Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Fate Stay Night, any resemblance to any other Fairy Tail or Fate Stay Night fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please, constructive criticism only.
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After storming the tower, the team had found a dining area and was now sat at a large table filled with food. While they had been entering they heard a loud blast like an explosion, but decided to leave it for later. Right now Gray, and Natsu were stuffing their faces with food while Juvia was eating at a slower pace, Lucy had pulled out a special wine from her treasury that was now cleaning out the rest of the drug from her system.
"The door that welcomed us in, was controlled by a magic user…" Juvia said.
"So naturally they know we're here." Lucy sighed closing her eyes as mind became clearer.
"You think they're trying to provoke us?" Gray asked through a bread roll.
"Perhaps." Lucy said before opening her eyes and looking towards the ceiling. "I am certain of one thing though, there is a Heroic Spirit reincarnate at the top of this tower. Now that I know to look for them it's easier to sense them when they're nearby, I bet he can feel my presence as well."
"A heroic spirit? Then you are like Minerva, you possess a Noble Phantasm." Juvia stated.
"I am the original hero, all others that come after me are nothing but imitations." Lucy clarified "But you are correct, she is a reincarnate like myself."
"I see, then we had best leave battling him to Lucy." Juvia said with a resigned look.
"What? But I want a shot at him!" Natsu cried lightning a fist on fire.
"You do not understand, Minerva was very powerful." Juvia cried "Once, myself, Minerva and Gajeel were sent on an S class mission together, the problem was that one our opponent happened to be a Wizard Saint."
"A Wizard Saint, you guys fought one of them?" Gray gasped in disbelief.
"Yes, but not by choice." Juvia sighed. "His name was Iron Rock Jura and he crushed Gajeel and myself, we could barely touch him. Then Minerva used that strange microphone lance of hers and began singing. It was the most horrible noise I've ever heard; the whole town we were in was shaken apart by the sheer sound alone. By the time she was done and we opened our eyes, the wizard saint was on the ground unconscious."
"Unsurprising, a normal mongrel would have no defence against a Noble Phantasm." Lucy stated "Unless they had some high level of defensive magic."
"She is very childish in terms of personality but also rather sadistic. There are rumours that when female members of Phantom Lord stepped out line Master Jose would send them to Minerva, the ones which came back were never the same afterwards. I believe Gajeel described her most accurately as a 'Vindictive Spiteful little brat'. Although this was because during the aforementioned incident Gajeel was awake for her defeat of the Wizard Saint. She sung with a voice so terrible that the Wizard Saint went down after only a few seconds, she kept going but knew that Gajeel was awake for her 'performance'. he likened it to the shrieking of a thousand strangled demonic cats."
"Wait hold on." Natsu interrupted "What do you mean by 'the ones who came back'?"
"There were some girls who were sent to her, without family, friends or anyone who would miss them who never came back from Minerva's punishments." Juvia stated shivering at the memory. "And when these disappearances took place, Gajeel often commented that she smelt heavily of blood."
"Then why wasn't she arrested!" Gray demanded.
"Because there was simply no proof." Juvia answered holding back a shrug. "The smell of blood could be passed off as the result of a mission, and as for the ones who came back they were far too frightened to even speak about what was done to them. Add to that the fact that after her real parents died and she was adopted by her current father she inherited the title of duchess amongst Fiore's nobility…"
"Without any hard proof the Magic Council won't even investigate a member of the nobility." Lucy sighed folding her arms.
"The intruders, we've found them!" The meal was interrupted by a bunch of guards bursting in and charging them.
However, before they could even reach them the guards were blown into a wall and powerful gust of air like small hurricane, leaving imprints of them on the wall as fell unconscious.
The perpetrator was none other than...
"Erza!" Gray and Natsu said her name in unison.
"It's you! What are you doing inside the Tower?" Erza asked in disbelief at their presence.
"We came for you obviously." Lucy said with a smile.
"We haven't met, I'm Juvia – !"
"Go home! This place is far too dangerous." Erza snapped causing Juvia to flinch.
"You're not gonna scare me into leaving," Natsu proclaimed punching his fist into his hand. "I ain't going anywhere till that Blockhead gets a taste of my fist. I'm gonna make him pay for shooting me in the mouth."
"You have to go." Erza insisted leaning against the wall but trying to look strong.
"Your friends kidnapped Happy! I can't leave here without him!" Natsu growled.
"Then he's with Millianna."
"Well this means war!"
"Who are you declaring war against?" Gray asked sweat dropping
"The jerk that kidnapped my little buddy!" Natsu yelled as ran off to try and rescue Happy.
"And there he goes." Lucy chuckled before withdrawing a small hand mirror from the Gate of Babylon and showing Erza her own reflection. "By the way, I like the colour of your eyes."
"Natsu-Gah!" Erza saw the deep green shade of eyes and fell to her knees and as pain lanced through her head again.
"Erza, are you alright?" Gray yelled going up to Erza and try to see if she ok.
"That blast of air, and the explosion from earlier, ah you're losing control aren't you?" Lucy asked rhetorically with a Cheshire cat like grin on her face. "Some has happened and now the memories you have supressed for so long are erupting to the surface and with it, the powers you had as a heroic spirit."
"How did they do this to you?" Gray asked with concern
"Memory….Lacrima…AGH!" Erza cried out in pain again.
"A memory lacrima? My my that someone really wants you to remember your past." Lucy stated.
"What do you mean?"
"Memory Lacrima are a fairly new invention." Juvia said answering the question. "They are used primarily for people with memory issue's such as amnesiacs, people with brain damage and who need help confronting and dealing with surpassed traumatic memories. They prohibitively expensive because they must be tailored to the individual they are to be used upon."
"So whoever commissioned this lacrima must very much want you to have your old powers back." Lucy stated folding her arms, so that confirms it whoever is at the top of this tower must be a heroic spirit only they would be so bold as to face another heroic spirit with their powers.
"Look, I promise I'll bring Natsu and Happy both back to the guild with me, but you three need to leave immediately." Erza demanded, she glared as Lucy approached her and got closer to her ear, numerous portals opened up behind her, Noble Phantasms aimed at her from each one.
"Shyness has left you at a loss for words I see, that's fine you may answer wrongly as many times as you like. If you would learn the joy of serving me then you must learn the exquisite pain of it as well."
Erza screamed in pain which brought her to her knees. The words triggered a memory. The Fourth Holy Grail War, victory was within her grasp and then…
"In the name of Kiritsugu Emiya and by my Command Seal." Kiritsugu's voice echoed as a vision of him holding up his hand and preparing the Command Seal.
'Give me the Holy Grail.' Were her hopeful thoughts of the past.
"I order you, use your Noble Phantasm…..destroy the Grail." The order that despite learning of why it was necessary later on, cemented her hatred of the man known as the Magus Killer.
"If mere buzzwords like that can bring you to your knees then you don't stand a chance on your own within this tower." Lucy sighed closing the Gate of Babylon.
"This….d-doesn't in-involve you!" Erza gasped trying to get a grip on the intruding memories but still unable to stand.
"We're already involved and we're not leaving." Lucy told her. "SO just give up already and explain to us about this tower."
Erza took several deep breaths, before staring at them and finally giving in.
"This building is the Tower of Heaven, it's also called the R-System." Erza said.
"The R system. I've read about it." Lucy mumbled.
"Over a decade ago a cult dedicated to black magic began its construction. It would be used to cast a forbidden spell that brings the dead back to life," she took a deep breath, "The smell required multiple human sacrifices, so the cult abducted citizens from the surrounding areas and forced them to build the tower as their slaves. I know this because I was one of those slaves." Erza explained reluctantly recalling her time as a slave "Anyone who dared to resist the cult or tried to escape the tower would mysteriously disappear. We never had any peace of mind, we lived in constant fear. But we bonded and made friends we could trust, despite that. Even though we knew we wouldn't be together long. One of my friends in the tower was a boy named Jellal…"
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[Tower of Heaven, X776]
"Erza!" The Scarlet haired young girl trembled, attached to pillar. Tear trails stained her face as Jellal ran to free her.
"Your eye…" Jellal gasped as she fell into his arms after he freed her. "They've gone too far this time, what she do to deserve this? What did any of us do?!"
"Jellal?" Tears fell from the single eye as she finally began to open her eyes, she stared blankly at the boy holding her against his chest.
"That's right, it's me. You'll be safe now I'm here with you."
"B-but how will we get out?" Erza asked as he draped Erza's arm across his shoulders and began to drag her with him, through the hallway and past the guards and dogs he defeated to rescue her. "Well there's no turning back now, we're gonna have to fight."
"We have to fight?" Jellal nodded in confirmation.
All of a sudden the hallway filled with four red magic seals surrounding them, out them corpse like creatures with metal plates on their faces appeared.
"Get lost!" Jellal yelled grabbing hold of the large sword he taken from the guards.
As it was grasped it the sword was permeated with his magic energy. It slowly changed and looked as if it was tainted with a black colour, blood red lines invaded the sword and multiplied like the veins on a leaf.
Mere magically conjured soldiers were no match for sword that had become a Noble Phantasm, even if it was only temporary and they were swiftly cut down.
"But what if I fail, like those times in the past?" Erza whimpered.
"Listen, you won't fail." Jellal stated looking at her with certainty. "I know those nightmares have made too afraid draw your Noble Phantasm. So until you get the courage, you can borrow one of mine."
Jellal put down the sword took Erza's hands into his own. A red flow enveloped Jellal and followed through his hands into Erza. She felt a power taking root and settling deep within her.
"But what about you?" Erza asked with worry.
"Don't worry, I finally have the magic power to use this!" In Jellal's hands was a sword similar in design to the one she couldn't draw, the fairy letters carved into it were proof that it had not been forged by mortal hands. The way the light shone off of it was like the water of the lake, shining with radiance. Arondight: The Unfading Light of the Lake, a holy sword turned demonic by the deeds of its owner in his previous life. But even so, the light that shone off it gave Erza feeling of safety and hope.
*BANG*
The sound of something hard hitting flesh echoed through the hallway. Arondight faded back to nonexistence as Jellal fell to the ground. Erza saw a small glass sphere quickly retreat into the shadows just as guards came, crushing her hope once again.
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Back in the cells the others were worried. Jellal had been gone for a long time since going to rescue Erza.
"I hope sister is alright…" Shō muttered worriedly.
"Grandpa Rob, you came back from punishment alive, you think she'll be okay?" Simon asked the old man who shared their cell.
"She's going to be fine. They can torture her all day and night, but they'll never be able to take her soul away from her."
"What do you mean by that?" Simon asked confused.
"Get in!"
The small group turned around to see thrown inside. Simon rushed to the red haired girls side, her arms and legs bandaged up.
"Wait where's Jellal?!" Simon asked seeing that her would-be rescuer was missing.
"Don't upset her anymore." Grandpa Rob told them. "We should be glad that's returned alive, they have most likely chosen to keep him in her place, but he is strong he won't falter to likes of them."
"I-I can't take it," Shō said beginning to cry as he started to break down.
"Quit your crying, kid," The guard who had come into their cell demanded.
"We're gonna have to fight…" Erza's eye widened and as Jellal's voice echoed in her mind.
Her eyes widened as fury overtook her, grabbing one of the shovels that the guards had brought with them, it became black and red veins spider webbed across it. In a swift motion the shovel shattered the guard's staff and sent him flying out the cell.
"Find a weapon!" Erza yelled running out her cell and looking at everyone. "We can't escape and they're not going to set us free. So if we want out of here, we'll have to fight! For our lives, for our freedom!"
Everyone let out a loud cheer.
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"So we took a stand for our freedom, we hoped to save our dear friend Jellal," Erza explained the pain in her head subsiding as she pulled herself to her feet. "He was like the leader of our group back then. He was a good and loyal friend, almost like he was trying to atone for something. But something happened to him, he fell under some sort of spell that made him into a different person."
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"Annoying little brat!" A guard lunged at Erza and with a mighty swing destroyed the shovel she had been using as a weapon with a great blast of magic energy.
"There are more coming!" Sho cried pointing down the hall where another contingent of guards was charging.
"You're all done for now!" The guard boasted. "Your leader has no weapon and reinforcements are here….what the!?"
The guard was cut off as Erza held something invisible to his throat, no not invisible more like the wind was sheathing something. Suddenly it burst apart revealing a golden hilted sword with fairy lettering inscribed on the blade. It was clearly not the work of any human.
"What is that-Gah!" The Guard was cut off as Erza roughly kicked him backwards to the group of charging guards who had halted upon seeing the sword.
"Is that a magic sword?" Another asked.
"Where did that brat get it from?!"
A golden light began to envelop the sword of promised victory blinding all who were looking at it.
'Jellal I did it.' Erza thought to herself as the light grew larger and more intense. "EX-" she swung the sword down. "CALIBUR!"
With that single incantation the Sword of Promised Victory awoke and unleashed its power, the golden light mowing down all the guards foolish enough to stand against it, and blasting a large hole in the side of the Tower, letting the sunlight in.
'I knew you could do it my king.' Rob thought fondly as old memories of glories began to surface upon looking at the fading golden light.
When the light had finally died away, not even ashes were left of the guards who had come to put the rebellion down. Erza fell to her knees as exhaustion took her over she fell to sleep.
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After a short rest Erza awoke, the urgency of the situation snapping her to attention.
"We have to free everyone in sector eight next." Erza commanded after waking up from her nap to find the other's fortifying their position. "Come on we can do it!"
"No we can't! We could never take down all those guards!" Simon argued.
"We have to… that's the only way we'll be able to save Jellal…"
"I guess she's into him, sorry old buddy." Wally said leaning on Simon's shoulder, causing him to blush in response.
"Erza, do you have a crush on Jellal?" Simon asked.
"What? Why would you ask me something like that right now?" Erza yelled her face turning o red with embarrassment. "We – we need to focus."
"Sorry, but I just wanted to make sure because – " Simon was cut off as an explosion sent him and Erza flying.
"Where'd that come from?!" Wally yelled looking from the source.
"Look up there!" Millianna pointed upwards to see magic soldiers closing in from above.
"Magic Soldiers!"
"Simon!" Erza crawled over to him and rolled him over. "He's hurt!"
"I may not have much magic left, but I have enough to use it one more time." Rob declared moving in front of everyone. "And that is more than enough to protect my friends! I will not let you take the life of an innocent!"
As the magic soldiers released the blasts of magic power they had been charging Rob raised his right arm.
"Lord Camelot!" As Rob yelled this a shield appeared on his arm, it was a black round wooden shield with a large metal cross bigger than the wooden part attached to the front.
The magic blasts impacted the shield and were bounced off it destroying the magic soldiers. Even so, Rob's strength began to fade and he fell to his knees, the shield however held.
"Gala-had?"
"I'm glad you remember me my king." Rob said with a smile. "To be honest, I sensed your presence in this world and came here to rescue you, but I was ambushed and my magic energy drained. Without it I couldn't summon my Noble Phantasm or even fight back. But now that I'm free I was able to gather enough power to use it one more time. Unfortunately, I'm too old to survive magic depletion now."
Tears rolled down her cheeks as he blocked the shots fired from another contingent of guards who came in and tried to subdue them, the shots were again repelled killing the guards. However now that his magic energy had run dry the Noble Phantasm dissolved, fading away.
"I'm so sorry." Rob apologised as he fell to the ground and began going paler. "I found the Holy Grail and returned it to heavens. But when I tried to save you, let thugs these beat me and keep you here. Can you ever forgive me my King?"
"There's nothing to forgive Galahad." Erza said tears falling from her face and landing on Rob's own. "Just please don't go!"
"I'm proud to have been able to serve you one more time." Rob said with a smile as his life began rapidly fading "May I be so bold as to ask a favour?"
"Anything, just don't die." Erza pleaded.
"When you are free, please go to Fairy Tail and tell Makarov that I'm sorry I was unable to return. I made good friends there and even met people I would call family, even if the guild is not for you can you give it a try I think you'll like it there." Rob's eyes began to close.
"Galahad wait!" Erza cried out and in her hands appeared a scabbard made of gold and decorated with blue enamel and Fairy Letters inscribed on it. Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia a sheath with healing powers unmatched. "Avalon please!"
She shoved the scabbard into Rob's arms but nothing happened. His eyes did not open, no glow came from the magic scabbard, no indication that Avalon was doing anything at all. The light that was the life force of Rob, the reincarnation of the knight Sir Galahad had left this world and Avalon could not resurrect the dead.
"NOOOOOO!" Erza let out a scream of despair from deep within, even as Avalon vanished.
"He's really gone." Simon said beginning to cry.
"Grandpa Rob, no!" Millianna cried.
"We can't let them get away with this." Erza said wiping her tears and standing up, Excalibur materialising in her hand. "Come on, we have to fight for our freedom!"
All of the slaves let out a cheer, raising their own weapons, fully prepared to fight or die.
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Meanwhile in the room where Erza had been previously held two of the guards were talking.
"They're revolting!" the fat guard stated. "What are we gonna do?"
"Run for it!" The skinny one said.
They both ran towards the door before freezing. Erza was there and was walking at a slow pace towards them.
"Now let's not do anything hasty."
"It's not our fault we were just following orders."
"Get out of my way!" Erza slashed the two easily sending to the ground.
"I'm here to save you!" Erza sad running to Jellal and cutting him free. "Everything's okay, we're safe now."
"Come on, Wally found some boats." Erza said pulling Jellal up. "He's waiting for us. We're free, we can go now."
"There's no reason for you to leave the tower." Jellal stated putting one arm around her "Because true freedom is right here with me."
"But I thought you wanted to get out of here too! This is our chance at freedom!"
"Don't you see, there's no freedom in this world…" Jellal said as a reddish smoke began rising from out of skin his tone filling hate. "Those fools who built this tower may not hold you prisoner anymore, but you haven't experienced true freedom. Because that can only be found in Zeref's world. Now I understand why they made us work so hard on this tower, they believe that can use it to resurrect Zeref."
Jellal then approached the skinny man who was trembling.
"You claim to be such devout followers, but you couldn't even feel your god's presence here could you? This tower belongs to me now. I will finish its construction and bring Zeref back to life."
Jellal grabbed the skinny man and tossed him upwards into the ceiling, only for him to crash down and be impaled on the sharp points of the lacrima in the centre of the room.
"Stop it!"
The Fat man made to run but Jellal was in front of him. Black armour, like that of a knight covering his body. In his hands appeared Arondight, swiftly he decapitated the fat guard.
"You killed them… what's happened to you?" Erza demanded.
"I haven't changed one bit, I'm renaming this place the Tower of Heaven," he then turned to Erza with Arondight in his hand. "You and I will stay here and finish it together."
"This is wrong, you've got to be under some sort of spell, snap out of it please!"
"Enough, I am completely myself." Jellal snapped "When the tower is finish we will resurrect Zeref."
"Why would anybody want to stay here when we finally have a chance to leave?!" Erza yelled.
"Erza!" Jellal hefted her by the rags she wore and slammed her into a wall and threw her through a wall and back into the construction area.
"Fine if you want to leave so badly, then I'm not going to stop you, but you'll have to go alone!" Jellal told her looking down on her from the scaffolding.
"What do you mean?" Erza asked as stood up and Excalibur faded away.
"There's no way I could finish the Tower's construction by myself. So I'm going to keep the others here with me, but don't worry I promise I won't mistreat them. I'll make sure everyone's fed and clothed and that they get plenty of rest between their shifts. I'm sure Zeref would prefer that I build more hatred by ruling with an iron fist. But weak and unhappy people don't make very good workers."
"They're not gonna agree to that." Erza yelled "Everyone's on the boats ready to go they're just waiting for us to join them. There's no way you could convince them to stay here and work for you now."
"Oh I don't think I'll have any problem convincing them." Jellal said with a smirk. "Because I'm going to give them a purpose. Once they learn of Zerefs power they'll happily work to resurrect him."
"But none of them would willingly become a sacrifice!"
"It doesn't matter, Zeref told me sacrifices aren't necessary. He's such a benevolent god isn't he?"
"Jellal you're stronger than this magic, fight it!"
"I don't need you anymore, but since you took care of the fools who were in my way, I guess I'll let you live. Enjoy your newfound freedom, but I have some rules for you before you go."
"I can't breathe!"
"I demand you never tell anyone of this place, if the government found out about the Tower of Heaven I'd be in serious trouble. If word were to get out, I'd have no choice but to destroy the tower and everyone inside it. You're forbidden from ever returning here again, set one foot on this land and I'll kill your friends. I figure Shō would have to be the first to go."
"No!"
"ONE FALSE MOVE AND YOUR FRIENDS WILL DIE! I'LL ENJOY TRUE FREEDOM WHILE YOU SUFFER BURDENED BY YOUR GUILT!"
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A few days later Erza washed on a beach after taking a ship and escaping from the Tower of Heaven. Tears fell down her face as Avalon materialised in her hands.
"Why? Why can't I do anything right?" Erza yelled crying at the heavens. "Camelot, my knights, Galahad, Sho and the others and Jellal. I should never have become king, and if I can't even save the life of one of my most loyal knights then WHY DO HAVE THIS THING!"
Erza screamed and tossed Avalon with all her might causing it to land in the ocean. The scabbard quickly filled with water and sunk beneath the waves and was quickly carried away by the ocean current.
"I don't wanna be a king! I'm just going to be Erza, not King Arthur never again." With this declaration, Erza's green eye's turned brown and her powers as a heroic spirit began to be supressed along with the memories of her past life.
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"The time for action is now!" Seigrain declared. "We must use the satellite square to fire an Etherion blast directly at the tower!"
"The R-System is forbidden magic we cannot allow to be a part of our recorded history," Ultear put in. "Therefore it has to be destroyed. Why can't you see that?"
"Etherion would obliterate everything in its path, including any innocent civilians inside the tower." Org argued, still against using Etherion.
"Not to mention your own brothers' life is at stake. If you fire the Etherion he's sure to die. Would you be able to live with that guilt?" Michello asked.
"If it's for the greater good…."
"All the lives of those innocent civilians will be lost, we must stop him. It's a sacrifice that must be made now." Leiji said agreeing with Seigrain and Ultear.
"How can you say that? Can you imagine how we'd be vilified if we attacked Caelum without warning?! We'd go down in history as mass murders!"
"I am willing to sacrifice my reputation in order to save countless lives." Belno stated.
"You can't be serious?!"
"Think of how the R-System will affect future generations? How can we teach our children the value of life if the dead can be resurrected?" Leiji asked.
"We have to put an end to this, I would like to vote in favour of an Etherion attack." Belno stated agreeing to fire.
"We need one more." Seigrain said.
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"I don't know, maybe it's just me, but for some reason the name Zeref sounds familiar."
"He created the demon Lullaby and the flute it came out of, you idiot." Lucy sighed giving Gray an annoyed glance. "That demon was from one of the Books of Zeref."
"I never mentioned it, but I believe that Deliora was a demon from one of the Books of Zeref as well."
"There's a book of demons? You can bring them to life with this Black Wizards book? Shouldn't we be searching for it and destroying it?!"
"Because firstly there are Books of Zeref as in plural are even paying attention!" Lucy snapped.
"Sorry geez, but what about destroying them?" Gray asked raising his hands defensively.
"You don't think the council has tried? Alright I'll simplify for you, when Deliora was rampaging why do you think there was a more advanced warning system in place and evacuations in advance for towns and cities it was headed too! Because it has not been rampaging for four hundred years, it was only released recently. Before it came to destroy towns like your it was released when the council attempted to destroy the Book of Zeref which contained it!" Erza, Gray and Juvia gasped at Lucy's words. "The Books of Zeref are all booby trapped, if a weak mind attempts to read one they risk being possessed or even having their minds destroyed. The Volume's that contain demons are booby trapped so that if anyone attempts to destroy them then the demon within will be released, the Magic Council just so happened to try this with the one containing Deliora and wound up releasing it."
"Wait so if the Council released Deliora then why doesn't everyone know!" Gray demanded angrily "How do you know!"
"Because people would lose faith in the Council if they found out they released a demon like Deliora. As for how I know, I have contacts inside the Council who allow me access to their more private archives." Lucy replied "Now as I was saying, The Books of Zeref contain more than just demons they have his notes on various forbidden spells and magic's which are these days considered black arts. However, the demons don't come in until much later volumes. The early ones contain notes on various magical items and magic's all geared towards one purpose, for whatever reason before he went around creating demons Zeref was very interested in resurrecting the dead."
"He wanted to revive someone?" Erza breathed.
"Indeed, before he went mad and started creating demons and evil artefacts, that appears to have been his goal."
"How do you know so much about these books?" Gray asked.
"Because I possess and have read several volumes." Lucy replied with a shrug causing the group to gasp and looks of shock to cross their faces. "It's too bad really, If Zeref hadn't become the dreaded Black Wizard, he would have been the greatest author in magical literary history in Earth Land four hundred years ago."
"What! But those books are full of forbidden black magic!" Erza exclaimed.
"Yeah Lucy if the council finds out then they'll-"
"Do nothing." Lucy cut Gray off. "Even if they somehow found out I was in possession of them Lady Kin's influence would protect me. They'd need a great deal of proof to even gain a warrant in order to investigate and try to find the books, plus it would be extremely bad for them to have harassed me for no reason if they found nothing with such a tall accusation."
"If Zeref is as evil as you say, why would Jellal want to resurrect him?" Juvia asked curiously.
"I'm not sure but my old friend Shō said something to me about Zeref getting them into Heaven." Erza stated.
"Nonsense." Lucy snorted "There is no way Zeref could get anyone into Heaven. It sounds like your Jellal may have become possessed, perhaps he had an encounter with one of the Books all those years ago?"
"What do you mean?" Erza asked.
"As I said the Books of Zeref are booby trapped. The ones with forbidden magic and knowledge of the black arts have traps on them that cause weak minded people to become zealots who worship Zeref. There have been a number of cases of wealthy people collecting some volume's and then becoming possessed. Think about it, the cult that ran this place had lots of guards, architects and slaves. Even to this day Slave raids aren't uncommon in outlying towns and villages, but supplies are a different matter. They'd need, all sorts of building materials as well as food and water for the people here. They couldn't steal all those things without attracting the attention of various nations and bringing them down upon them. It's like the cult that previously occupied this tower was sponsored by a wealthy patron who gave them the money for supplies."
"But wouldn't the rich guy who's funding the place stop giving out money when the cult was overthrown?" Gray asked
"No, as long as the tower is built the possessed patron wouldn't care whose building it." Lucy told him "The possessed don't think like us, they don't have attachments to people only the goal their possession drives them towards."
"But wait, the heroic spirits I know off seem to be immune to most magics." Juvia interjected. "If this Jellal is a heroic spirit then how did Zeref's magical trap control him?"
"Well not all Heroic Spirits have Magic Resistance and those that do have varying levels of it." Lucy told her before switching into her Golden Armour "For example my armour affords me a high Magic Resistance, combine that with the various items in my treasury and I can block just about any magic. Erza and Minerva on the other hand have a naturally high magic resistance due to special physical attributes they possess. Remember Zeref was a very powerful and skilled wizard. Such that even his booby traps could cause a Heroic Spirit to become possessed if they have low or even no magic resistance at all."
"So Heroic Spirit reincarnates aren't invincible." Juvia noted.
"Indeed, your best shot at defeating one is to have another heroic spirit on your side." Lucy said "But if you aren't that lucky then your best shot is use your brains and study their defensive and offensive capabilities, look for patterns in their attack styles, aim for attacks that can instantly disable or kill, that is your best chance. Because in terms of power you are hopelessly outmatched."
"Sister. That's not true. Why – why are you lying to them?!" Everyone looked to see that an injured Sho had entered the room.
"Shō –"
"You think you making yourself the martyr, you're going to get sympathy from your friends? Tell them the truth! That's not how it happened and you know it!" Sho yelled angrily. "You blew up the boats we were going to use to escape and then you left on your own! We would have ended up at the bottom of the sea if it hadn't been for Jellal! He saved us, he warned us not to trust wizards like you, who haven't learned to use their magic properly. He said you'd become drunk with magical power and didn't want anything to do with your past or the people you left behind."
"Did you ever think he might be lying?"
"You only think you know her! You weren't there back then you don't know anything about us. When you left Jellal's words were my only salvation, that's why I helped finish the tower, for his sake. But you're telling me that he's been lying this entire time."
"That's right." Simon said materialising in the room,
"Simon!"
"You!" Gray got into a fighting stance prepared to fight only to be stopped by Juvia.
"Wait! He doesn't pose a threat. He never meant you any harm. At the resort he knew he was attacking your ice decoy."
"But how?"
"Since it was he who cast the darkness spell it had no effect on him. I came along in hopes of discovering why." Juvia stated.
"I would expect no less from a member of Phantom's Element Four." Simon said nodding at Juvia.
"I don't understand…"
"I had to fool you and the others into thinking I had killed him. I had hoped our attack would lead them here."
"So you were lying too? How could you do that to me?"
"I am sorry… Jellal had you and the others under his spell and I couldn't convince you otherwise. I played along until the time was right."
"So you knew all along…"
"I always believed in you Erza, there's nothing that could change that." Simon said smiling warmly.
"I mean those words from the bottom of my heart. I knew you would return one day, when you were ready." Simon said hugging Erza.
"I can't believe I blindly followed him all these years, I doubted you because you left me all alone! You have no idea how much that hurt! I don't even know who I should believe anymore…" Sho mumbled as he fell to his knees and began crying.
"I know it must be difficult for you to take all of this in at once, but Sho there is something you should know." Erza said moving over to hug Sho. "Even though I have tried to bury the memories of my past, the ones I made with you and the others are some of the one's that I keep closest to my heart. I'm sorry I couldn't stand up to him I was so weak back then, please forgive me."
"Now you're stronger and ready to face him, isn't that right?" Simon questioned with a smile.
"Simon...hey does the name Kagura ring a bell to you?" Lucy asked.
"It's my sisters name." Simon told her "So she is still alive after all this time."
"You'd know, after all if she were dead you would have defeated Jellal by now wouldn't you, Sir Gawain?" Lucy said revealing his identity.
"G-gawain?" Erza breath glancing at Simon, whose hair colour had changed to blond and his to a deep green colour.
"It is me, my king or part of me." Simon said. "When I was incarnated into this world my soul was split between me and my sister. So while I have Galatine I cannot use it to its full measure, not until our soul is whole again and I will not betray my sister not even to reclaim my full power."
"I understand, thank you for believing in me." Erza said standing up.
"So do you have a plan?" Lucy asked.
"I'm going to try and defeat Jellal. Hopefully after beating him senseless he'll be able to break through this spell that's been controlling him all this time." Simon stated "But first we must keep Wally and Salamander from clashing."
Suddenly a loud explosion rocked the room causing everyone to look around.
"I do believe it is too late on that front." Lucy sighed.
"Yup, typical Natsu." Gray said shaking his head.
[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]
In his throne room Jellal chuckled darkly, knocking over two separate chest pieces.
"Shō and Simon have chosen to betray me," he said simply, "And it appears that Wally and Millianna have fallen at the hands of Salamander. This is how the game should be played, one-side matches are always dreadfully boring."
"Master."
The hooded man looked up from his game board.
"Erza must be captured at once, so we can begin the ceremony. I'm afraid the time for playing games is over now."
"Prudent as always, Vidaldus, fetch her."
"You'll allow me?"
"It is our turn after all…"
A sinister grin spread across Vidaldus' lips as he watched three new pieces be set down on the board. In a burst of light he took on a new wilder form than the dignified one he had earlier.
"Assassins from the Death's Head Order: Vidaldus Taka…"
"Go to hell, yeah that's right! They can say their prayers if they wanna, but they're all gonna be burning in hell tonight!"
"Fukuro…"
An owl-like man who let out a sound like a hoot like an owl stepped out of the shadows.
"And Ikaruga Sasaki, their leader."
"Hailing from the Death's Head Order guild, the special forces squad known as Trinity Raven, is at your service, Sir." Ikaruga stated.
"It's time you entered the fray, now go."
[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]
"WELCOME TO THE TOWER OF HEAVEN, MY NAME IS JELLAL, I AM THE RULER OF THIS TOWER. I SEE THE PLAYERS HAVE BEEN ARRANGED." Jellal's voice echoed throughout the tower.
"So he knows. He could be lurking anywhere in the tower." Simon growled.
"I'd check the top first." Lucy said "The best odds are that he's right at the top."
"I'M DELIGHTED YOU'VE COME ALL THIS WAY TO SEE ME. SHALL WE PLAY A ROUND OF HEAVENS GAME? THE RULES ARE REALLY QUITE SIMPLE. I WISH TO USE ERZA AS A SACRIFICE IN MY CEREMONY TO RESURECT LORD ZEREF. IF I SUCCEED, THE GATES OF HEAVEN WILL OPEN, CROWNING MY VICTORY. HOWEVER, IF YOU CAN MANAGE TO FIND A WAY TO STOP ME, YOU'LL BE THE WINNERS OF THE GAME. TO MAKE THINGS A LTTLE MORE INTERESTING I'VE ENLISTED THREE KNIGHTS TO BATTLE ON MY BEHALF."
"Three knights? Who could they be?" Simon asked.
"THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN GET TO ME IS IF YOU DEFEAT THEM. IN OTHERS WORDS, A THREE ON EIGHT BATTLE ROYAL, AND THERE'S ONE MORE SURPRISE, THE MAGIC COUNCIL HAS THE SATELLITE SQUARE FOCUSED DIRECTLY ON THIS TOWER, IT'S HIGHLY LIKELY THEY WILL ATTACK. AT THIS VERY MOMENT THEY ARE VOTING ON WHETHER OR NOT THEY SHOULD FIRE AN ETHERION BLAST. THERE'S NO TELLING HOW MUCH TIME IS LEFT. SHOULD THE ETHERION STRIKE COMPLETE ANNHILATION IS IMMINENT, NO PLAYERS LEFT TO WIN. GAME OVER."
"But that doesn't make any sense, why would the Magic Council resort to such drastic measures?" Erza yelled.
"I won't let him touch her!" There was a sudden light and Sho looked shocked.
"I don't understand she should be safe inside my card. Why didn't it work?" he cried.
"It seems you're A ranked Magic Resistance has returned." Lucy noted. "Sorry kid but little tricks like that won't work on Erza anymore."
"LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"
"I won't let him lay a finger on her!" Shō yelled running on ahead quickly "I'll beat Jellal all by myself if I have to!"
"No Sho wait!" Erza quickly pursued him.
[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]
Ultimately the group had opted to split up in order to regroup with Natsu. Lucy was with Juvia in a room with a number of large tunnels. Although Lucy was less interested in finding Natsu and more interested in ditching Juvia so she could find the Book of Zeref she knew was in the Tower.
Suddenly a loud noise began blaring down one of the tunnels. The two women saw a man with long raven hair and a crazed grin.
"You ladies like my destruction solo?"
"You are the source of that cacophonous noise that just assaulted my ears?" Lucy demanded with anger.
"Hey my music is rockin, it ain't no noise." The man said. "I'm an assassin with the Death's Head Order, pretty rockin' name huh? A death heads' like a skull, get it?"
"I take it you're one of the nights Jellal spoke of?" Juvia asked.
"I'm a wing of the Trinity Raven, when they scream Vidaldus Taka they're talking about me! ROCK YE-AGH!"
The man was silenced as a sword smashed through his guitar and impaled him through the chest and extended out through the back of his throat.
"I do not have time for this." Lucy sighed firing a few more swords to impale the man for good measure. "Do know what the best part of being in a legal guild is? I can legally kill dark guild trash like yourself and the council will do nothing. That's because you dark guilds are popping up like insects recently and they really want you gone."
Vidaldus fell to the ground dead. Glittering golden signalled the swords returning to the Gate of Babylon.
"You killed him." Juvia said putting her hands over her mouth.
"Don't mourn him, he was only dark guild trash after all." Lucy responded stepping forward and closing her eyes. 'Show me the way Sha Nagba Imuru.'
After a few seconds she reopened her eyes and pointed to a tunnel off to the left.
"Follow that tunnel and you'll eventually find Gray." Lucy told her while stepping through the tunnel that Vidaldus had been occupying.
"B-but what about you?" Juvia asked just barely supressing her infatuation.
"I'm going to find something to read." Lucy replied focusing on Sha Nagba Imuru's directions to the Book of Zeref that lay within the tower.
[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]
Running on ahead Erza and Sho came to a room with a bridge over a small pool over water and covered with arches. There were cherry blossom trees on small islands in the water. Their pink blossoms floating about the room.
As Sho ran across the bridge he stopped when a woman appeared.
The woman had long, bright pink hair which is tied on top of her head in two large buns. She has a curvaceous figure, peach skin covered by a long, slightly loose white kimono with a red stripe in between two black stripes around the waist as well as a red triangle at the bottom of her dress, decorated by flames and skulls motifs, open at the top to reveal her shoulders and a fair amount of cleavage; it was closed around the waist by a large black belt adorned with a horned skull.
"Get out of my way Lady don't make me hurt you." Sho threatened summoning his cards.
"It's nice to see you again, Servant Saber." Ikagura said ignoring Sho completely.
"W-who are you?" Erza asked falling to one knee as pain gripped her head again.
"I suppose I am different in appearance this time around, but maybe this will help remind you." Ikaruga tapped her hair and her long pink locks became a deep shadow of purple as did her green eyes.
"No….it can't be….Asssassin?!" Erza stammered struck with realisation.
Ikaruga simply gave a smile in the direction of the kneeling woman.