Disclaimer: Hey guys! Firestorm40 here with a new chapter for you all. I do not own any of the characters except my own ocs. 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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Franmalth was at the monitor just moments after the explosion had gone off in Fairy Tail when he detected something unusual, "Oh? What is this?"

Kyouka paused on her way out, "What is it?"

"I'm picking up some rather strange readings..." Franmalth murmured, "Displaying Undercube now."

The screens flickered back on and the sight the demons were met with startled them.

Sayla gasped, "Those are-!"

"Wahh!" Franmalth exclaimed, "Those damn cats! They belong to Fairy Tail!"

Sure enough, flying straight for the base was Happy, Lucas, Carla, Lily, and Kiki, all carrying objects in their paws.

Kyouka arched an eyebrow at the magic readings, "You got levels like that from such tiny creatures?"

Sayla observed the objects the exceed carried and froze, "Those things they're carrying...cards?!"

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Moments earlier...

Cana had still been pinned down by Elfman in the back room. She struggled desperately, but found no chance of escaping with her physical strength alone.

"I will..." Elfman growled, "Destroy...Fairy Tail.."

'Damn, don't hold this against me!'

She flicked her hands and a bright light emanated from Elfman's forehead. The next minute, he had been shrunken down and trapped inside a card.

Elfman couldn't escape and just yelled helplessly, "Destroy! Destroy!"

Cana snatched the card out of the air with a grin, "I had a dark-skinned hunk teach me that one a while back."

She glanced at the ether-light lacrima and realized diffusing it was out of the question. Cana rushed out of the room as the Fairy Tail members got ready to fight.

"Everyone, Cardify!" she commanded.

At her word, her deck of cards flew out and encompassed all the other members. In a matter of seconds, all of the guild was trapped in her magic. Only the five exceed did not become cards.

"Cana?!" Lucy gasped.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Macao demanded.

Gray shouted, "Let me out!"

Cana also cardified Laxus and the others before holder her hand out, "All cards, salvage to my hand!"

The cards all became a deck in her palm, which she distributed to the exceeds, "Listen, you five! The guild is going to explode! We're going to simultaneously escape and attack! Fly for the Tartaros base this instant!"

With that, she turned herself into a card and the exceed rocketed out of the guild just moments before it was vaporized.

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Franmalth gaped, "Those cards are the Fairy Tail members!"

"What did you say?!" demanded Kyouka.

"This is..." Sayla stared in shock, "Oh no...this is my fault..."

Kyouka began shouting commands to the grunts, "Unleash our defenses! Activate the gravitational field at Undercube! Scramble the first battalion to Front, Rear, and Sidecube! Do not let them reach Topcube!"

As the exceed approached the bottom of Cube, they were suddenly sucked in by the force of gravity. They all crashed with yelps, except for Lily.

The black exceed landed skillfully and frowned, "This feeling...gravity?"

"We've been turned upside down!" Lucas gasped.

"Crap!" Kiki squeaked.

Happy glanced around them and saw a group of soldiers rushing over, "Guys, the enemy is here!"

"Now what?" Carla asked.

Cana heard him and released her spell, unleashing the full wrath of their guild, "Card Release! Let's go!"

"HELLZ YEAH!"

The Fairy Tail mages hit the surface and immediately rushed the enemy.

Elfman was lying on the ground, staring down at the city in shock.

Cana glanced at him, "So, you've finally come to your senses, have you?"

"What have I..." Elfman whimpered.

"We're going to save Mira and Lisanna," Cana declared, "So stand and fight on your own two feet."

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Inside the lab...

"They're being noisy outside..." Lamy commented with annoyance. "But...oh well." She gazed back at the tube that housed Mira and continued to taunt her outside the glass. "First...I'll mess up that beautiful face of yours. You're about to be reborn sooo ugly. I bet you'll feel humiliated." Mira's eyes snapped open and the entire tube shattered, spilling all of its contents onto the floor. "W-What!? Why this...!?"

"Sorry..." Mira spoke as she stepped out of the tube with the tentacles laying lifeless over her shoulder and a smirk on her face. "I already have demon particles inside me, to use Satan Soul. Thanks to that I was revived."

"Eeeeek!" Lamy shrieked and backed up as far back as she could away from Mira.

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Kyouka was hurrying towards Erza's cell, knowing desperate times called for desperate measures.

'I'll have to use her as a bargaining tool,thought the demon, Hostages are particularly effective for dealing with humans.'

She opened the door to the cell, but what she found was not what she expected. There was a massive, gaping hole in the back of the cell. The shackles that had once contained Erza were now hanging freely and Titania was nowhere to be found.

Kyouka paled, "What the..."

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and she lost all ability to move with a gasp, "What is this?!"

"Solar Dragon's Palm," snickered Sora as he dropped down from the ceiling, admiring his stigmata glowing on the demon's back, "And if that doesn't keep you still, they sure will."

Natsu and Lisanna simultaneously appeared from behind the arches at the cell door to grab Kyouka's arms, effectively immobilizing their enemy.

"Guess that makes you the prisoner, now!" Natsu grinned.

Lisanna smirked, "We were waiting for you to show up, you see."

Kyouka stared at them in disbelief, "You three...how did you escape the cell..."

Sora pulled out the weapon that had assured their escape, waving it like a toy in front of her, "This sword is pretty badass. Can't believe you guys leave stuff like this lying around."

"A Heat Blade?!" the demoness gasped, then moved onto more pressing matters, "Where's Erza?!"

"You've taken excellent care of me until now."

Kyouka looked straight forward at the gaping hole in the back wall, blanching when Erza walked out of the darkness. Draped over her shoulders was Yakdoriga's corpse, worn as a cape after Erza had exalted her fury upon the demon.

Titania's sneer was ripe with righteous fury, "Allow me to return the favor..."

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Back at Undercube, the Fairy Tail mages were fighting off the seemingly endless flood of Tartaros grunts.

A group of the enemy were attempting to corner Gray. He sneered as icy energy was generated in his hands, "One after another...don't you bastards ever give it a rest?!"

He lashed out with his Ice Magic, freezing a large group of minions with one go, "Ice Geyser!"

As he paused to take a breath, Gray missed the one grunt trying to jump him from behind. Luckily, his back was covered by a very indignant Juvia.

"How dare you try to ambush Gray from behind!" she scolded the minion with a fierce, water-enhanced kick.

Nearby, Gajeel unleashed a blast of iron blade breath, decimating another squad. Wendy was throwing tornadoes left and right, sending anyone who got too close to her flying. Lucas, Kiki, and Lily had their hands full beating down a large group of them with hand-to-hand combat, defeating about a quarter of their force before he finally got tired of taking them out one at a time and just sank them all into a gaping shadow from below.

Lucy and was fighting together with Loke and Taurus, who attacked and defended simultaneously. The Spirit mages themselves relied on Lucy's Flueve d'Etoiles whip and her own close range fighting skills.

Makarov was in his Titan Form and really giving the grunts in his way hell, but he saw a sudden mass of them flooding in from the corner of his eye, "Reinforcements!"

The Celestial Mage also caught sight of the threat and moved to intercept the enemy.

"We'll handle them!" 

"Loke, apply Regulus to Taurus' axe!" Lucy commanded.

Loke set his hand against Taurus' weapon, granting it a glowing portion of his power. The Bull Spirit then charged the grunts and slashed at them with the shining axe.

"Moo! Regulus Hacker!" Taurus bellowed. His attack sent the remaining enemy reinforcements flying, eliminating the rest of the threat.

Makarov grunted, "Well done, brats!"

Thanks to Lucy and the others, they had yet to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, but Fairy Tail still needed to find a way to break into the dark castle of their enemy.

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Back in the torture chamber, Erza took great pleasure in chaining Kyouka up before glaring at the woman with scathing fury in her eyes, "I'll be sure to pay you back in full for your great hospitality!"

Natsu gulped at the killing aura she was giving off. Lisanna felt like taking a step away, "Just what did they do to her?"

"Let's not find out," Sora muttered as he stared at Kyouka fiercely, "Where's Mira and Elfman?"

Erza brought her katana up to the demoness' throat and gave her a dark look, "Talk. Now."

Kyouka knew the threat would be carried through if she didn't cooperate, so she gave them an answer, "I don't know about this 'Elfman' you're talking about. As for Mira, she's in the laboratory two floors above us. But it might be too late to save her."

Natsu bared his fangs, "What...?"

Lisanna spun on her heels and made to leave the cell, "I have to go save her!"

Erza nodded, "Natsu, Sora, go with her. I'll take care of this one."

"You got it," Sora agreed, then turned and led the other two away.

Titania glared at Kyouka, her sword still held at the demoness' throat.

"Those vibrations just a second ago," Erza recalled, "What were they?"

"A sign that the seal on Face has been released," was the reply.

Erza's eyes widened as she froze, "But then...does that mean Jellal was..."

"He has not been killed," Kyouka muttered, "The seal was broken by a different individual."

"What is Tartaros after?" demanded Titania, "What can you gain by using Face?"

Kyouka smiled fiendishly, "Face will eradicate magic across the continent. All of our efforts are for but one purpose- to return to Zeref's side."

Her claws suddenly extended and sliced through her cuffs. Kyouka immediately slashed at Erza, forcing her back a step. The demoness fell into a crouch, grinning at the human woman, "Fooled you, did I? Seal Stone is only good for containing magic. It cannot affect us demons, who use curses!"

She lashed out at Erza again, but Titania blocked this time with her elbow and retaliated with a clean kick straight to Kyouka's face, sending the demoness sprawling.

"So you of Tartaros are Zeref's blind followers?" Erza assessed.

Kyouka sneered, "We are books written by the love of Zeref. It was from those books that we were born. The demons of the books of Zeref!"

Her claws extended and stabbed at Erza, who dodged and parried the sharp talons away. The distraction gave Kyouka a chance to stand back up and slash at her enemy viciously.

"We are devoted to our creator," Kyouka grinned as she swiped with her claws, "Naturally, of course."

"I don't care who you devote yourselves to," Erza retorted, slashing back with her katana, "But in the end, we make our own decisions."

The demoness lunged and made to grab Erza, "Humans at the bottom of the food chain could never understand!"

Erza drew her sword back and started glowing, focusing her menacing brown eyes on her enemy, "Humans also have things they are devoted to. The important thing is to never lose yourself in them. Never lose the ability to think, never lose the courage that keeps you fighting! You are the one that walks your path!"

She requipped and suddenly Kyouka was staring at the point of a massive lance, which Erza punched straight into her torso with a roar, "Gloria Lanzador!"

Kyouka shrieked as Erza lunged forward and smashed her through the wall with the sheer force of her stabbing attack. The demoness was crushed through wall after wall, but Titania did not let up.

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"Do these guys ever end?!" Romeo gasped after beating down another grunt.

Nearby, Macao was helping to protect the immobile patients they'd brought with them, "Cana, why'd you bring Laxus and the others here?!"

"If I left them at the guild, they'd have been killed!" she snapped back while incapacitating her enemies.

Porlysuca was with her patients, gazing uneasily at the struggle raging around them.

Makarov glanced around the battlefield in frustration, "Have we still not found a breach in their defenses?!"

"There doesn't seem to be a direct route inside!" Levy reported. She knocked out another enemy with her Solid Script: Stone, trying to analyze their situation at the same time.

"The exceed can't just fly us to the top because of the gravity field..." Lucy muttered, "But if we just stay here and tire ourselves out...Sora and the others will..."

Suddenly the ground trembled beneath their feet. Everyone battling froze as the earth erupted like a geyser around two shadows within the explosion. The Fairy Tail mages instantly recognized the armored woman who had unleashed her fury.

"ERZA!"

Erza's explosive rush had launched herself and Kyouka clean through Undercube's surface, leaving a gaping hole on the battlefield. Kyouka was stunned by the sheer force of the attack and simply remained suspended in the air without attempting to retaliate.

While the others were shocked by Erza's sudden appearance, Gajeel and Rogue saw the collateral damage she had done as an opportunity and roared, "A BREACH!"

Fairy Tail's invasion of Tartaros had truly begun.

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Natsu, Lisanna, and Sora had just reached the stairs to the level Mira was supposed to be on when they heard the stomping of boots and a shout, "There they are! The escaped prisoners!"

Upon seeing the group of minions, Sora bared his fangs distastefully, "Damn, they found us."

Natsu cracked his knuckles, "Lisanna, keep on going. We'll catch up with you!"

"But..." Lisanna frowned, "Are you sure?"

"Go save Mira!" Sora lunged at the grunts with Natsu right beside him.

Lisanna nodded and rushed up the stairs, entering the next corridor on her way to the laboratory.

Natsu and Sora crashed into the enemy with an explosion of heat and sunlight, "HAVE SOME, BITCHES!"

The attack instantly defeated all the grunts, sending them flying away.

Natsu grinned, "That's what we can do with magic!"

"Damn right!" Sora smirked.

Suddenly, the area around them turned pitch black. The peons were suspended in midair before they could hit the ground.

Sora's eyes widened, "What the..."

"They froze in midair?" Natsu stared in disbelief.

"So you made it here, after all. I knew you would."

The duo spun around at the sound of the voice and immediately went very still at the sight they were met with. Cloaked in black with a white toga, eyes of jet-black watched them calmly, with a hint of amusement.

"This is Zeref's Bookshelf, Tartaros," murmured the Death Wizard, "The city where my books live."

Natsu stared back, "Zeref."

"So it was you who froze these guys?" Sora asked, gesturing to the grunts.

Zeref nodded, "This guild is composed of the demons that I've created. I myself am called Tartaros. That being said, I didn't create the guild myself. It would seem Master E.N.D came up with that idea."

"E.N.D?" Natsu's eyes narrowed, "That's the demon Igneel wanted to kill."

"Or rather..." Zeref smiled faintly, "The demon Igneel couldn't kill."

"In that case, I'll beat that bastard down!" Natsu snarled and grabbed the Heat Blade, "I'll carry out my father's will!"

"Acnologia! Genesis! E.N.D! All of them are going down!" Sora created a solar sphere and lunged, "But regardless, we'll cut you down first!"

Zeref seemed surprised for a moment. "Genesis, you say....?"

The two Dragons Slayers both slashed at Zeref in unison, aiming for his head and torso simultaneously. The blade and spelll seemed to make contact, but where they should impacted, a black wave encased them and left the Death Wizard untouched.

Zeref's eyes narrowed, but in amusement rather than anger, "You might be capable of pulling it off."

Natsu stared at his weapon, dumbfounded to see that the blade had been completely and utterly erased by Zeref's magic. They were nothing more than useless pieces of steel, now. Sora tensed up for a fight.

"But remember this," Zeref continued, "Igneel could not kill him."

Sora glared back at him, "What are you trying to say?"

"The most powerful of all the demons I created, E.N.D," his eyes flashed red, but the color was a cold shade, "Soon you will be faced with the same decision as Igneel. Let him live, or let him die? The choice is yours. Also one last thing, Sora. If you truly knew who E.N.D really was, would you still have the heart to stop him?"

Natsu and Sora blinked uncomprehendingly, sensing a hidden message, but not understanding it.

Zeref's form started to flicker, "Well then, I'll take my leave."

"Wait!" Natsu shouted, "What are you saying?! What do you mean by that?!"

He did not address the question and sighed, "Look at all Tartaros is doing just in order to meet me. These little visits I make don't seem quite fair in comparison, do they? When one finally reaches me...will it be you? Or E.N.D? I await your decision. Farewell."

With that, Zeref disappeared. And with his absence, the black field dematerialized and unfroze the suspended peons, letting them collapse to the ground in defeat.

Sora stared at where the Death Mage had been standing, "What was that about?"

"Who knows..." Natsu muttered, holding up his ruined Heat Blade.

"Sorry your sword got destroyed," Sora rubbed his head, "It was pretty badass too."

Natsu shook his head and tossed it away, "No use crying over it now. I'll just fight as I normally do. Come on, we have to go help Lisanna."

"About that...have you been listening?"

"Huh?"

The duo paused and focused their hearing. Both of them realized there was a mass of sound coming from somewhere in the floors below them. The sounds of a battle.

"Is that Erza?" Natsu asked.

"It sounds like more than just Erza," Sora decided, "I'm guessing the others from the guild found Tartaros' base. So how about this? I'll go meet up with our reinforcements and you go after Lisanna. Sound good?"

Natsu nodded and held up his fist, "Sounds like a plan. If you see any those bastards again, kick their ass for me."

"Will do," replied Sora as he bumped fists with his brother. The two Dragon Slayers then headed off on their separate paths.

That's a wrap for this chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it. Next chapter will be updated soon so look forward to it. Comment on your favorite parts and don't forget to vote!

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