Chapter 11: fighting inside the tower
Wally, Miliana and Sho decided to stay put since being in the tower gave them bad memories
Prompting Erza to plan the remaining members to split up and find Jellal Fernandes inside the building
Jellal looked at the board and smiled that the remaining pieces are actually the key to his plan
"It's close now" he looked at the crystal "the tower is almost complete"
Simon, Gray, Natsu and Happy went into a room filled cages and chains and saw a man, with an owl for a head, flying above with his jet pack
"What's that thing?" Natsu pointed at the owl man
"Aye" Happy followed feeling wierded as well
"Careful" Simon spoke looking at the owlman with a hard gaze "that's Fukuro, Jellal's loyal follower and member of tema Trinity Raven"
"Then that guy's strong then" the shirtless Gray suggested making the fire dragonslayer excited
"Yes" the guy confirmed
Cementing that Natsu will take the first turn in the fight
Lucy and Juvia ran into an open room that looked like a stage
"What is this place?" the celestial mage looked around
"Juvia doesn't know" the water mage narrowed her eyes "but she doesn't like what she is feeling..."
Just then riff of an electric guitar was heard and the two girls saw a punk looking man playing said instrument laughing like crazy
'Who's that?' Lucy shivered feeling pretty uncomfortable right now
"Welcome ladies!" the rocker sneered at them "I'm Vidaldis" he then strummed his instrument again "you will lose against me!"
"Why Jellal..."Erza mumbled as she went into a room with an arch and cherry blossom tree "what's making you do this?"
"So you are my target then?" A woman wearing a white robe and holding a nodachi in her hands "I am Ikaruga" she smiled a bit "and I will be the one to kill you"
"We'll see about that" Erza changed her armor and dashed to her enemy
Jellal smiled as the pieces on the bard was now showing him who's facing who
"Truly a wonderful feeling" he smiled at the glowing crystal before him "just a bit more, and the etherion will transform this tower into its final form"
Meanwhile Miliana was tending to her unconscious friends while Ryu simply leaned against the wall simply waiting there
"Hey Ryu" the cat girl looked at him "why aren't you helping your guild?" she blinked "I mean you would have handled this problem easily like last time..."
The rider simply smiled at her question before walking toward the cat girl and helped her wipe them clean
"Yes I can" he said after cleaning the towel he held "but that would mean my friends in Fairy Tail will not have their chance"
Milliana blinked surprisingly at his words after cleaning her towel from cleaning Sho up and decided to speak again
"You must really trust them very much" she looked a bit envious "I wish was strong like them..."
"Oh but you are" the rider assured surprising her "you just don't have resolve to do it yet"
"What do you mean?" the cat girl blinked feeling both happy and confused
"Everyone has strength Milliana" he said without turning to face her "you just haven't found it"
The cat girl looked at the floor, her face heating up and her heartbeat started to race pretty fast 'what is this feeling' she thought 'it's unatural...yet warm to me'
The rider suddenly stood up "I've waited long enough" and started to walk "time for me to see them myself"
"Wait..." Wally's voice spoke as he and Sho sat up "we're coming too"
"You sure?" he looked at men standing up "you could barely stand up"
"No worries" the dandy smirked "after being freed from Jellal's warped magic, we'll hold off our uses until we get out of here"
"Yeah" the card mage followed "we raised our hand against the one who freed us" he grasped his head "what a worse way to thank you upon meeting again"
"At least you know your mistake" Ryu looked up to the ceiling "I just hope Simon can get to Erza soon"
"Something we should know Ryu?"
"You know that Erza would do anything to protect her friends right?"
They nodded
"That also means Erza will be facing her last friend in the past" he said grimly "...Jellal"
"Then what are we waiting for?!" the three grabbed him and went dashing "we gotta find them!"
While that happened, Erza was looking at her opponent, her berserk armor destroyed by Ikaruga's skill with a blade
"Still standing I see" the swordswoman spoke with a slight mocking tone "anymore armor that I should break from your body"
"No need" the red knight spoke as she changed again into her Clear Heart clothing "let's settle this with one strike" she readied her katanas "and only one of us will stand and walk away"
"Agreed" the swordswoman smiled as she and Erza got into a stance
Simon and Natsu were walking up a stairway while Happy was using his tail to carry Gray while flying up above them
"Why did I have to get eaten by that weird owl man!?" the fire dragonslayer cried in despair "this is so humiliating!"
"Easy there" Simon spoke "save your energy for the big fight later"
"Like you're to talk" Natsu retorted "that owl man go you too!"
The blue exceed sweat dropped at his friend's antics "well at least he's motivated"
"If only I could have his energy" Gray groaned "then I would have at least walked behind them"
Simon suddenly stopped catching the stupid trio's attention
"Something on your mind?"
"Just got a message that Ryu and my friends found yours" the guy answered "and that's good" he smiled "wouldn't want any losses in this fight"
"Thanks for reminding me" the fire dragonslayer turned to his blue cat "hey Happy! You and Gray get out of here too!"
"Aye!"
"What?!" the ice-make user cried as he was flown away "you've gotta be kidding me!"
On the pier Lucy, Juvia, Wally, Sho and Ryu were they and boarded the vessel one by one
"This should be sturdy enough for us" the celestial mage smiled
"You got that right" Wally followed as he and his friends boarded on the boat
Just then Happy came in with Gray in tow. But before any words were exchanged, a loud explosion was seen and heard at the top of the tower
"What's going on up there?!"
Everyone was a bit too panicked to realize that they were already on the move thanks to the rider pushing the boat away, as he was the only one from the group to know what's happening up there
'Seems that Jellal's hidden darkness appeared' he then used his Sky Walk spell to move upward 'I just hope his good half get's out and warns her of his own plan...'
Erza pinned her last childhood friend on the floor with her blade just inches away from his neck
"Why?" she stared at her in anger and confusion "why did you rebuild this nightmare...?"
Jellal stared at his friend before his head thrashed sideways screaming in pain
"Jellal!" Erza shouted forgetting the blade she held which was enough to be pushed away by him
He held his head and kept screaming for a few more seconds before stopping. The knight just looked at her friend in worry
"Erza..." Jellal spoke in a scared tone as she tried to reach him "NO! STAY BACK!"
The blue haired man's face was glowing as magic, not his own, was felt in the room. Erza was unsure what is happening as her worries grew at seeing her old friend like this
"Erza!" Simon and Natsu shouted as they spotted her
"You guys..."
Jellal continued screaming a bit before stopping, a mad grin formed on his lips as his right eye glowed making the mark on his glow as well
"That was a lot of work" he grinned madly before turning to his guests "guess my weak half is still trying to fight me"
"Weak half?" Simon, Natsu and Erza blinked in confusion
"Siegrain" he answered shocking the knight and dragonslayer "after being rescued from the tower years ago, he tried to make good life" but s mile crept on his lips "but the nightmares kept haunting him and I was able to take over this body and recreate the tower time and time again"
Just then the crystal glowed and the tower changed into a crystal-like form shocking anyone who saw it
"Finally" Jella raised his arms "the tower's R-system is complete!"
'Not good!' Ryu held onto a stalagmite after being caught off guard by the tower's new structure 'not good at all!'
He climbed into an open crack and decided to run up since he had a feeling that Natsu would try to break the building apart with his own hands
'I just hope that it isn't drastic yet...'
His thoughts stopped upon feeling magic and jumped up dodging a magic slice and he saw Trinity Raven, struggling but their eyes still held their blind devotion to their warped leader
"I see that the fanatics still remain here" he crossed his arms at the trio in his way
"Master Jellal told us about your strength" Ikaruga held her broken blade infused with her magic energy "and you are not going to face him..."
"We are fulfilling master's wish!" Fukuro grunted as his jet pack was now unusable after the tower transformation breaking it when he fell
"So you should just die and let Jellal complete his plan!" Vidaldis' hair started to lengthen "and we will send you to Hell ourselves"
'I'm going to be delayed a bit' he thought as he pulled out his rider card 'I hope Natsu and Simon can keep Erza away from Jellal's evil state'
Speaking of said group Natsu knocked Erza out, asking Simon to keep her distant, and went to fighting the one who would make his friend miserable
Jellal decided to humor his prey and let the dragonslayer pummel him continuously around the area, but every hit and magic attack was nothing but wind against his form
"Just what is this guy?" Natsu panted as he exhausted himself from his attacks and his magic energy is nearing zero
"What's wrong Natsu?" Jellal sneered "you said that you will beat me for making Erza sad"
'Damn it!' the fire dragonslayer gritted his teeth as his flames flickered "I'm still standing!"
Erza woke and saw the one-sided attacks Natsu gave while Jellal was standing up straight looking smug as if the attacks were nothing to him
"Natsu!"
"Erza wait!" Simon followed behind feeling worried that he wouldn't keep his promise
Meanwhile at the water's Juvia created a water sphere protecting her and others seeing the
"What's happening there?" Sho blinked at the tower
"I don't know" Wally shivered "but I can tell something bad is in there"
"How bad are we talking about?" Milliana blinked feeling worried right now
"I'd rather not know the details" Gray interjected
"Me either..." Lucy followed
Juvia remained quiet throughout the whole conversation, her eyes looking straight at the tower, she clasped her hands together hoping the one other person she cared is okay
'Please be okay brother Ryu' she thought 'you helped Juvia find another chance...'
Just then they heard an explosion and saw it from the top of the tower
Inside Ryu was able defeat Trinity Raven, with the group suffering heavy wounds and bleeding to death since they reminded the rider of the cult of Zeref group, and blocked the oncoming attack called Altairis from Jellal
Natsu, Simon and Erza were struck speechless to see someone take the full blunt force of that and stood tall and looking fine even
"Glad that I made it in time huh?" the rider smiled feeling raspy since he can still feel the impact of the supposed killing spell
"But how!?" the warped Wizard Saint shouted in dismay "that spell was supposed to kill you!"
"Guess your good half was strong to keep something from you after all" Ryu smirked "I can resist magic"
Jellal would have moved for another spell, but he grabbed his head feeling another struggle in his mind
Giving enough time for the others to regroup together
"Ryu!" Erza went and checked on her friend/savior, she saw no injuries on his person making her sigh in relief
"You needn't worry about me Erza" he smiled
"That was so cool Ryu!" Natsu grinned "that reinforcement spell is really something"
"Uh guys..." Simon spoke "Jellal stopped moving"
All of them turned to see the blue-haired man look at them with a sad smile
"So you've taken control again" Ryu spoke to the actual Wizard Saint
"Yes, though I won't stay in control for long" he sighed "this may be my last try too keep my vile self at bay"
"Please Jellal!" Erza shouted her heart filled with sadness and worry "just stop this and let me help you!"
"It's too late for me Erza..." Seigrain started stepping back as his headache returned "I'm too far in the deep to stop anymore" he grunted as his right eye glowed "just... end it all" he looked at them one last time "kill me..."
That was the final word from Jellal's good half before falling to the floor as the evil within him struggled to control his body once more
Erza was in so much shock hearing Jelall's final words that it shutdown her brain Simon held her in his arms trying to keep her safe
"Get out of here Simon" Ryu spoke "Jellal won't be struggling with his mind now"
"Right" he nodded before getting out of the area
"What should I do Ryu?" Natsu asked his fellow mage
"I want you to hide" the rider said
"WHAT!?"
"After this fight I'm going to need your help destroying this place" he continued calming the dragonslayer down
"Oh..."
"And besides" he smiled "this will be the first time for you to see me in action right"
Jella's evil half finally got control again and was now face to face with Ryu
"No more interruptions" his body glowed with magic "just you and me in this tower"
"I couldn't agree anymore with you" the rider responded
And the battle between them commenced
Simon carried Erza on the way down "hang in there Erza" he grunted "Ryu will get rid of this nightmare" he then hoisted her on his shoulder "and you won't have to see this tower ever again"
Just then the tower shook again signalling the battle's intensity making the guy falter at the surge of power
Jellal was seething with anger, his Grand Chariot spell was strong enough to stop an army... yet the rider took the attack and stood up like nothing happened
"How is this possible...?" Jellal scratched his head at seeing someone take his spell head on "my Heavenly Body Magic was acknowledged to all that it was unmatched!"
"Then you have to put those words into question Mr. superior" Ryu pulled out another card "henshin!"
Kamen Ride: Kuuga
Red light flashed and the rider's armor changed; he donned a black bodysuit, red armor and gauntlets, a black helmet with silver mouthguard, red lens and yellow horns
"Let's end this Jellal!"
"Took the words out of my mouth Decade!"
The warped mage used his Meteor spell and dashed to the air getting close to his target and delivered a barrage of fast punches which was blocked off by Ryu
"You can't keep that guard up any longer!" and the rain of blows continued
'He's right' Ryu thought 'got to time this well...!'
His guard was broken making Jellal smile but he got surprised that his arms were in a tight grip
"Made you look" was the only line Ryu spoke and he was thrown down slamming onto the floor making him bounce upward then getting a kick to the ribs by Ryu sent flying to the side of the building with his back hitting the etherion wall
Natsu gaped at the raw power Ryu displayed, he's now seeing why the rider was sought out by the other guilds...
'This sucks' he balled his hands 'if only Erza would allow me to fight him...'
"Looks like your strength is waning Jellal" He pulled out another card "I'll make sure to shoot you down and free from that corrupted magic"
Form Ride: Kuuga Pegasus
The red color of Ryu's armor now changed to green and he picked up an etherion rock transforming it into a bowgun
Jellal got back up on his feet but his body stumbled feeling the effects of pain from this fight 'I'm not lost yet!' he then jumped out of the tower and looked down at the opening of the tower
"I'm gonna kill you an resurrect the black wizard!" his eye glowed completely red and then used every magic energy to send a big blast at Ryu
But the rider rolled away from said attack and used his Sky Walk spell and moved toward Jellal and grabbed him by the neck
"You will never resurrect Zeref" he said in a cold voice "because you lost the value of life"
He threw the possessed mage back in the tower and placed a card into his belt
Final Attack Ride: K-K-K-Kuuga
The rider pulled the hammer of his bowgun back and electricity coursed through the weapon
'It's over Jellal' Ryu thought at Erza's lost friend 'you lost...'
The blue-haired mage struggled to get on his feet, but when he finally stood. A bright light went down and struck him through the floors and crashed to the ground unmoved. His Wizard Saint medallion clattered on the floor
Ryu sighed "It's finally over" he then turned to Natsu "ready to destroy this building?"
"Uh yeah" the fire dragonslayer nodded "though I'm still low on magic" he then caught something in his hand and saw it was etherion "huh?"
"Eat that" the rider spoke "eat it and you get your magic back"
"Uh..."
"If you don't eat the etherion" Ryu spoke again "then we won't free Erza from her nightmares"
Natsu remembered how Erza was sad and in pain thanks to the tower and without hesitation bit down on the magic rock and felt the magic course through his body
Although he has struggle since etherion has more variety in magic than fire, but the dragonslayer withstood that and his skin now has a bit of dragon scale
"Let's do this Ryu!"
"Yeah"
Natsu jumped into the air and gathered all the fire into his fists while the rider was beside him
Final Attack Ride: D-D-D-Decade
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"
Both attacks collide together and continued downward to the base floor creating a giant explosion sending wind all around blasting anything or anyone away as a pillar of light rose up to skies for all who are nearby to see
At the beach of Akane Resort, Simon sighed as he placed the still shocked Erza next to him
"I can't believe that Ryu was actually the savior from that time" he rubbed his head "and now that he's part of Fairy Tail" he looked to his friend "no doubt that you were happy to be next to him" he then laughed a bit "man, am I jealous" he looked at star filled sky "but I can live with it"
Just then the knight finally got her senses and sat up "Jellal!"
"Easy Erza" Simon grasped her shoulder "it's over"
Erza looked at her old friend before her left eye started to tear up "then that means..."
"Yes"
The knight fell to her knees at the sand. She just lost someone dear to her... but then there was the thought of her savior out there is gone and possibly never going to return
Thankfully her other friends, both past and present, came in and tried to comfort her
"What's going on here?" a voice spoke to the group
"Erza is crying really hard right now" Lucy and Gray started
"And we're here trying to soothe her" Wally and Sho followed
"Ah then it's good that Erza has people she trusted" the voice chuckled
Realizing that the group was talking to someone, all of them turned to see Ryu carrying a passed out Natsu with him
"Hi" he waved
"Ryu!" Erza instantly sprang up and tackled him to the waters and now both her eyes were crying "I thought you weren't coming back!"
"Guess that tower really set your fear to high?"
Ryu didn't get an answer, instead she just wrapped her arms around him tightly letting her tears fall out
The fairies were blinking in surprise at the titania, they never thought she would act like this, at all...
"Ryu must be something for Erza to act like that..." Gray blinked as he decided to carry Natsu
"Oh you have no idea" Wally smiled
"What do you mean?" Lucy blinked in confusion
"Back when we were kids, after escaping the Tower of Heaven. We saw it destroyed before our eyes"
"Then that means...!" Juvia's eyes widen
"Yep" Simon nodded "your friend, who is our savior, did that"
The remaining fairies just stared at Ryu as he rubbed Erza's back calming her down before turning to the people watching them
"Why don't we go back into the hotel and get some sleep?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea"
Author's Notes:
Hello readers. I did a double chapter update for this story and sorry if it was delayed...
And yeah Simon lived this chapter. I checked up on the knight's past again and it wasn't pretty... she lost a father figure Rob and then her friend Simon. That's very traumatic for anyone, being saved again by Ryu will finally open her eyes to trust her family in Fairy Tail and no doubt motivate her to keep getting stronger afterward
And if you're wondering why the fight was so short, Jellal was handling the politics of the Magic council making his fight against Ryu as people easily submit to his Heavenly Body Magic when used... Not to mention the battle between him and Natsu he used only two spells in canon of this arc
Also, I had Ryu kill Trinity Raven the anime just let them escape and wasn't heard of again didn't do much justice on the lack of mercy they spat throughout this ordeal
But I can understand them being not important since this arc was more focused on Erza's past and Jellal's corruption to evil...
I checked the canon part of the end result on this myself and I was surprised that after he was defeated by Natsu, he returned with no memories to have redemption in Oracion Sies arc which is good but the way he just came back like that makes me want to put him in a more believable state of redemption
Hence the struggle against the possessed magic after being freed from the Tower of Heaven
Oops I'm rambling here, anyway next arc will be Fairy Tail vs Thunder Legion and I can say that Laxus will learn humility after being defeated at the end of that arc and it will be a bittersweet moment to the lightning dragonslayer not only by his grandpa but the rider as well
