Here I am people. I'm terribly sorry for a huge gap between chapters. I said that I'm going to do a short break between chapter, but I never intended to make it that long. However, literally out of nowhere I got an assignment for the field work, and I have a very little time to write. This chapter is quite short, especially compared to previous one, but I wanted to publish at least something.
Besides, I ran into a several author's blocks while I was writing it, so probably it won't be my best chapter. Despite it's a most NaZa arc in first part of FT manga, actually I don't like the Tower of Heavens arc because I hate to see Erza being broken… Well, me and Natsu have it in common xD.
Here's the answers for reviewers:
FanFictionHunter: 1. Yeah, I really liked that idea myself. 2. Well, if your friend possesses eyes of god – why not to ask him about clothes? xD. 3. I decided to postpone the sword arc, it will be right after wedding, which will be right after ToH. P.S. I think it's time to make at least initial plan for Edolas arc… It's not easy, Happy was a major character there, but I have no Happy…
DraXXter: Many thanks for a big review. To be honest, I didn't decide the pair for Lucy yet, but it won't be GraLu – they're completely different. Not the opposite, just different. And yeah, Fighting Festival will be a challenge…
DragonSlayer96, Nalufordays, Mira-san, Shuuwai: Many thanks people, here's the chapter, at last… There will be a lot of action in this arc of course.
Tet19: Yep, there will be some twist about another 'true' god slayer.
Meow: Sorry, I wrote this is as fast as I could…
Now, let's proceed. Once again, this chapter contains some flashbacks about Natsu and Erza's past. Also, I've completely omitted the Loki's ark, since it has nothing to do with Natsu and Erza; even the scene with pillow fight because Erza and Natsu have their own team and there's no reason for them to be with Lucy and others this time. They have other things to take care of. This arc will contain only few scenes from canon, the others will be rewritten, especially the arc's ending. Good reading!
Chapter updated 9/12/2016
Chapter XVII – The Game Without Rules
…
Flashback.
"No one actually knows when and how all of that began, but definitely it happened many thousand years ago. In the beginning, it all started with occasional disappearance of several unimportant persons from different divine beasts' tribes, gods' pantheons and angelic orders. Disappearances were gradually becoming more frequent, but no one bothered to commit a full-scale investigation, not until an entire tribe went missing. Only then, different powers of the world were forced to look into this matter seriously. After several tens of years of fruitless searches, they finally found that. A huge 'scientific' complex, where all sorts of atrocious experiments and researches were ongoing. That place was a gathering of all the madmen from various magical beasts' tribes, superguilds and pantheons, even for me it was difficult to imagine what an unthinkable insanity was going on inside of that tower. Those so-called 'scientists' have kidnapped countless specimens of various races, and of course, other dragons and even some gods ended up as subjects for experiments…
That place was hidden by very complex and advanced magic, so even dragons, gods, angels and other powerful forces couldn't find it for several tens of years. That place had many different names during its history. But one name was known in all times – the place where all hopes come to die – Tower of Din…"
"Natsu, you're either really knows no fear, or you're just a madman, much like those mentioned in that story… which virtually are the same…" Erza commented Natsu's tale. Thinking that he spent almost three weeks in such a place, willingly, trying to find something useful, when he was barely fourteen… Yet, her eyes were full of adoration, his fearlessness always was a massive turn-on for her.
Flashback end.
September 24, X784, 23:17, Magnolia outskirts, Natsu Bloodfallen's house.
Erza was lying in bed, tired after an almost week-long trip to the northeastern country of Isvan, where she and Natsu were exploring the ruins of an old library. It's good that Natsu has Sin, who can be transformed into a ridable flying mount… Natsu was sorting old and dusty scrolls and books that they managed to recover in their searches for the clues about location of Astrum Eclipsis. Mental work was Natsu's way of relaxation before sleep. Erza enjoyed watching Natsu while he was working. She was feeling a great appeasement watching her beloved as he was rustling through a pile of old books, and listening to the legends of old.
Only 18 days left until Erza and Natsu's wedding, but all the preparations have been already made, thanks to Lucy and Mirajane helping out, so the couple got almost three weeks of free time. Natsu and his team earned a large amount of money thanks to their weird show in Onibas, so no one was asking why they weren't at the construction yard.
September 25, X784, 10:23, Magnolia, Fairy Tail construction yard.
When Natsu, Erza and Sin, who was riding on Titania's shoulder, arrived to the guild, they could see that the new building was already half-way to its completion. Near the entrance to the construction yard they found Loki, who was talking about something with Lucy. Today he looked fresher and much more healthy than the last time they've seen him.
"Hi guys!" He waved to the newcomers.
"Hi Natsu, Erza!" Lucy waved to her friends as well, her face was glowing with enthusiasm as if she has gotten really good and interesting news.
"Hi Loki," Erza greeted him as Natsu nodded. "You look much better now than the last time I saw you," Titania noted.
"Yeah, I was allowed back to the Seireikai [Celestial Spirits World], thanks to Lucy," Loki replied, making Lucy to look at him and then at Natsu in surprise. "By the way, thank you for keeping my secret."
"Don't mention it," Natsu replied as Erza just nodded.
"Wait, you knew?!" Lucy asked in shock as her enthusiasm faded in an instant.
"Of course, Lucy, I can look into people's souls," Natsu replied. He spoke indifferently, as usual, but slight annoyance could be seen in his eyes. He began to get tired of explaining that to the blonde again and again. "And before you ask, his reasons for being here were his own. I shouldn't have been the one telling you or anyone else about his true nature. I only told Erza since she too noticed many unusual things recently…" Of course, just like Gajeel, the star dragon slayer noticed strange vibes and smell from Loki.
Lucy looked at Natsu with surprise for a few more seconds but then she just sighed. Natsu's ability to keep secrets and not gossiping about private lives of others was well known, he earned a lot of respect thanks to that. Besides, talking about it now was quite pointless – it was no longer relevant.
"So, what spirit you are?" Titania asked. Natsu only knew that Loki was a spirit – no details.
"Loki is the Shishi no Seirei [Celestial Spirit Leo], the Lion spirit!" Lucy said with a smile.
"Lion?" Erza wondered as she lifted Loki by his collar and began to examine him, turning him around, and freaking Lucy out.
"Hmm, at least you're not a cow or a horse or anything like that…" Sin noted.
"Well, you've seen Virgo before, she looks like a person too, right?" Loki replied with a nervous smile since Erza still didn't release him.
"Fair enough, but she can turn into a gorilla-like maid…" Natsu noted as Erza finally finished examining Loki from every side and released him.
"Anyway, I suppose you can't continue to carry on, just as you've been doing up until now?" Erza speculated.
"Yeah, I'm afraid those days are long over, now that Lucy is my owner. However, if Lucy gets into trouble, I'll gallantly show up. After all, I'm her knight in shining armor," Loki winked to Lucy, slightly freaking her out. "However, Natsu, Erza – if you don't mind – I wanna keep the Fairy Tail guild crest," Loki added.
"No objections," Natsu replied and Erza nodded. Spirit or not he was a part of the family now.
"Oh, by the way, here," Loki took out two pieces of paper that appeared to be vouchers to a resort hotel. "Since I can't stay in the human world for long periods of time anymore… I've got these tickets for a resort hotel that I had planned on inviting all my girlfriends to," He explained, handing over the vouchers. "It was a great time with you while I was in the guild and I'm really thankful to you guys for saving Lucy from Phantom Lord, so I'm giving these to you. You should go and have a good time," Loki said and, with flash of blue light, he returned to the Seireikai.
"Wow, the beach!" Erza exclaimed, "Just what I need to relax after Isvan's tundra!"
"Isvan?! So that's where you guys were…" Lucy said.
"Yeah… A little romantic trip into the frozen, impassable taiga…" Erza sighed.
"Hey, don't say it in such a despondent tone, I also have feelings, you know?" Natsu noted; well, for him it probably was fun, he likes old ruins, the older the better…
Lucy wanted to ask what they were doing there, but after some thinking, she decided that she don't need to know. "Anyway, Loki already gave the tickets to me, Gray and Mirajane, they should be preparing for the trip now…" Lucy informed.
"What?!" Erza exclaimed. She took a deep breath; no doubt, she wanted to express her opinion about Mirajane's involvement, but eventually her sight fell on Natsu and she just sighed. For his sake she tried to be less hostile towards Mira… At least while he was near. By the way, Erza noticed that Natsu was a bit gloomy today, or, more likely, he was a bit gloomy since yesterday's evening. "Okay Natsu, come on, I need a new swimsuit, let's go shopping," She said and started to pull him toward the yard's exit.
"Okay…" Natsu replied without enthusiasm and let himself to be dragged away. Sin thought that shopping wasn't the best way to spend a free time, so he decided to stay with Lucy.
"All right Natsu, what's wrong?" Erza asked as they left the construction yard. "Don't tell me that you're okay," She squeezed his hand tighter, "You've been unusually quiet since we've returned from Isvan."
"It's nothing special…" Natsu replied with a slight smile, "It's just… Well, it seems that our searches for Astrum Eclipsis may take much more time and efforts than I expected. The information that we recovered from Isvan's library – it only contains blurry hints about other places where we may find some further clues…" Natsu sighed and looked into Erza's eyes, "I wanted Astrum Eclipsis to be a wedding gift for you…"
"Natsu, I love you," Erza looked at him very warmly and embraced him, "Please don't push yourself. I don't need any gifts, I just need you. We'll have plenty of time after the wedding, in the end it's just a sword."
Natsu smiled and kissed the tip of her nose, "It's not just a sword, but… well, maybe you right. In the end, it was hidden for 400 years, so it probably can wait a few weeks longer …"
"Exactly," Erza pressed her forehead to his. "Now c'mon, let's go," She said and they headed to the town center. However, there was one thing that Natsu didn't tell Erza – not because he wanted to hide it, but because he wasn't sure about it himself; no need to bother her when their wedding is so close. However… those 'blurry hints' he mentioned… Actually, they were pointing at the possible location of Astrum Eclipsis, or at least to the place where they could continue their searches. That place was called the 'Austrum Arcem' [South Citadel]. Hopefully, it was just a coincidence, but… Natsu knew another place, named 'Aquilonis Arcem' [North Citadel] and that place was mentioned in one of those scrolls that Natsu recovered when he was exploring the mythic Tower of Din… but those things could be sorted out later.
September 26, X784, 9:15, Resort Hotel.
"Have we… finally… arrived…?" Erza asked in a weak voice. Since they were traveling in a large group, they had to take a train…
"Yes, my love, we've just settled into our suits," Natsu replied. "I hope you don't mind – I traded our vouchers for a two persons suite," He added, waving his hand around.
"Oh my God… I hate this sickness…" Erza exclaimed with guilt and annoyance. She didn't remember anything since they boarded the train because she was out cold all the way while Natsu had to care for her and their luggage, alone.
"Relax, beautiful one," Natsu smiled, "Caring for you is what I promised to do for my entire life…" He winked to her and placed her suitcase (she had only one) on the stool. "C'mon, the others have already reached the beach, let's have some rest."
Erza hopped off the end of the bed and embraced him tightly, whispering, "Thank you, my love…" Then took the suitcase. "Damn, I still can't believe you managed to convince me to buy these things…" Erza said as she unpacked her stuff, and took out a dark-blue microkini, that could barely cover the most intimate parts of her body. She blushed a little, imagining herself in this 'swimsuit'. "There's no way I'm going to wear it…" She mumbled. Despite her awkward shyness, Erza was okay with wearing revealing armors, even maid's outfit, but this 'swimsuit' was almost as kinky as Lucy's underwear. Of course, Erza was glad to wear kinky stuff for Natsu at home, but on public beach…
"Sweetie, I already told you – your body is the definition of perfection, hiding your beauty is a crime against society," Natsu noted. Of course, the boastful Wizard Saint wanted everyone to see all the perfect curves of his bride's body. "This bikini is fully capable of hiding the spots that only I have right to see," The God slayer smiled to his girlfriend, making her blush more. "Besides, I think Jane's bikini-thongs are even more revealing than this one…"
Right… Mirajane's name was a keyword. For example:
Flashback, three days before departure to Isvan.
"Oh Erza, forgot to tell you, I enrolled into a dance school…" Natsu informed his bride. Actually, when he lived in Arx Tenebris, Natsu learned how to dance, too, but he decided that he needed more practice; he wanted to make sure he will look good dancing with his bride when all of the guests will be watching their first dance. "Do you wanna join me? I really think we shall do it together."
"Natsu, do we really have to dance?..." Erza asked, lowering her head a bit. After her fiasco in Onibas, when she couldn't control herself in front of that large audience, Erza tried to avoid any kind of public exhibitions for now. She was already working on it of course, but she didn't think that she will be able to fix it in time, before the wedding.
"Not really…" Natsu replied, though he was disappointed a bit, he wanted to dance with his wife at their wedding, but if she feels uncomfortable, he could bear such a trifle for her sake with ease. "But I hope you don't mind if I dance with other girls then? I'm sure Lucy learned dancing since her father wanted her to be a socialite lady. Also, dancing was one of Jane's hobbies while her magic was locked, so she's probably a good dancer as well…" Natsu's reasoning was interrupted.
"Where's that dancing school of yours?!" Erza asked impatiently, "We'll see who among us two is the better dancer!"
Flashback end.
Yeah, Mira's name really was like a magic word to awaken Erza's competitive spirit, which was superior to her shyness. In fifteen seconds Erza dressed herself with the new microkini without any ex-quip magic. No way could she let that 'snow-haired whore' look sexier than she. "What are you waiting for, Natsu?! Let's go!"
Natsu could only smile. Maybe that scarlet-haired woman has a huge number of weird traits, but these traits made her perfect in his eyes…
September 26, X784, 9:40, Beach.
The Fairy Tail mages were having fun for a whole day.
"Nice, these waters are really clear," Even Natsu was impressed a bit, "I can see right through it to the very bottom, like through the air," He noted as he entered the sea.
"Damn! That's sick!" Gray exclaimed as he too looked down and realized that the fact that he's wearing nothing at all was quite obvious for everyone.
"Gray, put some swimming trunks on!" Lucy demanded, trying to avoid looking at the ice mage.
"Relax Lucy, he's just a bit too daring, surely you can bear with it," Mirajane noted, shamelessly watching Gray, who rushed to put some clothes on himself. She herself wore a white T-back thong that barely covered her most… interesting spots.
"Yes, Gray-sama is so daring!" Juvia commented on Gray's behavior, staring at him with hearts in her eyes, hiding behind the palmtree.
"Go right, right!" Sin advised to Lucy as she tried to hit a watermelon with stick while her eyes were covered with a kerchief.
"Now a little to the left!" Mirajane shouted.
Natsu seemed uninterested and Gray was just silently giggling at Lucy because Sin's and Mira's directions were leading her not to a watermelon but to a quite muscular guy, who was resting on the beach. Erza just stood quietly, being torn apart by her very strong sense of justice that was demanding to save Lucy, and by curiosity as she wanted to see what is gonna happen to Lucy if she hit this guy.
"Higher, Lucy!" Mira shouted, encouraging the blonde to raise the stick higher.
"Can't go much higher…" Lucy mumbled as she already held the stick as high as she could. Her back arched forward, emphasizing her curves.
"There!" Sin shouted, meaning that Lucy was in the right position.
"Gotcha!" Lucy replied, preparing to strike. "Take this!" She shouted and struck the guy right into his forehead.
Mira rolled on the sand laughing whilst Lucy was running from the guy along the beach, yelling "I'm soooorry!" In the meantime, Natsu and Erza ate the actual watermelon.
Then Erza and Natsu played volleyball against Mirajane, Gray and Lucy. The ball never touched the sand so it was 0:0 draw. However, Lucy was a bit sad after that game, since she never touched the ball, either…
September 26, X784, 18:15, Erza's and Natsu's hotel room.
"All things considered, today was a blast…" Erza noted as she and Natsu were resting on the balcony of their suite, watching the setting sun and drinking cocktails.
"No kidding," Natsu agreed. "I think we can spend a few days like this one after our wedding, as a marriage trip," He added, looking around.
"By the way, I have to admit, Lucy did a very good job saving Loki," Erza said as she remembered the story that Lucy told her and Natsu.
"Yeah, but still I'm certain that she cannot go on like that, she needs another magic, appropriate for her attribute, or her excellent talent will be wasted," Natsu noted.
"Let's see how things will happen…" Erza nodded, "I doubt she'll resist the desire for additional strength."
'Since the strength means freedom…' Natsu thought.
Flashback. About three weeks after Natsu joined Fairy Tail.
With a loud 'boom' Alzack was smashed into the wall. It seemed like he did something wrong and Erza punished him by kicking his ass. He has joined the guild recently and has not yet learned that if Erza told you to do something you shouldn't argue with her. Well, it wasn't something special so most people didn't even pay attention. Few people laughed.
However, Bisca, who too joined not too long ago (with Erza's 'help', by the way), looked at Erza resentfully as the scarlet-haired girl headed to the second floor.
"Who does she think she is?" The green-haired girl mumbled. "She thinks that if she's an S-class she can do whatever she wants?"
Natsu raised his eyes to Bisca. "It has nothing to do with her rank," He noted calmly. "She's strong. Her strength gives her the right to do whatever she wants with anyone who's weaker than her, which includes most of you."
"What?!" Bisca asked angrily.
"It's a law of this world," Natsu said as if it was quite obvious. "Your freedom is always restrained by the freedom of those who are stronger than you. That's what Okā-sama was always telling me: only the strongest of all is truly free."
"Insanity!" Bisca exclaimed, "It's just bullshit!"
"What did you say?" Natsu raised an eyebrow, "Did you call Okā-sama's words a 'bullshit'?"
Bisca couldn't reply because with another loud 'boom' she crashed into the wall, right next to Alzack. "There's the proof then," Natsu said as he came closer to Bisca, who was now out cold. "In theory you are free to say whatever you want, but in reality, for some words, you will be punished."
"Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" Macao exclaimed.
"You can't treat a girl like this!" Wakaba agreed.
Unlike Erza's actions, Natsu got a lot of attention. He, however, kept his indifferent face expression. "A girl?" He asked. "We're in a wizards's guild – here are no girls and no boys – only mages." The guild became silent as no one thought of something to reply to this statement. "Power belongs to those who can wield it…" Natsu added as he was standing in front of the request board, choosing a mission.
"Hmm… This new guy isn't that bad," Laxus noted from the second floor.
Erza too was watching Natsu from the second floor, shivering a little. He just reminded her of another quite handsome boy, with azure-colored hair, who too told her something about freedom…
Flashback end.
September 26, X784, 18:35, Erza's and Natsu's hotel room.
Erza stood in front of a mirror, still in her microkini, examining her reflection. She smiled after a few seconds of looking at herself. It looked like she was satisfied with her appearance.
"Hey, Erza!" Lucy's cheerful voice called out as the blonde entered the suite.
"Shhh! Quieter, Lucy, Natsu is sleeping!" Erza shushed at the blonde.
"Sorry…" Lucy lowered her voice. "Anyway, they've got a casino in the basement! Want to come and check it?!" Lucy shone with joy, she was really having fun here.
"Well, I'm not really a big fan of gambling…" Erza replied casually.
"Gray and Mira are already down there playing," Lucy noted.
"Okay, I'm going!" Erza vowed.
'Why does it always have to be like this…' Lucy thought with a slight sweatdrop.
"Just give me a few minutes, I'll change my clothes… Damn, sometimes I'm still missing the days when I could use my Kansō [Ex-quip] magic freely…" Erza sighed as she took an evening dress from her suitcase.
"Casual clothes are fine too…" Lucy mumbled, but she was ignored as Erza examined the dress. "Okay, take your clothes with you then, I too need to change clothes. We can do it in my suite so we don't wake up Natsu," Lucy suggested.
"Hmm… Good idea," Erza took her dress and fresh underwear and followed Lucy. In Lucy's suite both girls changed their clothes and headed down to the basement's casino.
September 26, X784, 18:50, Casino.
(With Mirajane, Gray and Sin)
"Ma'am, please stop it…" The dealer asked as he was eyeing Mirajane who tried to break the roulette.
"No way! I'm gonna prove that you are cheaters! There should be a magnet or something! I saw it landed on 17 first but then it suddenly jumped to another square!" Exclaimed the angry snow-haired goth girl.
"Well… yeah, that's why it called a roulette…" The dealer mumbled as Mira crawled under the table to examine the roulette from beneath.
"Mira is taking it too seriously for such little bets…" Sin noted to Gray. Mira only used 100-jewel chips. Boney dragon was sitting upon the slot machine that Gray was playing at.
"No, it's all right, she's just principled," Gray replied, continuing to play. "I'm not sure that these casinos can be completely trusted, either."
"Gray-sama," Someone called out for an Ice mage.
"Hmm?" Gray turned back to see the owner of the voice.
"I tagged along…" Juvia said timorously, bowing to Gray.
"WHAAAA!?" Gray stared with wide eyes at the water witch, "You… you're…"
"You know her?" Sin inquired, he actually never saw Juvia in person.
Back at roulette, Mira now began the questioning of the roulette's dealer as someone called for her, "Girl…"
"Huh?" The goth girl turned to the voice source only to see some figure, which was hiding in the shadows.
"…when you are in a place for adult entertainment, you should just enjoy it in a quaintrelle fashion…" [A/N: Word 'Quaintrelle' is an equivalent to the word 'Dandy', and applies to females]. The shadowy figure noted as he stepped out from the shadows and appeared to be a square-shaped guy.
"Who the fuck are you, square lout?" Mira asked with narrowed eyes.
"Girl, let me give you some advice," The square guy said, ignoring Mirajane's question, "There are only two paths you can take. You can live in a quaintrelle fashion…" He suddenly dashed toward she-devil, continuing to speak, "…or you can just keel over and die." He jumped on Mirajane and put a .50 caliber revolver into her mouth, "That's all."
But, to his surprise, Mirajane just smiled, quite scornfully. She clenched her teeth and bit off the end of the barrel, bending what was left and making shooting from that gun impossible. As the square man was stuck in shock by what has just happened, Mira spat the bitten off part of the barrel into his forehead, dazing him. The she-devil lifted him by the collar and slammed her forehead into his face, making the poor bastard to roll head over heels through the whole casino hall. "I asked you a question, punk, and I'm still waiting for the answer," Mira growled, following the square guy.
(Bar, With Gray and Juvia)
Gray and Sin didn't see anything that has happened with Mira because Gray went to the bar to speak with Juvia, and Sin went… somewhere, without any explanation. "I heard that Phantom Lord was disbanded or something like that…" Gray asked.
"Yep…" Juvia replied with a sigh, "Juvia is once again an independent mage." She was dressed in a dark-blue evening dress and wore a large gold pendant, shaped like the Fairy Tail guild crest.
"Uwaaa… And I'm guessing you have your eyes set on Fairy Tail now?" Gray asked with a sweatdrop.
"Very much so!" Juvia exclaimed with determination.
"You… you don't have to show so much spirit…" Gray replied, still sweating. "By the way, why do you always refer to yourself in third person?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Juvia asked, making Gray to sweat more.
While they were talking neither of the two noticed a huge guy behind them until he struck Juvia with his large hand, sending her crashing into a nearby stool.
"Juvia!" Gray exclaimed, before looking at the huge guy, he wasn't scared by his size. "You're trying to pick a fight, punk?!" Gray asked angrily.
"Gray Fullbuster, if I'm not mistaken?" The huge guy asked, ignoring Gray's question. His lower jaw was made of metal and his left eye was cowered with black eye patch. His head was covered with some sort of a turban. "Where's Erza?" He asked.
(Card games hall, with Erza and Lucy)
In the meantime, Erza was playing cards and Lucy was just watching her play as Erza was winning, again and again. Right now, she had a royal flush, from ten to ace of spades.
"Kyaaa! Erza, you're amazing!" Lucy exclaimed in rapture.
"Fufufu… Luck's on my side today…" Erza replied casually, as if it was nothing special.
A huge crowd has gathered around her, looking on in amazement, and the dealer was sweating all over.
"Time for a dealer change," To the dealer's relief, another one came to replace him at the deck where Erza was playing.
"Bring it on," Erza smiled as she noticed the new dealer. "Right now I feel like I can't lose no matter who I'm up against."
"Hell yeah!" Lucy cheered for the scarlet-haired girl.
"If that's the case, why don't we enjoy a special game?" The dealer suggested. "Except we won't be betting with coins," He added as he began to deal the cards. Erza noticed that they weren't playing cards but strange cards with weird ornaments and big black letters on them. Those letters formed the word 'D.E.A.T.H.' "Let's bet with our lives… Erza nee-san," The dealer suggested. Erza slowly raised her eyes and looked at him, only to see a tan young man with blonde hair.
"Huh?" Erza and Lucy asked simultaneously, looking at the young man.
"You don't recognize me, nee-san?" The young man asked sorrowfully, "Well, it's been a while… I'm Shô…" He introduced himself.
"Shô?!" Erza asked in shock as Lucy was moving her sight from Erza to Shô and back. "You… you're free?" She asked uncertainly.
"Free?" Shô asked with a sarcastic smile.
"Ah… no… I just meant…" Erza stuttered. She was shivering and sweating all over.
(With Gray and Juvia)
"Where's Erza?" The massive guy asked.
"What?" Gray replied.
"Where is she?" The tall guy asked again.
"Who the hell are you?" Gray returned the question.
Suddenly, with streams of water, Juvia appeared in front of Gray. "Juvia won't let you lay a finger on Gray-sama. Juvia will be your opponent!"
"Juvia…?" Gray said in surprise.
"Go and find Erza-san, it seems she is in danger," Juvia replied to Gray.
Suddenly, the large guy looked up, as if he heard something. "Hmm?" He said. "You've already found her? Oh? Is that so…" He said to someone, touching his head with his left hand. It seemed as if he was using telepathic powers of some sort. "Mind if I tidy things up on my end?" He asked, and seemingly got the answer. "Understood. Yami no Mahō: Yami Setsuna!" [Darkness Magic: Dark Moment] The huge guy cast a spell, removing all the lights within the entire casino hall, turning everything pitch black.
"Huh?!" Juvia exclaimed.
"What's going on?!" Gray couldn't see anything through this darkness.
"GUAH!" "KYAH!" Both water and ice mages' screams rang out through the hall.
(With Mirajane)
"Hey! What the hell is this!?" Mira exclaimed as she too was plunged into darkness.
"Nyaa!" Someone mewed behind her and one second later the snow-haired girl was bound by some weird magic ropes.
"Thanks, Millianna. This one is tough…" The square guy said. It seems he was capable of seeing through the darkness. "I just got a message from Shô, he found Erza, c'mon!" He added and they both headed toward the card games hall, leaving Mirajane bound on the floor.
"Hey! What a hell is this!?" Mira yelled angrily. "Auugh! I can't… use my magic?!" She suddenly realized that this weren't just simple ropes…
(With Erza and Lucy)
"What the… It's pitch black!" Lucy exclaimed as she and Erza too were plunged into darkness, "What's going on!?"
"Wait, the light's coming back!" Erza replied, looking around. The darkness faded, revealing an absolutely empty casino hall.
"Shô?!" Erza looked around, trying to find her old nakama.
"Over here, nee-san," The blonde guy called from behind. He stood with his arms widespread, surrounded by a pile of his cards. To Lucy's horror, people were screaming inside of those cards.
"Huh?!" Lucy yelped in shock, "There are people in the cards?!" All of the casino players were inside the cards.
"Do you think it's strange?" Shô asked with an evil smile. "I learned how to use magic, too."
"Magic?" Erza asked with a strange expression in her voice. "Just… What do you…"
"Nyaa!" Someone meowed from behind.
"Kyahh!" Lucy yelped as she was bound by magical ropes, just like Mirajane. "What?! What is this thing?!"
"Nyaa! Super strong, right?" Asked a strange, brown-haired girl as she pulled the bound Lucy toward her. She had some weird cat-like traits, like eyes and nose.
"And you… you too?!" Erza exclaimed. "You can use magic as well?!"
"Long time no see, Eru-chan!" Millianna waved to Erza cheerfully.
"What's the meaning of this?!" Erza demanded. "Lucy is my nakama!"
"Nyaa-kama?" Millianna asked in quite a childish way.
"Weren't we your nakama, nee-san?" Shô wondered.
'They were… her nakama?!' Lucy asked herself as the ropes' hold was becoming tighter. 'Ugh… damn…'
"Ah… well…" Erza replied, still shivering.
"That was, until you betrayed us, of course…" Shô added with a mournful expression, making Erza to turn away from him.
"Don't ruffle her feathers too much, Shô…" The square man said, as he appeared, using some sort of teleportation magic, literally assembling himself from little square blocks, freaking Lucy out with his appearance. "A dandy man knows how to maintain his composure… Hmm… You turned out to be quite a looker…" He noted, looking at Erza…
"You… Who are you?" Erza wondered.
"I'm not surprised that you couldn't recognize me, Erza. Compared to the Mad dog Wally from the old days, I'm much more well-rounded now…" The square man replied.
"And you can use magic too?" Erza asked.
"No need to be so awe-struck," Someone said as a large vortex of darkness magic appeared in the center of the casino hall. "Once that guy gets his mitts on you, anyone would be able to use magic… right, Erza?" The huge guy in the turban said as he appeared from the dark magical vortex.
"Ugh!" Lucy yelped as Millianna pushed her on the floor.
"I've already notified Jellal that we found Erza and soon we'll bring her to him," The large guy informed the others.
"Erza, what is going on?! Who are these guys?!" Lucy asked. "Why does he call you 'nee-san'?!"
"He's not really my brother," Erza answered. "They're my former nakama…"
"Nakama… but I thought you'd been at Fairy Tail since you were a little kid!" Lucy exclaimed. Gray told her that Erza joined several years ago.
"This… this was before that…" Erza replied. "What are you guys doing here, anyway?" She asked the square guy, whose name apparently was Wally.
"We came to bring you back," He replied.
"Nyaa!" Millianna meowed joyfully.
"Jellal needs you, Erza," Simon said.
"Let's go back, nee-san," Shô smiled, shedding tears of joy. "Finally, nee-san, you're going back."
"I bet Jellal is smiling ear to ear right now," Wally said.
"Erza, back to Jellal?" Scarlet-haired girl asked, tilting her head to the right, as her fear, guilt and confusion suddenly disappeared. "Of course, as soon as hell freezes over," Erza said indifferently as her eyes flashed with crimson light, "Senjin no Dogō!" [War God's Howl] Erza cast a spell, producing a powerful crimson tornado-like blast from her mouth. A massive explosion sent her former friends crashing into the nearest wall.
"Huh?!" Lucy was shocked. She recognized this magic, and it wasn't Erza's.
"So, you pathetic worms are thinking that if you've learned a few spells you can call yourselves 'mages'?" Erza asked in very familiarly indifferent and scornful manner. "I'll teach you the real meaning of magic. You suggested a special game…" Titania looked at Shô, who took a lot of damage and couldn't even stand up, "Well, I agree, let's play a little. In the end, all the cards in my decks are the aces of trump…" Erza noted as two 36-card decks appeared in her hands and she showed them to everyone – all of the cards were aces of spades.
"Nee-san…" Shô croaked as Erza removed her gloves, "Nee-san… how could you…"
"Shô, don't! There's something wro…" Simon tried to warn his friend but Erza dashed toward him and slammed her fist into Simon's chest with a rising blow, "Senjin no Saiken!" [War God's Crushing Fist]
"GUAAH!" Simon screamed as he was crushed into the ceiling and then fell back on the casino's floor.
"Silence," Titania commanded, "Or you'll require much more metal to replace the things I'm going to break…"
"Simon!" Millianna exclaimed. She shot her magic ropes toward Erza to bind her, but Titania just extended her left arm forward and all of the ropes turned into black dust. Then she dashed toward Millianna, grabbed her by her neck and performed a 'choke slam' move, smashing her into the floor with such a force that she made a small crater with her body.
"You… You all are mindless cretins…" Erza said with the same emotionless voice. "Because of you, Erza endured eight years of misery…" She came to Wally, who tried to stand up, and struck him in the back of his head, "Senjin no Saiken!" Wally was smashed into the floor face down. "And now I see that her so called 'nakama', for whom she was worried so much, are actually working for Jellal, willingly… and they came to kidnap her…" It was weird that she was talking about herself in third person. While speaking, Erza headed to Shô, but as she was passing by Millianna, she slammed her foot into her abdomen, making her fly head over heels to the other side of the hall, moaning in pain.
"You think that you've learned everything about suffering while you were slaves? You are so wrong…" Titania declared. "Now you all are mine. And I'll make you pay for every tear Erza has shed, for every sleepless night she had, for every smile she didn't give because she was worried about four of you …" Titania came to Shô, "And for you, little worm, I have a special load of punishment…" Erza's right eye was glowing with crimson light while the left one was burning with blue flame. "You know your guilt, right? I'll make you regret that you've ever born…" The fake Erza informed before she smashed her foot into Shô's face, "Senjin no Shōkya!" [War God's Shock Kick]
Lucy gasped as she finally realized that this is not Erza as she looked at her left eye, which was burning with flame of Kuroi Geijutsu [Black Arts].
Boom! Shô crashed into the column. "Don't you worry, I won't kill you. Your death may hurt Erza – she still thinks that you're her friends, who needs her protection…" Natsu noted, for some reason he still maintained Erza's image. "But I'm free to mutilate you, besides, it's even better this way – you'll live, knowing that Jellal died…"
"Jellal… He cannot die…" Shô croaked weakly.
In response, Natsu only gave him another indifferent sight, "Even death may die…" Boom! Shô crashed into the card desk.
"Uhh… He's really displeased with them…" Sin noted as he landed on Lucy's butt, while she still was lying on the floor face down, bound by Millianna's ropes.
"Sin?! Untie me!" Lucy demanded.
"No Lucy, sorry, but it's better for you to remain as you are now," Sin replied as Millianna again flew past Lucy. "You can't help these poor bastards anyway, only Erza can stop Natsu now, but she's still peacefully sleeping in their suite, I just checked it." He explained as he lifted her in the air. "C'mon, let's fly around a little."
"Hey! What are you doing!?" She asked in shock.
"You don't need to be here, Lucy," Sin explained as he approached the casino hall's door, carrying Lucy, as Natsu continued to beat Erza's former nakama, despite all of them already being barely conscious and completely helpless. It seemed that Natsu just enjoyed the sounds of breaking bones…
At some moment, all four were lying in the middle of casino hall, close to each other. Gladius Terminus appeared in his arm, "Senmei Saikō: Metsukōki!" [Sure-kill Shot: Ruin Chainslash] God slayer swung his sword, sending forth a multiple of magical torrents, which looked like afterimages of blade swings, about a hundred of them.
All four enemy mages were hit by Natsu's attack, letting out heartrending screams as blood spouted in all directions, painting casino hall in red. They got multiple wounds, their clothes were ripped to shreds and they all now were knocked out.
"Uhh…" Sin shook his boney skull, "See? We just should let Natsu deal with these guys as he sees fit."
"Are you insane?! Let me go!" Blonde demanded, "He's going to kill them!"
"Even if so, you cannot prevent it, Lucy. I won't let you interfere," Sin replied as he carried Lucy away, to the beach, "It's none of your business."
"Where are the others?!" Lucy asked angrily as she realized that Sin isn't joking, he is not going to release her yet.
"Mira is in the hall next to this, bound, just like you, and Gray is probably still in the bar, I told him that Natsu has everything under control and he shouldn't interfere," Lil boney creature explained. Lucy couldn't do anything as she was carried in Sin's claws. "Oh, by the way, Lucy, is it true that you and that fake 'Erza' were changing clothes together?…" Sin noted sarcastically.
"YAAA!" Lucy yelped as she was freaked out. It was the truth: Lucy changed clothes in Natsu's presence, including underwear, thinking that it was Erza. Moreover, while she was completely naked, Lucy asked for Natsu's advice about how to get rid of the scars, made by Nelliel! "I hate him!" Lucy growled.
September 26, X784, 20:55, Erza's and Natsu's hotel room.
"Oh, you're awake…" 'Erza' asked as she saw that Simon regained consciousness. "Well, just as I expected…" She added, examining the big guy. Simon was tougher than the others, so it was expected that he's going to wake up first.
Simon slowly looked around; it was hard for him to move, his body was aching like hell, all over. He saw his friends laying nearby on the floor. Like Simon, they were severely beaten up, but they were alive, just as Natsu promised. Their wounds were bandaged… the only issue was that Simon was dressed into almost completely ripped pants, Shô was lying in half-ripped trunks as Wally and Millianna were completely naked – Natsu's Metsukōki ripped their clothes together with their skin.
As Simon got back to his senses, more or less, he felt something on his neck and reached up to touch it. It was some sort of a metallic collar. Simon looked at his friends and noticed the same metal collars on their necks, each one was decorated by a single ruby.
"Do you like the design?" Fake Erza asked. "I hope you do, because you're going to wear it for a while… Oh, I wouldn't suggest to try doing it," Natsu added as he saw that Simon tried to unlock the collar. "I invented these collars to safely transport criminals," The bounty hunter informed. "It's not like those simple trinkets, which the council uses. The Tower of Din's inhabitants were using this anti-magic tech to bound demonic beasts and undead, you are now wearing a slightly modified version, to fit humans…"
"You are not Erza…" Simon said as he finally looked at Natsu, who still was in Erza's disguise.
"Is that so obvious?" Natsu asked indifferently, though it clearly was a sarcasm.
"I assume you're the Crimson Cardinal?" Simon asked, not looking at Natsu and eyeing the window instead.
"The semantics are irrelevant," Natsu replied. "Don't mind that I can't recall your name, never could remember the names of insignificant people… Anyway, there's a reason why you and I speak," Natsu's spoke out with the same indifferent manner. "These two…" He pointed at Wally and Millianna, "They are just idiots. And this one…" He pointed at Shô, "He's an idiot and coward. But you," Natsu turned to Simon, "You're neither a coward nor an idiot… I think we should talk."
"You think I may want to speak with you after what you've done to me and my friends?" Simon asked angrily, "After you put slave collars on us?!"
"No," Natsu replied passionlessly. "I think you may want to speak with me after I spared the insignificant lives of those who came to kidnap my fiancée and take her to her worst enemy…" To be honest, Natsu didn't think that Simon possessed some sensitive information about Jellal, but… it was worth to try. "If you won't talk willingly – I'll force you to talk, believe me – It's pretty simple. But first, I want you to know that, since you and your idiotic friends are no longer Jellal's hostages, or at least Erza thought that you were hostages, we can finally take him down and free Erza from her torment once and for all. And these collars will prevent you from using your telepathy to warn him…"
"Do you believe Erza's story?" Simon suddenly asked.
"Absolutely," Natsu replied without delay.
"Why?" Simon asked, "You never had any doubts that she is hiding something?"
For about fifteen seconds Natsu was looking at Simon, examining him. Then he stood up and, to Simon's horror, removed the skin from his left hand, revealing the fleshless bones burning with blue flame. Seems it was an artificial skin that Natsu used to mask his arm because simple transformation magic couldn't hide damage made by Kuroi Geijutsu.
"What the hell?!" Simon gasped.
"Another time," Natsu replied simply as he headed to the door of another room of their suite. "Follow me," Natsu said, "I'll show you something." Not that Simon had many other options, so he stood up from the floor and followed Natsu. "One wrong move and I'll behead you…" Natsu warned Simon, just in case. As Simon entered the room, his heart skipped a beat as he saw the real Erza, peacefully sleeping on a king-sized bed. Her sleeping face was so calm and beautiful. "That's why…" Natsu replied as he sat near her.
Actually, it was quite a weird scene because Natsu was still transformed into Erza, and now Simon was eyeing two blood-haired girls. There was a good chance that Natsu just forgot about his transformation, by the way. "She is special…" Natsu said as he adjusted her hair while she was sleeping.
Flashback. Erza and Natsu's seventh date.
Because Natsu and Erza were hiding their relationship from everyone, including Sin, they used every opportunity to have a date. Right now, Natsu was on a mission in Onibas, and Erza secretly came with him so they could spend a day together, far away from the guild. Right now they were walking along with one of Onibas' alleys, hand in hand. Natsu was slightly touching the inner side of Erza's palm with his thumb, making Erza to shiver from his touches.
"Do you want to go to the restaurant?" Natsu asked at some point of their walk.
"A bit later, I'm not hungry yet," Erza replied, "I just want you to hold my hand tighter…" She smiled.
"Hmm…" Natsu smirked, "Who could imagine that the strongest woman of Fairy Tail actually is completely plushy inside…"
"Hey!" Erza exclaimed resentfully, "I'm not plushy!"
"Easy, easy," Natsu kissed her cheek, "Erza, I'm just saying that, despite your combat strength, you are the sweetest and most tender girl in the world!"
"I'm not plushy…" She mumbled again, forcing Natsu to encase her in a tight embrace. However, what she said just confirmed that he already knew – her body may be extremely strong and durable, but her soul… Well, it was like The Princess and the Pea. Like a pea, one wrong word from someone she holds dear, and she goes into a defensive stance.
Two hours later…
"Okay Erza, now I have to actually do my mission…" Natsu said after they came out of the restaurant. "It won't take long," He assured her, "And after I'm done, we can rent a room in some hotel…" He winked to her.
"Okay, don't make me wait…" She smiled playfully, but then she suddenly added, "And Natsu, I'm not plushy!" That phrase sounded so cute and childish that Natsu couldn't hold it and laughed loudly, barely keeping his balance. Looking at him, Erza suddenly realized that this was the first time she's hearing his laugh. All that indifference of his was suddenly gone, he was really laughing. "Ohh…" Erza sighed, looking at this cute boy. "I love you…" She said, faster than her hands managed to shut her mouth.
Natsu stopped laughing and looked straight at her. Erza now stood with her mouth covered with both hands as her face was becoming more and more red with each second. She accidentally confessed to him and her confession was as clumsy as Erza herself. "What did you say?" Natsu asked. Erza just shook her head, meaning 'nothing', still holding her mouth closed with both hands. Natsu walked toward her, making her to take a few steps back until she ran into a wall. She looked a bit scared and extremely embarrassed. "Have you said something?" Natsu asked with a smile. She looked so cute when embarrassed. Erza nodded, still holding her mouth and looking at Natsu with puppy eyes. "Can you say it again?" He asked but Erza shook her head, her hair and face were of the same color now.
"Oh, please… You're so adorable…" Natsu smiled again, grabbed her hands and forced them apart as his face become serious. "Erza, there's nothing bad in being plushy… because I'm in love with one plushy girl…" And before she could reply Natsu sealed her lips with his as she wrapped her limbs around him.
"Okay, let's go to the hotel," Natsu said as he finally broke their kiss.
"Wait, I thought you have to go on mission!" Erza exclaimed.
"Later," Natsu replied, "I can't just leave the girl that just confessed her love to me, right?"
Flashback end.
"So, you're going to destroy Jellal?" Simon asked as he and Natsu have returned to the living room of the suite.
"Destroy? No," Natsu replied, "I have something much worse for him," He raised his left, fleshless hand.
"I never believed him," Simon said, trying to not look at burning arm, "I couldn't believe that Erza might betray someone. However, I'm afraid that Jellal never told us anything really important, I think he decided that we're just too stupid to know the details…"
"Any information will be helpful," Natsu replied. "You should know, there's still a bounty for anyone who's affiliated with Zeref in any way. However, if you want to help us deal with Jellal, and if you're able to convince them about Jellal's evil intentions, you and your friends are free to go…"
Simon was about to agree with Natsu's proposition. Yes, that man brutalized his friends harshly but… Simon probably would do the same in his position; Natsu was protecting his bride, from his point of view the four were just traitors and criminals…
However, he was unable to say it aloud and give Natsu any information because the bedroom's door opened and Erza appeared in the doorway. It seemed that their loud speaking finally woke her up. Sleepily, she looked into the room and saw herself, who was talking with somebody as three other nude people was lying unconscious on the floor. She couldn't recognize any of them – they changed drastically since their last meeting, plus they were severely beaten, and Erza was still half-asleep… After looking at this scene for several seconds, she turned around and headed back to the bed. It seemed that her still sleepy mind decided that she is just watching another weird dream and, if so, she can watch it in bed.
"Erza?" Simon was quite surprised with such a reaction.
"Wait a second, she'll return. In order to put her to sleep I used a powerful spell, confusion is a side effect…" Natsu explained.
Indeed, few more seconds later Erza barged back into the living room and yelled, "Simon?!" It seemed that she recognized him, in the end. "Shô?! Wally?! Millianna?!" Then she turned to the God Slayer, "Natsu?! Quid et irrumabo est pergeret?!" [What the fuck is going on?!]
"Nullam rationem specialem, ego sum loquebantur cum voster vetus amicus…" Natsu replied. [Nothing special, I'm just talking with some old friend of yours]
"Quid'ent accidit?!" She still was greatly confused, she even was talking on ancient dragon language. [What's happened?!]
"Haec est diutinus fabula…" Natsu replied. [This is a long story…]
"Ego sum omnibus auribus!" Erza hissed, she was quite displeased with Natsu's choice of actions, mostly because he put her to sleep, by the way… [I am all ears!]
"Erza, please, we've already came to an agreement!" Simon tried to intervene, despite not understanding a word they were saying. However, he was completely ignored. He had no choice but to let them to sort things out…
September 26, X784, 21:25, Tower of Paradise.
A strange man with extremely long, black hair and dressed in a long, white robe appeared in the throne room. "Jellal-sama, we've received a word that Erza has been found and captured. They should be on their way back now," He informed the Azure haired man. Obviously, Simon was too hasty in informing the man about their success. Not knowing about that, Jellal smiled, quite pleased with the news. "Sir, don't mind my asking, but… At this point, why take the efforts to catch that traitor?" The black-haired man asked. "With your powers, getting rid of her should be a piece of cake…"
"Ho ho…" Jellal chuckled, "We can't have that, this world would become boring…" Jellal replied, confusing the man slightly. "However… Now that the Tower of Paradise is complete… to let her live would cause a lot of trouble. The time has come for you, Erza Scarlet, to become my perfect sacrifice…"
September 26, X784, 21:35, Erza's and Natsu's hotel room.
Natsu and Erza have finally sorted things out. Natsu went to the bedroom to take off Erza's clothes (and transform back into himself) as Simon was trying to convince his friends that it was not Erza who betrayed them. Erza told them her version of their conversation with Jellal when he expelled her from the tower. Convincing them wasn't easy…
Besides, a problem with clothing have appeared… Erza lent some of her clothes to Millianna, however, since Ezra's breasts and butt were much more 'volumetric', and she also was taller – Millianna seemed quite pathetic (by the way, her fake cat-like ears and tail also were destroyed). Shô and Wally, on the other hand, were sitting, wrapped in bedsheet, because Natsu refused to lend them anything. That didn't make Erza and Simon's job easier.
"Why should we believe you?!" Shô cried angrily. It was obvious that his entire world was falling apart now.
"Because we have no reason to deceive you," Natsu replied as he appeared from the bedroom.
"Natsu, be silent…" Erza growled. She was still angry at him. "If you wouldn't showed them your worst side from the beginning, it would be much easier to convince them that we're the good guys!"
"And you seriously think that the side he showed them was his worst?" Sin asked as he appeared from the window.
"What the heck is that!?" All of Erza's former nakama screamed in unison, but no one bothered to reply.
Erza looked at the boney creature with a thoughtful face, but then shook her head, throwing away these thoughts. "You are disgusting, both of you…" She snapped and turned back to her old friends.
"Sin, where's Lucy?" Natsu asked.
"No idea," Sin replied. "When I carried her away from the hotel, to the beach, the magic ropes weakened and she broke free. She ran toward the hotel, yelling curses toward me and you…" Sin explained, "I didn't follow her."
"Uhh… It seems that I've made all the girls angry at me…" Natsu said emotionlessly. "How very unfortunate, I doubt Jane will be happy as we left her tied in another casino hall… Well, it's her own fault – how could she let such weaklings take her by surprise…?"
Fifteen minutes later…
Finally, Erza and Simon managed to convince the others that Jellal is the real traitor. Simon outlined his plan: "Initially, I wanted to lure all of the Fairy Tail mages to the tower by kidnapping you, Erza. I had no doubts that all your friends will follow us to save you…"
"I understand you, Simon," Erza nodded, "However, it would be an unnecessary risk. Only you, me, Natsu and Sin will go to that cursed tower. This is my battle, I can't risk the lives of those who have nothing to do with it…"
"What?!" Millianna asked angrily and resentfully, "You wanna leave us behind, Eru-chan?!"
"This is our battle as well!" Wally exclaimed.
"Nee-san!? That bastard was using and deceiving us for eight years!" Shô cried, "I want to help you and Simon kill him!"
"I'm sorry, Shô, but I can't take you with me. This is too dangerous… I wouldn't take Simon either, but we need a guide…" Erza replied guiltily. She really didn't want to offend her friends but she knew as good as Natsu that they're simply too weak to fight against Jellal, he could easily turn them into hostages again.
Simon wanted to say something too but the God Slayer suddenly interfered. "Besides," Natsu noted, "You three have a work to do." Everyone in the room looked at him in surprise. "During our fight, you caused a lot of damage to the casino hall. While we will be dealing with that blue-haired little rat, you three will repair the damage you've done," Natsu said, making everyone silent.
"Natsu, are you serious?" Erza asked in shock as the faculty of speech returned to her.
"Absolutely," He confirmed. "Of course, if you are willing to spare some of our wedding funds to hire a team of builders…" He noted as Erza twitched, of course she did not want to do it. "Besides," Natsu added, "We already came to an agreement with Simon: he'll help us and I'll free them, but until that time they're at my disposal…" Simon twitched as well, he didn't think about that implied condition…
"But it was you who'd done all the damage! With our bodies!" Wally exclaimed.
"Oh really?" Natsu asked, his tone was indifferent but his eyes were glowing with crimson light, "You want to discuss it? Besides, it will resolve your issue with clothing – all three of you will be given utility jumpsuits, I've already arranged everything."
Shô, Wally and Millianna just gulped in fear. "Erza, and you are going to marry him? For real?" Simon asked as the other three were still in shock.
"The heart has reasons that reason does not understand…" Erza spread her arms, she knew that arguing with him now was useless, besides… Some part of her was actually agree that these three needed something to occupy them while she was dealing with Jellal.
September 26, X784, 22:05, Casino hall.
"Natsu, c'mon!" Erza urged her beloved, "I'm afraid that Jellal is going to do something nasty, we have to hurry to stop him!"
"One moment," He replied. He was talking with the hotel manager and instructing Erza's old nakama. Casino players were looking at Natsu in awe; they were 'impressed' with the method he used to release them – just one slash of Gladius Terminus and all cards' prisoners were released.
"Simon, what's the plan?" Natsu asked him as she joined him and Erza. For some reason – Natsu memorized his name quite easily.
"Well, Jellal has many followers, but most of them are not even mages, it shouldn't be difficult to get to him. The only real problem is Jellal himself. We'll board the ship that we used to come here…"
"A ship?!" Erza asked as she froze on place.
"Yes…" Simon looked at her in surprise.
"She has a problem with transportation…" Natsu explained. "Don't worry, my love, as soon as we leave the shore Sin will pick you up."
"…However, you should know," Simon continued the explanation of his plan while he, Natsu and Erza were walking toward the shore, "He can see everything that's going on at the island and inside the tower itself. As soon as we land on the island, he'll know that I have betrayed him, so we have to act quickly or he may try to escape or do something worse…"
"Don't you worry, there's no escape," Natsu said calmly, but at this moment Simon stopped and started to look around in confusion.
"Simon?" Erza asked, "What's wrong?"
"Our ship…" He replied, "I… can't find it…" Simon scratched his cheek. "It should be right here, we dropped the anchor in this bay… I remember this rock…" Simon pointed at a large rock and moved his sight to the shore. "Look, there's still a trace from our boat!" He pointed at large trail on the sand, clearly made by a boat that was dragged to the water about half an hour ago, mixed with trails of human feet.
"You're saying that someone's hijacked your ship?" Natsu asked, it didn't seem that Simon was lying – the evidence was right there… "But who would do this and why?"
"I think I know…" Erza said scornfully, "I can recognize this smell even in hell – it's that girl's perfume…" Indeed, that was the scent of Mirajane's favorite 'Dark Queen' series perfume, which she used even while she was a waitress.
"Jane? Why'd she… Oh no…" Natsu face-palmed.
"I think she was outside your hotel room," Sin guessed as he landed on Natsu's shoulder, "Listening to your conversation, you were talking quite loudly… It seems she realized that you were going to leave her out of this adventure, just like those three, and decided to act. And," He pointed at the trails, "She took the others as well…"
"But how are they going to find that island?" Natsu asked, "It's hidden, right?"
"Not really," Simon replied, "It's outside the Fiore's territorial waters and far away from sea routes, but it isn't hidden with magic or something… Besides," He added, "We used a map to sail to this place, the tower's location is marked on it as well."
"Damn bitch!" Erza growled, "What does she think she's doing?!"
"Mmm, Erza," Simon whispered, while Natsu was looking into the sea, thinking about his current options, "Can you at last tell me, what this thing is?!" He pointed at the little boney creature on Natsu shoulder.
"This is Sin," Erza said with a curt shrug. "Natsu calls him a 'Magical Familiar'… sorry, but I have no idea what it is and how it actually works…" Erza admitted with a sigh. "That tricky, nasty boy said that he can tell this tale to his wife only…" Few things Erza knew for sure – Sin was another Natsu's 'gift' from the Tower of Din and they're linked to each other somehow… And she couldn't deny Sin's usefulness, of course, despite him being almost as insolent as his 'boss…'
"Okay, I guess I have no choice then," Natsu said. "Simon, I hope you can find the tower without a map?" Natsu asked.
"Absolutely," The guy with an iron jaw replied.
"Good, then let's do this…" Natsu looked around to make sure that there are no people nearby. He removed his glove, revealing his fleshless arm, burning with the flame of Kuroi Geijutsu, and creeping Simon out once again.
"And what the hell is this?!" Simon gasped once more.
"It would take too long to explain," Erza replied, "But now you're gonna see Sin's capabilities."
Natsu made a deathfrost sphere of blue flame, and threw it into Sin. With bright blue flash Sin was transformed into a skeletal dragon, about forty feet in length, maybe a bit more.
"What the…" Simon took a step back.
"C'mon, you two, hop on!" Sin urged Simon and Erza as Natsu already sat on his back.
"Wait, I thought you could only carry two people!" Erza exclaimed.
"My powers grew during these three months Erza, so Sin's carrying weight grew as well, come on!" Natsu urged her.
"Huh?" Erza's eyes widened. She didn't pay attention to it, but now, when Natsu mentioned it directly, she realized that Sin actually became almost one and a half times bigger since that time when she and Natsu were riding on him two months ago, chasing Reina and Erigior. 'Okay Erza, be patient, less than three weeks left, and you will finally know their secrets…' She thought, climbing onto Sin's back. She sat behind Natsu and Simon sat behind her, he had no choice… 'Nasty boy…' Erza thought, embracing Natsu from behind, 'My nasty boy…"
"Hold on!" Sin exclaimed as he swung his skeletal wings and soared into the air.
"Simon, lead the way!" Natsu ordered to Erza's old friend.
"This way!" Simon pointed to the east and Sin flew that way, toward the Tower of Paradise, following (probably) the other Fairy Tail mages.
Spell list:
Seireikai – Celestial Spirits World
Shishi no Seirei – Celestial Spirit Leo
Kansō – Ex-quip
Yami no Mahō: Yami Setsuna – Darkness Magic: Dark Moment
Senjin no Dogō – War God's Howl
Senjin no Saiken – War God's Crushing Fist
Senjin no Shōkya – War God's Shock Kick
Kuroi Geijutsu – Black Arts
Senmei Saikō: Metsukōki – Sure-kill Shot: Ruin Chainslash
Well, this is it people. Chapter seventeen has been completed. I hope it was enjoyable. Again, sorry for long time between updates, I'll try to write next chapter faster, but no promises – I'm still on assignment. Do not forget to leave a REVIEW! Lack of reviews is really disheartening thing that can only increase the time for me to write a new chapter… Anyway, see you in the next chapter – The R-system.