Chapter 8
Makoto POV
The problems first started to arise when Jellal revealed himself to Natsu. I had told Jellal it was a terrible idea, to just pop out of the blue, but he seemed adamant about it. Now Natsu was holding Jellal by the collar up in the air, with a snarl on his face. I was slowly sneaking around the round walls of the lacrima room. Zero seemed to have all his attention glued on the other two mages. I checked to see if I was still invisible. After one strange encounter with a thief on a job, I had acquired his ability to become invisible. It was nowhere near good invisibility, but it was good enough for a person who wasn't paying attention.
I wasn't very surprised when Zero finally decided to break up the fight. The plan had been for Jellal to distract/power up Natsu, so he could defeat Zero, while I destroyed the lacrima, just in case, things went differently from the anime. I had to deactivate my camouflage, as the armor had to switch to bow mode. I summoned a bow and decided to form a wind arrow. Bang! Crash! Rubble rain all around me as Zero and Natsu duked it out. A golden glow radiated from the flames of his attacks. So much magic energy was flowing from his body, my armor absorbed a substantial amount of that magic energy. A small suddenly beeping sound played in my head for a few seconds. What was that? I wondered.
Natsu uppercutted Zero to another room above the lacrimas room and jumped after him. Flashes of green and gold could be seen above me, through the gaps in the ceiling. There was a momentary pause, as the rubble stopped raining.
"Hahaha!" laughed a distant voice. Zero must be gloating about trapping Natsu in his weird spirit dimension. You might want to reconsider that laugh. I smiled behind my helmet. A huge crack noise could be heard reverberating all over.
"Wha…?" wondered Jellal. "Is he...?"
"Just wait," I told him. "Natsu's got this." You might want to check on that timer. Suggested Mike. That's when I realized we had twenty seconds. Holy crap! I thought to myself. I really should have been checking the time. Then, spontaneously, the bow changed form. It grew longer, changing from a dark blue bow to a fiery yellow color, and the arrow was completely covered in flames. If I wasn't wearing my armor, I was sure I would have been cooked. Uh, Mike? What happened? Oh uh, you didn't bother listening to me while I was explaining my powers. Yeah, I did tune you out. Sorry. A loud roar indicated I didn't have time to ask why.
The indicator on the side of my helmet counted downwards. 3…2…1…. I crossed my fingers (in my head) and released the bowstring. It shot through the lacrima, making a bullet-shaped hole through the middle, and vaporized due to the high amount of energy being channeled into it. The bow disappeared.
At the same time, a giant fireball crashed through the ceiling, and just barely missed the lacrima. The blowback from Natsu's dive finally destabilized the lacrimas enough to make it shatter into gray dust. It floated around and eventually settled all over the room, like dust. That was unnecessary for the audience.mentioned Mike. What audience? I asked confused. It was nothing. I shrugged and hurried over to Jellal. He was still lying on the ground, coughing.
"You don't look so good," I observed. I quickly looped one arm over my arm and moved over to the hole Natsu made. Groan! It felt like the whole structure was shaking. Then I realized if all the lacrimas were destroyed, then Nirvana would be falling apart. Oh shit.
"It looks like we're going to have to follow Natsu," coughed Jellal.
"Yep," I mumbled as I activated my jetpack. I took a deep breath and jumped down, with Jellal in tow.
It took approximately ten seconds to reach Natsu. He was on the ground, in the middle of a crater the size of a baseball field, panting. Zero's limp body was laying nearby.
"Natsu!" I yelled as we touched the ground. I walk forward, while Jellal stayed a little behind, probably worrying about Natsu attacking him again. "Eh, you do not look good." His hair spikes were pointing in strange directions, bruises covered his body, and I was pretty sure he had broken a rib. He looked up at me and gave me a huge grin.
"I'm all fired up!" he said while smiling. I rolled my eyes and helped him up. I was paying very close attention to how he would react to Jellal, but surprisingly he shrugged and walked over.
"Thanks for the power boost," he said. Then Natsu narrowed his eyes and hardened his face. "But don't think you're off the hook yet." Jellal closed his eyes and smiled.
"I know," he said sadly. Jellal seemed to be distracted by something.
"Um, how the heck are we supposed to get out of here?" I asked. The rubble of Nirvana had formed a domelike structure around us, with small pieces of stone dropping down like a drizzle. "I don't think we can blast our way out of here unless you want to be crushed under tons of rock."
"Hmmm," pondered Natsu. "Hey, what about that Hot Eye guy? He can control the Earth right, so he can get us out of here!" As if on cue, a hole opened in the ground, revealing a clump of orange hair. The earth parted to reveal Hot Eye.
"I have come to save my friends!" he proclaimed. I exchanged a look with Jellal. That was easy.
"So, can we get going?" I ventured.
"Of course!" he said as he looped Jellal and Natsu around his arms like ropes. Then he motioned for me to climb onto his shoulders. Really? I grumbled to myself. Looks like I have to be six again. I reluctantly climbed on. Hot Eye was pretty tall, so I had a high vantage point. Maybe this won't be so-. My thoughts were cut short as we descended into the earth. My head kept on getting hit by rocks and tree roots. Ow!
After what felt like an hour, we finally ascended back to the surface. We ended up right in front of all of our friends, who seemed surprised by our entrance.
"Jeez," said Gray. "Way to make us worry!" he seemed relieved by our arrival. I hopped off Hot Eye, relieved to finally stand on solid earth again. I barely noticed Wendy's hug until I looked behind me. She was hugging me, with tears in her eyes.
"You're okay!" she tearfully exclaimed. She stepped back and looked around. "Thank you, everyone, for saving my guild."
"It's because we all had the power," said Natsu.
"All of us?" asked a skeptical Wendy.
"You also had the power," I added. I looked around at the makeshift group of comrades this mission helped create. "We all had the power."
"Now it's your turn to give me a high five!" exclaimed Natsu.
"Okay," agreed Wendy. She walked over to Natsu, and met his hand high in the air. The feeling of jubilation filled the air. We had finally put an end to Oracion Sies and Nirvana. A rhythmic march could be heard in the background, and it sounded familiar. Does that sound familiar to you? I asked Mike. Well, the only two organizations that could be coming here is the soldiers or the Magic Council.He said.
I was about to tell everyone else of the noise, but they were talking about Jellal.
"What are going to do after this?" asked Erza.
"Not sure," Jellal replied after a long pause. "I'm scared." Erza gave a confused look.
"Why?" she asked.
"I-I'm scared that my memories will come back," he admitted. He reminded me of a friend who had a shady past. I remembered how he changed. A lot of people still judged him for his actions, but the important thing was that he did change. I walked up to Jellal and open my mouth.
"You're scared that your memories will turn you back to a monster," I guessed. He looked up at me, confirming my guess. I continued. "You can't let the past define who you are now Jellal."
Erza put a hand on his shoulder. Jellal looked at her confused.
"I'm with you," she said. Jellal looked shocked by her words. "Even if we come to blows, I can't leave you this. I…"
"Men!" Iychia interrupted at the worst time. Geez, thanks Iychia.
"What's the matter dude?" asked Gray.
"I was going to release some parfum in the bushes, when I ran into something," he explained.
"There are some markings on the ground," added Wendy. Symbols glowing in a purple line surrounded our party.
"Runes!" exclaimed Gray. "Like Freed's? No..even more powerful!"
"When was this setup?" asked Carla.
"So, looks like the council is here to arrest Oracion Sies," I said.
"How do you know?" asked Lucy. "I thought the council was destroyed."
"I mean, they're technically criminals," I shrugged. I didn't bother answering the second question. I honestly didn't know. The anime never gave a clear answer, at least when I was watching it.
"Show yourselves!" demanded Natsu. A few seconds later, a massive column of mages in white robes surrounded us.
"Who are they?" panicked Wendy.
"I'm going to leak!" complained Iychia.
"I wish you no harm," said a person I hadn't seen in a long time. "I just wish for you not to move for a little bit."
"Who are you?" demanded Happy.
"I am the captain of the Reformed Magic Council's 4th Enforcement and Detention Corp," he said. "My name is Lahar." (Authors Note: The reason Lahar is spelled differently in the prologue is because of a spelling mistake on my part. Sorry!)
"The magic council is already back in business?" said Lucy.
"We have been reborn, to protect Justice!" Lahar proclaimed.
"But, we didn't do anything bad," said Natsu nervously.
"That doesn't sound very convincing," said Lucy. As they were talking, I quietly retracted my armor, so he didn't recognize me. It had been almost six months, but I had met him again. He seemed to have been promoted since he carried more of a commanding voice.
"I am aware of that," he said. "I have come to arrest Oracion Sies. So please hand over the wizard code-named Hot Eye." Jura immediately jumped to Richard's defense. Hot Eye put a hand on Jura's shoulder.
"It is alright," he said.
"Richard!" Jura protested.
"Just because I have acknowledged my sins doesn't mean are wiped clean," Hot Eye said. Then he proceeded to explain his backstory with his brother, and then was carted away, tears on his face. After he was locked up, Lahar turned back to us.
"The dark guild was never our true target," Lahar said. He pointed at the blue-haired mage. "We have come to arrest Jellal!" Jellal hung his head ashamedly. "Come! If you resist, I have the authority to use lethal force." I looked at Erza, to see her reaction. Her eyes had glazed over, and she had a stunned face.
"Wait!" said Wendy.
"Hold on.." began Natsu.
"That man is dangerous!" yelled Lahar. "We cannot allow him to roam free!" Jellal slowly walked forward, step by step, until he was grabbed by two mages, and handcuffed.
"Wait!" yelled Wendy. "Jellal doesn't remember anything!" She was on the verge of tears.
"Under clause 13, that isn't a valid argument," stated Lahar.
"It's okay Wendy," said Jellal. "I don't plan to resist." Feeling that Wendy needed some comfort, I walked over, and placed a hand on her shoulder,
"There's nothing we can do," I told her. "I'm sorry. He doesn't deserve this, but there is nothing we can do." Carla stepped forward.
"Wendy told me that long ago, you saved her," Carla said.
"Knowing I saved somebody makes me glad," said Jellal. He glanced over at Erza. "Thank you Erza, for everything." He began to be escorted to the jail cart. He stopped in front of Lahar. I glanced over at Erza and Natsu. Looks like my involvement won't change anything here. tears began streaming down Wendy's face, and I pulled her back.
"You know you will either be executed or stay in jail forever," said Lahar. That's when Natsu made his move. He dashed into the mob of Magic Council grunts.
"Natsu!" exclaimed Lucy. "They're from the magic council.
"What the hell are you doing?!" demanded Gray. The grunts surrounded him, as the island of pink bashed his way through the mob.
"Jellal is a comrade, and we are taking him home!" said Natsu. As he kicked one of the grunts in the head. He had a blazing fire in his eyes.
"Restrain them!" ordered Lahar. Tons of grunts poured after Natsu, only to be blown away by Gray.
"Go Natsu, I got this!" yelled Gray. Natsu paused, nodded in thanks, and kept running.
"Welp," I said. "Might as well join in." I let go of Wendy and raced into the sea of white. I kicked one of the mages in the back of the knee causing him to buckle. Some of the mages tried to grab me, but I slipped out of their arms and kept running. I could hear my friend's screams for Jellal and ran for the wagon. As I was running, I tripped and fell face-first in front of the person I least wanted to see. Lahar. I quickly put my hands up in a surrendering gesture, and formed a makeshift mask over my face, just so Lahar didn't recognize me. I really didn't really want to be actually arrested, since I was pretty sure he could arrest me for trespassing or whatever. He pulled me up and put handcuffs on me.
"Arrest them all!" Lahar ordered. "They are trying to stop a council arrest!" More wizards flooded past me, restraining Natsu, who was at this point barely visible. Everyone was surrounded, ready to make a last stand. Well, unless Erza saves us, we're toast. I think you'll be fine. I don't think you being here would change her feelings about Jellal. Inferred Mike.
"Stop!" yelled Erza, her hand raised. Her voice was so commanding everyone stopped moving, and turned to face her. "I am sorry for the ruckus we caused. I…. take full responsibility." There was a pause. "Just…. Take him."
"Erza!" called out a defiant Natsu.
"Sit down!" she told him.
"Yes ma'am!" he obliged with comical fear on his face. Nothing was said as Jellal walked up to his transport cell. He stopped for a moment.
"The color of your hair," he murmured as he was escorted inside. Erza looked a little surprised, but also glad. I wonder what was going through her brain. The moon shined over the clip-clop of the horses trotting away, and Jellal with it.