As we made our way to the top of the tower, Simon attempted to use his communication to contact Wally and Millianna. "Something's interfering with my communication with Wally and Millianna. I can't even tell where they are now." He reported.
"We all know it, I'm just going to say it. Jellal knows you're a turncoat. He's blocking your attempts to reach the others." I said as we ran up the stairs.
"Aquila, are you sure that we can trust this guy? I know you said he wasn't trying to kill us back at the resort but still." Gray asked me quietly as we ran after Simon.
Before I could reply, Simon responded, "I won't make excuses for my actions. Any wizard who couldn't survive that, wouldn't have a prayer against Jellal. I never doubted that Natsu or Aquila could handle the attack. None of you can comprehend the full extent of Natsu and Aquila's abilities. Once they awaken the true dragon's power within, evil will fall in their wake." Simon explained.
"How do you know so much about our dragon-slayer abilities?" I asked with a tad of suspicion.
"Jellal had Fairy Tail watched, making sure Erza wouldn't leak information. I took the liberty of paying attention to the most powerful." I growled at the idea that we had been watched as we turned into a dark tunnel inside the tower.
"Welcome to the Tower of Heaven. My name is Jellal, and I am the ruler of this tower. I see the players have been arranged. I'm delighted you've come all this way to see me." As Jellal's mocking voice echoed throughout the chamber, I noticed Sho looked like he was struggling. "Shall we play a round of heaven's game? The rules are really quite simple. I wish to use Erza as a sacrifice in my ceremony as a sacrifice to bring back Lord Zeref. If I succeed, the gates of Heaven will open, crowning my victory, however if you can manage to find a way to stop me, you'll be the winners of the game. To make things a little more interesting, I've enlisted three knights to battle on my behalf. The only way you'll be able to get to me is if you can defeat them. In other words, a three on eight battle royale."
"Like hell we'll let you win you bastard!" I roared at the ceiling, hoping whatever cameras he was using would pick it up.
"Oh and there's one more little surprise in store for you. Etherion is focused directly on this tower, and it is highly likely that they will attack. At this very moment they are in the midst of voting on whether to fire an Etherion blast. There's no telling how much time is left. Should the Etherion strike, complete annihilation is imminent. No players let to win. Game over." Jellal's voice faded and we turned to one another.
"That makes no sense, why would the magic council go to such drastic measures?!" Erza exclaimed. Then with a flash of light, Sho was standing there with Erza trapped in a card.
"What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled at Sho.
"I won't let him lay a finger on her." Sho proclaimed as Erza protested her imprisonment. "I'll beat Jellal all by myself if I have to!" Sho yelled as he turned and ran down the hall.
"No, you can't do it alone!" Simon yelled as he ran after Sho.
"Dammit! Alright here's the plan, we need to take these ridiculous 'knights' out if we want a shot at Jellal. Lucy, Juvia, follow the path that way, look for Natsu and take out any of these 'knights' if you encounter them. I'm counting on you. Gray and I will go after Erza." I commanded and they nodded and headed down the tunnel.
"Let's go, I have to knock some sense into that kid." I growled and Gray and I took off down the tunnel.
"Do you know where we're going?" He yelled as we sprinted down the hall.
"What have been saying this entire time, trust the nose!" I yelled back as we screeched to a halt in a large room where cages hung everywhere. We spotted Simon and leapt down to him, and he was with Happy and Stella!
"Aquila!" Stella crashed into my chest, crying her little eyes out, "I'm so happy you found me, I had to deal with a crazy cat girl!"
"Aw Stella, but you're okay now aren't you? I bet Happy took care of you…"
"No! He chased some toy around the whole time and almost left me behind!" Stella cried.
I turned to glare at Happy who hid behind Gray, "Don't kill me! I wouldn't have actually left her!" He protested.
"We've got bigger problems, what is that thing? And what's it doing to Natsu?" Gray said and I set Stella down in time to see some sort of owl man hybrid gulp Natsu down.
"My prey is not only tasty, but I gain their magic energy as well!" The man crowed and Happy lunged at him, only to get roasted when he used Natsu's fire dragon roar on him.
"Happy!" Gray and I cried out as Stella flew after him.
"I've got him, save Natsu!" She cried out as she flew after him.
"When he devoured Salamander, he somehow gained his magic powers." Simon stated.
"Now for the final blow!" The man crowed as he sent a jet of flame at Stella and Happy. I was in motion before I knew it, catching Stella, while Gray caught Happy.
"Yep, that flame is pretty hot." Gray winced as he clung to the chain. I had coated myself in ice as to take less damage.
"Hoo, Hoo, Who are you?" The man demanded as Gray and I laid Happy and Stella on stable ground.
"I thought you were going to find Erza?!" Gray yelled at Simon.
"I was when this thing showed up!" Simon retorted.
"Enough fighting boys. We don't have the time for this, let's take him out, before something happens to Erza!" I yelled.
"G-gray, save him, he needs you..." Happy whimpered before he passed out.
"Tch. When are you going to learn to stay out of trouble? This is the last time I'm putting my neck on the line for you. You hear me Natsu?!" Gray yelled, which an angry noise could be heard from inside the owl man's body.
"The digestive process has begun. In merely 19 minutes time, Salamander's body will have dissolved inside my own!" He proclaimed.
"Shut it bastard. You ate Natsu, you tried to barbeque my cat. You better hope you drop down dead because when I'm done with you…" My magic flared as my body coated itself in ice and my hair froze over as I yanked it out of its braid, "you're going to wish you hadn't taken this job!" I yelled as I launched myself at the owl man in tandem with Gray.
"Ice-make lance!" Gray sent a barrage towards Fukuro, who retaliated with a fire dragon's roar, or tried to at least.
"Ice dragon's roar!" Our roar's met in the middle and dueled for dominance, until they both slipped past each other. I blocked as fire washed over Gray and I, though it was much less intense than Natsu's.
"Pff, don't make me laugh, these flames are nothing compared to Natsu's, though I expected that from a poser like you!" Gray bellowed as he released a wave of ice magic that froze the flames over.
"That's some impressive magic, I'll have to swallow you too!" Fukuro yelled as he dove towards Gray with his mouth open. He caught Gray in his mouth and began to try to stuff him in.
"Not today bird-brain!" I yelled as I grabbed Gray around the middle and pulled for all I was worth. I yanked Gray out, and with a hand around his wrist out came Natsu, who was woozy form his brush with digestion.
"We haven't got time for him, Erza needs us!" I yelled at Gray who nodded.
"Let's go!" I yelled as we both rushed him, Gray adding large blades to his arms, and I transformed my arms into blades of ice, a little trick I had picked up, similar to what Gajeel of Phantom has used. We slammed Fukuro through some cage bars, and watched the cage crash to the ground.
"They beat him!" Happy cried out.
"Erza… Erza always kept her heart shielded in armor, trying to prevent it from breaking again. But that didn't stop the pain. I hope she knows her friends in Fairy Tail are ten times better than any armor. With us around she'll never cry again." Gray stated.
"Damn straight." I agreed, remembering the quiet, anti-social little girl who had first arrived. Gray had been her first friend in the guild, and I had the honor of being the second.
"We'll find her. We'll save her and with us around, heaven help anyone or anything that makes her cry again." I said, fixing my eyes on the way to the top of the tower, where Jellal was waiting for us to fight him.
"We've… got to rescue… Erza…" Gray said as he collapsed and I caught him.
"Damn, fighting that assassin took too much of his magic." I swore. "Alright, Happy, Stella, take Gray and go find Juvia and Lucy. Get off of this island and get out of range, do you understand me?" I ordered.
"Aye sir!" Happy agreed as He and Stella carefully lifted Gray off the ground.
"Now, Simon, you carry Natsu. We're going to find Erza and meet this Jellal. My fist has a few things to say to him." I growled as Simon hoisted Natsu over his shoulder and we took off down the tunnel, following my nose that would lead us to Erza.
As we marched up the tower, Natsu came to and Simon explained all that had occurred. Simon paused and held his side, grimacing.
"Simon, are you alright?" I asked trying to catch a glimpse of what might be ailing him.
"I'm fine, I just received word from Wally and Millianna. They found Juvia and Lucy and are taking them someplace safe. Apparently Lucy and Juvia are in bad shape, they managed to take down one of trinity raven all by themselves." Simon reported.
"That's a relief," I sighed "Glad they're going to make it out of range."
"Sho also just informed me that Erza defeated the last member of Trinity Raven. Now that they're all out of the picture, that just leaves Jellal. Erza has gone to find him."
"Like hell she'll fight him by herself." I snapped at Simon.
"She wants to do this on her own. But I'm worried about her fighting him, he's stronger than she knows. I'm begging you two, please help her." Simon turned to us.
"Not going to happen." Natsu stated with a shake of his head.
"WHAT?!" Simon exclaimed, "What's wrong with you two, you claim to be Erza's friends, but you refuse to help her fight?!"
"Erza is a big girl. She can fight her own battles. You don't have enough faith in her if you think that she can't beat this Jellal character." I said solemnly.
"She'd never forgive us if we butted in on the action like that." Natsu added
"She's not strong enough to beat Jellal on her own." Simon said turning to gaze at the ocean.
"What the hell?! She's one of the strongest-" I started to argue but Simon cut me off.
"No, you've got it wrong, this isn't about her magical strength. Erza has always wanted to save Jellal. She could never truly hate the boy from her childhood. Jellal will manipulate her feelings to his advantage. According to Sho, she ordered everyone to leave the tower, and if you know her as well as you say you do, then you know what she's up to." Simon finished and I ground my teeth together.
I was going to smack Erza once this whole mess was over. "Then let's get moving, I won't lose my partner!" I roared as we sprinted up the steps. We left Simon behind us as we ran for the top.
As we ran, a glow began to echo from the outside. Dammit, the Etherion is firing, I thought as we raced for the room. Erza, you'd better not die, I won't forgive you if you do, was my final thought as the Etherion fired.