A/N: Here's chapter thirty four! Erza opens up a little bit more! Yay! Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Erza woke up in the rickety storage hold of a boat. She could feel the weak waves swaying the boat occasionally as they were headed towards their destination. Her eyes narrowed as they darted around, before looking down at herself. Her body was littered with small wounds from the thorns, her hands being tied back painfully my more magic resisting thorns. "Damn these…" She growled as she pushed against them. Her patience did not seem to last as she screamed, "Where the hell am I!? Get me out of here right this instant!"
"We're in a boat, sister." Shô said as he entered the storage hold, "Care to guess where we're headed?"
She let out a low growl, "And what sort of business needs to be taken care of there that's so damn important?"
"Jellal has been dying to see you, right now, he resides at the top of the Tower of Heaven."
"Jellal…" She whispered, then she shook, "Please, just let me go. I won't hurt any of you, I have no reason to." She fibbed, to an extent. She was furious with them, but she would never actually hurt them.
"Not possible, I'm afraid." Shô said, "You see sister…you're a traitor…don't even bother trying to escape, you know Elspeth's rose vines block all forms of magic and escape, don't you? Not even you will find a way out."
She looked away, her eyes shameful, "At least let me requip into my armor…I need to…I'll…I-I'll have some sort of panic attack…"
"But you look so lovely in that dress." Shô got down to her level and hugged her.
Her eyes widened as he hugged her, her body only stiffened.
"I never wanted this to happen…" He sniffed, "I missed you so much, I really did! Why…sister? Why did you do this to us…?" He growled as he started crying, "Why did you betray Jellal?"
"Jellal…" She sighed and slowly closed her eyes as her mind fogged with memories.
"Sister, over here! Hurry!" The young Shô called, as they all tried to escape the slave handlers.
"Keep your voice down, Shô!" The young Wally snapped.
"You too, Wally." Little Elspeth whispered, with her dark pigtails and tattered dress, "We all need to be quieter."
"Heh, heh, you're right…Elspeth…" Wally blushed and looked away.
"Erza, if we don't hurry, they'll find us." The young Simon whispered.
She gave a timid nod, then skittered forward, her chained feet ringing against the stones. She started shaking, tears flooding down her cheeks as she hugged herself, "If…they find out where we are…there's no telling which punishment they'll use…I've…seen them all…"
"It's all right. Don't be afraid." The young Jellal said, his iconic blue hair and red tattoo nearly made him look ageless compared to who he was today. The only difference was the distinct brightness in his eyes, and the smile of justice he wore. His determination was remarkable. "We're going to achieve our freedom, our hopes and dreams! We can do it, Erza!"
Her tears were pushed aside as she grinned at him and nodded, "...uh huh…thanks Jellal!"
"That's impossible!" Org slammed his fist on the table, "You're saying that the R-System still exists?"
"Eight years ago, a religious sect that worshipped black magic gathered vast amounts of money. Their plan was to build the R-System." Michello said.
"You're talking about those seven towers, right? We took them all down. Even their ruins should be history!"
"There were eight, actually." Belno, the older woman with fading pink hair spoke, "One near the Ka Elm Sea still remains, if I'm not mistaken."
"That's impossible…it can't be functional, can it?" Org asked.
"I don't see what use they would get out of lying to us." Belno said dryly.
"So it has been built…" Ultear mused, seeming unbothered by it entirely.
"Why would anyone be working on the R-System?" Michello asked.
"The Tower of Heaven." Siegrain said, "That's its current name, if I'm to recall."
"It makes little difference on what it's called." Org said dismissively, "It's forbidden magic! Using it will cause widespread panic! I want magic divisions sent there immediately!"
"But…are we even sure to who we're up against?" Yajima asked quietly.
"It isn't the religious cult anymore." Siegrain said, "Those days have long since faded. It's under the control of a man named Jellal."
"But…but that's your twin brother, Siegrain!" Org sputtered, with Yajima narrowing his eyes closely and suspiciously at Siegrain.
"Where the hell are those losers?" Gray asked, as he, Juvia, the Emerald Knight, and Natsu were on a little boat in the sea.
"I think we took a wrong turn…" Juvia mused.
The Emerald Knight gently poked Natsu's shoulder with an apologetic smile, "Are you sure this is the right way?"
"Urp…" Natsu said.
"…I think we may have to reconsider the direction we've chosen…"
"Jeez, damn it Natsu! We're depending on your nose of yours!" Gray snapped.
"Well, if it's any consolation, Gray, at least he's been keeping his vomit outside the boat, rather than inside…" Juvia said quietly.
"Crap…I can't believe they captured Erza and Happy and there's nothing we can do about it! I feel so pathetic…"
"I can't say I know her well, but it was quite surprising that a wizard as powerful as Erza was defeated so easily…" Juvia said.
"No…that's impossible…those other guys had to have cheated or something…beating Erza is no simple feat…" Gray sighed.
"It's a bit more complicated than that." The Emerald Knight said, "These aren't just a group of ruffians…although they act like ruffians anyway, they're actually Erza's friends. From her distant past. Supposedly they knew her before we or anyone else in Fairy Tail did."
"You guys see that?" Gray pointed.
The Emerald Knight's eyes shrunk, "Natsu was guiding us the right way all along…this must be the Tower of Heaven!"
Erza looked up in awe as her four former friends directed her to the entrance of the Tower of Heaven.
Erza swallowed hard as she looked up, "S-So…it's…completed-d?"
"Why of course, we've had years and years to complete it." Shô said.
"What was it…eight years…?" She asked softly, "You've…changed entirely…."
Erza was taken to the depths of the tower imprisoned in a cell, "The ceremony starts tomorrow at noon." Shô said, it was just him and her now, "You'll wait here until then."
"You…don't mean…." She gasped as her hands were tied up over her head.
"What do you expect?" Shô's head tilted to the side a little, "You're the one who betrayed us…sister…Jellal was not pleased." He leaned in a bit, "It means you'll be the sacrifice for the Tower of Heaven. Which means I'll never be able to see you again. But it's all for the sake of heaven!" His eyes glowed with delight at the sight of her shivering, "It's making you scared. Are you still afraid of this place? Or…rather, have the memories finally caught up to you?"
"You thought you kids could get away so easily!" The cultist roared as he was finished whipping the children, "Little brats! You try to run off at a time like this? When we need to get the R-System up and running as fast as possible!"
"Hold on." Another cultist said, "We need to finish the R-System soon, we cannot afford a delay. Normally we would punish all of you…"
"But this time we'll punish only one of you." The first cultist said, "So which one of you idiots came up with the bright idea, huh? We'll only punish whoever came up with the escape plan, see how nice we can be?" He chuckled.
Shô shuffled with nervousness, he started crying.
"Who was is?" The cultist barked.
"It was me!" Jellal shouted.
A pause.
"I came up with the plan and led the others out."
"Oh?" The cultist asked, then he loomed over Erza, "It was you, right?"
"What? No!" Jellal protested.
"Take her away." The two cultists grabbed Erza.
"No! I just told you it was my idea!"
Erza bit her lip, staring at the ground as they dragged her, "I'll be fine…they…wouldn't kill a worker, that would add more delay, right?" She looked up, her eyes stained with tears as she tried to smile the best she could, "You said it yourself, Jellal, there's nothing to be afraid of!"
"Erza!" Jellal reached out for her hand.
"Shut up!" One of the cultists whipped him away. He reeled back in pain as a small amount of blood splattered on the ground.
"Save her, Jellal…please…" Elspeth sniffed as tears streamed down her cheeks, "Go save Erza!"
One of the cultist glared back at the children, "You know what, we change our minds, you little brats, no food for three days!"
"You're thinking about it too, aren't you sister?" Shô asked, "That was my plan all along…but I was so scared, so I kept quiet…" He said, "I guess I'm a pretty rotten person for that, huh?"
She sighed, giving him a sour look, "It hardly matters at this point. Do you realize, no, do any of you realize just how dangerous it is to bring people back to life using the R-System?"
"You really know what it is? I didn't expect you to know about the R-System…"
"The Revive System, of course I know about it." She muttered, "It's dark magic where you sacrifice one person to bring another person back to life. It's forbidden magic, it breaks all laws of humanity."
"Human limitations don't affect magic." Shô scoffed, "Magic is built to work around those."
"That's exactly what dark mages say. You're no different than them if you stoop that low."
Shô frowned, "You're really going to compare us to those idiots? They knew nothing about the true potential of this tower. Jellal is going to change all of that. He's going to lead us to heaven!" He soon smiled again.
"Heaven, hmm?" Erza asked, unamused.
"The moment Jellal brings him back…" Shô leaned in so there was practically no space between their faces, "The world will be born again…and we'll be able to control that new world!" He cackled, "The remnants of the group that took away our freedom! Those foolish new friends of yours who you haven't betrayed yet! Those mindless minions who roam around the world without a thought in their heads! That idiotic Magic Council! We'll bring terror and sorrow to them all! And then we'll take away their freedom! We'll control the entire world!"
After letting out a scream of pure anger from her chest, she reared her leg up and kneed him in the jaw with enough force to shut his gaping mouth, knock him back on the floor and make him spit up blood. She pulled herself up from her vines and bit into them, much like she saw Elspeth doing, seeing how they tore easily. Once her wrists were free, she landed on the floor and started to materialize into her armor. What the hell could you have done to make a person change that much? She remembered Shô's sweet smile, his friendly demeanor, even in the worst situations. As her armor coated her body she growled, "Jellal…this is all your fault!"
Happy's eyes opened slowly, at first he thought he was dead. Seeing a spider crawl across the bed he was on, he jumped off the bed and looked around.
The first thing he saw was his own reflection. A mirror. Framed in ornate and gothic ebony pane, he looked at the rest of the room from his reflection.
The dark rug was accented with a few more red or purple rugs, the black walls were scattered with posters of wizards from Sorcerer Weekly, both the models and most powerful wizards. More mirrors were scattered about the black walls, distorting his image, making the room look bigger.
Across from the bed was a fireplace burning, nearby that was an antique vanity, dark make-up on the desk. But the thing that bothered Happy the most was not the gothic appeal, the lace, nor antique look to the room, no.
It was the spiders.
Live spiders.
Everywhere.
Webs of spiders clouded the ceiling and corners, vanity, mirrors, even the fireplace. The bed was crawling with them, the posters were covert breeding grounds. Happy felt like they were crawling up his fur.
"Spiders…spiders…everywhere!" Happy shivered, tearing up, "Where am I…where's Natsu…what the heck is this place?" He sniffed.
Elspeth strolled in eventually, her platform boots would normally crush spiders, but the arachnids seemed to know to jump out of the way. She walked forward and squatted down in front of Happy, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Happy. Just staring, without a sound otherwise.
"Who…w-w-who are you…?" Happy shivered.
"Why can you talk?" She asked, her low voice making his bones shake with fear.
"Elspeth, can't you see that you're scaring the poor dandy?" Wally asked as he walked in next.
"Ah! Who are you?" Happy gulped, "And where am I? What happened to Natsu?"
"That kid's probably six feet under by now…"
"I don't believe you!" Happy said, "Natsu wouldn't be taken out by losers like you!"
"Careful there, cool cat…" Wally growled.
"Wally, Elspeth…" Simon walked in the room next, "Erza escaped!"
Happy's eyes widened at hearing that.
"Escaped? Dammit…" She sighed, petting Happy's head. Her long nails actually felt quite nice, "You're lucky I like cats, or I'd have you join my rugs…" She looked down at Happy as she stood tall.
"Simon, there's no way she would actually get anywhere." Wally said, "What's she gonna do, swim somewhere?"
"That's not what I'm worried about." Simon said, "I think she's going to try and take out Jellal."
"Well we better hurry!" Wally said as the three of them ran off, "Jeez, that broad's more trouble than she's worth!"
Happy shivered and curled up into a ball, "I want to go home…Natsu…please help me…"
Jellal laughed and laughed, he must have heard the news that Erza was after him.
"Master Jellal?" His attendant asked.
"As brilliant as she is beautiful, that Erza." Jellal chuckled, "Never a dull moment with her." He held his hands out, "Will I win? Or will Erza? Let us enjoy this game of life and death. Or past and future! The game of Heaven!"
"But…aren't you worried about what actions the council will take?"
"No. Not in the slightest…"
"The R-System ignores the laws of life and death! It is forbidden magic and it must be destroyed!" Org said, "We must send the military to destroy this enemy at once!"
"You fools!" Siegrain snapped, causing a silence in the room, "We cannot expect to win by sending the military after them! It's much too dangerous! You people have no idea how dangerous this weapon is! There is only one way to deal with the Tower of Heaven now…with the Satellite Square, Etherion!"
"What?" Org sputtered.
"Cross-dimensional magic?" Michello asked.
Belno scowled, "You young fool. Not only is Etherion a weapon of last resort, it's more dangerous than the R-System. The entire country can be taken out with that blast, have you seen the calculations of lives and property? Don't go announcing hasty ideas like that without running through some sort of checklist in your head."
"But there is no other weapon that can take out a structure as big as the tower in one blast." Siegrain said.
"I agree." Ultear said, her eyes closed, "He makes a very valid point."
"Not you too, Ultear!" Org said.
"And who said it needs to be one blast?" Belno countered, "That's practically asking for mass destruction."
"Anything else will take far too much time and resources. It's our best choice as of now."
"There are nine of us here in the council." Siegrain smiled, "So if five of us vote in favor, we can use Etherion. We don't have time to waste! We cannot allow that R-System to be used!"
The small team sent to rescue Erza and Happy stood at the entrance of the Tower of Heaven, looking a little hesitant at all the guards.
"There's too many lookouts…" Gray said.
"Who cares? Let's just burn them." Natsu said.
"I don't think that's very wise." The Emerald Knight said, "A stealthy approach would be quicker."
"I still have no idea why a knight in armor wants to go the stealth route."
"Fair point."
Juvia's head appeared from the water, "I found an underwater tunnel underneath the tower."
"Seriously?" Gray smiled, "Hey, good job!"
Juvia smiled, her heart beating faster after he praised her. She took a moment to calm down before continuing, "We'll need to be underwater for at least ten minutes in order to reach the location. Is that a problem for either of you?" Juvia asked.
"Not a problem." Natsu said.
"Yeah, no problem." Gray said.
The Emerald Knight's eye twitched, "You would both be dead, about five times over!"
"Then place this over your head." Juvia held up a bubble of water, "There's oxygen inside, but the water pressure is high enough to prevent any water from getting in."
"Hey, thanks!" Natsu smiled, "By the way, who are you, again?"
Juvia wilted and crossed her arms, "At least Gray knows my name…"
They crossed the underwater path and made it to the bottommost floor of the tower, they all took their water bubbles off and looked around.
"So this is the bottom of the tower…" Gray said.
"Finding Erza and Happy in this mess is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack…" The Emerald Knight said, then he looked up, the tower seemed to go upward forever, "Make that a very big haystack…"
"Hey, what's going on down there?" A horde of guards came running down.
Natsu snickered, his fists lit up with flames and he started punching everyone in his path.
Gray sighed, "Well, better keep up with him…" He slammed his fist into his open hand, "Ice-Make…Hammer!" A large hammer came out and crushed some more of the guards.
"Swords of Retribution!" The Emerald Knight raised his lance up high, his twelve swords making short work of anyone near and far. He was pleased at the results of his training and that this wide-ranged attack no longer cost him half his magic gauge.
"What the heck is up with this chick?" One of the guards kept slashing Juvia's body with his sword, but nothing was happening, water would just splash around, "I…I can't hit her!"
Juvia gave a dark grin before screaming, "Water Slicer!" and slicing him open promptly.
When all the guards were taken care of, a door opened leading to the next floor.
"What the heck, some kind of door just opened…" Natsu said.
"Why would they do that…it's like they want us to come up…" Gray said.
"Master Jellal, what are you doing?" The attendant asked, "Why are you letting them in?"
"They just cleared the first stage." Jellal chuckled, "I thought we should award the players who play the game as expected…" Then he laughed, "Now the real fun begins!"
"But sir, we need to begin the ceremony quickly! The council is bound to discover our actions sooner or later…"
"How many times have I told you…Vildaldus…that no scum on the council will ever stop me?"
"Blockhead!" Natsu roared, "Where are you?"
"Like I said before, I doubt they'll be hiding anywhere near us." The Emerald Knight said, "I predict that this is going to be a long and drawn-out affair…"
"I still think it's weird that they even let us up here to begin with." Gray said.
Juvia's eyes narrowed, "We're being watched."
The Emerald Knight nodded, "That's plausible. This is all one giant trap, and we're playing by their rules, unfortunately."
"There they are! Go get 'em!" More guards ran into the room.
Natsu hit his fists together, "Guess these punks don't learn, do they?"
Erza seemed to fly by out of nowhere, tearing them to shreds with two blades.
"Erza!" Gray's eyes widened.
"Thank goodness." The Emerald Knight took a sigh of relief.
She gasped as she spotted them, "What the hell are you doing here!?"
"What do you mean, 'what are we doing here?'" Natsu frowned, "Those chumps made complete fools outta us and ran away! I'm gonna make that blockhead pay for what he did!"
She gave them a firm look, a glare that only heated up more and more.
Juvia, however, thought the look was directed to her, "I'm…sorry, I'm just trying to help-
"Go home." Erza demanded sharply, "Now. This place isn't for the likes of any of you. If you get swept into this, your lives will be lost, I'm certain. Leave now while you still can."
"They took Happy. I'm not leaving until I break him outta here." Natsu said.
"Happy?" Erza paused, "…if Elspeth got a hold of him…"
"So who is this Elspeth guy?" Natsu snapped.
The Emerald Knight timidly held up his hand, "Not sure if this will help…but Elspeth is a girl…"
"She's too much for words…." Erza grumbled.
"Then I'll beat her too! Let's go!" Natsu ran up to presumably go further up the tower.
"Never!" Erza screamed, holding a blade to all of them, "You're going home! All of you! Now!"
"Well, there's no point in it now, Natsu's probably already halfway up the tower." Gray said, "Let us help you."
"Don't test me, Gray." She growled lowly, "Watch what you say. One wrong word might be your last." She looked away before he could respond, "Elspeth quite likes cats, as long as Happy doesn't irritate her to the extreme, he should be fine. I'll make sure they return safely, but Gray." She turned to him, "I order you to take these three as far away as possible, immediately."
"We can't leave." The Emerald Knight said, "Why would we turn our backs on you now, of all times?"
"Because this only involves me. These people, these problems. You have no place here!"
"I think Natsu running up to go save Happy begs to differ. This is a team effort and you know it!" Gray said.
The Emerald Knight watched Gray and Erza, with her back to them, he stood in front of Gray protectively as a sort of meditative stance. He could feel the heat coming off of her, he didn't want Erza and Gray get into it right in front of him, "You can at least admit that you have a better chance of solving this issue with us behind you rather than alone, by yourself. Don't forget that I heard a lot of the gist of what is going on from Shô. This seems to center on a man named Jellal…this people seem to be former friends of yours, yet they're setting out to treat you so poorly. I…understand what that must be doing to you…so of course I want to help fix the problem, you understand that, don't you?"
"Ant…" She sighed, "I'm different than them. Different than you. I don't need help, I don't need support or help when it comes to this. The only way this will be solved is if I tackle things head on. Anything else will be a distraction. Including both of you."
The Emerald Knight held his arms out, "Did we all leave Gray in his time of need when Deliora was threatened to return and harm possibly hundreds of people? Did you all give up and throw me to Jose at the earliest convenience when Caesar put a hit out on me for Phantom Lord?" He paused, "So why would we all abandon you now, in your hour of greatest need?"
It had been far too long looking at the back of Erza's head. She suddenly turned, her eyes rimmed with tears, yet her face was full of anger, "Because who said I deserved this? Who said I deserve to even live in a guild, to be an S-Class wizard, to be a wizard at all? I don't deserve friends, let alone a happy life! I've betrayed everyone who's been around me, who's to say I won't do it again?" She asked, before turning away, "Just go, before it's too late!"
"Erza, who did you betray?" The Emerald Knight asked, "You've always been a morally upstanding person as far as I know…this doesn't sound like you at all."
She sniffed, wiping a few tears away, "You haven't known me for very long…none of you have…not like them…"
The Emerald Knight and Gray exchanged a glance, "Erza…" The Emerald Knight said, "Just let us in. Let us help you. I won't be able to turn back and leave after everything that happened with Phantom. That showed me to the bottom of my heart that there are people in my life who care. And I'm trying to show you that same moral but you're not letting me in."
She sniffed and shuddered, "But why…?" She whimpered.
"Why…what…?"
"Why do you want to be involved in this…?" She looked at them, "I…can't mean that much…there has to be another reason…"
"I'm sorry Erza, what more do you want me to say?" The Emerald Knight smiled, "You're our friend now. You've been our friend for a moderate amount of time now, and I suspect we'll be friends for years to come. You can't just get rid of us like that."
She was silent for a long while, before she wiped her eye again from the tears it was shedding, "Your notion is sweet…and…I accept…" She said softly, "But you're incorrect…"
He looked confused yet again, "Incorrect…?"
"Whether we win or lose this fight…this battle, this war…I will not be able to return to the guild…I will not be able to stay by your side…I will never be heard from again…"
"What?" Gray went pale.
"What do you mean by that?" The Emerald Knight asked.
"My future has been set on a timer, a thick line drawn across where it's been cut off." She said, "But still…I suppose I should…at least tell you everything I can, with what time I have left."
A/N: So how was emotional Erza? Let me know what you thought, reviews are so helpful and appreciated! Looking forward to moving forward in the Tower of Heaven! I apologize for taking so long with this, if I had to judge, I'd say October is my worst month for free time, but I'll keep doing what I can. Until next time!