Jellal Fernandez- An alternate path
I was an S-Rank Wizard of Fairy Tail, with Erza, Laxus, Mystogan, Gildarts, and of course our master. There were many strong wizards of all sorts there. Fire, Ice, Lightning, Celestial Summoning magic; you name it, the magic was there. Erza and I were lovers; she was a beautifully strong wizard, using Requip magic with hundreds of combinations in weapons and armors. She could requip faster than you could blink and I could barely go toe to toe with her. Then one day, late in the spring, everything changed for all of Fairy Tail.
We decided to take a job, an S-Ranked one at that. It didn't seem too difficult on paper; "Clear the lake of a giant blob monster". We thought it might be a good idea to take along some of the up-and-comers, Natsu, Gray and Lucy. Natsu is the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail, and very powerful, though thick headed. Gray is a near S-Ranked Ice Wizard in Fairy Tail, who, though not quite as thick headed, is still impulsive. Though unlike Natsu, Gray is a brilliant strategist, almost never losing to anyone even stronger than himself. Lucy is a cute girl, and very talented. She uses Celestial Spirit magic to summon Zodiac Spirits to aid her in battle, and is very gifted at doing so. The five of us set off to go defeat this monster.
(Please note: The story gets rather dark here, continue reading at your own risk)
When we arrived at the employer's house next to the lake, we noticed the hundreds of skeletons that were scattered around the shoreline…it was an awful sight to take in. The lake itself was massive, and we had no idea that there was a creature so large in the world. There wasn't anyone in the house, just a note on the door that read "We'll be in the Royal City until the matter is dealt with, we can't take all the death". Erza and I exchanged glances, reconsidering the job. Before we could say a word, Natsu was lobbing fireballs into the lake and Gray was freezing it over, trying to draw the beast out. Lucy also noticed the skeletons and started begging Natsu and Gray to stop, too late though. "Giant" was an understatement.
Suddenly several dozen massive tentacles came flying out of the water, heading straight for us. They were easy to dodge, slow as they were. A barrage of tentacles kept coming for several minutes while Natsu and Gray started blasting away at them, to no avail. They just kept growing back, and Erza and I tried to get everyone to retreat. Stubbornly Natsu and Gray gave up on their attack and headed back to shore, dodging tentacles all the way. Once we reached the shore we realized we were out of range of the tentacles, but we couldn't hit whatever was waving them around either. Erza came up with a strategy, which Gray and I decided would be the best possible thing to do. Using my speed and offensive power, Erza's massive offense and defense, and Lucy's invulnerable spirits to help draw fire, we would freeze the lake over to where we thought the monster was, and get as close as we could. At that point I would use Grand Chariot to try blasting it upwards so Erza could use her attacks on it while I charged Altiris on it, hopefully killing it. Natsu would be, hopefully, distracting the tentacles while Erza and I set about killing the beast.
Preparations complete, Gray set about freezing the lake, while Erza, Natsu, Lucy and I charged over the ice towards the beast. Our plan was going well, until the darkest time I've ever known set upon us. As the plan went forward we noticed more and more tentacles were emerging from the lake, smashing the ice all around us. It was too much for Natsu and Lucy to keep up with and they had to fall back. Erza and I were trapped in the middle of dozens of tentacles, at which point we were fighting for our lives. Despite all our training and magical prowess, we just couldn't keep up with the sheer number of attacks. I was wounded a mere minute into the fight and Erza grouped up on me to try and shield me while I found an opening. Suddenly a tentacle burst out of the ice heading straight towards my face, I had less than a second to dodge, but I somehow only got a scratch. To my horror I realized that if I had seen the attack and were barely able to dodge, Erza had no chance. I heard a thud and turned around to see my love fall to the ice, head cut clean from her shoulders.
That was the last thing I remembered. When I woke up, Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Erza's body (head to the side) were all lying on the shore…unconscious or dead, I couldn't be sure. The lake itself was gone and there was nothing but a crater where it was last. There was a smoldering pile of ashes at the bottom, which I could only assume was the beast we were sent to kill. I went to check on the others, hoping that at least one of them had survived whatever happened. To my relief, all but Erza were alive and well, simply unconscious. I waited there, grieving over Erza, for what seemed like hours until I heard Natsu grunt and slowly get up. "Natsu…w-what happened?" I asked, nearly horse from crying. "I'm not really sure," He replied "we had just gotten back to shore and saw Erza fa-" He noticed Erza's body. "No…NO! SHE…SHE CAN'T BE DEAD!" He shouted in anger as he tried to rise, but his body gave way and he fell backwards, landing with a grunt. "Natsu…" I said, choking back tears "I'm so sorry…I tried…I couldn't…" I lost my words. "Erza…" Natsu had started crying as well. "Oh damn it, that bastard monster…I'll kill it if I ever get the chance!"
At this point the other two had woken up and had also noticed Erza. Everyone was trying to wrap their heads around what had happened. "Everyone, what was the last thing you remember?" I asked softly. Gray started first "Natsu and Lucy had just gotten back to shore when we saw…" He paused, glancing at Erza sadly "…Then you exploded in a brilliant yellow light, yelling out 'Erza!' as it expanded, it was more magic power than I had ever felt before…" He continued. "That was the last thing I saw before I woke up here…" He said with tears streaming down his face. "I see…" I said "guys…I'm so sorry, I barely had time to react to the attack myself…I-" I stopped myself, knowing I was just making excuses. If I hadn't have dodged that attack, Erza and I would have both been dead and it's likely all three of them would have been as well.
After the job had been completed, at a horrible price, we returned to Fairy Tail, beaten and broken, in body and in spirit. A ceremony was held for her funeral and I left the guild, hoping to find a way to bring her back, even if it cost me my life.