Fiore Academy
Chapter Eighteen – The Dance Begins III
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail in any shape or form. I am a mere FF writer paying tribute to the world of Hiro Mashima, the rightful owner of Fairy Tail.
Authors' Note – Well, well, well… this is going to be the longest chapter I've ever written, I can already tell, thinking over what I need to write… should be very, very interesting. Hope you enjoy!
Everywhere was chaos.
Zeref was sparring with Jellal, sword against sword, magic against magic. There was no doubt both were powerful… but there was no way to tell who was stronger, for their fight was equal.
Erza hovered above the battleground, surrounded by a hundred swords, which she used as projectiles to dart into the battle, and one by one each of Jellal's men began to fall.
Mirajane had transformed into one of her many demon forms, and with magic as dark as night, she cut through opponents left and right, angry, and nowhere near like usual smiling self.
Hisui brought out five green crystal keys, holding them high; from the heavens, she summoned five spirits, all five alike, ten feet tall and armoured thick as they immediately began to slash through the enemy. Hisui also used a ring to summon a Celestial Sword, and began to do slash into the enemy herself.
Virgo had arrived when she heard the fighting, and no untrained eye could see her, as she flashed between the enemy, using two daggers to dart into each enemy's vitals. The enemy's job in killing her was made harder, when she used her digger magic to tunnel from one side of the battle field, to the other.
Katherine and Karen were back to back, using Fire Magic they had been taught when joining the Dragneel Clan. Karen used two yellow flame swords to guard her mothers' back as her mother used long range fire attacks to pick off the enemy.
Kagura made her presence known, as she used her edged Katana to spar with the dozen men around her, and as the seconds ticked by, the dozen widdled down.
Ultear had brought out three crystal balls, which she used her magic to make them smash into the heads and sometimes the groin of the enemy. Whenever her crystal balls broke on a man who had a particularly hard set of balls, she used her Time Magic to repair them, and continue the fight.
When enemies weren't burning, they were drowning as Juvia used her water magic to suffocate, blast or overwhelm any enemy unlucky enough to cross her.
The battle went on, and more and more men died, more and more blood was spilt.
Finally, a single grunt stopped everything in its tracks.
"Zeref!" Katherine yelled out.
No one could believe it; Zeref Dragneel, Ranked Third of the Captains of the Knights of the Red Cross, fell bleeding with Jellal's bloodstained sword hovering above.
"It's time to end this!" Jellal cried out triumphantly, slashing down with his blade.
His blade was stopped however, when Erza crossed her own with his.
"That man is to be my brother… I can't have you killing him" Erza growls.
Jellal laughs, "Your brother? Pathetic… will you make me kill you as well? My beloved Erza?"
Erza made a sound like a howling animal as she pushed Jellal back, and five yards separated them.
Things weren't looking good; there were still thousands of Jellal's men remaining, and many of the students had already fallen, and only a dozen or so of Zeref's men remained… the odds had tuned from three to one, to about six to one.
"Surrender!" Jellal demanded.
Erza began to shiver with frustration. Had they lost? After all this? After she had led the students to a battle they were not ready for? Had they been defeated in a battle that was lost the moment it began?
The clatter of metal in front of Erza drew her attention. Looking down, she saw that an intricate brass key laid on the ground between her and Jellal. Looking behind her, Erza could see the Headmaster, Makarov Dreyer, look at her with tearful eyes.
"It's over Erza" he cries softly, "I cannot bear to watch another one of my students to die".
Erza's breath began to quicken, and she stared around her; a boy laid dead not five feet from her, eyes lifeless as they remained open, shock and fear printed on his face, in his final moments.
Around her, more bodies laid dead, of boys and girls she had walked pass many times, never giving them a thought. Why did they fight with her? She did not know them, she did not know these people's names… she led these innocent people to their deaths… she was to blame for their deaths.
"Do not blame yourself Erza" Zeref's voice grunted.
Erza looks around and sees Zeref, bleeding but alive as he tried to stand.
"Zeref… you shouldn't…" Erza tried to say, but couldn't.
Zeref laughs, "This is nothing but the bite of a mosquito… but as it is… I won't be able to defeat Jellal… Makarov is right; we've lost".
Tears began to spring from Erza's eyes. She led hundreds of young people to their deaths… she had killed hundreds of men… and for what? To lose in the end?
There was no way she could redeem herself.
Jellal began to hum as he stepped forward and picked up the brass key.
"Finally" Jellal says, bringing out another of the keys from his coat, "I have two of the keys".
He crosses them together and begins to chant.
"Chamber of the Heart, I seek within, open your ways, so I may walk in... Open… Chamber of the Fairy, and the Heart within!"
A tremble followed his words, and from the centre of the courtyard, the fountain moved aside, and a few seconds later, something began rise to the surface.
At first it seemed to be a large crystal… but when you looked closer, you could see something most unexpected.
"Behold!" Jellal calls out, "Fairy Heart!"
Erza couldn't believe it; what was a young girl doing inside a crystal?
…..
"It sounds like it's stopped" Ashley says as her and Natsu ran.
They were within sight of the Academy now; a few minutes ago, the dreading sound of a battle could be heard, and they weren't even able to see the Academy Buildings.
Natsu nods, "I hope our side won".
Ashley nods in agreement of the hope.
It seemed they were unlucky; they had to stop four times on the way when they came face to face with other groups of Jellal's men… scouts, as Natsu called them. Each one of them had either been cut down, or captured.
"Whatever the case" Ashley says, "We were too late".
Natsu had a worry though; since Zeref had become his restrictor all those years ago, he had a sixth sense of sorts towards his brother… but the sense had weakened the moment the fighting had stopped. He knew his brother was not dead… but he could be dying.
He hoped that his brother, and the women he loved, were alright… he hoped they were all alive.
…..
"What is this? I thought Fairy Heart was concentrated magic!" Erza demands of Jellal.
Jellal hummed a giggle, "Oh Erza… how little you know; this is indeed a large concentration of magic, but it was originally the power of one individual".
Erza stared disbelievingly at the crystal and what laid within.
Inside, a girl who looked only to be about fourteen, but was maybe older than she looked, laid there, a peaceful expression upon her face as her eyes were closed. She had long and wavy hair that possessed a light blonde that nearly rivalled Mirajane's.
"I apologise my beloved" Jellal says with a sneer, "But story time can wait, because right now" he stares intensely at Fairy Heart, at the young girl encased in crystal, "I have a world to re-write".
Jellal steps close to the crystal, and was about to lay a hand on the crystal. However, Erza had other plans as she hurled her sword at Jellal.
Jellal moved fast, taking a step to the side, and catching the blade in its grip. Erza couldn't believe anyone could move that fast, or accurately.
"I see you still have some fight in you, my beloved Erza; I'll be sure to put an end to that" Jellal sneers and throws the sword back at her.
He did not aim for anywhere vital, instead, the blade speared her through her right leg. Erza's blood, as scarlet as her name and hair, sprayed across the ground, and bellow of pain forced an escape from her very own mouth.
Tears sprung into her eyes, from pain and from her failure; she had lost.
Jellal smiles at her, before turning back to Fairy Heart.
"Jellal! See reason! You can't hope to control it" Zeref pleads, suffering in his own agony.
Jellal laughs and places a hand on the crystal surface, "I only need to control a little of it; just enough to change what needs to be changed".
A thread of light knitted itself from the crystal, and into Jellal's body. It continued to flow into him, and Jellal sighed as power began to flow into his veins.
"To think there's this much power" Jellal sighed as more flowed into him, "From just a small amount".
Everyone watched; Jellal's men were grinning, while the forces of Fiore Academy watched despairingly in defeat.
A minute ticked by, and finally, Jellal moved away from the crystal.
"With this much magic" Jellal purrs, "All my dreams, all my ambitions… will become reality".
Zeref decided to make a last ditch move; producing a dark flame dagger, he lunged at Jellal with everything he had left. Jellal however, was much quicker.
"Zeref!" Multiple voices called out, as Jellal swatted him aside and throwing him fifty metres away, and into a nearby building.
"You Bastard!" Erza growls.
Jellal turns to Erza and smirks as he strides up to her.
Erza could see it in his eyes; the thirst for power, the greed of dominance… and lust.
"Don't come near me" Erza warns, summoning another sword to her hand.
Jellal waves his hand, and the blade flew from Erza's hand. With one quick movement, Jellal uses his left hand to grab Erza's throat and lifts her up a foot.
Erza could feel the power coursing through his veins; it was unfathomable power… only once had she felt this kind of power, and that two weeks ago, in the city… from Natsu.
"You know" Jellal purrs in her ear, "I've always wanted you Erza… in more ways than one".
Erza squirms to try and free herself, but Jellal was too strong.
"I do hope you didn't do it with that pink-haired brat of a boy; I have always wanted to be your first" Jellal continues, using his right hand to brush Erza's stomach, slowly rising toward her breasts, "But either way; no one can stop me, and that means that from now on, you are finally mine".
Jellal reaches out to grope her breast, and Erza wasn't able to do a thing.
Then she felt it… searing flame, like none she had ever felt.
Jellal yelps in pain and let's go of Erza. Erza immediately leaps back, and looks to her front, where Natsu stood, a flaming sword of white fire in his hands. He was glaring at Jellal.
"What is with guys these days, and trying to act like beasts?" Natsu growls.
Jellal sneers as Erza sheds a tear of relief; Natsu had finally come back.
"Are you alright?" Ashley Heartfilia asks as she runs to Erza's side, "Sorry we didn't get here earlier".
Erza shakes her head, "What matters is that you're here now".
"Did he hurt you Erza?" Natsu asks over his shoulder, his sword pointed at Jellal.
Erza sighs, "Of course he did, you dummy".
Natsu bows his head, "If only I'd got here sooner… is everyone else alright?"
Mirajane, Hisui, Virgo, Katherine and Karen step forward next to Zeref, who clutched his wound tightly.
"We're fine" Mirajane reassures him.
"You know Natsu" Katherine says scoldingly, "You should have gotten here sooner".
Natsu smiles, "Nice to see you Katherine… and you too Karen" he adds, nodding to Karen who blushes slightly.
"It's nice… to see you too… onee-chan" Karen mumbles a reply.
Hisui cocks her head at Karen, "Onee-chan? What are you? Six years old?"
Karen looked ready to argue with Hisui right then and there, but Jellal interrupted.
"Touching re-union and all… but we have a battle right now" Jellal sneers, glaring at Natsu, "Natsu Dragneel; you have been a pain too many".
Natsu smiles, "And you've been an asshole too many".
Jellal cracks a smile, "I hope the reports my men gave me on you were accurate; might make things more interesting".
Natsu's face darkens, "We'll see about that".
"Natsu" Zeref speaks up, drawing his brother's attention.
"What is it Zeref?" Natsu asks him.
Zeref shakes his head, "As he is now… you can't beat him… not while you are the way you are".
Natsu frowns, "Is it the only way?"
Zeref nods and Natsu sighs, "Very well".
"Wait" Erza asks, "You're planning on opening the first gate, are you?"
"Erza" Natsu says emotionlessly, "That is exactly what we're going to do".
Jellal scowls, "What's this about a 'first gate'?"
"Now Zeref!" Natsu orders.
Using much of his remaining strength, Zeref made the hand sign he did in the city.
"Open the Gates of the END… open the first… trap the rest… let the power shine in the light… may the fires burn his foes… may his flame be that of salvation, not of disaster… RELEASE!" Zeref cried out.
And Natsu's agony, and transformation, began.
His eyes turned blank and his skin turned into that of scales striped in black marks. A fringe of white appeared in his hair, and tremors of magical pressure came from him in waves.
"What is going on?" Jellal cries out.
Zeref smiles a little jokingly, "You're 'END'… you say no mage can stop you… then how about a demon?"
"This" Katherine says, "Is the Demon inside of Natsu".
"Onee-chan" Karen mutters worriedly.
Erza, Hisui and Mirajane watch the familiar sight unfold. Virgo watched in agony as the man she loved went through his painful transformation, for the first time she had seen.
Many of the students watching could not believe their eyes; what was happening to Natsu?
The tremors died down, and the final picture of Natsu was complete.
Jellal laughs, "So much magical power… and you can summon it at will?"
Natsu laughs madly, "Jellal… Fernandez" he growls.
Jellal smiles, "Although… even with this power… you still cannot defeat me".
Jellal was about to move forward, until suddenly he was sent flying backward by a Natsu who moved too fast for the eye to see.
"What" Jellal moaned as he stood up from the ground, "Just happened?"
"You thought this power you strived so hard to gain" Natsu growls, "Would make you invincible? There is one hard truth in this world; there is always something or someone stronger than you!"
Jellal growls in frustration, and moves fast on his feet. Next thing anyone knew, he was back at the side of Fairy Heart.
"If what I've taken isn't enough" Jellal says through gritted teeth, "Then I'll just take more".
Suddenly, a large thread of white appeared and magic pulsed its way into Jellal… much faster than before.
"Jellal!" Zeref calls out, "Your body won't be able to take the strain!"
Jellal laughs, "Zeref… if your little brother can hold so much power… so can I!"
Zeref watched helplessly at the man who was to ruin himself.
Jellal began to scream; the power of Fairy Heart began to change him. His skin began to turn black, his tattoo turning white. His eyes, normally brown, were starch white, and the whites turned black. His hair turned from a brilliant blue, to a beaming platinum. His finger nails sharpened into claws of white steel.
The man before everyone was no longer Jellal Fernandez, and even his men looked uneasy.
"So, Natsu Dragneel" Jellal laughs madly, "How do you plan on defeating me now?"
"Zeref" Mirajane says, grabbing the man's attention.
"Can you feel it?" She asks him.
Zeref's face was grim when he said, "I can… this is getting dangerous".
Jellal's magical pressure was now five times greater than Natsu's.
Jellal smiles and takes one step forward, but that was all anyone saw before he right in front of Natsu. A brief look of shock crossed Natsu's face before Jellal flicked a finger against Natsu's chest, and from that alone, Natsu was sent flying nearly a hundred yards, into the main hall.
Jellal laughs with a pure strain of madness, "You see? The power of Fairy Heart is absolute; no one can stop me now".
However, much to everyone's surprise, Natsu was already standing and walking back toward Jellal.
Sneering, Jellal moves lightning quick and grabs Natsu's face with one hand. Pulling at an angle, he sends Natsu toward the ground, the force of the blow forging a crater ten feet deep and twenty feet wide.
Natsu became still.
"Natsu!" Mirajane, Erza, Hisui and Virgo cry out simultaneously.
Laughing, Jellal turns back toward Erza, "It would seem you will never be mine, my dearest Erza… in which case, you shall never be anyone's".
With the same speed as before, he reaches Erza, and with nothing but his hand, stabs her in the gut.
More of the Scarlet blood spilled from Erza, and at this point, she had lost enough to make her skin pale.
"Erza!" Mirajane cries.
Virgo tries to move in with her daggers, but Jellal kicks her in the gut, sending her flying over fifty yards. Hisui tries to reach him with her Celestial Sword, but Jellal swats it aside and backhands her so she flew right into Virgo.
"Like I said" Jellal said with a smile, "No one can defeat me".
Zeref frowned; there was no doubt that the power of Fairy Heart was great… but there was still one way to win this battle.
"Natsu! Stir if you can hear me!" Zeref calls out.
Jellal laughs, "The boy is likely dead from that blow; there isn't anything that weakling can do to stop me".
But with his sharp eyes, Zeref saw Natsu's fingers curl; Natsu was alive, and barely conscious.
"It's not over yet" Zeref says breathlessly; the loss of blood from Jellal's cut was beginning to affect him. But he had to do this, not just for Natsu and the people he loved, but for everyone living person.
Zeref made another hand sign, different from before.
"Open the Gates of the END… open the second… trap the rest… may the fires of purgatory be released… may the fires destroy his foes… may his flame be that of hatred, not of mercy… RELEASE!"
A tremor came from Zeref and came to rest on Natsu, where a web of white fire began to cocoon itself around him.
"What have you done Zeref!" Jellal growls at him.
Zeref smirks, "I opened the second gate of END… did you think that you had seen all of Natsu's power?"
Jellal looked shocked; a second gate? There was more power than what Natsu had shown?
"How many gates are there? Tell me!" Jellal demands.
Zeref smiles, "Three".
Jellal took a step back; if there had been many gates, that would insinuate there wasn't much difference between them, but since there were only three of them… that indicates a vast difference.
Jellal growls horridly and launches himself at the cocoon, intending to break it… but when his hand came within inches of the surface, Jellal howled in pain and launched away from the cocoon, clutching a severely burned hand.
"Zeref" Mirajane comes up to him, "What is happening to Natsu?"
Zeref was beginning to breath rapidly; he didn't have long it seemed.
"This transformation" Zeref began, "Is too great to happen normally; Natsu must break from this cocoon of Fire, otherwise the second gate can never open… if he doesn't break from it… he could die".
Mirajane blinks at that, "I thought you said that it was the third gate that meant death".
Zeref nods, "If I open the third, he will die, no question… there is no way around it… but with the second, it's a bit of a lottery; he can live or die, depending on the situation".
"The situation?" Mirajane asks.
Zeref nods, "Which is why… I have no doubt that Natsu will emerge from the cocoon".
At his words the cocoon began to pulse, and with each pulse, the pressure of magical power drove everyone except Jellal to their knees, but even he was sweating from the strain.
"What kind of monster… is he?" Jellal growls.
Zeref smiles, and just before he passes out, says, "He is the 'END' to his foes, you fool".
Passing out in Mirajane's arms, she shakes her head, "Always have to leave a joke, don't you?"
The surface of the cocoon began to crack, and fingers of white flame began to lick from the cracks.
The cracks became wider, the fingers of flame grew larger, and finally… the cocoon broke.
"N-Natsu?" Erza questioned the sight.
"Is that… really Natsu?" Mirajane asked.
Hisui nods, "I think so… but…"
"At the same time" Virgo says, "I don't think it is".
"What in all the heavens" Jellal says quietly, shocked beyond words, "Are you?"
What came from the cocoon had some semblance to Natsu, except he had changed considerably. His skin was shining white, like liquid white fire. His eyes were purest black, with no Iris. His nails had become sharpened talons of the purest onyx, and his hair was no longer pink in its shining silver.
Not only that, but two small jagged wings of blue flame protruded from his back.
Jellal grits his teeth, "I can't lose… not after all these years of planning… I CAN'T LOSE!"
Growling fiercely, Jellal launches himself at Natsu. Whatever Natsu was now, stared at Jellal emotionlessly as he approached.
Baring his white talons, Jellal screams, "DIE! NATSU DRAGNEEL!"
However, one foot away from his target, Jellal suddenly felt a tremendous wave of magical pressure the pushed him down to the ground so hard, it created a crater twice as large as the one he had made with his blow to Natsu.
"I feel… like I'm suffocating!" Hisui cries lowly.
"This magical pressure… isn't possible!" Erza cries.
It was true; Natsu's magical pressure now seemed a hundred times greater than Jellal's, who until a moment ago, had a seemingly impossible amount of magical pressure.
"How?" Jellal asks, his face in the dirt, "Fairy Heart is the greatest power on the mortal plain!"
Natsu smiles, and with his own voice, says, "Perhaps it is… but my power is by no means… mortal".
Jellal looked up in the white face of Natsu Dragneel, looking him right into his midnight eyes… and for the first time that Jellal Fernandez could remember… he felt fear.
"You will feel greater fear… I promise you" Natsu says without emotion.
For some reason, Jellal thought the lack of emotion was far more terrifying than any amount of rage.
"Please… don't… I give up" Jellal muttered, his head bowed in shame.
Smiling, Natsu says, "Give up? Like you had a choice… but just because you give up… doesn't mean I will let you go that easily… Flame… Nightmare!" the last words were that of a special move, and instantly… Jellal Fernandez was no longer at the Academy… but somewhere else.
Natsu still stood in front of him, in the glory of the second gate, smiling down at him. Everyone else however, had disappeared.
He was now in a cavern, he discovered as he looked around. A hellish cavern. Rivers of molten white lava veined across the surface, and waterfalls of it cascaded down the walls.
He was not alone with Natsu either; unable to make out faces, figures around them were suffering… thousands of archaic tortures forcing screams that echoed and reverberated inside one's head.
"Make it stop!" Jellal cries out in pleading, clutching his head to try and drive out the screaming.
Natsu smiles, "Can't you see their faces?"
Jellal looks up, "Their faces?"
Natsu nods, and Jellal looks closer at the faces of the tortured.
What he finally saw, not only made him soil himself… but also… terrified him beyond the normal bounds of sanity… from this sight alone… he had lost the plot.
"They're…" Jellal shiveringly says, "…me!"
Natsu nods, "Now then, Jellal Fernandez, watch with a thousand pairs of eyes… feel with thousand separate bodies… the pain of a thousand horrid, and unimaginable tortures… feel it all, in every instant, in every pore of your skin… may this now be, the exclusive existence of your very soul".
It was as Natsu had said; he saw through all their eyes, he felt all their pain… a single moment of this… had made Jellal lose his mind completely… but it did not stop.
It seemed hours… no, days… no, weeks… months… years… decades… eternity. Time had no reality within itself in this pain… there was nothing like it heard.
With every second that passed, the amount of tortures, the amount eyes he saw through… doubled… as did the pain… the torture… and it never ceased in the broken mind of Jellal Fernandez.
"Let this be a lesson" Natsu says softly, "Not only to you… but to all who are a threat… hurt the people I love… threaten all I care for… and there will be no mercy".
Jellal had lost the ability to scream… a torture on its own… no way to be able to release his own despair.
…..
Mirajane watched as Jellal's body became stiff, and one second later, he collapsed.
Mirajane and the rest of the girls looked up at Natsu, who looked at them with eyes sad and tired.
"It's good to see you guys again" he mutters.
"You act" Erza says, "Like you've been gone for more than a few seconds".
Natsu coughs up a laugh, "You're right… but it seems like it's been an eternity, the one side-effect of this torture it would seem".
Everyone blinked at that.
"You" Mirajane says, "Tortured him?"
Natsu nods, "To all of you… it would seem a second had passed… but for him and I… it's been an eternity".
At those words, Natsu sunk to his knees.
"Natsu!" The girls scream, and run to his side.
Clutching him fiercely, the girls began to cry.
"Don't worry" he says, "Natsu is fine".
The girls look at him strangely at that; why the third person?
"Who are you?" Erza asks.
The body of Natsu smiles, "Haven't you guessed? What the gates really are that is… they're not just blockades to stop Natsu's magic… they're also blockades against me".
The girls blink startled at that.
"Are you saying?" Mirajane asks.
Natsu nods, "Although not entirely… the first gate… it's by far more like Natsu than it is me… the second gate… it is both of us… the third gate however… will be nothing but myself".
"You…" Hisui says, "Are the Demon? The half demon child of Natsu's ancestor".
Smiling, he says, "Like I said; It's both of us… at the moment however, I have more consciousness… although, I won't be for long".
The Demon looks up at the four girls around him; Mirajane, Erza, Hisui and Virgo.
"There are tough times ahead for Natsu… tell him, as well as Zeref… that it's begun" he says to them.
"What's begun?" Virgo questions.
With one last smile, and some final words, the Etherious half-demon said, "The age-old prophecy of the Dragneel Clan… has begun".
With those words, both the demon and Natsu… were unconscious.
Authors' Note – Well… that turned out shorter than expected… it's only the second longest chapter I've written, since Chapter 11 'Brothers United' is five thousand words, this is only just under 4800 words… oh well. Something about this chapter felt weird, I hope it was well written… I hope I've done everything right, and I hope the fight scenes were detailed enough. I also hope you guys like my description of 'Flame Nightmare'. And before I get a thousand comments saying this… yes… It was based off Naruto, and the Sharingan… I wonder If spelt that right. Anyway, only one more chapter after this… I think I'll let you guys wait for it… because I'm evil. Be sure to comment!