Since I didn't elaborate in a while, here is what each Tartaros demon has lost from their bodies, as well as their prisoner numbers:

1. 7billion-Jackal's left eye and heart

2. 7billion1-Lamy's left ear and heart

3. 7billion4-Sayla's horns, tongue and heart

4. 7billion5-Kyôka tail (I gave her tail feathers), arms and heart

5. 7billion9-Keyes' heart and both eyes

6. 7billion8-Tempesta's ears, heart and right eye

7. 7billion2-Neo Minerva's fingers, toes, and heart

8. 7billion7-Mard Geer's heart

9. 7billion6-Ezel's lower two arms and heart

10. 7billion10-Franmalth's heart; head permanently severed but not lost

11. 7billion11-Torafuzar's arms and heart

12. 7billion3-Silver's tongue and heart

They don't know why their bodies were mutilated this way. But as a result, their bodies heal faster and do not age. They rarely require food, water, or sleep. Their senses have all improved as well, including Tempesta's hearing. Those without tongues can talk, only because that is a lot of spelling errors I don't want to write lol. The whereabouts of Mard and the others is still unknown.

- ML

P.S. NEW FAV?! THANK YOU BEAUTIFUL


February 13, X793

(the page contained small drawings of Kyôka as a bird, Sayla as a bull, Jackal the cat, Minerva as a small girl, Lamy the bunny, Angelic as a little angel, and Tempesta as a small boy. A slim dragon was also drawn dancing with a small princess, meant to imitate Wendell and Izumi)

Sayla.

The Qora sun is at full peak and Minerva still won't come out of her room. I have had to coax her back to sleep using Jezebel's Scowl. I figured out how to channel relaxed feelings through my demon eyes, but they don't help for long. Minerva cannot put into words what makes her so afraid of sleeping. I'm powerless to help her. To make matters worse, even Jackal cannot speak to her. She immediately shuts him down. Tempesta brought her breakfast and lunch to her cell at 9:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., but she barely eats. Perhaps she requires less and less food to live now. I'm not sure. Surely she would want to eat for her child's health?

1:52 p.m.

J. You know who. It's official. Everybody calls me "the crybaby". I got pulled off some bitch who thought she could talk to me however she wanted. It pissed me off her she insulted my guild, so I broke her nose and then I cried. Whatever. At least I wasn't punished with torture or a simple isolation cell. These guards are fucking lazy now. I'm bitter about how much better everybody else is treated now compared to last year. You mean to tell me nobody gets raped, driven to insanity, starved, or cut up by disgusting sadists??? WELL GOOD FOR YOU FUCKERS :-)

(the rest of the entry is several lines of Potemelian:)

(Dreary depths of the fallen Heavens,)

(All the stars, far and wide, show me thy appearance with such shine)

(Divine Celestial Bodies of Hades)

(I am the ruler of the stars; aspect become complete)

(Open thy malevolent gate. 88 Stars of the heaven, shine!)


Jackal rubbed his temples, furrowing his brows in discomfort. His forehead suddenly throbbed. He squinted his eyes open, staring down at the open page of his journal. "Dreary depths... ruler of the stars..." he trailed off, mouth slightly open in shock.

I can read it again...

Underneath that poem, he carefully wrote more letters he could think of. He recognized the language as Kanaji.

'Cadalir fier dre kers, tsalk eipa drine ragind lilt'

(Cadaver of the stars, grant me thine raging light)

'Deleln ukon dre ulh yiar'

(Descend upon the earth your)

'hulenfir colukion'

(Heavenly Combustion)

21 15 21 23 17 1 56 78 62

Dropping the pen, he looked at the writing again. He understood every word of it. The numbers were still a mystery. He puckered his lips with a deeply confused expression.

"What's the matter, Jackal?" The blonde demon looked up to see Lamy standing at his doorway. Even she had started bundling up for the increasingly cold weather. She wore her blanket as a makeshift coat. His cheeks blossomed pink So cute...

"Uh, what?" he mumbled. The bunny demon chuckled. She came over and sat across from him, looking down at the page.

"Whoa, your Kanaji is really good! What's this other language, geometry?" she asked. Jackal shook his head.

"No idea. It reminds me of... back then, when that thing happened," he replied flatly. Lamy placed her hand on his. She kept quiet, unsure what to say.

"Did any of the mine library books have this language in it?" he asked, pointing to the (POTEMELIAN YOU IMBECILE). Lamy shook her head.

"Not a clue. We can't go down there until a new shipment of books comes in," the silver-white haired female said. "Which sucks because I want to take a crystal."

"Like the one Silver had?"

"Yes, that one," Lamy nodded. "Too bad it was thrown away with the his other stuff..."

"What other stuff? He only had the clothes on his back and that dumb rock," Jackal shrugged. He lifted Lamy's hand, kissing it. "Besides, I had Minerva hide that dumb rock in one of the outer walls of this place. The letter, too."

The bunny demon perked up, eyes lighting up with excitement. "Oh my gosh, really? That's great!" Jackal shushed her.

"Hidden, Lamy. Only she can find it," he whispered. Her pink eyes became disappointed, ears dropping.

"But will Minerva remember?"

"Guess we'll find out," the blonde smiled a little.

"Why is it hidden, anyway?" the bunny demon asked.

"We don't know what would happen if they found about that we know about the labyrinth," he answered. He glanced toward the door, sniffing. "Cant take any chances with these people." Lamy followed his gaze to the door.

"Can you smell like before?"

"Of course, I woke up as a cat, after all," he chuckled wryly. "Some fucker's idea of a sick joke."

"You look the same to me," the silver-white haired female smiled. "You'll always be the adorable hound I fell in love with." Jackal blushed lightly at her compliment. He returned the warm smile.

She leaned in, planting a light kiss on his lips. Before she could lean away, Jackal gently held her chin, kissing back. For a moment, the foreign words on his page were not important. He closed his eye, inching toward slipping his tongue against her lip. But Lamy pulled away again.

"We can't go further," she murmured, frowning sadly. "Maybe with Tempesta, but not me. You know why."

"I know, crotch fruit," he sighed, hanging his head. "I hate holding myself back. The months feel like an eternity.."

"It's frustrating," she agreed, resting her chin on her palm with her elbow on her leg. "April, Angelic said. Hopefully one or more of us is gonna be the next curse power that'll bust us out."

"I'm not so sure about that," the blonde feline replied. "It feels like we've hit a wall. Nothing looks promising!"

"Well, what about your scripts? That could be something," Lamy suggested. She point at the Kanaji writing. "This one sounds like a spell," she said. "Heavenly combustion sounds like bomb curse, don't you think?"

"Oh, that. What about the other one?" Jackal asked. "It says 'Dreary depths of the fallen Heavens, All the stars, far and wide, show me thy appearance with such shine. Divine Celestial Bodies of Hades, I am the ruler of the stars; aspect become complete. Open thy malevolent gate. 88 Stars of the heaven.'"

The blonde looked at Lamy, waiting for a response. She looked as clueless as he did earlier. He snickered.

"I have no freaking clue," the bunny demon said at last.

"It kind of sounds like the spell that defeated me," Jackal mused. Urano Metria... "That blonde bimbo—I mean, blonde girl said it differently, but it was like my body was pummeled to bits by fire hotter than the sun," the feline demon recounted. "A little fucked up that the same magic that killed me is now embedded in my mind, eh?"

"Heh, yeah..." Lamy murmured. Jackal pat her head.

"How did the knowledge get there, anyway?" she asked.

"There's... something. I don't know what it is, but I think it's inside my body," Jackal answered, placing his hands on his chest. He looked at his girlfriend with a serious expression. "I think it made me bisexual." Lamy stared at him, then burst into laughter. The feline demon turned red as a tomato.

"Hey, don't fucking laugh at me! I'm serious!" he shouted.

"AHAHAAA!" she wheezed, falling over on her side. Jackal turned his nose up, averting his gaze. "Oh, that was good, you got jokes!"

"It's not a joke!" the feline demon whined.

"I know, but it was still funny," Lamy grinned. "But seriously, what do you think this thing actually did to you?"

"I... I don't know. Aside from turning me half gay—" he shot a glare at the snickering bunny demon. "Aside from that, it made me a little crazy for a few weeks."

"Oh yeah, that was a weird time," Lamy said. "You really didn't like your hands."

"I swear to god they didn't feel like mine, okay?" Jackal insisted. The silver-white haired demon grasped his shoulders.

"I accept that, J. I still love you," she assured him. The feline demon slouched his posture. Lamy rested her forehead against his.

"There's something else I wanted to tell you," she whispered.

"What is it?" Jackal asked in an equally soft tone.

"Boiler room. After midnight. Also, some woman named Elfine wants to meet you."

"Boiler room? Why?" the feline demon questioned, sitting up. Lamy held an index finger to her lips, winking. The blonde male blushed lightly, nodding.

"Elfine just wanted to meet you, don't know why."

"Lamy, why boiler room?"

"It's a secret," she winked, then hopped up from the bed. Jackal mimicked "secret" under his breath, following her out.


2:37 p.m.

Jackal. I got to meet Elfine for the first time. Apparently, the whitest of white Elves can get locked up too! Who would've thought? She's pretty. Pretty boring tbh. But she was very interesting in getting to know me. I think it was flirting. Honestly, I didn't care what it was. I'm kind of busy with a guy and a girl, sooo...

I haven't seen Angelic recently. Now that I think about it, I don't even remember what her living space looks like. Being the kid and all, I don't know a damn thing! (Keep it that way.)


5:13 p.m.

Sayla.

The Qora moon is faint in the afternoon sky. The clouds darken a tad bit faster everyday. I suppose this means that the daylight is short in the cold summer months, unlike Earthland. Up there, the summer months were the longest and hottest and the winter months were the coldest and shortest. I don't mind this change. It is colorful to me, and Kyôka is so cute when she bundles up nicely. The flesh around her prosthetic arms is especially sensitive to the cold. I hope the late night cuddles keep her skin warm. I wonder if it will snow.

I love her so much, I could kill myself for her and still yearn for more. Sigh. I didn't know one could love a person this much. I wonder if this is how Jackal feels too. Besides suicide ideation, his love is unnatural in its capacity. I prefer this man over the cold sadist from long ago. Tempesta seems somewhat the same. Lamy is so mature, I feel sorry for her. Minerva is still our little sister despite her age. At least Nina and those other beasts are gone now.

Angelic is also very sweet. She drew a picture for me in the dirt. It was a sun and a tree. Apparently, she has seen real, yellow sunlight a long time ago. It truly makes me wonder just how old that girl is. Woman? Granny?

(ancient Potemelian script in unfamiliar handwriting)

Bond - Band - Bend - Bound - Bondage - Banned

Sin - Zen - sign - sigh - say

- Chi - chin - shin - fin - chic - chick - flick


February 14 X793

I was asleep by the time 14 February came to pass. It is currently 2:34 a.m. I am sitting in Jackal's room where Tempesta soundly sleeps. Jackal and Lamy did in fact meet in the boiler room. Apparently, Earthland people celebrate a themed holiday called "Valentine's Day." No one knows Valentine personally. Long ago, he professed his love to a woman with a heart shaped gift, according to Lamy's unsubstantiated opinion.

But in this case, Lamy's "valentine"—I think that is the name of the gift—was between her thighs. Jackal as well. They couldn't mate in the way of reproduction. Technically, nobody actually cares anymore. But watching them suffer is kind of funny. :3


February 19 X793, 8:43 a.m.

Tempesta. Jackal is acting strange. He is in what I simply call an episode. He talks to none of us right now. When I tried writing something nice, he called me disgusting and walked away! Honestly, I would have expressed my offense if it wasn't a mental plague. Now he is sitting a few feet from the wall, tossing a ball at it. He catches it flawlessly, but I'm worried about the electroshock effect. He doesn't seem to react, so I assume the walls don't affect inanimate objects. I miss his already.

9:00 a.m.

Lamy. Is it weird to think about riding someone's face? Sayla thinks I'm weird and Kyôka just feels sorry for me! Rude. Sayla keeps pestering me to reading this ridiculous book of Sky Demon spells. I don't gain anything if I can't use magic or curse in this place! I hate reading, it's so hard to focus. Sigh, I wish Tempesta didn't worry so much about Jacky. He hasn't acted this way since those two people committed suicide. I wonder what triggered him.

8:23 p.m

All of you are stupid little bitches. Suck my metaphoric dick. Not L or T, they'd probably enjoy it too much. I can't stand them fawning over me, it's sickening!


February 20, X793, 6:30 a.m.

(the following is written in shaky handwriting that gradually improves)

Kyôka. I can finally write again! Sayla is my hero. Now I can write nice things for her too. And Minerva, my second favorite. The other three are tied for the bottom rank, they'll live. Minerva my sweet friend, you make me feel like an older sister. I value our complex relationship. Sayla my darling, you are my wife. I want to marry her, but not in this shit hole. Jackal is a brat. Tempesta can play bass very well. Why doesn't he talk about that? Lamy is also a brat. All three of them are brats.


2:14 p.m.

Jackal continued to toss the ball at the wall. Unbeknownst to the others, he did feel the electric waves of pain in his arms, especially his dominant right arm. The flesh of palms had probably split open more times than he could count. His nerves screamed in fiery agony, but Jackal did not care. The pain felt kind of good at times, like scratching an itch he couldn't reach.

His eyes looked over to see Minerva approaching. She was the only guildmate who had not come near in all the days I spent in front of that wall. He averted his gaze, throwing the ball harder. Minerva stiffened at the gesture.

"J-Jackal," she trailed off in her usual whisper.

"What do you want?" Jackal glared ahead.

Minerva sat down next to him, hugging her legs against her chest. He paused before throwing the ball. The ex-human rested her head on his shoulder, staring blankly ahead.

"Throw it," she murmured. Jackal hesitated, no surprise there. He knew that if he threw the ball, Minerva would feel the pain too. "Go on."

"Get off me or I'll hit you," the blonde said.

"That's fine," Minerva replied.

Jackal squeezed the ball in his hand, furrowing his brows in frustration. "I mean it, I'll punch your teeth out!" he hissed under his breath. What am I saying? I'd never do that...

"Minerva, let's get lunch!" Sayla called, getting up from the usual bench. Bird sat across from her, writing in a notebook. He chose to mind his business. He was merely a Kanaji teacher, after all. Kyôka walked over to Minerva and Jackal.

"Minerva, leave him alone. He will stop this nonsense when he's ready," Kyôka said. Minerva shook her head, hugging his arm.

"No, he's hurt," she mewed. Jackal scrunched his face in anger, throwing the ball harder than before. It bounced to the ground, then the wall, and back into his hand. A zap spat tiny spats in his palm. The electric waves shot up his arm and across his whole body. In seconds, the skin of his forearm finally split open from the torture. Minerva shot up, her shocked scream coming out in a weak yelp like a dog. Kyôka immediately grabbed her, pulling her away from Jackal.

"You asshole, you hurt her!" the bird demon shouted at him. Minerva trembled in her arms, crying from the pain. Jackal looked up as Kyôka hurriedly walked her away from the blonde.

"What? She asked for it!" he shouted back. Sayla looked at him with disgust.

"And it is your responsibility as her friend to NOT hurt her, you imbecile," she glowered.

"Break time!" Bird chirped, closing his notebook. Tempesta and Lamy weren't outside to witness. Kyôka plans to tell them to collect their cat soon enough.

Two guards finally rushed over to drag him away from the wall. I suppose they decided he had gone too far by hurting a friend. Lazy idiots. They threw him into an isolation cell. Jackal scrambled toward the door.

"No, no, please! Let me out of here!" he begged. But the door was shut in his face and locked. Banged his head on the door, his breaths coming in quicker.

No no no no no NO

He punched and banged at the door, screaming to be let out. Tears streamed from his fear stricken right eye. "DON'T KEAVE ME HERE! I WON'T DO IT AGAIN! I'M BEGGING!" he sobbed loudly. The guards ignored his pleas, shutting the doors to the isolation unit. Jackal could see clearly through the darkness, but he was all alone. Nothing scared him more than the loneliness in that moment.

.

"Let him out of there now!" Tempesta tackled one of the guards, punching the helmet off their head. The guard rammed her forehead into snow haired demon's face. Blood gushed from his nose, but he punched her again.

"Stop it, T!" Lamy ran over to grab his arm mid punch. His knuckle had begun to bleed by then.

"Lightning Spear!" a guard shouted. His baton burst with magic energy as he whacked both their heads. The guard on the floor stood up, spitting blood. She sucked her tongue in an irritable 'tsk!' "I'm sick of these Zeref demons. How much longer are we exacted to hold them?"

"Forever," the lightning magic wielder replied, securing the baton on his belt. Prisoners crowded the hallways to watch the brief confrontation, and they eventually dispersed to go about their days. Two other guards lifted Tempesta and Lamy's unconscious bodies, taking them to the isolation unit as well.

.

Kyôka sat in her cell with Minerva beside her, covering her ears. Minerva still cried softly, even though the physical pain had since worn off.

"You're okay, Minerva. I won't let Jackal hurt you again," she coaxed the ex-human. "You're not injured, are you?"

Minerva shook her head. "N-no... my feelings," she whimpered. "I, I thought I'd get through."

"I know, I understand," the buxom bird said. "I commend you for trying. But for now, we can't force him out of that mindset. He has to come out himself."

Sayla crept back inside, shutting the door. She looked at Kyôka and Minerva somberly.

"He is locked away in isolation again," she said, sitting on her bed. "I'm worried about Jackal. He hates it there."

"Well, he should have thought of that before hurting Minerva," Kyôka grumbled.

"Kyôka, he deserves compassion too! He is not like this because he wants to be!" Sayla argued.

"I don't care, he will learn his lesson about being a jackass to us!"

"Stop it!" Minerva raised her voice. The two female demons went quiet, surprised by the volume of the soft spoken female.

"I'm sorry," Kyôka sighed. "I also worry, I really do..."

"You call him names and scold him," Sayla replied. "Do you dislike Jackal?"

"No, it's not like that! It's just... I don't want the old Jackal to come back," the green haired demon confessed. "I don't want any of us to go backwards. We are no longer demons of Zeref. We are people. It pains me to witness his struggle. It pisses me off."

"Oh, Kyôka..." Sayla looked down. "Jackal—"

"Jackal is," Minerva began, sitting up from Kyôka's embrace. "He is... a good person. He just... he needs help, like me. You know..." She rubbed her belly in a wordless message. The other two nodded.

"We know," Sayla whispered. "You don't have to describe it out loud. We understand."

"Angelic will keep him company," Kyôka smiled a little. "She has to."

"But she's just a girl," Minerva murmured.

"Aged beyond her physical appearance," Sayla added. "She is a woman, I assure you. Jackal, Tempesta, and Lamy will be okay."

"They're isolated too?" Kyôka asked in disbelief.

"Tempesta attacked a guard, and Lamy tried to stop him," Sayla replied. "They were both struck down and taken away."

"No..." Minerva teared up again. "This is awful."

"They'll be okay," Kyôka reassured the ex-human, rubbing the her back. "They'll all be fine in a few days."

.

Last time he was taken there, I sat idly by and observed the experiment. I didn't have the courage to save him because I'm not invincible and strong like you. I'll watch over him. I'll do it differently this time.


I'll be taking a break from Marks of Vice and Jackal's Diary to focus more on finishing Twin Flames. I've also began storyboarding MOV2. I look forward to that. :)

Thanks for keeping up with me!

- ML