A/N: Here's chapter thirty five! This entire chapter is Erza's past, a huge step to fixing Erza. Hope you like it! Special thanks to Svane Vulfbad for reviewing the Galuna Island and Phantom Lord arc! Thank you so much!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
"This tower we're inside…it's called the Tower of Heaven, but…officially called the R-System." Erza said, "It was created more than a decade ago, when a dark magic cult, not to be confused with a dark guild, decided to build magic towers to bring back the dead."
"B-Bring back the dead…?" The Emerald Knight asked, clearly this invention was too good to be true, or else he himself would have used the R-System at least six times by now.
Erza nodded, "And since the Magic Council and civilian law clearly prohibited this act, they had to find other means to get a work force." She said, then she looked up from the floor at all of them, "They abducted people, men, women, children, the elderly. They were stripped of everything they had and pushed into crates, carried to the towers like cargo. That was their work force, abducted innocents who became their slaves." She said before continuing, meeting each pair of eyes with her own, "When I was no more than six, I was captured and put to work as a slave."
Her three viewers were stunned into silence after hearing this fact. They knew Erza had ties to this place but they had no idea it was slavery.
"That…was where I met someone who was very close to me…among others who became my friends…this person stood out….but…" She clenched her fist, then relaxed and looked away, "His name is Jellal."
The young Jellal looked around, "Erza!" He would call out occasionally, until he finally found her on the ground. She received countless whippings as her punishments for taking the fall for Shô's plan. "Hey, hang in there!" He gently shook her shoulder, trying to get her to wake up.
His eyes widened as he got closer. As her entire body was scuffed and had blood on it, the entire right side of her face was drenched in blood. She was missing her right eye. He shook, with a combination of nerves and anger, "Why…why do they do these awful things? What did she do to deserve this?"
Erza stirred a bit, then whimpered, "…J…J-Jellal…? …are…you here?"
"Erza…" Tears brimmed in his eyes, he gave her a light squeeze, "Everything's going to be okay. I'm saving you."
Her arms loosely wrapped around him, her head spinning with dizziness, "…How…?" She asked softly in his ear.
"We don't have any choices left." He said, "All we can do now is fight!"
Her lips slowly curved into a small smile as she closed her eye and squeezed onto him with everything she had. "…f-fight….yeah…."
Jellal cried out in pain as he was electrocuted by a staff that stabbed into his back, he dropped Erza to the ground.
"You little brat!" A cultist roared, "You think you can get away with your little escape plan? We'll make an example out of you yet!"
Fearful, Erza returned to the prison cell holding all of her friends.
"Erza!" Wally said.
"Sister." Shô said, "Are you okay?"
"Idiot! You call that okay?"
"What happened to Jellal?" Simon asked, "He said he was going to distract the guards and let you escape."
"Leave her be for a while." An older voice rumbled, belonging to Grandpa Rob. The veteran Fairy Tail wizard was a haggard exhausted shell of his former self, "Poor girl…I think she's been through enough for one day…"
"Jellal…" Simon said, "He must have sacrificed himself to save her…"
A few minutes after someone fashioned an eye-patch for Erza's right eye, Shô started bawling his eyes out, "I can't take it anymore…I just can't take it anymore!"
Once his loud, high-pitched crying started to echo throughout the tower, dozens of guards ran to the cell door, they swung the door wide open and walked in with their weapons out, "What's going on?" One of them asked.
"Shut that brat up!" Another cultist said, "Or else we'll rip his tongue out for you!"
"Shô, be quiet!" Wally put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright Shô! Grandpa Rob is here for you." Rob said.
Erza covered her ears, she was on her knees, holding her head like it would explode. And it sure felt like it. Over the pounding of her own heartbeat, she only heard screams, none from her friends or the enemies, none were determinable, they were just screams that drove her up the wall. Her head cried out for relief, a splitting migraine like she had never felt made her body feel like it wasn't even her own. Finally, she too, had had enough. She stood up amongst the cries, running over and grabbing one of the weapons that one of the cultists had. With a frenzied cry she started slashing into the cultists, blood spraying across the floors.
Some of the cultists screamed and backed away in fear at her tenacity, "Slave revolt!" One of them cried.
"Run from them or obey, there's no difference, they're both the wrong choice." Erza turned to the other slaves, "We have to fight, that's the only answer there is! We have to stand up and fight for our freedom!"
Erza's eyes closed as she faced away from her three comrades who had followed her into the tower, "So…that's what we did. We stood up and we fought for Jellal. Because he was the only thing I had back then, my closest ally…he had a sense of justice, optimism…we'd think the same thoughts and imagine the same plans…he was a leader to everyone, we all looked up to him. I…." She trailed off as her voice died, then she cleared her throat, "The Tower…it…could turn those with good souls to those with dark ones…Jellal turned into someone else…he turned into our worst nightmare…..with a heart darker than death…"
"It's a slave revolt!" One of the cultists cried over the sounds of the ensuing battle, "Stop it at all costs!"
"You're forgetting that I'm mad dog Wally!" Wally said as he took another cultist out.
"We can take anything you can throw at us, we're used to your punishments!" Simon said as he punched one in the face.
"Don't even dream about beating us!" A cultist snapped.
"Kill the rebellious ones, put an end to their revolt!" Another cultist growled.
"Don't give up! We far outnumber them!" A slave said.
"Take their weapons." Another slave snarled.
"This is the way to freedom!" A third slave cried.
Jellal was whipped for the umpteenth time in his cell, chained and suspended in the air. The cultist panted after a while, "This is getting boring! He isn't confessing or even making any noise, this brat!"
"The other girl cried and cried." The second cultist snickered.
"Now that was a masterpiece!" The first cultist laughed, then he got right in Jellal's face, "Can't you understand that building the R-System is a sacred duty? The moment it's completed, we all get to go to heaven! The R-System will bring our god back to life! The greatest black wizard of them all will be reborn!"
"Shut up, pig!" Jellal snapped.
"What did that brat say?" The second cultist asked.
"What?" The first cultist roared, "Is that any way to talk to your priest?" He snarled as he whipped Jellal a few more times.
"Alright, you've paid that brat plenty for his mouthing off." The second cultist said, "Let's go. They've scheduled us for riot suppression duty this afternoon. I hear there's a slave revolt of sorts, we need to get down there."
The first cultist pointed at Jellal, "You will bow down and worship our god…if you ever wanna be outside these walls ever again!" He said as they both left.
Jellal spit some blood to the side, just about every crack on his body ached with pain, "God…" He seethed, "There is no god. Even if there was, a god who abides all this slavery and evil in the world doesn't deserve to exist!" He panted, "I hate them. I hate them all! I hate their god! I hate everything in this world!"
"Hate?" A deep, spiritual voice asked as a shadowy figure began to loom in front of him, "Human hate makes me grow stronger…"
Jellal perked up and looked around, wondering where the voice came from.
"What amusing creatures they are…trying too hard to revive me…and yet…I'm here all along…"
"Who's t-there?" Jellal asked.
"They can have all the 'faith' they want, but it's your hate that truly gives me presence!"
"Where are you? Come out where I can see you!"
"But you…are one lucky child…you get to meet the god they so revere…" A phantasmal black and purple being floated over Jellal, "I am Zeref! Hate is my existence!"
Erza slashed another cultist to the floor, then looked up at a group of scared slaves, "We have to free everyone up to Sector Eight today, move forward!" She cried out.
"But there's so many of them!" Simon said.
"We have to!" Erza demanded, "It's the only way to save Jellal!"
"Guess there's no hope for you, man." Wally pat Simon's shoulder.
"Erza!" Simon ran up to face Erza, "Do you like Jellal?"
Her eyes widened and her face turned bright red. "Eh…uh….." She shook her head, "You think we have time for this nonsense!?"
"Well, I have always-
A strong blast of magic energy smacked into Simon, blowing up and sending him sailing, with blood exploding everywhere.
"It's their magic division!" Wally pointed, seeing a lot of artificial soldiers launching magic projectiles out of their staffs.
Elspeth ran over to Simon's side, her big wide eyes shaking with fear as she looked around. Destruction everywhere, magic bringing slaves to their end, smoke clouded the air, as well as the wails of terror, the rubble and construction materials that were used as weapons, the bodies of those who hadn't survived the revolt. Tears leaked down her cheeks as she looked over to Erza, hoping she would have something to say.
But the only cries that filled the air were from other slaves. Erza felt completely lost as she watched the damage take place, slaves crying, "Retreat! Fall back! We don't stand a chance!"
Erza balled her fists together, "Stop! You can't give up now, we have to fight!" She cried out, but it seemed no one heard. She was the only one standing her ground.
"Run! Ignore the girl, she's just gonna die too!" A slave cried out as he grabbed a friend and running.
Erza bit her lip as she started shaking, "We have to save Jellal!" She cried out as loud as she could.
A cultist was nearby her, firing off a blast of magic energy.
"Erza!" Wally screamed.
"Sister!" Shô yelled.
A thin figure jumped in the way, taking the blast as a fatal amount of blood flew out of him, "Thank goodness…" He choked out blood, "I thought I was too old and broken to help…"
"Grandpa Rob!" Erza cried out as she watched him take the hit, "…no…" She whimpered.
"Grandpa lost his magic long ago, child…" He gave a weak chuckle, "But…you still have such a world of possibilities…"
"Grandpa…" She sniffed.
"That's right. Everything starts with a heart that has faith." Rob told her long ago, in their cold, dreary cell, "Try to think of magic in the same group as religious faith, healing, and fortune telling. Only those with faith can feel it, and that's why it works so many miracles. Those with faith in the existence of magic, faith in their own power, and faith that they are living alongside nature, only they can use magic!"
"Magic? I'd love to use magic! I want to use it in the future, all the time!" She grabbed the broom that they had given to her and jumped onto it, "You think I could fly around on a broomstick?"
"I'm sure it's possible." Rob's smile grew.
"I can't wait to fly across the sky, free as a bird!" She sang, "When I can, I'll give you a ride, okay?"
To see that same wise old smile be nothing but an emotionless husk about ready to pass on into the next life burned its way into young Erza's soul, forever etched how cruel this life really was, "Sometimes the only thing that kept me going in this wretched place was your smile…" Rob coughed.
Erza whimpered as she ran to his side, "Grandpa…please…"
"Freedom is found within the heart!" Rob said, falling forward, "Erza, I know one day your wish will be granted!" His back faced the sky, as well as the red Fairy Tail emblem that shone to the heavens.
Erza bit her lip and shook as she looked down at the body before her. She clutched onto his lifeless arm, feeling the temperature slowly drop in the palms of her hand. Her head flung back to the sky as she cried out in agony.
"Crap, Simon's in real trouble…and Grandpa Rob is…" Wally swallowed hard, "Erza! We need to fall back!"
Erza caught her breath for a heartbeat. For a moment Wally thought Erza had heard him, and was about to run, but her eye clouded again as she let out another screech. However, the weapons on the ground from the deceased slaves and cultists started to rattle. They slowly floated up in the air, as if they were being held by wounded invisible warriors.
"Those…weapons…are floating…" One of the cultists said quietly, "What the hell is happening!?"
The weapons flew forward and started gashing cultists open, sparing the slaves. Erza's cry blended in with the cries of the falling. Her onslaught didn't stop until all the cultists that surrounded them were dead.
Erza slumped to the ground as the last cultist gave a low groan and collapsed forever. She panted and held a hand over her missing eye, her head ached more and more with each passing second. In a matter of seconds, the opposing wave of enemies were taken out.
"Holy crap…" Wally said, "She took out the entire magic division!"
"Sister, you can use magic?" Shô smiled.
"Magic…" Erza whispered to herself as she looked at her chained fist, the chains broken earlier in the raid. Her vision blurred with each pulse of her heart, so she clenched her teeth to try to focus, Grandpa…I will attain the freedom we deserved…and I can save him with this magic… "Jellal…" She said softly, "I will save you…" She clutched a sword from the ground tightly, "Follow me, to freedom!"
It wasn't long until Erza made it to where they were holding Jellal, the two cultists who held him prisoner earlier looked terrified at the sight of her.
"W-Wait just a moment…I…I can admit that I was wrong…" One of the guards said.
"Y-You see…we were just following orders! Just following orders! We didn't want to! You gotta believe us!" The other guard said.
"You win! You win! All of our fellow sect are gone, we surrender!" The first guard said.
"We can be friends now, right?" The other guard asked.
"You're in my path." She said firmly, slashing through them as she ran into the cell Jellal was in.
She found him tied up to two posts, suspended by the arms from some rope. She grinned once more, it felt like a weight in her chest was lifted as she saw his chest lifting and sinking raggedly, but at least he was alive. "Jellal! It's me!" She exclaimed, cutting the ropes and freeing him. As he hit the ground, she gently hugged him to support him, resting her head under his. She opened her mouth to tell him about Simon and Grandpa Rob, but nothing came out. She swallowed hard and gripped him tighter, "Jellal…it's over…we won…we got our freedom….after fighting, like you told me to…" She found her smile again, then tried to tug him along, "Wally and Elspeth managed to find a cargo ship to escape on, we can go live in a cottage like we wanted to, and be free forever!"
"Erza…" Jellal stirred, hugging her back, to her surprise, he said, "We don't have to run away anymore…"
"…we…we don't…?"
"True freedom is right here!" He snickered darkly.
Wally, Elspeth, and Shô were exploring the ship they were given, with Simon trying to recover from his injuries, "Hey, look at this!" Wally dug out a silver cartridge about the size of a toaster, "It's a movie lacrima!"
"Movie lacrima?" Elspeth repeated, "That sounds dumb."
"I think it sounds cool. It plays a story right in front of your eyes." Wally put it in the recorder, "I've never seen one until now."
The movie played out an elaborate scene with a gunfight between two slick gangsters in an alleyway, however only one man remained standing, "Too bad for you, Tony-Joe." The survivor said as he took a puff of his cigar, "But your fate was sealed the moment you met me!"
"That guy's so cool!" Wally cheered.
Elspeth's eyebrows furrowed, "That was a waste of my time."
Shô forlornly looked out at the half-finished tower, "Sister sure is taking a while…"
"Jellal, what are you talking about?" Erza demanded answers as she watched him hobble off by himself unsteadily. She ran forward and took his hand with both of hers in attempt to keep him up.
"Erza…freedom does not exist in this world!" Jellal said, "I figured it out…what we need isn't some fleeting 'freedom'…true freedom is only found in Zeref's world!" A dark grin crept onto his face, "I've come to understand a little about how these people feel. They were trying to revive Zeref…" He glared down at one of the two inured guards Erza slashed down, "You call yourselves believers, you couldn't even feel Zeref's presence like I can! I will take possession of this tower! I will complete the R-System and see Zeref's rebirth!"
Erza's hand slowly slipped from his, "Jellal….what happened to you….." Her eyes watered, "What…did they do to you….?"
Jellal held a hand up, as if by some demonic telekinesis, the guard throbbed in pain as he was lifted in the air. In a sudden motion blood began pouring out of him as if he were cut by a large invisible sword, he weakly collapsed on the ground once Jellal was through with him.
The other guard looked horrified, even more so when Jellal turned to him, "No…no don't…please!"
Jellal slammed him all around the room like a hacky-sack, all without even touching him.
As much as she didn't want to watch, her eye couldn't help but follow the bodies. She finally faced him again, "Jellal, stop! Whatever magic you're using is evil!"
"Stop?" Jellal cocked an eyebrow, looking back at Erza, "Erza, I thought you hated these guys…"
She swallowed hard, "Well…maybe I do, but that doesn't mean-
"That's no good! You'll never receive Zeref's blessing with an attitude like that!" Jellal said, he held a hand out, and the two guards that tortured him for so long eventually blew up into a bloody and gory mess, he then started laughing like a madman.
Erza winced as they blew up, tears leaking down one side of her face, "Jellal, pull yourself together!" She screamed, "I know days of torture can do things like this…but you can't give in like that, Jellal-
"I'm perfectly fine!" Jellal laughed, "Erza, let us rebuild the R-System together! From now on it will be called the Tower of Heaven! And with it, we will revive Zeref!"
"No way, Jellal, I'm not listening to you like this! We're going to get off this island and bring you back to the way you were!"
"Fine!" Jellal blasted her away with a powerful gust of dark magic, "If you want to leave this place so badly, then you can go alone!"
"Alone…?" She whimpered from where she lay on the ground, looking up at Jellal.
"The rest of us will just finish building the tower without you! I'll need lots of labor to finish it." He said, "But you mustn't worry, I'm not anything like those foolish guards. I'll make sure everyone's clothed, fed, even rested. Control by fear and force will make a poor workforce."
"What are you talking about!? Everyone's already on the ship ready to leave, they're never going to come back here!"
"Well that was the mistake of an incompetent leadership who gave them no meaning for their work. I will give it a meaning! We will all work together to bring the great black wizard Zeref back!"
"Jellal…." She sniffed, "Please…come back…" She begged, "Please…."
A dark shadow whipped out of Jellal's hands, strangling Erza, "I believe I said I don't need you anymore! But I'll let you live…I at least owe you that much…you did take care of those fools who got in my way…but you must leave the island. If you wish so much to get a taste of that foolish 'freedom' of yours."
A choking sob escaped her throat, her teary eye leaking, "Jel…lal…"
"You are forbidden to mention this place to anyone. If the council were to find out about this place, all my hard work would go to waste! The moment word got out, I would have to destroy this tower and all your friends with it! You are also forbidden to ever come back to the tower. At the first sight of you, I'll kill your friends, one by one!" He laughed, "I think I should start with Shô, don't you?"
Her arms dropped from holding the hands that were choking, her will all gone, "….Jellal…" She squeaked.
"That will be your 'freedom'! Go, and take the burden of the lives of all of your friends, Erza!" He laughed and laughed.
Erza's eyes opened again as she felt her body scrape against coarse sand. She coughed up mouthfuls of salt water, looking up at the dark sky, the crescent moon slicing through the stars. After jumping off deck when they were in the middle of the sea, she assumed she'd never have to open her eyes again, but here she was, washed up on shore of an island she didn't even know. She slowly rose to her knees and clenched a handful of the damp sand, until she weakly stood to her feet. She knew she had to find people, find food, find shelter. She was fated to die another day. She took two steps, then she fell to her knees again. Simon, Wally, Elspeth, Shô, Grandpa Rob…Jellal. She would never see them again, they were her entire life. She fell to her knees again and looked up at the moon, letting out a splitting cry of distress that filled the sky, sending startled birds airborne.
The trio who had patiently heard her story shuffled around nervously, obviously getting more than they had bargained for, with Juvia's hands over her mouth, and Gray and the Emerald Knight exchanging a nervous glance every so often.
Erza wiped her tears away, they only fell from one side, "I will….." She took a shaky breath, "…have to fight Jellal…."
A/N: Poor lil Erza. Now that's she's put so much trust into her friends with such a heavy story, how will the rest of her life unfold? Thanks for reading, hope you liked it!