Disclaimer: Hey guys! Firestorm40 here with a new chapter for you all. I do not own any of the characters except my own. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it. So without further ado, Enjoy!

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Succubus' Eye HQ...

"W-What is...this..." Minerva stood at the entrance to see the guild in disarray, broken furniture everywhere and holes in the wall that could only be produced from a fght. Even the flag with the guild's mark was shredded and hung limply on the wall. "W-What's going on!? Everyone...where did you..." She stopped when she stepped on what looked like paper figures laying on the floor. "What are these...?" She wondered as she held the limp thing in her hand.

"Your guild mates." A voice from the darkness answered her, a voice she had never heard before but it was definitely a female's. Soon the sound of something scraping the ground reached her ears and she knew that this intruder was approaching her.

"A person?!" Minerva's hand trembled when she realized what had happened to her guild mates and that explained all the other dark paper figures that littered the ground.

"My 'magic' makes people stronger." The voice continued to speak and the sound of the footsteps stopped behind her. "However...the weak who aren't worthy of this magic...all end up that way."

"Who are you!?" Minerva growled, turning to face the intruder.

"My name is Kyoka." Kyoka introduced herself with a smirk. "One of the 9 demon gates of Tartaros." The first thing Minerva noticed was her half human half aviary characteristics, her feet were that of bird talons. Covering her curvaceous figure was a skin tight suit that further emphasized her chest, her thighs and partially revealed her butt. Her shoulders and arms were concealed by a long, striped jacket with flaring sleeves, a four-way split tail back and a tall gaping collar completely concealed her neck. On her head was an intricate helmet which covered almost the entirety of her face except her eyes and mouth. From the side there were two long wing like pieces of hair curved out around her face. Her green hair fell from the back of the helmet, passing through her hood and tumbled down to her lower back, wrapped tightly into a thick band. All of the clothing she was wearing were motifs of birds.

'Tartaros!? Does it mean...that they already know we failed to protect the village!?' "You didn't have to go this far just because one village was taken back..." Minerva stated angrily.

"What are you saying?" Kyoka replied, tilting her head to the side. "I know nothing about that."

'Was that mission something Silver decided on his own!?' Minerva gritted her teeth with worry. 'What's going on here?!'

"I already said that I just want to make humans stronger..." Kyoka released a huff of annoyance. "Very soon...a large-scale strategy will be set in motion. I came here because the Master ordered me to gather soldiers."

"You're killing soldiers instead of gathering them..." Minerva countered, indicating the ruined guild with a wave of a hand. "Are you stupid?"

"We don't need soldiers that cannot get stronger." The demon smiled, "What about you?"

This woman's dangerous! Minerva flinched and stepped back as Kyoka walked towards her. "No! Stop...!"

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Warrod's Home...

"Wahahaha!" Warrod clapped his hands in applause of the young mages, "Splendid! I knew sending members of Fairy Tail was the right choice!"

Once the Fairy Tail gang had their fill of fun with the giants and said goodbye to Flare, they travel back to the Wizard Saint's home.

Natsu grinned, "It was no big deal!"

"I'm just glad it's over with," Gray sighed.

"Indeed." Erza nodded.

Sora cast a curious look at Lucy, "Oh yeah Luce, what happened to those weird thieves?"

The blonde woman smiled cheerily and gave Wendy a high-five, "We sent them flying with a special kick!"

"It was a little nerve-racking though when we found out Tartaros was involved," Wendy explained.

"I wouldn't worry much about the likes of them," Warrod dismissed, "Let the Council handle that issue. In the meantime, there's the matter of your payment."

Lucas and Kiki pumped their fists, "Yes!"

"It's only natural, after a job well done." Carla smiled.

"We've been looking forward to this!" Happy jumped up happily, "Fish! Fish!"

"Here you are!" Warrod passed over to them...a potato. He smiled innocently, "It's a potato I grew in my garden!"

The room became silent as the mages blinked at the vegetable in confusion. Surely he couldn't be serious?

"Just kidding!" the old man cackled heartily.

"A-a joke..." Natsu muttered.

"Right..." Sora sighed.

"What's with this broccoli guy...?" Lexi mumbled.

Warrod covered his mouth in an attempt to keep from laughing, "It's actually a potato I got from the neighboring town!"

"WE DON'T CARE WHERE IT CAME FROM!" Natsu roared indignantly.

"WE WANT CASH! COLD, HARD CASH!" Gray bellowed.

"Oh, settle down, I was kidding," Warrod wheezed with merriment, "I'll take care of the payment shortly. In the meantime, it's getting late, and I imagine you kids would like to relax, yes? There's a secret hot spring just around the corner from my home. Feel free to head over there and refresh yourselves while I collect your funds."

"HOT SPRING!" Lucy, Lexi, and Wendy cheered.

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"Uwaah, this is so nice." Lucy gushed as the girls settled in a nearby hot spring, towels wrapped around their naked bodies.

"Quite the view we have here." Erza agreed. The spring was surrounded by lush trees and the mountains that rose up beyond it was a sight to behold. "As expected of Warrod, to know of a secret hot spring like this." She smiled and gently dipped her hand into the warm water.

"Look Wendy!" Carla said with excitement when she spotted some writing on a stone plate. "It says this place is not only good for your health but works wonders on your physical beauty as well!"

"Aaaah...there's nothing like taking a dip after an assignment..." Lexi mused as she eased her body into the water and sat down, the water coming up to her chest. "I feel totally relaxed..."

"I could sleep here for eternity if I could." Kiki added as she gazed up at the sky, her eyes shining brightly at the marvelous sight of the endless sea of black with the twinkling stars. "It's so peaceful here."

"It definitely helps rejuvenate a tired body and soul for sure..." Erza agreed as the rest of the girls joined in. "Allowing us to face future trials refreshed and ready."

"I can't help but feel back for the guys." Wendy said, drawing her legs up underneath the water.

"They'll be fine." Carla said. "I doubt they have any interest in a hot spring anyways."

Shows how much you know."

"We can enjoy stuff like this now and again as well."

"If I see either of you guys looking at Luce, I'll bust your skulls in."

"Aye!"

The girls looked to the other end of the hot springs as the fog cleared slightly. To their horror and immense embarrassment, they realized the boys were also soaking in the water and staring at them with blushes on their faces.

"KYAAA!"

While Lexi and Wendy immediately sank lower in the water to cover themselves, Lucy threw a bucket at the boys. Sadly, all of them dodged it, so she made up for it by yelling, "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS IN THE FEMALE BATHS?!"

"We were here first!" Natsu exclaimed.

Gray averted his eyes, "You guys are the ones that came in after us!"

"Oh? Didn't I tell you it was a unisex hot spring?"

Warrod suddenly strolled in with nothing but a towel covering his bare front.

Lucy shrieked, "DON'T JUST CASUALLY WALK IN LIKE THAT!"

The girls all huddled up, with Wendy doing her best to hide between her older companions. The little bluenette let out a wail, "Guys, get out for a bit! It's too embarrassing!"

"She's right!" Lexi nodded, before she caught a glimpse of Natsu's chest with a blush on her face.

Natsu tilted his head, "We've seen you guys naked more than a few times, though."

"The novelty of it all wore off a long time ago," Gray added.

A vein appeared ready to explode on Lucy's forehead, "Are you guys trying to piss us off?!" She then was casting nervous glances at Sora, "W-well, I guess it's not so bad..."

Lucas held up a paw, "Yeah! You and Sora are used to seeing lots of skin, right?! From that time during and after the Grand Magic Games!"

Lucy blushed furiously, "LUCAS!"

"DUDE!" Sora screeched at his partner in immense embarrassment, "DON'T BRING UP SUCH A PRIVATE TOPIC OUT OF THE BLUE LIKE THAT!"

The orange exceed covered his paw to keep from laughing, "So guilty...pufufu..."

"Oh my, so you kids are already doing things like that?" Warrod chuckled, "This generation is much more prolific than mine was!"

"PUT A LID ON IT, GRAMPS!" Sora and Lucy shrieked.

Gray and Natsu were laughing their asses off while the rest of the mages watched in embarrassed sympathy for their friends.

Warrod grinned cheerily, "Comrades are the best, aren't they?"

"This has nothing to do with you!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Does it not?" the Saint scratched his chin, "Now that you mention it, I haven't told you kids yet, have I?"

He brought his left arm up to expose the Fairy Tail tattoo, "Like Mavis, I'm one of the founding fathers of Fairy Tail. That makes me a grand predecessor of yours."

"EHHH?!" They all gasped at him in shock.

"For real?!" Lucy gasped.

Lucas's jaw dropped, "The guild you were in was Fairy Tail?!"

'So that's why...' Lexi remembered when Makarov first gave them the assignment, he was shaking and urged them not to fail no matter what. 'It makes sense now...'

"Just~" He said.

"You're messing with us again!?"

"It's all true." Warrod replied, causing Gray to fall into the water.

"Is it safe to assume that is the reason why you requested Sora, Natsu and Gray?" Erza asked as she continued to scrub Natsu's back.

"Hmm...pretty much." He nodded his head. "When you entered my home, I caught a nostalgic whiff of the guild's wooden smell." He then slapped the water with laughter. "Just kidding!"

"Wendy lowered her mouth into the water to blow bubbles impatiently. We aren't getting anywhere like this.."

'How the heck did this nutjob become our founding father in the first place?!' Lexi inwardly sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

"To have met you young fairies, really made my heart skip a beat..." Warrod smiled after his laughing subsided. "The peace that Mavis sings about...Fairy Tail, a guild with bonds between the souls of mages which are even thicker than blood. That spirit carries on even now, and you have all succeeded that. That very spirit will become the key to your successes and triumphs, I felt that in the moment I met you all." He turned to look at each of them, "Mavis once said that comrade isn't simply a word. Comrades are about heart. It's the unconditional trust in your partners."

"Please, feel free to lean on me...and I, too, will lean on you as well..." As if by magic, Mavis's voice echoed around them as if she were standing before them with a smile on her face. "There will be painful times...sad times...I'll be with you through thick and thin...you are never alone...The hopes we carry are matched by the number of stars twinkling in the night sky, the rustling of the wind on our bodies are premonitions for what's to come tomorrow, now let us take a stroll...to the melody from the song of fairies..."

"Now do me." Erza ordered once she was done washing Natsu's back and he complied nervously, grabbing a fresh towel and a bar of soap as she turned around to give him full access to her back.

"The words that created Fairy Tail...It really hits you deep..." Lucy said as she looked up with a smile. "Brings a tear to your eye..."

"Wait, so that means...you're even older than Gramps!?" Natsu said as he paused from scrubbing Erza's back.

"That's rude, Natsu." The scarlet-haired knight said grumpily when she noticed that he stopped rubbing her back.

"That means...if he's been around that long...he might know about this demon...it's called E.N.D." Natsu explained his reasoning before noticing that his hands stopped doing their duty and quickly scrubbed her skin.

"E.N.D?" Warrod looked at him in confusion. "Demise...?

"Apparently it's got something to do with Zeref's Book of Demons." Natsu explained, putting the towel down and grabbed a bucket of clean water, dumping it over Erza's back to wash away the soap. "My dad, tried to defeat E.N.D or something..."

"The Book of Zeref...another unsettling word..."

"If I know what E.N.D is then I might be able to figure out where Igneel is..." The fire dragon slayer said with confidence. "I think, anyway..."

"That's what Atlas Flame told us before he disappeared." Sora recalled.

"Hmmm..." Warrod frowned as he thought about it. "My apologies, but I have no idea. But when you told me about Tartaros this afternoon, I remembered something. We know next to nothing about the true form about their guild. Not of their base of operations, their members, or even their actual numbers. But from various people who claim to have witnessed their meetings...this is a prophecy from the Four Heavenly kings of Ishgal, so take it for what it's worth..." He looked at them with a serious expression. "It's possible they have the Book of Zeref in their possession."

"A guild has Zeref's book?!" Lucy exclaimed. "And it might be E.N.D?!"

"I knew that demon from Succubus was connected with it somehow..." Gray growled with certainly.

"Is that right..." Natsu's body trembled before he started swinging his fists left and right. "So you don't know jack shit about where it is! Damn it! When I find them, I'll make them spit it out! I'll give 'em some of this! And some of that!"

 Sora's jaw dropped in shock. "Oh crap...!"

'He didn't...' Lucy and Wendy both gasped with horror.

'He's insane!' The Exceeds all thought and even Warrod looked at him in surprise.

'I sure hope he has a wish or something...' Lexi sweat dropped as she tried to cover up a laugh. 'This isn't going to end well!'

"Hey...Natsu..." Gray said shakily.

"What?" Natsu asked when he saw the looks on their faces. Turning around he noticed Erza on the floor with three huge lumps on her head from where he hit her with his fists. "Oh craaaaaap..."

"Hoh..." She spoke slowly, crumbling the floor underneath her hand with rage before launching herself at him. Let's just say, her wrath on Natsu was too terrifying to put into words and after she was done...Natsu was a bloody mess full of pain.

That's a wrap for this chapter! Sorry if it seemed a bit short. I was trying to wrap up this arc and get to the Tartaros arc. Which will be the next chapter so look forward to it. Comment on your favorite parts and don't forget to vote!

Be sure to review. Until then, see ya!!!