Ch. 3- The Tower of Heaven
Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima
Story and OCs © Me
"Good grief, Haru... do you have any idea how much you worried everyone?"
"I'm sorry, Erza."
Erza, back when she was 13 years old, sighed as she carried 9-year-old Haru on her back, the green-haired girl clinging to her shoulders while a piece of torn cloth was wrapped around her left knee. It was nearly sundown as Erza walked through the forest, heading back to the guildhall where everyone else was waiting.
"I'm honestly more upset with Natsu and Gray," Erza said as she kept carrying Haru. "They should have kept a better eye on you... especially Natsu. He's supposed to be your brother, for crying out loud, and he doesn't even think to check if you're still behind him!"
Haru whimpered as she sank slightly. Earlier today, Natsu, Gray, and Haru were playing a game of tag in the forest, but because the young Beast Wizard had such a hard time keeping up with the boys, they unknowingly ran off without her. It was not out of cruelty, of course, she knew that. It had been about 4 months since she joined the guild officially, so she pretty much knew everyone's personalities by heart, by now. She knew that Natsu and Gray got a little caught up in their competition that she had been left behind.
Plus, in her haste to keep up, she accidentally fell down and scraped her knee on the ground. In pain from her knee and also feeling hurt at being left alone, Haru hid underneath a tree and cried. Thankfully, though, Erza managed to find her before too long.
Erza. Ever since Haru joined the guild, it was like the red-haired teenager was almost always by her side. Just like Natsu, Erza was looking after Haru and making sure that things were fair for her.
Without warning, Haru wrapped her arms around Erza's neck and nuzzled into her back, causing her to stop and blush slightly as she glanced back.
"H-Haru?" she asked.
"Thank you for always looking after me," said Haru. "I love you, Erza."
Erza's eyes went wide... before she smiled warmly.
"...I... I love you, too, Haru," she said.
~Present Day~
"Haru!"
"Huh?" Haru muttered as she sat up straight and saw Gray with his hand on her shoulder. Lucy and Juvia sat behind him while Blue Fang was sitting at the bow of their little rowboat... and Natsu was slumped over the starboard side, moaning from his motion sickness.
"You all right, there?" Gray asked. "You weren't saying anything for a while."
"Oh... I guess I zoned out for a bit, huh?" Haru asked as she cast her away to the open sea. "I'm sorry..."
"...You're worried about Erza, aren't you?" Lucy asked in concern, prompting the Beast Wizard to nod her head, sadly.
"Blue Fang's tracking her scent, so we should be able to find out where those creeps took her before too long," Gray said. "Good thing I thought about that since your no-account brother isn't helping much."
"Say that again and I'll puke on ya," Natsu said in a slurred voice, but then gagged before he promptly vomited into the water.
"Motion sickness, huh?" Juvia asked. "Gajeel gets the same way."
"Wait, so Gajeel gets motion sick, too?" Lucy asked. "I thought that only happened to Natsu!"
"On the contrary," Juvia replied, "it happens to all Dragon Slayers... at least, that's what Gajeel told me."
"Small world," Gray said.
"Hey," Haru spoke up, causing everyone to look at her. "Do you guys really think Erza's okay?"
"Of course, she's okay," Gray answered. "I mean, she has to be. It's Erza, for crying out loud. You think she'll let those guys beat her down so easily?"
"That's not what I mean," Haru said. "Those guys... they said they were her old friends... and they said she betrayed them." She scrunched up her brow as she continued speaking. "I don't believe that... there's no way Erza could ever betray somebody, at least not willingly! She must have had a reason!"
"Haru..." Lucy whispered, worriedly.
"Erza's the bravest, the kindest, the most beautiful person I've ever known," Haru said as she hugged her knees. "She's like my big sister... she's always been there for me... so the thought of never seeing her again...!" She sniffled as she screwed her eyes shut, trying to force her tears back down. "I... I just can't handle it!"
"Hey, hey, take it easy," Gray said as he put his hand on her shoulder. "Erza's always been there for us, too, you know. We're not gonna let anything happen to her."
"That's right!" Lucy added with a determined expression. "We'll save Erza, no matter what! And Happy, too! Right, Natsu?"
"Urrrrgh..." Natsu groaned before he puked, again. "What... you said... guuuuuuhhh...!"
"Thanks," Haru said, feeling reassured by their words.
"Although, I have to admit," Lucy said, "there is something that bothers me."
"Like what?" Gray asked.
"Have you guys ever wondered where Erza came from?" Lucy asked. "You know... before she joined Fairy Tail?"
Gray and Haru both gasped silently in surprise, and even Natsu seemed to tense up a bit as he glanced over at Lucy while Juvia remained silent.
"...Actually," Haru said with a look of guilt on her face, "during that job I went on with her... I asked her where she got her scars from... but she wouldn't tell me."
"Now that you mention it," Gray began, "I do remember seeing some scars on her back when I met."
"Something tells me we're about to find out where she got those scars from, too," Lucy said in a grim tone... and that's when Blue Fang began to growl as he spotted something in the distance, causing everyone to look toward the horizon. That's when they spotted a mysterious shape slowly growing bigger as they drew ever closer toward it. That's when they all gasped as they realized... it was a huge tower, standing so high on an island that it practically touched the clouds!
"Holy hell!" Gray exclaimed in disbelief.
"Is this the Tower of Heaven?!" asked Lucy.
"It's huge!" Haru added. "I can't even see the top!"
"Who cares?!" Natsu questioned. "Land at last!"
Soon, the group made landfall and hurried onto the shore... but the moment they did, they found that infiltration was not going to be easy, for there were many guards out patrolling nearly every inch of the island. Even the stairs were heavily guarded!
"Dammit," Gray cursed, quietly. "There are way too many of those goons."
"Who cares?" Natsu asked. "Let's just take 'em out, Fairy Tail style!"
"No, you doofus!" Lucy scolded as she held him back.
"She's right, Natsu," Haru agreed. "We can't just rush in, bashing skulls. Erza and Happy are in there and if we cause a ruckus, we'll put them in danger!"
Natsu grumbled, but nonetheless backed down.
"There's gotta be some way we can get in there," Gray whispered. "Hey, Juvia, you got any ideas?" He looked to his left, only to see that Juvia was gone. "Juvia?"
"Hey, where'd she go?" Lucy asked.
"I'm back here."
Everyone whipped around to see Juvia emerge from the water behind them.
"I managed to find a pathway underwater, leading to the lower levels of the tower," the Water Wizard informed.
"Really?" Gray asked. "Great job, Juvia!"
Juvia chuckled, a slight blush forming on her cheeks.
"Wait a minute," Haru said. "How deep down is this path?"
"It's about a ten-minute swim," Juvia answered. "Can any of you hold your breath that long?"
"Ten minutes?" Natsu repeated. "Ha! Piece of cake!"
"Sure thing," Gray added.
"Yeah, I think I can do that," Haru added while Blue Fang barked in agreement.
"What kind of people are you?!" Lucy questioned. "I can barely hold my breath for one minute and neither can you guys!"
"Just in case," Juvia said as she conjured some large bubbles of water. "Here, use these. They're oxygen bubbles surrounded by a water shell. You'll be able to breathe a bit longer as you have them over your heads."
"Like this?" Natsu asked as he popped one onto his head.
"Ha!" Gray laughed. "Looks good on ya, Flamehead. Maybe you should keep it!"
"What was that?!" Natsu questioned, angrily. "Why I ought to-"
"Hey, did you hear that?"
"Yeah. I think it came from over there!"
"Oh, crap!" Haru cursed as she realized that the guards were coming.
"Go, go, go!" Gray urged as they all put on their water bubbles and dove into the water.
XXX
It took some doing, but the group finally managed to make their way inside the tower's basement.
"Well, we made it," said Lucy as she wrung the water out of her shirt, wearing just her bikini underneath. "So now what?"
"We look for Erza and Happy, what else?" Haru asked while Blue Fang shook the water off of his body.
"HEY, ERZA! HAPPY!" Natsu shouted, causing everyone to flinch. "ARE YOU GUYS IN HERE- MMMPH!" He didn't get to finish when Gray grabbed him and covered his mouth.
"Will you shut up?!" Gray questioned. "The point of sneaking in here was not to get caught, you moron!"
"Umm... Gray?" Juvia asked as she looked up. "I think it's a little too late for that."
"Why?" Gray asked, only to look up... and see several guards standing on the wooden scaffolds. "Oh, shit..."
"Hey!" shouted one of the guards. "Who the hell are you?!"
"Looks like we've got no choice," Gray said. "We'll have to fight back before we're surrounded!"
"Understood," Juvia said, her eyes taking on a fierce glare.
"...Who the hell are we?" Natsu asked as he ignited his fist. "I think WE should be the ones asking you that question! Do you even realize who we are?!" With a fiery punch, he shattered the scaffold, sending the guards tumbling to the ground. "WE'RE FAIRY TAIL, YA DUMB BASTARDS!"
"RAAAAAAAAAARRGH!" Haru roared as she sat on the back of Blue Fang, who charged and barreled his way through the guards, sending several of them flying through the air.
"Open, Gate of the Great Crab!" Lucy exclaimed as she held up Cancer's gate key. "CANCER!"
Soon, in a flash of light, the crab-themed spirit appeared, cutting the guards down with his scissors.
"Long time, no see, baby!" he exclaimed while Lucy cracked her whip at two other guards.
As for Juvia, at first, it looked like she was cornered... but as the guards tried to cut her down, their blades ended up going right through her watery body, causing them to gasp in horror.
"W-what the hell is she?!" asked one of them.
"Water SLICER!" Juvia shouted as she swung her arm, creating a blade of water that cut the guards down. Meanwhile, Gray was seen jumping onto one of the scaffolds, kicking any guards out of his way before he took on the Ice-Make stance.
"Ice-Make HAMMER!"
SMASH! A giant hammer of ice soon came crashing down on the guards, sending them all crashing down from the scaffold. In almost no time flat, the guards were all soundly defeated.
"Chalk up another win for Fairy Tail," said Gray with a cocky grin.
"Ha!" Natsu laughed. "These guys were chumps! Besides, that square guy is the one I'm after."
"So now what?" asked Haru, only to look up as she heard a creaking sound, and that's when she and the others spotted a ladder leading up to a trap door that had opened up. "I guess that answers that."
"It's like they're saying 'Come on up'," said Gray.
"Isn't that just a little bit suspicious?" Lucy inquired.
"Who cares?!" Natsu asked as he began to climb up. "Let's go, already!"
"Always ready to go, that one," Gray quipped before they hurried after him. "Wait for us, Flamehead!"
XXX
Soon, they made it up to the next floor, which was actually a lot more lavish than the basement. However, that wasn't really what was so strange. What was really suspicious was that there seemed to be no guards around to stop them, this time.
"Well, this is weird," said Haru as she and the others looked around. "Where is everybody?"
"HEY, SQUARE DUDE!" Natsu shouted. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"Shush!" Lucy cried as she covered his mouth. "Did you forget we're in enemy territory?! Use your inside voice!"
"My brother doesn't have an inside voice..." Haru muttered.
"Well, it's not like we didn't cause a ruckus, downstairs," Gray added. "There's really no point in keeping a low profile, now."
"And besides," Juvia stated as she looked at the door from where they entered, "it seems that someone opened this door from this side, using a magic remote control device."
"So, are you saying we're being watched?" Haru asked while Blue Fang tilted his head in perplexity.
"Precisely," Juvia confirmed.
"If that's the case," Lucy began, "why would they even let us through?"
"Maybe they're trying to bait us or something," Gray mused... but that's when he noticed Lucy wearing a rather elegant outfit. "Uh... hey, Lucy, what's with the get-up?"
"Oh, this?" Lucy asked as she showed off her dress. "I had Cancer make it for me since my clothes were soaked through."
"Oh, my, it's lovely!" Juvia exclaimed as she felt the fabric.
"Eh... it's a little too fancy for my tastes," Haru shrugged.
"You didn't really have to change clothes, you know," said Gray as he stood next to Natsu, whose body was aflame. "If you wanted to get your clothes dry, all you have to do is stand next to Flamehead, here."
"So, wait, are you saying he's like a human dryer?!" Lucy questioned.
"Halt, Intruders!"
"Seize them!"
"Not again!" Haru complained as she saw more guards coming while Blue Fang growled.
"Man, these chumps just never learn, huh?" Natsu asked as he cracked his knuckles, but before he could leap into battle, the guards were quickly cut down in almost the blink of an eye!
"Whoa!" Lucy exclaimed.
"That must have been..." Gray whispered.
"Erza!" Haru cried happily as she saw the armor-clad wizard, holding two swords in her hands.
"Oh, my... she's so cool...!" Juvia whispered with a slight blush on her face.
"I know, I said the same thing," Lucy said while Erza gasped in surprise.
"What are you all doing here?!" she asked.
"What do you mean, what are we doing here?" Haru asked. "We came to save you!"
"And give those bastards some serious payback!" Natsu shouted. "They made fools outta us and then took off! They brought shame to the Fairy Tail guild's name, and that square guy isn't gonna get away with that-"
"Go home!" Erza ordered, causing everyone in the room to freeze.
"W... what?" Haru stammered in disbelief.
"...This isn't a place for the likes of you," Erza said as she cast her eyes to the floor.
"But... but Erza," Lucy said.
"Those guys took Happy!" Natsu shouted. "I'm not goin' home without my little buddy!"
"Happy's here, too?" Erza asked in surprise. "That means Millianna must have-"
"So that Millianna guy has him, then?!" Natsu questioned. "Where are they?!"
"I... I can't say," Erza answered.
"Right!" Natsu exclaimed. "That's all I need to know!"
"WHAT CAN YOU KNOW FROM THAT?!" Gray and Haru questioned in comical shock.
"I know that Happy is waitin' for me!" Natsu shouted before he took off running. "HAPPYYYYYYYYYY!"
"W-wait a minute!" Erza called. "Natsu!"
"There he goes, again," Haru deadpanned. "Don't worry, Erza, I'll go and-"
"No!" Erza shouted, causing her to stop in her tracks. "All of you are going back home!"
"But Erza, we-" Lucy started, only for Erza to draw her sword and hold it out in front of her and the others. "EEP!"
"I said... go home," Erza ordered.
"Erza, what the hell?" Gray asked. "I know you can be a little extreme, but this is overdoing it!"
"Listen," Erza said. "Millianna's an avid cat lover. She wouldn't harm a hair on Happy's head. You just leave Happy and Natsu and I'll make sure they get home safely. You all need to get as far away from this place as you can-"
"Forget that!" Haru shouted. "We're ALL going home! Including you!"
"That's right!" Lucy agreed. "How could you even make us consider such a thing when you know we couldn't just leave you behind?!"
"This is MY problem!" Erza countered. "I don't want you all getting caught up in it!"
"Too late for that, don't you think?!" Gray quipped. "You saw Natsu, right?!"
Erza didn't say a word. She just turned away, quietly.
"Erza," Haru said. "I know I said that I wouldn't pry about your past anymore... but now, I have to know! What is with this tower? And who is this Jellal guy?!"
"You... you heard about that?" Erza asked.
"I heard you crying out his name in your sleep, the other day," said Haru. "Most importantly... why did those guys say that you betrayed? They said that they were your friends... but aren't we your friends, too? Why can't you trust us?!"
"It's... it's not that," Erza whispered as she began to tremble. "Please... just go home, all of you...!"
"Nothing doing!" Haru argued as she went over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "This isn't like you at all, Erza! Usually, you ask us to join you in a fight without a word of explanation! We're offering to help you! I know you act tough, sometimes, but I'm sure even you get scared every now and then, so why can't you just-"
Erza turned around to meet her eyes... and when she did, the Beast Wizard gasped, and so did the others... because the Requip Wizard was wearing an expression that they rarely saw. Erza Scarlet, the Second Strongest Woman in Fairy Tail... was in tears. However, the only eye that was shedding those tears was her left eye... but her right eye shed no tears, at all.
"E... Erza...?" Haru asked. "Your eye...!"
Erza sniffled as she wiped her eye. "I'm... I'm sorry." She then looked up at everyone with a serious... yet grim expression. "This battle... whether we win or lose... will mean that no one will ever hear or see me, again."
"Wait, what?!" asked Lucy in shock.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" asked Gray.
"Erza... you're starting to scare me," Haru said, worriedly as she clung to Blue Fang, who whined in concern.
"It's a future that I have no hope of escaping from," Erza replied as she clenched her fist. "With that being said... while I still have time left in this world..." She then gave everyone a sad smile. "I will tell you everything."
Oh, boy...
Review, please!