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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"So you can do that for me?" Lucy asked as she looked into the communication Lacrima in her hand and spoke with the person on the other end.
"…."
"So why didn't you tell me that you were a Heroic Spirit reincarnate?" The girl inquired.
"…."
"Just because I never asked isn't a reason not to tell me." Lucy stated with annoyance.
"…"
"Yes, it is fortunate you were already on a ship in the area. Thank you for your assistance in this matter." Lucy said before the connection was terminated "This should stir things up, the Council will be shitting themselves when they see this."
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Near the waters of Caelum, a ship sailed straight into the waters of the country. It's captain having a discussion with the woman who commanded him.
"My Lady are you sure?" The captain asked.
"Yes, head to these co-ordinates." The woman replied, "There's something I have to do."
"Yes, ma'am. Alright, we're changing course!" The captain yelled as he began barking orders.
Satisfied that her will was being done the woman headed into her quarters, a pair of fox ears which poked of locks of pink hair twitching as she did so.
As the ship turned around and headed into the waters of Caelum, a twisted tower came into view just on the horizon. It wouldn't take long to get there.
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Erza made her way to the throne room, the same place that Jellal had rescued her from all those years ago. Now there he sat in a large stone throne opposite the door.
"Don't tell me the game is over already..." Jellal sighed with disappointment.
"This game is over Jellal." Erza told him, pointing Excalibur, which was once again sheathed within the invisible air, at him. "Now come with me, you need help."
"Between the moment of our birth and the moment of our death there is only that game of emotions we call life..." Jellal responded standing up and turning to walk away around the room, his face concealed. "What could be more dreary than simply existing day after day...?" Eventually, he turned to face her, deep within those eyes filled with madness was a single point of light, a shred of sanity which still remained, the real Jellal was still in there. "It's been a long time, hasn't it Erza?"
"Wally and Milliana are no longer under your influence, it is over."
"That's fine with me. Now that the Tower of Heaven has been completed I have no need for them."
"The Etherion will soon take care of that."
"Ah yes, the Etherion." Jellal chuckled darkly. "I have nothing to fear from it at all. Let the Council fire it, by all means, I'll survive no matter what!"
"The way you're acting….are you saying you've got a way to block the Etherion?"
"Oh no, the Etherion will rain down on us of that you can be assured."
"Well then…" Erza took a battle stance. "That means I have to defeat you within five minutes, leaving me with five more to drag you out and get as far away from here as possible."
"Well then, COME AND GET ME!" A blob-like sphere appeared in Jellal's hand with red lines covering it in a strange pattern.
'That's Darkness Magic!' Erza thought before dodging numerous dark tentacles which smashed the ground they impacted on.
She went on the offensive and leapt at Jellal using the invisible air as a booster. However, Jellal was not incapable himself and quickly dodged out of the way causing Erza to crush his throne. He countered by sending dark blasts at her, forcing to move out of the way. The blasts obliterated what was left of the throne and the game board that had been near it and blasting a large hole in the wall allowing the dying sunlight to stream in.
"Why are you back?" Erza turned and charged slashing at him again only to miss as he jumped backwards. He then brought up his right hand and fired a beam of purple energy, forcing Erza to jump back. When her feet touched a crystal spike jutting from the giant lacrima in the centre of the room, she used it to propel herself back toward him. Jellal narrowly escaped the powerful slash from Erza, which sliced a piece of the crystal off.
"Holding back whatever do you mean?" Jellal asked mockingly dancing around a couple fo slashes and sending dark blasts at her.
"You know exactly what I mean!" Erza growled as her magic resistance easily took the magic blasts. "Why aren't you using your armour or Arondight? Both would give you a far better chance of defeating me!"
"Why INDEED?!" Jellal crushing a dark sphere in his hand.
From beneath Erza dark purple tendrils sprouted and quickly bound her, morphing into a spherical cage.
"You've been slacking off all these years." Jellal said approaching the sphere. "Sealing away Excalibur and your heroic spirit powers have made you rusty and weak. Even without using Arondight you were never a match for me."
He turned to walk away but was suddenly blasted into a wall as a magic energy burst outwards destroying the sphere from within.
"Damn it, I forgot about that annoying Prana Burst," Jellal growled as he stood up, only to be tackled to the ground and pinned there by Erza.
"It's over Jellal, you are coming with me." she hissed, pressing the tip of her sword into his neck.
"No, we're not done yet. I still have to sacrifice you to revive Zeref." Jellal growled at her.
"No, even with my sacrifice you wouldn't be able to do it because you don't have the magic energy required." Erza told him. "You could gather every single wizard on the continent and still not have enough energy to activate this tower. I don't know why you haven't run or where you plan to get that energy from but I don't care, now come on." Erza tried to pull Jellal up by force but he resisted.
"There's something else, I need to tell you." Jellal said with a grin.
"What?" Erza growled with annoyance.
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In the Magic Council Headquarters, all the preparations for firing Etherion were nearly done. Four differently coloured lacrima were surrounding a larger central one. Each of the four lacrima had a magic circle the same colour as itself pointed at the larger lacrima. The frog-like employee's of the council ran around making reports.
"The final phase for firing Etherion has been completed."
"We have deployed the Satellite Square."
"Co-Ordinates are locked."
"Magic fusion appears to be stable."
"Start the countdown."
"Let us pray." Org said bowing his head, as did his colleagues
"Let us pray." Michello repeated.
"For the innocent." The employee's behind him all said.
"Let us pray." Ultear spoke.
"For the end." Seigrain said.
"Wow, so you're really firing Etherion huh?" Everyone turned and saw a pair of Wizards standing at the doors. One had blue hair, red eyes and deep ultramarine full body tights.
"God Serena, what are you doing here?" Org inquired.
"I was in the neighbourhood and heard that something warranted Etherion." God Serena replied with a shrug. "Draculos is here too…huh?" The Lancer looked around only to fail to see his compatriot. "Hey, Draculos turn off that invisibility crap will ya?"
The man materialised next to God Serena. He had red tied back hair, a far eastern type robe that looked like flames.
"Practice makes perfect; I prefer not to get rusty," Draculos told him.
"Whatever." God Serena sighed as he watched the spectacle unfold.
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Near the waters of the tower, there was an urgent knock at the door of the woman who commanded the ship.
"Ma'am we're here!" the captain said bursting through the door impatiently.
"Oh good." She said standing up and getting out onto the deck.
The woman covered her eyes, her ears twitching in annoyance as a bright light was focused on the tower from the sky.
"Excellent we're right on time." She said throwing something like a frisbee at the tower.
"Ma'am we need to leave right now if we hope to escape, that light is the Magic Councils Etherion." The captain yelled causing the crew to mumble fearfully.
"It will be fine, hold this position." She ordered carelessly.
"But-" The captain was cut off by a dark glare from the pink haired woman her fox tail swishing angrily behind her.
"If you move, then outrunning Etherion will be the least of your worries." She warned him.
Seeing no choice, the Captain could only pray that the end would be swift and ordered his crew to hold position, reluctantly they complied not wanting the wrath of the woman who ordered their captain upon them.
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Erza glared down at Jellal in annoyance, however before she could drag him up by force his free hand suddenly gripped her arm which held his.
"Wha-?"
"I'll be taking my Noble Phantasm back now." Jellal told he with a grin "The one I gave you all those years ago, Knight of Honour!"
Erza was overcome by pain as the red energy of the Noble Phantasm began flowing out her. The pain so great she was forced to her knees, and barely acknowledge the trembling of the tower, nor the brilliant white light which flooded into the room from the hole in the roof.
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Back in the Magic Council's Headquarters, the council was standing on a nearby balcony, observing their target through a large, floating lacrima in the centre of the massive chamber.
"We pray to the sacred light for forgiveness! Let us fire the Etherion at once!" Org chanted raising his staff.
Outside the Magic Council building, the four differently coloured lacrima towers began emitting powerful surges of magic energy which converged on the centre lacrima, and then it fired a massive ball of bright, white energy into the sky.
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Lucy looked out of a window and saw a small ship on the horizon just before a white light blocked her view and smirked.
"It looks like you made it, let's see how they like this." She said.
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"No, this light." Simon sighed as he and Natsu kept running upwards "We didn't make it in time."
"ERZA!" Natsu cried out for his friend.
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A brilliant white beam of pure magical energy fired from the Satellite Square in space. It pierced the atmosphere and came down on the Tower of Heaven, engulfing it a blinding white light.
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Back in Era the Magic Council's amphibious employees were all scrambling in their floating magical chairs to confirm the destruction of the Tower of Heaven after the Etherion was fired.
"The Etherion has impacted the target." A council employee notified.
"Was the target successfully destroyed? I need confirmation!" A second employee demanded.
"The density of the Ethernano fusion is…decreasing?!" a third employee said with confusion.
Back up on the balconies, the faces of the Magic Council members were rather downcast.
"Who knows how many innocent people might have been inside that tower…" Org said covering his mouth.
"But they were there for the sole purpose of resurrecting Zeref." Michello said attempting to comfort him. "Their sacrifice had to be made to save the lives of others."
"I understand that, Michello, but it's still heartbreaking all the same. I sincerely doubt the victims' families will be comforted by that reasoning."
"Something's wrong, the Etherion Blast hasn't impacted!" A council employee notified causing nearly everyone to look up in shock.
"What?!" Org yelled, "Whats going on?"
"Restoring visual feed…"
After a short moment, the lacrima that had been displaying the Tower of Heaven to the council, which had gone dark after the Etherion was fired, now showed them the great white light of Etherion hanging above the Tower. But something was wrong, the part of the light nearest tower appeared to be being drawn into something just at the tip of the tower.
Within a few seconds, the entire blast vanished, sucked into whatever had stopped the blast dead.
"Zoom in on the top of the tower." God Serena ordered.
The top of the tower was enhanced on the lacrima, zooming further in until finally, they saw it. There floating just above the tallest spire of the tower was...
"A mirror?!" Org yelled with disbelief.
Indeed floating there was an ornate, old-fashioned golden mirror which shone like a beacon pulsing with a white light of the energy it had absorbed from the Etherion blast, for a few moments before the energy settled within it.
"Not just any mirror," Draculos said his eyes narrowing on the image.
"Yep, that's a Noble Phantasm." God Serena told them.
Suddenly the Mirror began flying away.
"Follow it," Belno ordered.
The lacrima followed the mirror as it flew through the air, eventually coming to rest in orbit of a woman standing on a ship. She had pink hair, yellow eyes, fox ears and a tail. She turned a said something to a man who was clearly the captain before vanishing inside.
"Wait that ship's flag look!" Michello yelled.
"That's the crest of the Alvarez empire!" Org yelled. "What's one of their ships doing so close to the borders of Ishgar!"
The ship suddenly turned and began sailing away, no doubt heading back to Alvarez own waters.
'Damn it, no matter I can still salvage this.' Ultear thought clenched her fists in anger.
"Look at the Tower." God Serena said.
Everyone did so and watched as the building appeared to crumble from the shockwave of the blast above when the entire shell crumbled away revealing its true form, a giant jagged Lacrima Crystal.
"It's a giant Lacrima." An employee yelled.
"A lacrima that big could have absorbed even Etherion." Draculos said.
"Damn that Jellal he played me." Seigrain growled before looking to side in shock "What-who are-" Suddenly Seigrain's thought projection vanished.
"Seigrain?"
"Damn it all, was he attacked?"
'Good Jellal we can play the long con, and start this all over again.' Ultear thought with a dark smirk, unaware of the look God Serena was giving her.
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As she recovered from the immense pain Erza found her surroundings had changed. The ground, walls and ceiling were all made of a crystalline substance.
"A lacrima?" Erza said as she began standing up.
"WHAT IS THIS SHIT!" Jellal roared from nearby. "WHO BLOCKED MY ETHERION?!"
"Hello." Jellal and Erza looked to see Lucy sitting on a Lacrima crystal with a smug grin on her face.
"You!" Jellal growled furiously giving Lucy a dark glare. "How?"
"I called a friend who happened to be nearby." Lucy explained "I could have done it myself but why do things yourself when you have others to do them for you. My friend possesses a very powerful magic mirror which is her Noble Phantasm. With it stopped the Etherion is no problem for her."
"You BITCH!" Jellal was furious, black armour began materialising over his body, the only thing that did not appear was the helmet this due to the sword now in his hands, Arondight his most powerful Noble Phantasm which sealed his other two Noble Phantasms when in use.
The enraged knight leapt at the golden king, mad fury in his eyes, only for his sword to be stopped by Excalibur which was now no longer sheathed in the invisible air.
"Not so fast Jellal we have unfinished business," Erza said to him coolly.
"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!" Jellal bellowed pushing against Erza who pushed back with just as much strength.
Lucy watched from her seat, resting her head on both her hands as the two knights began exchanging blows. Steel clashed against steel and the King of Knights and the Knight of the Lake crossed swords. The first few blows were merely probes, each testing the other's defences, looking for an opening.
Then things became more intense, more superhuman as Jellal and Erza's blows became faster and stronger, the mere shockwaves from their exchange began causing parts of the ceiling and floor of the tower to crack and shatter.
After meeting again and unable to overpower the other Jellal and Erza pushed away from each other. Erza back flipping in mid-air and using a pillar as a springboard while Jellal did the same off a wall.
Erza noticed that Jellal's blows became stronger and faster, this caught her off guard so when they met Erza was forced onto the defensive as Jellal began forcing her to back off to try and regain her footing. But the man once lauded as the Perfect Knight was no fool and relentlessly pressed his advantage forcing her right back to the edge of the tower, where only the ocean and sharp spikes of lacrima waited below.
Jellal locked swords with her and pressed hard against her. Erza found herself being bent backwards over the edge.
"Time to fall, my king," Jellal told her mockingly.
Erza responded by gathering the invisible air around Excalibur and forcing it to explode. Jellal was forced to back off allowing Erza regain her footing and reposition herself away from the ledge.
"You're mimicking my prana burst aren't you?" Erza observed as she had noted the sudden release of magic energy whenever he attacked. "It's crude but still effective."
"Observant as always, in my past life, I didn't have magic power like you did. But what I did have, was a whole lifetime to study you. I didn't get to be called the Perfect Knight by being a fool." Jellal responded twirling Arondight in his hands before resuming his stance.
However, before they could continue fighting-
"FIRE DRAGONS-" Natsu came flying at Jellal from behind a flaming fist ready.
"NATSU NO STAY BACK!" Erza called out in warning.
"IRON FI-GAH!" Natsu's attack was stopped dead Jellal suddenly lashed out and caught the back of Natsu's head with his gauntlet and without even taking his eyes of Erza planted Natsu firmly into the wall, large cracks spider webbing outwards from where Natsu and had been planted.
"Idiot." Lucy sighed rolling her eyes.
"I never did like loudmouths," Jellal growled suddenly looking at Natsu who fell from the wall and onto the ground, clearly unconscious. "So how about I do us all a favour and shut you up for good?!"
The knight of the lake raised Arondight and brought it down meaning to end the dragon slayers life, only for the blade to be stopped by another. It was not Excalibur but rather its sister, Excalibur Galatine.
"Simon." Jellal actually seemed pleased that the other man was there.
"It's time to stop this old friend, how many times must your honour stained because of another?" Simon asked, firmly keeping his blade and Arondight locked. "Lancelot… Jellal I know you can hear me. This life is our second chance to be true knights again. Don't let whoever is controlling you squander your second chance!"
"Quit your babbling!" Jellal growled kicking Simon away and slashing at him, his slash only just blocked. "I am the one doing the controlling here, no one controls me!" Jellal emphasised his words with angry strikes at Simon who was barely keeping up. "You're still only half a heroic spirit. But even if you had your fill power you would still be no match me especially not now that the sun has set."
Simon was forced back by Jellals relentless offensive, more and more until finally, Simon managed to lock blades with him again.
"This is nostalgic isn't it?" Jellal commented pushing Arondight against Galatine to try and overpower Simon who held his ground. "A lifetime ago when you attacked in fury, I was able to delay you until the sun had set so I could finally kill you. It seems history is repeating itself albeit with a few changes."
Erza could only watch the battle, Jellal was keeping her within sight. If she tried to attack she had no doubt he'd put Simon into the way of her attack. So she was forced to wait until Jellal had an opening.
"Lancelot we all share blame for the downfall of Camelot," Simon said. "I was let vengeance over the fate of my brothers rule me instead of thinking about what was best for my king. You had affair with the Queen and betrayed your oath to your king, Mordred just wanted the throne, and the King was incapable of understanding the feelings of her people. We all share fault and now IT'S TIME FOR US TO STOP RUNNING AND START OWNING OUR MISTAKES!"
Suddenly Simon head-butted Jellal causing the other man to stumble backwards. Simon immediately went on the offensive, this time, Jellal was struggling to keep up, still disoriented from the blow to his head.
"Yet despite your betrayal, our king still considered you a comrade," Simon yelled as he forced Jellal to keep stepping back. "She called upon your help, despite what you did. So if the king thinks you are worthy of being called a comrade, then you are a still a Knight of the Round Table. Think back, we stood side by side throughout all the good times and the bad. Despite how it all ended there had to be times you didn't curse, surely you didn't despise your entire time as a Knight THINK!"
Simon slammed his head against Jellal's own again knocking the man off balance. Suddenly an image passed through Jellal's mind's eye. It was himself, preparing to race in disguise so that a friend's honour might be retained. Another was a great feast being held with all the knights in attendance before they were to set out to retrieve the Holy Grail, another was his duel with the Copper Knight.
The memories good and bad began forcing themselves to the surface. In his past life and his present one, sharing food with Erza and Simon before the rebellion. Being told stories by old Rob…no Galahad. Jellal could stand it no more, even as a sinister looking symbol appeared in his right eye, Arondight clattered to the ground as Jellal gripped his head, letting out a cry of pain which echoed throughout the Tower of Heaven.
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Back at the Etherion control centre in Era the Council was in chaos over what had happened.
"We should pursue that ship!" Leiji yelled, "Who knows what they'll do with the energy of the Etherion."
"No, if we attack it will be an act of war." Yajima objected.
"You're right but what if they decide to use that power against us?" Belno cried.
"We've already fired Etherion if we attack an Alvarez ship unprovoked it will mean war." Org sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose.
In the midst of the arguing over what to do, Ultear placed a hand against her head, in an attempt to placate the throbbing against her mind, which felt like a dragon had decided to sit on it.
'What's going on?' Ultear growled internally 'My control over Jellal is slipping, No!'
Her spell over Jellal was starting to break. Normally this wouldn't be a problem ashes could simply go to him and reinforce the spell, the problem was that she would blow her cover on the Council if left now, plus the amount of willpower he was rallying against her was so enormous that it seemed like she might lose control if she didn't concentrate on the connection and subdue his will fast.
She grimaced visibly as another migraine hit her, forcing her to focus more. She could subdue Jellal but the problem was that the more focus she put into doing that then the more she spaced out from reality, and if she wasn't careful the council could get suspicious of her. She knew that old goat Yajima was probably onto her, judging by the scowls he was giving Seigrain earlier.
"Got a problem witch?" Ultear growled, she hated being called a witch looking up to see who dared it was none other than that-
"Miserable dog, go bark for a treat up someone else's tree." Ultear growled as her migraine intensified, idly she noticed the council had gone silent, no doubt due to the fact God Serena had summoned Gae Bolg.
"I am not a dog." God Serena growled his eye twitching. "I've been investigating corruption within the magic council, it was surprising to know that the old geezer Crawford is a greedy bastard, but you knowing your identity, being a traitor should be second nature to you shouldn't it Medea, princess of Colchis?"
"So you figured out I'm a heroic spirit reincarnate too bully for you." Ultear snapped "What does that change exactly? I'm still a member of the magic council I'm entitled to some privacy."
"Not when you betray us like this." God Serena replied hold up a recording lacrima and setting it to play.
On the Lacrima for everyone to see was Ultear in her office talking into communication lacrima.
"Report Ultear." An older voice from the communication lacrima ordered.
"Things are going well." The Ultear on the lacrima stated, "Jellal is preparing the final phase now, soon he'll have the council running around like headless chickens."
"Good, by the time the Council gets grip on the Tower of Heaven incident we Grimoire Heart will already have the final piece we need for our plans." The man in the lacrima stated. "Will you be able to buy the time we need?"
"Yes, my control over Jellal has held firm for all these years, it will hold long enough to keep the council occupied." Ultear stated
"Does anyone suspect?"
"Just that old goat Yajima, but the others won't listen to him, not the chairman, none of them. Especially not with his past with Fairy Tail and the annoyance they been towards the council lately."
"Excellent. I will update you as soon as we have what we need. Be prepared to leave quickly and do some damage if you can on the way out."
"Of course Master Hades." Ultear said as the communication ended.
"Ultear what is the meaning of this!" Org demanded as everyone stared at her with shock or dismay.
"How did you get that?" Ultear demanded ignoring the rest of the council. "I made sure there were no spells, or anything to spy on me."
"I hid a miniature recording lacrima with a few concealment runes." God Serena replied smugly. "The magic power was so insignificant that you never even noticed. Time to surrender."
"You…." Ultear trembled with rage as Gae Bolg pointed at her. All God Serena had to do was incant its name and she would be dead.
"God Serena watch out!" Draculos warned.
"Huh, what?" instinctively the Lancer turned his head to see magic circles appear at random pointed throughout the room, including one near his chest. "Oh shit!"
"YOU CAN ALL GO TO HELL WITHOUT ME!" Ultear screamed as magic energy beams were released from each of the circles.
The beams devastated the room, causing everyone within to try and flee Ultears wrath. Sadly, not all were fortunate, as Leiji and some of the frog employees were vaporised by one of the beams while other beams kept going, demolishing the lacrima pillars outside which made up the main part of Etherion.
Draculos leapt into action he lunged hoping to subdue the witch, but her magecaft was quicker as one the beams managed to clip the side of the Master of the Demon fist, this second and the chaos was enough for Ultear to teleport away but not before he managed to wound her side. God Serena, caught at point blank range was not so fortunate. He survived thanks to his magic resistance diluting the blast but he was still injured and sent crashing through the giant lacrima in the centre of the room.
Eventually, the beams all stopped and the collapsing building settled down. When the dust cleared Ultear was gone, but a thought projection still remained.
"So you figured me out, that doesn't change anything." Ultear told the council. "Jellal can still use His Noble Phantasm to power the Tower of Heaven, so I'm afraid you are not out of the woods yet councillors. Zeref can still be revived, so you have a choice, waste resources chasing me or try to stop the most evil wizard of all time from being revived. Your move."
With that, the thought projection vanished leaving only Ultear's laughter echoing throughout the half destroyed magic council headquarters.
"Damn it all!" Org growled pounding the dirt as he tried to stand up. "We've been played like fools."
"What should we do?" Belno coughed trying to stand up after tripping over.
"Arrange for Rune Knights to be sent to the Tower of Heaven at once." Org ordered after a few seconds. "We cannot allow Jellal to energise the Tower of Heaven."
Those employees who returned after everything settled down rushed to carry out these new orders.
"But what about Ultear?" Michello asked
"She's gone; we will chase her later right now we must stop the R-System from being activated." Org said glancing at the burn mark where Leiji had previously been, now not even ashes remained of him.
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Having fled to an old temple in the mountains of Northern Fiore Ultear, gasped as she tried to regain her breath after the strike by Draculos Hyberion.
"This isn't over." Ultear growled as she refocused on Jellal fully now that her attention wasn't split. "I didn't control him for eight years only to have my grip broken by this friendship-conquers-all nonsense. Hear me and obey Jellal!" Ultear chanted gathering her magical power.
Now this was no longer about the plan which had basically fulfilled its purpose of distracting the Magic Council, now it was a matter of pride.
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Back at the top of the Tower Natsu was still unconscious, Lucy was still observing the scene with amusement while Erza stood behind Simon who had placed a hand on the shoulders of his friend who was holding his head and crying out in pain.
"Fight it old friend, I know you can." Simon encouraged placing Galatine on the ground to focus on his friend's wellbeing. "Back then we all made mistakes and all share fault in Camelot's fall; You, Me, The Queen, The King, Tristan, Morgan, Mordred, all of us. It's time we accepted our mistakes and move forward together. We have been given a second chance to start over, don't let someone else ruin it for you, not now!"
Whether Simon's words were working was anyone's guess, the pain Jellal was in could be a sign of him trying to be free, or his controller trying to reassert control over him. Veins and arteries emerged becoming visible over the boy's face as the pain grew and so did his cries. Jellal fell to his knees, one hand on his head the other firmly grasping at the crystalline floor. So focused on Jellal himself were Erza and Simon that they did not notice the red glow around the hand which clutched at the ground.
*SHNK* The sound of metal meeting flesh.
Erza gasped, Arondight was now stabbed through Simon's back going straight through his heart. The glowing hand clenched and the sword obeyed the telekinesis of its master and pushed through until it passed through Simon completely, flipping itself around in the air and presenting itself to Jellal who looked his friend in the eyes.
"SIMON!" Erza cried out as she went to the boy who fell to the ground, not even a full heroic spirit could survive such a wound without some sort of healing item or revival ability, something the Knight of the Sun did not possess.
Meeting Jellal gaze with his own the dying boy could see his old friends spirit in the eyes filled with madness, he could see the real Jellal crying out, an expression of regret and sadness on his face.
"Simon, stay with me come on." Erza made to try and stop the bleeding despite the futility of the action, but was stopped by Simon's hand clasping her own.
"It's better this way...now my essence will go to my sister and I can protect her now." Simon gasped as blood trickled out of his mouth, he was fading fast. "I have never once presumed to tell you what do you, but please my king….use the light and guide Lancelot back to our Round Table."
"HOLD ON, SIMON!" Erza cried but too late, as Galatine vanished and Simons body dissolved into small yellow sparks of light which dispersed into the air, a small white orb hung in the air for a few seconds before shooting off into the distance.
"I'm glad that fool is gone, good riddance," Jellal said derisively. "Now you are next King Arthur."
"Use the light? Alright Gawain, I'll show him the way as a king should." Erza vowed standing up and locking eyes with Jellal. "As for you, I don't know who you are or what you gain from this, but know that if I ever find you then I will make you pay for what you've done to my friends. That is not a threat, that is a promise!"
Erza held the Sword of Promised Victory in both hands, the blade now glowing with its signature golden light.
"You…. what do you think you're doing?" Jellal asked, his eyes wide at the Noble Phantasms power being invoked. "You'll vaporise Jellal at this range, you're bluffing."
"So are you the one who's been controlling Jellal?"
"What does it matter?" the possessed Jellal said, "Nothing has changed; you are all still going to die here!"
"I just need to guide him back with the light." Erza murmured "That's all."
"Well you have the light and as you can see plainly it's not working." Jellal cried lunging at her intending to strike her down.
"You wouldn't understand." Erza replied easily deflecting the attack and sending Arondight flying out of the Knights hand, but this time, instead of hitting the floor it dissolved, going back to whatever space Noble Phantasm went to await being summoned by their masters again. "Now Sir Lancelot, Jellal WAKE UP! EXCALIBUR!"
Erza lunged at her enemy, the possessed Jellal grinned as the sword on skimming his armour and plunged into the giant lacrima wall behind him.
"Haha….you missed."
"No I hit what I intended, now be gone and return Jellal to us." Erza commanded as she did so the golden light from Excalibur flowed out the blade and into the lacrima which immediately took on an incredible golden hue. The light was so bright shone from the floors, the walls, the ceiling, there was no escape.
As it shone into Jellal's eyes memories of past glories, failures, the good times and the bad, all of the experiences etched into his soul, past and present were all forced to the forefront of his mind. This time when the mind control spell broke the connection severed permanently, leaving a certain witch crying out in pain and surprise.
Erza caught Jellal as he fell to the ground exhausted, as the eight-year nightmare finally ended. She looked around as the tower began trembling and saw Lucy loading Natsu carelessly on her Vimana.
"I know your happy that he's free but I think you should celebrate later, it might be wise to escape before this tower explodes." Lucy told her with some urgency in her voice.
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On the makeshift raft within Juvia's bubble, Happy, Gray Millianna and Wally all waited with anticipation.
"It's so bright." Happy said as and the others had to avert their gaze from the now golden tower.
"Hey, morons." Gray looked up and saw Lucy hovering just them above with her Vimana, Erza and Natsu were aboard too. "Get on quickly that tower is going to blow sky high, you don't wanna be here when it does."
They all quickly got on the flying ship which soared away from the tower. Shafts of light began to escape from cracks within the lacrima before finally, it exploded, but instead of going outwards the energy shot upwards into the sky, blowing away any clouds for miles.
"That light…" Jellal mumbled as he opened his eyes to look at the display, tears falling from them. "I'm sorry everyone I wanted to stop but had no control, I'm so…" he fell unconscious again before he could finish.
"So is Jellal going to be ok?" Wally asked
"Yes, the spell that controlled his for all these years has finally been broken." Erza told them. "Our Jellal is back, safe and sound."
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Further away aboard the Alvarez ship, a fox-eared woman, looked out of her cabin's window and stared at a golden light which shone in the distance. Nostalgic memories of the past coming to her mind.
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Far away, in a forest near Crocus Kagura Mikazuchi sat alone at a campfire. She looked into the flames which danced before her eyes, bringing back memories of her brother before he was kidnapped.
"GAH!" She jumped back in surprise as a basketball sized white orb suddenly descended from the sky, hovering above the campfire.
Without warning, it turned into a wave of energy which flowed into her. A feeling of wholeness took her soul, she noticed that her purple hair had turned a shade of blond. Then materialising in front of her was Excalibur Galatine, she could feel full power ready to be commanded as she took hold of it but that could only happen if….
"No…..it can't be true." Tears slipped down her face as she realised what had happened "SIMOOOOON!"
Her cry of anguish echoed into the forest, no creature daring to approach its source.
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Looking backwards into the now disappearing golden light, a memory overtook Lucy.
It was the year X776, a young Lucy, her mother and her friend had all taken a trip to the beach. Lucy was wandering by herself as she walked along the sand.
"Huh what's this?" The little girl wondered as she saw something half buried in the sand.
Pulling it out she saw it was a scabbard made of gold and decorated with blue enamel, with a strange letting inscribed on it. She could feel it was magical but had no magic energy in it and thus its power seemed to be dormant. It didn't particularly stand out to her, so shrugging she opened the Gate of Babylon and placed the scabbard within, giving it no further thought.
"Lucy, come on let's see who can build the best sandcastle." Lucy turned around to see her fox eared friend calling out to her.
"Hah you can try but naturally, mine will be better." Lucy boasted running off to play, Layla watching them both from close by. Any thoughts of the Scabbard now forgotten.
"What are you thinking about?" Lucy was snapped out of the memory by Erza's question.
"Nothing important." Lucy answered, the memory quickly fading. "Nothing important at all."
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Eventually the Vimana came to a landing on the beach of Akane Resort. When everyone had been offloaded, they began making their way back to the hotel only to find themselves surrounded by men in robes, bearing the ankh symbol of the Magic Council.
"Who are these guys?" Gray asked looking over them.
One of them stepped forward, he was a slim man of average height with long, tied up black hair; two bangs frame his face and an unruly tuft covered his forehead and lavender eyes behind circular framed glasses. a long, blue jacket with pink edges and strapped cuffs over a high-collared shirt bearing the Council's symbol. He also features white pants held up by a simple belt, white gloves, a white cape held closed by a gem-decorated buckle, and distinctive shoes, seemingly bearing a serpentine pattern.
"My name is Lahar." The man introduced himself. "I am the captain of the Magic Council's fourth custody enforcement unit."
"Hello their Lahar." Lucy gave the captain a greeting without looking at him as she took out a communication Lacrima from her pocket.
"Greetings Ms Heartfillia." Lahar returned her greeting respectfully.
"Lucy how do you know this guy?" Natsu asked.
"Oh, I helped him get his job as part of the custody enforcement unit." Lucy replied dismissively as she listened to what the person on the other end of the lacrima was telling her. "If it wasn't me….well let's just say his life could have had a much darker turn."
"Yes, well enough about that." Lahar coughed changing the subject. "I have come to take the wizards known as Wally Buchanan and Millianna in for interrogation as well as to arrest one Jellal Fernandez."
"But Jellal is innocent." Millianna pleaded.
"Yeah he was being controlled by someone." Wally argued.
"They know that." Lucy told them getting everyone to look at her as she apparently finished listening to the person on the other end of the communication lacrima. "But until the real culprit is within their grasp the magic council needs a scapegoat to make themselves look good, especially after they fired the Etherion."
"One of the of more serious you are being brought up on is the kidnap of your twin brother, Councillor Seigrain." Lahar stated putting magic restraining cuffs on Jellal's hands which he had held out as a sign of surrender.
"Tell him the truth." Lucy said "Kidnapping a more serious charge."
"Seigrain never existed." Jellal confessed "He was just a thought project I used while I was being controlled in order to infiltrate the council."
"Very well, I shall include that in my report but I don't expect the Council to take your word for it." Lahar sighed as he pushed up his glasses which had slid down his nose.
"I understand." Jellal said giving Erza nod.
"The other two will question regarding what happened in the Tower of Heaven as well as the incident at Akane resort." Lahar said. "Then they will be free go after a few days."
"But what about the real culprit?" Erza demanded "The one of who was controlling Jellal, they're the on who should be punished for this."
"And he will, once they have Ultear." Lucy said "I had a dog sniffing around the Magic Council for corruption and as it turns out Ultear is the one we're after. Apparently she was Medea the Witch of Betrayals, also known to us as…"
"Caster." Erza growled at the memory.
"HEY I AM NOT DOG DAMN IT!" a voice bellowed from Lucy's lacrima.
"Wait, who was that?" Natsu asked.
"God Serena of the Ten Wizard Saints, we're acquainted." Lucy replied with a shrug "I asked him to investigate the Council for me. No one would try to stop of the Four Gods of Ishgar."
"God Serena is the most powerful wizard on the continent." Juvia said with awe.
"Alright, I think this is enough, it's time to go." Lahar demanded.
Wally and Millianna went with them without protest, while Jellal waved goodbye to Erza. As he was taken away.
"Damn it, this isn't fair." Natsu growled "He's innocent."
"We'll meet again." Erza said with wistful smile. "I'm sure of it.
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AN: And that's it. Jellal was arrested earlier than in canon and Ultear was exposed. Jellal's arrest was purely so the Council would have a scapegoat, so they don't look too stupid after all the damage Ultear did. Oh and if you're wondering, Lucy doesn't know that sheath is Avalon. This is because Avalon is a story breaker, Erza would be invincible with it, so it won't come into play until much later. Also yes that was Tamamo No Mae, I know she's popular and wanted to bring her in, but I could not decide who she should be until now. As for her mirror, here she is not a Servant not restricted by the Holy Grail so while she still can't revive the dead with it, she can do some pretty amazing things like absorb an Etherion blast. Don't like it? Well bite me.