Chapter 40 - Underworld
Fairy Tail Guild Hall
Later that afternoon, the guild was still going through all of their research to find the remaining council members. All the while having to mark off the unfortunate souls who were caught by Tartaros first. At the same time, they also attempted to put some research into "Face" and why it could be considered very dangerous.
However, what concerned Makarov the most was the fact that he hasn't been able to reach the younger Strauss siblings or even Mira and Erza. He knew the latter were the strongest females in the guild but he didn't want to take any chances with how sensitive this is.
It was fortunate enough that half of the search teams already returned back to the guild. With Lucy already confirming that she was returning soon with her teammates.
'Any day now, I won't have the heart to handle all of this stress anymore.' Makarov thought as he rubbed his temples.
"Hey, Elfman is back!" someone called out.
Makarov and the rest of the guild turned and saw the younger Strauss boy arriving alone with an anxious face. Naturally, everyone was quick to surround Elfman and ask questions.
"Elfman, what happened?" Makarov asked, expecting the worst.
Elfman took a deep breath and quickly composed his thoughts as he tried to explain himself. Already giving everyone a good impression on how bad things were but not how much worse they were.
"Councilman Yuri, he's… he's dead." Elfman said.
Makarov sighed as did several other guild members but there was still a bigger issue for them.
"And what happened to Lisanna?" Juvia asked.
Again, Elfman could barely forumate the words to explain himself. With him struggling to hide his fear and anxiety regarding his sister's face.
"Lis, she's… she's been captured. By Tartaros of all people." Elfman said, trying to stay strong.
Everyone gasped and looked more shocked hearing this. Given Laxus and his own team nearly dying because of those dark mages. It only infuriated most of the present heavy hitters who were here to hear the bad news. All but one of them didn't seem too concerned with Elfman's wellbeing in this regard.
"And you just let them leave with her? You let them take your little sister?" Cana asked, sounding disappointed in him.
Elfman winced, "They were too powerful and there was nothing I could do." he said.
"That's not an excuse, Elfman! She's your sister and you just gave up on her. What kind of man are you?" Cana asked, not accepting the excuse.
"Cana, let up on him." Gray said, trying to calm her down.
"No! He needs to hear it!" Cana argued. "Elfman abandoned his little sister and he's making all these excuses!" she added.
"Cana, you weren't there." Gray argued back, losing his temper.
"Well if I was, I wouldn't have–"
"Cana, shut up!" Ventus yelled.
Cana glared at him, "I was just–"
"You're just blaming Elfman when he probably fought with his life and here you are criticizing him!" Ventus interrupted. "Look at you, when you came to my sister for help during the S Class trials." he said.
"That was different!" Cana exclaimed.
"No it wasn't! You were so stressed out that you didn't tell Gildarts that you're his daughter and needed to be S Class really badly to do it! So when he still accepted you when you confronted him, you acted like he was the most annoying person in the world!" Ventus ranted.
Now the guild was starting to get a bit silent because of the tension. No one seemed to notice where Elfman was going.
Some think Elfman needed to rest or get his thoughts together before a rescue mission to be planned. Others were too distracted with the argument to notice he was going downstairs into the basement. All the while, Elfman could hear both Gray and Ventus standing up for him.
'It doesn't matter now. This guild has to go. I'm sorry everyone. I'm sorry Lisanna.' Elfman thought as his eyes watered.
"...and you even destroyed the card he gave you!" Ventus yelled.
"And it wouldn't matter now. The old man is probably on the other side of the world." Cana said.
She didn't want to be reminded that Gildarts gave her a custom magic card. One that would make Gildarts drop whatever he's doing and make his way back to wherever Cana was should she be in danger. Which was no longer useful as Cana destroyed it because she started getting annoyed of Gildarts smothering her.
"The kid has a point. Gildarts isn't fast, but we could literally use every heavy hitter we have right now." Gray added, also tired of Cana being the one to complain.
Before Cana could defend herself, a loud gunshot was heard. Causing everyone to turn their attention onto Vincent who fired his gun into the air. Only to see him point at Makarov who was standing on top of a table.
"Thank you Vincent." Makarov said.
Vincent nodded and holstered his gun, allowing Makarov to clear his voice and speak.
"Everyone, I know you are all stressed but we have one enemy. An enemy that would want nothing more to destroy us and the very balance of the world we live in. We have to remember that we are family and we cannot stop and fight each other regardless of who's in the wrong." Makarov explained, giving a serious look to Cana and Ventus.
Cana let out a sigh and decided to keep her opinions to herself. While Ventus decided to walk away and cool off. The latter thought he was too harsh by bringing up the thing with Gildarts.
But given his own situation with his psychotic older brother on the loose somewhere and his sister helping modern day wizards with new dangers. The boy would rather not hear some girl he thought of as a friend tear into another friend as if she had the right to complain.
With Natsu and Lucy
After a brief thought, Natsu suddenly seemed paranoid to Lucy as he had a wild idea. During the last conversation with Makarov regarding Face, Natsu overheard the old man mentioning that they located Crawford who was the former chairman and that Erza and Mirajane were locating him.
For some reason, Natsu had a bad feeling and changed the course of their direction. With Natsu giving a vague explanation about why he feels like they need to locate them.
"Natsu, I know things look bad but I think Erza and Mira have this handled." Lucy said.
"That's the thing, Luce. They might be in danger." Natsu said as he made Happy speed up.
"Natsu, I know you're concerned but the girls are tough on their own." Lucy said but couldn't say anything else.
Lucy didn't want to sound uncaring or lazy in any way. She understands the situation like everyone else, especially with how tough Jackal was despite being arrogant and impatient. However, they couldn't be sure if the girls were unable to handle any of Tartaros' forces.
Sure, Lucy would want to help her friends if they were in danger but what would they gain if nothing happened or if the girls are already too late?
Just as they arrived, they found Crawford's home reduced to rubble. However, they could not find any sign of life or any bodies. All that was left was a lot of damage and signs of a battle due to signs of weapons being used on some nearby trees and parts of the damaged wall.
"See? Look, I was right." Natsu said.
"And who's to say that the ladies were too late and managed to find the assassins in question?" Charle asked.
"Charle does have a good point, Natsu." Happy said.
"You're just agreeing with her, because you like her." Natsu said as he began sniffing around.
"No! Not just that!" Happy argued.
"Charle might be right." Wendy spoke up. "The attacker might have destructive powers like Jackal." She pointed out.
Natsu ignored the arguments and continued sniffing around. Forcing Happy and the girls to survey the scene anyways.
Lucy could only find more damage and residue of magic. Nothing that stands out but just that it was used around here. She was tempted to summon Sherlock Holmes and see if he could find something she failed to notice.
But then Natsu spoke up and found some valid evidence to work on.
"There's a nasty odor here. Like a poison or something." Natsu said, pointing at a shattered table.
"Did someone drink some bad tea?" Happy asked, noticing the damaged tea set.
Wendy bent down and picked up a broken cup with some tea inside. She carefully sniffed it and instantly recoiled and put it down.
"I think some sort of substance was in it. Like some really nasty sleep medicine or something." she said.
"Hey now, there are no bodies." Charle pointed out.
Lucy scanned the wreckage and looked around, finding no bodies like Charle said. If Erza and Mira were too late, Lucy would have expected to see a body or some sign of life. Although she started thinking that Natsu's theory might have some validity.
"We should check in with Master Makarov just in case. We shouldn't go on a wild goose chase in the event that Mira and Erza left with the chairman." Lucy said but was ignored by Natsu again.
The Dragon Slayer decided to be reckless and go without a proper plan. Lucy was willing to accept his commitment at this point but she didn't want a repeat of the Oracion Seis when they ambushed the group.
"I have their scents! I can find them!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Then we should regroup first." Wendy suggested.
"I'll lose the scent by then! Let's go Happy!" Natsu commanded.
"Aye sir!" Happy replied.
The two then took off in the direction of Erza and Mira's scent. Leaving the girls behind to shake their heads at Natsu's inability to slow down and plan things. Leaving Lucy to summon one of the Valkyries from the Lancer class and ordering them to follow Natsu.
"Try not to lose him. In the worst case scenario, try to return to the guild." Lucy told the Valkyrie who nodded.
The Valkyrie then flew into the air and followed close behind Natsu and Happy.
"At the very least, we can hope the tomcat and Natsu can at least weaken their initial defenses." Charle said, knowing Natsu would cause some damage first.
"And Happy has a class card. He could lend a hand or try and retreat." Wendy said, having faith in her fellow Dragon Slayer.
Lucy just sighed, "Let's just head back and report what we found. Let's hope everyone is ready for an emergency rescue mission." she said as she extended her wings.
Charle and Wendy nodded before flying into the air beside Lucy. Both considered the idea as to what if their own guild members were captured. They both shook their heads at the thought, trying not to distract themselves with the worst case scenario.
'Tomcat, you better return. I know you are smarter than your pseudo brother.' Charle thought as she looked over her shoulder.
At the guild
Elfman's anxiety and fears were reaching a high level as he pulled out a glowing purple orb filled with an enormous amount of energy. As he tried to calm himself down, he could only think about what led to this.
A woman claiming to be a demon named Seilah forcefully controlled Elfman's body. Using some type of technique that allowed her to control people weaker than her into doing her bidding. Seilah did this and forced Elfman to choke Lisanna and threatened to have him kill her unless she obeyed her whim.
Being an older brother, Elfman tried to fight for his sister. Using every bit of willpower to fight Seilah's control but it was pointless. Seilah controlled him like a puppet and if he refused to obey her next command, she would make him kill Lisanna then likely kill him herself.
'I have to do this. Fairy Tail has to die so my sister can live. I'm sorry!' Elfman thought with tears in his eyes.
Fortunately for the guild, Elfman was not alone as a couple of servants came down with Ilya.
"What are we doing here, child?" Atalanta asked as she followed Illya.
"There's something dark and heavy. Like a lot of magic tied into a water balloon." Illya said.
Before either servant could question it. They spotted Elfman looking like a mess and holding the orb.
"I'm sorry, Elfman. I see you… what is that device?" Atalanta asked warily.
Elfman began to shake in fear, prompting the other servant, Leonardo, to step in.
"Elfman, why are you carrying a device filled with an unstable amount of power?" She asked, noticing it looked like it was about to combust.
"I'm sorry." Elfman said weakly.
Before Leonardo could respond, Elfman punched her in the gut then tackled Atalanta onto the floor. Forcing the Archer to begin punching and kicking him to pry him off.
"I'm sorry! But I have to destroy the guild!" Elfman yelled.
"What!? What is the matter with you!?" Atalanta asked before punching him again.
"I have to save my sister!" Elfman said as he lost his grip.
Leonardo slowly recovered and watched as Illya studied the device. Which didn't go noticed by Elfman who tried to charge at the girl. Only for Atalanta to climb onto his back and pull him into a headlock to steer him away.
"What is that thing!?" Atalanta asked.
"In short, it's a bomb." Leonardo said, making the Archer panic.
"I think it's going to pop any minute now." Illya said with a frown.
Leonardo shook her head as she pulled out a book. Trying to think of ways to disable it or maybe let it go off without damaging anything. Whereas Illya started using her own magic and tried to form a barrier with multiple layers to try and contain it.
Soon enough, Leonardo pulled out her glasses and started tinkering with some tools to further reduce the potential damage. All the while Elfman was randomly crying about needing to destroy Fairy Tail while also apologizing at the same time. Which only confused the girls and made them wonder if Elfman was sick in the head.
But then a thought came to Illya's mind.
"Wait, did someone from Tartaros force Elfman to hurt us?" she asked, sounding innocent and confused.
Leonardo shrugged, "Possibly, I doubt he crafted this bomb on his own." she answered.
After a few more minutes, Leonardo placed some mechanical restraints around Illya's barrier. She then picked up Illya and ran out of the basement.
"Everyone, we need to evacuate the guild hall!" Leonardo yelled.
"What happened?" Gray asked.
"There's a bomb!" Illya exclaimed.
"Bomb!? Who put a bomb in here!?" Gajeel asked.
"No time for questions! Run!" Leonardo commanded.
"You heard the man/lady! Everyone get out and take cover!" Makarov ordered.
As everyone scrambled to escape the guild. Elfman was the last to leave while in beast form as Atalanta repeatedly hit him on the head with her bow. All the while the former was still ranting and shouting apologies and other things.
"What is going on with Elfman?" Levy asked.
"It's Tartaros. They didn't just kidnap Lisanna. They must have blackmailed him into trying to blow us." Illya said.
"The idiot brought a bomb here!?" Cana asked.
"Why did he do that!?" Gajeel asked.
Everyone was about to get into a shouting match when the whole road shook. With the guild breaking apart in some areas and smoke coming out. After a couple of minutes, a couple of servants peaked inside and looked at the damage.
"The guild is still fine. Albeit a chunk of the floor is messed up." Achilles noted.
"And hopefully it didn't wake up Tiamat." Elizabeth said, sounding scared.
If Tiamat was awakened, Tartaros was the least of their problems. A primordial goddess and her army of infant dragons were going to cause an apocalypse if they were disturbed. It might have been worse if the bomb was contained and the whole guild was destroyed.
"Elfman, why did you bring a bomb here!?" Max asked.
By this point, Elfman collapsed and started crying incoherently about Lisanna and hating what he had to do.
"I couldn't save my sister. I'm not a man. I'm a loser and traitor." Elfman said as he began sobbing.
Before anyone could yell at him or defend his actions. Lucy had arrived with Wendy and Charle by her side.
"Everyone! What happened?" Lucy asked.
"Elfman almost blew up the guild is what happened!" Gajeel yelled.
"But you heard Illya, they forced him to do it." Levy said, trying to defend Elfman.
"Then he should have fought harder!" Cana argued.
"The guy already lost his sister once. You think he could just overpower whoever he fought?" Wakaba asked.
"I don't know, Wakaba. I feel bad for Elfman, but he could have tried something to stop himself." Macao said, finding himself stuck in the middle.
Just as everyone began to argue, Lucy began to feel annoyed. However, instead of letting her darker half come out and threaten everyone. Lucy decided to use someone that would demand respect over fear.
The Holy Maiden stomped on the ground and summoned Artoria in her lancer form and the woman's presence was immediately recognized.
"Enough! Cease this meaningless argument! None of you are each other's enemies!" Artoria exclaimed.
Everyone quieted it down and looked at the King of Knights whose authority forced them to listen.
"You have all fought together, lived together through the worst and best days. None of you are each other's enemies. Yet you are all choosing to squabble about what happened, blaming a victim who is as hurt as all of you rather than turn your anger onto your enemy." Artoria explained, making everyone reflect.
Artoria reminded them that regardless of Elfman's actions.
"Tartaros will not wait around for a resolution. They will pounce on everyone like a predator seeking its dinner. If the explosion did not destroy you, your internal fighting will. You are not just friends and associates but family, brothers in arms who fight for your home. Today is no different than any other day." Artoria continued.
As Artoria spoke, Lucy suddenly noticed a giant rock in the sky with a castle on top. The menacing structure slowly made its way towards Magnolia Town and began to shadow the beach as it came closer.
"My one and only request from all of you is to set aside your pride and prejudices and come together yet again. To fight in the name of the guild formed by Mavis Vermillion and uphold the beliefs she and your predecessors established. To come together and stand against the so-called demons who want to destroy everything you cherish." Artoria said, finishing her speech.
With newfound vigor, everyone dropped their anger towards one another and put aside any fear they had. Deciding that their fighting was pointless and if anyone deserved to be hurt. It should be the people who almost destroyed their home.
"Let's get those bastards!" Wakaba yelled.
"Yeah, and get Lisanna back!" Levy yelled.
"I'm pounding in the faces of every jerk that tried to hit my turf!" Gajeel yelled.
Everyone began to cheer and hype themselves up. Not even caring as they saw the giant structure. Instead, feeling motivated to invade Tartaros and give them a taste of their own medicine by invading their home.
At the same time, Artoria walked through the crowd and offered a hand to Elfman. Where she looked down at the depressed man who had reached his breaking point. Instead of letting Elfman cry and suffer, the King of Knights extended her hand.
"Let's go, Elfman." She said.
"But Lisanna and the guild." Elfman said, sniffling.
Artoria gave him a comforting smile, "They both need you. You can either cry and give up and break your own values. Or you can stand and fight and demand retribution." she said.
Elfman wiped his face and forced himself to stop crying.
"You're right. A real man fights for his sisters. I'm going to get back at those jerks for taking my sister and trying to make me destroy my own home." Elfman said, taking her hand and standing up.
Lucy also didn't want to let Tartaros off easy and against her better judgment. She decided to summon Kiara, deciding to let her run free rather than just to distract a man.
"Ara, ara, who do you wish for me to seduce this time?" Kiara asked, looking interested.
"It's not that kind of job, Kiara. I'm giving you free reign." Lucy said, confusing Kiara as she pointed at the flying rock. "Everyone in that structure tried to destroy my home as an act of spite." She said.
Despite being a writer herself, Lucy wasn't sure if spite was the correct term. However, seeing as it was a negative intention, Kiara thought the demons of Tartaros needed to feel her strange form of love.
"I see, I will try to end this conflict." Kiara said, suddenly looking excited.
After everyone was ready, several of the Riders started summoning their mounts and started carrying everyone up to the rock. At the same time, several of the pirate servants started summoning ships and cannons to open fire on the rock.
"Show them what happens when you mess with Fairy Tail!" Makarov yelled as everyone else roared in agreement.
"Hopefully Natsu did get some damage done." Wendy said as Charle carried her up to the rock.
In Tartaros
Among many of the oddly shaped demons in Tartaros, there was Franmalth who was looking at a screen showing Fairy Tail. Which was meant to be destroyed and the fact that he could detect the bomb going off with no casualties really disturbed him. Especially as the screen showed possibly over a hundred blips approaching their headquarters.
"GAH! Seilah, your plan failed! How did it fail!?" Franmalth asked.
Seilah stared at the screen looking confused. She remembered Elfman had no strength to overpower her control over him. Her first thought was that Elfman screwed up somehow but Franmalth was ranting that the bomb reached the guild but it was clearly still standing.
"Do you even have an excuse!? Because I see those stupid wizards making their way here and somehow they multiplied!" Franmalth continued to rant.
Seilah frowned as pushed him aside.
"Then we will deal with them." She said simply.
Franmalth couldn't utter a response as his concern and frustration was built up. He was freaking out so much that he stomped around and ended up tripping over the body of Crawford.
The treacherous councilman lies dead after giving them the keys needed to activate Face. As well as being denied the bribes he was offered in exchange for giving them the super weapon. Clearly, no deed goes unpunished and Kyoka was the one to deliver the punishment.
"And we will. Although now it seems that I won't have time to finish playing with my prisoner." Kyoka said.
The woman spent the past couple of hours trying to torture Erza for information. Her arrogance left her unaware of how much anger she built in Fairy Tail's strongest woman. Like Seilah, Kyoka would also end up meeting a demon who makes them pale in comparison.
"Is Jellal Fernandez even a real person? Our inability to find him only adds to my frustration." Franmalth asked.
"We will worry about him later. He is not our concern at the moment." Kyoka said before leaving with Seilah.
Just as Franmalth was about to say something else. He lost his footing as the whole building shook from the cannon fire.
"Did they receive reinforcements? What are these humans hiding?" Franmalth asked, noticing larger blips on his map.
In the prison
After being taken prisoner, Lisanna was sitting on her knees in a prison cell by herself. When suddenly, Natsu was thrown into the cell missing his shirt and shoes. Upon arrival, Natsu was quick to kick the cell door and threaten the guards.
"Let me out of here you jerks! Give me back my scarf while you're at it!" Natsu yelled.
"Natsu!" Lisanna called out.
"Eh? Lisanna? What are you doing here?" Natsu asked, confused by Lisanna's presence.
"I was captured by some woman named Seilah. She possessed Elfman and threatened to make him kill me unless he obeyed her." Lisanna explained.
Natsu raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? Well that means I got a bigger list of jerks to beat up. Along with this one other guy." He said, referring to a man who reminded Natsu of Gray.
Lisanna blinked in confusion but shook her head. She knew Natsu would seek vengeance and hurt whoever defeated Natsu later. Her first concern was escaping and hopefully returning to Fairy Tail.
However, her thoughts were interrupted by the whole building shaking. Causing Lisanna to hit a wall with Natsu's face landing in her lap.
"Natsu, now is a bad time to do that. Also, I don't want to be a target of Evil Lucy's rage." Lisanna said.
While Lisanna had gotten over her crush on Natsu and respected the idea of him being with another woman. The youngest Strauss really didn't want to be the target of Lucy's darker half.
"Your legs are super soft, Lis." Natsu commented.
"Natsu, get off!" She yelled.
Lisanna's fear of a murderous yandere with dark magical powers only increased. Lisanna also had no doubt that even without servants, Dark Lucy could defeat a very pissed off Mirajane regardless of which form she uses.
"Fine! I'm getting up already!" Natsu said.
Suddenly, a noise was heard by the cell and Natsu's scarf appeared along with a scimitar. The former interesting Natsu the most rather than a weapon.
"My scarf! Thanks whoever did that! Now, I just need to… hey! I can't break free!" he exclaimed.
"Natsu, the handcuffs are nullifying our magic. They also appear too tough to break with just brute strength." Lisanna said as Natsu continued to struggle.
"Then I guess that's where the sword comes in." he said before bending down to pick it up.
The two then awkwardly tried to break off their bonds before escaping the cells. Not without occasionally falling due to the entire structure shaking at random intervals.
"What is that!?" Natsu asked.
"I don't know, it started just before you arrived." Lisanna answered as they ran.
Outside
Frances Drake was using her noble phantasm, Wild Hunt, to repeatedly assault Tartaros' headquarters. Leaving little room for the soldiers of the dark guild to fight back.
"I'm no sea woman but I'm not complaining about this mighty fine ship." Bisca said as she held onto the rail.
Drake smiled, "The downside to this is there's nothing worth stealing from these kinds of people." she said.
"We gotta make them walk the plank!" Asuka said from behind Frances.
The pirate snickered as she gently patted the young girl's head. All the while Alzack was trying to get a steady shot from his position.
"Al, can you even hit anything? The cannons are doing all the work." Bisca said.
"Just keeping an eye out for stragglers." Alzack replied.
Then suddenly, Max, Warren and a few others came out of the sip dressed like pirates with swords and flintlocks,
"To battle, me maties!" Warren exclaimed.
"Pirates don't really talk like that." Drake said as she saw the group jump ship and join their fellow guild members.
"Can I do something?" Asuka asked innocently.
Alzack sweat dropped, "Asuka-Chan, I think you should…"
Drake picked up Asuka and brought her to a cannon before handing her a match.
"Here, I'll let you fire one of the cannons." she said, making the girl gasp with excitement.
Bisca quickly stepped in, "Woah! I rather no let my daughter—"
"Kaboom!" Asuka exclaimed as the cannon fired.
Everyone winced before hearing a loud lizard screech. Where they turned to see that Asuka hit a mini dragon being ridden by a Tartaros soldier.
"Welcome to the crew, Asuka." Drake said as Asuka clapped with glee.
With Happy
Given how quickly the situation turned badly, Happy was forced to retreat and leave Natsu behind. Only being able to escape because he was hiding while Natsu was defeated by a man who used the same ice magic that was used in the village of the giants. Unfortunately, the Valkyrie was defeated by the same individual but gave Happy time to run.
'Oh man, I feel pathetic, but it doesn't matter. I gotta tell everyone else.' Happy thought.
Luckily for Happy, Fairy Tail already began their invasion on Tartaros. However, it also caused the soldiers of Tartaros to come out and try to counter the attack.
"Yikes, I guess I can't run forever." Happy said before using Gareth's class card again.
Happy was soon surrounded by about a dozen or so soldiers. Which he was quick to plow through, but not without some resistance.
"I guess a bigger grunt is still a grunt." Happy said as he panted.
"Happy!" Several voices shouted.
Happy turned and saw Lucy and the others running towards him.
"Guys! You're here!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, it's pretty hard to ignore the giant floating rock in the sky." Gray said.
"But that's not all. Tartaros tried to blow up the guild." Wendy said, surprising Happy.
"Really!? These guys are insane! Natsu just got captured a while ago and I was trying to leave and tell you guys." Happy replied.
"Ash Brain got caught? How did he screw up that badly?" Gray asked, sounding annoyed.
"He…" Happy stopped mid sentence.
His mind went back to seeing a man who had the same name as Gray and used ice magic too. Although he looked shaggy and too relaxed, like a deadbeat parent who thinks he's found happiness with the bare minimum with his life. It was a weird analogy but it made sense in Happy's head for some reason.
"He what?" Gray asked, waiting for an answer.
"It doesn't matter! We have multiple hostages to rescue!" Lucy interrupted.
"Aye! Since everyone is here, we can do a counterattack or something." Happy said.
"That's exactly the plan!" Lucy said.
"Things really take a drastic turn when Lucy happily agrees with violence." Juvia whispered to Gray.
Before Gray responded, Iskander came rolling in with his chariot and ran over multiple Tartaros soldiers.
"My friends, today is another day of war!" He exclaimed.
"I guess, are you going to give us a lift to that building?" Gray asked, pointing at the main building.
"I could, but the vanguard may slow us down." Iskander answered
"They won't be an issue." Lucy said, using her power to strengthen Iskander with a command seal.
Iskander chuckled as he felt his strength increase dramatically. Allowing for him to plow through more soldiers. Which began to clear the way for the guild wizards.
"Well that makes things a bit easier." Gray said.
"Everyone, stick out your hands. I'm going to assign a servant to each of you. We're going to end up breaking off into groups but strength in numbers." Lucy said.
"Right!" everyone said.
Everyone minus the Exceeds, Illya, Miyu and Shirou extended their hands. Allowing Lucy to create the command seals and form their contracts with different servants.
"Wherever I go, Shirou must go too." Miyu suddenly said.
"Eh!?" Shirou asked.
"No! He comes with me!" Illya argued as she grabbed Shirou's arm.
Miyu grabbed Shirou's other arm and tugged him in her direction. Which forced the two girls to tug on the poor boy while Lucy was busy.
"He's safer with me." Miyu said.
"No, he needs his big sister!" Illya argued.
"Girls, share and be reasonable." Juvia spoke up.
The two girls glared daggers at each other while Shirou whimpered. He would rather face the demons of Tartaros than two girls who are territorial with him.
With Lisanna
Unaware of the rescue and counterattack going on, Lisanna and Natsu were fighting their way through hordes of Tartaros soldiers that seemed to be piling up.
"There's so many of them! How are we going to get out?" Lisanna asked before kicking another soldier in the face.
"We keep fighting, that's how! Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu shouted, hitting another soldier with enough impact to send a dozen soldiers flying.
As they continued to fight, Natsu started picking up on a familiar scent.
"What the? Is that Erza?" he suddenly asked.
"Erza? What are you talking–"
Lisanna was instantly cut off by a wall exploding, hitting the remaining soldiers in the area. She raised up her arms to cover her eyes from the resulting smoke of the explosion. Only to see Erza carrying a dead octopus or squid over her shoulder while dragging Kyoka by the neck with one arm.
"Erza!" Natsu and Lisanna exclaimed.
"Natsu? I heard about Lisanna being captured but you as well?" Erza asked, mildly surprised.
"I don't wanna talk about it." Natsu said, making Erza sigh.
"Wait, did you get captured too?" Lisanna asked.
"Unfortunately, I did and so was Mirajane." Erza said, making Lisanna gasp.
Erza then tossed Kyoka against the ground, making the Etherious wince as she struggled in the chains she was now wearing. They were originally built to restrain normal wizards but now she was having a hard time trying to move around in them.
"Who's the harpy lady?" Natsu asked.
"A sadist who got too full of herself." Erza said.
Having been tortured for hours at the hands of Kyoka and her tentacled subordinate. Erza was anything but kind and patient right now. Now that Kyoka had less leverage, Erza thought it was an appropriate time to hurt Kyoka in return for some information.
Erza then stopped on Kyoka's chest and pointed a sword at her throat.
"Where is Mirajane? Where are you holding her?" Erza asked.
Kyoka scoffed, "No doubt she will become Lamy's next science experiment." she said before gritting her teeth in pain.
Erza applied more pressure into her foot, "You will tell us where you're holding her." she said.
"The lab, where we keep other test subjects. I doubt she will be the same." Kyoka said, fighting back the discomfort Erza is causing.
"Tell us where the lab is before I cook you like a turkey!" Natsu threatened.
"It should be hard to miss once you go up those stairs and follow the longest hallway." Kyoka said with a smirk.
Erza instantly believed Kyoka was lying but couldn't press her for more information once her cuffs were broken. Kyoka freed herself using her curses and immediately tackled Erza through a wall.
"Erza!" Lisanna shouted.
"Damn it! Lisanna, we gotta get to your sister before it's too late!" Natsu exclaimed.
Lisanna didn't hesitate and nodded as she went in the direction that Kyoka mentioned. Natsu followed her only to stop at the bottom of the stairs as he picked up another scent.
"Natsu?" Lisanna asked.
"Just go, I smell someone else is here." Natsu said.
"But–"
"Go Lisanna!" Natsu ordered.
Lisanna nodded and continued the race to find her sister. Luckily for everyone, while Kyoka's statement regarding Mira's fate is true. She was actually not in any significant danger due to Kyoka and Lamy's lack of information regarding Mirajane's biology.
As for Natsu, he raised up the Heat Blade that was left for him to use to break free. When he felt a cold presence, like death was trying to caress him as the world felt like it had frozen in place.
"We meet again, Natsu." said a familiar voice.
Natsu snarled as he turned around and raised his Heat Blade at the source. A familiar man with black hair and an aura shrouded in death stood before him. Before Natsu could consider attacking him right away, the blade in his hands instantly decayed and fell apart.
"What the…?"
"I am not here to fight you Natsu. I am here to tell you about the leader of this guild." he said.
Natsu glared, "And why do I need to know anything from someone like you, Zeref?" he asked.
Zeref didn't show any reaction to Natsu's clear disdain of him. Only continuing to look calm and composed as he explained himself.
"Because the leader of Tartaros is my strongest creation from the Book of E.N.D. itself." Zeref said, shocking Natsu.
In the lab
Shortly before Lisanna reached the lab, Lamy was laughing like a maniac as she looked at Mira floating unconsciously in one of her tubes. Fairy Tail's beautiful demon was floating naked as several black tendrils started to attach themselves to her body. Ready to mutate her into a terrifying beast and destroy her beauty much to Lamy's pleasure.
"That's right, you won't look beautiful anymore once I'm done." Lamy said, continuing to laugh.
However, whether it was from resting for too long or because Lamy's laugh would give any sane person a severe migraine. Mirajane woke up and startled Lamy by giving her a scary look. One that promised that the bunny eared girl would earn a punch to the face.
"Eh!?"
The glass shattered and Mirajane came out looking perfectly fine as she suddenly got her clothes back.
"Impossible! How are you not even a bit mutated!? I put so much demonic energy into you!" Lamy exclaimed.
"I already have lots of demonic energy." Mirajane said with a smirk.
Lamy was shocked by the revelation and didn't have the time to comprehend this because Mirajane decided to disfigure Lamy by breaking her nose.
"AHHHH!" Lamy screamed as she crashed into the other side of the lab.
It was really ironic that Lamy was dedicated to disfiguring Mira because she was a pretty human. Because Mirajane found Lamy annoying and was willing to disfigure her by beating her to a bloody pulp. What prevented this was the fact that Lisanna had finally arrived and eagerly called out to her older sister.
"Sis!" Lisanna called out.
"Lisanna! What are you doing here!?" Mirajane asked.
"It's a long story, but there's no time to explain. Natsu and Erza are here too so we need to get out." Lisanna said.
Mirajane nodded and was about to follow her sister out but felt the hairs of the back of her neck stand up. She suddenly felt like her personal space was being violated and it made her sick.
"Mmm, you're not the people I'm looking for." said the voice of Kiara.
Mirajane instantly shivered as she remembered their experience on Tenrou Island. She could only hope that Kiara's confusion would lead her to going after someone else.
'Did Lucy let her run loose again?' Mira wondered.
Before Kiara could say anything else. Another presence was established in the form of Seilah.
"It's her!" Lisanna shouted, confusing Mira.
"Who?" Mira asked.
"She killed one of the councilmen then captured me and Elfman." Lisanna answered.
Seilah scoffed, "Your brother is not captured but he will not be free for long. He embarrassed me in front of Kyoka and for that. Your entire family will pay in blood." she said.
Mirajane quickly ran to her sister's side to shield her. All the while Kiara was still confused and wondering if this drama was related to the guild.
"I will start by killing his sisters and whoever else he associates with." Seilah said.
"Be careful! She has the power to control people!" Lisanna warned, prompting Mirajane to get defensive.
As for Kiara, she started walking closer to Seilah and given that she was still dressed like a nun. Seilah assumed Kiara to be a weakling in ironic attire. So she began to focus on Kiara who started to feel a foreign sensation.
"Oh no! She's got control of Lucy's servant!" Lisanna cried out in fear.
Lisanna instantly started to feel terrified of the prospect of a literal sex demon obeying Seilah and terrorizing the guild. Not only by killing them but by doing disgusting sexual acts to them as well. However, she didn't notice Mira looking more confident and less afraid of Kiara.
"What's this!? Why can't you obey me!?" Seilah asked, losing her composure.
Kiara just tilted her head, "Dear, you haven't sold yourself. You come off as too strong." she said.
Seilah glared and tried harder to dominate Kiara's will but the woman just sighed. For Seilah, she felt like she was attempting to lift a giant stack of gold bars with her bare hands. Leaving Kiara feeling less satisfied with every moment spent trying to control her.
"It seems that I have to be the one to teach you." Kiara said, approaching Seilah and gripping her by the cheeks.
Seilah glared and quickly used her curses to summon books that immediately began to attack Kiara. Only for the sexual deviant to summon ethereal arms from the floor that blocked the books and prevented them from hitting her.
"Now, now, there's no need for violence. There's also no need for restraints when it comes to love." Kiara said, her face contorting into a scary grin.
Seilah tried to pry Kiara's hands off of her cheeks as she continued to barrage Kiara. Only to witness the woman transform into her secondary attire.
"Lisanna, now is a good time to leave." Mirajane whispered as they began to sneak away.
Leaving Seilah to struggle in Kiara's grip as she was then restrained by a giant ethereal hand. While Seilah did have more up her sleeve, she couldn't help but feel a heavy dark presence within Kiara. Something that would outweigh even Mard Geer's cold presence.
With Lucy and Wendy
After splitting up from Juvia and Gray. Lucy and Wendy were exploring the castle in an attempt to look for Natsu and Lisanna. Luckily for them, they found the former who came running down a hallway.
"Natsu!" The girls and Exceeds cried out in surprise.
"Eh? What are you guys doing here?" Natsu asked as he started sliding across the ground.
Before anyone answered, Natsu continued to slide across the ground. Only coming to a stop when Lucy formed a wall with her magic, causing Natsu to crash into it.
"Ouch! Lucy, couldn't you have made a wall of feathers or something soft!?" Natsu angrily asked.
Lucy sighed and allowed a bit of her darker half to come out. Where she proceeded to raise her hand to slap Natsu across the face. Sending him crashing back into the wall again.
"Don't you dare raise your voice at me! You're the one that went off on your own and got captured!" Lucy argued.
"I broke out, didn't I!?" Natsu countered.
Natsu then got slapped again, causing Happy to sigh and shake his head.
"That's Natsu, he doesn't listen to his future wife. So immature." Happy mocked.
"I don't see you discouraging him." Charle said, making Happy look sad.
"Guys, we don't have time for this. We have to save Lisanna and stop Tartaros." Wendy said, stopping the reign of slaps directed at Natsu.
"Oh, don't worry. Lisanna and I were in the same cell. We busted out and split up after Erza showed up." Natsu replied.
"And where's Erza now?" Lucy asked.
"She interrogated this lady with literal chicken legs to tell us where Mira is. Then the bird lady told us where she was and then surprised Erza by tackling her into another room." Natsu explained.
"So why did you split up with Lisanna?" Happy asked.
"Well that was because…"
Natsu paused as he found himself about to mention Zeref who suddenly appeared. He wasn't sure if it was a good time to bring up the dark mage and how the leader of the guild was supposedly an etherious named E.N.D. who's the strongest demon ever made.
"Because of what?" Wendy asked.
"Because… a big wave of soldiers came. There's like a million of them here and I had to hold them off while Lisanna went to find Mira." Natsu lied.
Lucy and the others didn't catch the lie and saw it as a reasonable explanation. They could only assume Natsu probably got further separated since there are a lot of soldiers in the castle.
"Then I guess we better keep a look out for literally anyone." Lucy said.
"Aye, we should also take those Tartaros guys out together too. They're probably the toughest guys we ever faced." Happy said.
With that in mind, the group made their way through the many halls of the castle. Only stopping when they found Crawford's body and the control room.
"He's dead." Lucy said, checking the body.
"You don't need to tell me twice. Gross." Natsu said, picking up the scent of a dead man.
"I'm going to be sick." Wendy said as she covered her mouth.
"Wait, why is he here? Did they capture him too?" Lucy asked.
"No way! This guy is a traitor! Right before I ran, this guy was promised lots of money to give them the key to Face!" Happy exclaimed.
Everyone looked shocked, including Natsu who wasn't conscious at the time to know about Crawford's corruption. Then again, he vaguely remembered the old man when he first attacked the castle upon arrival.
"Happy, surely you misinterpreted some information." Charle said, looking shocked.
Happy shook his head, "No, this guy is a coward and probably did something to let Erza and Mira get captured. He cares more about money and himself than the whole country." he said.
Lucy could pick up that Happy wasn't lying or just being unreasonable. Not that there was any time to confirm this and Crawford wasn't going to face any punishment in his state.
"Either way, they probably got the keys needed for Face from him." Lucy said.
"Then that means we gotta find it and smash it." Natsu said.
"Or just turn it off. Is that option available?" Charle asked.
Charle was expecting the super weapon to be something big that wasn't going to be destroyed with just brute force. Hence the reason she would prefer a technical way without wasting energy.
"Let's see if we can stop it from here." Lucy said as she tried to break into their system.
"We better find its location too just in case." Happy said.
"Yeah, we still might have to smash it." Natsu said.
"You just want to smash something." Charle said with a sigh.
"That's just Natsu. He and Lucy just cover all grounds together." Wendy said.
"Because they are in love." Happy said. "They're almost a good pair like me and Charle."
"We are not a couple!" Charle exclaimed.
All manner of banter ended once Lucy found what looked like the system for Face. Along with a giant timer appearing in the middle of the screen. That alone already gave everyone a sense of dread about what was going on.
"No, it can't be active now. Can it?" Wendy asked, her face turning pale.
"Lucy, you can deactivate it. Can't you?" Charle asked.
"I don't know if I can. Maybe Archimedes or someone else can crack it." Lucy answered.
Before she attempted something, Franmalty entered the room.
"No, no, no, you cannot have broken in here! Not when we're very low on time!" Franmalth yelled.
"Ah! Cyclops!" Wendy screamed.
"I'm not a cyclops! I'm one of the nine demon gates, Franmalth!" Franmalth announced.
Natsu ignored him and generated a bow made of fire before shooting at him. Not even caring if he interrupted an anecdote or some villain speech.
"Hey! You're going to take my head off!" The Etherious yelled as he tried to dodge.
"You're the creep I met when I arrived!" Natsu yelled.
Franmalth eventually got hit in the leg and shoulder and began hopping around in pain.
"No more horseplay! Open! Gate of the Gol… Black Bull?" Lucy asked.
At the last second, Lucy realized she grabbed a black key. Not her usual gold zodiac keys and summoned Taurus' eclipse form.
"Ugh, how disgusting. The room is so bright and just shows me the mildew and mold. The stench is barely bearable. Where are we? The sewers?" Eclipse Taurus asked.
"Lucy, what's he doing here? I thought all the eclipse spirits reverted back to normal." Wendy asked.
Lucy's mind went blank before she quickly found herself thinking back to around the time the Celestial Spirit King reverted back to normal.
Flashback, after the battle
Just after everyone returned from the celestial spirit realm. Lucy was feeling her usual headaches and nausea from switching back and forth from her normal and dark self. It also didn't help that her connection with the golden zodiac keys felt very sensitive given their transformation.
But that was when her eyes turned towards the sight of a familiar gray box. The same one Hisui used for holding the black keys needed to close the gate of the eclipse spirits.
"Hey Luce, what's wrong?" Natsu asked, noticing Lucy being distracted.
"Nothing, I just noticed that box." Lucy said.
Hisui looked towards it, "Oh, I suppose those keys aren't useful anymore. They are custom made for the celestial spirits." she said.
"So they're junk now?" Natsu asked.
"I wouldn't recommend throwing them out. They are magical tools after all." Arcadios spoke up.
"Oh, I suppose they should be properly disposed of." Hisui said, knowing the keys weren't crafted from common materials.
Like dangerous chemicals, some of the mages could agree that they need to be recycled. Although they didn't really care much for cleaning up after some discarded stuff.
"I suppose I could get rid of them." Lucy offered.
"Oh that would be very kind." Hisui said.
The princess and knight didn't notice Lucy's eyes briefly flickering from brown to gold. Nor did they notice Lucy drifting in and out of consciousness as she opened up the case and scooped up all the keys.
'Hehehe, don't tell me they're all gone.' Dark Lucy thought.
Within Lucy
Many people joke about what the human soul looks like with others having an artistic interpretation. Souls are depicted as anything from a glowing orb to a spirit in the shape of a human or even a set of radiant lights.
Given how Lucy's body was literally built differently and contains the spirits of great humans and monsters forged by history. Her soul was reshaped to contain the Throne of Heroes. While that wasn't shaped to look like heaven or hell or some structure formed by Lucy's inner thoughts.
The appearance of it was mind boggling. All around, the heroic spirits floated around in the shape of spheres or in the shape of man. All of them floating around and moving like blood cells through the body. All surrounding a bright energy sphere reaching up to an endless sky. With the bottom being a grassy land littered with weapons and other items that signified their importance in history.
However, there were new tenants that were watching the odd scene.
"What is this place!?" Eclipse Taurus asked.
Everyone was floating around and unable to move in their desired direction.
"That woman! She's made us our prisoners again!" Eclipse Leo shouted.
His anger could not be shared by his comrades as a portal opened up. Revealing their true selves who were happily partying in the celestial spirit world as if nothing happened.
"What? Who are they?" Eclipse Aquarius asked.
"Hahaha, your true selves. They are happy because they are free and allowed to move as they wish." Said a dark voice.
Eclipse Leo snarled, "Who's there!? I demand you to show… argh!"
"Excuse me, you lost your rights when your hubris took first priority."
Everyone then watched a memory of Ophiuchus revealing that her plan was to never free the spirits but to feed them to the celestial spirit king who had tried to devour them. At least then, everyone felt some satisfaction seeing her losing. However, the eclipse spirits glared at Leo with Sagittarius gripping him tightly.
"You lied to us! We would have accepted death even for one minute of freedom!" he angrily yelled.
"Get your hands off me!" Leo demanded.
Virgo then jumped in and started strangling Leo with her whip.
"If we're trapped in the underworld or wherever this is! We'll be the ones torturing you!" she said with a grin.
"Seize your squabbling and obey!"
The three spirits were forcefully separated. Only for Leo to be forcefully raised and paralyzed as an outline of Lucy appeared.
"You again!? You've returned to mock us, haven't—"
Dark Lucy revealed herself with an impassive blank stare in her face. She raised her hand as if to forcefully silence Leo.
"As of right now, you are merely fragments of your original selves. As you do not represent light or darkness, the real zodiac spirits can function without you." Dark Lucy said, her voice still sounding hollow and dark.
"Real spirits? What does that mean?" Aquarius asked with wide eyes.
"It means you have no other place than here. Under me." Dark Lucy said, a grin slowly forming.
Naturally, this was not an ideal place and few spirits fought and resisted. The rest either cried or tried to run away in the endless void. Surprisingly, Capricorn and Taurus just accepted their fates after a few seconds of floating around.
End of flashback
Lucy snapped out of her thoughts as her dark counterpart's memories filled her mind. When she returned to reality, she saw Eclipse Taurus handling Franmalth with little difficulty. Which made sense given he was a competent fighter and Franmalth seemingly lacks physical strength.
"Ow! Knock that off! Hey! My cane!" the Etherious yelled.
Eclipse Taurus proceeded to steal Franmalth's cane and proceeded to beat him over the head with it.
"How dull. What do I even describe you as? A result of the union between a cyclops and a slime?" he asked.
Franmalth snarled, "I'll get you! I'll show you why I'm one of the nine demon gates!" he shouted as he lunged at him.
Eclipse Taurus side and punched him with enough force to send him flying back outside.
"I will handle the odd creature while you all focus on your own task." he said before pulling out a novel.
Natsu and everyone else swear dropped at how nonchalant the eclipse spirit was. At the very least, they expected some resistance or hostility.
"He won't betray us, will he?" Charle asked.
"He better not." Lucy answered with a sigh.
"Guys, we gotta hurry! Face is activated and we have to stop it!" Wendy exclaimed.
"That's right! Maybe there's time to at least find it!" Lucy said as she looked at the console again.
Elsewhere
Daphne was on an airship filled with all of Mateus' loyal soldiers. Currently, she was overlooking a console where she was ready to release a new wave of dragon riders. When she got a notification from one of the nearby officers on the airship.
"Tartaros have begun their invasion on Fairy Tail!" they said.
Daphne shrugged, "Whatever, I'm not in charge of those eager beavers." she said.
Daphne then grabbed a box of her trademark snacks. When she heard another update that actually concerned her.
"We are getting word that their initial strike has failed and Fairy Tail has successfully invaded Cube." another individual said.
Daphne chewed her snacks silently before looking back at her screen. She decided to start reorganizing the dragons under her command. She initially wanted to get another test flight done to make sure they weren't going to fly around wildly but it looked like another attack was ready.
'And here I just wanted my babies to practice first.' Daphne thought with a tired sigh. 'Oh well, I gotta do what the boss man would want me to do before he cuts my funding.'
Daphne then cleared up her workspace and began organizing the dragons.
"Get me those riders ready. Knowing those prideful demons, they probably got a bit too cocky and bit off more than they could chew." Daphne ordered.
"Right away ma'am!" one of the officers responded.
Daphne let out another sigh as she watched the airship prepare for battle. She wasn't a fan of battle as it felt like a waste of time. Sure, that didn't stop her from being willing to use violence and torture to reach the endgoal of her experiments. However to Daphne, war and conflict were as interesting as national sports to a typical introverted nerd.
'I can't complain. This is the purpose my babies serve.' Daphne thought as she leaned against the console.
A few minutes later, Daphne saw several squadrons of dragon riders breaking into multiple squadrons and surrounding the airship. All of them managed to keep Daphne's latest batch of dragons under control and ready for the war.
"Good luck out there." Daphne said as they flew in the direction of Cube.
Just as Daphne was about to lean back and relax. She started getting a transmission from Mateus himself. With the monarchs' face appearing on the giant screen.
"Well howdy your majesty, what can I do for you?" Daphne asked, trying to sound welcoming.
"If you haven't received any update yet. I want you to release your batch of dragons towards Tartaros." Mateus began to say.
Daphne nodded, "I got the message, don't worry. I got about a dozen squads or something heading their way to that floating base of theirs." she said.
"Good, another thing. I require you to regroup with another flight. The new project I had you work on may need to be released soon." Mateus explained.
Daphne almost choked on her Matamo-chan when she heard that. She quickly recovered and cleared her throat before standing up to reply.
"A-Are you really s-sure, your majesty? I mean, that big varmint is still a problem." Daphne said.
"I know, but it is not a problem. I'm afraid that our schedule will have to be sped up." Mateus said, leaving no room for argument.
Daphne sighed and removed her hat to rub her head.
"I see, I'll meet up with the others and release the big guy." she said.
"Very good, standby for my arrival." Mateus said, surprising her again.
"You're coming to meet us!?" Daphne asked with wide eyes.
"Yes, but not at your meeting point. I will be arriving at Cube within the next two hours." Mateus said.
Daphne hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Right, I'll see you right there your majesty. I'll keep Shinryu from going wild when you see us there." she said.
"Good." Mateus said before cutting the connection.
Leaving Daphne to throw down her hat in frustration, "Gosh darn it! I hate it when the boss comes to visit! Why couldn't the boss wait until Friday to do a surprise inspection!" she said.
"Ma'am, we have received the coordinates. Do we begin our change of course?" the officer asked.
"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead. I gotta get started on taming the little varmint. Otherwise, all of us are going to be laid off and that's putting it lightly." Daphne replied.
The officer nodded and signaled for the pilots to change their course. Beginning the counter attack to Fairy Tail's own counterattack.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Omake: Discipline Collars
Right next to Kotomine's shop was a very odd store that was manned by his daughter. At first glance, it looks like a jewelry store with how it's displayed. At second glance, it looks like an S shop given the product but luckily, the true intent wasn't made to please masochists and sadists. Albeit, sadists might turn up and enter the store.
Rather, Caren ran a store full of dog collars and restraints intended for people. Kotomine didn't seem to have any issue with it and considered the idea that a part time job would be good discipline. Despite the fact that he already lets his daughter work in his restaurant as if she were a part time worker already.
"Wait, what is this place?" Levy asked.
"I want to guess, a fancy pet accessory store." Juvia said, looking down at a case.
Evergreen scoffed as she took a look at the cases. Instantly having an idea as to what the store is meant to cell. The look of pleasure on Caren's face was enough to tell her.
"I suppose if you call your lover a pet, then that's what it is." Evergreen said.
Erza then figured it out, "I see! These are leashes for men!" she said.
"Exactly." Caren said.
A minute later, Dark Lucy bought two collars and left the store without saying anything else. Only to be later with Natsu and Laxus and dragging them by the leashes wrapped around their throats.
"Come on you two, we have plenty of errands to run." Dark Lucy said.
"Help! I'm being abducted by a demon!" Natsu yelled.
"Natsu, that's a mean thing to say to your bride." Dark Lucy said as Natsu continued to scream.
"Then why am I here!?" Laxus asked.
"Because you're Arthur's father." Lucy answered.
"Wait, what!? What kind of crap are you pulling!?" Laxus asked.
Dark Lucy tightened her hold on Laxus, almost suffocating the man as she dragged the both of them.
"Let's go you two. I need to discipline you both." She said.
"Aren't you going to save Laxus?" Juvia asked.
"Who am I to get in the way of true love or whatever this is?" Evergreen asked.
Levy looked out of the store and noticed a badly injured Freed and Bickslow. Leaving her to wonder if Evergreen predicted their demise or really believed what she said.
"Anyhow, what would the rest of you ladies like?" Caren asked.
Juvia approached her, "Um, do you have anything for my beloved Gray? I don't want anything too rough but good enough to make him listen to me." she requested.
Caren smiled and nodded before digging behind the counter.
"Are you looking for discipline or something to work as a reminder?" Caren asked.
Juvia hummed as she thought about how to explain what she wants. All the while ignoring the sounds of Natsu and Laxus screaming in pain.
"Maybe the latter." She answered.
Caren ringed her up for a special shock collar with soft padding.
END OF OMAKE