Kyandi: And we're back!
Rette: This is number two of the eight chapters we have ready for your reading.
Kyandi: Yep. I just scan through them to make sure there are no major spell mistakes.
Rette: And you still never catch all of your mistakes.
Kyandi: I know! I can re-read it over and over again and I never manage to catch all of my own mistakes. Yet, I'm great at editing other's work.
Rette: A high sense of self perfection?
Kyandi: NO! That is not it, at all!
Rette: No need to shout.
Kyandi: ...annoying...pain in the...
Rette: Come again?
Kyandi: Nothing. Everyone enjoy and review.
Rette: Kyandi-sama does not own Fairy Tail.
Chapter 10 Game With A Madman
"That's a lot of guards."
Rette, Gray, Natsu, and Lucy peeked up from behind the boulders they were hiding behind. Yards ahead of them, guards stood watch at the staircase leading up to the entrance of the tower. They were all spaced out, two guards everything five or six steps. Rette frowned as she followed the guarded staircase to the the entrance with her eyes.
"Who cares? Let's plough through 'em!" Natsu declared, trying to climb over the boulders.
Lucy and Rette grabbed him, yanking him back and keeping him in place behind the boulders. If he blew their cover now and the guards called the alarm, there was no telling what would be done to Erza in retaliation. That was something they couldn't risk.
"No way!" Lucy told Natsu.
"They have Erza, Thyme, and Happy, Natsu. If you rush in, cause trouble and they send out an alarm, there's no telling what they'll do to them." Rette added.
Natsu obviously wasn't listening to them. He continued to try to climb over the rocks. Gray grabbed a hold of the back of his clothes to keep him from getting to far and Rette made a comment about getting a leash for Natsu.
"Still, that tower thing is just ahead. If they find us here, we won't stand a chance." Lucy remarked, looking up at the tower.
Rette looked back up at the tower. Sneaking in might be their only option, but that was going to prove rather difficult with the sheer number of guards the place had. The sound of water moving made the four of them turn to find Juvia's head peaking up out of the water.
"Juvia has found another way into the tower's basement through the water." Juvia said.
"Seriously? Great job!" Gray praised.
"The one who was praised was not you. It was Juvia." Juvia taunted, looking at Lucy.
"Uh-huh..." Lucy replied.
"It's a journey of about ten minutes underwater, but holding your breath for that long won't be a problem, right?" Juvia asked.
"Ten minutes is nothing!" Natsu agreed.
"Yep!" Gray agreed.
"Of course it's impossible!" Lucy protested.
"Even I see the stupidity in even trying to holding my breath for half of that time." Rette added.
Really.
What was it with the males of her guild. Were they all a little loose in the head just for the hell of it? Or was that a requirement for males to join Fairy Tail? Juvia, seeing it Lucy's and Rette's way, made air bubbles using her water.
"Please wear this. It uses water to enclose your head with oxygen, so you can even breath underwater." Juvia said, giving one to each of them.
Rette took hers and eyed it with interest before putting it over her head. Natsu excitedly took his, jamming his head in without a second thought.
"By the way, who are you?" Natsu asked Juvia, much to Juvia's disappointment.
Rette was sure stupidity had to be a requirement for males in her guild. She would have pinched the bridge of her nose if it wasn't for the bubble already around her head. Lucy striped down to her bathing suit, which, for some strange reason, she had been wearing under her clothes. Rette slid out of her skirt, revealing the shorts-like bottoms that laced up the sides with pink ribbons, that she was wearing underneath and took off her boots, showing that she had a dagger strapped to each ankle. It was putting her in a minimal amount of clothing with just the shorts and the cropped off, halter top she was wearing, but at least she wouldn't be dragging around water logged clothes the whole time.
The five of them jumped into the water and Juvia lead the way down to the basement. Juvia lead them to an opening and Rette poked her head up out of the water and looked around, making sure no one was around, before she climbed out of the water. Natsu and Gray followed her, Lucy bringing up the rear. Rette pulled the bubble off her head, Lucy following suit.
"This thing sure is handy, even if it does look pretty silly." Lucy remarked.
"Lucy really did well making her breath last, even after I made hers a little smaller than the rest." Juvia said bluntly.
"Hey!" Lucy exclaimed.
"You didn't die, Lucy, so don't get too worked up." Rette told her.
Lucy mumbled to herself as Rette wrung as much water from her top as she could. Gray looked around them, Juvia at his side.
"This is the basement of the tower?" he asked.
"Erza, Thyme, and Happy are somewhere here." Lucy said as she wrung out the clothes she had brought with her.
"Who the hell are you guys!?"
All five of them looked up as guards spotted them from catwalks above their heads. They completely out numbered them, though Rette doubted any of them knew magic.
"Oh crap!" Lucy exclaimed.
"We've come this far...we'll just have to fight them." Gray said.
"If it'll clear the way." Rette agreed.
Natsu, though, beat them to the punch...literally.
"Who the hell are we!? Don't you know good fighters when you see them!?" Natsu yelled, punching out the support beam of the catwalk with one fiery fist. "We're from Fairy Tail, morons!"
Just like that, the whole cat walk came crashing down, spilling the guards along with it. It was one flashy way to start off the fight. From there, each of them pulled their own weight in the fight. Lucy called out Cancer, while Juvia used her Water Slicer spell to put down those who attacked her. Gray, literally, gave his opponents the boot, and Rette used a Light of Creation spell called Bursting Butterflies, which formed butterflies out of light, that then exploded when they landed on her opponents.
Soon, the five of them had cleared the way. They then moved on to the door out of the basement, which was locked from the other side. As they looked up at it, it suddenly opened.
"Some sort of door just opened up there!" Natsu said, stating the obvious.
"They're telling us to come up?" Gray asked.
"Smells like a trap to me." Rette remarked.
But they didn't have much of a choice. To find their missing friends, they had to go up. Gray and Natsu insisted on going first and the girls followed. No sooner did he reach the top of the ladder, Natsu started yelling, his anger getting the better of him. Lucy covered his mouth, telling him to stop.
"We could only go crazy before because it was underground. Now we'll just have to sneak about." Gray remarked.
"What's more, this door was not open by someone on this side. It's being controlled by magic remotely." Juvia said, looking back at the trap door they had just come through.
"Like I said...this is smelling more and more like a trap by the second." Rette retorted. "They know we're here and where we are. They have to."
"I agree. They're completely aware of our movements." Juvia agreed.
"If that's true, then what's the point in opening the door for us?" Lucy added.
"Are they trying to provoke us?" Gray asked.
Just then, Gray glanced at Lucy, finally noticing the new, fancy clothes Lucy was wearing. Rette had barely paid the dress she was wearing any attention. Now, as Gray asked where she had gotten them, Rette took a look at them. She kind of liked the outfit, though she could have done without the extra bows on the wrists and biceps.
"They're from the spirit world! I don't like wearing wet clothes, so earlier, I took the opportunity to ask Cancer to bring them for me." Lucy answered.
"I wish you had said something. I would have loved a change of clothes." Rette remarked.
"I can have one of my spirits bring you some." Lucy offered.
"I'm already dry, but thanks." Rette assured her.
"How? Aside from Juvia, who can turn herself into water, the rest of you should still have wet clothes." Lucy said.
"Natsu's a human dryer." Rette said, pointing to Natsu, whose flames were currently drying, not only his clothes, but Gray's and Rette's. "Besides...I like that outfit, but it's too much clothes for me."
Lucy would have said something back, but guards found them just then. Rette heaved a sigh at the sight of the men charging towards them. This was going to be her whole day, she knew it. For once she would just like to go in, get the job done, and leave without having to worry about people attacking her and her friends.
"These guys just don't know when to quit." Natsu remarked.
"My thoughts exactly." Rette said.
They prepared themselves for the fight, but something crashed into the back of one guard and seemed to ping-pong ball between them all, taking them all out. It moved so fast that all Rette saw was a flash of metal, until it came to a stop. There stood the very person they were there to get.
"Erza!" Gray said in shock.
"Thank goodness! You were safe!" Lucy said happily.
Erza whipped around, shocked to find them there. Apparently she hadn't expected them to come after her. What kind of teammates did she take them for?
"What are you guys doing here?" Erza asked.
"What do you mean why!? We'd be disgracing Fairy Tail if we just backed off and let them walk all over us! And there's no way I'm letting that square bastard off easy!" Natsu yelled.
"We're a team, Erza, guild mates. We're suppose to help each other. Right?" Rette added.
Erza looked at all of them, her eyes landing on Juvia. When Juvia tried to explain why she was there, Erza cut her off by telling them to leave.
"You guys shouldn't be here." Erza said.
"But Erza-"
"They've got Happy and Thyme shut up here somewhere too! We can't just go back!" Natsu snapped, cutting off Lucy.
"Happy and Thyme are here? Don't tell me, Miliana..." Erza remarked.
"I'm not leaving without Thyme, Erza." Rette said sternly. "And I'm definitely not leaving without you and Happy, either."
Erza stared at Rette in surprise. It wasn't the first time Rette had been firm about helping those in her guild, but it still surprised Erza every time, considering how Rette normally acted. Natsu got up in Erza's face then.
"Where is he!?" Natsu demanded.
"I...have no idea." Erza replied.
"Ok, got it!" Natsu replied, turning to leave the room.
"What do you mean you got it!?" Gray asked.
"Happy, and Thyme, are waiting for us!" Natsu snapped before running off.
Though Rette felt strongly about Thyme being captured, she had more common sense than to just take off running through the tower, yelling her head off like Natsu did. He was going to draw every guard in the place to him. Then they would all be in trouble.
"That moron! Running off on his own again." Gray growled. "Thyme was caught too, but you don't see Rette running off like that."
"That's because I know Thyme's alright."
Everyone turned to Rette as she stared off after Natsu. She didn't look upset. Then again, Rette didn't look anything usually unless she wanted to.
"What do you mean, Rette?" Lucy asked.
"It's hard to explain. I just know. I know when she gets hurt, I know when she's scared or upset. I just know. She's fine." Rette replied. "But if we don't stop Natsu, there will probably be trouble for all of us."
"Let's follow him!" Lucy said, nodding in agreement with Rette.
"You can't. Go back." Erza told them. "Miliana is the biggest cat-lover around. I don't think she'd hurt Happy and Thyme. I'll take care of Natsu and Happy and Thyme and bring them back. You guys get away from here right now."
"We can't do that! We're not leaving without you!" Lucy protested.
"This is my problem. I don't want you guys getting involved." Erza insisted.
"We're already involved! You saw how Natsu was!" Gray told her.
"Erza...what is this tower? Who's this Jellal guy? Though it's fine if you don't want to tell us...I know you said those guys were your friends before...but we're your friends now. We'll always be here for you, Erza." Lucy told her.
"G...Go..." Erza insisted.
Was it just Rette, or was Erza subtly trembling? Rette stared at the older woman's back, watching her.
"This isn't like you, Erza. Why can't you just stop saying all this useless stuff and tell us "follow me" like you always do? We'll help you out. Even you're allowed to be scared sometimes, you know." Gray told her.
"You want to know what I think, Erza?"
When Erza didn't reply to Rette's question, Rette continued on.
"I think you're terrified."
Gray, Lucy, and Juvia turned wide eyes on Rette, Gray silently trying to get Rette to shut up. But Rette ignored him, her eyes fixed solely on Erza's back as she pressed on. If Erza wanted to hit her for this later...well, Rette would just take it.
"No, in matter of fact...I know you are. I know what it's like to have a place that just the mere thought of it terrifies me to the very core of my being. Just thinking of it, scares me so much that I start to shake and a cold sweat breaks out all over my body. I know you're scared, Erza, because I know, completely, what it's like to be scared beyond any reasonable thought. But Lucy's right. We're a team, so we'll always be here for you." Rette told her.
Erza turned then, shocking them when they saw the tears in her eyes. Rette didn't mean to make her cry. Hell, she didn't know anyone could make Erza cry. Erza wiped the tears away.
"Sorry. In this fight...whether I win or lose...I'll disappear from this world no matter what." Erza said.
"Wh-what do you mean!?" Gray asked.
"This is an unavoidable future. So...so while I'm still here, I'll tell you everything I know." Erza told them, smiling sadly.
"The name of this tower is The Tower of Paradise. Otherwise known as "R System". More than a decade ago, a cult believing in black magic tried to build a tower whose magic could "bring the dead back to life"." Erza explained.
"Bring the dead back to life!?" Lucy exclaimed.
Just hearing that sent a chill down Rette's spine. Who would want to use magic like that? That kind of magic came at a great price. A price greater than Rette would ever willingly pay. Magic like that was taboo for a reason.
"This project wasn't sanctioned by the government or the magic council, so they rounded people up from all countries and forced them to work as slaves on the construction. When I was young, I was one of those forced to work here." Erza told them.
Rette knew it. Erza, just like her, had once been forced to live in abuse. The situations differed in ways, but the trauma left behind was all the same. It made Rette's chest ache for her because she knew how badly it hurt and how deep those wounds reached.
"That's when I first met Jellal."
Erza went on to explain to them about her time in the tower. About the punishment, the hard work. How she met Jellal and how, after a failed attempt to escape, she had been taken for punishment. She told them how Jellal had come to save her and had been caught and taken to be use as an example. In her pain and fear, Erza had lead a revolt against those who had held them as slaves. So much did it remind Rette of parts of her childhood, how she had been trapped in the Compound, that Rette wrapped her arms around herself.
"For the sake off freedom...and to rescue Jellal...we rose up against them. Back then, Jellal was our leader, and he had a strong sense of justice. I looked up to him more than anyone else. However...after that time, Jellal became a completely different person. If you could ever call someone evil, that's probably what I'd call Jellal." Erza said.
No.
Rette knew of a man more evil than that, but she kept her mouth shut.
Erza went on to tell them of the revolt, of the first time she used magic, and of the old man with Fairy Tail's emblem on his back, who had taught her of that. She told them of how she found Jellal, how he had changed and wanted to complete the tower in the name of Zeref, the dark mage.
A cold sweat broke out all over Rette's body at the mention of the name Zeref. She had heard it more times in her life than she ever wanted to. Hearing it now brought back memories she wished she didn't have. But no amount of wishing would ever make it go away.
Erza continued telling her story, noticing how pale Rette was becoming. She told them of how Jellal had cast her off the island, but had forced the others to stay. How he had threaten Erza with the lives of her friends, to keep her from telling anyone of the tower's existence and to keep her from returning to the tower.
"I...I want to fight Jellal." Erza said.
Talk about facing one's demons. Despite how scared she felt, how sad it made her, Erza was going to confront the source of her demons. That was bravery in it's truest, purest form. Rette could never have that kind of courage. She could face off against those stronger than her without batting an eyelash, could stand before a magical beast and never flinch, could take a beating without a sound, but the mere thought of facing her demons, froze her on the spot.
It petrified her.
Nothing in the world could convince Rette to face the darkness, the monsters that haunted her past. That Erza could and willingly did so...Rette had the utmost respect for Erza. But that didn't mean she would let Erza go through with it at the risk of her life. Not alone.
"Hold on, Erza. That "Zeref" you just mentioned is..."
"A dark mage known to be the most brutal and cruel in the history of the magic world. So great was his power that he was said to have created several monsters. He amassed thousands of people under his name, seeking to curry favor by doing dark deeds in his name." Rette said.
She had heard of Zeref, oh yes. More than she ever wanted to. He had been responsible for creating many demons. That including the demon Deliora who had destroyed Gray's birth home.
"In-indeed. The monster summoned by Lullaby was created from the Book of Zeref." Lucy remarked.
"Not only that. I'm afraid Deliora could have been another such part of the Book of Zeref." Erza remarked.
"There were many demons he was suppose to be responsible for. Some even hid in human skin." Rette remarked lowly.
"Zeref has the power to create these terrifying monsters with little effort." Erza said in agreement with Rette.
"That's the Zeref, Jellal plans to revive?" Juvia asked.
"I'm not sure what his motive is. According to Jell-my old friends, when Zeref is revived, they would become rulers of "Paradise"." Erza said.
"When you put it that way, I really can't understand the actions of your old friends." Lucy remarked. "They said that Erza, you were a traitor. But the real traitor seems to be Jellal right?"
"I don't know what Jellal has been filling their heads with since I escaped the Tower of Paradise. But I did abandon them for eight whole years. I guess that's a kind of betrayal." Erza remarked.
"And I'm a monkey's uncle." Rette said sourly.
"But, that was because Jellal threatened you with your friends' lives! You couldn't get close! How could those guys blame-"
"That's enough Lucy. You too, Rette. If I can just take care of Jellal, it'll all be over." Erza said.
Rette opened her mouth to say something else, when something caught her attention. She whipped around, just as someone else started talking.
"Big sis. Those words...what do you mean by them?"
Shou came their way, visibly shaken, his eyes wide. Apparently, he had heard the whole conversation.
"Shou..." Ezra said, turning to face him.
"All that nonsense you just said. Are you just trying to pry sympathy from your friends!? Don't joke around! The truth is nothing like that!" Shou shouted at her.
"Watch your tongue, kid. She's not prying sympathy from anyone." Rette told him, her eyes sharp.
Shou glanced at her, taking a step to the side, away from her, but he soon returned his attention back to Erza.
"Eight years ago, weren't you the one who bombed the ship everyone was on and then ran off by yourself? If Jellal hadn't discovered your betrayal we would have all been blown to bits! Jellal told everyone! This is the fate of those who cannot handle the proper form of magic! You went mad with your new power and gave up everything to do with us!" Shou yelled.
"Jellal told you that?" Gray asked.
"Does that sound like something the Erza you knew would have done?" Lucy asked.
"I haven't known her for long, but even I know...Erza would never turn her back on her friends. She's too loyal. The mere thought hurts her." Rette added.
Shou stared at them, his eyes wide, a sweat breaking out on his face. It was like it shocked him that they had such faith in Erza. Erza stood with her head bowed.
"You, you fools don't understand anything! You don't know a thing about us! I was saved thanks to Jellal! Herefore! We built this tower for the last eight years! For Jellal! All this has been a lie? If Big sis is right then everything Jellal said, was a lie!?" Shou asked.
"I hate to break it to you, but people lie. Especially people who have obviously been twisted by some outside source. Take it from someone who knows." Rette told him, her tone somewhat sad sounding.
"A lie?" Shou asked, as if freaked.
"That's right."
As another voice entered the conversation, Rette looked up. When her eyes landed on Simon as he approached them, she went on guard, fists coming up like she was ready to slug him one. After the hit to the face that had sent her flying into a pillar, she owed him a solid punch in the nose. Gray growled, lunging forward towards Simon, but Juvia held him back.
"That time before, he knew that was only an ice dummy of you, but he attacked it anyway." Juvia told Gray.
"What?" Gray exclaimed in shock.
"No way a dark mage wouldn't have detected something like that. Confirming this is one of the reasons Juvia came along." Juvia told him.
"No wonder you're one of the famous Phantom's Elemental Four." Simon said. "I didn't plan on killing you then. In order to fool Shou and the others I was just going to knock you out. With the ice I was able to make your death seem a little more realistic."
"And you're hit to my face? You do know that if my Pressure Armor hadn't still, somewhat been in place...that hit would have killed me." Rette said.
She managed to appear and sound indifferent but from the blazing of her eyes, her friends knew she was angry. One wrong word from Simon and she would probably crystallize him and then have fun smashing him into dust. Simon obviously sensed this, for his held his hands out to show he wouldn't do anything as he spoke.
"I take it, from the name, that the spell you use would only grow in strength as more pressure was applied to the armor, correct?" he asked.
"Yes. But your hit shattered it, so I fail to see a point here." Rette replied.
"Even shattered, the armor about your head remained, somewhat, intact because you had purposely made it thicker there. I could tell. You're a naturally mistrusting person, aren't you?" Simon pointed out.
Rette didn't reply to that. No, she didn't trust others easily, and that had saved her life more times than she could count. But she wasn't going to admit this out loud. It was no one else's business if she had a hard time trusting others. She was justified in her opinion. Rette just stared at him, waiting for him to get his point across.
"I knew, even if I hit you as hard as I could, that it wouldn't kill you. Your magic is stronger than you give it credit for." he told her.
Rette's eyes narrowed, one eyebrow raising. As much faith as he seemed to have in her spell, her face didn't thank him for his abuse. Instead, it yelled insults at her because of something he did. He didn't have to live with the bruising and pain.
She did.
"If that was suppose to be compliment, you sorely missed your mark." Rette retorted.
Simon didn't look remorseful of that in the least. Then again, with half of his face hidden by the metal jaw, eye patch, and the shadow cast by the head cloth, Rette couldn't really tell much about his expression. Now she kind of knew how others felt when looking at her.
"And what about when you were going to let Wally shoot me between the eyes?" Rette asked.
Simon looked away from her, wisely not saying a word. Though her expression didn't change, Rette's friends got the impression that Rette was sulking.
"You were just trying to trick us!?" Shou asked, teeth snapping together.
Simon turned his attention from Rette and the others to focus it on Shou. He was obviously upset. Rette was starting to think that he was easily upset by a lot of things.
"You, Wally, and Miliana, everyone had been fooled by Jellal. I waited for the right time, and pretended to believe him also." Simon said.
"Simon, you..."
"I believed Erza from the beginning. It's been that way for eight years." Simon said.
He scratched one cheek, the skin over his cheek bones turning a light red. Rette didn't need to see all of his face to read that expression. She looked between the two as Erza smiled and hugged him. Was it just her, or did Rette sense something a little more than friendship when it came to how Simon felt about Erza?
"I'm so glad I was finally able to see you again. Erza." Simon told Erza.
"How could...how could you trust her like that...how?" Shou asked.
Everyone turned their attention back to Shou. He looked like he was struggling. Rette could tell that he wanted to believe in Erza, to trust her, but just couldn't bring himself to do it. She knew the feeling and sympathize with him.
"Why can't I trust Big sis, trust her like you do? Damn it! Who's telling the truth!? Who am I supposed to believe!?" Shou shouted, flinging himself to the floor to pound his hands against the stones.
Sobs left him, his cries pained and tortured. He huddled in on himself and shook from the sobs. Rette remembered doing the same thing as a child when she had had a horrible day and questioned everything around her. She hadn't had anyone then to give her a smile and hug her, letting her know everything would be alright no matter how she felt, as Erza did for Shou.
"I know it's hard to accept everything right now. But let me just say a few words. In these eight years I never forgot about you guys. I couldn't do anything...I was too weak. I'm sorry." Erza told Shou, holding him in her arms.
"But you're ready now, isn't that right?" Simon asked.
Erza nodded. Rette looked between Erza, Shou, and Simon. It was easy to tell that, at one time, they were all really close. She could see the same thing between Erza and others in Fairy Tail too.
"I've been waiting for this moment. Now that all these powerful mages are gathered in one place." Simon remarked, a smile curling his lips.
"Powerful mages?" Lucy asked.
"We'll fight Jellal with our combined strength." Simon said, looking around at all of them. "But first we need to stop Salamander and Wally's impending battle. If we are to take on Jellal we'll need his power."
Erza nodded and turned to Rette then, making the girl raise an eyebrow.
"Rette, could you use your Seek spell?" Erza asked.
"I can try. Given the magic energy I feel in this place, it might not work. Too much magical interference." Rette said.
She turned and walked a few feet from them, focusing on her spell. All eyes focused on her as she combined her Light of Creation magic and Crystallization magic to cast her Seek spell. Shards of crystallized light formed in the air and then shattered into tinier pieces and began drifting off, shifting through cracks and flying out of the room. Rette closed her eyes and let the images flood into her mind. Everything was fuzzy and distorted from all of the interference. Her brow furrowed as the others stared at her and then she opened her eyes. Her vision was half and half at the moment, part of it seeing what was really around her, and the other half seeing the magical image her spell was giving her.
"All I can tell you at the moment is that he's not on this floor anymore." Rette told them. "But I'll keep a look out."
Erza nodded as Simon eyed Rette.
"You can combine your magic to preform a Unison Raid on your own?" he asked.
"The name originally given to it was Nexus magic, but I refer to it by it's more common name; Unison magic." Rette replied.
"Nexus magic?" Simon asked as he lead the way to the stairs leading up to the next floor.
"Nexus...a connection or series of connections linking two or more things. In this case, two or more magic types. I'm the first person to manage to use such a type of magic, but it's hard to do. You have to have a delicate grasp on and precise use of your magic energy, as well as a large store of magical energy. It took me many years to finally learn control." Rette replied.
"Why don't you use that name for it, Rette? Sounds cooler." Gray remarked.
"Most people don't know what it means though and then I have to waste five or ten minutes explaining it." Rette replied. "Saying Unison magic is quick, to the point, and cuts out the explanation...most of the time."
They reached the stairs and Simon lead the charge up the stairs, every now and then raising two fingers to his temple.
"Damn! My contact with Wally and Miliana is being blocked! Now I have no idea where they are!" Simon cursed. "Rette?"
Simon turned to look at Rette over his shoulder. Rette was running beside Juvia. She looked up at him and then turned her focus to her spell. The next floor appeared before her mind's eye.
"So far, I'm not getting anything. The magic energy in this place is really distorting the image." Rette said.
Simon sighed and focused forward. Gray lowered his voice, talking to Juvia and Rette.
"Hey...are you sure we should actually be trusting that guy? I mean, I'll accept he didn't actually try to kill us, and that's all very well, and I'll accept that Rette could pretty much protect herself-"
"Try telling my face and head that." Rette said lowly.
"-but in that situation. Natsu and Lucy could easily have died." Gray said as if Rette hadn't butted in.
"I do not plan on making excuses. If you were the sort of mages who could be killed that easily, then you could never have fought Jellal anyway." Simon said, hearing them. "Besides which, I had faith, that Natsu would not die." Simon said.
"And...what about me?" Lucy asked.
"You people have still not realized Natsu's true power. When Natsu holds the true power of a dragon...evil will perish." Simon remarked.
"True power of a dragon...evil will perish..."
Rette's low voice repeated that, her tone somewhat thoughtful as she watched the stairs pass under her feet.
The power of dragons...
It seemed everyone put a lot of faith in the power of dragons. She could understand it, seeing how strong Natsu was, even on an off day. Rette's vision suddenly blacked out as her Seek spell was suddenly blanketed in darkness. It was like someone had suddenly dumped black paint over her eyes. She knew someone else was forcing their magical will over hers, over riding her spell, and the sheer force of the power sent a sharp pain through her head.
Rette gasped in pain and tripped over her own feet, falling to the ground, clutching her head. The others came to a screeching halt, Lucy and Erza coming to her side. Rette had to dispel the spell to ease the pain in her head.
"Rette?" Lucy asked.
"Someone just blacked out my spell. I felt like I was hit over the head." Rette said lowly, a cold sweat breaking out on her skin.
The others joined them as Erza got Rette to sit up. To make matters worse, mouths suddenly appeared all over the walls and ceiling, grinning as they moved and spoke.
"Welcome, all of you, to the Tower of Paradise." they said, acting almost like speakers.
"What are these stupid mouths!?" Gray asked.
"They...they spoke!" Juvia exclaimed.
"They seem to be conveying Jellal's words throughout the entire tower." Simon remarked.
"Talk about creepy." Rette remarked, one hand pressed to her face.
Erza pulled Rette to her feet, making sure the girl was steady on her feet before she released her. If it hadn't been so sudden and if she hadn't been running, Rette doubted she would have tripped like that.
"I am Jellal, ruler of this tower. The pieces of both sides are now in place. I think it's about time for us to begin. The Paradise Game." Jellal announced.
"Game? I'm not the game type." Rette remarked.
"The rules are simple. My goal is to use Erza as a sacrifice to revive Zeref. In other words, if I can open the gate way to paradise, I win. And if you people can stop me from doing that, then you win. However...that in and of itself wouldn't be too much fun. So I've arranged for three warriors to fight on my behalf." Jellal explained.
"Three warriors? Who are they?" Simon asked in confusion.
"If you cannot first get past them, you will be unable to reach me. In other words, this is a battle royale. Three verses eight. And just so you cannot cheat and bypass my warriors straight to me, I have blocked the tracking ability of one of your mages." Jellal said.
"Well that explains that." Rette muttered, rubbing her head.
"And there's one last rule I should probably tell you about. There's a possibility that the Council could launch an attack on this place using the Satellite Square. They possess the ultimate destruction, Aetherion, with the power to reduce everything to naught."
And there went Rette's stomach.
If anything could make a person feel like killing over then and there, it was the knowledge that the Magic Council could be firing the Aetherion Cannon at them at any moment. That put just enough pressure on them to completely freak them out. Rette really wanted to go home now.
"The time limit is unknown. But the moment that Aetherion strikes, everybody here will die. It will be game over. And this game will end without a victor."
"Th-that's insane...what on earth is that Jellal thinking!? Playing a "game" when he himself could die any moment..." Lucy said, shaking in her shoes.
"Aetherion? The Council? Im...impossible! I mean-"
When Erza cut off in mid sentence, Rette and the others turned around to find that Shou had just trapped Erza in one of his cards.
"Erza!" Gray exclaimed.
"Shou! What are you doing!?" Simon demanded.
"I'm not gonna let anybody lay a single finger on Big sis. I'll defeat that asshole Jellal myself!" Shou declared before turning and running away.
"Stop! You can't do this alone!" Simon yelled after him, but he didn't stop. "Shit! I'll go after Shou! You guys have to search for Natsu!"
Rette stood between Gray and Juvia, a blank look on her face as she watched Simon chase after Shou. What was it with these people? First they get attacked and Erza, Happy, and Thyme kidnapped, then they get roped into a playing a "game" with a madman, and now they could die at any second.
Yep, this was officially becoming Rette's life.
END
Kyandi: Yeah...that's not a game I would want to play. Jellal's insane.
Rette: Hence why it says a game with a madman.
Kyandi: True.
Rette: I just wish my poor head didn't keep taking abuse.
Kyandi: Headaches are a killer.
Rette: No, duh? So cut it out.
Kyandi: Not likely. Everyone enjoy and review.
Rette: Kyandi-sama is going to take a nap but then we'll be back with another chapter.
Kyandi: Right! Bye-bye!