~Gajeel~

“Damn!” I growled, cutting through another demon. “There’s no end to these damned things!”

“And they’re spreading faster than we can kill them,” Gray agreed. “I’m actually surprised Mavis hasn’t shown up by now to kick our asses for letting this mess happen.”

“She’s probably busy mobilizing the other angels,” Laxus sighed. “With these demons spreading all over the place, it’s going to take damn near all of us to fight them.”

“And then there’s Lucifer,” I said, gripping my blade a little harder.

“He’s going to be the toughest,” Natsu grinned, using his fire to destroy several demons at once.

“That doesn’t matter,” Cana interjected. “Were going to cut off that bastard’s head for what his followers did to Levy.” She swung her whip-like tail, slicing two demons in half with it.

I nodded, silently thankful she hadn’t used that thing on me back in the bus. “We just have to find him.”

“I know someone who will be able to help,” Erza suddenly said. We all frowned as she lifted her hand to her mouth, letting out a loud whistle.

“What the hell was that?” I snapped, covering my ears. Before she could answer, the ground beneath our feet began shaking, and the asphalt began cracking.

“Out of the way!” Jellal ordered, looking as if he knew what was coming.

Bursting through the asphalt came a large demon. Not just any demon, no. Not for the great guardian Erza Scarlet. This demon was the great hellhound Cerberus. Its three heads all turned to Erza, six black eyes focusing solely on her. The lion-like paws cracked the asphalt it stood on, and its snake-like tail whipped around behind it. Around the heads, in the form of what looked like a mane, were snakes. They hissed, the sound seeming to echo through the air, creating a chill that even the demons around us noticed—and they immediately fled the area.

I readied my blade, preparing to strike if Cerberus attacked Erza. What the hell is he doing here?! Cerberus was the guardian of the underworld, protecting the dead souls while keeping live beings out.

“Good boy,” Erza suddenly smiled, reaching up and petting one of the hellhound’s heads. My mouth fell open as I gaped at her, and when I looked over at Laxus, he was mirroring my expression.

“What the hell, Erza?!” Natsu exclaimed, pointing to the hellhound. “You can summon Cerberus?!”

“I trained him,” she said, simply. I laughed as Natsu gaped at her.

“She certainly is quite a woman,” Jellal murmured, chuckling.

I raised an eyebrow at him, smirking. “Is she?”

“Shut up,” he snapped.

It was then I noticed the demon standing next to Cerberus. He was a panther demon, and had large white wings that resembled an angel’s. He approached Erza, smiling and taking her hand in a firm, familiar handshake.

“Lily, it’s good to see you,” Erza smiled.

“You as well, Erza.”

“Friends, this is Pantherlily, another guardian of the underworld, like Cerberus and myself. He stayed with Cerberus, protecting deeper sections of the underworld after I was put in charge of guarding Lucifer’s seal.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Lily nodded to us before turning back to Erza. “What have you called on us for?”

“We need your help in the mortal world for now,” Erza told him. “Lucifer has been set free, and demons have begun attacking the humans. We need to stop them, but we must first find Lucifer. Can you find him?” She looked at the hellhound as she asked the last part, smiling in satisfaction when the beast nodded its heads.

“Juvia understands!” She gasped. “Erza is going to have Cerberus sniff out Lucifer!”

“He can do that?” I asked.

Erza nodded. “Cerberus can locate any demon by following their scent.”

“Then let’s get going!” I said.

“Lily, will you go to the Angels’ bus and help protect two of our comrades there? One is severely injured, and the other is exhausted from healing her. They may need your help if Jellal’s and my barrier fail,” Erza asked.

He nodded, extending his wings and flying in the direction of our tour bus. Good. Now that Levy will have more protection, I can go after Lucifer without worrying. The only way to end this is to kill him, so we need to hurry!

~Levy~

I awoke to the sound of metal screeching and someone screaming. As I struggled to open my eyes, I felt a large hand grip my throat and pull me out of Gajeel’s bed. My eyes immediately snapped open as I searched for my attacker. Had I been able to breathe, I would have gasped when I saw him. He had the same red eyes and raven-black hair as Gajeel, but his was much shorter. There was a scar across his nose, and large, black wings stretched out behind him as he flew up. They were breathtakingly beautiful. They were identical to the angels’, but they appeared to have been dyed black. It was extraordinary.

As he continued upwards, I realized what the metal sound had been; the roof had been torn off the bus. That means the scream was Lucy! I struggled against the hand on my throat, trying to break free so I could look for my friend.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Levy McGarden,” the demon smirked, dropping me onto a rooftop.

I coughed, gasping for air. My body felt so heavy that it was difficult to even accomplish that much. How am I still alive? I wondered, amazed. My blood had nearly been drained in order to set Lucifer free, not to mention there had been a gaping hole in my stomach. I touched my bandaged abdomen, realizing there still was a gaping hole in my stomach. I could feel the stiches barely holding it together, and knew that if they popped it would end badly for me.

“Who….are you?” I managed, forcing my body upright. I made it to my feet, but the effort left me struggling to breathe again. “I was sleeping, damn it.”

The smirk remained on his face, just pissing me off even more. “I go by the name Rogue, as I have for many centuries. But, you may know me as Mephistopheles.”

I stared at him in bewilderment. “Meph—Mephistopheles?” Oh, shit. Please tell me he’s lying. If he wasn’t, I was definitely about to die. There was no doubt about that.

Mephistopheles, meaning “he who loves not the light,” was once a grand angel of heaven. But, when the rebellion happened, and Lucifer was cast out of heaven, Mephistopheles was the first to follow him, becoming the second fallen angel. In exchange for his loyalty, Lucifer made him his second-in-command, and gave him a lot of power in Hell.

“My subordinates told me that you had escaped, no thanks to that damned angel, so I came to find you. Master Lucifer wants you dead, so I am here to see to that.”

“Why?” I asked, trying to back away as he came closer. I couldn’t get my legs to work, however, and he was quickly upon me.

“Because you are the only one capable of sealing him again.”

“What—” He didn’t give me time to ask what he meant. Raising his hand, he punched me, sending me rolling across the rooftop.

“Ok Mephistopheles, Rogue, whoever you are—you’re really pissing me off!” I threw as much energy as I could muster at him, smiling in satisfaction when it hit him in the chest. That smile immediately fell when my magic dissipated as soon as it touched him.

“You’re still weak from your injuries,” Rogue tsked. “Shall I show you what real magic looks like?” As he spoke, a dark energy began swirling around him. Tendrils of black shadows came up from the ground and more seemed to leak out of his body.

“Angels can’t use magic,” I frowned. Although he was one of the fallen, he had originally been an angel. No such magic existed that the angels used.

“Master Lucifer gave me this magic as a gift,” he told me. “Wonderful, isn’t it? Wait until you see what I can do with it.” A tendril shot forward, wrapping around one of my ankles, pulling my leg out from under me. Before I could hit the ground, there was a tug on the magic and I was flying through the air. I extended my wings, barely able to catch myself before I fell to the ground.

“You’re disappointing me, Levy!” Rogue snapped, flying towards me. Another magic tendril snaked forward, the end a sharp point. It was headed straight for my chest, but I couldn’t convince my body to move. I felt dizzy and nauseous, and it was hard to keep my eyes open. Feeling warmth on my legs, I looked down, gasping when I noticed the blood-soaked bandages. They were soaked completely through, and blood was trickling down my body, falling to my legs and the ground around me. Damn it, I thought, angrily. Now isn’t the time to go passing out!

Right before Rogue’s magic reached me, something crashed into him, sending him flying into a nearby wall. “Are you alright?” Asked Rogue’s attacker. He was a large Panther demon, and held a guardian’s sword in his hands. Erza must have sent him, I thought, relieved.

“Yeah, just fine,” I said, sarcastically. “I’m just dying a little.”

“Your blonde friend is waiting for us back at the bus,” he said, lifting me. “She was waking up when I arrived, and I instructed her to wait there until I could bring you back. I feared you may need more medical treatment.”

“Thanks,” I nodded. “I’m Levy.”

“I am Pantherlily,” he smiled. “You may call me Lily.”

“Listen, Lily,” I said, serious, “this guy is Mephistopheles. You need to go get Gajeel. This is serious.”

“Did you say Mephistopheles?” Lucy gasped. We had arrived at the bus, and Lily had placed me on the sofa in what used to be the main room.

“Yeah, why?” I asked.

“This is bad,” she murmured, looking worried. “Lily, you have to go get Gajeel. Tell him Rogue is here.”

“I can—”

“You can’t!” Lucy snapped, actually looking afraid. “Lily, please. Get Gajeel.” Giving in, Lily nodded and flew off.

“Lucy, what aren’t you telling us?” I frowned, wincing as she began changing my bandages. She worked quickly. Although Lily had knocked him into a building, it was hard to tell how long that would put him out of commission. Most likely, he’d be back for me soon.

“We need to fix your stitches,” she said, ignoring me.

I grabbed her hands, meeting her eyes. “Lucy. Why was it so important for Gajeel to come and fight Rogue?”

“He’s the only one who will be able to defeat him,” she told me, quietly.

“Why?” I asked.

She sighed. “Because Rogue is Gajeel’s brother.”

{*dramatic music* DUN DUN DUUUUUN!  Wifey did it}