Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Chapter Three: The First of Seven

Several Days Later….
Castle Molkihar

The sun was unable to shine its bright beams through the black clouds hanging overhead which left the castle in the mountainside shrouded in darkness. The castle was old and abandoned, the type often seen in old horror stories. It was a relic of a bygone time, long forgotten by modern men. Part of the castle was demolished and hung open, like a gaping, festering wound. Most of the walls were covered with greenery that looked sick and twisted from the lack of sunlight.

Pride thought it was perfect.

The tower he was residing in had a huge hole in the wall and the roof barely held. The shining knight looked out on the world before him and smiled. He'd missed sights like this while trapped away beneath his former order's monastery. Sights like this reminded him of what the world really was: twisted and depraved.

The demon didn't bother turning his head when he heard footsteps behind him coming up the stairs. The hulking figure of Wrath thundered into the room. "Pride," Wrath addressed.

"Hello, Wrath. Have the others returned?"

"Yes. Although Sloth never left; I found him right where we left him when we departed." Beneath his hood, Wrath bristled with disgust. "There's no discipline in that one at all. Are we sure we're not better off without him?" he asked, the urge to run his blade through the lanky man almost unbearable.

"You're permitted to try," Pride replied, not even turning around to face the massive man. "I doubt you'll get far." Pride turned around and gave Wrath a smile that chilled the demon. "Come. Let us join our brethren."

Walking down the stairs, Pride and Wrath walked until they made it to the castle's audience chamber. Like the rest of the castle it was dilapidated and in ruins. The ceiling hung open and multiple columns were overturned. The once ornate furniture that had littered the hall was now splintered or rotted. Pride sat down on what once used to be a tall throne, now just a creaking chair. "I trust you were all successful?" he asked his companions.

"Yessss…" Lust slurred, laying on her back on one of the upturned columns. "I got such juicy information out of some very willing people."

Laughter came from Gluttony, who was sitting on his throne of bones. "And you didn't bring me any snacks with you? Such a shame, Lust…" the demonic monk taunted.

"Pride," Greed addressed, standing beneath the hole in the ceiling. "It seems that the guilds have a much more prominent influence than they did in our day. They no longer feud with themselves and act with much more harmony."

"I see. So things have calmed down a bit since we were sealed away?" Pride asked, only to shift his gaze to Envy when the little girl, crouched at Gluttony's feet, shook her head. "What have you to report, Envy?"

The girl spoke in her soft, tiny voice. "Fairy Tail." She held up several newspapers and pointed to the guild's symbol. "The Wizards we fought before. It seems they're the cause of much commotion." Getting up, she walked over to Pride and handed him the newspaper.

Pride looked at the newspapers and quickly digested the information. "I see…so these Fairy Tail wizards are that talented…" he said, reading about how they won the Grand Magic Games and defeated several Dark Guilds.

A snort came from Wrath, who was leaning up against a wall. "Those children? They didn't seem like much."

"Calm yourself, Wrath," Pride advised. "I could tell that they weren't fighting at their strongest, just like we were. Still, these guilds…" he read the names out loud. "Fairy Tail. Sabretooth. Blue Pegasus. Lamia Scale. Mermaid Heel."

"How does a mermaid have heels?" Lust asked out of nowhere.

Tossing the papers aside, Pride stood up out of his chair. "How does a fairy have a tail?" he asked in return. "It matters little. Where is Sloth?"

Envy turned and pointed to a corner. "Sleeping." Sloth was lying on an old, moth-eaten couch, his chains gently clinking as he rolled over.

"Hmmm… we should let him rest," Pride said. He turned back to the other five and smiled. "These guilds. They have swept away all who've tried to change the world. Let us show them the error of that." He reached down and held up a newspaper. "Starting with Fairy Tail." The paper erupted in flame and incinerated the Fairy Tail symbol. "Envy."

The scarred girl looked up, her eyes shining in the dark chamber like yellow fireflies. "Yes?"

"Start with the five we encountered. Then begin purging these fairies. Gluttony," he looked up at his fellow monk. "What of the Order of Yggdrasil?"

The man leaned back against his throne and patted his bulging belly. "They will no longer be a concern," he grinned, his teeth stained red.

Pride's lips formed a slim smile. "Excellent. There will be no sealing us this time. Greed," he turned to the shaman. "Continue searching for the Tree of Life."

The man scowled and pounded his staff into the cracked stone floor. "The Tree again? Why bother with that fantasy? I would rather have this world and keep it for myself!"

Pride shook his head. "That is false. The Tree exists. The Tree of Sin proves its existence. And besides…" his grin turned evil as he looked out the window, at the world that was oblivious to the threat of the seven. "Why settle for one world? If we find the Tree of Life, we can have all of the worlds to conquer…."

Greed let the words sink in before grinning in response. "All the worlds, you say? I like the sounds of that." Turning around, the shaman walked out of the room, his bejeweled staff clinking with each step.

Turning to the remaining demons, Pride delivered their orders. "Wrath, go and crush the lesser guilds. The calves won't send a big enough message. We must show them that nobody can stand against us."

Nodding, Wrath reached for his blade and shouldered it. "With pleasure."

As Wrath thundered out of the room, Pride turned to the remaining three demons. "The rest of you may do as you please for now."

"I always do," Lust chuckled. Pride, Envy and Gluttony watched as the horned demon vanished into black smoke. The cloud of demonic essence floated up and flew out of the room, her laughter echoing throughout the room.

"She's such a handful," Gluttony said. "What about Sloth?"

"Let him sleep. It would be better for us all to not wake him," Pride advised.

"It's a good thing he's asleep," Envy said as she began to walk, "He's far too cranky when someone wakes him from his nap…."

Pride agreed. As Envy walked out of the castle, he sat down on his broken throne and smiled. "And now we wait…."

Meanwhile….
Town of Magnolia

Lucy walked up to the steps of her house and looked up at the sky. Despite their efforts the guild had made no progress in identifying the Seven Deadly Sins' whereabouts. Gajeel, Elfman and Cana had all left to go rally the other guilds, leaving the rest of the guild to prepare for their inevitable fight.

She reached to pull out the keys to her apartment when she noticed something that chilled her: the door was cracked open.

She quickly drew her Celestial Spirit keys and slowly pushed the door open. Against her better judgement, she tiptoed into the house as quietly as possible. "He-hello?" she called out. Hearing a sound coming from her bedroom, the blonde gulped. She knew it wasn't Natsu and the others. They would make their presence known immediately as soon as she walked into the place.

Creeping upstairs, she crept up to her room. The door was open and she could see a light on. Then she heard it…

Laughter.

Sneaking up to the doorframe she peeked into the room and paled, her heart turning to ice. Sitting on her bed was Envy, the demon playing with some of Lucy's old dolls. Lucy clamped a hand to her mouth and tried to back away. 'Why is she at my place?! I got to get out of here and get Erza and Natsu!' As quickly as she could, she turned around.

Lucy couldn't fight back the shriek when she saw Envy standing right behind her, her sickly yellow eyes staring up at her. The scarred girl held up the doll and smiled.

"Wanna play with me?"

To be continued