiled knowingly. "Nice to meet you, I'm Patty Lowell."

"What?!" Christopher exclaimed.

"She's just a child!" Alex also exclaimed, while Brian just continued to stare out the window, not apparently fazed by this revelation.

"No, that child is nothing but a fake." The woman named Patty began to explain. "I took every situation into account. Fortunately for me, I was able to find a girl with the same name quite quickly. I had it arranged so that all the media attention would be on her, not me. Thanks to her, my trip here was quite pleasant. Well then, why don't we just hurry and deal with the formalities."

Brian clenched the cigarette in his fist with a slight chuckle. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid your claim is invalid Ms. Patty Lowell. Speaking as the lawyer, I regret to inform you that you've renounced your right to the inheritance as you missed the 6pm deadline. You are aware that you've missed it, right? Even if it is just a mere second or two."

"Really now?" The adult Patty said with a knowing smirk. "In his will, it says within one week of his death, I'm quite sure that my dad would have been dead for exactly one week at 6:28. And look, I'm on time." She gestured to her watch in an almost gloating fashion. "Would you like to see a photo ID as well?"

"No, it's no longer necessary." Brian said, much to her confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Because Patty Lowell's existence…" He turned around to reveal his true form as a massive, muscular, blue-furred demon with red eyes, two horns, and a long snout with fangs. "…Will never be confirmed."

Nobody was prepared for that. "Brother!" Alex and Christopher exclaimed in shock and surprise as the demon revealed himself in his full and unholy glory.

"And neither will yours!" He told the other two Lowell brothers as well. "The fortune is all mine! And I'm not handing it over to anyone!" He sent the brothers flying with a slash of his claws, sending them crashing into the wall before lunging at the adult Patty to rip her to pieces. She was about to scream when suddenly…

*Bang!*

A loud gunshot rang through the air as the demon's chest was caved in with a large bullet hole before he fell the floor, much the adult Patty's shock, and even the injured, but still living, Christopher and Alex.

"So, it was you, who requested we'd serve as bodyguards for Patty." Dante said as he, Lucy, and the child Patty made their appearance. Lucy held the younger girl protectively while she and Dante glared hard at the woman.

"Do you have even the slightest idea what you put this girl through?!" Lucy exclaimed in anger. "How many times her life was in danger!? All just so you could get the money for yourself?! People like you make me sick!"

"And you thought hiring some bodyguards would be your way of atoning, sister?" Dante questioned as well, sounding calmer than Lucy, even though he was burning with rage on the inside. "You've got a pretty face, but you're more terrible than those demons. If you could do magic, you'd probably fit right in with a dark guild. And if you were a demon, or even a dark wizard, I'd kill you without thinking twice about it."

Dante and Lucy both saw the demon twitching, indicating he was still alive, but not for long. "Okay, if I can't let this go, I'll work off the anger! Guess it should be one hell of a party!" Dante unzipped his guitar case to revel Rebellion as he rushed at the recovering Demon, Rebellion in one hand with Ebony in the other, while also carrying Ivory in his mouth.

Dante shot the demon with Ebony before rushing to slice off its right arm with his sword before appearing directly under it to shoot at its underbelly with enough force from his pistol that the demon was being propelled into the air before Dante gave a powerful thrust with his sword to smash the demon into the ceiling, which also blew out a portion of the roof on the outside. With the demon dead, Dante pulled his sword from its corpse as it was still stuck on the ceiling before swinging it to wipe the demon blood off before it splashed over the recovering Alex and Christopher. Dante held his sword and guns, appearing to take a dramatic pose as his red jacket flowed like a cape.

Lucy gave a small smile at her cousin's handiwork before putting his weapons away and proceed to walk out. "Let's get out here."

"Right behind you." Lucy said as she held Patty's hand and they followed him out into the hallway.

"I saw it all!" Patty exclaimed. "The adults-only part!"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Lucy gave a small apology.

"Wait!" The adult Patty quickly ran out and called to them. "Please wait a minute. I'm begging you, that child, please let me take care of her." The trio looked towards the pleading woman as she appeared genuinely remorseful. "I want to do what I can to make amends."

Shortly after, Dante and Lucy made contact with the Rune Knights and informed them of the situation. Turns out that the real Brian Lowell had been killed a few days ago by a demon before posing as him with the intent on taking the fortune for himself. Though Alex and Christopher Lowell were unaware of this, or the fact that the demon hired lesser demons to try and kill Patty, they knew full-well that the child was being put in danger, and both were promptly arrested. The adult Patty Lowell inherited the Lowell family estate, as she was the only remaining heir, and did make good on her promise to make amends. She truly had no idea that demons were going after the girl that she had the media focus on, but that was no excuse for her actions. She accepted responsibility and did fulfill her end in trying to make amends, but Dante and Lucy still weren't quite happy with what happened and made it perfectly clear she was not to contact Fairy Tail again for another job unless it was an absolute emergency.

A few days later; Lucy and Patty hung out in Dante's apartment, while he himself was currently in the shower. The apartment itself appeared to have gone a total makeover, as it was rather barren before, other than a shelf of weapons, such as swords and guns, along with a table, chairs, a couch, and a bed. Honestly, the only thing that stood out was a framed picture of his mother.

But apparently, Patty and Lucy deiced to do some redecorating as the apartment was now something that looked like it belonged to a little girl; complete with pink curtains, flower wallpaper, toys and plushies everywhere, and other things little girls would like.

"So, you're sure you're alright with not staying at that mansion?" Lucy asked Patty, who was dressed in a fancy pink dress.

"It's fine, mansions are totally overrated anyway." Patty replied.

Lucy chuckled. "Girl, I can't possibly agree with you more."

"And I received compensation anyway." Patty continued. "Because I'm a little girl who's been scared from being exposed to the ugly world of adults."

"So those fancy new clothes of yours are part of that compensation?" Lucy asked with a knowing smirk.

"Yep." Patty confirmed. "As well as the clothes and sweets for the kids at the orphanage, in all three truck loads!"

Lucy gave a slight laugh. "Looks like you did those kids some good, nice job."

"And you know, I think I might hang around with you and all your friends at your place from now on." Patty said.

"Really? You wanna hang around at Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked.

"Oh yeah." Patty nodded enthusiastically. "If you and Dante are any indication, then it's gonna be a lot of fun! In fact, I might even liven that old tavern up a bit by doing some redecorating there to."

Lucy gave a slightly warning smile. "Alright, just be sure to keep your head down. Expect a lot of flying beer mugs, fists, and fireballs."

The door to the bathroom opened as Dante just walked out, wearing only his pants as he dried his hair with a towel. "Oh, hey Lucy." Dante greeted his cousin, not really minding the fact his apartment had gotten a huge makeover.

"Hey Dante." Lucy waved.

Dante looked at the table however in confusion. "Wha… I thought my strawberry sundae would be delivered here by the time I got out of the shower."

"Oh, you mean that strawberry sundae?" Lucy teased as she pointed to Patty who just finished eating the sundae herself.

"What!?" Dante exclaimed in shock before a look of comic anger, complete with an anime anger mark on his head, formed on his face. "Hey, that was mine! What the hell do you think you're doing?! This is my place! Let's get this straight: my place! Mine!"

"Now you know how I feel when you and everyone else break into my apartment." Lucy teased.

"Yeah, and your place was totally filthy and dorky, so Lucy and I cleaned it and did some cute decorating." Patty also teased.

"Cute's a relative term." Dante said in a low growl. "I'm more concerned about my goddamn desert."

"That's what I charge for my work, thanks. It was the best sundae ever!" Patty teased with a giggle.

Done.

Yep, we've now been introduced to Patty Lowell and she is going to have plenty of fun with Fairy Tail. (I also wanted to introduce her because I think she'd make a good friend for Wendy, it be nice for her to make friends with kids her own age anyway). Unfortunately, it also means we've been introduced to Sid, who is gonna cause Fairy Tail some trouble as well.

Anyway, there's actually quite a bit to take away from this 'filler' chapter…

*First, Lucy's actually starting to train to become a Devil Hunter herself, so you can expect her to become more of a badass sooner than when she did in the cannon (she even has Trish and Lady to help train her). And if you noticed about her attire, while everyone else from Fairy Tail has their cannon X791 outfits, Lucy's is only slightly different as her jacket's longer, mostly to model herself off of Dante. And Dante's new attire is the same type of clothing he wore in the anime mini-series, along with the black Fairy Tail emblem sewn onto the back of his jacket.

*Second, we've been introduced to the full roster of the Ten Wizard Saints. Including the cannon cast of Makarov, Jura, Warrod, Wolfheim, Draculos, and God Serena, we have some new characters such as Kurenai (whom I already said is the guildmaster of Mermaid Heel), Bruni, Aurora, and the mysterious Gandelina. You'll get to know these Wizard Saints more as the story continues, and you can expect to understand some of their origins during the Grand Magic Games.

Note; here is the ranking in terms of power and strength for each of the Wizard Saints…

1) Kurenai

2) God Serena

3) Makarov

4) Draculos

5) Wolfheim

6) Aurora

7) Bruni

8) Warrod

9) Jura

10) Gandelina

Yep, even though he's been gone for so long, Makarov is still ranked considerably high. But what do you expect from someone like him? That's not to say they aren't all very powerful. Like I said, you'll get to know them more as the story continues, particularly during the Grand Magic Games.

*Third, Crime Sorciere consists of Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy from the cannon, with the additions of Sorano and Sheeree.

*Fourth, we finally know who the Three Demon Kings are: Abigail, Argosax, and Urizen. Abigail and Argosax are stated to have power that rivals that of Mundus, and I wanted to add a third one in to add a bit more variety to the DMC lore. My intent was actually Urizen when I first saw him in the DMC5 preview, and yes, I know that in the cannon, he is the result of Vergil using the Yamato to separate his human and demonic halves into two beings. But, like I did with Nelo Angelo in the Edolas arc, his origin is changed. In this timeline, Urizen is a separate entity, and not Vergil. But you'll find there is a special connection between Urizen and the Sparda bloodline. I won't say what it is, and you won't find out for a while either. You'll just have to wait and see. Of course, this also leaves us with one question. What about a certain black-haired poem reader? Like with Urizen, I also have plans regarding that individual, and you will see much later on, but we are a long way from that point. So please be patient.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I have three more planned before we start with the Order of the Sword arc where we are introduced to Nero. So please be patient and enjoy the chapters I have to provide. Even though they could be considered "filler", each of them has an important role to play for our heroes in Fairy Tail. Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there.

Peace out.