Hello everyone! Mslead here to bring you a special update from Kytrin and myself! This was a discontinued long-fic we were working on before we started Reset. Because of the similar basis the stories took, we decided to trim this fic down to a three-shot since we still liked the idea and direction it was taking. So here is Sovereign redone as a three-shot. This fic is already completed, I just wanted to get this up and posted for everyone's enjoyment!

CHAPTER ONE

Tyrant

"Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible. But in the end, they always fall. Always."
― Mahatma Gandhi

In the pit of Tartaros, End was bored. Actually, as Mard Geer droned on and on, he decided bored was an understatement. Why did he have to deal with every single minor detail of the council's agenda anyway? Who cared if some of the lesser demons had decided to build a village on some island? As long as they weren't causing trouble for the rest of them what difference did it make?

Unfortunately, his 'advisor' was of the opinion that he needed to know every intimate detail. And those details had to be delivered in the most monotone way possible.

End shifted in his seat, restless by the lack of motion. The helmet he wore which guarded his face was heavy, and the visor which shielded his eyes obscured parts of his vision. A thick cape was draped over his shoulders, specified for council meetings in his war room, but End didn't care much for it. In fact the whole get-up hindered his movements and made it difficult for him to work. However for the cost of his privacy, End would gladly suffer through the hard to see visor, cape, and other obscuring details on his face. His council and legion did not need to know what their King looked like.

But seriously, if Mardy didn't shut up soon he was either going to take a nap or set something on fire just for the fun of it. Either option was preferable to listening to him prattle any more.

Hell, he could even play around with Lullaby some. That would be amusing. The little flute was always good for a laugh. Especially when he got so mad over how he was played.

A wicked little smirk curled his lips as he recalled the last time, and how he'd laid waste to an entire village with farting noises.

"Sire, are you listening?"

He glanced over at Mard Geer and yawned, "No, not really."

The plant demon's expression darkened, "Sire! This is important..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever... lesser demons made a village on some dumb island. Who the hell cares?" He snorted dismissively, "It's not like they're strong enough to cause problems to anyone but humans."

He watched Mardy's mouth flap wordlessly open, his eyes wide as he regarded his king with shock bordering on offense.

END's face was mostly shielded from the sight of his lesser demon, but Mard Geer could no doubt see the grin curling up and over his lips.

"But m'lord END, this is flagrant insolence to your rule!" His advisor protested uselessly, "they should be punished!"

A huff of air escaped him, and he leaned back in his chair. He stroked a finger along the thick, shiny surface of his conference table. His finger drew a burning line over the wood, carving easily into the surface.

"On whose authority?" He questioned. Mard Geer couldn't see his eyes, but he no doubt could feel the way his gaze boiled and burned. Annoyance, creeping on anger was beginning to assert itself.

He was END, Master of Tartaros and King to all demons.

He did not take his orders, or dismissals, being ignored kindly.

Mard Geer detected the warning signs, and bowed his head in submission, "Yours, of course m'lord." He replied hastily, not eager to feel that burning wrath descend on him, "My concern was merely that you had not given them leave to form their own village."

"I didn't deny it either." END rumbled dangerously, "And as long as they stay out of our hair, I don't really care where they choose to settle."

"Yes... of course sire." Mard Geer replied haltingly, and he could practically taste the plant demon's distaste, and his fire flexed in response with a heat that had to be borderline painful.

"Then that's the end of it." He growled softly, enjoying the slightly pained look on Mardy's face under the force of his flames.

He left the heat going for a long minute before pulling it back, satisfied his warning had been heeded, and relaxed back into his chair, "Now, is there anything important I need to know about?"

Mard Geer and the other assembled Etherious glanced at each other before one slid a scroll over to him, "Just the tally of the loot from our latest attack sire."

He picked the scroll up and unfurled it with a delighted grin. Humans generally didn't have much, but sometimes they had interesting things lying around, and their livestock was always fun to eat. Maybe there would be something in there that could keep Mardy occupied for a while? He knew very well that the stuck up bastard wanted his throne, and if he was starting to push his boundaries, even over little things, then maybe it was time to give him something to chase his tail over.

On the list there seemed to be basic trinkets and gold, nothing of which truly caught his attention.

However, just as his eyes were about to skim over what had unfortunately seemed to be nothing of consequence, a sudden idea sprang to his mind.

His eyes dragged over a collection of books, no doubt once having belonged to someone who enjoyed them.

Well, he could make ample use of them. And get Mard Geer's puffed up attitude a true measure.

"Nothing interesting!" He dismissed with a grin and rolled up the scroll, pushing it away.

He rose from the table, his demons following suit just a moment later, following after his lead. End did not miss how quickly Mard Geer had also risen.

"You all are dismissed," he waved a bored hand. But his attention snapped towards his advisor, "Except for you. Come take a walk with me Mard Geer."

He didn't wait for the demon to fall into step next to him as he headed out of the room. He knew Mardy would be there as soon as he caught up. The other demon was always really good about showing off his status as the King's right hand. The only one allowed to be even relatively equal to him.

He repressed a snort at that. As if the plant bastard could actually be his equal. There was a reason he'd held onto his throne beyond Zeref's backing.

He let the silence drag on as he led Mard Geer out to the 'uninteresting' pile of loot, and began idly flipping through the gold and books. It was a habit of his to inspect their prizes even if he didn't find them valuable or interesting just in case something caught his eye in person. And today was no exception.

He carefully hid his grin as he picked up a book, ignoring Mard Geer's slightly impatient shuffling behind him. This was perfect.

"May I inquire as to what you wish to speak about sire?" Mard Geer finally asked when the silence had stretched on too long.

End barely restrained the urge to huff out a laugh. He was glad his headpiece prevented any sight of his eyes otherwise Mardy would immediately notice something was amiss.

"You may!" He drawled out the last word, tongue rolling over it as if tasting it in his mouth.

"Mard Geer, do you know why I chose for us to raid that town?" Boredom. It was definitely boredom.

His advisor looked unsure though, and End enjoyed watching him squirm.

"To expand your influence over the human swine and gain wealth?" He hesitated on his guess.

End barked out a laugh.

"You think I'm interested in their trinkets? Their baubles?" He really was. Humans made the coolest stuff sometimes, but his advisor didn't need to know that.

"I have been after this," he lifted the book he plucked from the stash up to his face, "my greatest weakness."

He had to force back a cackle as Mard Geer's eyes widened at the sight of the massive book with his name on it.

"Your book sire?" The plant demon breathed in awe, not daring to so much as twitch his fingers in its direction, "I was unaware you had one. How did a bunch of human insects get their hands on it?"

End couldn't contain his snort at Mardy's immediate conclusion, and hoped his advisor didn't pick up on the amusement under it, "Who knows?" He replied, "The point is they did and I had to get it back."

Yeah. Right. As if a bunch of non-magical humans could get their hands on any of the books in Zeref's library. His would be especially impossible since it didn't exist. Zeref was an asshole, but he was a genius asshole at least. And he'd ensured that his greatest demon couldn't be defeated by something as common as an external weakness like a book.

But Mardy didn't need to know that.

"I see." Mard Geer replied slowly, "What will you do with it now Master End?"

End smirked at the perfect opening as he made a pretense of brushing some of the dirt off it, subtly casting a mild curse as he did, and held it out to Mard Geer.

"M'lord?" The plant demon squeaked in surprised confusion, and End's smirk widened.

"I want you to hold onto it." He purred, "If anything happens to me this is the only way to bring me back."

Also the smell of fertilizer would follow him around for quite a while. The book END, really stood for "environment, nature, and duty" or some such nonsense. It was about farming.

"The book cannot be opened by any force or strength, only in the absence of magic will cause mine to spill from the pages," End lied, coming up with some false plan on the spot.

Really, the plan was genius. Mard Geer had his "book," which meant if he so much as made a toe out of line to overthrow End, it would be found out immediately.

It's care would have to soak up all of his advisor's attention, negligence if any kind would be grounds for death.

And End was itching for a reason to put Mard Geer in the ground.

"Such an honor," his advisor prattled on, his face sheet white and hands shaking.

End tuned out the rest of his words, soaking up instead the nervous flickering in Mardy's eyes. The cold sweat over his face filled him with glee.

Oh yes.

He always loved a good prank. Maybe End would make him hold onto it for only a decade.

Before he could think on it any longer, however, a deafening roar shattered the air above them. End whipped his head up in surprise, and narrowed his eyes.

"Igneel." He growled darkly as the familiar shape appeared in the distance. The fire dragon king and he had come to blows often over the course of their little war, but so far neither had been able to best the other. They'd fought to a standstill, and only retreated when neither could continue.

Except, this time, it didn't look like Igneel intended to play by their usual rules.

Dragon after dragon appeared in the skies around Tartaros, and End felt a surge of annoyance that they'd managed to get so close without any kind of warning.

"Get the defenses up!" He snarled as he spread his wings, "I want those dragons with Igneel dealt with!"

"What of Igneel himself?" Mard Geer asked, and End bared his fangs as he took off.

"I'll deal with the dragon king myself."

-::-

As it turned out, dealing with the dragon king was not a simple task when Igneel was a dirty cheating bastard.

Blood pooled down the side of End's head, his helm shattered along the side if his head and exposing matted down locks of pink hair. They were sticky with blood, and one furious eye glared out at the dragon from behind his visor.

Igneel's grip on him was tight, crushingly so which allowed no room for End to even wiggle a finger.

He had been pinned down, a nasty team up with a human sorceress and the dragons he hadn't seen coming. Humans and dragons working together, it was embarrassing for a king like Igneel.

He recognized the woman who had remained cleverly hidden until she struck, caging him with the weight and power of the heavenly stars themselves.

They weren't nearly enough to trap him. Not permanently, but it had been enough for Igneel to strike. Already he could feel the dragon attempting to root around in his mind, using his memory altering magic to bend End to his will.

He and the wretch, Anna.

When he got out of this, he would destroy every last one of her line.

"Igneel... I cannot hold him much longer." Anna said through gritted teeth, "If he cannot be brought under control then you must use it. Now."

Igneel never took his eyes away from End, his expression matching End's glare for glare, "Very well."

End renewed his struggles the moment the pressure from Igneel's mind eased, and he bared his fangs at both of them, "You think you can beat me permanently?" He demanded furiously, "I'm the demon king!"

"Not for much longer." Igneel rumbled as he dropped a heavy foreclaw on End's chest and began to softly chant.

End couldn't understand what he was saying, but he squirmed under the weight as he felt tendrils of magic licking at his skin and wrapping around him. Like a cocoon. Were they planning to try and smother him? Idiots. There was no way that could work!

That wasn't their plan though.

As the cocoon grew, and tightened, around him End could feel his strength begin to drain. This was expected. What wasn't expected was the disorienting sensation that he was falling despite already being on the ground, and the feeling of his clothes getting looser. Were they shrinking him?

He felt his helmet completely fall off as both Igneel and Anna got larger, and tried to glare at them both hard enough to set them on fire as his world continued to shrink until the cocoon of magic obscured his vision and he lost all sense of time.

The magic sank into his lungs, leaching through his very being as he felt that tendril of magic sneak within the heat of his magic and pluck something out.

He let out a cry of agony as his magic seemed to evaporate away, lashing violent against his body as it fought to stay with its master. But his body sagged down no matter how he tried to move, weakened limbs kicking out uselessly as sleep forced itself onto his mind.

And he heard Igneel's voice whisper in his ear, murmuring quiet words to make him forget.

But even as he fell through the haze, body giving up the fight where his spirit railed against it... End refused to forget.

It seemed like he was trapped in the cocoon forever, his body immobile.

Only when it was torn open by one black, shiny claw, did he manage to squint through the blinding light.

A bubble of panic and fear shot through him, blinking wide eyes at the face of a dragon staring down at him.

End sucked in a breath, his mouth opening. To demand Igneel to finish him and be done with it...

When the dragon king beat him to the punch.

"Don't be afraid hatchling," he rumbled kindly.

End stared at him in confusion, and involuntarily flinched a little when one of the claws flexed towards him a little. They were much bigger now, and they frightened him more than he'd ever dreamed they could.

"It's alright." Igneel soothed, "I'm not going to hurt you."

He laid his foreclaw out palm up and wriggled his claws a little, "See?" He grinned, "Nothing to be afraid of."

End opened his mouth to retort, but what escaped was a childish giggle.

His eyes widened and he slapped his hand over his mouth in horror that both Igneel and Anna seemed to misinterpret as fear. The blond woman knelt next to him and smiled.

"You have a wonderful laugh little one." She cooed gently, and against his will something in him melted at the soft smile of a mother, "Don't be afraid to let us hear it."

She tore off a part of her own dress and slowly crept forward, probably to avoid scaring him, "Now, let me just bandage up that wound of yours and we'll get you out of here. Tartaros is no place for a child."

What?

Before End could blink she was at his side, well within easy striking distance, and expertly bandaging the very head wound they'd given him earlier in the fight. His surprise was so great that he actually sat still as he tried to process this bizarre turn of events.

What the hell did they think they were doing?

But her words caught up to him a split second later, just as she finished tying off the gash on his head. A child? They thought he was-...?

He made to stand up, to move, do anything, but froze at the sight of his helmet.

The shiny surface reflected back at him, and END slowly reached a small hand up to touch a hand through soft pink hair and the strip of fabric Anna had used to bandage him up.

"I-I don't understand," End hated the soft tremble of confusion in his voice, but he really wasn't able to control it. It was as if all of his emotions were brought up to the surface, a childish mind the cause of it.

He felt weak, too weak to fight them. He couldn't even feel the sparks of his demonic flames. He could still feel them burning in him...

But it was like they were floating within him, ungrounded.

Anna snuck her hands under his tiny arms and End let out a surprised squeak as she picked him out from the wreckage and cradled him in her arms. The insolence! How dare she lay her filthy hands on him after reducing him to such a sorry state!

But she ran her fingers through his hair, curling him to her chest and humming softly, "It's okay little one. I know you're confused, you probably don't remember much, but we're here for you."

End tried to flail indignantly, but the feel of her fingers running through his hair pulled all kinds of instincts he hadn't even realized he had to the surface, and he couldn't stop himself from melting into her touch.

It was an action that would cost him as Anna took that opening to climb into Igneel's claws. Before he realized it the dragon had made a loose fist around them and had lifted off the ground. End heard him roar a retreat, but he didn't care as Anna's magic fingers continued to distract him.

It wouldn't be until much later, when he woke up in a cozy forest nest, that he would even realize he'd been kidnapped away from Tartaros and his throne. By his two greatest enemies. The same enemies who now viewed him as an innocent child, and seemed determined to raise him.

That's it for chapter one! Let us know what you think about this idea so far! Reminder this is just going to be a THREE-SHOT. Hope you liked this idea of ours! Expect another update here soon!