~*****~

My head feels like it's full of wool. It's fuzzy, and it feels like I can't hear anything properly. Everything is either too quiet or like there's a mosquito in my ear. To top it all off, my eye socket feels like it's going to explode the remainder of what little bit of eye is left outwards. I vaguely wonder how everything is going on the outside. My nose twitches violently and I wince harshly as pain washes down my face. I sneeze violently and let out a cry of pain. "Whoever's talkin' about me... better quit..." I murmur dryly as I fight from sniffing in. Blood starts to drip on the ground again and I wince.

I don't know exactly how long I've been held in captivity. But it's certainly long enough to feel the effects of my wounds festering. That small bit of ice Silver gave me was enough to heal scrapes and bruises, not enough to heal the broken skin around my eye. I spit again and clench my teeth around the ice dripping from my lips. I peer upwards, groaning irritably. It feels like the chains are wrapped around my arms with no end in sight, but there's a small little hole near the end of my awkwardly bent pinky. I grimace and pull myself upwards, wincing at the horrible ache in my body before shoving the ice into the hole and jostling it around. The resulting click slings my arm downwards, pulling my body with it, a horrible snapping noise echoes through my other arm. I let out a bellow of agony before leaning up again, despite the pain in my body to release the other chain. It clicks free and I fall to the ground, hacking and coughing with a horrible rattle shaking my chest.

The door clicks open, and my body reacts on instinct, launching off of the ground and attacking the newcomer. There's a horrible, animalistic cry as a strange looking creature hits the ground, clutching at its throat desperately as blood pumps violently from it. I spit the viscera from my mouth and peer out the hallway, my one eye frantically searching for others. And if they heard that scream that rattled my ear drums, someone might be coming themselves.

Just as I take a step outward, a woman hums with a sweet tone. "Very interesting, you've done incredibly well for someone Zeref deems as a kind soul." The woman hummed, her cold gaze nearly pinning me in the spot. "I am Kyoka. And I'm going to make some... enhancements on you. Would you like a new eye?"

I don't bother responding as I turn on my heel and run down the hall, huffing out painfully. I let out a bark of pain as something grasps at the back of my neck, slamming me into the ground with such a dizzying force. I choke on my breath and force my head to turn as to gaze upon my attacker. Kyoka just smiles as she lifts me up once, and slams me down again, snapping my face into the cold stone.

I groan loudly as she drags me by my legs, pulling me into a strange room with strange looking pods. One in particular catches my eye. "Mira--" I gasp, trying to flip over and free myself, but I just end up getting savagely thrown into a wall.

"Now, now. You'll join your pretty friend soon enough." Kyoka hums as she rips the remnants of my clothing off. "You're going to be such a strong little slave." My body is submerged in that horrible smelling liquid, and it burns at my skin as I sink inwards. Vines curl along my body, dragging me deeper and deeper until my vision starts to haze over.

I thrash against the vines curling around my body. I feel a rumble through the bubble I'm in and throw my bleary gaze in the direction it came from. I don't know what's going on, but it feels like someone's getting the business out there. Then the rumbling quiets after a moment.

I thrash again and let out a bellow, freezing the entire bubble around me. It crashes to the ground, and I start hacking out the disgusting gunk from my throat. "My, aren't you a busy one." Kyoka hums as I shoot a harsh glare at her. "It looks like you'll just have to be presented wounds and all. Take her and make sure she's well contained." She orders to a guard. "And do try to keep her body from sustaining any more damage."

I spit at her feet. "Why? Why go through all the trouble of keeping me alive?" I bark as my arms are seized. "I've destroyed countless guilds that work for you, I've taken out hundreds of bounty hunters that work for you! Just what the hell are you planning?!"

She snatches my face, gripping so tight, it brings tears to my eyes. "Because Lord Zeref wrote of the Seer who would serve under him, destroying countless continents all in his name. So, if you get banged up, that's entirely on you, and you're the one who's to explain you don't know when to sit still."

I lunge, biting her hand savagely before she rears it back and cracks it across my face. I stumble, my vision whites immediately and I slip forward, wondering whether or not that killed me. Because it sure felt like it.

~*****~

When I come to, I'm once again strung up like I was before, in an isolated room that reeks of blood. The door opens again and Silver steps in with a small cup of water looks like water. My nose crinkles as I try to find anything suspicious, but it just smells like water. "Thirsty?" He hums.

I grimace and grind my teeth. "More like hungry... and in need of some pain killers." I retort plainly. "Water will do, I guess," I murmur. Silver snorts and holds the cup to my lips and lets me drink deeply. I sigh in response before sagging back down, my eye fluttering shut from the relief of dehydration disappearing.

Once he leaves, the building begins to shake violently, shaking my bones as the chains are pulled tight, keeping me in place as to reduce harm. Surprisingly the chains around my wrists loosen immediately, dropping me to the ground. I lay on the floor for a moment, debating on whether or not to sleep off the aches and pains, but a familiar smell wafts across my nose as the door creaks open, seemingly on it's own. I groan before getting up. I stumble out into the hall, wincing at the harsh light burning at my eye. I start limping down the hall.

My body jumps at the sound of hundreds of guards running towards me, and it urges me to go faster. I come to a set of stairs, letting out an ungodly shriek as I sail forward and into someone incredible warm. We both shout out in surprise as we bounce down the stairs before sprawling out on the ground at the bottom. I still hear the clanging of the guards behind us, but I can't seem to focus past the tight embrace the familiar smell has me in.

"You're alive--" Natsu's voice rings in my ears. It's shaky and light, but it's filled with emotion. My eye wells up and I return the embrace, sighing through my nose in relief. "Did these jerks do this to you?" Natsu asked as he pulled me away from him, eyes scanning the bloodied mess on my face.

I palm at it tenderly. "I got caught off guard, that's all." I explain in embarrassment.

Natsu's body suddenly gives off more heat, the contact creating steam from my skin. "They're gonna pay." He growls lowly. "Come on, let's get you something to wear."

He lifts me up without another word and runs down another hallway. We come to a small room filled with supplies, which thankfully held some strange clothes. I tugged on the pants and shirt slowly before Natsu approaches with some bandages and something to clean my wound with.

"Let me know if I hurt you," Natsu hums lightly. I nod after a moment and sit still as he cleans the viscera surrounding my damaged eye. It doesn't really hurt. It's just tender. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you..."

I shake my head after he ties off the bandages covering my eye. "You'd been in the same position as me. Imprisoned with limited food and water." I retort plainly. "Did Ballad make it home okay?"

Natsu nods and stoops down, offering to carry me on his back. He takes off down the hall. "When she got back, she was too upset to even say anything properly. We pieced it together when we heard about the bombing. I..." Natsu trailed off, his grip on my legs suddenly getting tighter. "I refused to believe that took you out."

"How many days has it been?" I ask gingerly. "It feels like it's been forever since I've seen the sunlight..." My good eye peers out the windows as we pass them.

"It's only been two days." Natsu retorts softly, once again heating up in his anger. "I'm gonna get you out of here. I promise."

I nod sullenly and lean into his back, arms dangling over his shoulders. We hear someone down the hall, and it sounds like Lucy, Ballad, and Happy shouting at someone. I perk up a bit and it dies down to a grimace at the creepy looking pink monster trying to snatch someone out of the air. "Almost got ya, little one!" The monster barks with a laugh. Little one could only mean one thing. He was going after Wendy.

Natsu slings his arm forward, destroying the arm reaching for her. "Back off, eyeball!" Natsu barks as I lean against the wall. "You're dealin' with me."

There's an loud screech that makes my ears sting before Ballad squirms from the mess of wool and slams into my chest, sobbing violently as she chants my name. "You're okay!" Lucy and Happy cry.

"You again?" The pink monster barks irritably.

I grimace as Lucy grasps onto my arm to help me stand and Happy plops onto my head. "Figured you guys would show up in the nick of time." Lucy mentions.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay!" Happy sobs.

"We owe you one!" Wendy shouts from outside. "Thank you!"

Natsu peered out of the hole curiously. "Well, they blasted outta here pretty quickly." Natsu mentioned. "Where are they goin'? By the way, what are the three of you doin' all the way down here?" Natsu asked Lucy.

"Face is already counting down, and we can only stop it on-site!" Lucy exclaimed urgently.

"Face?" I echo. I palm at my head tenderly. "I'm gonna need someone to fill me in when they get the chance."

Natsu flinched. "Not good! We still need to save Mirajane, too!" Natsu exclaims.

"Mira's fine," I murmur. "They were going to do an experiment on me that they were already doing on Mira. My guess is they're trying to make more demons. And Mira's already got demon blood in her to use her Satan Souls. If anything, they're signing their own death warrant." I wince and grasp at my injured eye as it gives a painful throb. "Wendy can handle taking down whatever the hell Face is--"

The monster lets out a roar of irritation. He begins growing in size until he looks a bit like Taurus. "Time to face the revolution, kids!"

"Why does he look like cow man?" Happy asked.

"Did he absorb Taurus and Aries somehow?" Lucy wondered.

"Yes, I did! Thanks for summoning such tasty souls for me to eat!" The monster exclaimed with a wide grin. "They allowed me to perform a rather potent revolution. There's a hefty fee for making me lose those little rats, and I'll make sure that you pay it with interest!"

"Wow, you're dumb," Natsu comments. "Wendy is a human, not a rat."

"Yeah! I know that!" The monster cried indignantly. "I may have only one eye, but that doesn't mean I can't see you clear as day! I called her a rat cause she sneaks around like one! It's really not a hard concept to grasp!"

"Oh, and so we're clear, Carla is a cat." Natsu adds.

"Okay, now you're just being annoying!" The monster exclaims angrily.

"You will release Taurus and Aries." Lucy states firmly, setting me to lean against the wall.

"In your dreams, pig tails!" The monster laughs. "They're part of my precious collection now, and I have no intention of giving them up!"

"Fine by me!" Natsu growls, his fists lighting up with fire. "It'll be a blast ripping them out of you! Rat bastard!"

"Oh, so it's okay for you to say it?" The monster exclaims irritably. At the last moment, the monsters head disappears and Arie's head pops into place. We all flinch at the sound of her calling his name before the monster cracks a fist atop of Natsu's back, slamming him into the ground.

"No fair!" Happy cries.

"I can't hit him," Natsu admits through his teeth.

"That's fightin' dirty!" Happy exclaims.

"I bet your soul is top notch!" The monster cries. "I can't wait to add it to my collection!"

Natsu leaps backwards. "Too bad it's not for sale!"

Taurus head appears as he sails towards Natsu. "Please don't roast my tender loin!" Taurus cries out.

"Taurus, no!" Lucy cried.

"Sorry--" Natsu barked. "I can hit you!" He slugs the monster in the face, sending him tumbling backwards.

"Horrible..." Lucy whines.

"I understand where he's comin' from, but still..." Happy murmurs.

"I mean... Taurus can take harder hits, so it's fine, I think..." I mention as I pat at Ballad's head, who's still sobbing violently.

"You brat! I'll kill you!" The monster barks. "Well, if the small fries aren't gonna cut it, I have no choice but to show you my most powerful soul! You asked for this!" The monster cries as he starts shining brightly. He grows and grows, resembling a very familiar soul.

"I don't believe what I'm seeing. Why does he have his soul?" Happy murmured.

"What the hell is he doing with Hades' soul?" I ask shakily.

"Bull crap, it's totally off," Natsu retorted. The monster just laughed. "You don't even have the body right!"

"I don't like it," Lucy whimpered.

"The nuances of my appearance aren't important," The monster mentioned as he trotted forward. "Don't you get it? I've become the dark wizard, Hades!"

"I can see that's what you're goin' for." Natsu retorted.

"Can you? Because if you could, you would be cowering in fear right now! Obviously, you have no idea what a scary man he was!" The monster retorted.

"Yeah, no. I remember him pretty well," Natsu scoffed.

"He kinda caused us some trouble back in the day," I mention.

"Judging from that costume, we knew him way better than you." Happy added.

"That's enough! Shut your wretched traps and I will tell you all you never knew about him!" The monster exclaims. "You have heard of the dark guild, Grimoire Heart. Well, this man, a man after my own heart, led the thing! He was the darkest genius the world had seen since Zeref! Now feel free to grovel at my feet!"

"We said we knew who he was," I retort plainly.

"You should prolly work on your listening skills," Ballad states in a shaky tone.

"Seven years ago, as I was searching for Lord Zeref, I stumbled upon this fabulous hunk of carrion. This man was human in every name alone, because everything from his taste in books to his better eye radiated with power. Demonic power!" The monster exclaimed.

"So, how he got beat didn't reach you, huh?" I ask.

"Can't say I have, but I don't see why that would matter to me," The monster retorted.

"Oh, it matters!" Natsu grins. "Cause it was me who kicked his wrinkled butt!" He slugs the monster across the face, sending him sailing into a wall. "I already won this fight seven years ago! It's how my flames got their spark!"

"Yeah, man, Natsu already gave that Hades guy the business," Happy called out.

"But did you fight him alone?!" The monster retorted. We duck down in response as the monster sends Natsu flying.

"Natsu!" I called out.

"The body might not look like much, but once it's revved up, it doesn't quit!" The monster laughed gleefully. "Such power can only come from those who've seen the Abyss of Sorcery!" He slings his arm out, causing Natsu to flip from the wall. "Got ya!" The monster cried as he snagged Natsu's leg. His other arm slung out and grasped his shoulder. "Soon I'll be putting our soul in the bank!"

Natsu broke the hold on him. "Nah, I don't think so!" He shouted. "Lightning Flame Dragon Mode!" Natsu roared as he landed on his feet. "Lightning Flame Dragon Roar!"

I grasped onto the wall tightly, shielding my face as we get rained on by the debris of his attack. "Ooh, I've never had such a spicy soul... Let me absorb it!" The monster chirped.

"Say what now" I bark.

"So he can nom on the souls of Natsu's spells?" Happy asked. "I didn't even know that spells could have souls!"

The monster laughs gleefully as he's surrounded by flames. "I gotta say, that was a yummy little snack!"

"Sure didn't see that one comin'." Natsu mentioned.

"I can feel the scope of your strength from the taste you gave me!" The monster exclaimed. "You're likely the wizard who beat Jackal! But that doesn't speak for your odds with the rest of us! Cause we're all demons of the book of Zeref! Each of us a unique and living weapon from a far better time. Expertly crafted by the cruelest of hands. You'd do yourself a service by keeping sight of the fact that each of us has the strength of a full army! And a lust for human pain! Now I'm no gambler, but against demonic curses, human magic has worse odds than a three-legged goat in a lion's den! Oh, and countdown update. If you're going to win against those odds, you'd better do it in the next ten minutes, or else you'll have no magic to fight with. I'll have to ask you how it feels. Once the magic's been torn away from you, tell me what's left!"

"Somethin' tells me you don't really give a hoot about our feelings!" Ballad chirps irritably.

"Wish we knew exactly how much time was left." Lucy murmured.

"You have a remaining nine minutes and forty-three seconds." Horologium stated, suddenly popping out of nowhere.

"All we have is Wendy..." Lucy murmured after a bit. "Just Wendy..."

I pat at Lucy's shoulder and offer her a smile. "Wendy'll be just fine. Besides, it's not just her. She's got Carla as well; they'll think of something to stop it. You forget the girl is stronger than she looks."

Lucy nodded sullenly. "I know..."

~*****~

The cube begins to rumble violently, and it doesn't take genius to figure out what's happening. "Beat him up, quick, Natsu!" Ballad cried. There's an influx of magic somewhere out of Tartaros and I wince harshly, cupping at my eye as the power makes me dizzy. The sudden receding of it lightens my head almost immediately. The sense of danger disappears.

"Face has been unleashed!" The monster cried loudly.

"Uh," I chime. "You might wanna check again!" I comment. I raise my palm and a small sphere of ice pops upwards. Natsu raises his fist that's still on fire and brandishes a wide grin.

"I still have my magic!" Natsu exclaimed.

"So do I," Lucy hums as she touches her key holder.

I nudge at her arm. "Told you, Wendy and Carla totally took care of business."

Lucy grunted. "Yeah, yeah, don't rub it in." Lucy murmured.

"What the-- how could this've happened?!" The monster cried as he landed on his back.

"It's simple, your little plan didn't work!" Natsu exclaimed.

"It's horrible. We've failed!" The monster cried indignantly. "I shudder to think how far this blunder set us back! It pains me!"

"Now let our friend go!" Natsu barks.

The monster doesn't respond. "It's mind boggling, this failure. What is the cost? What is the cost?" He immediately leaps up and attacks. "One hundred thousand of your souls! I'll start by collecting your souls, and those of all your stupid friends, and I won't stop until every living thing in Earthland has been made into an empty shell!"

Natsu struggled to dodge every blow the monster sent out. "How can I stop this freak?!" He asked angrily.

"We gotta do something, quick!" Lucy chirped.

"But what can we do?" Happy asked. "He absorbed everything we've thrown at him! He even ate up your spirits!"

"Don't forget that I have all of Hades' spells at my disposal!" The monster cried.

I give a sharp wince as we're surrounded by a magic circle. "This is bad--" I comment.

"Your fate has been sealed!" The monster shouted. "Amaterasu Formula 28!"

The magic circle goes off, and it cracks my head against the ground hard. I can't seem to move a muscle anymore. My head goes fuzzy again and I struggle to keep my eye open. My body lurches as something wraps around my ankle and pulling me up into the air. My head spins as I stare at the horrified faces of my friends just before I'm thrown onto the ground again. My head fuzzes over harder, like I'd been slugged super hard in the face one too many times.

I don't immediately come to. I can't seem to open my eye. It feels like it's rusted shut. I pry it open slowly and grimace at the face staring down at me, saying something, but it's all muddled. It clears up and I make out Lucy telling me about Master Hades' ghost, and that just about does it for me. I conk straight back out.