Chapter 7
Night turns to day as we find the ship carrying heroes entering port at the infamous Tower of Heaven…
"Well, gang. We made it. Home sweet home." Wally said, still in character. "Who should receive the honor of tell the boss that our mission was a success?"
"Ooo! Me! I wanna tell the boss!" Millianna jumped up and waved her arms, hoping to be picked.
"I'll do it." Simon said, stoic as ever. "I need to take responsibility and own up to killing our brother. He and Jellal were close once, I'm sure news of his death would be displeasing."
"Awh… You're gonna make me tear up…" Mason's disembodied voice came over the ship, before he manifested himself out of thin air. "But saying I'm dead would be a bit of an exaggeration." Mason grinned.
"What the hell! The Wise Guy tricked us!" Wally quickly summoned his arm cannon, but Mason moved like a blur leaping into the air. "You think you're smart!? I can hit you even if you are in the air!" Wally pointed his gun up above him and fired a bullet of light at Mason.
The Dragon Slayer was done played around, he turned back to face the attack his red eyes burning intensely. "PHANTOM DRAGON ROAR!" Mason let rip a swarm of spiraling phantoms that consumed Wally's attack and went on to smash a hole directly through the center of ship.
"My ride…." Wally looked on as the boat began taking on water and slowly began to sink down into the ocean below.
Mason meanwhile continued to fly through the air, until he landed on the side of the tower that once served as his home. "GRRRR! AAHHH!" Mason smashed open the wall and entered the tower along with a cloud of smoke and dust.
"HALT!" A group of dark mages had gathered to meet the intruder, but they were ill prepared for what they were about to face. Mason rose from the ground, his body concealed by smoke only his silhouette and two piercing red eyes could be made out through the clouds.
"Where the hell is Jellal!" Mason growled.
"Why would we tell you anything? Men prepared to fire." The head mage said with a wave of his staff.
"That's too bad. I don't have time for this." Mason replied and a purple light began to shine through the smoke. "PHANTOM DRAGON CANNON!" The energy blast barreled through the crowd of mages knocking at least a dozen of them away And robbing them of conciousness.
"He's, a monster!" A thug called out. "AAAAHHHHH!" He cried as a knee planted itself in his face, K'Oing him.
"Outta the way…" Mason threatened as he continued to stop his way through the cursed tower.
(Flashback)
"Mason! You're here!" Erza cried out in relief but she was swiftly shushed by th the Dragon Slayer.
"SShhhhh… You have to be quiet." Mason whispered, then using a bit more telekinesis, he freed Erza from her bindings. "If you want to leave, now's your chance to jump ship. We are approaching the tower."
"Wait, what about you." Erza whispered back, her voice flooded with concern. " Don't tell me you plan on staying."
"I have to." Mason's eyes burned with fierce passion. "I'm going to defeat Jellal before anyone else gets hurt. And I'm gonna do it alone!"
"What!? Are you kidding? There's no way you can beat him by yourself." Erza pleaded as Mason's fist began to shake.
"I'm stronger than you think. Natsu was right, I was holding back in our fight." Mason started grinding his teeth, he hated the thought but to defeat Jellal he might need to use Drive. "If I have to, there's a whole other level of power I have at my disposal."
"The Drive technique? Is that your trump card?" Erza answered sounding less than impressed. "The Master told me about it. A magic amplification spell like no other he's seen before. But you can't beat Jellal by just powering up. He's too much for you alone."
"Grrrr….. You think too highly of him!" Mason growled and his eyes flashed purple. Millianna's magic Rope then wrapped itself back around Erza, this time covering her mouth. "I don't really care what you think."
"HMMM! MMMMMMFFFF!" The Redhead struggled, unable to speak.
"Sorry but Simon said that you're important to his little plan, and I have nothing against having a back up plan ready. But I get first crack at him and don't you forget that." Mason crouched down and glared at Erza in an attempt to intimidate her.
"Uh… What happened?" Sho grunted as he began to awaken. With that Mason once again disappeared from sight.
(End of Flashback)
'Sorry Erza…' Mason said as he blasted another henchmen away. 'But I meant it. Jellal is mine.'
(Meanwhile)
A small dingy carrying some familiar faces drifted through the sea, not too far behind.
"Ugghhh…. Are we there yet!" A sickly Natsu wailed.
"Geez man. Pull yourself together, will ya?" A shirtless Gray facepalmed.
"Quit disappointing Gray-sama!" A Blue haired woman growled. This was Juvia Lockser, a powerful water mage. Once a member of Phantom Lords elite Element four.
"Hey guys…" Lucy, who was steering the small boat called out in a frightened voice. "I think the tower is exploding…"
The four wizards crowded the front of the boat, shielding their eyes to get a better look. Part of the tower was indeed smoking, and suddenly another explosion erupted on the opposite side of the building.
"Whoa! There's something crazy going on in there!" Gray yelled out startled.
"It's too dangerous for you Gray-sama. I suggest we retreat." Juvia replied now in serious mode.
"Ha!" Natsu smiled, now apparently recovered from his motion sickness. "It's pretty obvious what's going on in their, don't you recognize it. There's a Dragon Slayer on a rampage. Now hurry! He's already got a head start!" Natsu pointed for the tower in an impatient spasm. "Come on! Let's get going!"
(At the magic council headquarters Women's locker room)
The sound of water running from a faucet. Could be heard as two women entered the washroom. Julia Moors and Amber Celadon two of the Head Captains of the Custody Enforcement Unit entered the room wearing nothing but towels, chatting amongst themselves.
"Man, today's training was super intense…" Julia said entering one of the stall-like showers, closing the door and hanging her towel up on top. She then turned on the shower, letting the warm, calming water cascade over her face and down her light blonde hair. "I definitely needed this."
"Yeah… Water is nice." The ever quiet Amber said, repeating Ambers shower process. "My arms are tired."
"Well you should probably get used to it. I know that the boss has never been much for relaxation and happiness, but she's been in a real crappy mood recently." Julia complained as she ran a washcloth down her long smooth legs. "You know what it is right?"
"Hormones?" Amber replied with an unintentionally smart toungue.
"Well, close. She's just sad that her Boyfriend ran off to join the circus." Julia snickered. "Oh that's right, they aren't dating because the boss is afraid she's gonna get rejected so she won't say how she feels."
"Care to rephrase that…" A cross voice and An eerily frightening arua began to seep from the shower next o Julia's. Causing the green eyed girl to start sweating.
"Uh… Boss… Hi, I didn't see you come in." Julia began to shake.
"Well that's because I was here before you. I was about to get out when I heard the two of you having a rather interesting conversation." Brosnan stood back crossing her arms over her chest, she maintained a calm expression but it was clear that she was upset. "Julia if you had a problem with the training routine, you should've told me directly rather than starting ridiculous rumors. For that I'll have a few extra exercises planned for you tomorrow."
"Uh… Yes Ma'am…" Julia nearly dropped to her knees in sorrow.
"So you don't like Mason-san?" Amber asked, not reading th mood.
"What!" The Light Wizard began to blush at the mention of his name. "Of course I don't like him. He's stupid and Irresponsible. Not to mention a total pervert!" She got louder the longer she spoke of him. "I'm getting out!" She said slamming the shower door open, her body wrapped in the towel. The other two girls followed quickly after her.
The women were in the middle of getting dressed the had just put on their underwear. Amber and Brosnan hand similar choices of monochromatic (light blue and pink respectively) cotton sets that left plenty to the imagination. It was an appropriate choice for Amber, but it may be a bit childish for the 19 year old captain. Julia meanwhile selected a much more mature choice, black lace nearly see through in places contrasting her silky smooth white skin.
They were in the midst of changing when Amber decided to continue the conversation. "Because I like Mason-san." The young girl said without shame.
"What!" Brosnan jumped back, she clearly wasn't prepared for that question. Julia struggled to keep back a chuckle.
"He's funny, and nice. I came here after my mom died and he was very nice and tried to make me smile. He's like my big brother." Amber said, her expression remained dull not matching her words.
"Oh… That's what you meant." Brosnan let out a relieved sigh. "I admit, Mason is a good person. He's nice… to everyone."
"I miss him." Amber continued. "When is he gonna come back."
"I'm sure he'll get bored playing babysitter soon enough, I don't think it'll long." Brosnan said confidently.
"Are you sure about that." Julia antagonized. "He's got plenty to keep him preoccupied in fairy tail."
"What is that supposed to mean." Brosnan called her out, picking up on the subtext Julia was hinting at.
"I'm just saying everything I've heard about the fairy tail guild is that despite the craziness, there's a lot of appeal there. Especially the women. One of the Wizards there is the centerfold for sourcerer weekly. And all the stories involving Titania say that she is incredibly ruthless but also captivatingly beautiful. One of those fairies may catch his eye." Julia smirked, she was clearly having fun taunting the captain.
"But Mason's an idiot so I don't think there's a lot to worry about." Brosnan was fast to respond.
"So when Mason-san does come back are you gonna marry him and have babies." Amber said with a straight face.
Brosnan couldn't answer she just started to shake as Julia busted out laughing. "Pffffttt! HAHAHAHAAHA! Well…" Julia wiped a tear from her cheek. "Aren't you gonna answer her?"
"Uh… ummm…" Brosnan began to shake nervously as she fumbled to find her words, luckily she was about to get an out.
"Head Captain!" A man with glasses and a black ponytail slammed the door open. "We've been summoned… by… the….council….." The man slowly realized the state of dress that he had found the women in and he could help his eyes as he took in their curves and figures. "Sorry!" He quickly slammed the door shut.
"Grrrr…. LAHAR!" Brosnan summoned her massive blade to her hand and stabbed it through the dressing room door. "DIE PERVERT!"
"Hahhhhh! I said sorry!"
(Magic council, at Era)
"Are you saying that it still exists? Impossible!" A magic council blurted out, Uh able to believe his eyes as the screen of the magic council revealed the tower of heaven fully constructed.
"About a decade ago a year ago construction began on the R-System." Another magic council men replied giving a name to the structure. "Built by a cult of Black Magic users."
"But we destroyed all seven towers, there shouldn't be any left!" A third council men replied in confusion.
"Evidently we missed one, The eighth Tower. In the waters near Ka-El." Another member of the council, this time a woman and seemingly the most level headed speaker so far addressed the situation. "The surveillance team we sent disappeared after recording these images. We sent a more advanced team to investigate but we don't know if we'll receive any more results."
"Is it finished?"
"It looks finished to me." A young woman, the Magic Council's beautiful Ultear replied with we sharp tongue.
"But why would someone want to revive the R-System." An older council men with cat ears and a large orange mustache asked.
"The tower of heaven." The council shifted their attention to a young man who resembled Jellal almost identically. This was Jellal's twin brother Siegrain. "It's not the R-System, it's the tower of Heaven. To be clear."
"It doesn't matter what it's called! It uses black magic and must be stopped, imagine if word of it got out to the public."
"Then I suggest we despatch the military." The older council woman spoke back up.
"That's not an option." An odd looking council men with a bowl hair cut and sunglasses replied. "We have no idea what we're dealing with, we'd be sending our soldiers in blind. All we know is that it's maned by a group of wizards led by a man named Jellal."
"What Jellal!? Siegrain isn't that your twin brother!?"
Siegrain looked up at the council with Dejected eyes. "Yes that would be him… But that doesn't matter, now is the time for action!" Jellal rose his voice for the council. "We must use the Satellite Square to Fire an Etherion Blast and destroy the Tower!"
Ultear was quick to back Siegrain. "The R-System is forbidden magic that we cannot allow to become part of our recorded history, so it must be destroyed."
"No way! Any civilians in the tower will be obliterated!" A voice of concern rose from the council. "Not to mention your brother Siegrain, he'd surely be killed. Could you live with that!?"
"For the sake of others I could." The blue haired man replied calmly.
"Although lives of innocent civilians may be lost its a sacrifice that must be made. For the greater good." The odd looking council argued.
"How could you even say that, imagine how we would be vilified for this!"
"For the sake of future generations I would easily sacrifice my reputation." The woman council member argued. "For the sake of the value of life, the Tower must be destroyed. I vote in favor of an Etherion Blast."
"We only need one more." Siegrain said with a grin.
(Later, back at the tower of heaven)
Mason had pinned another Dark Mage down and held an energy ball to his head. "Well, how about you. Are you gonn tell me where Jellal is? Your friends refused, and just looked how that turned out." He nodded over to a trail of beaten and bruised mages.
"No way! He promised to get us all into heaven." The dark mage, sounding a bit younger than the rest answered. "I'd rather die than betray lord Jellal."
"Hmmm… Suit yourself." Mason brought the energy ball closer but then a familiar smell entered his nostrils. "Natsu?" Mason punched the dark mage in the stomach knocking him unconscious. "Damn it, I've wasted too much time. Natsu you're crazy if you think you're stealing this kill. I called dibs." Mason sniffed the air one last time, but couldn't locate the scent he wanted. "Crap. I can't pick up his scent anywhere. Damn it Jellal! Where the hell are you!"
"Greetings mages, I welcome you to the tower of heaven.." A familiar voice rang over the towers intercom system.
"JELLAL!" Mason growled.
"I am Jellal and I am the ruler of the tower." The maniac continued. "It looks like the players have been arranged. I'm delighted that you all have come to visit me, I would like for all of us to play a round of heavens game. The rules are quite simple I wish to use Erza as my sacrifice and if I'm victorious than the gates of heaven will open to crown me. To make things more interesting I have enlisted four knights as my champions. You must defeat them to get to me. A four on nine battle royal. But that's not all, the Magic Council has aimed the Satelite Square at us and are currently voting on whether or not to fire an Etherion Blast. If that happens then there will be no winners."
Jellal's voice stopped playing, leaving Mason to stew in this new information. "A game!? He wants to turn this all into a game!?" The Phantom Dragon Slayer smiled. "Sounds fun. But I gotta see if I can do something about that Etherion Blast." A magic circle formed by Mason's ear and he began to speak into it.
(Magical Council at Era)
Another purple magic circle opened at the center of the magic council room. "Uh, hello." Mason's voice emerged form the circle. "This is Captain Mason Alastor, I managed to infiltrate the Tower Of Heaven…"
"WHAT!" The entire council erupted in confusion.
"Captain Alastor." A neared councilmen took the reins. "I thought you had been assigned an observation job, how did you manage to infiltrate the R-System?"
"Well I was in the neighborhood so I decided to stop by." The council began to nervously sweat at the clear sarcasm demosntrated by the captain in such a dire situation. "It doesn't matter how I got here, the point is that I'm in position and intend to take down Jellal on my own. I'm hoping you could hold back on that Etherion Blast."
This got Siegrain in a bit of a panic, not wanting to lose the crowd he began to plead with the soldier. "Captain Alastor, this is Siegrain and I plead that you reconsider. You more than anyone should know how dangerous it would be to leave the tower standing. We can't risk the fate of the world on the chance that you can defeat my brother."
"Sir Siegrain. I completely agree with you. I don't wish for you to cancel the Etherion Blast. If I fail, you must destroy the tower. But please all I ask is you give me one hour, if I cannot defeat Jellal by then you should fire." Mason reasoned.
"One hour." Siegrain relented. "That's all we can give you. Good luck captain."
(Back in the Tower Of Heaven)
The council hung up. "Alright, one hour. I can manage that." Mason looked up at the ceiling. "If it's supposed to be a game then the goal is to get to the end. The bottom is the beginning so that must mean Jellal is at the top." Mason began to float of the grown for a split second before rocketing upwards, using his intangibility to phase through the floors for a fast ascent. "Jellal! I'm coming for you!"
(End)
