Chapter 9 Lucifer

As the final hours of the 24 hour limit passed, Rin, Natsu, and everyone else going prepared. Levy ad Yukio, once prepared, began searching for the where-about of Lucifer. In the few hours they lost her, Lucifer somehow was already being reported about all throughout the nearest areas. The last place she was reported was actually pretty far, but that still wasn't a problem for them.

"Ok, now the 24 hours are practically over, we'll all be leaving now to the last known sighting of Lucifer. It'll be quick using our special keys." Yukio said.

"Do you have any plan of freeing Lucy?" Erza asked.

"I memorized a few mantras and have plenty of holy water on hand. If those don't work, then I honestly don't think there'll be any way to save her." Yukio explained.

"We will save her!" Rin exclaimed.

"I know how you feel Rin, but don't forget, this is still an evil and powerful demon we're dealing with." Yukio said.

"I don't care! I'll save her, no matter what." Rin said, tightly clenching his fist.

"We all will." Wendy reassured him.

Now that everyone was calm again, Yukio stood in front of everyone as he took out his special key to use on the door. When the door was opened, Yukio lead everyone through it, leading them directly into the city Fresha, one of the oldest cities that was practically sitting right between where everyone just was and where Lucifer was sealed away.

"So, this was the place Lucifer was last seen?" Gray wondered aloud.

"Right. And going on what little information we have on her, the best places to start are the most empty areas." Yukio said.

"Sounds like a plan. We should probably all slit up if that's the case. If you find anything, do something to let everyone know where you are." Erza said.

With everyone agreeing on that, they all went off in different directions of the city. Every path they all took basically lead them to the outskirts of the city or to the higher places like hills and tall buildings. After what felt like hours of searching to everyone, the sound of a gun shot that came with a red flare in the air caught everyone in the group's attention. The place they all met was at a massive tunnel in small hill. Yukio was waiting there for everyone.

"Yukio, you found where she was hiding?" Rin asked, rushing to his brother's side.

"Yeah. When I got close to this place, I could just sense the blood lust coming from there." Yukio explained.

"I don't care how dangerous she is. We aren't leaving without Lucy." Natsu said, cracking his knuckles.

"For once, we agree." Rin said.

Everyone went into the cave at once. It seemed to be leading further down than just straight inward. After about 10 to 15 of minutes of walking, the large group found themselves in an underground cavern that had purple and blow crystals that lit up the cavern enough for everyone to see, even as they were underground.

"Sure picked one hell of a place to hide." Gajeel said.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice echoed in the cavern.

The entire group got into battle positions when they heard that familiar voice. After the voice came the sound of claws tapping on the ground. The taps came one after another, like someone walking. They were able to pin point the sound coming from behind the biggest crystal in the cave. Soon, the source of the tapping, which they all guessed was Lucifer, reveled itself. But, when they saw Lucifer, the faces' of the entire group paled, Levy and Wendy specifically covered their mouths in shock.

"Th-that's...No way..." Rin said.

"That witch..." Yukio grunted.

"No...Lucy..." Happy trailed off, shaking.

What everyone saw was still Lucy's body, but Lucifer had made some 'changes', as she said she would. Lucifer's hair was now black, ankle length, and was spiky all over, excluding her bangs which resembled a raven's peak. And, already assuming from the tapping, Lucifer's now bare feet and hands both had razor sharp claw-like nails. Her skin was now completely white, some scales even on her arms, legs, and cheeks.

Everyone already knew of Lucifer's purple eyes, but they could see she now had fangs, as she was smirking with her teeth visible. She somehow got her hands on a navy blue kimono top that stopped around her forearms instead of her shoulders that was tied closed at her waist with a crimson sash. Lucifer's last article of clothing was a simple pair of bike shorts and a midriff black tank-top underneath the kimono top.

"So, do you all like my changes? I think this suits this girl very well." Lucifer said, twirling a strand of hair.

"You bitch! What have you done to Lucy!?" Natsu growled.

"I said I was going to make changes, remember?" Lucifer said, nonchalantly walking towards the group.

"Even if you did, with full control, now we don't have to worry about hurting Lucy!" Erza said, equipping her black bat armor.

"Hehe. Even ignoring that fact, you people can't win." Lucifer said, stopping in front of the giant crystal.

"It's one of you against all of us!" Levy declared.

"Ha. You honestly think numbers will give you even a small advantage? There's a reason why Satan thought I was a threat." Lucifer said, holding out one of her arms.

Then, the instant she clenched her open hand, Lucifer's whole body was engulfed in what appeared to be purple flames. Rin and Yukio recognized it before anyone else. It resembled the same way flames covered Yukio's body when Satan possessed him. But, the shape the flames took were different. On both sides of her head, Lucifer's flames curved upwards, and by the base of her back, the flames created a long tail. The shape lead everyone to recognize the shape as that of a cobra.

"Fire?! No way!" Charla gaped.

"It's...Satan's flames. But, how?" Yukio said.

"Hehe. Mine aren't as strong as Satan's flames, but I use them with much better control." Lucifer said, simply snapping her fingers to make her tail made of flames shoot towards Rin, Natsu, and the rest of the group.

"Everyone, move!" Natsu exclaimed, jumping out of the way himself. Everyone was able to dodge as well, but smaller flames remained where they stood.

"Damn you!" Natsu shouted, charging at Lucifer. Even with his fists engulfed in flames, when Natsu constantly tried to land a hit on Lucifer, she just moved out the way by moving back and forth like a leave swaying in the wind.

"Hahaha. I know all of your moves, Dragneel. My little Lucy has seen all of your fights, and with my snake abilities, I can dodge with the simplest of motions." Lucifer said, ending her sentence by grabbing Natsu's wrist when he tried punching once again. With a strong grip keeping Natsu in place, Lucifer proceeded to land consecutive blows on his face and chest at high speeds.

"Natsu!" Happy exclaimed, flying above. It wasn't long before Erza came flying in, swing a dual set of swords down on top of Lucifer, forcing her to let of Natsu and jump back.

"Ah, the lovely Titania. You know, if you came to me, maybe you would've had the pleasure of being my new host." Lucifer smirked. Not even bothering with a reply, Erza reequipped into her Heaven's Wheel armor, which she used to attack Lucifer.

"Heaven's wheel: Scatter Petal!" Erza exclaimed, already being airborne.

Even with all of the consecutive blades being thrown down at Lucifer, she barely had to move her feet and the rest of her body to avoid all of the blades. When the dust cleared, Lucifer was once again unscathed from another attack.

"Dammit..." Erza grunted.

"Attacking consecutively or precisely. Always your predictable but effective fighting style." Lucifer said. Once that was said, Lucifer suddenly vanished from everyone's sight.

"Where is she?" Erza said, looking below her.

"Erza, above you!" Gray exclaimed.

Even as Gray exclaimed that, Erza was too slow to look behind herself to see Lucifer ready to slam her heel on Erza's head. When Lucifer landed her blow on Erza's head, Erza was slammed directly onto the ground, enough force applied to create a crater where Erza landed. It took Erza a few moments before she tried to stand up.

"Heh. Expected more from the great and mighty Erza Scarlet." Lucifer said, landing a good distance away from the red haired swordswoman. Further away from where she stood, Gray was now also preparing to attack.

"Ice Make: Cannon!" Gray exclaimed.

Just as the name describes the attack, a massive cannon made of ice shot out an equally large chunk of ice directly at Lucifer. It appeared like it was going to hit her, but at the last minute, Lucifer effortlessly used the flames that enveloped her to split the ice in two, causing it to miss her just as it melted.

"Gray Fullbuster. Shouldn't you be home with your little water girlfriend, Juvia?" Lucifer said, slowly turning to Gray.

Before Gray could react to that statement, Lucifer moved at incredible speed to be able to be right behind Gray before he could realize it. Lucifer roughly slammed her foot on Gray's back, sending him flying forward before he skidded on the ground a few times, slowly coming to a stop. Next was Wendy, who was further back as well.

"Sky Dragon: Roar!" Wendy cried. A spiral of wind enveloped where Lucifer stood. When all of the wind finally dissipated, once again, Lucifer had just disappeared.

"Wh-wha?!" Wendy panicked. Before she could continue panicking, Wendy's whole body stiffened when a cold scaly hand landed on her head.

"Little, little, Wendy. You really shouldn't be here. After all, you were always such a pacifistic whiner." Lucifer whispered in Wendy's ear, ending it by slamming Wendy's face into the ground. Since she didn't seem to be moving, it was obvious Wendy was knocked unconscious.

"Wendy!" Charla exclaimed, rushing to Wendy's side. Now, it was Rin's turn when he lunged at Lucifer with his sword unsheathed. His sword collided with Lucifer's arms that she put crossed in front of her, pushing her back at least a few feet.

"Rin. You finally decided to see me personally." Lucifer said, smiling.

Letting out a low growl, Rin pulled his sword off her arms to try and swing it down on her. Lucifer easily jumped back and out of the way, but behind her, Natsu jumped up behind her and was close to landing a hit on the back of Lucifer's head before she just barely moved. Natsu and Rin started attacking her in a pattern, even if they were constantly missing. It was soon enough to push Lucifer back against the wall.

"Gottcha!" Natsu and Rin exclaimed, each about to actually land a blow on her. But, just before they did, the flames around Lucifer vanished her arms went over her head, blocking her eyes and most of the view of her head.

"Natsu! Rin! Please stop!" Lucifer shouted.

But, her voice was now completely different. Hearing that difference in her voice made both flame-using fighters stop their attacks before they made contact, both of their faces now suddenly appearing much more pale and breaking out in a cold sweat.

"W-wait, wasn't that..." Rin muttered.

"It couldn't be..." Natsu said.

Slowly, Lucifer lowered her arms, revealing her face. When she was clearly visible, Natsu's and Rin's mouths gaped open while they couldn't help but back away. The face the two boys now saw wasn't Lucifer's, with her white skin, purple eyes, and black hair. It was Lucy. Their Lucy, blonde hair, normal light tan skin, and her warm brown eyes.

"Lucy..." Natsu and Rin said under their breath. Now, both of them having their guard down, Lucy suddenly wickedly smiled.

"You naïve little fools!" Lucy laughed, slamming her foot down on the ground with enough force to send Natsu and Rin flying back a few feet before slamming back onto the ground.

"Rin!" Yukio exclaimed, rushing to his side.

"What happened?!" Levy said, rushing over with Gajeel right behind her. Before either Natsu or Rin could answer, Lucy, or still Lucifer, now stood before the remaining fighters. They could now all see that Lucifer only made herself look like Lucy from the neck up, not too mention changing her voice to now match Lucy's.

"Come now. You should've known I had another trick up sleeve." Lucifer said, still using Lucy's voice and face.