Byron strolled into Tartaros Castle, a wide grin on his face as he approached everyone else. "Hello everyboooody!"
"Why are you in such a good mood…?" Tobias asked while raising a brow. "I was hoping you'd be present so you could end up being a part of my plan earlier."
"Sorry, not sorry," Byron replied as he pulled out Natsu's scarf. "But I was out doing my own little thing, as you know."
"…Is that Salamander's scarf?" Maggie asked while blinking a few times.
"Looks like he isn't as useless as he looks…" Kiora said while crossing his arms.
"So, you took down Salamander, eh?" Tobias chuckled slightly. "Well, not like he had any bearing on the next phase of the plan…"
"There's more?" Zancrow asked while looking over at Tobias. "Do I get to kill more people this time?"
"Hmmmm…." Tobias tapped his chin a few times. "Well…the killing can come later, but I'm sure you won't have any objections to causing some sort of destruction, will you?"
"As long as I get what I want in the end," Zancrow replied.
"Great," Tobias smirked slightly. "Now, we just have to wait for Dait and Mithril to return, and then we can get started. I've already contacted Ruika, and she's ready to act when we begin."
"Will Sora get to play with people!?" The pink haired Shadow mage asked with excitement.
"Oh yes, you'll get some play mates soon," Tobias chuckled. "In fact, how is the one downstairs doing?"
"Sora played with her until she passed out!" Sora said with a wide, innocent looking grin.
"How cute…" Rustyrose chuckled while adjusting his glasses. "I do suppose everything is ready for the final show, Tobias?"
"That's right…all we need now is to…hand out the invitations…" Tobias chuckled slightly.
"What a wonderful script you've written…" A voice said from the entrance of the room. It was a tall male wearing a black suit, a cape, a top hat, and he had a sort of cane in his arms. He also wore a mask that covered his face.
"Ugh…" Tobias rolled his eyes at the voice. He then looked over along with everyone else to see where the voice came from. There were two people standing in the doorway, a reborn Aiden Viscard, and his new assistant. "Aiden…and Hyde…"
"It's a shame this script will never be as good as mine…but it does come close, I suppose…" Hyde chuckled.
"What are these two wankers doing here?" Maggie asked while rolling her eyes at the sight of Aiden.
"I don't have any plans for you two…" Tobias stated.
"Oh, that's quite alright, Tobias," Aiden said with a chuckle. "Hyde and I won't be joining this fight…instead, we'll just be watching."
"I'm interested to see how your script will play out, Tobias," Hyde said with a chuckle.
"If you're not going to help then get out of the way," Hades commanded.
"Oi…temperamental, aren't we?" Aiden chuckled once more before leaving the castle with Hyde behind him. "Hyde and I have our own work to do, and it won't interfere with yours (yet), so we bid you adieu..."
"…Why did you bring him back again?" Maggie asked Tobias while folding her arms.
"I had some ideas for him, but with his annoying script writer, I had to scrap them…anyway, I say we should get ready, the final act is going to be beginning soon…"
Down in the depths of Tartaros, a barely conscious Lucy laid on the ground, exhausted, hurt, and worried for the wellbeing of her friends. "S-Somebody…" Just around the corner of the cell that held Lucy, Black Wind heard the other female's weakened cries of pain and desperation, but she just remained silent, and went back upstairs to meet with the others.
.
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Evanee shot awake, wincing almost instantly. She looked around, noticing she was in the Twilight Zone infirmary. She looked to the bed beside, her, noticing a heavily injured and unconscious Gaia, who was still breathing, though it was faint. There was Flynn on a bed as well, but he just...wasn't moving. "Tch…"
"You're awake…" Rylo let out a sigh of relief once Evanee awoke from her slumber.
"Rylo…?" Evanee looked towards the cliché mage with a look of confusion. "What happened?"
"She's awake!" Tsami and Melanie jumped for joy.
"Oi…what happened?" Evanee asked as she looked at Gaia. "I thought Gaia…"
"She pulled a rather bold move…" Magnus said as he leaned against the doorway. "I knew she was crazy, but I didn't think she was crazy enough to take on two of Tartaros' strongest mages on her own. I thought she won, but it seems they managed to overpower her at the last moment. Luckily, she survived..."
"You're…" Evanee started with a glare now present towards Magnus.
"Relax…" Rylo started. "He's the one who found both you and Gaia. Melanie and Tsami have done all they could tell help you both, but it doesn't look like Gaia will be waking up without stronger healing magic…"
"Oi…" Evanee sighed, looking towards Gaia once again. "Idiot…"
.
.
"Ugh…" Gray groaned as Wendy finished healing him inside the Fairy Tail building. "I can't believe this…"
"Your own teacher has turned…?" Erza asked with a careful tone, not wanting to stress Gray out.
"This entire time…" Gray replied, gritting his teeth at the thought. "She was just playing me…"
"Looks like Tartaros has begun to make their move…" Laxus said while crossing his arms, grunting slightly. "Any word from the other guilds, old man?"
"…I've contacted White Eclipse, Twilight Zone, Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus, Quatro Cerberus, and Mermaid Heel…" Makarov replied, taking a deep breath after. "But…I've received no word from Lamia Scale…"
"Wait…what?" Cynthia blinked a few times. "Lamia Scale hasn't responded yet?"
"I hope Chelia's okay…" Wendy mumbled under her breath.
"I heard she left the guild…" Cynthia replied, keeping her voice low. "But I'm sure she's safe…"
"Looks like Tartaros got to them while we weren't paying attention…" Lucy stated.
"Huh…?" Lisanna turned to Lucy with a confused expression. "Are you sure it was Tartaros…?"
"Well, if you think about it," Lucy explained. "Tartaros was responsible for the Council's destruction who's to say they didn't take out Lamia Scale? And, think about it…which one got more notice?"
"Ah…!" Lisanna gasped.
"It looks like they've really planed this out…" Makarov grunted.
"They're fine," Gray said, a slow smirk appearing on his lips. "It takes a lot to get Lyon down…I'm sure they're just fine…"
"So, what's the plan, Master?" Erza asked.
"We wait until the other guild's come to a consensus…" Makarov responded. "And then we'll make our move accordingly…"
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.
"Alright, listen up," Calium started while getting everyone's attention. "What happened in Magnolia isn't the only trouble going around, it seems."
"What's going on now?" Cygnus asked.
"It appears the Council has been destroyed, and the same thing can be said for Lamia Scale…" Calium replied.
"You mean the weakest guild in Fiore…" Reve couldn't help but let that comment slip out, his smirk evident.
"Now's not the time for this, Reve," Calium said with a stern tone, causing the gunslinger to quiet.
"I wonder if Tartaros got to them too…" Kairi said while crossing her arms.
"It seems that way…" Heather replied to Kairi while giving a nod.
"So, what are we gonna do in the mean time?" Waiston asked.
"We're going to wait until the other guilds come up with ideas, and then we will all meet and act," Calium replied.
"Better start warming up, eh?" Luke chuckled as he began to stretch.
"Don't pull anything," Selene said with a smirk, playfully punching the copy mage on his shoulder.
"You don't have to worry about that! Nothing's gonna stop me!" Luke grinned confidently, pointing his thumb at himself.
"Now isn't that cute…" A voice said, causing everyone to look around.
"You guys heard that right…?" Zalen asked while looking around.
"I heard it…" Saeko started with a fearful look on her face. "The Stars are shaking…something is about to happen…"
From thin air, Blake and Diana appeared in the front doors; as a result, all of the confidence Luke had literally vanished, his face now pale. This only caused Diana to giggle eerily. "Oh, cat got your tongue, son?"
"Son?!" Everyone turned to Luke, quite shocked.
"I knew something about him seemed familiar…" Reve said while requipping his six chambered Magnum, taking aim right at Blake and Diana. "Bang…" Reve clicked the trigger, sending the large bullet directly at the two God Slayers.
"And I present White Eclipse with the ultimate shield that can repel anything!" Rustyrose shouted as he flew in through the front doors, his arm now a golden shield that easily blocked Reve's magnum shot.
"What the hell…" Reve glared at the interruption known as Rustyrose.
"Look who's back… Heather said while sliding into an offensive stance.
"Just the three of them? No problem!" Cygnus grinned, cracking his knuckles. He was going to be the first to charge, but before he could, a vortex of black wind shot through the wall, blasting him, and a few other members away with pained shouts. "Gah…!? Who the hell!?"
"I am here…" Black Wind said as she stood at the hole now in the wall.
"A bunch of unwanted pest here today…." Sidney said as he dusted himself off, slightly damaged by Wind's sudden attack.
"Oh, looks like everyone's here…" Diana chuckled, slowly approaching Luke, who had yet to move an inch since spotting his parents. "What's wrong, Luke?"
"Back off!" Selene shouted as she coated her arm in diamond, swinging it at Diana full force, but the black god slayer easily blocked the punch, not even wincing. "Diamond's huh…" Diana grinned as she pulled her own fist back, black energy swirling around it. "I wonder how hard they are…." Diana then swung her fist forward, landing a direct hit with Selene's gut; the impact caused an explosion that took out a third of the guild, blowing Selene and a few others back as a result.
"S-Selene!" Aira and Takeru's eyes widened, and the two immediately rushed over to the Diamond Dragon, only to be halted by Rustyrose.
"Now, now! Let's not rush!" Rustyrose grinned as his arm turned into the Jet Black Sword, which he immediately swung at the pair, landing direct hits as they flew back.
"I've had enough…" Adam said as he stepped forward, rolling his next as a result. "It's been a while since I've fought…" Adam took a step forward, but that was the only step he could actually take as he found himself unable to move. "W-What?"
"It wouldn't be good if you managed to move…" Rustyrose replied. "My imagination has allowed me to create a seal that prevents anyone with magic from moving!"
"G-Grr…" Adam let out a growl, his fangs bared at the embodiment mage.
"Which ones did we come for again?" Blake asked while he fixed his tie.
"These ones…" Wind said as she grabbed the paralyzed Aira and Saeko with a tight grip, pulling them over to the other three mages.
"Oh, I think we're forgetting one…" Diana chuckled as she walked over to the unconscious Heather, gripping the poison dragon slayer by her hair, lifting her up roughly. "Isn't this one yours, Luke…?"
"H-Heather…!" Luke growled, now trying to fight his way from the seal Rustyrose placed, slowly lifting himself up through it.
"Oh, we can't have that now…" Diana grinned, as she puffed her cheeks out, a black vortex forming around it. "Black God's Bellow…" Diana opened her mouth, and in the next instant, a torrent of black energy shot out, completely leveling White Eclipse and the mountains behind it. When the smoke cleared, the members were unconscious, and heavily damaged. Adam was the only one still standing, rather convincingly as well, but he was still unable to move thanks to Rustyrose's seal.
"..." Adam growled. But protecting the others was more important.
"G-Guys…"! Aira cried out, but she couldn't bring herself to move.
"Strongest guild in Fiore, eh?" Rustyrose chuckled. "If that's so, the other guilds are just flies…but I'll have no problem consuming every White Eclipse, Fairy Tail, or Twilight Zone member until not one remains…"
"We've spent too much time here…" Wind replied to Rustyrose, starting to leave with the two girls in her grip. "We must return…"
"Yeah, yeah, we're going…" Diana chuckled, dragging Heather out by her hair quite rudely. "It's shame…"
.
.
"Tch…" Evanee stood up, though injured, she walked into the front room.
"What are you doing…?" Rylo asked as he followed Evanee into the main room. "You're still injured!"
"She's resilient; I'll give her that…" Magnus sighed as he followed. "Now then…I have an important matter to let you all aware of…"
"I can smell funny people coming…" Melanie stated.
"Wait…what?" Taranis blinked a few times, and that's when it all happened. Dark Fire burnt through the front doors, nearly setting the guild on fire from that action.
"HAYAHAHA!" Zancrow let out a boisterous laughter as his black flames surrounded his body.
"This one again?" Evanee sneered.
"They just don't know when to give up…!" Rylo growled. Decided to save Evanee the trouble, the cliché mage started with the rush to Zancrow, though he was halted by two chains latching onto his shoulders, hurling him into the nearby wall. "GAH!"
"Who…?" Evanee turned, only to see there were more guests than just Zancrow. Aloysius, Hades, and Jikan also joined the fray. "Just want we needed…"
"I don't think it's wise to…" Magnus started, but of course, he was ignored.
"The old man would be gone at a time like this…" Rylo said as he stood up slowly.
"We can't even breathe for a second…" Alexander groaned as he glared at the four mages before him.
"I wouldn't move if I were you…" Zancrow chuckled as black flames surrounded his arm. "It'll just make everything that much more painful!" Zancrow then hurled his fist at the injured Evanee, but the Stone Dragon counter by pulling her own fist back, clashing with Zancrow's. Though Evanee was stronger, her injuries took their toll from her excessive movement, allowing Zancrow to overpower Evanee, sending her crashing through a wall. "HAHA! Is that all Twilight Zone's strongest mage has to offer!"
"Evanee!" Tsami shouted as she turned her attention to the Flame God slayer, quite angry. "I think you need to stop!" As Tsami shouted this, a green magic circle appeared in front of her. From the magic circle, a time stopping beam shot out, stopping Zancrow in his tracks.
"Heh, nice one, Sammy!" Taranis said with a grin.
"Another time magic user? Well…she tried…" Jikan sighed, pulling out a pocket watch. A magic circle appeared on Zancrow, spinning clockwise, quickly freeing him from his time freeze.
"He has time magic too…!?" Tsami's eyes widened slightly.
"Guess this won't be easy…" Alexander started as he allowed orbs to appear around his fist, but before he, or anyone else could move, magic circles appeared on the bodies of the mages inside Twilight Zone.
"Seventh Rapture," Aloysius stated calmly. The magic energy of those in Twilight Zone exploded, causing pained screams to escape their lips. When the rapture was over, everyone was breathing heavily.
"D-Damn…" Magnus groaned slightly.
"Oi, are these the two pipsqueaks?" Zancrow asked as he grabbed Melanie and Tsami, not really caring how roughly he was holding them.
"Indeed. Now, let's bring them back…" Hades nodded, and the four mages left the guild.
"G-get back here….!" Rylo shouted, but it was to no avail, as he blacked out just like everyone else.
.
.
"Oi…this wasn't too difficult…" Tobias spoke as he looked down at the defeated members of Sabertooth. Sting, Rogue, Orga, Rufus, and everyone else could onyl watch since they were ambushed. Tobias had Yukino over his shoulder, the hostage basically. "Ruika wanted this one's keys if I remember correctly…"
"They should be done with their assault on Fairy Tail," Horoki said while taking a puff of his cigarette. He then looked to Sting and Rogue. "That's payback for last year."
"Bastard..." Sting clenched his hand into a fist, panting heavily. "Give her back!"
"Please..." Frosch pleaded.
"No can do." Horoki laughed.
"Then we should return to the castle, and see how things play out from there…" Bluenote said while crossing his arms, giving an uninterested expression. Sabertooth wasn't able to put up much of a fight against him. It was disappointing, given Sabertooth's reputation a few months ago. "They couldn't fly…and I thought they were the strongest guild in Fiore at one point…"
Tobias waved his hand to that. "That doesn't really matter right now…the real strongest guild should have been bodied by a few mages minutes ago. Come now, let's return."
.
.
"This is strange…" Makarov said while staring at the communications lacrima intently. "Communications with White Eclipse and Twilight Zone have been cut…"
"What do you think that means…" Mirajane asked.
"Maybe they've been attacked…" Erza replied, now starting to get her guard up in case they were next.
"Hm…" Freed walked over to the front doors, pulling his sword out. "It would be an issue if they got the jump on us…" Freed then began to write some runes around the guild, protecting them from intrusion.
(Oh great…) Lucy sighed to herself before getting an idea. (If I had a signal for when they were coming I could get rid of these runes…)
"Everything okay, Lucy?" Cynthia asked.
"Hm? Oh, yeah…everything's fine…" Lucy replied.
"Something's not right about this…" Alex mumbled to herself as she looked around. "Everything seems normal, however…"
.
.
Outside the Fairy Tail building, Maggie noticed the runes appearing around the building, so she sighed, shaking her head. "Ah…I was hoping they would at least provide some sort of challenge this time…" Maggie gave a slight chuckle before her body turned into lava, which slipped through the cracks in the ground.
"Tobias isn't here…" Daityas started as he glanced at Rugal. "These runes are going to be an annoyance…"
"Ruika is inside," Rugal replied. "I'm sure she has a plan ready…we'll just need to give her a signal."
"Not a bad plan, Rugal," Daityas nodded.
"I'm surprised….you don't need to come with us…" Rugal said as he turned his head to Daityas."
"This…"Omega" Fire Dragon…" Daityas started. "She has my interest…I want to see what she can do."
.
.
Lucy could now feel a certain, familiar presence nearby, which caused her to smirk. (It's time…) Lucy reached out for a key, pulling one out. "Gate of the Astral Sorrow! I open thee! Andromeda!" A magic circle appeared, causing a young woman with gray hair cuffs around her arms to appear, but it was in a secluded area of the guild; this woman opened up a magic circle under Freed and began to drain away his magic, causing him to fall to the floor.
"F-Freed?!" Bickslow and Evergreen quickly rushed over to Freed, who was on his knees at this point.
"What's going on with Freed…?" Mirajane asked while looking around, but she was unable to find the culprit.
"M-My magic…" Freed struggled to speak. The runes around the guild flashed before vanishing completely.
"Freed-san…!" Juvia shouted, looking around, only to notice something coming from the ground. "What is…"
"I know that…!" Gray's eyes widened as Maggie popped up from the ground, a smirk on her face.
"Hello, loves…long time no see…" Maggie spoke with a large grin.
"I-It's…!" Cynthia's eyes widened and her face went pale from the memory.
"Oh, I'm not here for you…that's Dait's job…" Maggie grinned.
"W-What did you do to Freed…?" Lisanna asked, her voice rising from panic as Freed passed out.
"That one wasn't me…" Maggie replied.
"It was me!" Lucy said as she stepped forward, rather proudly at that.
"L-Lucy!?" Makarov shouted, clearly in shock. "What!? Why!?"
"That's easy!" Lucy grinned, and in a bright flash of light, Ruika was now revealed to everyone with a grin.
"Tartaros!" Gray shouted, remembering Ruika from several months before.
"I knew something was wrong with Lucy! Your soul was all kinds of messed up!" Bickslow grit his teeth. With all the chaos that happened, he hardly had the chance to corner Ruika about everything.
"Yet you were too stupid to do anything about it…" Ruika sighed, but then chuckled. "But even if you did, you would've been threatened into silence. All I would've had to do was threaten the real Lucy's safety and you would've been a good little dog and barked only when I told you." It didn't matter if Bickslow was onto her or not, because she would've had him on a leash no matter what. "Oh, it feels so good to be out of cover…"
"But how could you!" Wendy asked. "I thought..."
"Whatever you thought, you were wrong! I hated being here." Ruika scowled. "This happy go lucky atmosphere, the money problems, Lucy's life makes me sick! And I can't wait to destroy it!"
"We'll see how you feel in a few second…!" Gray exclaimed as he placed his fist into his palm. "Ice Make: Freeze Lancer!" As Gray shouted this, he threw his arms forward, sending large ice lances towards Ruika and Maggie. Just before the lances struck, a portal opened up in front of the two females which the lances flew through. "E-Eh!?" Gray turned around, only to see Daityas, Rugal and Byron.
"More of them…!" Cynthia shouted as her body lit in dark red flames.
"Ah, ah…" Ruika started as she pointed to Freed, who still had his magic drained. "Any false moves, and who knows what could happen…"
"Where's the real Lucy…?" Makarov asked while glaring at the four mages.
"She's been snug inside Tartaros Castle for quite some time now…" Maggie replied. "She's quite the guest, you know?"
"B-But…!" Wendy began, but she was cut off.
"Don't even get the wrong ideas!" Ruika interrupted Wendy. "I hated every minute I was here around you Fairies…it was repulsive…"
"Just wait until Natsu gets here!" Happy shouted, a confident grin on his face. "We may not have the upper hand now…but when Natsu gets here!"
"HA!" Byron laughed loudly, slapping his knee a few times. "Really? When Natsu gets here?" Byron then held up Natsu's scarf, much to the surprise of all the Fairy Tail members. "Because this is all that's left of him."
"N-No way…!" Lisanna let out a gasp of shock and horror.
"N-Natsu…Natsu can't be dead!" Happy protested.
"I saw it with my own two eyes!" Byron replied
"That…That's enough!" Cynthia roared out, her flames darkening. "You think you can just come in here and threaten everyone with those smug looks?! Think again!"
"Heh…" Daityas smirked, looking at Cynthia with a challenging look. "Alright, little girl. "If you can damage me, we'll reconsider…"
"Done!" Cynthia bellowed, running forward. She hopped on a table to get more momentum, allowing her flames to surround her fist. She spun around, aiming a spinning haymaker to Daityas' jaw, but the king of Hell allowed his own fist to ignite in Hell fire, and he met Cynthia halfway, the two fires blazing from their respective sides.
"Cynthia!" Wendy shouted, already moving to assist.
"Ah, ah…" Maggie said in a mock disappointing tone, wrapping her now lava whip arm around Wendy's neck. "No interruptions…" Maggie then slammed Wendy harshly into the ground, causing the other members to turn.
"Wendy…!"
"Don't move!" Ruika grinned, pointing to Freed as the magic circle under Freed's feet began to wide. The circle spread out to Lisanna, Mirajane, Erza, Laxus, and Makarov, beginning to drain their magic as well before it spread to everyone, rendering them unable to move for the most part. "Oh, spelendid…"
"A MAN won't stand by and watch harm come to his sisters and family!" Elfman bellowed in a manly fashion. Wasting no time, he immediately turned into his Beast Soul takeover, aiming a punch at Ruika, but once again, a portal opened up, and Elfman punched through that instead. "Huh?"
"And then…" Rugal snapped his fingers, causing the portal to close on Elfman's arm, thus snapping it like a twig. "A real man knows when he is beaten…
"Elfman…!" Mirajane struggled to shout.
"G-Guys…!" Cynthia's split second of concern costs her, as Daityas overpowered her (though he really didn't need too much effort to do so) and sent her into the nearest wall.
"Well, this was fun!" Byron grinned as his Explosive Hammer appeared in his arms. "Do I get the honors?"
"No," Daityas replied as he began to walk over to the bar.
"Oh hell no!" Cana shouted as she threw a card on the ground. "Jolt of Fate!" After Cana shouted this, a thunderbolt raced down with no warning, striking Daityas directly. However, Daityas shrugged the impact off with no trouble.
"…We need to leave…" Freed groaned. Daityas grabbed the beer barrels and began to walk across the guild, allowing the contents to spill everywhere.
"Guess it's that time…" Maggie chuckled as she, Byron, Rugal, and Ruika took their leave. "It was nice knowin' ya, loves."
"Just remember this when you try to oppose Tartaros…" Daityas said with a serious expression. After dumping all the beer on the floor, he lit his finger in Hells flames. "But, you're welcome to try if you think you're bold enough…" After that, Daityas placed his finger on the beer, which immediately caused the guild to blaze in Hell's flames. Daityas merely walked out of the burning guild after, a grin on his face.