HOLY WHAT. WHAT. WHAAT. 99 FOLLOWERS. WHAT IN THE EVER LOVING-
You guys are too good to me. Really. Thank you all!
Phoenix, LYON! Perhaps. Yea, Natsu's got first class seating. Ooh, that's something I haven't thought of. Thanks for bringing that up, I'll have to put some thought into that… I have seen the sacrifice Natsu instead of Erza plot line several times… They typically end up with shipping NaZa. Though, I always thought Jellal was referring to Natsu when he said he had other sacrifices in the tower… well, this chapter was dated for July 4th but if you insist…
Guest, more!
Erza Ashley, no need to worry. I certainly don't expect my writing to be on the top of anyone's priority list, and most of the time I should be working on this I'm reading either His Majesty's Dragon (good book, recommend it) or reading fanfiction, so its completely understandable! I haven't completely caught up on the manga yet, where I left off Natsu was like 'my right arm is my special weapon to kill Zeref!' And everyone was like 'ooooooo'
"Then there was a tremendous roaring above them: the ground shuddered, branches tumbling down in a rain of dry leaves and pine needles, and an immense old tree was wrenched whole out of the ground beside them: Temeraire was above them, wings beating wildly as he tore away the cover." Natsu bounced wildly, almost falling over before scrambling over Empra's wing and up to her back.
"What happens next?" Empra chuckled softly, and the worn old book she gingerly held between two talons closed.
"We'll just have to find out next time."
"What! No, I wanna find out more!" Natsu clambered up to Empra's head, and stuck his face in front of one of her eyes. "Please can you read more?"
Empra gently shook her head, careful not to dislodge the young boy. Natsu pouted, but climbed down from her head, careful to avoid the many books and scrolls littering the cave floor.
"Empra…"
After setting the book she had been reading down, the lightening Dragoness turned to Natsu. "Yes?"
"Why don't I have a family? Like… Like the people in the books you read to me."
That gave her pause. They had taken Natsu in perhaps a year or two before, and she had wasted no time educating him with proper reading… Until they ended up reading fantasy novels together.
And, thinking back on it, once they had begun to do so she began thinking of Natsu as her son. She was almost certain the others shared her sentiment, in fact she was positive Igneel had felt that way about the boy since they found him, yet…
"You do, Little Bookworm. Perhaps you just don't realize it yet."
"Gah, are you being mushy? I'll just leave then."
"K-Kyu! What are you doing in my cave?!"
"It's my turn to train the brat, remember? Today i-"
"You… YOU'RE SITTING ON ONE OF MY BOOKS! OUT!"
Natsu jolted awake with a start, snapping out of the dream world into what had become his, a blank white space, with a single viewport into the real world.
Namely, someone's pocket.
How exciting.
… Was that Erza's voice?
Yes, it was, but who was she talking to?
Wait, if he was hearing Erza and he was still in someone's coat pocket, they must have gotten her as well. Damn.
Whoever they was.
"We're bringing you back to the Tower, sis."
Erza had a brother?
Was he the one behind this, then, or was it someone else?
More importantly, was someone quoting a really bad Wild West movie?
"Ice Make: Geyser!" A mountain of ice sprung up from the now frozen floor, clipping a large ice bear. The bear shattered in tandem with another ice tiger, the woman who cast the first spell to take an icy animal down continuing in her efforts.
"Ice Make: Shield." A whirling half fan of ice spun around them, blocking off any further assaults.
Gray wiped a hand across his forehead, before taking the handkerchief offered to him. "Thanks… you really don't have to do this you know."
"Juvia knows. But Juvia wants to."
"Right. Uh, my name is Gray."
"Juvia's name is Juvia."
"I gathered that."
And then a ice dragon crashed though the shield, plunging them into battle once more.
On second thought, the ceiling was far better. It certainly beat the bottom of a rats foot.
A rat in a maid outfit.
A ugly rat in a maid outfit.
This day just kept on getting better, didn't it?
The Tower of Heaven was close to completion, far closer than any half baked plan the magic council would come up with to stop it. If the pathetic fools knew anything of it, even.
Jellal leaned back in his seat, comfortable in the thrum of magic surrounding him. "Soon, Zeref."
He lingered in the comfort for perhaps a moment longer than he should have, and then he pulled himself free and drummed his fingers on a Lacrima, showing him the progress that had been made on the sacrifices capture.
They were almost here, excellent.
Time to call them back, then. Lyon would be angry, but Jellal still had Deloria in the tower, so the ice make Mage would have to listen. And if he listened, so did his pathetic little underlings.
Truly, finding Deloria under some unremarkable island was a stroke of luck.
Though, the demons littering the island were truly disgraces to his master, Zeref. He would have done them in, but that would have called too much attention, and Jellal was keeping so many secrets.
Such a shame.
Then, he pulled himself to a stand, and with his arms folded behind his back he checked in on 'Seigrain.'
The magic council truly were such a boring lot. He was almost grateful to Fairy Tail, they kept his sacrifice safe, and truly livened the world up a little.
But he should not care for such materialistic things, Zeref did not.
Zeref did not really care for much, thinking about it.
Oh, but he was such a lowly worm! Who was he to think of his lord outside of reverence. No one! He was no one!
Jellal turned on his heel, and marched back through the tower.
Right now, he had a sacrifice to greet.
Ooh, writing Jellal was unexpectedly fun. I'm working on a different story at the moment too, one I probably won't post but there's an insane person in it and I had fun writing her too. Why am I having fun writing insane people… Oh, yea, in this chapter I used a passage from the book 'His Majesty's Dragon', the first book in the Temeraire series. I don't own the book. Or Temeraire. How do you even say that, anyway? Teh-meh-rare? Teh-mey-rawr? ~ShadeShadow