Control

ⅩⅫⅠ

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

Makarov of Fairy Tail towered over the Communication Lacrima where Sting's face displayed heavy shadows under his usually bright eyes. The blonde male held a look of remorse and dissatisfaction plastered on his skin.

"Rin appeared at Sabertooth on the day of the storm with injuries that would've been fatal had she not shown up. After we treated her, she was kidnapped by a woman claiming to be a demon from Tartaros." Just replaying the day in his head made Sting want to jump out the window and run after her, but relaying it all out loud was like the knife in his chest was being twisted.

"So they really have begun to move," Makarov mumbled. Sting barely caught the words with his advanced hearing.

"What do you mean?"

"It's too much to explain now, but Tartaros is after the current and former Councilmen. I've sent multiple teams out to protect them, but so far only Natsu's team has been successful in protecting one. Yet, Natsu and Happy have disappeared in search of Erza and Mira who went missing on their assignment..."

Sting's jaw dropped at the revelation as he gazed into the orb. Natsu is unresponsive?! If he goes down, what chance do I have at saving Rin?

Makarov took notice of the distraught look on the young master's face. "Don't worry, child. My brats are strong. This battle may be tough, but I believe Natsu will bring them back safely." Sting's face fell even more despite the reassurance given to him. "Rin as well."

"You didn't see the look on her face," Sting mumbled. "I never thought I'd see her so scared... Not to mention she doesn't have magic to defend herself."

"Knowing Rin, that brat has a couple tricks up her sleeve." Sting nodded but the sad look never left his features. "Something like this won't break her down. Magic or no magic." The blonde sighed and smacked his hands to his cheeks.

"You're right." He gave the old man an optimistic grin. "It's Rin we're talking about."

"If you want to be of assistance to us in our investigation on the dark guild, I recommend you come to us. If Erza's suspicions are correct, then we may be able to find that girl from your guild as well."

"Minerva?" Makarov nodded. "I got a letter from Erza, but the writing is so bad, it's practically unreadable." The old man sweatdropped with a knowing sigh.

"That's Erza for you..."

"Rogue and I will head out for Fairy Tail immediately." With a final nod of acknowledgement, the call ended and Sting headed away to find his partner.

Little did they know that by the time they reached Magnolia, Tartaros would bring complete and utter chaos to the world.

竜

She felt as if her hair was going to rip from her skull and leave bald spots with nothing but skin and caked blood. Empusa could've easily teleported the two of them to their destination, but she knew that the demon wanted to torture her just that tiny bit more. Rin's body scraped against the rigid ground of Tartaros' main base as she was being dragged around by Empusa while she leisurely walked around.

The two finally made it to a familiar area which meant they were close to the "torture chamber" that Rin previously resided in for the past month. The heavy metal door swung open with a loud, rusty creak and a musty smell wafted out and suffocated Rin's exceptional nose.

Empusa tossed the girl to the ground inside and proceeded to kick her around with an emotionless stare. Rin grunted and glared at the woman.

"Just chain me up already!" Empusa scoffed and almost showed a sign of irritation but it was quickly covered by the same deadpan expression that she always wore. The demon acknowledged the Dragon Slayer's request and dragged her beaten body toward the back wall where the shackles dangled, just waiting for their victim to return to their hold.

Empusa lifted one wrist at a time, locking the cuffs tightly around Rin's pale wrists. She winced slightly as the sharp metal pushed roughly into her skin, but made no other signs of weakness.

"Now then, shall we pick up where we left off?"

"Whatever, you hag..." At the insult, Empusa shifted her hand into the claws owned by Kyoka, one of the Nine Demon Gates. With the sharp weapons, she slashed across Rin's body. There wasn't a single inch of her skin that wasn't covered in blood by the time she was done. However, the screams Empusa was aiming for never emitted from her throat.

Instead, only deep heaving breaths escaped her lips. "Is... Is that all?" Rin's eyes gleamed in the dark room with confidence, almost teasing the demon before her. "You can beat me however you want, but I'll never break. It's my job to stay strong."

"Are you sure about that?" Rin scoffed and grinned at the woman before her.

"There's no greater pain than loss." A frown, just barely noticeable, made itself apparent on Empusa's face. Her dark skin began to morph into a more muscular build and her dull olive hair faded into a dirty blonde that reached her shoulders. Her face became more masculine and her eyes were sharper. She looked identical to Tempester, although the color of her eyes remained the same; completely white.

"I think it's time to go to sleep." Following her words, Empusa used one of her comrade's abilities which required her own body to self destruct, contaminating the Ethernano in the oxygen that the girl breathed. "I'll be back soon." Her body glowed a bright purple before disappearing, leaving a black mist.

Rin couldn't help but inhale the contaminants and allow them to attack her body. She could feel her consciousness fading as her body began to give out. However, what Empusa missed was the smile of long-waited satisfaction adorning Rin's cracked lips.

竜

The next chapter is gonna skip ahead a bit, but it's a bit longer than normal chapters.

I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading!