Kyandi: Guess who's awake!
Rette: After sleeping like a log.
Kyandi: What? It was only a four hour nap.
Rette: Most naps are an hour, maybe two.
Kyandi: Yeah, well...I ignored my alarm when it went off at the two hour mark.
Rette: Figures.
Kyandi: But I'm refreshed, I'm back, lets get to the next chapter!
Rette: Understood.
Kyandi: Oh! For those of you who are a little confused...while I know in the anime it's called the Tower of Heaven, in the manga, which is what I'm following, it is referred to as the Tower of Paradise.
Rette: We just thought we should clear that up.
Kyandi: Everyone, enjoy and review.
Rette: Kyandi-sama does not own Fairy Tail.
Chapter 11 First Time Feelings
Much to Juvia's disappointment, Rette and Gray went after Simon and Shou, leaving Juvia to team with Lucy. Rette was okay with it, simply because she knew it was either team with Gray, or team with Juvia, since Gray didn't want to be alone with Juvia, and she wasn't sure she could handle it if Juvia started seeing her as a love rival too. Rette was more than happy to leave Lucy and Juvia to themselves. She followed Gray as he ran down the hall, following the way Simon had ran off.
"Shit! Where the hell did he go!? When I find that Shou bastard, I'm gonna smash his face in!" Gray snapped.
Just then, Rette perked up. Gray wasn't sure if she sensed something, heard something, or what, but her head suddenly shot up.
"Thyme." she said lowly, before she was speeding up, running ahead of Gray.
"Hey, Rette! Slow down, will ya!?" Gray called after her, speeding up to catch up.
"Thyme's up ahead. If she's there, then so is Happy and if Happy if there, so is Natsu." Rette explained.
Up ahead, the hall opened up. Rette sped up even more, ready to see for herself that Thyme was alright. She came to a screeching halt when she cleared the hall. Before her stood a man with an owl's head, Happy laying on the floor, burned, with Thyme next to him, and Simon on the floor, looking freaked. She glanced around quickly but saw no signs of Natsu. Simon looked up at her as Gray came to a stop beside her.
"Rette...Gray?" Simon said in surprise.
"The hell are you doing!? Weren't you meant to be going after Shou!?" Gray asked.
The owl man turned his head towards them then, but Gray was focused on Simon. Rette was trying to locate Natsu and was having no luck of it.
"I got a little held up." Simon replied to Gray.
"We need to find Erza as soon as possible, don't we!?" Gray asked. "Jellal was saying something about wanting to use her as a sacrifice! I mean, I can't imagine anybody actually beating Erza if she goes all-out...but stuck in that stupid card, she's practically defenseless!"
"We chose the wrong moment to let Shou know the truth. To think that he would be so reckless." Simon said lowly.
Gray was focused on Simon, listening to him, but Rette was focused sorely on Thyme, glad to see that she was fine. She rushed from Gray's side, making a bee-line for Thyme. Since they had met, six years before, Rette and Thyme had rarely been apart, and even when they had been, Thyme had always come back when Rette blew her whistle. This time was different and Rette was just glad to see that Thyme was alright.
"Thyme!" Rette called.
"Rette, look out!" Simon called.
Rette's head whipped around in time to see one giant, owl fist come flying for her face. How did she keep getting herself in these kinds of situations? And here she was without her Pressure Armor spell in place. The fist came so close to impact...and then Rette felt something grab her from behind and yank her into the air. The fist soared right under her as she continued to rise into the air. Rette twisted, looking over her shoulder to find Thyme had a hold of her, white wings beating in the air.
"Thyme...thank you." Rette told the feline.
Thyme smiled, her tail twitching once in joy. She carried Rette over to Happy, sitting her down next to the tom. Rette instantly dropped to one knee, carefully lifting Happy into the cradle of her arms. Rette wished she could do something for him, but she didn't have healing magic up her sleeve.
"Gray...Rette...that guy...he ate Natsu." Happy said, pointing for the owl man.
Rette's head flew up to look at the man. He ate Natsu!? Rette felt her stomach flop over and was sure she would lose every last bit of food left in her stomach. She was sure Natsu, as a food choice, would be more than just a little spicy. Gray punched the wall, angry at the news. But it wasn't the owl man he was angry at.
"What the hell does he think he's playing at!? Stupid flaming idiot!" Gray snapped.
Of course, he blamed Natsu.
"The digestion process has begun. In approximately ten minutes, Salamander's body will be reduced to nothing." the owl man, Fukuro, said.
"Okay, I'm definitely going to be sick soon." Rette remarked, sourly.
"And when that happens, his magic will truly belong to me." Fukuro added, as if she had not spoken.
"I'll sort out this punk! Get back!" Gray yelled.
Rette scrambled out of the way, rushing over to Simon. Thyme followed her, the two getting out of the way of Gray and Fukuro. Which was a good idea since Fukuro attacked using Natsu's magic. Rette really didn't feel like getting burned. She stared in shock as Fukuro breathed fire, just as Natsu did.
"H-he has Natsu's magic?" Rette gasped.
"He's absorbing Salamander's magic as we speak!" Simon exclaimed.
"Gray!" Happy called in concern.
"Useless! If you are one of Salamander's friends, you should know the sheer potency these-"
Fukuro cut off and Rette raised an arm as a gust of icy wind cut through them. The flames surrounding Gray froze as his anger got the better of him. With her minimal amount of clothing, the cold air cut straight through Rette, making her shiver.
"He froze the flames!" Simon said, shocked.
"It is Gray. He's been fighting Natus for years. If anyone can take on this Natsu's impostor...it's Gray." Rette remarked.
As if that lit a fire under Fukuro, he attacked Gray with excitement, declaring he would capture Gray as he had Natsu. His jaw, as if unhinging itself, stretched wide to gobble Gray up, whole. He seized Gray and began trying to stuff him down his throat. Rette pushed Happy into Simon's hands and bolted forward.
"Gray, brace yourself!" she yelled.
She thrust her right hand towards Fukuro, aiming for his right shoulder so he would release Gray's leg and hopefully, release the rest of him.
"Crystallization...Spear."
A spear of purple-blue crystal shot from Rette's hand, cutting through Fukuro's shoulder. The owl/man/thing squawked in pain and released Gray's leg. Gray helped Rette out by freezing Fukuro's other shoulder. Fukuro spit Gray out, yelling out how cold it was. He shoved Gray away from him, sending the ice mage crashing into Rette and knocking them back back.
"Eww...you're covered in saliva." Rette said, untangling herself from Gray.
"We don't have time to be messing around here, you know!" Gray snapped.
Rette got to her feet, yanking Gray up by his arm. As much as she would have loved to lose her temper like Gray did, just to get out the frustration she was starting to feel, she knew that at least one of them had to keep their heads on their shoulders.
"Hit him together? For Erza?" Rette asked.
Gray looked at her in surprise, but grinned when he saw the determined shine in her magenta-lavender eyes. He nodded firmly, turning to face Fukuro. Rette took up her spot beside him. Together, they hit Fukuro with all they had, Rette combining her two magics to use her Decimate spell while Gray hit him with one of his ice spells. The combined force of their attacks hit Fukuro hard enough to make him spit out an unconscious Natsu, as well as destroy most of the room, courtesy of the wide spread destruction zone with Rette's spell.
"Erza has to be with us...with Fairy Tail so she doesn't have to cry." Gray said with a firm nod.
Rette turned, catching Gray when he staggered. She helped him keep his feet as he gripped his right shoulder. Gently, she slid his hand away from his shoulder and slid her fingers over the skin, pressing lightly to make sure nothing had been broken. Gray winced and complained, but she ignored him. When she was sure it would be alright, if not painful for him, she gave his uninjured shoulder a pat.
"You'll live." she told him.
Gray thanked her and Rette turned to Simon, knelling next to him to check the injury on his chest. She surprised him as she looked the injury over.
"I can't do much for the injury, but you're a big, strapping man. I think you'll be fine." Rette told him.
Simon smiled at her. He was glad to see that Erza had found herself a nice guild with wonderful, loyal friends. Rette pat his shoulder when she was done looking at the wound. Thyme settled on her shoulder then, rubbing her cheek against Rette's as she wrapped her long tail around Rette's neck. Rette got to her feet and wrapped a hand under Simon's elbow, pulling him to his feet.
"Come on. We have to find Shou, Erza, Lucy, and Juvia and get out of here." Rette said.
Gray and Simon agreed and, with help from Rette, Simon got Natsu on his back. With Gray so unsteady on his feet and injured pretty badly, Rette ordered Happy and Thyme to take him outside. The two felines nodded and took Gray. Simon and Rette continued on from there. Simon tried to talk Rette into going with Gray and the cats, but Rette refused. She wasn't going to run away from a fight that she could still offer help in. Simon looked down at Rette as they made their way through the tower.
"How long have you know Erza?" Simon asked suddenly.
"Not very long. I just joined the guild recently." Rette replied.
"And you're still willing to risk your life for her?" Simon asked.
"Don't get me wrong, Simon. I'm not risking my life for anyone."
Simon looked down at Rette in surprise. Rette stared straight ahead of herself, watching the hall ahead of them rather than focusing on him. Her hand went to her stomach, pressing into the skin where the large scar marred her flesh.
"If there is one thing I do know, despite the short time period, it's that Erza, no matter what she says to the wiser, is strong. And Natsu is too. I'm not concerned about making it out of here alive." Rette told him. "Besides...I stuck my neck out once before for another person and was almost gutted for my trouble. I'll fight for my guild mates, but I'll be very cautious while doing so."
Simon stared down at Rette. She had faith in Natsu's and Erza's power, but at the same time, she was looking out for herself. He had a feeling that while she wanted to have faith in her guild mates...Rette wasn't one to trust anyone. Rette glanced up at him then, her eyes quickly returning to face forward once more.
"Don't give me that look. I know I have trust issues." Rette told him.
"If you know it, why not change it?" Simon asked.
"I learned a long time ago that trusting others is just giving them the opportunity to trample you in their dust. Why open myself to the hurt of trusting others?" Rette asked in reply. "I've been this way for so long...changing is hard."
That he could understand. Changing was never easy. In fact, it was easier to just run away and not change than it was to try. But from the sounds of it, Rette had already taken the first step...she hadn't said it was impossible to change, simply that it was hard. Which meant that she was open to trying. And that was always the first step to changing.
Silence fell over them as they continued on. They had made it a good distance before Natsu finally woke up.
"So you are finally awake, Natsu." Simon said, looking over his shoulder at Natsu.
Natsu looked around wildly, idly noticing that Rette was there as well.
"I remember ending up on some kind of weird vehicle..." Natsu said, cutting off, his cheeks puffing up like he was about to get sick.
"Stop that! You don't have to get sick just remembering!" Simon snapped at him.
Simon pretty much dropped Natsu like a hot potato then and there. Rette shook her head at the two of them. The three of them continued down the hall, Simon and Rette filling Natsu in on what he had missed while he was out cold.
"You were eaten by Fukuro after that. But Gray and Rette saved you." Simon said.
"Gray!?" Natsu asked, shocked and angry that Gray had done something he couldn't.
Rette spread her arms as if she was saying, "What about me?". Natsu didn't notice, wasn't even looking at her.
"What am I? Chopped liver?" Rette asked.
Natsu waved a hand, completely ignoring her and Rette ran a hand through her hair. Her other hand went to her hip as she looked at Natsu. Natsu had a real way of making a girl feel special...not!
"But Gray was hurt pretty badly, so we sent him outside of the tower with Happy and Thyme." Rette told Natsu.
"Gah! No way! I lost to that guy, but Gray beat him!?"
Natsu hadn't heard a word she said. Rette heaved a sigh, thinking to herself that this was just like Natsu. He was more concerned with the fact that Gray had done something he hadn't.
"Again, I repeat...chopped liver." Rette muttered.
"Well, you didn't exactly lose...you just got eaten." Simon told Natsu, rubbing the back of his head as he pat Rette's shoulder with the other hand.
"Save your breath. He's not going to hear a word either of us says." Rette told Simon.
"I'm gonna be teased for like a whole month about this! That guy doesn't know when to stop!"
"See?" Rette said, gesturing to Natsu as he went on about being teased.
Simon looked down at her, surprised that she seemed so use to this. Rette, though she had only been with Fairy Tail for a short while, had learned quickly that when it came to the competition between Natsu and Gray, everything else faded into the background. Those two just couldn't keep from going at it, no matter the situation.
"Aagh! This is no good! I need revenge! I'm gonna go fight that owl again right now! I'll beat him with one hand tied behind my back! It'd be no good without a handicap..." Natsu said, starting to take off.
Simon caught him, grabbing hold of his scarf to keep him from getting too far. Rette pressed a hand to her face. Sadly, this was pretty normal for everyone in her guild
"This isn't the time to be doing that!" Simon told Natsu.
Natsu stopped and turned to look at Simon. For a brief, very brief moment, it looked like he was about to say something serious, but, of course, that wasn't the case. Simon pat Rette's shoulder as she pressed her hand to her face once more.
"...Hey, who are you again, anyway?" Natsu asked Simon.
"Simon. One of Erza's old friends." Simon reminded him.
"Seriously, Natsu. Can't you even remember th-"
Rette cut off as Simon suddenly grit his teeth in pain and dropped to the floor. His hand, which was still on Rette's shoulder, almost dragged her down with him. She managed to keep her feet and she and Natsu turned to him to check on him.
"Hey, are you hurt or something!?" Natsu asked.
"D...don't worry about me...you have to listen...Natus...and you too, Rette..." Simon told them. "I just received a transmission from Wally and Miliana. They've found Lucy and Juvia collapsed on the ground, along with one of the Trinity Raven. Since they don't know what's going on, they weren't sure what to do, but I've told them to get Lucy and Juvia out of the tower. And according to a transmission from Shou, that's all three of Trinity Raven defeated."
"But I didn't do a thing!" Natsu exclaimed.
"That's a little beside the point here, Natsu." Rette told him idly.
"She's right. The only enemy left is Jellal himself, and Erza is heading for him as we speak. She means to deal with him alone, with her own two hands. The two of them have shared a bond of resentment for eight years now. It may well be that their clash is a fated inevitability. However...Jellal is simply too powerful...Please. You must save Erza." Simon said, seriously.
"I don't wanna."
Rette shook her head as Simon stared at Natsu in open mouthed shock. She could sense that Natsu was about to lose his temper. He had a slightly pissed off look on his face and Rette had a good idea why. Erza, though she might think differently, wasn't weak. She was strong and could do anything she put her mind to. Even defeating this Jellal man.
"Why, you...you refuse...to save Erza...to save your own friend!?" Simon asked, confused.
"He's Erza's enemy, so I say Erza should defeat him. This isn't something I should go barging in on." Natsu said.
"It's rather simple minded, but I have to admit that Natsu does have a point here." Rette remarked with a shrug.
"Erza has no hope of defeating Jellal!" Simon snapped at them..
"Don't you dare insult her like that, you creep!" Natsu snapped back.
Men, Rette thought, watching the two with indifference. She watched as Simon surged to his feet and grabbed Natsu by his scarf, half lifting him up off the ground in his anger.
"No! This is not a simple matter of strength, or magical power! Erza...Erza is still hoping that she can save Jellal somehow! I know it! She just doesn't have it in her to actually hate Jellal!" Simon yelled, shocking Natsu.
Rette tilted her head to the side as she watched Simon. He released Natsu, some of his anger draining away. This anger, this amount of fear for someone else's well being...Rette felt jealous. The sudden feeling made her chest ache and she had to press a hand over her chest. She pushed the feeling aside, refusing to let herself be jealous of Erza for something like that. Erza deserved that level of affection and commitment from others. Rette couldn't be jealous of her for having what she clearly deserved in life.
"Jellal is a cunning man. He will make use of Erza's lingering feelings for him. But it gets even worse than that. You know that the Council is planning on firing an Aetherion down upon this place, yes? And of course, if that does happen, then everyone inside this tower will die for certain. According to Shou, there are only fifteen...no...only ten minutes left, now." Simon said.
"What!?" Natsu exclaimed.
"Erza went off on her own, telling him to get everyone out of the tower. You know Erza well enough, do you not? Though it pains me to say it...she may well be planning on using the Aetherion to die, taking Jellal along with her." Simon added.
Rette's blood ran cold, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin. Erza...wanted to go down with Jellal? Did she really think that would help anything?
"Why didn't you say that in the first place!?" Natsu snapped. "Where the hell did Erza go!?"
Rette looked upward, as if peering through the floors between her and the top of the tower. Erza...just what was the woman thinking? Why did it hurt Rette so much to think that she would actually kill herself to kill Jellal? Rette hated this feeling. It made if feel like she couldn't breath.
What the hell was wrong with her!?
Rette stared at the ceiling, thinking. Erza was up there, somewhere, right over their heads. Screw stairs, screw all this running around. Rette dropped to her knees and placed her hands on the floor. Natsu and Simon looked down at her, but she was focusing on the ground. They both backed up when a purple-blue magic circle appeared on the ground.
"Crystallization...Spear!"
Crystal shot straight up from the floor, crashing up through the ceiling and continuing on up several floors. A little shifting of the crystals and a spiral staircase formed, giving them a straight shot upwards. Rette stood, fixing her eyes on the hole in the ceiling, she then turned to Natsu.
"Come on, Natsu. Our friend is in trouble."
Natsu grinned at Rette. With a nod, the two left Simon behind and started up the stairs as fast as they could. They would save Erza, make her realize that throwing her life away was not the answer. Rette was sure of one thing...Erza deserved so much more than a pointless death.
-0-0-0-0-
Outside the tower, the sky lit up as the Aetherion prepared to fire. The sheer force of the magic power building up, shook the building below. The water tossed and turned, growing more violent by the second.
Then it fired.
The outward explosion of power, over turned the boat Gray, Lucy, and the others were in, sending them crashing into the sea. Juvia formed water bubbles around them, saving them from drowning in the water. All eight of them stared in horror as smoke curled up from where the tower had been. Thyme's paws flew up to cover her mouth and, for the first time, she spoke, her voice coming out broken and tearful.
"Rette!"
Happy, despite the tears in his own eyes, laid a paw on her shoulder. Both of their small, feline forms were shaking from fear for their human partners.
"Natsu...Erza...Rette..."
Gasps sounded from many of them as the smoke began to clear.
"Wh...what...is that!?" Juvia asked.
Before them, raising up out of the water where the tower had once stood, was a tower of crystal. Gray's first thought that it was Rette's magic, but he knew even Rette didn't have the power to pull this off. She just wouldn't have been able to manage it.
"The outside walls crumbled...leaving some kind of crystal?" Gray asked.
"Hey...they're okay, right? Natsu, Rette, and Erza, and that Simon guy..." Lucy said, unsure.
Thyme curled her paws in the front of the little, one-shoulder dress she was wearing. A dress that Rette had taken the time and care to make for her. She prayed and hoped that Rette was alright, but she knew, deep down, that she was. Rette was strong, Rette was resourceful and resilient. She would not die so easily.
"It's the R System." Shou said.
"What!?" Gray exclaimed.
"It's the true form of the R System that we constructed." Wally explained.
"Now being activated." Miliana added.
"Activated!? Are you saying that Zeref has been revived!?" Lucy asked, concern for her friends flooding her system.
"I don't know...it's our first time seeing the system in action too." Shou told her honestly.
Thyme stared up at the tower before them. She knew Rette was alive. She could feel it deep in her core. And if Rette was alive then so was Natsu and Erza. Thyme had to believe that.
All they could do was wait, and see.
END
Kyandi: Aww! Rette's starting to feel emotions she's never felt before!
Rette: Oh, shut up.
Kyandi: What? I think it's adorable.
Rette: Only you.
Kyandi: No, I'm pretty sure at least one of my readers thinks so too.
Rette: Highly doubtful.
Kyandi: If you say so. Everyone enjoy and review. I'm going to jump into preparing the next chapter for you all.
Rette: So we should be back soon.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!