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. At last, we have made it to the Tartaros arc! So without further ado, Enjoy!

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Parliament of The Magic Council- Era...

"Fairy Tail won the Grand Magic tournament, eh..."

"Oh boy..."

"The moment the Tenrou group came back..this is what they give us."

"That guild really enjoys standing out, it appears." The members of the Magic Council from across Magnolia muttered amongst one another as they looked at the reports littering the table before them.

"Moreover, there is also the matter of whether we should keep hosting something like the Grand Magic tournament or not..."

"When an entire country throws their support behind it, however, it becomes that much harder to step in and try to dictate such matters..."

'Sigh...this ended up in a never ending debate...' Doranbolt scowled with boredom. 'I can't believe they wanted a meeting today and it's been going on for hours.'

'I guess it couldn't be helped.' His partner Lahar shrugged his shoulders with defeat, noticing that the man next to him was looking unamused. 'Just hang in there for a few more minutes and we'll see how far we get.'

"Silence, everyone..." The chairman in charge, Gran Doma, spoke from where he sat at the head of the table, tapping his staff against the tile flooring twice to get their attention. "Our topic of conversation today is Tartaros...not so much about Fairy Tail. As you are all aware, guilds thought to be affiliated with Tartaros have been wiped out in the past 7 days. We have yet to identify those responsible...and we are both thankful and troubled by this."

"If this was the work of an official guild, we would have to worry about a possible retaliation..."

"What about that...independent guild..."

"Crime Sorciere!? Hm...they're a definite possibility..."

"This reeks of something that Fairy Tail cooked up again..." One of the old ladies at the table griped to the man next to her, a man with a lot of facial hair and a pair of glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose.

"Perhaps with great power, comes a desire to show it off." He replied. "Fairy Tail has been known to be a show off guild at times."

"I think it would be unfair to pin everything on Fairy Tail." A tall, gray-haired elderly man with a considerably long beard and a mustache from across the table spoke and they in turn, gave him a disapproving stare.

"Org always tends to take Fairy Tail's side in such matters..." The glasses man snorted. "Even though before he despised Fairy Tail for the shit they have given us but now he likes them because of their notable achievements."

"This is just a hypothesis..." Org replied, disregarding the last comment. He has pointy ears and has a habit of keeping only one of his dark-colored eyes open at a time. Org also wears multiple layers of robes, much like the other members of the Magic Council, and on top of his head he wears a small bat-shaped ornament. He was the 2nd seat of the Magic Council and he also had a small bat on his head. "But what if the perpetrators were Tartaros themselves...?"

"Why would they do such a thing?" Another member asked.

"Who knows." Org said calmly. "However, there are grounds to believe it could be to strengthen their forces while simultaneously cutting off superfluous weeds." The other members looked at one another in silence, digesting the words that he spoke. Soon the entire room was filled with ringing laughter, leaving Org to look at them in confusion.

"Dark guilds taking each other out!?"

"That's impossible."

"Tartaros should already have all the forces they need..."

"Org, maybe you're getting senile in your old age?"

"Well, Org's theory is a plausible one..." Gran Doma spoke, cutting off the laughter. "Now is the time for us to deal with Tartaros after turning a blind eye to them for so long. The true form of our enemy remains unknown. But if we were to fall apart here, the Balam alliance would surely follow. Now is the time in which we as the Council must take up our strongest arms and make our stand." The rest of the coundilors looked at the chairman, debating on what course of acton they would take.

"I-IT'S TERRIBLE!" A sudden shriek occurred and one of the messengers rushed in out of breath.

"Fool!" One of the members snapped, shaking a fist at the man. "We're in the middle of a meeting here!"

"N-Now's not the time for that...!" The messenger hurriedly explained. "Intruder's have..."

KABOOOOOM! The entire roof of the Parliament blew up trapping the council members inside with the falling debris.

"Uu...Ugh..." Doranbolt groaned as he regained conscious, getting up and placing a hand to his head. "Wha...What happened..." He looked around before spotting Lahar on the ground, trapped underneath some rocks. "Lahar...hang in there..." Shoving the rocks away, he pulled the man up into his arms to realized that he was dead. "This...can't be..." Looking around the structure now had a gaping hole in it and almost all of the members lay dead on the floor, he might just be the only sole survivor from the explosion...or so he thought.

"Doranbolt..." A feeble voice called out to him and he spotted Org laying not too far away.

"Org!"

"Guh!" The man grunted when a hand slammed his head to the ground, pinning him there.

"No, no..." The intruder snickered happily. He appeared to be a young muscular man that possesses a number of animal features; from his dark brown hair that jutted upwards into a pair of prominent protrusions shaped like ears, a nose that was small and black like a canine's, a brown furry tail that came out of his lower back and pointed fang-like teeth. His forearms and hands were almost like a cheetah's coat...or probably a jaguar's. He also wore a brownish bandanna adorned by pale yellow spots around his neck. "Letting you live is not an option. Assassinating all nine of the senate members is our directive, after all." He grinned as the marks on his hand glowed. "Explode."

"S-STOP!" Doranbolt yelled in horror. "ORG!"

"Doranbolt..." The old man spoke as he looked at him one last time. "Run..."

"I...I cannot..."

"Think of what will happen if we lose you as well..." Org said just as the light got brighter and brighter.

"Running isn't an option you old man." The intruder spoke. "Well, not from my explosions."

"Go! Doranbolt!" Org yelled.

"The name's Jackal." Jackal introduced himself as Doranbolt was having a serious debate on whether to leave the destroyed Parliament behind and save his own skin or stay and fight. "One of the nine demon gates of Tartaros. Remember that in hell...as the name of the man that massacred the entire senate."

"Live! Live to carry out your own sense of justice, Doranbolt!" Org spoke his final words as the explosion soon consumed him.

"ORG!" Doranbolt yelled before using his magic to escape. He ended up further than expected but that didn't slow him down as he hurried to one of the prisons where Cobra was held captive, all bruised and burned by the explosions.

"I thought it was about time you showed..." The poison dragon slayer stated as he looked at the councilor's appearance.

"You 'heard' what happened up there, I presume." Doranbolt said.

"Don't be stupid...I can't use magic in this cell, I just heard all the explosions."

"Spit out what you know about Tartaros."

"What? I ain't squealing for free." Cobra smiled. "I demand the release of all six of us."

"I don't have that authority."

"Then talk to the higher ups."

"The higher ups...are all dead." At that Cobra stared with wide eyes before laughing softly.

"Looks like they really went all out there." Enraged, Doranbolt appeared inside the cell and held a knife against the man's neck.

"My friends are dead...and my patience is wearing quite thin..." He growled into the slayer's ear. "Spit out what you know...or you breathe your last breath..."

"I ain't budging on that condition of mine." Cobra spoke after a minute. "Those are my allies, regardless of the circumstances...but...I will tell you one thing." He scowled evilly. "None of them are human. They're all demons from the Book of Zeref."

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Fairy Tail Guild...

"Mira~ We need alcohol~"

"Got it." Mira smiled as she catered around two trays of drinks.

"Don't even think about touching it." Romeo threatened his dad who was the one who ordered a drink.

"Dad, it's only noon." Asuka spoke as she knelt by a small bug that was crawling about. Bisca and Alzack smiled at one another as they watched their daughter interact with the creature.

"You...You were making googly eyes at Lisanna..." Elfman growled at Warren from the next table over.

"I'm telling you, I wasn't..." The man replied honestly.

"Will you quit it, Elfman." Lisanna frowned from where she was reading some papers. She was a little sick and tired of having her brother always protecting her but she knew that he was just acting like that because he loved her.

"That Minerva...enlisted in a dark guild?" Makarov was saying as he and Erza were talking about the mission. "Hm...what a brash and reckless lady she is..." He then looked up with a thought. "What about her father? The old master of Sabertooth."

"His whereabouts are still unknown..." Erza replied.

"Either way, we should report this to the Council." The Fairy Tail master concluded.

"I was thinking of contacting Sting as well." Erza said but didn't give him a reason why.

"Look Gray." Juvia exclaimed with happiness as she walked up to the ice mage with a tray of goodies. "Juvia baked some bread."

"Guha!" He freaked out when he realized that there was a chibi image of him on the food.

"I call it Gray-bread." She said happily.

'That explains that...' "It looks good and all but...eating my own face just seems...kinda..."

"I couldn't agree more!" Juvia nodded before setting the tray of Gray-bread down and grabbed another tray. "That is why Juvia will consume them all...Gray, here is some...Juvia-Bread."

"Damn it...I walked right into her trap!" He cried out when he noticed Juvia's face on the little bread rolls.

"What's goin' on over there?" Cana grinned, another barrel of booze in her clutches. "I thought Gray shot her down."

"It's the same as always." Mira commented.

"If you're not gonna dig in, then I'll take it."

"Kyaaaaa!" Juvia screeched as Elfman popped one of her bread rolls into his mouth. Stating that the bread tasted really manly, Elfman grabbed another handful.

"Since you went to all this trouble, I'll try one." Gray said with a small blush, grabbed a bread roll from a tray and bit into it.

"Gray-...that's a Gray-bread."

"Blegh!" Gray choked on the bread when he realized that he was eating his own face.

"Look at this." Levi said as the rest of the team plus Gajeel and Lily crowded around her, an old book laid out before her. "E.N.D. It doesn't go into much detail but...it seems that it's on a completely different scale compared to Deliora or Lullaby."

"Does that mean it's Zeref's strongest demon?" Lucy asked.

"That would be really frightening." Wendy commented.

"Can we even stop him?" Lexi asked.

"Well, Atlas Flame said that Sora could." Lucas replied.

"What are the demon's from Zeref's book anyways?" Lily asked with confusion while Gajeel nodded with agreement.

"They're demons that Zeref created." Carla informed them. "All the magics needed to summon them have been imbued into books."

"So if we have that book, we can call out these demons?" Happy asked her.

"I suppose..." Kiki looked a bit doubtful. "One demon per book most likely."

"And the one that has E.N.D could possibly be in the possession of Tartaros..." Natsu said. "And...Igneel tried to destroy that E.N.D. Hm...I've finally wrapped my head around it..."

"Around what exactly?" Lexi looked at him as a grin appeared on his face.

"We just gotta bust up Tartaros."

"Now that I understand!" Sora stood next to him and mirrored his grinning expression.

"Count me in!" Gajeel cackled.

"You guys are as clueless as always!" Lucy frowned at them. "First and foremost, we know too little about Tartaros. 'Bust them up'...think about the position you'd be putting our guild in as well as the Council. We don't even know what type of people they have."

"But...this is a clue to Igneel's whereabouts." Natsu protested. "Also Pydron, Grandeeney...Metalicana and Mellow might also be connected somehow."

"THIS IS BAD!"

"BIG NEWS!" The doors burst open as Jet and Droy rushed in, catching everyone's attention.

Makarov opened one eye, "What happened?"

Jet didn't miss a beat, "Tartaros...the whole magical parliament was assassinated by a single member of Tartaros! They blew Era into splinters!"

The whole guild went dead silent in shocked disbelief.

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Somewhere in Fiore, the Tartaros guild was stirring.

Kyouka, leading her entourage of soldiers, came up behind a man with dark hair and solid armor with the words, "Absolute Zero" over his left breastplate. She paused behind him, "It's been a while, Silver..."

The man glanced over his shoulder with a smirk, exposing a scar over his left eye, "If it ain't miss Kyouka...stunning as always, I see."

"I didn't expect you to appear in your human form," she mused.

"Bold of me, right?" he chuckled, "I rather like it."

Kyouka looked over at another one of their fellow demons, this one a round creature with a cane, "I don't sense Jackal or Tempesta...they aren't here?"

"They're already out on other missions," replied the other demon.

"That can only mean..." Kyouka's eyes narrowed, "The operation has begun."

Four more demons joined them, bringing together seven of the Nine Demon Gates. Kyouka led them into the castle that was the Tartaros headquarters, "Very well...let's show the humans the power of our underworld. The hell brought forth by demons of the Nine Demon Gates..."

After learning of their comrade's attack on the magic council, the Tartaros members began discussing the operation.

The short, round demon covered in armor with a single eye cackled, "That's just like Jackel...always so flashy about it. Gehehe...I wonder how much the lives of the nine council members are worth, eh?"

A crimson, shark-like demon with bladed protrusions on his forearms and a brown fur coat glared sternly at his comrade, "Franmalth, cease that foul chuckle this instant. Our dignity will be questioned."

"Who gives a shit about dignity, Torafusa!" snarled the largest, most beast-like of the demons. With a lower body similar to an octopus, and an upper body resembling a human's, with the exception of his four arms and spiked skull, this demon was very loud and brash, "Let me go next, Kyouka! Let's hurry up and slaughter every last human already!"

Beside him, a quiet woman with gold horns protruding from the sides of her head which curved upwards. A circular tattoo with several dots over the upper half was visible on her forehead. She had glossy black hair and a short, revealing dress that stopped just above her mid-thigh. She appeared calm and spoke softly, "Ezel, you must remember stories have a proper sequence. This is the prologue...or rather, the preface."

"Sayla is right, Ezel," Kyouka chastised, "Do not be in such a rush. You have your own assignment."

Ezel was still impatient, though, "My body...my body is itching for human blood! It's not fair that Jackal and Tempesta get all the good bits!"

"Pray, whisper..." whispered the sixth member, a skeletal monk wearing a robe and a staff in his hand, "And then the blessings of the underworld..."

Kyouka smirked, "Hell is just getting started."

Silver remained silent, his face expressionless.

"Everything is for the sake of our Master, Zeref," declared Kyouka, "The hammers of demons will now descend upon mankind..."

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Restaurant 8 island...

"This is terrible business..." Yajima frowned as he looked over the newspaper. Since the party of Grand Magic games he went back to his hometown and returned to work as a chef at his restaurant.

"The council was bombed!?" Fried gasped, pausing from where he was cutting a carrot with a knife. He had on a cooking apron and a cooking hat.

"It seems that all nine council members died..." Bixlow commented from where he was working near the stove, stirring whatever was in the pot with a ladle.

"It get's worse. There were 119 dead and wounded in all..." The old man glanced over the news with worry. "It's a huge catastrophe."

"Good thing you quit the council, huh?" Bixlow laughed out loud, mocking the ex-council member.

"You idiot!" The old man spat back. "Have some tact!"

"But it was, indeed, a stroke of luck, was it not?" Fried nodded his head with a smile of his own.

"You guys..." An annoyed voice spoke announcing Evergreen's entrance. She was wearing the custom maid outfit and holding a tray of sandwiches. "No matter how few customers there are...please do your jobs more seriously."

"That getup totally doesn't suit you at all." Bixlow commented with a straight face as Fried agreed with him.

"I don't want to hear that from you guys!" She barked at them. "It's because you were complaining about all the tough jobs flooding in thanks to the Grand Magic tournament...That's why we took this easy job isn't it?"

"Working at a restaurant is hardly an easy job!" Yajima replied, glancing at her from over the newspaper.

"Well cooking is a specialty of mine, so..." Fried smiled as he quickly chopped through the vegetables, showing off his skills with the knife.

"And when it comes to arrangement I'm quite skilled, baby!" Bixlow proudly proclaimed as his 'children' floated about helping him arrange the food for the customers.

"Well...when push comes to shove," Evergreen quickly struck a pose, blushing slightly. "I can make sex appeal a specialty of mine..."

"By the way, Laxus hasn't returned yet huh?" Yajima asked.

"Did he get lost?" Bixlow chuckled. "How unlike him!"

"He can't even run an errand...that guy's hopeless..." Fried agreed as the sound of the door closing greeted their ears.

"Ah...speak of the devil..." Evergreen turned in hopes of seeing the lightning dragon slayer but what walked towards them was a hooded figure and he immediately captured their attention.

"Hyuru." The mysterious figure commented and suddenly a large cyclone appeared, smashing the restaurant to pieces and sent the customers that stayed there packing.

"What is this guy?!" The old man yelled as the figure wrapped his body with the roaring winds and flew towards him.

"Yajima!" Evergreen shouted as Bixlow and Fried stood in front of the ex-council member.

"Impudent." The mysterious figure spoke as he blew the two mages away with a strong gust of wind.

"Fairy Machine gun..." Evergreen brought out her fans and waves her arms around. "Leprechaun!" A torrent of energy needles flew toward their targets but it did not do a lot of damage, the needles bouncing harmlessly off of the man's cloak.

"Hyuru." The figure spoke and knocked her away with only one arm, sending her crashing amongst the broken furniture of the restaurant.

"Who are you?" Yajima growled with anger.

"I have no name." The figure said. "I am one of the nine demon gates...humans call me a calamity."

"Shit...what is this magic..." Fried groaned as his body refused to obey him. "My body...won't move..."

"The gates of hell have opened. Judgment is upon humanity." The demon spoke as he started to strangle Yajima.

"Don't tell me..." Fried gasped with a thought. "These guys...are after not just the current council members...but even the former ones as well?!"

"Just what kind of objective..." Evergreen growled.

"Fall..." The demon spoke, tightening his hold on Yajima's neck. "to hell." Suddenly the roar of thunder appeared overhead and a lightning bolt fell from the sky, striking the demon. Dropping the ex-council member, the demon turned his gaze on the new intruder.

"I may have gone astray on my way back here, but..." The sound of groceries hit the ground but that didn't matter as Laxus glared at his opponent. "When it comes to wiping the floor with you...the path is clear as day!"

"Laxus-san!" Yajima-san spoke with relief as the Rajin Team smiled with happiness. The only one that didn't share an once of their emotions was obviously the demon who just scowled at Laxus, his robe slightly disfigured from the lightning strike.

"Who the hell is that?" The dragon slayer commented.

"Tartaros!" Evergreen said. "They're looking for Yajima!"

"Oh." Laxus watched as the demon tore off the garment, allowing them to witness his true face which resembled that of a lion. The dragon slayer's eyes widened with surprise. "You...You're not human?"

"Uff." His opponent responded. He was one of the demon gates, Tempester the Immortal. Surrounding his body with the winds he conjured earlier, he flew at the slayer and attacked him at speeds that none of his other prey have ever avoided. However, Laxus was faster, avoiding every single punch with ease and retaliated was a strong punch to the back, causing the demon to slide across the ground. "This guy..."

"You got the wrong opponent." Tempester tensed up as he felt Laxus's ominous presence behind him. Rising his arms high over his head, the dragon slayer imbues them with a large amount of lightning. "Lightning Dragon's Jaw!" He roared, striking Tempester right to the head, slamming the demon to the ground. The remaining electricity from the attack was discharged to the surrounding area, leaving the two battling combatants in a large crater.

"You're great, Laxus!" Fried smiled.

"You're such a man." Evergreen clasped her hand with glee while Elfman sneezed within the guild thanks to the comment.

"Old Yajima," Laxus turned to the ex-council member. "what should I do with him?"

"Uhm...The council isn't working anymore..." The man said after thinking about it. "My poor shop...my poor shop..."

"Not the main HQ, but there must be branches." Bixlow commented.

"If the top stops working the others do too." Yajima-san replied. "The council is a very weak organization."

"Maybe we should take him to Fairy Tail question him?" Fried asked, prompting Evergreen to jump up with excitement.

"Oh, I'd love to." She grinned, pulling out what looks like a sausage-link. "Hehehehe."

"They're trying to kill even the ex members of the councils." Fried said. "I want to know their motive."

"The queen comes!" Bixlow said as Yajima yelled at Evergreen to stop playing with the food.

"Fairy Tail...uh..." Tempester's voice croaking out caught Laxus's attention. "We didn't calculate that there could be humans so powerful...I couldn't predict this damage." The lion-man demon's eye widened when he realized what he needed to do. "I'll have to die once."

"Die?" Laxus asked in confusion. "What are you saying?"

"You got the wrong opponent." Tempester repeated the words the dragon slayer said to him. "This is what I mean, Human." Suddenly his body disappeared immediately, leaving behind some kind of black particles.

"What the hell is this black mist!? It's getting denser!" The Fairy Tail mages looked around in confusion and worry as the particles started to condense and surround them.

"People can't win against natural disasters." Tempester's voice floated around them. "This is Mashou Ryuusi, or magic-damaging particles. They destroy the ethernano in atmosphere...and pollute it."

"An anti-eternano zone!?" Fried spoke in surprise before covering his mouth as he started to choke on the black particles.

"That causes magic deficiency..." Tempester continued speaking as Evergreen covered both her nose and mouth with her hands. "...and an illness that damages magic. This illness is lethal for wizards. The only weak point is that I have to go back to the HQ to restore my body." Laxus growled as he watched one small part of the particles whisk away in the wind. "See you dead, in hell."

Even with the main body of the black particles away, the rest of the particles stayed in the area and what was worse they were spreading through out the town, poisoning the inhabitants.

"Don't inhale it!" Fried's voice was muffled but he had to make sure everyone knew that this was a very serious situation.

" Anyway...let's escape!" Yajima said, pointing in a direction with a shaky hand. "To a place without mist!" He took one step before falling with a groan.

"Yajima..." Evergreen didn't get to finish before her body fell to the ground followed by the sound of Bixlow collapsing next to her.

"Resist!" Fried said when he noticed them on the floor. "Ever! Bixlow!"

"I won't let anyone else die. I won't!"

"Laxus, close your mouth!" Fried exclaimed. Ignoring his comrade's words, Laxus took a deep breath and started to eat.

"Dragon slayers have special lungs." Laxus said, sweat appearing on his skin as the effect of the poison was slowly taking a toll on his body. "I'll suck this all up."

"Stop..." Fried shook his head with disbelief as he tried to urge the slayer to stop. "Don't do it..."

"Take everyone home." Laxus spoke as he continued eating, dark bags appearing underneath his eyes and blood was slowly dribbling from the corner of his mouth and nose. "That's your job."

"LAXUUUS!"

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Fairy Tail Guild...

"Porlyusica!" Makarov spoke with worry when the Fairy Tail's Medicinal Adviser appeared from the room where Laxus and the others were resting, getting everyone's attention. "How's Laxus and the others!? Are they fine!?"

"They're all right." She told the nervous and worried guild. "But they've been heavily damaged by Mashou Ryuushi." The wounded members were resting on separate cots and would be under her care until they get better. "It's a strong poison, normally even just a little is enough to cause death. I'm not sure whether they'll be able to recover completely...Laxus' body is especially damaged...it's a miracle that he's alive."

'Oh Laxus...' The guild members worried for their guild mates and wished them a swift recovery. While he was still conscious, Fried told Makarov that Laxus saved the town. The medical team within the heavily poisoned area donned on masks and helped escorted the ones who were poisoned to the hospital as well as blocked roads so that anyone who wanted to come in could not. Inhabitants who didn't even possess magic were influenced as well and some of the people were locked inside their own homes; it was a terrible crisis.

'If they're looking for the ex-councilors...They'll go after Jellal too.' Erza thought to herself and resolved to save the blue-haired man before the demons could get their hands on him.

The exceed's fur was all slightly bristled. Cana had her hand on a crying Wendy's head. Rogue had Yukino in a tight embrace while the silver-haired girl held Frosch. Gajeel had his arms crossed, his veins starting to swell along his skin. Mira, Lisanna and Elfman were both tense and stormy-eyed. Gray looked calm, but the air around him was frigid with cold rage. Sora was standing beside Lucy with his back ramrod straight, dead silent and shaking in fury. The blonde girl next to him looked just as angry.

"So cruel..." Lucy said softly, angry at what the demons did to the innocent civilians.

"This is so...callous..." Levy muttered to herself.

Lexi looked over at Natsu with a worried look. "Natsu...."

"Gramps..." Natsu had his fangs bared menacingly, veins popping over his face and around his fists. His eyes shrunk into reptilian slits as he growled, "This means war!"

That's a wrap for this chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it! Next chapter, Sora takes on Jackal of Tartaros. Look forward to it. Comment on your favorite parts and don't forget to vote.

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