A/N: Okay...so there were some mixed reviews concerning the end of the previous chapter. All I can say is, if you didn't like it, go ahead and follow cannon for the fight, and ignore this chapter. I'm not forcing you to read this fic, and if you prefer Natsu beating Jellal, go for it. Like I said, I didn't want to take the fight from Natsu, but I still wanted Pit to fight Jellal. That said, if you still wanna read this chapter, enjoy it.
Chapter 35: Beyond Limits
-Tower Of Heaven-
"Pit…you plan fight to Jellal?" Erza asked.
"Yep," Pit simply replied.
"But Pit! You're in no condition to…" Erza started to say, before she saw that all, if not most, of Pit's wounds were gone. "Your injuries…they're…gone?"
"I used a bit of self-healing magic on my way here," Pit said. "I should be good to go no matter what."
"You are such a fool to come here," Jellal said. "You could have prolonged your life just a bit longer had you stayed away."
Pit smirked as he said, "Well, I am known for doing reckless things."
"So it seems," Jellal said as he got into a fighting stance. "I'm going to finish this quickly, Meteor!" Jellal then charged towards Pit as he raised the blade up in defense.
"Pit! Get out of the way!" Erza pleaded.
"Sorry Erza," Pit said. "But I gotta show this guy where my true strength comes from." Jellal then threw a punch at Pit as he blocked it with his blade, but to everyone's surprise, Pit did not move from his spot at all. "You're gonna need more than a punch to do anything to the Palutena Blade!"
"Palutena again…" Erza thought as she watched Pit, Jellal jumping back to his original spot. "Another weapon with his guardian's name?"
"I don't know who or what this Palutena is, but that weapon won't help you win this fight." Jellal said as he slipped into a fighting stance.
"We'll see about that!" Pit yelled as he charged at Jellal, a rainbow blade coming out from the barrel again. When Pit was close, he slashed at Jellal, who quickly moved to the side using Meteor.
"If you can't even land an attack on me, you'll have no hope of defeating me!" Jellal shouted.
"Let's see you avoid this then!" Pit shouted as he pointed the blade at Jellal and fired a charged shot at him, which he easily avoided.
"If you couldn't hit me in close quarters, what makes you think you can hit me from afar?" Jellal questioned.
"Who said that was my attack?" Pit asked as he charged at Jellal once again, Jellal being distracted from Pit's earlier attack. Pit then slashed at Jellal again, hitting him this time and leaving a small slash mark on him.
Jellal then jumped back, holding his wound as he said, "Distracting me with one attack so you could hit me with another…I'll admit that that's very clever for someone like you, but don't think it'll work a second time. I have no time to waste here, so I'll finish you off as fast as I can."
"And why can't you waste any time?" Pit asked. "Afraid that if you take too long everyone will get away?"
"Not at all actually," Jellal said. "If the magic in this tower goes unused for any longer, the whole structure will blow up. Did you think the magic would just stay here peacefully? It wants to get out, that's why some is already leaking out slowly." This information surprised them, taking everyone off guard. "And don't just think I'll let you leave Erza, you've caused me enough head-aches today as it is, you're not leaving here alive either, so just sit right there and let me take care of your friend."
"So this place is gonna blow huh?" Pit asked as he got into another fighting stance. "How long do you give it?"
"Hm…it's hard to say…it could go at any moment honestly," Jellal said as he looked at the lacrima. "But if I were to guess…I'd say about 10 minutes at the most."
"That's all I'll need to beat you!" Pit shouted as he once again charged at Jellal.
"You don't get it yet, do you?" Jellal asked as he pointed his palm at Pit and unleashed a blast of magic power and pushed Pit back. "You don't stand a chance at beating me! I am a Ten Wizard Saint, and you weren't even able to defeat Jose, whom was also one, and he is much weaker than I am. So just give up, you have no chance of victory!"
"No chance…is that it?" Pit asked as he stood back up. "I think I still got a good chance myself. After all, when I fought that Jose guy, I wasn't at my full power. I have more power now than I did during that fight. And so long as I'm standing, so long as I'm breathing, I will not lose!"
"Those are some bold words," Jellal said. "Let's see how long you stand by them!" Jellal then quickly charged towards Pit. Pit was about to slash at him when he got close, but Jellal quickly went around Pit and hit him with several punches to his side and head. After one more strong punch to his head, Pit was sent flying across the room until he hit a wall, a cloud of smoke rising up. Jellal chuckled as he then said, "You never even stood a chance against my power. Now then Erza, let's continue where we left off." Jellal then turned towards Erza, before he was hit in his back by several energy shots, causing him to stumble a bit. He looked to where Pit was to see the smoke was gone and that Pit was standing there, pointing the Palutena Blade at him.
"Don't think you've won just cause you can't see me," Pit said as he smirked. "I'm nowhere near done yet. It'll take more than a couple of hard punches to keep me down."
Jellal chuckled a bit as he looked over at Pit as he said, "You're more resilient than I thought you'd be. In truth, I wanted to fight you as much as I wanted to fight Natsu. But so far, the Dragon Slayer has put up a better fight than you have. He was willing to risk his life to defeat me, are you willing to do the same?"
"Of course I am!" Pit shouted.
"Then prove it!" Jellal shouted as he once again rush at Pit as he stood there, holding the energy blade in front of himself. Jellal then threw his punch at Pit. But right before it could hit, Pit seemingly disappeared from in front of Jellal as he was then slashed across his back. Stumbling forward a bit, Jellal looked back at Pit and asked, "How…how did you avoid my attack…how did you get behind me so quickly?"
Pit smirked as he said, "If you know so much about my magic, then you should know I have things that can help me in battle. Like the one I just used, Buff Power: Bumblebee. That allows me to quickly avoid an enemy's attack and get behind them. Pretty useful if you ask me."
"Damn you…" Jellal said as he turned back towards Pit and quickly jumped back, sending energy lances at him. Pit was easily able to avoid them, running around them. Pit pointed the blade at Jellal once again, and started firing a volley of shots at Jellal. But Jellal was easily able to avoid them all as he once again charged at Pit, faster than he did the last time. "Try avoiding this!"
"Buff Power: Aries Armor!" Pit said as his outline flashed for a moment, as Jellal's punch hit Pit right in his chest, but to his surprise, Pit didn't move from his spot at all, and looked almost unharmed from the attack. "It's my turn now!" Pit shouted as he once again slashed at Jellal, striking him across his chest.
"Pit…you might actually do it," Erza thought as she watched the battle unfold in front of her. "You might actually beat Jellal!"
"This is it Jellal, take this!" Pit shouted as he went in for one more slash, which Jellal avoided by quickly going backwards using Meteor. "Damn…I almost had him there."
"So…this is your true power?" Jellal asked as he looked at his wounds, which weren't as bad as they looked. "I thought you'd have been more of a challenge."
"What!?" Pit shouted.
"If this is the power you boasted so much about, I am very disappointed," Jellal said. "If you're holding back any power, you will be defeated. If you want to be victorious in this fight, go all out! That is the only way you will even have a small chance of winning!"
"…You want me to go all out, huh?" Pit asked as he held his blade in front of him. "How's this for all out then!?" Pit then poured a large amount of his magic energy into the blade, and when the rainbow energy blade appeared, it was much, much larger then it usually was. "This is my power Jellal! Take this! Goddess Strike!" Pit then slashed the blade at Jellal.
-With the Others-
"Do…do you think Pit made it?" Lucy asked as she and the others looked up at the tower.
"He had to," Gray answered. "There's no way he wouldn't."
"Your friend must be very determined," Wally said.
"He definitely is," Gray said. "But then again, almost everyone in Fairy Tail is."
But to everyone's surprise, a chunk from the top of the tower started to fall to the ground.
"What just happened? What caused that?" Lucy asked.
"It was Pit," Happy said. "I know it, Pit's fighting, and he's winning!"
"I told ya he made it," Gray said with a small smirk.
-Tower of Heaven-
"Maybe I put a bit too much power into that…" Pit said as he looked at what his attack did, a large cloud of smoke around them. Pit turned towards Erza and smiled at her as he said, "Let's get outta here before things get bad."
Erza smiled as she nodded a bit as she said, "Yes, who knows how much longer this tower will remain standing." But before either of them could move, Jellal shot out of the smoke and grabbed Pit by his throat. "Pit!"
"To damage my precious tower the way you did…" Jellal said as he tightened his grip. "Is truly unforgivable! I'll drag you down to hell myself if I have to! None of you shall escape here alive!" Soon after Jellal said that, the whole tower light up, shining bright. "…It seems as if I as a bit too late. The tower will soon explode. But I can at least take some pleasure in knowing that the three of you will die in vain. Someone else will hear Zeref, and they will attempt to revive him, just like I did."
"Why would…someone do something like that?" Pit asked, having dropped the Palutena Blade when Jellal grabbed him, his own hands around Jellal's wrist in an attempt to try and free himself. "Why would anyone want to revive this Zeref guy?"
"You don't get it, do you?" Jellal asked. "Zeref is the only one able to make this world into a paradise. With his power, he will purify the world, eliminating that which plagues it. Not that it matters to you. After all, we're all about to die." At that moment, the tower shined even brighter. "It seems the moment of our death is upon us. Just know Pit, die with the knowledge that you've changed nothing!" The tower continued to grow brighter and brighter, as everyone closed their eyes to prevent from going blind. But to the surprise of everyone, instead of exploding, the tower shot the magic energy up into the air. After a few seconds, it stopped, the tower still standing and everyone in it still alive.
"We're…we're still alive?" Erza asked as she looked around.
Jellal dropped Pit as he backed up and looked around. "What…what happened?" Jellal asked. "The tower should have blown up…none of us should be alive…how are we still alive!?"
"Maybe we got lucky?" Pit asked as he stood back up, regaining his breath.
"Don't lie to me! What did you do!?" Jellal asked. "One of you must have done something, I don't know what, but one of you did something!"
"I really have no idea what you're talking about," Pit said as he picked up the Palutena blade. "But it seems like we have some more time in our fight now."
"…So you want to continue our fight?" Jellal asked. "So be it, I'm done with you. I'll finish you right here and now!" Jellal then disappeared from sight and appeared right in front of Pit, and hit him with many punches. After one last strong punch, Pit was sent flying across the room and landed near where Erza and Natsu were. "Get up! This fight isn't over until I've killed you! The tower is drained of most of its magic energy, more than half, but it's nowhere near what I need for the ritual! When I'm done with you, I'll finish your friends off as well!" Pit slowly stood up, dismissing the Palutena Blade, surprising both Jellal and Erza. "What's this? Are you giving up?"
"Far from it actually," Pit said as he put his hand to his side, his palm facing the ground as a light shone, and when it dies, the box he got from Dyntos was at his side. "Just thought I could use something different is all."
"Pit…what exactly is in that chest?" Erza asked as she looked at it.
"Didn't you hear me the first time?" Pit asked as he smirked a bit. "The greatest weapons ever made."
"That's a bold statement you know," Jellal said. "Claiming something is the greatest is different from it actually being the greatest."
"Who said I was claiming it?" Pit asked. "I meant what I said. These weapons are the strongest ones I have. I didn't use them sooner because I can only use them as a last resort."
"Pit…are you sure it's a good idea?" Erza asked.
"Of course I'm sure," Pit said. "There's no way I'm gonna give up. I risked my life to save someone important to me once. And I'll do the exact same for each and everyone one of my friends!" Pit and the box were then covered in a bright light. When it died down, Pit was seen clad in in some bronze armor, namely a Spartan helmet, a chest piece, gauntlets, and shin guards. On his right arm was a shield that was flat on one end and round on the other, and seemed to have a reflective surface. In his other hand was an ornate looked bronze bow, which had several small streams of light coming out the sides of it, which matched the ones on the side of Pit's helmet and his shin guards. And it seems as if Pit's wings had gotten bigger as well. "Three Sacred Treasures, ready and equipped! Prepare yourself Jellal! This'll be our last battle! Prepare to face the light!" Pit the charged at Jellal, who quickly flew up into the air to avoid Pit.
"You can't follow me up here!" Jellal shouted. "I'll just take you out from here!"
"That's what you think!" Pit shouted as his wings gained a pink glow and flew up to where Jellal was.
"Be careful Pit! You said you were already out of time!" Erza shouted.
"Don't worry Erza!" Pit shouted as he flew towards Jellal. "The Wings of Pegasus let me fly for as long as I want to!" When Pit got close, he separated the bow into two and swung one of the halves at Jellal. Jellal dodged the attack and attempted to punch Pit, who placed his shield in front of himself to block the attack. The two then separated, both dashing backwards as they looked at the each other.
Jellal chuckled a bit as he said, "So it seems you had one more trick up your sleeve. Let's see how long you last with this new weaponry of yours."
"I'll do more than last long," Pit said as he smirked. "I'm gonna win this fight!"
"We'll see about that. But as it stands, I've landed many more hits on you than you have on me," Jellal pointed out. "This battle was decided before it started."
"…You said you could move as fast as a meteor, right?" Pit said as he rejoined the two pieces of his bow.
"What of it?" Jellal asked as he raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Can you move as fast as light?" Pit asked as he strung an arrow, which looked like a very thin yellow bar.
"What kind of question is that?" Jellal asked. "Nothing is as fast as my magic, none of your distance attack will hit…" Jellal was cut off as he felt a pain in his right shoulder. He looked there to see the same thin yellow bar of light that Pit had going through it, as it soon disappeared. Looking back at Pit, he looked as if he just let go of an arrow. "Im… Impossible! None of your projectile attacks should be able to hit me!"
"Maybe not my normal ones," Pit said as he continued to smirk. "But my Arrows of Light seem to be an exception." Pit then charged towards Jellal once again, as Jellal charged towards Pit.
On the ground, Erza was watching the fight unfold, as Pit and Jellal continued to clash and separate. "Pit…this is our last chance…you have to beat Jellal here and now…" Erza said. Soon, she felt Natsu start to stir as his eyes opened up.
"Ugh….where am I?" Natsu said as he looked around before remembering what happened he quickly stood up. "That's right! That bastard Jellal dodged my last attack! Where is he!?"
"He's currently fighting Pit," Erza said as she pointed up into the sky.
"What!? When did Pit get here!?" Natsu shouted as he started to watch the fight.
"He arrived soon after you passed out," Erza informed him. "He actually saved us from certain death by carrying up out of the path of one of Jellal's last attacks."
"Wait a minute…what's Pit wearing?" Natsu asked as he squinted his eyes to try and get a better look. "I've never seen him in something like that before."
"…I believe he called what he's using now the Three Sacred Treasures," Erza said. "We can only hope that this'll be enough to take Jellal down. Neither of us are in a state to fight Jellal again."
Natsu furrowed his eye brows as he put his hands around his mouth as he shouted, "Pit! You better not lose! We're all counting on you!"
Pit was currently blocking a punch Jellal sent at him with his shield, Jellal putting more and more force behind his punches in an attempt to break the shield, only for each attempt to fail.
"Why can't I break this shield?" Jellal thought. "Any normal shield would have broken by now…I guess none of the weapons Pit is using are normal." Jellal jumped back as he crossed his hands above his head as he said, "You may be able to block my physical attacks with that shield, but let's see you try and block this attack with it! Altairis!" Jellal then sent the projectile towards Pit, who did nothing up place his shield in front of him.
"Pit! Get out of the way!" Erza shouted, afraid Pit might not know what he's doing.
"Calm down Erza," Natsu said as he smirked. "Pit knows what he's doing."
"Just die!" Jellal shouted as the attack hit Pit, but to his surprise, it didn't explode, but it seemed to stay in place right in front of Pit.
"You really have no idea what you're fighting against," Pit said. "I said that these are the greatest weapons ever, and I meant it!" Pit then pushed forward and sent the attack right back at Jellal, who quickly got out of the way using Meteor.
"How…how did you do that?! That is one of my strongest spells! Nothing should be able to stop it!" Jellal shouted, anger clear on his face.
"Who said I stopped it?" Pit asked as he held up his shield. "All I did was send the attack right back at you. That's what the Mirror Shield lets me do." Pit then broke the staff into two once again as he said, "It's time to end this Jellal!" Pit the charged towards Jellal once again, pouring some magic energy into each half of the bow as the light streams seemed to get longer, and eventually merged to look like a blade. "This is it Jellal! Blades of Light!"
"I refuse to be defeated!" Jellal shouted as he charged at Pit as fast as he could. "I'll kill you!"
"Dream on!" Pit shouted as he brought his weapons down onto Jellal, causing him to fly down towards the tower fast. The impact actually causing Jellal to go through several floors of the tower. When the smoke cleared, Jellal was unconscious, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Pit landed on the ground, almost immediately falling backwards into a sitting position.
"Way to go Pit!" Natsu exclaimed as he ran up to him and smacked him on his back. "I knew you could do it!"
"Be careful Natsu! Pit must be very tired after that fight," Erza said as she walked up to them.
"Thanks guys," Pit said as he smiled and stood back up. "Man…who knew using this would be so draining…I feel like I have no magic energy left."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Erza said. "After all you've been through today, I'm surprised you have any left at all."
Pit smiled as he said, "Come on, let's get outta here." But before they could start moving, the tower started to shake.
"Hey! What's going on!?" Natsu shouted as he looked around, dodging a large piece of lacrima that fell from the ceiling.
"The tower is too damaged," Erza said. "It's going to collapse, we have to go now!"
"Wait, if the tower is out of magic power, then why is the lacrima flashing!?" Pit asked, the crystal indeed flashing.
"The tower isn't out of magic energy, it was just depleted," Erza said. "Jellal said about half of it was shot into the air, so there's still a lot of magic energy left in the tower!"
"It's still gonna blow up!?" Pit yelled in surprise.
"The explosion won't be as big as it originally going to be," Erza said, "But it'll still be big enough to kill everyone still in the tower."
"Let's get going then!" Pit shouted. "I'll just fly us outta here!"
"There's not enough time for that, we'll still be in range of the explosion," Erza said as she walked up to one of the walls and put her hand on it. "Maybe if I…"
"Erza, what are you planning to do?" Natsu asked.
"If one of us were to merge with the lacrima, maybe the explosion could be contained," Erza said.
"What are you talking about!? You'll die if you do that!" Natsu shouted.
"There has to be another way Erza!" Pit yelled.
"…I'm sorry," Erza said as she started to merge with the lacrima.
"Erza!" Pit and Natsu both shouted and ran towards her, grabbing her remaining arm trying to pull her out.
"You two…" Erza said as she stroked their cheeks, causing them to stop. "I cannot live without Fairy Tail. I can't even imagine a world without my nakama. That's just how much all of you mean to me."
"Erza…" Natsu said as she started to slip further into the crystal.
"If I doing this can save all of you…then I have no regrets," Erza said as her entire body was now in the lacrima. "This one measly body…take it!"
"Erza! Get out of there Erza!" Natsu shouted as he banged on the crystal.
"There has to be another way! Erza!" Pit shouted as he did the same.
"I'll always be there, right beside you all," Erza said.
"ERZAAAAA!" Pit and Natsu shouted, the tower not exploding, but instead making the magic shot up into the air again, and vanish.
-Unknown Location-
Erza was now floating in a white nothingness, dressed in a simple white dress.
"Where am I?" she questioned as she looked around. "Inside the Etherion? No…this is different…warmer…I see." Erza thought as she looked down and saw many people standing in front of a grave with a statue of a knight behind it. Upon closer examination, Erza realized it was her grave. "So…I'm actually dead..." The sky itself seemed to be crying along with all of her friends.
"She…Erza Scarlet…" Makarov began to say. "Was loved by God, and she loved God…And she loved all of us, her dear friends…Her heart was as big as the endless sky…and her sword gleamed brilliantly for the sake of those she loved. Her figure, dancing like a fairy, was more beautiful than the nature's great vistas. Love makes people strong. And it is love, too, that can make people weak. I…" At this point, Makarov couldn't hold back his tears anymore. "I loved her like my own daughter…I pray…that she rest in peace."
"The Magic Council has voted unanimously: one of the two newly-opened seats…shall be eternally granted to this woman," Org stated as he and the other members of the Magic Council approached the funeral. "Erza Scarlet shall hence forth be counted among the Ten Wizard Saints."
"Stop kidding around!" Natsu shouted as he approached the group, catching everyone's attention. "What do you think you're all doing!?"
"Natsu…" Erza thought as she observed his actions.
"This piece of crap!" Natsu shouted as he kicked over some flowers.
"Natsu…please stop…" Lucy said as she watched her friend.
"Why you…!" Gray said, barely holding himself back from getting in a fight with Natsu.
"Erza isn't dead!" Natsu proclaimed.
"Please Natsu…just stop…" Lucy begged as she held her head.
"How the hell could she just die!?" Natsu questioned.
"You need to take a look at reality!" Lucy shouted.
"Natsu!" Pit yelled as he approached Natsu.
"Pit too?" Erza thought as she watched him grab Natsu by his scarf.
"Natsu…as much as I hate to admit it…Erza is dead…" Pit said.
"How can you say something like that!?" Natsu shouted. "You were there!"
"And she died right in front of us!" Pit shouted. "You can't deny that Natsu!"
"Get off of me!" Natsu shouted as he was now being restrained by two others. "Erza is alive!"
Erza couldn't help but cover her mouth and start to cry as she watched all this unfold.
"Is this really what you wanted?" asked a voice from behind Erza. She turned around a saw a woman, but she couldn't make out any of her features. "To leave your friends behind in despair…is that how you wanted this to end?"
"No!" Erza shouted. "I don't want them to cry for me! I want them to live their lives! I want them to smile!"
"You know what you need to do then," the figure said as she turned around and started to walk off, as Erza could have sworn she was smiling.
"Wa-Wait! Who are you!?" Erza asked as her body started to dissolve.
"…A friend," the figure said. "Create a bright future for yourself and those you care for. For it is only when you live for your friends that true happiness will show its way to you. Now get going, I'm sure you don't wanna keep them waiting."
"Waiting?" Erza said as she disappeared, but before she did, she could have sworn that she saw that the figure had green hair.
-Tower of Heaven: Shore-
Erza slowly opened her eyes to see that she was looking up at the full moon.
"Where am I?" Erza questioned as she continued to look up at the moon.
"Erza!" came Lucy's voice as Erza looked to the side to see her and her other friends running towards her. "Thank God you're okay!"
"Don't make us worry like that damn it!" Gray shouted.
"I admit, you had me scared there for a moment," Phosphora said, a small smile on her face.
"Big sis!" Sho shouted as he ran to her.
"Wh…What's going on?" Erza questioned. "Am I…alive?" Erza then looked to her other side to see Natsu carrying her, Pit not that far behind. "Natsu…Pit…did you…? But…how…?" Erza tried to say as Natsu had a serious expression on his face. "You two actually found me and brought me out of that magical vortex? You guys…are really something else…" At that moment, Natsu collapsed onto his knees.
"We're all the same…" Natsu said, gaining Erza's attention, remembering what she said before she went into the lacrima. "It's the same for all of us…" Natsu then let go of Erza as she sat up on her own. "Don't you ever do a thing like that again…"
"…Natsu…" Erza tried to say as she saw that he was crying.
"Never!" Natsu restated.
"…Okay," Erza said a she smiled a bit. "Natsu…Pit…thank you, both of you." Erza then closed her eyes as she thought, "That's right, I don't have to die for my nakama's sake…I have to live for their sake…Just like that woman said."
A/N: The arc ends in the next chapter. Let's hope I can get it out as soon as possible, and at most by the one year mark for this fic. And who was that mystery lady Erza saw when she was "dead"? Is it who you think it is? If so, was it part of the dream, or was it really her? That's for you to decide. And what happened with the tower in the middle of Jellal and Pit's fight? What could that mean? Guess we'll just have to wait and find out. Anyways, that's all I have to say for now. Leave a Review on your thoughts on the chapter and Favorite and Follow if you haven't already. Seeya later.