Chapter 8

Mason rose floor after floor through the tower before coming to a stop. He was in a strange room. It was tall at least 5 stories. Just a cylindrical room filled with bridges each of which connected two different openings to two different rooms.

"This is the top of the tower…. Which means on of the Doors will take me to Jellal." Mason continued to look around back and forth across the room. There had to be at least fifty bridges, meaning there were one hundred rooms to choose from. "Oh great…."

As Mason stood idle, trying to figure where to begin, a strange projectile with a glowing yellow aura flew through the air and landed next to him at his feet. "What's this?" Mason bent down and on closer inspection it was a knife cloaked in a burning yellow aura. Mason continued to study the strange knife when suddenly.

KAAABOOOOOMMMMM! The knife erupted in a large fiery explosion that consumed Mason.

Mason lept into the air, and let his levitation carry him, a trail of smoke following. He landed on another bridge. "What the hell was that!?"

"Hey kid!" Mason looked up and his eyes were filled shock. An older man with messy gray hair that reached down to his shoulders and a spiky gray beard that reached down just as far and a eyepatch covering his left eye. "Long time no see." The bearded man smiled a gruesome smile.

"No way." Mason stepped back a bit, he still couldn't believe his eyes. "Head Captain Percival!?"


(Flashback, 4 years ago)

"What's going on?" A younger Mason now about 14 anxiously pressed his ear against the wall trying to listen to what's going on.

"Hush Lieutenant!" Brosnan snapped back with an angry whisper. Only a year older than the boy, at this point she was the Sixth Head Captain Of the Custody Enforcement Unit at the age of 15. She was also desperately trying to listen in on what was happening. "If I get in trouble for this, I swear you'll pay for it."

"What the hell do you two think you're doing?" The imposing voice of Tyson Hammer called out from behind the young girl. He was currently the second head captain.

"Uh, I Uh.." Brosnan got nervous and couldn't answer properly.

"Tyson." Mason spoke up. "What did the Captain Do? Why is he in trouble?"

Brosnan went pale now that her motives had been discovered.

"Huh…" Tyson sighed as he crossed his arms. "What do you think. He broke the rules. He was assigned to bring down a Dark Guild and take the Master in. But he killed the master and the council lost out on vital information."

"What's gonna happen to him?" Brosnan looked up almost crying.

"Oh that's right. Captain Percival is the one who brought you to us wasn't he." Tyson put a friendly hand on the young girls head and tried to comfort her. "I don't know… The Council has been looking to get rid of him for years now. They have never been fans of his rather unorthodox methods and this may just be excuse they needed to get rid of him."


(Inside the council room)

"Captain Percival, do you have anything to say for yourself regarding your latest actions." A man with a long, entricut grey beard and a classic wizards hat said. This was the Magic Council chairman Gran Doma.

Percival simply smiled and shrugged. "I thought he was stronger. If I knew he was such a weakling I probably would've held back a bit more. My bad."

"You dare make light of this situation! Intelligence leads us to believe that he had information regarding the Balam Alliance, the greatest threat to our way of life left on the planet. We do not regard your actions as a laughing matter." Gran Doma berated.

"Trust me." Percival replied sharply. "If the Balam Alliance trusts an idiot like that with important information than they're a bunch of idiots and we really shouldn't worry too much."

"I've had it with that attitude of yours!" Doma stood up from his large throne-like seat. "You may be a powerful wizard, but your recklessness and poor attitude are more of a hindrance than any help. I hereby Dishonourably Discharge you of duty. You are to be stripped of your rank of Captain and all affiliation you have with this council has now been dissolved. Now leave, you are never to return!" Doma waved his hand forward signalling the old mage to leave.


(Outside the council)

Percival exited the large wooden doors of the council room, not looking anyway saddened by what had just occurred in the other way.

"Captian! What's happened, what has the council ruled?" Tyson rushed up to meet his associate.

Percival looked up with with a smug grin. "Not captain anymore, so just call me Percival."

"No way…" Tyson lowered his head trying to cope. "You've been…"

"Dishonorably Discharged." Percival proudly pushed out his chest. "But you really shouldn't be so concerned. You've got plenty more to worry about Head Captain Hammer. If the stress ever gets too much for ya, just let me know. I know this joint on the outskirts of Hargeon. The waitresses are smokin, and the drinks aren't half bad either. Hahahaha!"

Tyson didn't laugh. He was still caught up in the sorrow of the moment. "But sir…"

"Enough with that sir crap. I'm not your commanding officer anymore." Percival put his hand on Tyson's massive shoulder. "We had some good times didn't we, but your the boss now. Set a good example." Percival gestured to the two children standing behind him, still taking everything in.

"Right." Tyson shaped up, before saluting his former captain. "You will be missed soldier. I hope you continue to make the most of what life gives you."

"Right back at you." Percival soluted back.

"Captain Percival!" Brosnan ran up and hugged the old soldier by the leg. "You can't just leave! You promised when I got big enough you'd let me fight you. I want you to be there to see me get strong!" Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"That's enough!" Percival scolded getting the girl to look up with dejected eyes. "Now you're the 5th Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit! Carry yourself as such! Imagine if the troops saw their captain crying like a child. From now on you have to make sure to be strong, never cry. They need to see their captain as strong, no matter what no matter when. You think you can handle that responsibility."

"Y-Yes sir." Brosnan wiped her tears away and stood strong. "Farewell sir!" She soluted.

Then Percival walked over to Mason who, looked upset but kept quiet. "What? You don't have any final words to say to me?"

"The council is a bunch a jerks…" Mason looked away as he said this.

"Yeah, they're jerks alright. But they make the rules and pay the bills. So it sucks but you gotta listen to them." Percival sighed as he put his hands on his hips. "But hey, look on the bright side. This makes you the Sixth Head Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit, so congrats kid. But I got one last order for ya. The council may be in charge, but don't let them tell you what to do." Percival smiled and Mason looked back confused. "Do their missions and whatever they ask, but think about it what self respecting Dragon would let a bunch of old losers boss them around?"

"You're right!" Mason stood proud.

"One more thing." Percival kneeled down and smiled at the boy, before turning both of their attentions to Brosnan. "She's acting strong because I told her to, but shes actually having a really hard time with all this. Now's your chance." Percival whispered. "Go swoop in and make her feel better. You do that and she'll be all yours."

"WAAAH!" Mason yelled as he squirmed away from the veteran, his face covered in a bright crimson blush. "What are you talking about!? Gross! It's not even like that!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Percival began to laugh from his belly, tearing up a bit. "Sure whatever you say kid..."


(End of Flashback)

"Did you forget already kid?" Percival smirked as he pulled out another knife from his black vest, charging it with yellow magic energy. "I ain't the captain anymore!" He threw the blade at Mason's feet, prompting the Dragon Slayer to jump to another bridge before the knife could explode again.

KAABBBBOOOOOOMM! One of the many bridges was shattered into millions of pieces.

"You'd think after all these years you and I would finally be on a first name basis." Percival pulled out another knife. "If you need to keep things professional than you can call me Master Percival. As in the Master of Death's Head Order." His dark grey eyes began to burn with malicious intent.

"Wait.. Death's Head Order.." Mason thought for a second, before he realized what was so familiar. "The Assassin's Guild. The council has been searching for them for the past two years. But every operative that's been sent out so far has gone missing."

"Yeah, I got so tired of that stupid blue symbol so that's what I've been aiming for every time I see one." Percival threw a knife, this time with no magic charge directly at Mason's chest, but the blade simply passed through the Dragon Slayer.

"But why? Why would you go and join a dark guild?" Mason asked, still hesitant to fight his old friend.

"I didn't join a Dark Guild, I made one. As for why, a Wizards gotta eat. Also I like to play to my strengths. You know how my Knife Magic works. I can charge these knives with various enchantments like that yellow one that makes them blow up." Percival pulls out another knife that began to radiate a violent red magic. "Or this red one that ups the pain you recieve if you get cut by it."

Percival throws the blade but once more it passes through Mason's body without harming him. "And you should remember how my magic works. Those knives won't hurt me you can fling as many as you want. They'll just pass right through me."

"Huh, I guess you're right. I forgot about that didn't I. That intangibility is gonna be a real problem for me." Percival grabbed another knife from behind his back and smiled menacingly. "Luckily I came prepared." He flung the blade forward and cloaked it in a veil of purple magic.

Mason stood pat, planning to let the blade phase through him once more. But it wouldn't be so easy this time. "AAHH!" Mason winced, he looked down to see the hilt of the throwing knife sticking from his stomach. Then a wave of purple energy rushed over him. "HHAAAHHHAAA!" The surge of energy was clearly painful, but it eventually subsided. "GRAAHH!" Mason pulled the blade from his side, it was cloaked with his blood. "What the hell did you do to me?.."

"That enchantment will keep you from becoming intangible for awhile." Percival pulled out another blade and charged it with the red pain magic. "Now let's have some fun."


(On a Magic Council ship, in the water around the tower of heaven)

"Take this…" Amber said in a small voice as she pointed her magic cannon-pistol out in front of her. "Obliterate." She fired an enormous blast of magic energy forward, destroying a mountain of floating debris. "Alright you can move forward." With that the ship slowly moved through the incredibly thick fog.

"Captain." Tyson addressed as he walked behind Brosnan who stood on the bow of the ship, not in her armor. " Even with Lahar's navigation skills it will take around an hour to pass through this fog and reach the tower."

"DAMNIT!" A frustrated brosnan summoned her massive armored gauntlet and used it to smash the railing she had been leaning against. "We need troops on the ground, NOW!"

"You're not gonna like this.." Tyson muttered to himself. Before sighing and speaking back up. "Sir! I received word from the council and it turns out we already have troops on the ground. Well… Troop. Sir."

"Who could have possibly gotten there…. before ...us….No!" Brosnan slowly came to realization, and started gritting her teeth. "That idiot! It would totally be like him to abandon his post and do something like this. I swear does he take anything seriously!?"

"He grew up here you know. He never talks about it, so there must be some pretty bad memories of this place. It's fitting that he'd be the one who went and took this place down." Tyson smiled, looking up where he believed the tower to be.

"Hmm.. Unfortunately for him, I don't intend to let him be the lone hero this time." Brosnan smiled as well. "Step on it. I gotta make sure we rain on that idiots parade!"


(Back in the tower)

"Ha!" Mason jumped up over the blade, before landing uncomfortably and grasping at the wound on his side. Mason looked up to the bridge that his old friend was standing on. "You want to fight!? Fine by me! PHANTOM DRAGON ROAR!" He let out a mouth full of purple phantoms that shattered Percival's bridge causing him to fall from his perch.

"Hehe! That's more like it!" Percival, mid fall, grabbed three blades in his fist and charged them with orange magic. "Take this kid!" He flung the blades before landing on another bridge. The blades became cloaked in flames and three fires balls made there way for Mason.

Mason lifted up his black cloak which caught all the knives in its fabric. He then leapt into the air and met Percival on his bridge. "PHANTOM DRAGON SHOT!" Mason shot out a blast of magic energy.

Percival grabbed a machete from the back of his vest and charged it with white magic energy. He then chopped the purple magic blast with the large knife and destroyed it. "Cancelation Magic. You're gonna have to try harder than that, you're boring me."

"Shut it! I don't have time for you." Mason charged two hands with magic energy. "PHANTOM DRAGON CANNON!" Mason blasted a massive amount of energy at the old mage who managed to block the enormous blast with his radiant white blade.

"Nice try kid but, AAHH!" Percival stopped mid sentence as Mason planted a magic charged foot into his stomach.

"PHANTOM DRAGON STRIKE!" Mason knocked the bearded man away, slamming him into the wall behind him.

"Ugh… Not bad. That's more like it." Percival pulled two more knives out and charged them with red pain magic. "How bout a bit of hand to hand."

Mason flattened out his hand like a blade and purple energy began to surge from his fingertips down to his elbow. "PHANTOM DRAGON'S BLADE CLAW! Fine, let's just get this over with. HAAHHH!" Mason charged forward stabbing his arm forward, but Percival weaved to the side and stabbed Mason in the back with the crimson blade. "AAAAHHHHHAAAAAHHHHH!" The pain coursed through his entire body, it was an intense burning pain. The shock from the attack caused Mason's attack to disappear.

"Hurts doesn't it?" Percival mocked as Mason dropped to his knees, before kicking him in the stomach while he was on the ground, sending him rolling into the corner. He began to charge a knife with the yellow explosive energy. "Time to die kid."

"NOO!" Mason's hand charged with purple energy and he slammed it into the ground, destroying the bridge beneath the both of them causing them to free fall.

Mason, using levitation caught himself, before preparing another attack. "PHANTOM DRAGON CANNON!" Mason sent an energy blast directly into the body of the falling Percival, causing him to crash through another bridge and onto the ground, three stories down. Mason followed after.

"Ugh… You know i'm disappointed in you son." Percival wiped his jaw of blood as he climbed back to his feet, relatively unscathed. "So much talent, yet you lower yourself to just another pawn of the Magic Council. A glorified errand boy. Go here, get this, do that. Thirty years of my life, what a waste. All that work and what do I get, a Dishonorable Discharge. They never cared about me, and they don't care about you. They sent you on a damn suicide mission, to come here! But you still follow them like a sheep. Imagine what Papa Dragon would say seeing his son's life taken from him by a bunch of stupid old wizards." Percival chucked another red blade at the Dragon Slayer who blocked it with a magic barrier.

"That's not true. The council didn't send me here. I came here myself! I need to find Jellal, I'll bring him to justice." Mason tried to stand strong, but his legs began shake. The fight to this point and dealing with the Dark mages earlier had severely depleted his magic reserves.

"Well, well. You surprise me kid. Glad to see you're not a total lost cause. Unfortunately your buddy Jellal is paying me a ton of jewel to keep punks like you from getting to him." Percival charged another red blade and readied himself to continue.

"Then I need to take you down.." Mason's fist charged with energy. "PHANTOM DRAGON SHOT!" This energy ball was a bit more loose and wobbly. Allowing Percival to easily knock it away.

"Wow. You're in worse shape than you look." Percival taunted as Mason charged forward, his leg cloaked in magic energy.

"PHANTOM DRAGON STRIKE!" Mason swung his leg forward, but Percival managed to dodge. Mason kept trying to land a blow, but Percival was always one step ahead. Fatigue began to set in on the Dragon Slayer and he eventually lost the strength to finish the attack.

Percival swung his knife for the Dragon Slayer, but Mason vanished in thin air. "PHANTOM DRAGON VANISHING FIST!" Mason appeared directly in front of the old wizard and fired a punch aimed for his face.

SMACK! Mason's fist was caught in Percivals hand, the punch was easily stopped. "Nice try, but looks like you're out of power…" Percival slammed his crimson red blade into Mason's arm.

"AAAAGGGGHHHH!" Mason screamed in pain as he dropped back to the ground. "DAMN IT!" Mason ripped the blade out of his arm, letting the blood seep out from his wound.

"Well game over boy." Percival slowly walked over to the grounded Dragon Slayer, blade in hand.

"Not yet!" Mason growled before he started to inhale. "WHHOOOOHHHH!" Purple streams of magic energy began to pour out of the wall and into his mouth. Slowly Mason's wounds began to close as he climbed back to his feet. "You know it's not really not fair." Mason mumbled to himself. "From what I can tell, Natsu likes the taste of flames. But for me it's disgusting. I eat evil and sin, just pure negative energy and this tower is full of it. But it's slimy and bitter and cold. But god." Mason looked up, his eyes shining a bright purple. "It feels so good!"


(End)