Hi everyone, thank you once more for waiting. Yet again, we enter another 'filler' episode, but there are only two more chapters left, including this one, before we get to the first main arc of this story. So, thanks again for your patience. Now, with all that being said, let's get started.

Be Careful What You Wish For

It was such a nice day. The sun was shining brightly within the partly cloudy sky, it's warm and gentle rays beaming down on a single fisherman who laid back on the grass by a river near a train bridge, waiting for a fish to take the bait on his rod. The fisherman had been waiting for some time, but he didn't seem to mind as he enjoyed relaxing in this type of whether.

Suddenly, the rod began to shake as the baited hook was pulled into the water. "I got one!" The fisherman stated as he grabbed his rod and tried to pull the fish he caught out of the river. He was able to pull the fish toward the surface; however, he gave a startled gasp once he saw something stuck on the fish's tail.

It appeared to be a mask; a three-eyed demonic-looking mask. Two of its eyes were green, while the third on its forehead was red, and all three eyes appeared to be sewn shut. The end of the fish's tail appeared to be stuck in the mask's mouth.

"What's that?" The fisherman asked, not quite over his startle, which grew even more as the fish was suddenly pulled into the mask's mouth, as though the mask itself had swallowed the fish whole. As it did, a transparent, liquid-like, substance began to emerge from the back of the mask as it began to stand upright, causing the man's startle to turn into clear fear, even more so as the fish's skeleton was thrown out of this entity's liquid body.

"I shall grant you a wish."

Fairy Tail guildhall

Most of those within the guildhall appeared to be minding their own business as Natsu and Happy helped themselves to some food in their usual way, with scraps and meat-bones flying everywhere. Lucy, Gray, and Erza sat at another table, eating their lunch in a more civilized fashion with the food that Kinana had just brought them, though the blonde at the sight of Natsu and Happy eating.

"Geeze, it's a wonder those two haven't gotten a heart attack eating like that." Lucy commented.

"You even surprised? He's been a pig his whole life." Gray replied.

"I suppose it has to do with Natsu's own magical power as well as his own stamina." Erza assumed. "He can easily burn off all those excessive calories, no pun intended. Happy, however, is a total mystery."

"Be careful Happy." Lucy teased. "You eat too much and Carla might lose interest. No girl would want to date a fat guy."

"Says you!" Happy stuck out his tongue in an immature fashion before resuming his meal. "No way can you deny me the pleasantries of fish!"

"Idiots." Gray rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Three of a kind." The group directed their attention to a separate table where Dante, Wakaba, Macao, and Patty appeared to be playing poker. Dante showed the cards he had, thinking he won. "Sorry, but it looks like I take this hand. Lady Luck's a pal of mine, you know?"

"Sure, didn't seem that way the past nine games." Macao teased. "I fold."

"Same here." Wakaba laid down his cards with his friend, showing that they both had bad hands.

"Guess, I'll be taking these." Dante smirked as he was about to pull the chips his way, but Patty put her cards down on the table, much to the surprise of the three men.

"A full house!" Patty stated triumphantly, much to the comic shock of her opponents, while everyone else around them only looked more amused than anything else. "Sorry there losers, but it looks like old Lady Luck is my best friend this game. Well, I guess I'll be taking these." She took the chips away.

"For a pint-sized runt, she's pretty good." Gray said. "That's ten hands in a row."

"Man, you guys suck at card games." Natsu said with his mouth full with Happy chuckling in amusement.

"Oh yeah, Natsu?! Why don't you come over here and give it a try!" Macao exclaimed in comic anger.

"I'm a little concerned that Patty's a bit too good at that." Lucy said.

"We'll be sure to keep her away from any casinos till she's at the proper age." Erza also said.

"Come on, let's play another hand." Dante said.

"Seriously? That's ten games already. I'm calling it quits." Wakaba said as he and Macao were already standing up.

"Hey, where are you going!?" Patty told them. "You guys all owe me ten ice cream cones! I want you to buy them now!"

"You'll make yourself sick if you eat all ten at once." Dante replied. "How about… once every two days or so?"

"That's not fair! I see Erza eating ten cakes every day! And don't even get me started on that pig!" Patty pointed toward Natsu who continued to scarf down the meat.

Before anyone else could offer a reply, someone appeared at the main entrance. It was a young woman with sapphire pigtails. "Um… is this Fairy Tail?"

"Yeah, this is Fairy Tail." Natsu said as the group turned her attention to the woman. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lynn." The woman replied. "I… I need your help."

Kinana had given Lynn some tea as she sat down and explained to the Fairy Tail members present the situation she needs help with.

"I see…" Dante began to sum up the request. "So, you want us to rescue your older brother, arrested on false charges."

"That's correct." Lynn confirmed.

"What was this guy blamed for?" Natsu asked.

Lynn looked down, a painful and sorrowful expression clear on her face. "A charge of murder. But there's no way my older brother would have done something like that! To begin with, the man who died, Claude, was his best friend!"

Lucy already seemed to be onboard. "Who'd go so far as to kill their best friend? Something's definitely gotta be up."

"Just ask these two, they try to kill each other on a frequent basis." Happy joked, referring to Natsu and Gray, even Patty seemed to be in on it.

"You're not wrong, Happy. I wonder, sometimes the better the friends, the deeper the hatred." Patty mused.

"Guys, this is serious." Gray told them. "Don't joke around."

"Do you have any proof of this?" Erza asked Lynn. "We need to know for certain before we can act, it's part of the guild's guidelines."

"I… no… I don't have any…" Lynn replied, apparent that she didn't have any proof.

"Sorry, but like Erza said, we need actual proof." Dante stated.

"Hold on a minute." Lucy quickly said. "Maybe we should look into it, find out for ourselves if it's true or not."

"We'll we're gonna need payment for that." Natsu said.

"Yeah, I like helping people as much as the next guy, but this is guild and we gotta put food on the table." Gray agreed.

Lynn took off a ring that was on her finger. "You can take this in exchange." She placed it on the table in front of them.

"It's pretty." Patty said as she and Lucy looked at the ring.

"Can't exactly buy stuff with a ring, what are…" However, Natsu, and everyone else looked in surprise to see Lynn had vanished completely.

"Whoa… where'd she go?" Happy asked completely stunned.

"What does she think she's doing?" Dante asked.

Lucy held the ring in her finger. "Well, I guess we accepted her payment."

Totomaru, once of Phantom Lord's Element Four, sat on his chair reading a book. Romeo said he went off to train with his friends who returned from Tenrou Island, though when he heard that there was a girl involved, Totomaru had a pretty good idea what Romeo was up to, which was enough for him to smirk slightly. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door.

"Coming." He got up and opened the door but did not expect two familiar people to be at his doorstep. One was a woman with blue hair, and another was a man with spikey black hair and rivets in his head.

"Hello Totomaru, it's been a long time." Juvia smiled.

"You sure got old." Gajeel cracked with a grin.

"Gajeel… Juvia…" Totomaru honestly had no idea what to say at the sight of his former comrades.

"Hello there." He directed his attention downward toward a certain black Exceed who walked in. "You must be Gajeel's old friend. My name is Panther-Lilly, it's a pleasure."

"Yeah…" He still was not over his surprise. "I heard you guys were back but… how'd you even know where I lived?"

"When we heard you were teaching Romeo, we asked him for your address." Juvia answered. "It has been seven years since we've last seen each other, perhaps you'd like to catch up?"

"Come on buddy, we'll buy you a drink. You in?" Gajeel offered.

Totomaru finally appeared to be over his surprise as a smile formed on his face. "What the hell, I got nothing else to do today anyway."

Meanwhile; Dante, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Gray, and Erza had arrived at the tavern where the supposed murder had taken place.

"Hey, anybody here!?" Dante called out when it didn't look like anyone was present

The cook and owner of the place walked out. "Yep."

"Six strawberry sundaes, one for each of us." Dante said. "And put it on the blonde's tab."

"What?! Why me?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I'm not paying for everyone." Dante said as if it were obvious.

"Sorry, but we don't have treats for the kiddies here." The cook said.

"Doesn't seem like you'd have anything for anyone here." Gray observed as the group looked around.

"You sell food here, don't ya?" Natsu asked the cook.

"And it's lunch time, you'd think this place would be packed." Happy also asked.

"Yeah, you'd think." The cook said as he sat down at the bar. "To tell you the truth, I can't find any customers since that incident. What a way to run a restaurant"

"This incident… tell us about it." Erza requested.

"Who are you guys?" The cook asked.

"We're from Fairy Tail." Lucy explained. "We were asked to look into this incident, so if it's not too much trouble…"

"Tell you what, you tell us that story, and I'll tell you a story that'll have customers lined up the door." Dante offered.

"A guild, huh? Alright, I'll tell you what I know." The cook began to tell the story. "I still don't believe it; Kerry and Claude were best friends. A couple nights ago, the two were playing darts, and it seemed like Kerry was on a loosing streak. I was in the kitchen when I heard a scream, when I got out… it looked like Claude's entire body melted."

"Melted?" Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Lucy all questioned at the same time.

"Yeah, like he was hit by acid or something, there weren't even bones left." The cook replied.

"Please continue." Erza requested as she and Dante seemed to be paying the most attention.

"Kerry… he was all hunched up in the corner, saying 'it's all my fault.'" The cook continued. "I called the police, and Gary was arrested. There were no other customers and no witnesses."

"This Kerry got any magic? Was he a wizard?" Gray asked.

"No, and that's what I tried to tell the cops." The cook answered. "But they wouldn't listen to me."

"Which means the guy was framed." Natsu stated. "But who the hell would want to melt a guy?"

"Guess that's what we're here to find out." Lucy said before addressing the cook. "So where is Kerry anyway? Maybe we can talk to him."

"Did the Magic Council take him in?" Happy asked.

"Last I heard, they locked him in a cell at Devil's Prison." The cook replied. "It's not far from here."

"Devil's Prison?" Dante voiced aloud. "Doesn't sound very 'Magic Council' to me."

"It isn't." A new voice spoke up, causing the group to turn around as they saw a familiar broker playing a solo game of darts.

"Morrison." Erza acknowledged.

"When'd you get here?" Natsu asked.

"Just passing through." Morrison replied as he threw another dart at the board.

"What'd you mean though when you said Devil's Prison isn't part of the Magic Council?" Gray asked.

"Exactly how it sounded, it's not part of the Council. It's an independent facility." Morrison explained. "And it's got a pretty shady rep. People who go in, never come out. Ever."

"They got any visiting hours?" Lucy asked. "We'd just be in and out."

"They don't allow visitors." Morrison replied. "That place is supposedly worse than hell, so my advice: just forget about it." He threw one final dart at the board, scoring a bullseye.

"A prison with a bad rep, no one leaves, and no visitors allowed, sounds pretty sketchy." Gray said.

"Yes, I agree, it seems rather suspicious." Erza responded. "And we need to talk to Kerry in order to clear things up anyway."

"But how are we gonna do that if this place doesn't allow visitors?" Happy asked.

"Easy, we're busting in!" Natsu smirked as he punched his fiery fist into his palm.

"Breaking into prison? Only you could come up with something like that, Natsu." Lucy said in a tone indicating she wasn't surprised.

"Didn't you hear a word I just said?" Morrison questioned as he fully faced the group. "Rumors aside, that place is like a fortress! Even if you could get in, I doubt any of you could make it out."

"I'd be willing to take that bet." Dante said.

"Yeah, I'll take that bet too." Gray also said. "We've done some pretty crazy things before; this shouldn't be that much different."

"Why the hell would I take any bet from you guys?" Morrison lowered his hat in annoyance, knowing he couldn't change their minds. "It's not like I'd get any money from you even if I won."

"Alright!" Natsu cheered enthusiastically. "Let's go busting into Devil's Prison!"

"Aye Sir!" Happy cheered as well as the pair was about to bolt out the door; but Erza pulled them both back, Natsu by his scarf and Happy by his tail.

"Hold it!" Erza stated firmly. "Natsu; you, Happy, Gray, and Lucy are not breaking into Devil's Prison, leave that to me and Dante."

"Aw come on! Don't take all the fun out of this Erza!" Natsu told her in comic anger.

"Just the two of you?" Lucy asked with concern. "What are we gonna do?"

"The rest of you are going to search this town for the real murderer." Erza instructed.

"You sure about that?" Gray asked. "What makes you think he's still anywhere near here? Maybe he skipped town?"

"There's no reason for them to leave, not when they can get off with a murder like this." Erza said. "Natsu, can you get Kerry's scent from here?"

Natsu need only take a few whiffs. "Yeah, I got em. I also got that other guy's scent that melted, but I can't find anyone else. Whoever did it either knows how to hide their scent, or they don't even have a scent."

"Alright, looks like we got a plan." Dante said as he and everyone else began to leave the restaurant.

"Hey!" The cook called to them. "How about that secret that'll have customers lined up out the door?"

Dante turned around with a smile. "Try putting strawberry sundaes on the menu." This left the cook confused as most of the group left, save for Happy.

"And if that doesn't work, put fish on the menu." Happy flew up to the cook. "There's nothing better than a good, yummy, fish." He flew out the door to follow his friends.

Dante and Erza walked on ahead with the rest of their friends some ways behind them. "So, you got a plan that involves the two of us getting into Devil's Prison?" Dante asked the scarlet-haired swordswoman.

The pair came to a stop as they saw a trio of men laughing as they walked down the sidewalk in front of them. "The simplest plans are often the best." Erza said as she smirked toward Dante, who smirked back, getting the idea.

One of the men was thrown into a pile of garbage, the scuffle already drawing plenty of attention from the people around them.

"You lousy bitch!" The second man tried to swing a pipe at Erza, but she easily sliced the pipe with her sword before pointing it at the man's throat, causing him to gulp in fear as he saw her soul-piercing eyes.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" The third man exclaimed as Dante picked him up by the collar.

"Taking out the trash." Dante said causally. "Gotta keep this town clean, ya know?" He threw the man into the nearest window.

Meanwhile; Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Lucy watched the scene unfold as they stuck out their heads from a nearby alleyway.

"That's one way to do it, I guess." Gray said.

"At this point, I really shouldn't be surprised." Lucy's eyelids lowered.

"Breaking stuff is kinda what Fairy Tail does." Happy commented.

"I would have preferred just blowing the place up." Natsu grumbled.

Later that afternoon; Dante and Erza, both in handcuffs, were escorted into Devil's Prison. To say the place was intimidating would be an understatement. It was a large building with a series of smaller buildings all around the largest one in the center; and all of that was surrounded by a large wall. The guards also looked somewhat intimidating as well as they wore leather coats with spikes at the shoulders.

"So, this is Devil's Prison." Erza said as she and Dante were led inside. "Quite the security, you must contain rather dangerous individuals here."

"We lock all kinds of criminals." One guard said.

"Hey, you know a guy named Kerry Marcus?" Dante asked as he and Erza noticed all the security lacrima in the ceiling. "He's a buddy of ours."

"That guy's in a special cell block for committers of heinous crimes." Another guard replied.

"Special cell block, you say?" Erza requested. "Is that treatment reserved for us?"

"You two will be in a normal cell block for committing property damage and inflection of personal injury." The first guard answered. "Don't worry though, no matter what kind of cell you're in, Devil's Prison is Devil's Prison."

Both Dante and Erza, still in handcuffs, were escorted to the Warden, who appeared to be an overweight, semi-bald, man with a mustache. His attire consisted of a purple jacket with spikes on the shoulders and black edges. He had a white undershirt with a red scarf, along with black pants and three metal spikes on the sides, and black spiked boots.

One of the guards had some kind of device in his hand as he scanned Erza. "Looks like this one's got pretty strong magic on her."

The second guard scanned Dante with a similar device. "The other one doesn't seem to have any normal magic, but he's packing some serious heat."

The Warden could clearly see that as Dante's weapons; Rebellion, Ivory, and Ebony, were laid out on the table in front of him. "Must be a real bad apple if you're carrying this stuff."

"Oh, those are just a few of my accessories." Dante said. "I just made a little mistake in regard to their size."

The Warden chuckled. "Someone's got a smart mouth." He then spared a glance at Erza. "Hmm, we haven't had any women in here for a long time, I'd say that's a nice breath of fresh air." He began to walk around Erza, eying certain areas that he found interesting. "Look at this form body, so delicious. You be a good girl and I promise not to do anything mean to you." He said as he licked his chops.

Dante resisted the urge to chuckle. 'Idiot has no idea who he's messing with.'

Erza easily snapped the handcuffs off her wrists, much to the Warden's shock as she grabbed him by the collar and lifted him into the air. "How repulsive! Such behavior is ill-fit for a prison warden! You seem more akin to a slave driver!"

The guards were about to seize Erza, only for Dante to step in front of them as he snapped his own handcuffs and grabbed each of them with one hand. "Wanna talk about delicious, how about your boss? Being marveled with fat and all?"

All three of them were thrown hard against the wall, much to the Warden's anger. "Special cell! Throw them in a high security cell!"

Dante and Erza were both locked in the same cell that had nothing more than a single bed, a toilet, and a window near the ceiling.

"They even throw men and women in the same cell together?" Erza questioned. "They clearly have no idea how to effectively run a prison."

"And I thought you were just trying to annoy them." Dante mused before getting serious. "Think you can bust out of here?"

"Ordinarily, yes." Erza said as she lightly knocked on the door. "But this collar they gave me seems to be suppressing my magic power." She rubbed the collar around her neck. "You don't seem to have one, though."

"Well I don't got magic, not the same type you do anyway." Dante replied. "Probably weren't expecting Sparda's son to come in." He joked, causing Erza to chuckle slightly, till Dante looked past her and noticed a small hole in the wall that separated their cell from the one next to them. There was a faint edge of a shadow on the other side, which indicated that someone was in the cell next-door.

"Hey." Dante said to the man on the other side. "There should be some guy in here by the name of Kerry Marcus. Do you know him?"

"Who are you?"

Outside Devil's Prison, Lynn looked toward the facility, a worried expression crossing her face as she could only think about the safety of her elder brother. "Oh, my dear Kerry…"

Gajeel, Juvia, Panther-Lily, and Totomaru had spent most of the day at the bar, talking and catching up about what's been happening the past seven years. Turns out that Totomaru has become an actual teacher, not just to Romeo, but other young wizards just learning how to use fire magic. He even offered some controlling advice to other non-fire wizards as well, but fire-users seemed his primary focus.

"I gotta say, I never pegged you as the teaching type." Gajeel told his former guildmate as he helped himself to a drink.

"Yeah well, I wasn't in the mood to join in another guild, so I gave it a shot." Totomaru replied. "Kinda like it. Feels… nice that I'm helping kids with their magic."

"Training and preparing the next generation is a noble cause." Panther-Lily said. "I always admire people like that."

"So, you got your own talking cat like Salamander, eh Gajeel?" Totomaru teased.

"Yeah, well mine can actually put up a fight." Gajeel replied. "Plus, he's got his own Devil Arm. Name another cat that does." He joked, referring to the Baskerville sword Lily had sheathed behind his back.

"I'm pleased to see you're doing so well, Totomaru." Juvia said sincerely. "Have you heard from anyone else? I've been curious."

Totomaru smile faded slightly. "Most of the rest of Phantom Lord either got jobs like me or joined smaller guilds. But…"

"But what?" Gajeel asked as he, Juvia, and Lily paid close attention.

"Jose, Sol, and Aria have completely vanished." Totomaru revealed, much to the others surprised. "After Phantom Lord's disbandment, Jose was never the same, not just being stripped of his title as one of the Ten Wizard Saints… he was a shell of his former self. He always went on and on about how everything as Fairy Tail's fault. I mean, yeah they totaled our guildhall and all that, but we were hired to bring that blonde back to her dad, he was the one who wanted to use her as a hostage, that was his idea!" Lily had a serious expression while Gajeel and Juvia seemed to have mixed feelings about their former guildmaster. "A couple of years ago though, he just vanished. No idea whether he's alive or not, but he took Sol and Aria with him. I got no idea what's going with those guys… and it leaves me a little worried."

"You think they might return to cause trouble?" Lily asked.

"I don't know." Totomaru replied. "But, if they do… you guys just watch your backs." He told his former guildmates. "When he found out you two joined Fairy Tail, that pushed him off the deep end, so I wouldn't put it past him if he's looking for payback."

"We'll be careful. Thank you." Juvia nodded.

Totomaru looked at his reflection within his drink. "You know… what happened seven years ago… I mean, I wasn't too upset about Fairy Tail disappearing; sorry if that sounds morbid, I didn't tap dance at the thought of them being dead, but I wasn't gonna cry about it either. But… when it came to you two…I… I just…" He gave a sigh as he didn't quite have the words. "I'm just glad you guys are okay… that's all."

Gajeel smiled as he put a hand Totomaru shoulder. "We ain't gonna kick the bucket that easily. Fairy Tail's full of pansies, but they got it where it counts."

"They've proven to be so welcoming, despite what we did to them in Phantom Lord." Juvia said. "I… we're truly blessed to be counted among them. And I'm happy to know you've been thinking about us. We may no longer be part of the same guild Totomaru, but we still consider you a friend."

Even Lily walked forward with a smile as well. "And anyone who's a friend of Gajeel's and Juvia's is a friend of mine."

This caused Totomaru to smile. "Thanks… glad you guys made it back." The group picked up their respective glasses or mugs and clanged them together before drinking. "Well, that's it for me. I got a class to teach tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll pay."

"Hey, I said I was gonna pay!" Gajeel stated.

"With what? You got probably seven years of debt to pay off." Totomaru joked, causing Gajeel to comically grumble while Juvia and Lily snickered. "But, you guys wanna get together again sometime, just let me know."

"Of course." Juvia smiled as she gave a brief hug to her former comrade, who was happy to return it as well. He then shook hands with Lily and Gajeel as the three left the bar, while Totomaru stayed to pay the tab.

As the trio walked outside, they head a voice call to them. "Hey! You guys!" They turned to see a certain blonde girl walking toward them with a pouty face.

"Oh look, it's that runt that's been hanging around the guildhall." Gajeel said.

"It's Patty, right?" Juvia asked. "What are you doing out so late?"

"I want you three to take me where Dante, Lucy, and the others are!" Patty pointed to them.

"Why the hell would we do that?" Gajeel questioned.

"Cause they owe me ten ice cream cones!" Patty exclaimed.

"Seriously?" Gajeel had an annoyed sweatdrop on his head.

"I'm certain Dante and the others will be back by the guildhall tomorrow." Lily said to Patty. "You can ask them then."

"And if not, we'll just buy you some ice cream ourselves." Juvia offered.

"No! They're the ones that owe me! You're not doing them any favors!" Patty exclaimed. "And I'm not waiting! I want them to buy me ice cream now!"

"Then go yourself you little brat." Gajeel growled, which resulted in Patty kicking him in the shin rather hard. "Ugh!" Gajeel held his shin before glaring at the girl. "The hell was that for?!"

"What kind of adult tells a child to travel to another town all by herself?" Patty scolded. "I could be kidnapped by bad guys and nobody would ever see me again!"

"That doesn't sound all that bad to me." Gajeel grumbled.

Juvia kneeled down to girl's level. "Alright, we'll take you Patty. But you have to stay with us at all times. And if they're busy with a job, you won't bother them until their job is finished. Is that something you can do?"

Patty smiled triumphantly. "Sure, I can do that."

"Is this really wise?" Lily asked. "Bringing a young girl who can't use magic to a potential battle?"

"She'll be safe with us." Juvia assured. 'Besides, I'll be even closer to my beloved Gray.'

"Great! So, let's get…" Suddenly, Patty was picked up and carried over Gajeel's shoulder by said Iron Dragon Slayer. "Hey! Put me down!"

"Nope. This is what you get for being such a brat." Gajeel told her as the group walked off. "You're lucky I don't drag you back home and lock your door shut."

As Patty struggled and complained, Juvia and Lily couldn't help but chuckle at the exchange, the latter being somewhat reminiscent with Coco from Edolas upon seeing this girl, which caused him to smile warmly.

Devil's Prison

Dante and Erza stood in the cell that was next to the one that Kerry was currently inside. "So, you are Kerry Marcus?" Erza questioned.

"We're here because someone out there believes you're innocent." Dante said.

"It doesn't matter, doesn't matter at all." Kerry stated. "Because we're all going to be killed any minute know."

This caused Dante and Erza to look at each other with serious expressions. "If that's the case, then tell us the real story." Erza said. "Let's get the truth out in the air regardless."

"I've told this story so many times!" Kerry ranted as it sounded like he was about to have a panic attack. "But nobody has ever believed me when I told them the truth! Who can blame them?! Like anyone's gonna believe that a demon was responsible!"

"A demon?" Dante asked as he and Erza were listening very closely now.

"Yeah… I didn't even believe it…" Kerry continued to shake. "I mean… I knew demons existed… I just never thought I'd actually see one myself…!"

Flashback

The very same Wish-Demon that emerged from the mask in the river he was fishing in faced Kerry after the fisherman watched the fish's skeleton dissolve in the acidic substance. "I shall grant you a wish." However, Kerry was too paralyzed with fear to even offer a response. "What is the problem? I said I will grant you a wish! Tell me what you want!"

Kerry screamed as he ran up the hill and as far away from the river as he could. Believing he made enough distance, Kerry stopped by a tree to catch his breath. However…

"You don't have a wish?" He heard the same demon's voice behind him. "Any wish will do. This is a rare chance for you." The voice came from the tree he was near as the tree changed shape to reveal the Wish-Demon, causing Kerry to back away with a startle.

"Do you mean what you're telling me?" Kerry asked. "You'll grant me anything that I want?"

"Yes. Tell me now."

"Okay, then give me money, lots. I wanna be the richest man in the world."

However, the Wish-Demon did not appear to like that wish. "No way." He said as his right green eye opened.

Kerry was mildly confused before he gave another wish. "Okay, then give me magic. I want to be a wizard, the most powerful wizard in the world."

"No, it wouldn't benefit you." The Wish-Demon replied as it's left green eye opened up.

"Okay, I want beautiful women!" Kerry exclaimed. "I want all the women in the world to be mine!"

"No. I'm not interested." The Wish-Demon's final red eye opened with that answer.

End Flashback

"So, this demon refused to grant any of your wishes, despite claiming that it could." Erza summed up. "Are there any wish-granting demons out there?" She asked the Devil Hunter next to her.

"Not that I know of. But this one seems like more of a smartass than anything else." Dante replied. "So, what was this wish this demon granted you?" He asked Kerry on the other side.

"In the end… well he definitely gave me what I wished for.

Flashback

Kerry threw his dart, but it missed its mark. "Sorry, looks like I win again there Kerry." Claude said.

"Oh, come on man, let's play one more game!" Kerry told him.

"Hey, hey, give it a rest there, will ya?" Claude said as he checked the time on his watch. "I gotta be getting to work soon. Catch ya next time." He turned around and was about to leave.

"Sure, just up and run after you win." Kerry said in annoyance. "Drop dead, you bastard!"

Suddenly, the very same Wish-Demon that Kerry had encountered had emerged from the wall. "I shall grant your wish." Both Kerry and Claude were taken by surprise, but neither of them were prepared for the demon to eject a green acid from its mouth, which splattered all over Claude and immediately began to melt his body, resulting in him screaming in agony, much to Kerry's horror.

"Your wish has been granted." The Wish-Demon said before disappearing into thin air.

Kerry fell on his rear in shock as he watched his own best friend's body begin to melt away just as the cook ran out upon hearing the scream.

"Oh my god… what the hell have I done…?!"

"What's going on out here?!" The cook exclaimed but gasped once he saw the scene in front of him; Claude's body all but melted away, and Kerry hunched over, clutching his head with both his hands. "What happened to him?!"

"Oh god… it's my… it's my fault… I killed him… I… I…"

End Flashback

Kerry still clutched his head in anguish as that memory was forever etched into his mind; Dante and Erza heard every word and they felt a great deal of sympathy for Kerry, both understanding what it felt like to lose a friend or someone close. But at the same time, the pair also felt a great deal of anger for the demon that done the deed.

"Of course, I wasn't serious when I told him to die…!" Kerry continued. "But that bastard…. He killed my friend! And now I'm being punished for the crime!"

"We believe you." Dante told him, much to his surprise. "Yeah, we'd seen some pretty crazy shit before, so a demon like that doesn't sound too unbelievable."

"Allow us to properly introduce ourselves. My name is Erza Scarlet, the man with me is Dante. We're both members of the Fairy Tail guild. We've been hired to clear your name."

"As we speak, a couple of our friends are looking for the real killer." Dante continued. "Knowing them, they'll find him in no time. And all we gotta do is break out of here."

"I'm telling you, it's impossible!" Kerry told them in a whimper. "Even if you are wizards, they have special collars to keep you from using your magic, I'm sure you wearing them right now. This place is worse than Hell."

"I've been through Hell before." Erza stated, thinking back to her childhood in the Tower of Heaven. "But I found a way to escape."

"So, did I; figuratively and literally." Dante also said. However, their cell doors suddenly unlocked, as did all the cells throughout the entire prison, much to their surprise.

"It's starting again…!" Kerry cowered, knowing exactly what was going to happen.

"Attention all prisoners…!" The Warden's voice sounded throughout the facility. "It's time for a little game of Tag! If you don't wanna die, I suggest you run! Run! RUN!" His laugh echoed through the speakers.

"What's going on?" Erza questioned as she, Dante, and Kerry went out into the hallway and made a run for it.

"It's a game of Tag!" Kerry explained. "Only it's not just a game! If they catch you, they kill you! The guards hunt us like game!"

"Now I see why they made this facility independent from the Council." Erza stated with a glare.

The trio came to a stop around the corner when they saw the smirking Warden and a group of at least a dozen guards blocked their path. "I told you I'd make you two my bitches, didn't I?" The warden mocked before he and his men showed their true forms as demons. Their upper bodies were bear with dark grey skin and black lines all over their chests. Their heads appeared to turn into metallic helmets with their tongues sticking out, and blades for arms.

"Guess Devil's Prison more than just a metaphor, huh?" Dante looked more amused than anything else as Erza had a serious expression on her face as she gently nudged the frightened Kerry into an empty cell.

"Stay here, we'll handle this." She told him as she and Dante rushed the demonic guards with nothing more than their fists.

Dante dealt a punch to the demonic warden's gut to send him crashing into three more guards. One tried to swing down his bladed arm onto Dante, but he ducked underneath the slice and grabbed the arm before swinging and slamming him into the wall.

Erza leapt above a slice from one guard before she dropped her foot onto his face to knock him down. She landed on her hands and performed a split-kick to the faces of two demons that tried to flank her before getting back on her feet to drive her elbow into the gut of one demon behind her and slamming her fist into its face to knock it down without even turning around.

With a few more punches and kicks dealt by the Fairy Tail pair, all the demons laid sprawled across the ground, beaten and unconscious.

"Seriously? That's it?" Dante asked, unimpressed.

"I expected more of a challenge myself." Erza said in a similar tone.

Kerry had saw everything and was nothing short of amazed. He honestly had no idea what to say.

"Come on, let's find all the prisoners and get the hell out of here." Dante said.

"I trust you have a plan?" Erza smirked, which Dante only replied with a smirk of his own.

It was already nighttime as Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy came by the river where Kerry was previously fishing before the time of his arrest.

"Natsu, are you sure Kerry was here?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, may have been a couple days ago, but he was definitely here." Natsu confirmed with the scent.

"You followed his scent all over town, but we didn't find anything." Gray stated. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

"If you got any ideas, by all means and tell me, stripper boy." Natsu said irritated.

"Probably be better than anything you can come up with, flame-brain!" Gray glared.

"Knock it off, you two!" Lucy got in between the pair to break it up.

As Happy hovered in the air, he glanced down and saw something that caught his attention. "Hey guys, over here!" The group quickly came to Happy's spot and found what he was looking at. "Look at that freaky mask."

Lucy picked up the mask to get a better look at it. "What the heck kind of mask is this?"

"Pretty freaky looking." Natsu said.

"It looks like it's got some jewels in its eyes." Gray observed.

The jeweled eyes suddenly flashed brightly. "I shall grant you a wish." This caused Lucy to gasp with a startle as she dropped the mask, while Natsu, Gray, and Happy also looked in surprise.

"Did that mask just talk?" Natsu questioned.

Soon, the acidic, blob-like, body of the same Wish-Demon that Kerry encountered, emerged from the mask, presenting itself to the Fairy Tail group. "I shall grant you a wish." It repeated.

"Whoa!" Happy exclaimed with wide eyes. "That mask turned into some kind of blob monster!"

"You think it's some kind of demon?" Lucy wondered.

"Probably." Gray assumed.

"Hey, you a demon?" Natsu asked bluntly, but the creature's response wasn't the answer they were looking for.

"What is the problem? Tell me what you want." The Wish-Demon said.

"Is it serious? Can this thing really grant wishes?" Lucy questioned.

"I thought only genies could grant wishes." Happy said.

"Everyone knows genies are bogus, I ain't buying it." Natsu stated skeptically.

"Don't any of you have a wish?" The Wish-Demon asked, sounding irritated by their skepticism.

Gray shrugged. "What the hell, let's see if he's the real deal." He then spoke to the demon. "Make me the most powerful wizard in all of Earthland; stronger than all the Ten Wizard Saints combined."

"No way." The Wish-Demon said as it's right green eye twitched open.

"Let me try." Lucy stepped forward. "I want eternal youth. Make me flawlessly beautiful for all eternity."

"No, I'm not interested." The Wish-Demon replied as it's left green eye opened.

"Tell me where I can find a dragon named Igneel." Natsu said. "You don't even have to bring him here or send me to wherever he is. Just tell me where I can find him."

"No, it wouldn't benefit you." The Wish-Demon told him as his final red eye opened up.

"I've got the perfect wish!" Happy stated. "Unlimited fish for me! That's the best kind of wish anybody could ask for!"

All his friends had sweatdrops on their faces, even the Wish-Demon had a similar expression on it's masked face before it replied. "That is literally the most idiotic wish I've ever heard."

All four of them gave blank looks at first before Natsu spoke. "Alright, how about this one." Both his fists lit on fire as an annoyed expression formed on his face. "Stand still long enough so we can pound ya!"

"For real!" Lucy exclaimed in anger as she pulled out the Morning Star. "You say you'll grant us a wish, but you won't grant the ones we want!"

"Knew you were bogus from the moment I saw you!" Gray stated as he prepared one of his Ice-Make spells.

"How dare you call my fish-wish stupid! Let's teach him a lesson!" Happy exclaimed in comic anger as all of them leapt at the Wish-Demon, intending to pulverize him.

After beating all the demonic guards, all one hundred of them, including the Warden, were stuffed into a series of cells as they turned back into their human forms before Dante's voice was heard from the speaker.

"Listen up, you guys are criminals. Tag? You gotta be kidding me. We just reported this to the Magic Council."

"Wha… what…?!" The Warden stuttered in surprise.

"There's a caravan of Rune Knights already on the way." Erza's voice was heard through the speakers this time. "I would advise you not to go anywhere. You should know how inescapable this 'inescapable hell' is, correct?"

"You freaking morons!" The Warden exclaimed as he and his men all had their keys. "We run this place! We know how to get out!"

They were easily able to escape from their cells as the Warden and two of his men got to the main gate controls, which was surprising close to the cell they woke up in, but they didn't seem to care.

"Alright, open the gate! Open it, I said!" The Warden ordered as he and his men each put a key into the locks, which they turned.

Outside the facility, the main gate opened, allowing the Warden and all one hundred of his men to run outside. However, they didn't get very far as they turned around to look in surprise at the sight of Dante and Erza leading all the surviving prisoners, including Kerry, outside.

"Why thanks." Dante smirked. "Yep, nothing like the air on the outside."

"We sincerely appreciate you opening the gate for us." Even Erza smirked as she spun the collar that she no longer wore around her right index finger.

It didn't take long for the Warden to realize he'd been tricked. "You... you… you bastards!" He and all his men transformed back into their demonic forms with the intent on ripping them apart.

Dante drew both is pistols as Erza quipped into her Purgatory Armor and they leapt into the small horde of demons to destroy them with little effort.

After meeting up with Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy; Dante, Erza, and Kerry all sat down at the same restaurant where Claude was murdered, which just so happened to be quite busy, filled with customers. Kerry was at the bar, helping himself to a drink, while all six members of Fairy Tail sat at a table to compare their notes.

"Devil's Prison had demons, huh?" Lucy asked. "Here I thought it was just some metaphor."

"That's exactly what I said." Dante said. "And those guys were pretty wimpy. Honestly, Happy could probably total them by himself."

"Hey!" Happy exclaimed.

"Anything on your end?" Erza asked.

"No, not really." Gray sulked in annoyance.

"We did run into this guy who just wasted our time." Natsu said. "Kinda like Gray here."

"You wanna say that again, flame brain!?" Gray questioned.

"Sure, you're a waste." Natsu smirked.

"Oh, drop dead, will ya?!"

"I shall grant your wish." The Wish-Demon appeared out of the wall, causing all the customers to gasp, especially Kerry once he saw him.

"It's him… He's the one who…!"

"Right on time." Lucy smirked, along with Natsu and Gray. "Looks like you guys were right."

"Right about what? Who is this guy?" Dante asked, though he and Erza already had a good idea.

"Some wannabe genie who won't grant you a single wish." Natsu stated.

"Had a bad feeling about this guy the second we saw him. So, we played along and waited for him to show himself…." Gray began.

"In front of all these witnesses." Happy smirked. "Not the brightest demon out there, huh?"

The Wish-Demon's jeweled eyes widened in shock, upon realizing it had just been tricked. All six members of Fairy Tail glared at the creature as it desperately shot a stream of acid at them, which Gray easily blocked by creating an ice-shield as it tried to make a break for it by shooting out the window.

"After him!" Erza ordered as they all leapt out the broken window to give chase to the demon. Dante fired both his pistols at it as it tried to lose its pursuers in the alleyways.

The Wish-Demon turned one corner, only to find Gray blocking its path. "Ice-Make: Lance!" Gray shot a series of ice-lances at the monster, which it tried to defend against by shooting balls of acid from its mouth to melt the projectiles and dodge the rest. As it turned to make its escape in the other direction, a flash suddenly appeared in front of it as Erza, now quipped in her Flight Armor tried to lash her swords at it, but the Wish-Demon spat a point-blank stream of acid at her, forcing her to shield herself with her own swords, which began to melt as she threw them away and the saw the demon climbing toward the rooftops.

Once the Wish-Demon was on the roof, a shadow was cast over it as Happy flew Natsu directly at it. "Acid can't melt fire! Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu shot his titular breath attack at the creature, which appeared to engulf it. However, once the flames ceased, all that remained was a freshly melted hole in the rooftop, much to the mutual shock of Natsu and Happy.

"He melted the roof and into the building!" Happy exclaimed in surprise.

The Wish-Demon used its acid to melt from the building's wall and back into the alleyways. But it wouldn't get very far. "Sandbuster!" A twister of sand was shot at it, scoring a direct hit and sending the wish-demon skidding across the alleyway as it saw its attacker.

"Ah yeah! How do you like that, you demonic asshole?" Scorpio smirked as it flashed a pair of rock-on devil horns.

As the Wish-Demon got back up, it noticed a glimmer out of the corner of its eye and turned around just in time for something hard to nick the left side of its mask and knock the left eye-jewel out of its socket. The perpetrator was none other than Lucy as she pulled back on the Morning Star.

"What's the matter?" Lucy taunted. "Don't tell me that's the best you can do!" A red blur then shot past Lucy, which was revealed to be Dante as he slashed Rebellion at the Wish-Demon, but it proved quick enough to avoid the devastating slice as it leapt into the air to spin its body and shoot multiple acid rain-like projectiles; prompting Lucy and Scorpio to leap away while Dante leapt into the air to plant Rebellion into the wall of a building, which he hung from as he shot Ebony at the demon as Natsu and Erza, the later quipped in her Flame Empress armor, tried to get the jump on it from behind with a dual attack of fire, with Happy providing Natsu with flight as usual.

However, the Wish-Demon had melted itself into the wall and avoid the devastating blast as Dante, Erza, Natsu, and Happy made it to the ground to join Lucy and Scorpio.

"Slippery bastard." Dante muttered.

Gray had managed to catch up with everyone. "He's gotta be here somewhere!"

Natsu's eyes widened as his advanced hearing picked up the melting like sound from underneath the ground. "Gray! Behind you!"

Suddenly, the entire body of the Wish-Demon emerged from the ground with the intent of devouring and melting Gray within its own body. All his friends were ready to jump in and help just as Gray turned around to see the demon closing in. However…

A stream of water suddenly shot out of the ground to separate the demon from Gray, much to everyone's surprise as the water took the shape of a familiar woman who glared at the monster.

"How dare you try to hurt my beloved Gray!" Juvia exclaimed in anger. "Water Nebula!" She shot two massive columns of water from her body which spun together like a vortex to blast the Wish-Demon and send it crashing straight into the wall of a building that had a giant sing hanging on the roof.

"Are you alright, my love?" Juvia turned back to the stunned Gray with concern.

"Juvia?! What… how did…?!" Gray stuttered.

"We had only just arrived to witness your fight, so we decided to provide some assistance." Juvia explained.

"We?" Gray asked.

The entire group heard the sounds of a structure collapsing as they, and the Wish-Demon, looked in clear shock at the sight of the sign from the top of the building collapsing and falling down toward the Wish-Demon, who tried desperately to blast a stream of acid at it, but it didn't even slow it down as the sign had already crashed on top of it, trapping it.

The ones responsible for that were none other than Gajeel, with his right hand converted into his Iron Dragon Sword, and Panther-Lily in his muscular form, and Baskerville in his hands.

"Squashed like a bug." Gajeel smirked as and Lily exchanged a fist-bump.

"Lily and Gajeel are here too?!" Happy exclaimed.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?!" Natsu called to them as Gajeel and Lily leapt down from the roof.

"Let us talk after we're certain this demon is dead." Lily replied.

The Wish-Demon struggled to escape, but as it gazed through its only opening, it saw the Ebony pistol being pointed directly at its masked-face, in the hands of the glaring Dante. All around him were Natsu, Gray, Happy, Lucy, Scorpio, Erza, Gajeel, Juvia, and Panther-Lily, who glared at him as well.

"Stop!" The Wish-Demon pleaded. "Please! Spare me! I'll grant you a wish! Any wish you want!"

"Any wish, huh?" Dante mused. "Alright, here's my wish. I wish for you to die." He practically unloaded on his Ebony pistol, firing multiple bullets until the mask was completely shattered, killing the demon once and for all.

When it was all set and done, it was very early in the morning, so early in fact that the sun had barley even began to rise. Gajeel, Juvia, and Lily hung outside the restaurant, near the broken window, as they overheard Dante and the others talking with Kerry, though they choose not to get involved as this job didn't involve them.

"Well, looks like you're a free-man now, buddy." Natsu said as he patted Kerry on the back with a friendly smile.

"Yep, everyone saw the demon, so they all know you're not a murderer." Happy added.

"Your name is cleared, and your innocence proven." Erza also said. "In addition, we also made contact with the Magic Council and they intend to conduct a thorough investigation into Devil's Prison. I'm sure they might ask you, and everyone else we've rescued, some questions, but I doubt they'll be too rough with you."

"Thank you all so much for everything you've done for me." Kerry said as he sat at the bar with Dante next to him. "But maybe the world would be better off if I were in prison." That took everyone by surprise. "Locked away for the rest of my living days."

"Why would you say that?" Dante asked.

"Are you still blaming yourself for your friend's death?" Gray also asked.

"Look, that wasn't your fault." Lucy told him. "That demon painted a target on your back the second he saw you at that river."

"It even tried the same thing with us." Happy said.

"Which means, you might not have been its first victim." Erza said. "There could have been others that it 'granted wishes' for."

"That guy is gone, and you helped us to put him down. I'd say you got your payback on that bastard." Natsu told him.

Despite that, Kerry still felt a great deal of anguish in his soul. "it's not just that. My younger sister's dead because of me too. Her name was Lynn." That really got their attention as they each shared surprised and concerned looks with each other. "She's always been frail. But when I got arrested, she was stricken with worry and her condition went downhill. She must resent me."

"Hey, you said her name was Lynn? Did she have sapphire colored pigtails or something?" Natsu asked.

Kerry did not expect that as he looked at Natsu with surprise. "Yeah."

Lucy smiled warmly as she walked up to Kerry and handed him a certain ring. "Lynn doesn't resent you. Far from it, she still loves you."

"That… that ring…" Kerry couldn't believe it as he held it in the palm of his hand. "I bought that very same ring for my sister Lynn! How did you get the ring I gave her?!"

Outside; Gajeel, Juvia, and Lily noticed that someone was on the street just across of the restaurant: a certain young woman with sapphire-colored pigtails.

"The person who hired us didn't pay with money." Dante told Kerry. "She gave us that ring and told us 'please save my older brother'."

Tears were already streaming down Kerry's face as clenched the ring in his hand. "But I just don't understand! How can that be!?"

Gray, Erza, Lucy, Happy, Natsu, and even Dante gave sad, yet understanding, smiles of their own as Dante patted him on the shoulder.

"Take care of yourself." The red-clad Devil Hunter said as the group walked outside and allowed the man to grieve.

As they all walked out, they saw Gajeel, Juvia and Lily looking in a certain direction, causing them to look the same way, where they all looked in surprise to see Lynn standing and smiling at them, giving them a silent thank you before she faded away just as the sun began to rise.

"Tell me, was that his sister?" Juvia asked.

"Yeah, the same person who hired us." Gray confirmed.

"So, she was a ghost." Lily observed. "Does this happen often?" He asked Happy.

"This is actually a first for us." The blue Exceed replied.

"A job from beyond the grave, pretty crazy huh?" Natsu smiled.

Lucy couldn't help but smile as she tried to wipe the tears that were forming in her own eyes as well. "You know, all the craziness that we go through, all the life-and-death battles, and apocalyptic scenarios… there's always that one moment… that you just can't but smile at. You guys know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I think we do." Erza confirmed as she spared a glance at Dante who had a genuine smile on his face. He then glanced to a certain Iron Dragon Slayer before he smirked.

"Careful metalhead, I think I see an actual smile." Dante teased.

Gajeel's smile faded as he tried to put on a grumpy façade and look away. "You're seeing things." But nobody else was fooled as all of them, including Juvia and Lily either snickered or smiled at him.

"I got you!" Patty suddenly leapt up at Dante from behind and wrapped her arms around him, much to everyone's surprise.

"Patty?!" Lucy exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"

"We brought her along." Juvia revealed.

"She was very insistent on getting her ice cream cones." Lily explained.

"You actually brought her to a potential battle?!" Erza chastised.

"Hey! That brat is pure evil! She's like a mini-Lucy!" Gajeel exclaimed in comic anger.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Lucy herself exclaimed in the same comical anger fashion.

"I want the ten ice cream cones you owe me!" Patty exclaimed to Dante.

"Just one." He told her as he set her down onto the ground.

"No way!" Patty pouted.

"You wanna give yourself a stomachache?" Natsu questioned. "Man, you really are like Lucy!"

"I'm standing right here, you know!" Lucy reminded.

Despite his friends getting right back into their usual antics, Dante couldn't help but chuckle which turned into a small laugh, which was later shared by everyone else.

Done.

So that was a bit of a nice chapter, don't you think? A little action with some heartwarming moments and humor, which seems typical of a Fairy Tail and/or Devil May Cry story. Anyway, we have one last 'filler' chapter to go before we finally move on to the main arc. I thank you all for waiting and it's my hope that all these chapters prove to be just as entertaining for all of you.

Many of you will have noticed I removed that scene in the end where Sid appears to get the demon's mask from Dante. Don't worry, I still have plans for Sid as well as one of the Three Demon Kings (you know which one I'm talking about), but you won't see anything till around the Grand Magic Games. It'll all make sense as the story progresses.

Stay safe and stay healthy out there. Until next time.