Okay people, here I am – your old pal One Half xD. Sorry about slow updates, but I'm still in the field. However, I'm actually got a bit of free time so here's the update. Almost accidentally I've read the last FT chapter. It was quite stupid but 'almost NaZa' scenes were cute. Anyway, let's proceed.
Thanks everyone who wrote a REVIEW, I'm really appreciate it.
Here's the answers for the reviewers:
Pheonex-Fire: Many thanks.
ValinNight: Yeah, I'm really want to write the wedding chapter. And you won't be disappointed about battle, promise.
Tet19, Silent Reader 6100: Thanks guys, here's the update, as promised.
eze5555: Yeah, yeah, I know… But I have to do my job first =)
Shuuwai: Thanks. To be honest – many things are still undecided for FF arc, but I'm working on it =)
FanFictionHunter: Well, Nelliel has a child, it's much better than some cat, trust me =) As for Erza… well, I actually don't want to make an exceed for her, there's already entire crowd of characters…
Arakan7: Just wait one more chapter, you won't be disappointed =)
Meow, deadmask: Thanks people, here it is xD
Now, let's proceed. This chapter contains few flashbacks, some social interactions and side battles, in other words – nothing special. Also I've reduced the length of battle against Fukuro, he's so boring, I didn't want to waste my time on him, and I don't want to waste yours. Sorry about that but I want to make the next chapter packed with action, just like chapter 15 was. You'll see by yourselves. Anyway, I hope it's not completely boring. For those who waiting for update for Blessing of the scarlet dragon and Fairy Tail rEvolution: I'm really sorry people, I think I'm finally got some ideas but now I barely have time to write at least this story. Field work, etc… Also I want to make some kind of Halloween one-shot or Omake. Anyway, good reading.
Chapter updated 9/12/2016
Chapter XVIII – The R-System
…
September 26, X784, 22:20, Magic council ERA.
The magic council was called for an emergency meeting. Despite the late hour, all the councilors have arrived; the matter was urgent. "You mean to tell me that the remnants of the R-System still remain?!" Org yelled, slamming his fist on the round table, "That's impossible!"
"Eight years ago, a cult that worshipped black magic invested a large sum of money to initiate the building of the R-System," Leiji reminded him.
"Those seven towers?" Michello asked. "The council put a halt to their construction all together. There shouldn't even be any traces of them now."
"There was an eighth tower…" Belno informed nervously. "It's on the coast of Caelum Kingdom…"
"D… don't tell me… It hasn't been completed, has it?" Org asked with an angry and somewhat nervous expression.
"Unfortunately, when it comes to a sense of humor… our recon team is severely lacking…" Belno commented.
"So it has been… completed…" Ultear mumbled, making Org to snort in response.
"Why would the R-system show up now?" Michello wondered.
"The Tower of Paradise…" Siegrain said, gaining attention from the other council members. "It's not the R-System. It's… the Tower of Paradise…" He added with a dark expression.
"Yes, it was its other name…" Michello noted.
"Who cares about that, Sieg?! It doesn't matter what we call it!" Org reacted very emotionally. "The R-System is taboo magic! It places a grievous toll on anyone subjected to it! It creates havoc! The rune knights have to be mobilized immediately! We need to suppress this as soon as possible!"
"But we know nothing about our opponent…" Belno said uncertainly.
"Know nothing? But it was just stated that…" The three-eyed councilor tried to ask but Ultear interrupted him.
"It appears as though that the forces currently occupying the R-System have no relation to the cult mentioned earlier," The time mage informed. "It is currently under the supervision of someone named Jellal. A man shrouded in mystery…"
"Jellal?!" Org growled.
"I do not know of anyone who goes by that name…" Belno said.
"Other than his name, all background information regarding his identity is unknown…" Leiji commented.
All council members were looking at the table, processing the information, so no one noticed Ultear's smile as she thought: 'It seems that a showdown is at hand… Well, it was fun my dear Jellal, but it seems that you have almost exhausted your use…'
September 27, X784, 1:20, somewhere near the sea border between Fiore and Caelum
"Simon, where's that damn tower of yours?!" Sin asked indignantly, he had been flying along the border for almost three hours with three passengers on his back. "How long do you think I can fly like this?!"
"Just several more minutes, I'm sure we're almost there!" Simon replied as he was looking at Caelum's shore, trying to find some landmarks.
"Simon, I don't mean to be pushy, but you've been saying that for the last three hours!" Erza exclaimed. "Don't tell me that we've actually gone astray…"
"Sorry, it looks different from this high…" Simon replied nervously.
"What looks different?" Natsu asked with some imperceptible sarcasm. "Stars or sea? Just admit that you don't know a thing about navigation."
"No, just a few minutes!" Simon said, despite navigation actually being Wally's duties and Simon really wasn't good at it. "Now I'm certain, look, there's the port lights!" He pointed at a glow in the south. "The tower should be about twenty-five miles east from it, this way!"
"Okay Sin, let's check it out…" Natsu said as the boney dragon headed to the south-east.
September 27, X784, 1:25, ten miles away from the Tower of Paradise.
The hijacked ship was moving toward the Tower of Paradise at high speed. Gray used his ice make magic to made several additional sails, also he covered the ship's hull with ice, greatly reducing its friction. Mira was using her darkness magic to reroute air currents, turning them into stern wind. Juvia turned herself into a tail stream, further increasing the ship's speed; also, her duty was to make sure that the ship won't overturn due to the additional sails. Thanks to their combined magical efforts, the ship's speed was now about 55 knots.
Of course, the ship's speed could be further increased using Lucy's magic. But because the water bearer was quite a bitchy spirit who didn't respect her owner, Lucy was prohibited from using her, so now the blonde was just sitting on the deck, quite sad because she again appeared to be pretty useless. 'Do I really have to be here…?' Lucy thought sorrowfully.
Flashback. Four hours ago.
"Lucy! Untie me!" Mirajane demanded as she saw the blonde in the slot machine's hall. All of the players ran away from the casino, leaving Mira alone on the floor, tied up with anti-magic ropes.
"On my way!" Lucy replied, running toward the she-devil.
"When I get to those two bitches…" The snow-haired girl growled…
"If you're talking about the cat-like girl then I'm afraid you're too late," Lucy mumbled resentfully, trying to rip off Millianna's ropes. "Looks like it was one of Natsu's schemes."
"What?!" Mira asked.
"The Erza that came with me – it was actually Natsu. It seems those guys came for Erza and Natsu used the disguise to capture them, no idea why," Lucy explained. "Damn, we were changing clothes together, he saw me naked!" Lucy added resentfully as she finally managed to untie Mira.
"Forget about that, your mirror is more interested in your body than he does!" Mira exclaimed indignantly, "Where are they now?!"
"I just checked the card games hall, no one there besides people trapped inside the cards…" Lucy replied. "I think Natsu took those guys to his room. Do you know how to free people from cards?" Lucy wondered.
"Later, c'mon, let's go!" Mira shouted and ran toward the stairs.
"Wait, where are you going?!" Lucy's eyes widened in shock.
"To their room! I want to know what's going on here!" Mira replied, already from the doorway.
The girls came to Natsu's room door just in time to overhear Natsu and Erza's squabble in the ancient language, and to hear everything that followed.
"I can't believe it!" Mira exclaimed as she and Lucy headed to the bar. "They want to go to that Tower of Paradise and leave us behind!? No way! C'mon, let's find Gray, I have a plan."
"Plan?! Which plan?!" Lucy exclaimed worriedly.
"I don't care what may happen to that scarlet bitch, but I can't let her drag Natsu into troubles without support," Mira explained. Despite Mira being a very good liar, right now it was obvious that she spoke out a complete nonsense. First, of course she was worried about Erza – they may be rivals, but they are still nakama from Fairy Tail. And second, she knew that both Natsu and Erza could take care of themselves. In reality, Mira just wanted compensation for the lack of adventures she had during the last three years.
Flashback end.
"I have to admit, taking Juvia with us was a good idea," Gray noted as he came closer to Mirajane. "Her magic is very useful and she's extremely good at navigation."
"She's a sea witch, of course she's good at navigation," Mirajane replied. "However, I still don't completely trust her. Besides, she's very weird…" For some reason Mira was suspicious about Juvia, and it wasn't because of that she was a former Phantom Lord member…
"Look! There it is!" Gray suddenly shouted. "There is the tower!" Indeed, it was the Tower of Paradise.
"Okay people, let's land on the island and wait for Natsu. As far as I managed to understand from their talking behind the door, this is a very complicated matter…" Mira said.
September 27, X784, 1:30, Magic council ERA.
"The R-System was designed to violate the law of humans' life and death!" Leiji exclaimed. "It's an unforgivable magic, which could give rise to an extremely dangerous idea!"
"Whoever's occupying the tower, we have to consider him an enemy!" Michello exclaimed.
"We have to dispatch Rune Knights immediately!" Org bellowed.
"Weaklings…" Siegrain mumbled.
"What?!" Michello exclaimed angrily.
"Sieg, how dare you?!" Belno shouted as Org just growled in frustration.
"I'm telling you that as far as I'm concerned, just dispatching the Rune Knights can't be called anything but a weak-willed decision!" Siegrain shouted. "It's dangerous, too dangerous!" He added, trembling a little. "You people don't understand anything! Right now there's only one way to destroy the Tower of Paradise before it could be used – Eisei Mahōjin: Ēterion! [Satellite Square: Etherion]
The entire council was shocked with Siegrain's decision.
"What?!" Org yelled.
"The magic of destruction that transcends space-time?!" Michello exclaimed.
"Are you insane?!" Belno asked in shock.
"Do you have any idea of the damage it could cause?!" Leiji yelled, "That magic has enough power to make an entire county disappear!"
"Etherion is our ultimate weapon! It's much more dangerous than the R-System!" The councilor with three eyes shouted.
"Hmpf…" Yajima just sighed. No one could understand why Siegrain, who always adhered to mild positions in most cases, suddenly chose such an aggressive course of action.
"But the satellite square could target everything on the surface," Ultear noted very calmly, despite the situation. "And if we want to destroy that huge structure quickly, Etherion is actually our best option. I agree with Siegrain," She said as she raised her hand.
"Ultear?! Not you as well!" Belno exclaimed.
"There are nine of us," Michello said, explaining the situation. "If three more members agree with this, we'll use Etherion!"
"We don't have a time for this!" Siegrain yelled angrily, "We absolutely cannot let the R-System to be used!"
September 27, X784, 1:45, Tower of Paradise's throne room.
"AHAHAAHA" Jellal burst out suddenly in hysterical laughter.
"Jellal-sama?" Vidaldus asked, as he was a bit surprised by the unexplainable outburst.
"Heh… Fairy Tail…" Jellal smiled. Just as Simon has told, Jellal could see everything that was going on at the island. He noticed that the people who came via ship were not his old friends, but Fairy Tail wizards. "As expected – I knew they wouldn't leave their friend in danger."
"That woman, Erza… Is she with them?" Vidaldus inquired.
"Who cares about that silly girl?" Jellal suddenly asked, confusing his mercenary.
"But sir… I thought she was your goal…" Vidaldus scratched his cheek in confusion.
"My goal? Vidaldus, don't be silly. Her only purpose is to become a sacrifice." Jellal smiled again, "My goal is to resurrect my master…"
"You mean Zeref?" Vidaldus wondered.
"Patience, Vidaldus," Jellal replied, retaining his smile. "I'm wondering… Will I win? Or will they win?"
"Anyway, Jellal-sama, don't you think we should dispose of those who came before they get reinforcements?" The member of Trinity Raven asked.
"Relax, Vidaldus, let's wait for everyone so I might explain the rules of the game," Jellal replied. "Let's enjoy it. Spinning together life and death… past and future… The game of Paradise…" He said, spreading his arms wide.
"But… the movements of the council are also a cause for concern…" Vidaldus noted, but Jellal only smiled again.
September 27, X784, 1:55, Sky above the Tower of Paradise.
"Look, there it is!" The eyes of she-dragon noticed the huge tower on the horizon.
"Finally…" Sin grumbled, "I think we've just explored the entire shore of Caelum…" He was actually quite tired (well, bored, mostly) from flying around for several hours.
"Damn… They're already there…" Erza noticed the ship near the island.
"I told you – they have some spells that are quite useful for sailing," Natsu noted.
"This wouldn't have happened if our navigator would've been aware of what he was doing," Sin commented.
"Hey dude, give me a break!" Simon exclaimed, "I told you that everything looks different from this height!"
"Enough, you two are giving me a headache!" Erza exclaimed. Indeed, Sin and Simon were arguing for about two hours.
On the island, Mirajane and the others noticed the approaching frost wyrm. "There they are!" Gray pointed to the glowing blue creature in the sky.
"Okay, brace yourselves people, the scene is inevitable…" Mira sighed, looking at Sin.
Indeed, as soon as Sin touched the ground, Erza hopped off his back and dashed toward the silver-haired girl. "What's the meaning of this?!" Erza shouted. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"I could ask you the same questions!" Mirajane shouted back. "You were trying to leave us behind! There's no way could I let you have all the fun!"
"Fun?!" Erza's eyes blazed with glowing plasma, "You don't even know what's going on here!"
"So, enlighten us," Mira replied sarcastically.
"Get out of here!" Titania demanded.
"Yeah, right now…" Mira gave her an insolent smile.
"There's no way Mira will go back…" Sin stated as he took his normal form and sat on Natsu's shoulder.
"Absolutely…" Natsu agreed.
Everyone else stood around the two girls silently, with bored expression on their faces; they all knew that this dispute won't get them anywhere.
"Hey! You there!" Suddenly someone shouted nearby, "Who the hell are you guys?!"
All mages turned toward the tower itself, only to see a large crowd of people, dressed in some kind of uniform, running down the huge stairs from the tower's main entrance. "Oh crap!" Lucy exclaimed, "Guards!"
"We've come too far to stop now, let's take these guys out!" Mirajane ordered as she used her Take Over spell and rushed into battle, as Gray, Lucy and Juvia joined her.
"Hey!" Erza exclaimed but Natsu suddenly covered her mouth with his palm.
"Wait, let them clear these guys on their own," He said.
"What?! But Natsu!..." Erza tried to argue but the god slayer interrupted her.
"I don't want Jellal to see your new powers," Natsu replied. "Only our guild members saw your new magic… well, and theater viewers in Onibas… Anyway, I doubt that he knows about your new powers so you can use it in battle as an advantage."
Natsu's suggestion sounded quite logical. "Yeah, but…" Erza looked at the battle on the stairs.
"Don't worry, look – they can handle it by themselves," Natsu replied.
"Dākunesu Sutorīmu!" [Darkness Stream] Devil Mirajane extended her right arm forward, creating a dark purple magic seal. A multitude of hands, composed of dark energy, appeared from the seal, and smashed about two dozen of enemy soldiers. "Who the hell are we?!" She repeated angrily, "We are Fairy Tail, punks!"
"Wah!" "Guh!" "Ough!" Enemy soldiers cried as they were struck by Mira's magic.
"Open, gate of the giant crab, Kyansā!" Lucy used her golden key to summon cancer spirit.
"Long time no see-ebi!" The celestial spirit greeted Lucy as he attacked several enemy soldiers, leaving them crying and completely bald.
Several tower's guardians rushed toward Juvia and tried to attack her with their weapons, but their swords and axes just passed through the watery body of the former Phantom's S-class witch. "Huh?!" "What is she?!" They were quite shocked.
Juvia turned around and transformed one of her hands into a dense, powerful stream of water, Wōtā Suraisā! [Water Slicer] She swung that stream around, smashing a dozen of enemy soldiers with it.
Aisu Meiku: Hanmā! [Ice Make: Hammer] Gray created a huge hammer made of ice above his head and, one second later, smashed the entire group of enemies with it.
"Boom!" "Crush!" "Smash!" In less than one minute the entire enemy group was defeated.
"Told you," Natsu noted to his bride as, suddenly, the main tower's door opened.
"Look, the door opened up there!" Lucy pointed to the tower's entrance.
"They're telling us to come up?" Gray wondered.
"Okay, let's see what's inside!" Mira shouted and headed to the door as others followed her.
"Hey! Get back here!" Erza exclaimed and rushed to chase Mirajane and others.
"Give it up Erza, they won't listen to you…" Simon said as he followed Titania. Even he, the outsider, realized that the silver-haired girl wasn't afraid of Erza and she isn't going to listen to her…
"Erza has been waiting for a chance to deal with that scum Jellal and this damned tower for eight years…" Natsu sighed. "Yet, we've managed to turn even such an event into a circus…"
"Yep, and you were the one who started it…" Sin noted.
"True…" Natsu agreed and followed the others.
Inside the throne room, Vidaldus was very surprised. "Jellal-sama, what are you thinking?!" He asked, "Just letting the intruders enter like that?!"
"I told you, this is a game," Jellal replied calmly. "All it means is that those guys just cleared a level. Now our game has really become interesting…"
"However, if we do not proceed quickly with the ceremony, sooner or later the council will get wind of this…" Vidaldus expressed his concern.
"Vidaldus… You're still worried about that?" Jellal asked with a malicious smile. "It cannot be stopped. Not by this worthless council anyway."
At this moment, in ERA, councilor Leiji, trembling all over, raised his arm, voting 'yes' for the use of Etherion.
"We need two more votes!" Siegrain yelled, "There's no time left!"
Jellal stood up and came to the table with a chessboard on it. He waved his hand and several figures appeared on it. Five at one side of the board and seven on the other side. "So, this is our disposition…" He said. "Simon and the others betrayed me, now he's on the enemy's side. Titania Erza, Crimson Cardinal Natsu and four more mages are against us. Hmm… Yes, this is how a game should be. There's nothing more boring than a one-sided game…" Jellal smiled as he took the figure that looked like a clock and hid it in his pocket. "This one is going to play on the other board, let's leave it in reserve…"
"Jellal-sama, let us quickly capture Erza and hold the ceremony," Vidaldus said. "This is no longer the time to be playing around."
"Erza isn't the only candidature…" Jellal noted. "Anyway, in that case, why don't you go yourself, Vidaldus?"
"Are you sure?" Vidaldus inquired.
"Well, they've finished their turn, have they not?" Jellal smiled, moving forward three figures on his chessboard – the guitar, owl and a woman dressed into white kimono.
"As you wish!" Vidaldus sneered and raised his hands, building up his magic. Two seconds later he released his spell and with a bright flash two more people appeared near him as his appearance changed completely.
"Special riding squadron of assassins' guild Death's Head Caucus, 'Trinity Raven'…" Jellal greeted the newcomers, "It's your turn now."
After revealing himself as a member of Trinity Raven, Vidaldus switched to his main appearance, which mirrors that of a black Metal musician who was constantly headbanging. His skin became pale and covered in multiple tattoos. He now wore black leather pants, wristbands with spikes, a metal belt with matching shoulderplates and black boots with a fire pattern. "GO… TO… HELL!" Vidaldus yelled, sticking out his tongue. "Hell! Let me show you the deepest and darkest depths of hell!"
One of two new mages had an extremely bizarre appearance: he had the body of a man, but the head of an owl, as well as a rocket pack strapped to his back. His body was heavily muscular and mostly bare, with his clothing consisting only of a pair of green short tights held up by a belt. "Whoo whoo whoo!" He laughed in quite a weird way. It was Fukuro – another member of Trinity Raven.
The second new mage was a woman with bright pink hair and a curvaceous body, dressed in a white kimono with a pattern of large burning skulls. She held a katana in her left hand. "Perhaps it is the fate of both love and life to scatter on the wind…" She said with smile. "Tonight shall be a festival," It was the Trinity Raven captain – Ikaruga.
September 27, X784, 2:20, Tower of Paradise
Erza, Natsu and the others entered the tower and were now walking along one of its corridors. Natsu and Erza were walking behind as the god slayer finally managed to convince his almost-wife that she has to spare her magic for the fight against Jellal, and fighting against Mirajane right now would be… extremely inappropriate.
"Sorry Natsu, I know you two are friends and all, but one day I'll put her in her place, I swear!" Erza growled angrily. She was still infuriated not only by Mira's interference itself, but also because she drew the others into this as well…
"I'm wondering… is that rat even here?" Natsu was concerned about that Jellal could have escaped by now.
The others were ahead; Lucy, Gray and Juvia were walking silently as Simon was talking about Natsu with Mirajane. "How did their romance start?" Simon asked. Yes, he suppressed his feelings toward Erza, but he still wanted to know about her history. And Mira was only glad to gossip about her rival, and her best friend as well.
"As I think of it now, it started at the moment of Natsu's first appearance…" She replied with quite a nasty smile. "Sometimes I'm really sorry that I do not possess the Omōhanasu [Telepathy] magic…"
Flashback. X781, May 21.
"Hey! Where's my strawberry cake?!" The voice of an angry scarlet-haired girl called out, gaining unrequited attention from at least half of the guild members. "Don't tell me this whore stole it again?!"
"What did you call me?!" Another girl shouted as a platinum blonde jumped down from the second floor. Immediately the two girls slammed their foreheads against each other, spitting different insults toward one another. One more brawl between the two S-class girls seemed inevitable, but suddenly the guild door opened and some boy with weird but very impressive looks appeared inside the doorway.
'Wow!' Scarlet-haired girl thought, surprising herself with her own reaction. Everyone who was in the guild building now was staring at the newcomer, whose eyes were burning with two different colors. Erza noticed boy's luxury black coat made of pashmina, trimmed with gold patterns. 'Okay, he came not for alms…' She noted to herself. The two upper buttons of his coat were unbuttoned so the fact that he had no shirt was obvious, and Erza experienced strange new feeling when she noticed it. 'What was that?!' She asked herself as she forgot about both – her cake and the one who stole it.
Erza already wanted to ask who he was but suddenly a little boney creature appeared from the outside and landed on the boy's shoulder. 'What the hell is that?!' Her eyes widened a little. Erza simply continued to stare at him while he dealt with Gray and Mira, but then he addressed her directly, mentioning the sword. However, for some reason Erza felt some kind of need to look different from those two before this boy. She let him pass, waving off the angry Mirajane, but when he sat down at the farthest table, took out his pen and notebook and began to write, she again looked at him.
'Why does his coat have only one-sleeve? Why is he wearing only one glove? Why does he need a glove in the last decade of may?... Oh wait, he mentioned a sword, maybe it's for better grip, I'm wearing gloves as well… No, wait, he's using his right hand for writing – he's not a lefthander… Then what's with his left hand?' Erza thought, still staring at the newcomer. 'And, most importantly, what the hell is this thing?!' Erza just tasted her own medicine. People don't like questions with no answers, as she was quite mysterious herself, and now Erza already had quite a lot of questions, despite this guy just came in five minutes ago.
The snow-haired girl noticed Erza's ill interest toward this newcomer. She already didn't like him, but that's ain't the reason to not tease her rival. "Stare at him as much as you like – you have no chances," The scornful Mira's voice distracted Erza again. "You're too flat to be his girlfriend." That was a pure lie though – Erza's curves were already quite noticeable at that time.
"Screw you!" Erza growled, yet she didn't try to start another brawl with Mirajane. She blushed a little, for unknown reasons. Also, for the same unknown reason, she felt herself offended when Mira said that this boy couldn't be interested in her…
Flashback end.
Mira's story was interrupted as suddenly, dozens of mouths appeared all over the walls and ceiling, all around the Fairy Tail mages and Jellal's voice sounded from them. "Welcome everybody!" The mouths chorused, "Welcome to the Tower of Paradise."
"What's with these mouths?!" Gray exclaimed with slight shock.
"They're talking…" Juvia mumbled.
"Jellal set this up so that he can be heard in every corner of the tower…" Simon explained.
"His words are transmitted through these mouths?!" Lucy was freaked out.
"I'll wipe that stupid grin from your face, Jellal…" Erza growled, looking at the smiling mouths.
"Permanently," Natsu agreed.
"I am Jellal, the one who controls this tower," The mouths continued to speak. "All the pieces on the both sides have been placed, it's about time to begin the Game of Paradise."
"Idiot," Natsu commented.
"The rules are simple," Jellal continued. "I will use Erza as my sacrifice in a ceremony that will resurrect my master…" Mira, Lucy, Gray and Juvia's eyes became chained to Erza as they heard those words. Jellal continued to speak, "That is to say, if I open the gates to paradise, then I win. If you are able to prevent this, then you are the winners. Now, to make this game more interesting, I got three players on my side…"
"Three players?" Simon asked with a sweatdrop, "Who could they be?"
"…You must get past them to reach me. Thus this is a seven-on-three battle… Let's begin, shall we? Or, is it better to say Let battle rejoice…"
"He's simply pathetic…" Natsu commented.
"Sacrifice?!" Gray yelled, still staring at Erza.
"Resurrection?!" Lucy yelped.
"Natsu, Erza, what is going on here?!" Mira demanded.
"Oh, so now you do want to know?!" Erza asked with narrowed eyes. "Didn't you want to know it before you put your nose into it?!"
"Erza," Simon addressed to her, "It seems that Jellal was prepared for us. We need all the help we can get and I have no idea who those 'three players' are…"
"I agree," Natsu nodded. "That imbecile should not be allowed to escape. If things become complicated, we might need their support. And they should know with whom we are dealing with… besides, I think there are no more reasons to hide it any longer…"
"All right…" Erza sighed. Natsu and Simon's words sounded quite logical. Besides, if she won't tell them her story, Jellal may do it instead, and it's better that her friends hear the real facts. "This tower, it's called the Tower of Paradise, or the Resurrection System…" Erza began her tale. It was hard for her to recall all the events of her past, so Natsu held her in a tight embrace to make her at least a bit more comfortable. Simon noticed how tight she clenched Natsu's arms…
September 27, X784, 2:40, Magic council ERA.
"In order to wipe the Tower of Paradise from this world, in order to prevent Jellal from using the R-System!" Siegrain shouted, still trying to convince the council to use the Etherion. "Right now, aside from using the Satellite Square and Etherion, we have no other options!"
"Ohh…" Michello sighed.
"But…" Org mumbled.
"The R-System has been forbidden since the ancient times," Ultear noted calmly. "I think everyone here understands the implications of this."
"But using the Etherion would mean destroying absolutely everything! This includes innocent bystanders," Org retorted with a sweatdrop. "Everyone inside that tower will be killed!"
"To protect the order in the magical world," Siegrain replied, "That's the price that must be paid."
"Just like Sieg says, we've all gotten here on the sacrifices of many others. That's also evident in the history of this magic world that exists today," Leiji said in Siegrain's support.
"But Leiji-sensei, if we unilaterally attack Caelum's soil it will leave a black mark throughout all of history!" One of the councilors retorted.
"Then that's the part of the sacrifice we'll have to make…" Belno sighed.
"Belno-sensei!" Michello shouted in shock.
"One cannot return from the dead. These kids must understand the value of life. There's no getting out of it. I approve the use of the Etherion," Belno stated, raising her arm and voting 'yes'.
"What?!" Org exclaimed as Yajima just sighed again.
"Just need one more!" Sieg announced.
September 27, X784, 2:45, Tower of Paradise.
"Just one more… huh?" Jellal smiled.
"You've said something, Jellal-sama?" Ikaruga asked. She and her squad were still waiting for orders.
"Nothing… Just talking to myself…" Jellal replied, 'Just one more to Game Over…'
Erza told everything – how her village was attacked, how she was captured and sent to the Tower when she was just nine years old. About how she met Jellal for the first time, about their failed escape attempt and how she was punished for that, despite it actually was Shô's plan.
'Ah, so that is why Natsu despised that Shô guy that much…' Lucy thought, despite she was deeply shocked as she listened to Erza's story, just like the others, even Mirajane.
Erza continued her tale. She told the others how Jellal came to save her but was caught and sent to the torture chamber instead of Erza, and how she started a full-scale revolt in order to free Jellal. Also, she explained how she awakened her magic for the first time, when Rob, one of the former members of Team Makarov, sacrificed himself to shield her.
And then she told everyone about her last interaction with Jellal when she came to save him. About how he himself suddenly became Zeref's worshipper and how he kicked her out from the tower when she refused to join him when he decided to take control over the tower.
'And I thought it was I who had the difficult childhood?!' All four mages – Lucy, Juvia, Gray and Mirajane – thought the same thing as they heard Erza's story. Lucy and Juvia were deeply shocked, and even Gray's story wasn't that dark. Lisanna's tragedy was very bad of course, but Mira wasn't a child when it happened.
'So, this is why she was always alone…' Mira thought. 'And this is why she was lovesick over Natsu – he too had to carry many secrets…'
"I… I don't know what to say…" Lucy mumbled as she trembled a little.
"There's no need to say anything, Lucy," Erza replied with slight smile. "I'm just thankful to all of you for being my friends during this time… to you, Simon, for having faith in me for all these years, despite me being too weak to act against Jellal… and to you…" She turned to Natsu, "For accepting me with my past, and leading me to our future…"
"Erza, you never were weak, you had no choice," Simon retorted. "You had to play by Jellal's rules, for our sake."
"And I'm not leading you," Natsu said with a smile, "We're going into the future together," He added as he gently pressed Erza's forehead to his chest.
"Hey, Erza, Natsu, hold on a minute!" Gray suddenly interrupted them. "That Zeref you just mentioned…"
"Yes, that's exactly the same Zeref," Natsu confirmed.
"He's called the most evil and cruel dark mage in the history of the world of magic," Erza added. "The one who created Lullaby, Deliora and many other demons."
"It says that Zeref has the power to create those things with little effort," Sin informed, "Not that they actually something remarkable, but still…"
"But why would someone want to revive such an evil?!" Juvia asked with a sweatdrop.
"No idea," Simon replied. "Jellal told us that Zeref will lead us to the world of true freedom, and we'll become its rulers, but he never explained what it will actually look like." Simon looked up, "However, it doesn't matter anymore. This is the moment I've been waiting for. Now that all these powerful mages are gathered in one place. We'll fight Jellal and his servants with our combined strength and put an end to this madness."
'Powerful mages?' Lucy thought, 'Does that include me?'
"By the way," Natsu said as he snapped his fingers and Simon's collar unlocked, fell on the floor and, a few seconds later, disappeared. "I think you no longer need it…"
'That Tower of Din inhabitant surely knew some tricks…' Erza thought. Actually, these collars were created using Kuroi Geijutsu [Black Arts], probably some sort of Seikatsu Mahō [Living Magic]…
"Oh, one more thing, I wanted to ask this for some time now, but…" Natsu said, looking at Juvia, "…Ajin-chan [亜人ちゃん], who are you?"
"Uh, me? I…" Juvia mumbled but she was saved from the necessity to give an explanation.
Jellal's mouths appeared again and began to speak. "It seems you're taking your time… Well, then maybe it's the right moment to announce the last rule of our game? The magic council might attack this place using the Satellite Square: Etherion. It's a destructive magic, capable of annihilating everything." When they heard this, Fairy Tail mages froze with shocked expressions on their faces, even Natsu seemed surprised.
Inside the throne room, Vidaldus yelled at his client, "Jellal, you bastard! You never said anything about that!"
"What's up, Vidaldus, darling? Did you wet you pants?" Ikaruga asked with a smirk.
"On the contrary, I couldn't be more excited!" He replied with maniacal face expression. "I've never felt so high! This sort of thrill is exactly what I've been looking for!"
Jellal continued to speak through the mouths, "It is unknown how much time remains, but when Etherion hits, everyone here will die. There will be no winner hence, game over. That's it, enjoy the game…" Jellal finished his speech and the mouths disappeared.
"What's he thinking…" Lucy stuttered, trembling with fear. "He might be killed too and he calls this a game?!"
"Etherion?! From the council?!" Even Erza was scared. Natsu felt her shivering… "That's impossible! Because…"
"Siegrain," Natsu pronounced. "Could it be that this was his plan from the very beginning? He let his brother lure us here and now he wants to destroy us all together?"
"I hate him!" Erza's fear turned into anger, "I'll kill him!"
"But it seems that Jellal isn't worried…" Natsu noted. "He thinks that Sieg won't be able to convince the council to use Etherion? Or what?"
"You're right, something's very wrong here…" Erza agreed.
"Anyway, we have no time to waste," Natsu reminded, removing his glove once again. "People, can I entrust handling these 'three players' to you? We're going for Jellal." He said, gathering blue flame to transform his familiar into a frost wyrm again. Juvia seemed freaked out, but no one seemingly was going to explain anything to her, not now.
"Wait, you wanna go separately?!" Simon exclaimed.
"Simon, Etherion is upon us, we have no time to walk around like a gypsy camp!" Erza exclaimed as she sat on Sin's back behind Natsu. "Don't you worry, I'm not going to take any chances – we'll fight him together and I have a Wizard Saint on my side!" She added as Sin flew out through a large window and headed toward the tower's top.
"Gypsy camp?" Simon asked, scratching his head.
"Yeah, she learned a few new phrases since they began dating," Mira replied.
Flashback. About three months after Natsu-vs-Erza battle.
Erza has just returned from her mission. Actually, it was also a secret date with Natsu, but this was not that important… As usual, the guild was quieter than usual because she was in the guild, enjoying her beloved strawberry cake at one of the tables.
"How was your mission?" Mirajane asked as she was cleaning a table nearby. Since it was still a 'caring Mira', Erza was less aggressive toward her than now.
"That was quite simple," Erza replied with a shrug, "It was just a regular robbers' gang."
"So, it was another boring routine mission?" Waitress inquired.
"No, it wasn't boring…" Erza retorted as she recalled yesterday's events. "It was quite fun, actually… Oh, you should have seen their faces when I ex-quipped my Raitei no Yoroi [Lightning Empress Armor]…" Erza smiled to herself.
"You used Lightning Empress Armor against regular robbers?" Mira was a bit surprised.
"Yeah, why not?" Erza smiled as she continued to remember yesterday's events. "Oh, it was so fun, when I started to shoot lightnings, they were screaming like fifth grade girls! I really made them dance on the red-hot frying pan…" Erza even chuckled. "What?" Titania asked, looking around, as she noticed that she got the attention from at least half of the guild members, despite she didn't ask for it.
"No, nothing…" Most people turned away as Mira just shook her head and went back to the bar as Erza continued to eat her cake.
"What the hell was that?" Cana asked as Mirajane came back.
"No idea…" Mira said, "But that was weird…"
"To say the least…" The drunkard agreed. Since when did Erza began to have fun by hurting people, even criminals? But it seemed she was quite excited yesterday, using her powerful armor against weaklings… and those words – 'red-hot frying pan'… A strangely familiar manner of speech.
Flashback end.
"She really changed so much…" Simon said.
"It's inevitable when Natsu is nearby," Gray said.
"Agree," Mirajane nodded. "His words... they as if digging into your brain: always sounds logical, always argumentative – you simply can't just ignore them."
"And I'm sure you're well aware of Erza's impressionability…" Lucy added.
"But I think Natsu did a good job – he's changed her for the better. The year before she was a complete downer, but now she actually understands jokes…" Mira laughed at her rival.
Suddenly, all five heard some strange noise from the outside and it was becoming louder each second. "What the…" Simon asked as suddenly someone barged into the corridor right through the wall. It was Fukuro and the noise was from his rocket pack.
"Whoo whoo!" He shouted, imitating an owl, as he flew along the corridor with two mechanical 'arms' appearing from his rocket pack. "The warrior of justice will punish the betrayer!" He shouted as his mechanical arms grabbed Simon. Since girls were slightly ahead, they couldn't do anything, but Gray managed to grab Simon's leg and they both were carried to the outside, through the tower's window.
"Gray!" Mira shouted as she dashed to the window only to see that Fukuro and his 'passengers' disappeared beside tower's corner. "Damn!" She exclaimed before turning to Lucy and Juvia, "I have to help them, stay out of trouble!" Mira shouted as she used her Teiku Ōbā: Satan Sōru [Take Over: Satan Soul] spell. Mirajane grew a pair of black demonic wings from her back and jumped out the window, following the Fakuro.
"No, Mirajane-sama, you can't leave Juvia with her!" The blue-haired girl exclaimed as Mira flew away.
"That's my line!" A freaked-out Lucy cried.
(Top of the tower, throne room, with Natsu and Erza)
"Damn, where's that sneaky bastard?!" Erza exclaimed in frustration. She, Natsu and Sin made it to the top floor, found the throne room… only to find out that Jellal isn't there.
"That's unexpected, after all those speeches…" Natsu said as he looked around. He was looking for some secret door or tunnel, hidden by magic, which Jellal could use to escape. Too bad, because the secret door was here, but it wasn't hidden by magic. There was a secret lift behind it. Natsu was extremely good when it comes to finding magic secrets, but it seemed, due to his skills, he forgot that some secrets aren't magical...
The dragon slayer sniffed the air, trying to pick up someone's scent, but no one was around. "I hate him!" Erza shouted and slammed her boot into a wall in annoyance. Part of the wall crumbled, revealing some glowing substance inside of it.
"Wait, what's this?" Natsu's attention has been caught by a strange crystalline structure inside the hole in the wall made by Erza.
At the same time, Jellal was in some kind of 'Spare throne room', in the middle of the tower. He retreated there because it wasn't yet time to fight against slayers, he wasn't ready for it now. He just looked at his chessboard with a smile as he picked up figures of an owl, ice crystal and wall section, and placed them against each other.
(With Gray and Simon)
Fukuro made the mechanical arms from his rocket device to release Simon while he was flying toward one of the tower's walls. He turned away as Simon and Gray, who were still holding on to Simon, crashed into the wall and made a hole in it with their bodies.
"Uahg!" "Ough!" They screamed as they fell on the floor.
"The warrior of justice, Fakuro, is here! Whoo whoo!" Fukuro declared as he flew into the corridor where Gray and Simon were, through the hole made by them. "Your crime is betrayal! I will pass judgment on you in the name of justice!"
"What the hell?!" Gray exclaimed in shock. "A bird is talking about 'Justice'?!"
"No!" Simon yelled, "This… this guy is…" He stuttered before grabbing Gray's hand and starting to run.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" Gray shouted.
"We can't get mixed up with this guy!" Simon replied, casting a spell, "Yami Setsuna!" [Dark Moment] Darkness shrouded the entire corridor, despite the number of windows. "Let's go!" Simon shouted as he held Gray's hand and began to run.
However, he only took several steps before Fukuro caught up with him via his rocket pack and slammed his fist into Simon's face, "Whoo whoo!" Simon fell on the floor and rolled head over hills as his spell was canceled. "A just owl can see through the darkness," He noted.
"What's going on?!" Gray asked, "Simon?!"
"It's the assassins' guild, the Death's Head Caucus!" Simon said, trying to stand up.
"Assassins guild?!' Gray exclaimed.
"Yes, one of the dark guilds, they are an evil group that doesn't take missions but instead carry out assassinations," Simon explained as Fukuro simply stood, watching him. "Among them is a group of three called 'Trinity Raven'. Legend has it they have assassinated every ranked officer under the Western Army's command during the 'Cabria War'. This guy is one of them!"
"Whoo whoo, I simply punished some evildoers," Fukuro commented.
"These guys are cold-blooded professionals! We cannot fight them!" Simon shouted.
"Simon, your betrayal made our contractor quite sad," Fukuro declared, raising his arm to cast a spell. "And now, this warrior of justice will carry out your punishment! Judgment Hou!" Fakuro fired a blast of energy at Simon from his fist.
Simon raised his hand to try to cover himself from the attack but suddenly Gray appeared in front of him, "Aisu Meiku: Shīrudo!" [Ice Make: Shield] Gray cast a spell, creating his signature flower-like shield, which easily withstood Fukuro's attack. "I don't care where you are from or what your name is," Gray said, looking at Fukuro. "The guild is a collective to share hopes and dreams. But your… 'organization'… is just a mockery at the very idea of a guild…" Gray growled, building his magic.
(With Lucy and Juvia)
"Mira-sa~~an!" Lucy called for the snow-haired witch.
"Gray-sa~~ama!" Juvia called for her object of interest.
"Darn, we can search for our friends here for days!" Lucy complained, "This tower is huge…"
"To bad none of us possesses an enhanced hearing or sense of smell like Nelliel-san or Gajeel-kun…" Juvai said.
"You call him '-kun'?" Lucy asked with widened eyes.
"Why on earth is Juvia searching for Gray-sama together with Lucy-san…?" The water witch asked herself.
"Ignoring me, huh?" Lucy asked with a sigh. "Well, as if we have any choice. That bird tried to kidnap Simon and Gray tried to save him…"
"Well, Juvia is admiring Gray-sama's actions…" The blue-haired girl said, "…but leaving me together with my rival in love… is he trying to make us fight for him?"
"I'm really trying not to get involved in this whole thing, you know?" Lucy replied, smiling nervously. 'Can't we just eat a bento?' Some weird thought sounded in Lucy's head. Suddenly, the girls' talking was interrupted by very loud guitar playing, which sounded like a 'black death metal' melody. "Wh… What's that noise?!" Lucy asked as she was freaked out by this 'music', "Is it a guitar?! Ah, it's so loud!" Lucy screamed as she closed her ears from loud noise.
"Juvia thinks it's rather good, actually…" The water witch noted.
"There really is something wrong with you…" Lucy replied. Three seconds later both girls noticed the source of the noise; a man with extremely long hair appeared from behind the corner. He was 'playing' his guitar and constantly headbanging, making his long hair to swirl around him. Lucy looked at him worriedly but Juvia remained calm.
"Hey! Yeah! Fucking girls!" He yelled, continuing to torture his guitar. "This is my concert of hell! Destroy oooooow!"
"Whoa! That's some long hair!" Lucy yelped in shock.
"Is this one of Jellal's three warriors?" Juvia asked, examining the enemy.
"Assassins guild Death's Head Caucus!" The man screamed hysterically, introducing himself, in his understanding it was probably singing. "Hey! We're the Skulls! Cool name ain't it?! I'm a member of Trinity Raven, they call me Vidaldus Taka!" A moment later his hair formed into six tendrils and shot toward the girls. "Rock you!" Vidaldus yelled.
"Yahh! Yaaauu!" Lucy yelped, running from the hair, which broke some walls. Juvia, on the other hand, did nothing to avoid the attack. When Vidaldus tried to hit her, his hair just passed through her watery body.
Vidaldus was surprised a bit, "That's a sweet little body you've got yourself there… Guahahahaa!" He laughed excitedly.
"Juvia's body is formed of water. Drip drip drop…" Juvia said as her body restored its form.
"Good luck Juvia!" Lucy cheered for the water witch, hiding behind the column, "You can handle him!"
"No attack can harm Juvia's body," The water witch said, raising her arm, "Suiryū Kōsoku!" [Water Lock]
"Rock?!" Vidaldus asked excitedly, "Did you say rock?!" But a moment later he was encased in a large water bubble.
"His bark was worse than his bite…" Juvia said, eyeing Vidaldus floundering inside the water bubble.
"Wow, that's the element four for you!" Lucy shouted cheerfully. 'She'd make a scary enemy…'
However, just a few moments later, the water bubble began to warp itself, turning into streams of water. Within several seconds all the water was soaked into Vidaldus hair, literally. "Wha…?!" Juvia yelped in shock as Vidaldus threw back his hair, which now looked more healthy. "Juvia's water lock… disappeared?!" She just couldn't believe it.
"He's just creepy!" The frightened Lucy yelped. She was sweating all over.
"A bit of water's just the thing when your hair's messed up. You shouldn't shampoo in the morning though, the hair won't like it…" Vidaldus said with a creepy smile.
"Why, you… How did you eliminate the water lock?!" The water witch asked angrily.
"My hair has the power to absorb any liquid." Vidaldus explained. "Though, I'm not wiping up any oil or alcohol, okay? It'd be bad for the hair."
"Water won't affect him?!" Juvia exclaimed.
"No way!" Lucy cried, her hope that Juvia will do all the work disappeared.
"But my, we do have a couple of fine ladies here…" Vidaldus noted, suddenly a bit more serious.
"Ahh! Not this again!" Lucy exclaimed.
"What do you mean?" Juvia asked.
"Being cute only ever attracts trouble!" Lucy replied while Vidaldus was playing a short game of "eenie-meenie" between the two of them.
"Ow – which – one – should – I – choose? Let's – leave – it – up – to – de – vil – in – hell!" His finger pointed at Jivia. "Well, that's that! You're gonna be my succubus for today!" He yelled excitedly, sticking out his tongue.
"Succubus?" Juvia asked uncertainly. [A/N: In original, Vidaldus used word "睡魔" – 'Mare', demon that brings bad dreams]
"Rokku Obu Sakyubasu!" [Rock of Succubus] Vidaldus shouted as he began to play a certain song, "Hell yeah!" As such, his guitar formed 'streams' of music that began to flow right into Juvia's ears.
"Ahh! What is it?!" Juvia screamed in pain as her body began to glow, "That noise!"
"Juvia?! What's wrong?!" Lucy asked, as if Juvia was actually in any condition to answer.
"No! Stop! Get ouuuut!" Juvia screamed, holding her ears as the glow of her body was becoming more and more intense. "AAAAGGHHH!" Finally, with a bright flash, the glow disappeared and Juvia stopped screaming.
"Juvia!?" Lucy exclaimed worriedly, trying to find her through the dust cloud.
"Got myself a love-slave!" Vidaldus announced with an evil smirk.
As Juvia emerged from the dust, her appearance changed drastically. Her skin became as pale as that of Vidaldus, she got several tattoos and 'rocky' clothes– leather corset, pants and wristbands. "Hell! Hell! Hell! I'm gonna show you the deepest glorious depths of hell, you little bitch!" Juvia shouted. She was talking with an idiotic smile on her face, constantly sticking out her tongue.
"Ju… Juvia?!" Lucy asked in shock, "Wha… What's going on?!"
In his throne room, Jellal took the 'chess figure' of a guitar and knocked down the figure of a water pitcher by it. "Well, that's it for the water witch…" He said with malicious smile. "And, at the same time…" He knocked over the 'chess figure' of celestial key, "I think this is the end for our spirit-user, as well."
"Ahahahahah!" 'Rock bitch' Juvia laughed maniacally. "I'm gonna drag you down to the depths of hell! You little bitch!"
"Wha… What is this!?" Lucy asked, she was quite scared and was sweating all over. "Juvia… Get a hold on yourself… And stop calling me a 'little bitch'…"
"She's my 'succubus' now! She'll only take orders from me!" Vidaldus shouted, continuing to play his weird 'song'.
"Don't tell me the sound from that guitar is doing this to Juvia… Wait! Why am I not affected then?" Lucy wondered, eyeing the 'succubus' uneasily…
"Hahah… A very good question!" Vidaldus screamed as if singing in death metal manner. "This just wouldn't be fun if both of you were under my spell, you see! What I wanna see is you two girls having a little catfight! A tearful battle, scraps of clothing flying everywhere!"
"You're the worst…" Lucy moaned, shivering all over.
"That's the greatest compliment I've ever heard! Whoooaa!" Vidaldus screamed excitedly, once again hitting the strings.
"If you're not ready to rock, then just go and die!" Juvia shouted, turning her body into a large wave of water and assaulting Lucy. [A/N: Reminder – Lucy still wore the clothes she had in casino – white tank top with flower and jeans shorts.]
"Auhh!" Lucy screamed as the wave crashed over her. "My clothes! They're dripping wet! Oh!" Lucy yelped as she noticed that her nipples were visible through her wet tank top. Juvia's watery silhouette appeared from water and she dashed toward Lucy.
"Now, where should I start this little feast?!" Water witch asked, extending her arms to grab Lucy.
"Wait! Juvia are you serious?!" Lucy yelped but Juvia ignored her.
"Gotta start with these stupidly huge boobs, huh?!" Juvia shouted as she ripped Lucy's tank top apart.
"AHHH! NO!" Lucy screamed, her cheeks were flushing from embarrassment.
"Ohhh yeah! This is what I like to see!" Vidaldus screamed as he examined Lucy.
"What do you think you doing?! You pervert!" Lucy exclaimed as she quickly picked up the largest piece of her torn top and tied it around her chest to cover her breasts somehow.
"Hey-yeah!" Juvia wailed hysterically as she appeared in front of Lucy and struck her in the face with a headbutt.
"Ungh!" Lucy was knocked down on the floor. Vidaldus continued to play his song. "Didn't you say that you wanted to join Fairy Tail?!" Lucy asked, rubbing her forehead, she got a large bruise there. "Then stop attacking your own… bubama!" Lucy tried to say 'nakama', but the water witch turned herself into a stream of water again and passed through Lucy, throwing her on the floor. Also, she managed to tear off a strand of Lucy's hair. "Oughh…" Lucy moaned from the pain, rubbing the spot from where hair was torn. Tears began to swell in her eyes.
"Heyyyayyhhh!" Vidaldus yelled, still playing his song. "Hair! Oh, I love it! Ahahaha!"
"Juvia, please!" Lucy pleaded but the water witch ignored her as she turned her right arm into a very dense stream of water.
"Suiryū Retsuhen!" [Water Cane, KanJi reads: 'Water stream violent whipping']
"Hey! AAAUUGGH!" Lucy screamed tearfully as she got several very painful strokes on her ass. "Hey!" Lucy cried in tears, "This isn't 'rock', this is just sadism!" [A/N: I know, Mashima is a pervert but this is one of the reasons why we all like him…]
"That's right, you little maso bitch! It's time to get smashed to bits inside of me! Shierā! [Sierra]" Juvia shouted, once again transforming herself into a stream of water.
"What the hell!?" Lucy screamed but in the next moment she was engulfed in a stream of boiling water. 'AAAUUGH! It's hot! Oh, this is not good… She's being controlled completely!' Lucy thought, trying to assess the situation, while she was floundering inside the water stream. 'What can I do?! If she's taking this seriously, there's no way I can win!'
'Lucy-san…' Suddenly Lucy heard Juvia's voice – a clean voice, not distorted by Vidaldus' spell. While the succubus-Juvia was laughing at Lucy's helplessness, screaming, "Suffer, suffer!", Lucy could hear the real Juvia's voice. 'This is not Juvia, not any of it!'
'Juvia's voice?!' Lucy asked herself, trying to understand what was going on. 'Of course, I'm inside Juvia here… though it sounds very weird…'
'Juvia doesn't want to hurt her nakama…' The clean Juvia's voice continued to speak. '…although, it's a little presumptuous of me to call you that, you are, after all, my rival in love…'
'Well, not really…' Lucy gulped.
'Juvia has truly come to love Fairy Tail… It seems so friendly… so warm… as though, even if it's raining outside… in the guild the sun is always shining…' Juvia continued, recalling her sob story. 'Just then… Juvia thought she was finally beginning to get along with everyone… but it looks like… Juvia can only bring sadness…' The water mage said as her soul was crying.
'Tears?' Lucy thought as she heard the cry of Juvia's soul. 'Wait, I got an idea!'
"Juvia-chan! It's time to finish her!" Vidaldus yelled, hitting the strings.
"Uuuugh!" Lucy screamed as she crashed into the floor when Juvia threw her out of the water stream. Her body was aching all over but Lucy stood up and looked back at Vidaldus and Juvia. "Someone who would shed tears for the sake of her friends… could never be rejected by Fairy Tail!" The spirit mage shouted, grabbing her keys. "You should be proud of yourself, you just gave me a great idea!" Lucy exclaimed with sudden determination in her eyes.
"Useless!" Vidaldus laughed, swinging his hair around. "Juvia-chan, finish her off already!"
"As you wish!" Juvia shouted, turning to Lucy. "I'll tear you to pieces with my Water Jigsaw! Suiryū Gekiko!" Juvia transformed her body into a swirling mass of water slicers and rushed toward Lucy. 'Lucy-san, watch out!' The spirit mage heard the call of Juvia's soul.
But Lucy didn't try to run or dodge, she stood with her key ready, waiting for the water mass to approach. When Juvia was close enough, Lucy plunged her arm with the key into her water jigsaw. Juvia's spell inflicted multiple wounds on Lucy's hand, but she withstood it and cast a spell, "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer – Akueriasu!" With a huge splash of water, the mermaid spirit appeared from Seireikai.
"You used Juvia's water to summon a spirit?!" The water witch asked as she was shocked (just like Vidaldus), eyeing the key right inside of her chest.
"As long as I have any water, I can summon my ultimate spirit, Aquarius!" Lucy replied, "All thanks to you, Juvia."
"Oh, shut up already, you stupid little girls!" The water spirit bellowed. She was already enraged by the method Lucy used to summon her, but now this babbling enraged her to the limit. She swung her jug, creating a huge maelstrom, which caught all three – Lucy, Juvia and Vidaldus.
"Nuuuah!" "Aaauugh!" "Guahhh!" They yelled. However, a few seconds later Vidaldus' hair began to absorb the water.
"Not a chance!" He shouted, sticking out his tongue. "I told you already, my hair absorbs all water!"
"Juvia!" Lucy exclaimed, trying to reach her hand.
"Lucy-san!" Juvia swam towards the blonde. It seemed that when Vidaldus' music stopped he lost control over the water witch. Eventually, the two girls locked their palms, fusing their magic, greatly increasing the amount of water and speed of the maelstrom's circumgyration.
"Aaugh! Wait a minute!" Vidaldus exclaimed in shock as his hair stopped absorbing water. "Wha… what's wrong with this water?! O-o! There's just too much!" Juvia and Lucy raised her hands up and the huge maelstrom smashed Vidaldus into the ceiling with a terrifying force. "Sparkling!" He cried senselessly as his hair became too heavy because of the mass of consumed water and fell off, leaving him clean bald. He fell on the floor, out cold.
"What?!" Jellal was surprised as he saw that guitar-like 'chess figure' cracked. "This… this power… These little brats have achieved… magical fusion?!" It was hard to believe. "Is this… Yunizon Reido?! [Unison Raid, KanJi reads: Coalescence of Magic]"
"All right!" Lucy shouted joyfully as the girls were hugging each other, "You're back to normal!" However, their joy was interrupted as the still enraged water spirit approached them…
"Don't you ever summon me from a place like that!" The Mermaid demanded, staring at Lucy's face point blank. "Where are you going to summon me from next, huh?! A toilet bowl?! I'll fucking kill you!"
"I'm very sorry…" Lucy mumbled, shivering all over.
"How very frightening…" Juvia gulped as she was scared as well.
"I'm going on a two-week vocation with my boyfriend, so don't you dare call me while I'm away, got that?" The Mermaid spirit asked.
"Yes…" Lucy replied nervously. 'Maybe Erza and Natsu were right after all?! Maybe I should learn an additional magic, that won't be telling me when and where I can use it?!'
"You should hurry up and find yourself a man too. Well, it's easier said than done…" Aquarius laughed at Lucy and disappeared.
"Oh, just mind your own business!" Lucy shouted angrily.
"Love is an important thing, Lucy-san!" Juvia retorted. "To bad we're rivals in love…"
"Oh please, can you just stop it?!" Lucy asked in annoyance. "I'm not in love with Gray!"
"Oh…" Juvia said as her face lit up with understanding. "So, you are one of those girls who prefer girls?"
"What?! No!" Lucy retorted furiously with saucer-wide eyes, "What made you think so?!"
"But how can you prefer men and not be in love with Gray-sama?" Juvia inquired with a sigh. "Oh, Juvia would have felt herself easier if you'd preferred girls…"
"Sorry about that!" Lucy replied with a face-palm. 'No, she definitely needs help…' Lucy thought with sigh. "At any rate…" Lucy smiled as she strengthlessly fell on the floor, "Looks like we've taken out one of the bad guys! Jellal's not going to get his way that easily!"
"No… You were the one who defeated him, Lucy-san," Juvia said with a sad smile, she was quite displeased with herself.
"No, we did it together!" Lucy exclaimed with a cheerful smile. "You cried out 'Lucy' back then, right? It made me really happy, realizing that we were finally getting along!"
"Thank you, Lucy-san…" Juvia felt much better.
"You don't have to use '-san' with me, you know? We are nakama now, aren't we?" Lucy asked, still smiling. Her large and kind eyes were shining with joy.
Lucy's warmness deeply touched Juvia, tears began to swell in her eyes. "Ahh…? Juvia seems to be raining… from her eyes…"
"That's a cute way of putting it…" Lucy smiled at Juvia's words. "But man, that whole thing has seriously worn me out…"
"Yes, Juvia is also worn out…" The water witch agreed.
"Unison raid, huh?" Jellal was thinking aloud, looking at the cracked guitar figure. "I've heard stories of priests who wasted their whole lives trying to achieve that… Only to never actually achieve their goal…" Jellal smirked. "Call it a coincidence, but that's quite the little act to pull. They may be just little girls, but I guess they're with Erza not for nothing… Heheh…" Jellal came to the window and looked at the full moon, "I guess it's my turn to advance a piece on the board as well…"
September 27, X784, 4:00, Magic council ERA.
"On the matter of firing upon the Tower of Paradise with Etherion, there are four votes for, versus five against. The result of voting: Etherion will not be fired," Org summed up the voting results.
"Wait!" Siegrain exclaimed furiously. "Do you all truly understand the situation in which we currently stand?!"
"Stop this now Sieg, the debate has gone on long enough," Org cut off his speech. "There are less radical ways to approach this matter, as well."
"Less radical?! While we're standing here, wasting time and debating petty moral norms… History is about to be altered forever!" Siegrain exclaimed. "Jellal is trying to resurrect the dead, for crying out loud!"
"You say that, but we still have no way of knowing whether the R-System is even functional at the present time," Michello said reasonably.
"It is too early to resort to weapons of mass destruction," The three-eyed councilor noted. Ultear sighed disappointedly.
"Can't any of you feel it…" Siegrain growled through gritted teeth, "The dark magic is welling up as we speak… The sheer horror of the man he is trying to resurrect…"
"What's this now…?" Leiji asked.
"Sieg, what are you…" The three-eyed councilor tried to ask.
"Black mage Zeref!" Siegrain announced, shocking the entire council.
"Y…you… What did you just…" Org growled after a minute-long silence.
"Sieg, how could you possibly know a thing like that?!" Michello asked.
Siegrain sighed heavily. "I didn't want to cast any unnecessary suspicions upon myself, so I didn't mention this. I don't want you to think that this is something personal, but… I know that man, the one known as Jellal," Sieg admitted. "And I know what he means to do…"
Entire council was shocked and enraged once again. "Sieg, enough of these enigmas of yours! Tell us everything!" Org demanded.
September 27, X784, 4:10, Tower of Paradise
"I'll kill him!" Erza shouted furiously as she slammed her foot into Jellal's throne and destroyed it. "When I get to him, I'll cut him into small pieces, dry him up and smoke him out in a tobacco pipe!" Boom! One of the columns was shattered to pieces.
The reason for her fury was quite understandable. The substance that they found inside the wall was lacrima. After making several more holes in different places they found out that this lacrima was everywhere around them. And, knowing that, it wasn't that hard to figure out Jellal's true plan, as well as the fact that Siegrain, most likely, was working together with his twin brother from the very beginning.
Natsu has never seen his fiancée so enraged. 'Oh my… She's perfection…' He thought, looking at her with eyes full of adoration while she was smashing Jellal's throne room barehanded. It was hard for him to hold back his emotions, 'I want her right now… Damn, Natsu, get a hold on yourself, remember the situation!' She was looking so sexy while so enraged…
Sin, on the other hand, sat on Natsu's shoulder, melancholically eyeing the rampaging dragon slayer. "Well, at least we may not worry about Etherion anymore…" Lil skeletal creature said.
"Agree, as much as I know about Etherion, here's more than enough lacrima to absorb its charge completely – all three billion Edeas of elemental energy…" Natsu said.
"But Natsu, are you sure that we're safe?" Sin inquired.
"Absolutely. This is the same method that they use in production of explosive lacrima spheres. Only much bigger." Natsu replied. "My only concern is that such an amount of magic can't be stable for long…"
"I'm sure Jellal is well aware of it as well," Erza commented. "When Etherion hits, he'll come to fight us himself. And then…" Boom! Another column was destroyed.
September 27, X784, 4:20, Magic council ERA.
"Eight in favor, one against. That will be all," Org summed up the results of the second voting. "The firing of Etherion upon the Tower of Paradise is hereby approved."
Yajima sighed and shook his head. After Sieg explained that Jellal is his twin-brother, the former member of team Makarov was the only one who voted against. "Yajima-sensei, you may find this difficult to accept… but you can at least see that we must not allow Zeref's revival, right?" Siegrain tried to explain himself.
"It is no longer my place to resist…" Yajima sighed heavily as he turned away from Sieg. "But I hope you are ready to take responsibility for the consequences, yes?"
"Of course, I will take full responsibility…" Siegrain assured him.
"I'm talking about people's lives here, Sieg!" Yajima shouted furiously. "All the lives that are about to be lost will be on your hands!" He yelled and left the hall.
"You'll have your answer soon enough…" Sieg said, looking at the old man scornfully.
"Etherion will be fired in one hour precisely!" One of the frog-servants shouted, running across the hall, "Everyone, make the preparations!"
September 27, X784, 4:25, Tower of Paradise
(With Gray and Simon)
"Damn, that guy is tough!" Simon exclaimed. He and Gray were fighting against Fukuro for about 40 minutes now, but still couldn't defeat him. Moreover, it seemed that he was actually just playing with them, constantly flying around with his rocket pack so Gray couldn't use his magic.
"What now?!" Gray exclaimed as the owl-man suddenly stopped and looked up. It seemed as if he's received some sort of telepathic message from Jellal.
"Whoo whoo! That was an interesting battle, but the time of judgment is upon us!" Fukuro announced. "I have to hurry and sacrifice the Titania in the name of justice!"
"Sacrifice Erza?!" Gray furiously shouted, readying his magic. "Shut the fuck up, punk! Aisu Meiku: Ransu! [Ice Make: Lance]" Gray created multiple lances made of ice and shot them toward Fakuro, who finally stopped flying around.
"Fire ho ho hou!" Fukuro chanted, slamming his fists together and sending a broad stream of bright red flame toward Gray.
"What?! Fire?!" Simon exclaimed, "He can use fire magic as well?!"
"Whoo whoo! During my previous job, I defeated the Rune Knight captain, Georco the Red Flame! And I can absorb the magic of those I've defeated!" Fukuro explained as his fire stream melted down all of Gray's lances.
"He defeated the Rune Knights captain?!" Simon shouted. "Gray, watch out!"
At this moment Fukuro's fire stream engulfed Gray himself. "Guuaaahhh!" Gray screamed in pain.
"Whoo whoo! Ice is useless in the face of fire!" Fukuro shouted, channeling more magic into his fire stream.
"Aaaagghhh! You… stupid… bastard…!" Gray screamed as he tried to cancel Fukuro's spell.
"Useless! You should know those Rune Knights are using very advanced spells!" Owl-man shouted.
"Guaaaahhh!" Gray screamed, remembering his interactions with Erza when she had just joined the guild. When she was always on her own. "Like hell you'll sacrifice anyone! Freeze!" In an instant the entire stream of Fukuro's fire turned into ice. Both the owl-man and Simon were shocked.
"He froze the flames?!" Simon couldn't believe his eyes.
"Hah… and you call this an 'advanced flame'?" Gray asked with a scornful smirk. He remembered the flames Erza was using before she discovered the true nature of her dragon lacrima. "Don't make me laugh… You're pathetic, just like your flames!" Gray's skin was burned all over but he was ready to continue the fight.
"Whoo whoo! Such splendid magical ability!" Fukuro exclaimed as he rushed toward Gray, using his rocket pack. "I think I have to capture you as well, just like that Rune Knight!"
"What the hell?!" Simon shouted as he saw that owl opened its mouth extremely wide. Because of Fukuro's great speed, Gray had no chance to dodge as the owl-man grabbed him and tried to swallow.
"Gray!" Simon screamed but before he could do anything Gray reached for Fukuro's rocket pack and froze one of its nozzles.
"WHOOOOO!" Fukuro wailed as he lost control of his flight. Eventually, he crashed into the ceiling and his rocket pack exploded, as Fukuro was forced to spit Gray out.
"You mindless bird! I have no time to be messing around here!" Gray growled as he continued to remember Erza's past, when she was just a lonely girl, unable to trust anyone, and always crying alone. 'We all are the members of Fairy Tail. And we all will return back home!' Gray thought as he rushed toward the still dazed Fukuro "Get the fuck out! Hyōjin: Nanarenbu! [Ice Blade: Seven Slice Dance]" Gray created a sharp blade made of ice on his arms and proceed to rapidly slash Fukuro seven times, five of which were individual strikes and the final two of which were a dual strike. With the last blow Fukuro was sent crashing into the tower's wall as he made a hole in it and fell down. "Never mess with Fairy Tail!" Gray announced his victory.
'Gray Fullbuster… He is far more powerful than the information I gathered suggested…' Simon thought, looking at Gray with a pleased smile. 'And it says that Erza and Natsu are even more powerful than him. Then maybe there's really nothing to worry about? Jellal's number goes up! You really found yourself a nice guild… Erza.'
"Ugh…" Gray moaned as his sight became blurry a little. He stood, panting, rubbing his head.
"Hey! Are you okay, man!?" Simon dashed to Gray's side.
"I'm fine…" Gray replied. "Just need a few seconds to catch my breath…" They stood for about one minute so Gray could recover. "Okay, we need to find our girls," Gray said, looking around.
"Okay, this way!" Simon exclaimed and they ran along the corridor. "Nice trick with the rocket pack…"
"Yeah… He was tough, but in the end he himself gave me an opening… greed…" Gray explained.
September 27, X784, 4:45, Magic council ERA.
"Target acquired! Adjusting spatial coordinates." The council's employees were talking through a broadcasting system, preparing the Etherion.
"The wavelength calibration is complicated by distortions, caused by the mountainous region. We can't hold the designated coordinates!"
"Increase the altitude a little more!"
"Magical charge at 47%!"
"Etherion system integration completed!"
"Thirty-four minutes remain until the firing of Etherion!"
"To think that we would be driven to a decision of this nature at a time like this, with the council chairman in such a bad health…" Org sighed. He still had many doubts about this decision.
"There was no choice," Michello replied. "Whilst the chairman is absent, full responsibility for maintaining order in the magical world falls to the remaining nine councilors," The cat-like old man said. "You shouldn't worry so much, Org. This may be an unannounced attack upon an independent nation, but situations such as this are provided for in article 27, clause 4 of the national security act."
"This is not about the petty legal implications…" Org said, shivering a little. "It's about people's lives… We're talking about deploying Etherion!"
"That Zeref is the devil incarnate," Michello stated. "We can but pray that this Etherion is enough to destroy him…"
At the other side of the hall Siegrain was watching the Etherion's preparation. "The time is almost upon us… Siegrain-sama…" Ultear said, approaching Siegrain from behind as Sieg looked at the satellite square. "The feelings you have concealed for these eight years are finally going to be released."
"Are you not afraid, Ultear?" He asked, still looking at Etherion.
"Not even a little," She replied. Too bad he couldn't see her malicious smile while she was talking with him. "After all, I have always trusted in you completely, Sieg-sama."
"Yes, I see… After all, it's not your life that's in danger here," He noted.
"Indeed," Ultear replied, still smiling maliciously.
"Personally, I find myself trembling a little. They are formidable enemies… If this plan fails – I'm most likely done for…"
'If we fail… he's done for? What he's talking about?' Yajima thought. He was hiding inside the column via some spell, listening to Ultear and Sieg's conversation.
"But this is worth putting my life on the line for…" Sieg said, unaware of Yajima's presence. "After all… this is my dream…"
"Quite…" Ultear nodded.
'Something's wrong here…' Yajima thought, still hiding and listening.
September 27, X784, 4:55, Tower of Paradise
"Twenty-nine minutes left…" Jellal said as he knocked down the owl's figure. "I guess I'll be saying goodbye to you too… Siegrain." He took out a clock figure from his pocket and looked at it, "I hope you'll play your part well, Ultear…" He noted and put it back into his pocket.
Mirajane was running along one of the tower's internal corridors. "Damn! Okay Mira, you have to admit it at least to yourself – you've gone astray!" She shouted at herself. She had no idea where to go and where her friends might be. She couldn't find Gray and Simon, or that bird that took them about an hour ago. Of course, she could fly on top of the tower, but… The last thing she wanted to do was to tell Erza that she has no idea where her team is… Moreover, how exactly could Erza or Natsu help her? Maybe they're fighting with that Jellal person right now…
Mira turned around the corner and noticed someone on the other side of the corridor. It was a woman, dressed in a white kimono with a burning skull pattern and traditional sandals with extremely high platform soles. In her hands she carried a large katana. "I am called Ikaruga. Greetings," She introduced herself.
"Fuck…" Mirajane gulped.
Spell List:
Eisei Mahōjin: Ēterion – Satellite Square: Etherion
Dākunesu Sutorīmu – Darkness Stream
Wōtā Suraisā – Water Slicer
Aisu Meiku: Hanmā – Ice Make: Hammer
Omōhanasu – Telepathy
Kuroi Geijutsu – Black Arts
Seikatsu Mahō – Living Magic
Raitei no Yoroi – Lightning Empress Armor
Teiku Ōbā: Satan Sōru – Take Over: Satan Soul
Yami Setsuna – Dark Moment
Aisu Meiku: Shīrudo – Ice Make: Shield
Suiryū Kōsoku – Water Lock
Rokku Obu Sakyubasu – Rock Of Succubus
Suiryū Retsuhen – Water Cane
Shierā – Sierra
Suiryū Gekiko – Water Jigsaw
Seireikai – Celestial Spirit World
Yunizon Reido – Unison Raid
Aisu Meiku: Ransu – Ice Make: Lance
Hyōjin: Nanarenbu – Ice Blade: Seven Slice Dance
Well, this is it people. Chapter eighteen has been completed. I hope it was enjoyable. 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 Sentence. Or in Halloween omake, if I'll get lucky…