Titania and The Hunter
Chapter 40: Within the Bounds of Purgatory
Ooooooooohhhhh~, TV Season is back!
My shows are back! Muppets! Flash! Arrow! Supernatural! Scream Queen! S.H.I.E.L.D.! Minority Reports! South Park! And, of course, Heroes Reborn!
I've been waiting five years for Heroes to return. And now Chuck is a bad guy! Yatta!
On a completely separate vein...how come no one ever told me how cool Fate/Stay Night was! No! No I haven't seen it before! I didn't know about the Projection abilities or the Trace On or the Reality Marble or the Gate of Babylon until just now! All those years of suggesting I was using GAR and making an Archer Naruto-LIES! GARBAGEY LIES!
You all just sat there on this goldmine of anime entertainment and said nothing to me! Nothing at all! Not even a suggestion! I might be a piece of shit cliffhanger leaver...but you people are just mean.
With your meanness.
That being said, Reinforcement and Projection are remarkably similar to Armor and Copy. I can completely understand why you guys made that assumption. Hell, I might have actually gotten some of the idea from what I heard about Fate back then. I'm not quite sure. I was so worried about planning for the future of this story back then that I can't remember how I set up the base for it.
Anybutt, on with the show!
########Hunter########
Naruto struggled to move at all within the confines of the prison of darkness and metal. He gasped in pain with the pieces of metal pricking into his back and tried to move his limbs enough to get some space but failed. He was stuck.
Simon could use magic now?
Simon was still alive. That was still something Naruto was trying to adjust to. Of all the things Naruto expected to happen on this trip, he could honestly say that meeting him again wasn't on the list.
But for some reason Simon attacked him. Locked him away. He might have even tried to kill him with this thing.
Whatever the reason, Naruto had to face him directly and talk with him.
The Fairy Mage tried to force his hand through the black membrane but couldn't get enough strength from his awkward positioning. He shook his head before furrowing his eyes, "This...won't stop me."
He opened up his palm and summoned the Light sword from his Requip space. He gripped it tightly and channeled his magic through the blade as it started to glow bright like the sun.
"Shine."
########Hunter########
Gray finally woke up with a ringing in his ears and a faint numbness in his head. He turned, dislodging a beam of wood that had fallen on his head and caused a small stream of blood to go down his face. He looked up and saw that they were caught underneath a portion of the roof to the bar but despite their awkward position they weren't seriously injured. He looked down at the woman who was tied closely to his chest as he was worried she might be unconscious. He nudged the back of her head with his face, "Hey, you alive? I could really use a conscious person to help get out of this shitty spot we're in."
"Mmmmmmm~." Juvia let out a content and incoherent moan in the twilight between consciousness and blissful sleep. She dreamily stated, "Oh~, Gray-sama. You really did want Juvia. She always knew we could connect on a deeper level if we tried. Oh, ask anything of her and she will answer in earnest. W-what, J-Juvia doesn't know if she can do that just-"
*THUMP*
"Eep!" Juvia was startled awake when Gray head butted the back of her head. She let out a pained moan before looking behind her and blushing in shock, "G-G-Gray-Sama! W-why are you so close to Juvia?!"
"We got tied together moron. Remember?" Gray looked around for somewhere they could escape before he felt like he needed to check on the woman secured tightly to him, "Are you all right? That girl must've hit you pretty hard."
Juvia gleefully shook her head at the notion that he cared, "Not at all Gray-Sama~." She was so happy to be close to this man she was infatuated that she completely ignored the pained sensation running through her gut. But she looked back at herself and seemed concerned, "But Juvia cannot turn into water while she is tangled in this rope. It seems we will just have to stay together like is forever."
She was so subtle and smooth.
Gray looked at the tube wrapped around them as well, "Yeah. I can't use my magic at all either. This tube thing must be cutting us off." He looked around their position for something they could use to escape. His eyes finally landed on a steak knife that was discarded from a dinner plate at the bar. It wasn't particularly the sharpest knife in the world but it was the closest they had. And luckily it was by Juvia's foot, "Hey, think you can reach that knife?"
Juvia looked down by her foot and saw the knife he was referring to. She nodded, "Yes, Juvia believes so. Allow her to-" But as she stretched out her leg to pull in the knife, she and Gray suddenly felt the ropes that bound them together start to constrict and tighten. They slowly started becoming tighter and Juvia gasped, "Ah! W-what?!"
Gray tried to resist the constricting cat rope but could feel that it was futile to try like this. He growled, "Dammit! Juvia, quick, get the knife! Before it gets any tighter!"
"Y-yes, G-Gray-sama." Juvia moaned, a mix of discomfort and bliss with the rope bringing the two of them closer and closed. She panted, the rope tightening around her limbs, stomach, and chest while she tried to stretch her foot out far enough to touch the knife. After a few moments of struggling she finally got the utensil under her foot and with a quick flick, it slid towards Gray's hand.
He pulled it up to his hands by the blade and pressed it against the rope. He quickly started to cut into the tube as fast as he could as the cat-based tube continued to constrict around them. Gray could feel a numbness start to spread around his body where the blood was being cutoff. Despite that, he continued to cut until it finally cut through and the first layer of tubes snapped apart.
"Yes!" He immediately brought up the knife and started cutting into the rope that tightened around Juvia. The blue-haired woman was gasping and her skin was becoming flushed from the pain before it finally cut through. The rope fell off and dropped around Juvia as she toppled over on the ground. Gray leaned back and threw the knife away before sighing in relief, "That was a close one."
"Y-yes. Close. So very, very close."
Gray looked down at the woman who hadn't picked herself up yet to see some of her pale skin was still flushed from the experience, "You all right? You aren't hurt too bad, right?"
"N-no. Not hurt. In fact...quite the opposite."
Gray hesitated before raising an eyebrow, "That didn't unlock some weird inkling inside you, did it?"
Juvia shot straight up, smashing her head into a beam of broken wood but not paying it any mind as she blushed, "N-not at all Gray-sama! J-Juvia is a more civilized woman than that!" She then became more bashful and looked aside, "B-but if you're interested in women like that t-then-"
"Ice Make: Lance!"
Several spears of ice stretched out from Gray's hand and obliterated the debris that confined them under that space. Gray just stood up and looked back at Juvia, "You coming?"
"Y-yes."
The Elemental Mage and Maker Mage stepped out into the center strip of the casino and noticed it was completely abandoned. There wasn't anyone in sight. Juvia stepped forward and looked around in confusion, "Where did everyone go?"
"Doubt it was just our bit with cat girl that got them all running out like that." The Fairy Mage looked around with a focused glare, "Something must've happened."
"Yes!"
The two Mages looked off in one direction when they heard the loud exclamation echo through the abandoned room.
"Yes! Right there!"
Gray perked up, "Hey, that's Lucy!" He started sprinting towards the direction of her voice, Juvia hesitating to follow towards the blonde woman. He finally got her in sight and called for her, "Lucy, are you...what the hell?"
Lucy was also tied up with an orange tube that was pulling her arms and legs together more and more with each passing second and a scattered deck of cards around her. But with her body nearly bent back completely, Lucy kept screaming out urgently, "Almost there! Almost there! Keep going! Don't stop!"
Gray was staring at the scene with intrigue and Juvia suddenly covered his eyes with her hands, the girl looking aside jealously at his intrigue at the scene.
There was a sharp snap and the rope broke apart, causing Lucy to fall backwards and breath in relief, "Oh thank god. That was close." She opened one eye and looked up to see Gray standing over her, "When did you get here?!"
"A moment ago." Gray quietly answered as he shook his head, "I'm worried that these rope things bring out a very weird part of people when they're tied up."
"What are you talking about?" Lucy picked up a card and revealed it had a man holding a knife in his hand on it, "That rope was getting too tight and I needed this guys help to cut it. Lucky for me the knife's sharpness got through enough to cut that stupid rope thing."
"Okay little lady I helped you!" The man in the card whined, "Now help me out of here!"
"Um...right. I don't actually know how to get you out of the card." Lucy apologetically nodded her head, "I'm really really sorry! But they said the cards will vanish and you'll get out soon so wait until then please!"
"Oh come on!"
Lucy placed the card down and the people inside them started to yell and argue. The blonde Fairy Mage stepped aside and towards her friend with relief, "I was so worried about you guys! Those people said they attacked you all to make sure you wouldn't get up."
Gray nodded, "Yeah, we were in a pretty tough spot for a while there. But we managed to get out."
Lucy noticed the pronoun he was using and tilted her head, "We?" She looked aside at the person hidden from her sight behind Gray and recoiled when she saw the familiar woman that had trapped her in a ball of water a few weeks earlier, "Ah! I-it's that Phantom girl! Why is she here?!"
Gray held up his hands to calm her down, "It's okay. It's okay. She's not here to fight or anything. She's on our side."
Lucy still looked wary of their former enemy's presence as she leaned over to look at her again.
Juvia's eyes appeared like red lights beneath her blue hair as she menacingly chanted beneath her breath, "Love rival love rival love rival love rival love rival love rival love rival love rival love rival love rival love rival love rival love-"
Lucy sweated, "A-are you totally sure she's not here to fight?"
"Look that doesn't matter-"
"It matters to me because I am getting a really deadly look right now."
"-we need to focus on finding that cat girl." Gray looked around trying to spot head or-hopefully not-tail of the menace that nearly killed them, "She might hurt somebody else if we don't do something to stop her."
"No!" Lucy yelped, "That's not the problem we have to worry about!" When both Juvia and Gray looked at her strangely, Lucy seemed saddened and hesitated to say what she wanted, "I-I don't know if what they said was true, b-but Natsu and Naruto might be-"
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
"ANGRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY-GAH-HA!"
They looked over at the pillar of fire that exploded from the ground and had risen all the way up to the ceiling before dissipating. Gray nodded at Lucy, "Yeah, I totally agree. I bet they are pissed."
The Celestial Mage could only stare in shock and relief as she saw Natsu stumble over towards them while holding his throat and coughing. She asked, "N-Natsu, you're okay! W-what happened?"
Natsu coughed some more before pointing at his mouth, "M-mouth. S-ugh-square guy, s-shot me in the mouth."
Lucy stared at him blankly, "Someone shot you? In the mouth?" She shook her head in disbelief, "How are you still alive?"
"*BLARGH*!"
Natsu coughed loudly and something dropped out of his mouth. They all looked down to see a bullet burning orange and white while also partially bent. Natsu gave a lighter cough as Gray just sighed, "You used the fire to counter the speed and piercing power of the bullet and used your throat to take the rest of the force from the weakened shot. Okay...that's pretty fucking crazy Flame Brain. But I gotta give you credit."
Natsu shook his head before growling in a hoarse tone, "The moment I find that blocky bastard I'm gonna knock his head off!"
Lucy interrupted, "Wait Natsu, we need to-"
Suddenly a blinding light occurred at the end of the main strip and the group had to cover their eyes. The light faded and Gray lowered his hand from his eyes, "I guess Naruto's okay too." He yelled down the room, "Naruto! We're over here!"
After a moment, Naruto came running over desperately and looked over them all for a moment. He nodded, "All right, you guys are okay. That's good." He didn't even seem to acknowledge that there was someone in their group that he didn't recognize as he had something else on his mind. He looked around a little more, "There's someone here attacking us and I don't want you guys getting caught up in it. I need you to go find Erza and-"
"No! Just listen to me!"
They all looked over at Lucy after she had lost her cool and screamed to get their attention. She looked around at them and finally spoke, "That's what I've been trying to tell you! I'm pretty sure the guys that attacked you are all in the same group! And they kidnapped Erza and Happy and took them away!"
Naruto's eyes widened as Natsu and the others reacted more animatedly, "What?! You mean that block bastard took them away!"
"The cat girl too?"
"Yeah!" Lucy nodded, "They said they knew Erza and took her away somewhere! I don't know why but they wanted her really bad!"
Before they could say anything else, Naruto stepped forward and grabbed Lucy's shoulders firmly. The blonde girl blinked in surprise as she looked up at Naruto's stern eyes, "Lucy. These people...did Erza say their names?"
"Who cares!" Natsu yelled impatiently, "We don't need to know their names-"
"Natsu, shut up!"
The rose-haired man recoiled at the anger brimming in Naruto's voice as he looked back at Lucy, "Their names. Shō. Milliana. Wally. Simon. Jellal. Were those their names?"
Lucy was silent for a moment before nodding, "Y-yeah, Erza called them that. She said they were her family."
Gray raised an eyebrow inquisitively, "Family?"
"B-but not that last name." Lucy shook her head, "They said it like that Jellal guy wasn't here. But it sounded like they were taking her to go see him."
Naruto was silent for a moment as dread filled his eyes before he asked, "Where did they say they were going?"
"..."
Lucy was quiet for a moment before finally saying, "They said they were taking her home."
...
The emotion drained from Naruto's face as his eyes seemed to tremble from anxiety.
Lucy flinched in pain, "N-Naruto, you're hurting me."
Naruto took his hands off Lucy's shoulders and walked away from them before stopping. He mulled something over before looking back at them, "You guys need to stay here. I'm going after them."
"What?!"
Gray shook his head, "You can't be serious!"
"I am." Naruto responded, "I don't want you guys being a part of this. I'll get Erza and Happy back, I promise, but I just need you guys to stay behind for now."
"Fuck that!" Natsu yelled furiously, "They took our friends! No way in hell I'm sitting on my ass while they're getting away with that!"
Naruto turned back to him, "And I'll get them back! But I'm not taking you guys with me so just stay here!"
"I can smell them!" Natsu pointed at his nose, "I can follow them! Can you?!"
Naruto couldn't answer that. He knew where they were going but he didn't know which direction. When he left there in the first place he just started rowing aimlessly trying to escape. It was by sheer luck he got anywhere near a ship close to Hargeon that picked him up. But just because he knew where they were going...
Naruto resigned to shaking his head, "No, I can't follow them."
"Then I'm coming along! And so is everyone else!" Natsu yelled as he marched past his blond friend and towards the exit, "We're gonna get our friends back!"
Naruto stood there in his spot as he seemed to struggle with the choice he needed to make. If he didn't bring Natsu and the others along, he might not be able to follow Erza. But if he did...
"Naruto?"
The whiskered man looked up at his friends, seeing the worry and confusion on their faces. Gray asked, "What's going on?"
...
"If you want to come then come on." Naruto turned around and follow after Natsu, "We're going."
########Hunter########
The Council hall was quiet and heavy with an atmosphere no one wanted to perpetrate with sound. The members of the Magic Council mulled over the information they had just received from one of their own members. Org's intertwined hands tensed into each other and he shook his head, "This...this can't be real."
Siegrain solemnly nodded his head, "Unfortunately it is."
The old sage shook his head, "There were seven towers. 7. Created by a cult who received backing and a budget from an unknown source we still haven't been able to find after all these years." The old man shook his head, anxiety and fear gripping his features, "We finally caught wind of what those people were doing and put a stop to it years ago! We decommissioned the R-System and returned the slaves back to their homes! So how in the world did we miss an eighth tower after all this time?!"
"They hid it from the public eye. Apparently they had Mages who could cloak it from our radars. And they were far enough away from the coast that we couldn't notice them by normal means." The old woman stated shamefully, "They've been building it in our shadow all this time."
"Who did you say your source in this leak was again, Siegrain?"
The blue-haired Council member shook his head, "I didn't. My source wishes to remain anonymous during this ordeal. But I can attest to the authenticity of the information."
Michello skeptically groaned, "Well it's hard to take this bit of information seriously when we can't even have the name of your source."
"Does it matter who his source is?" Ultear asked pointedly while looking around at the other members of the Council, "We need to focus on the problem at hand! The R-System is still being constructed as we speak and could be operational, even ready to be activated at any time!"
"Who was it the informant claimed was heading this reformations?"
"A man named Jellal."
"Jellal?" Org thought intently for a moment before looking up in shock, "Siegrain! B-but that's-"
The blue-haired boy nodded, "My brother."
"Your brother is recreating the R-System!" Michello screamed in outrage, "You haven't received any news or information about your lost sibling after all these years and then suddenly you find out he's heading an operation to revive this taboo magic! I'm sorry but coincidence can only go so far!" The cat-motif man pointed at the young man, "We need to have a serious discussion about how you might be compromised with the personal interest in this matter."
Ultear seemed annoyed by the short man's intent towards Siegrain before another member of the Council spoke up, "That's enough. Whatever we wish to discuss about this matter will be brought up once we have handled this properly. For now we must figure out how we should deal with the R-System."
"It's not the R-System."
The Council looked towards Siegrain as he spoke with a heavy tone, "It's not called the R-System anymore. It's referred to as the Tower of Heaven."
########Hunter########
Naruto silently looked ahead as the rowboat they took from the harbor glided through the water at a staggering speed. Natsu was hunched over the side of the dinghy, doing his best to lead them towards their destination while also unloading the contents of his stomach at random intervals. Gray and Lucy looked to the back of the boat and watched as Juvia, now dressed back into her normal button coat and hat, using her Water abilities to propel the boat faster towards their destination. Gray looked back at her, "Thanks for doing this. Using your ability we can get there way quicker than by ourselves."
Juvia had a dreamy expression after being praised by the object of her affection, "Ahhhh~, just having Gray-sama's praise gives Juvia the strength to cross the entire ocean if she needs to."
Lucy inquired, "You've been doing that for a while though. Are you okay?"
Juvia had a smug look, "Quite. It's up to some of us to pick up the slack of other people that can't do anything."
Lucy gave a nervous laugh, "I-I know you're helping but I can't help but think you're directing that comment at someone in particular."
Naruto looked over his shoulder and spoke flatly, "Natsu, we're still heading in the right direction?"
The Dragon Slayer gurgled and moaned out, "Y-yeah. I-I'd appreciate if we could maybe slow down, o-or at least push me off the boat so I can swim alongside."
Lucy sighed, "Is that seriously your better alternative?"
The boat of Mages continued through the water in silence for a few minutes until they suddenly started to lose speed. They looked back to see Juvia placing her hands back in her lap and with some sweat forming on her face. She saw their looks and bowed her head, "M-my apologies, but Juvia is more exhausted from this action than she anticipated. Juvia needs a moment to regain some strength."
Lucy saw the tired look on her face, "Yeah, it's okay. If you need to take a minute-"
"No time." Naruto stepped off from the front of the dinghy and searched for something in the side of its interior. He pulled out two oars and tossed one to Gray. He sat down on the front seat and faced them, "We can't afford to waste anymore time. And considering what they did to grab her, we need to conserve our strength for when we get there. Gray, help me row."
The Maker Mage nodded and they started manually driving the boat as Juiva seemed ashamed and nodded her head, "J-Juvia is sorry that she could not be of more assistance."
Lucy felt a need to comfort the girl that assisted them, "You were a lot of help. Just get some rest and get your strength back." Lucy looked over at the frown on Naruto's face as he and Gray continued to row in silence. She was reminded of the time they were all staying at her apartment before the fight with Phantom and Naruto revealed that he had fought a group of Mages from Grimoire Heart.
The look on his face just changed. It was like he became a different person. Like a switch. And this was kinda like back then but...
This was fundamentally different. Back then Naruto was displaying sheer hate and animosity towards a guild he wanted nothing more than to destroy and ruin. But this wasn't just hate. This was something else...
Fear.
And dread.
And horror.
And shame.
"What's this about?"
Gray broke the silence as he continued to row but met Naruto's eyes for a moment, "What's going on? Who were those guys and why did they want Erza?"
Naruto looked at his friend with a pointed, unflinching glare that conveyed how sensitive a topic Gray was treading on. The blond looked out at the water, "It'd take too long to explain. Once we get there and find Erza then we can talk about it."
"These guys just came out of nowhere, tried to kill us without hesitation, kidnapped Erza, and took her all the way out to sea. And I can fully get behind chasing after them and getting her back, but I know you know what's going on because I can see it in your eyes."
"I just told you-"
"Lucy said Erza called them her family. And I remember once you told me that you and Erza knew each other before you came to Fairy Tail." Gray deduced while he looked Naruto straight in the eye, "None of you were around when she first came to the guild but I remember what she was like. She was weird. She was alone. She never talked to anyone. And she cried by herself all the time. And I think you know why." The look in Gray's eyes intensified as he spoke firmly, "If this has anything to do with why she cried back then...then you need to tell me right now. Because I decided a long time ago...I wasn't gonna let her cry like that anymore."
The others looked at Gray in surprise at his intense declaration. Even Naruto looked at the raven-haired man with shock at what he said. The blond looked down at the floor of the boat as he tried to think about what to say before he closed his eyes.
The whiskered man slowly opened his eyes, "Me. Erza. Shō. Milliana. Wally. Simon. And Jellal. We were friends. We were family. We were together way before we came to Fairy Tail. What we have now at the guild...we had back then too." The frown that had firmly planted itself on Naruto's face softened into a fond smile as he looked back at the good memories he shared with them, "And back then...it was a saving grace to have people you could be that close with."
Lucy asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean it was easier facing the reality that we were slaves when we had people like that."
In an instant, a look of shock and horror crossed all of their faces when those words came out of Naruto's mouth. Even Natsu ignored his sickness for a moment to look over at his friend in shock at what he said. Gray muttered, "W-what?"
"That flute demon we fought a few months back, Lullaby, was a demon created by the Black Mage Zeref. And there were a lot of other monsters just like that around the world." Gray's thoughts immediately turned to Deliora, the immortal demon that destroyed his town and killed his family. Naruto continued, "But some people were obsessed with Zeref, and weren't satisfied with the fact that just his demons were causing terror around the world. So they created a structure in the middle of the ocean that would be used as a magic tool for resurrection. A tool to bring Zeref back to life."
Lucy felt her stomach churn at what he said. She shivered and shook her head, "H-how could people think of bringing him back?"
"Because they were obsessed with him. So they started to build a tower that would use magic to bring him back to life. And to build it, they raided villages and kidnapped people from all over to bring them to an island and keep them there as slaves. The slaves were beaten, forced around, killed if they failed to comply, or tortured if they needed to be made an example out of. While they were there, thousands of people were captured and forced into labor, constructing a tower that reached the heavens so that it could pull souls out of the afterlife. They called it the Tower of Heaven." Naruto's eyes lowered, "And that's where I met Erza for the first time."
...
No one could say anything as they tried to comprehend what he said.
"It was just us and an old man when it started. Then Jellal was brought there as well. Then Wally. Then Simon. Shō and Milliana. And in order to try and forget where we were, we tried to play games and have fun with each other. So that at least when we were out there working...we had something to come back to. And it worked for a while but...it didn't change anything. We were just trying to ignore the fact that we were trapped in a nightmare. Our families were gone. No one knew where we were. We were alone in the world. And we only had each other for as long as we could remember."
Naruto rowing seemed to slow down as he became more focused on what to tell about the story, "Then...eight years ago...we started a rebellion. The slaves broke out and started attacking members of the cult. We didn't show any mercy to those guys. It was kill or be killed with them. After a while we finally broke out...we took back our freedom. We were gonna escape the tower and head back into the real world."
...
"What..." Lucy shuddered to ask, "What happened?"
"..."
Naruto didn't answer at first, "We were separated. We thought that each of us were dead. Erza made it to land and I did too after a while but everyone else...I didn't hear anything about them. For the longest time we thought they..." Naruto left the statement hang as he looked back up at them, "But they had survived...and they were living in the Tower again after all this time." He seemed pained and disgusted at the idea as he shook his head, "If we had known they went back there we could have helped them. But now they're taking Erza and they're willing to hurt people to do it..."
Naruto stopped rowing for a moment as a sad glint filled his eyes, "Except...even though Simon attacked me...I couldn't feel any killing intent behind it. Even though I can understand why they might hate us...I just can't see them as enemies."
...
"This place...the tower." Natsu willed himself not to hurl and looked over at Naruto critically, "How bad is it for Erza?"
Naruto shook his head, "It's the place she and all her friends were tormented and tortured, where her parents were killed trying to get her out of there, and where she spent most of her life living in fear. For us...this is worse than hell."
"..."
Lucy looked up at her friend and wanted to say something but her words caught in her throat when she looked past him. She hesitated before motioning behind the blond, "Naruto."
The whiskered man blinked before looking back where she was looking. He slowly stood up in the boat and turned to face the horizon as the night sky settled close to midnight. He looked out at the far off structure that looked like a stick from this distance. They really rebuilt it. The broken structure they once suffered in was now reconstructed and bigger than ever.
The Tower of Heaven.
He had returned after all this time.
He didn't want to admit it.
He needed to lead his friends in there to take back the woman he loved and convince his old friends that whatever they were doing was wrong. He needed strength and conviction now more than ever. He had spent all these years getting stronger and more courageous so that what happened here would never happen again.
So why?
Why did the very sight of this place send uncertainty and dread into his brain?
Why couldn't he stop shaking with fear?
########Hunter########
Erza finally started to open her eyes again after God knows how long. Clarity started to fill her sight again as she could see her legs, exposed by the dress she was wearing earlier, curled up beside her on the rocky floor of the cell. She tried to move her arms but realized that her hands and arms were restrained over her head by a nail stuck through her handcuffs. She remained sitting on the floor for a moment as she tried to figure out what had happened.
Shō.
Milliana.
Wally and Simon.
Lucy in pain.
Everyone was gone.
Something happened to Naruto.
The Tower.
As these memories filled her head again, she heard a couple footsteps outside the cell and looked up to see Shō walk in front of the cell. A moment passed before he pulled out some keys and unlocked the cell door, walking in and looking down at her, "I was wondering when you would finally wake up again. I was getting worried."
"Shō." Erza blinked a few times before she realized, "So it really wasn't a dream. You all are alive." She looked around at her surroundings and asked, "Where are we?"
"You really have been gone for a long time, Nee-San." Erza looked up at the dark-skinned teen as he looked around the cell before stating, "I thought you'd remember this place at least."
Erza blinked with confusion before looking around the cell they had locked her in. After a moment, her eyes widened when she finally noticed where they had locked her up.
This was their cell.
Which meant...
"We're back." Erza said in a petrified, defeated tone as she came to realize that she was once again trapped in the cell that contained her here for nearly a decade.
Shō gave a small hum of affirmation, "That's right. We needed to bring you back here so we could start the ceremony. With your help tomorrow, we should be able to pull everything off without a hitch."
Erza looked up, "My help? And you said it before at the casino about my 'burden'. That Jellal found a way to fix everything?" She furrowed her eyes, "Shō...what are you trying to accomplish by being in this place?"
Shō looked at the redhead silently before closing his eyes, "We all filled the boats to evacuate the island as quickly as we could. And then suddenly, some of the boats started to exploded, and the people on them burned. So we panicked. And we left as fast as we could. But everyone else was so scared that we couldn't convince them to stay back and wait...for you and Jellal and Nii-San."
Erza could still remember that moment like it happened all over again. Memories of Jellal, twisted from insanity and torture, tapping into his raw magical power and attacking her out of the blue. And then, to prove a point, he destroyed one of their ships with a wave of his hand.
That moment...the sight of one of her friends becoming consumed by darkness like that...was still seared into her mind like a brand.
"Just when the tower disappeared from sight, Jellal h-he somehow flew out over the water and landed on our ship. He was beaten and bloody and in pain. But the thing that hit us hardest was that he was crying and mumbling. Through his sobs and cries he said something...something none of us could comprehend." Shō struggled, "He told us about how you killed Nii-San."
...
What?
"But we know you didn't do it on purpose. You...you were trying to bring down the rest of the tower. You were attempting to free us from that horrible reminder of all our suffering and pain. And in the process...Nii-San died as a result of the destruction. You were so inconsolable that you even attacked Jellal out of grief." Shō looked down sadly and shook his head, "It was just horrible."
"Shō-"
"So you used the Tower. You used the Tower of Heaven to bring Nii-San back to life. But because we never finished building it-because you destroyed what remained...you couldn't bring him back properly. You brought back a shell...a hollow form of what was left." Shō seemed pained by the image of his friend resurrecting a carbon copy of their deceased comrade.
Erza could only look up at him in horror at what he suggested. She asked, "Is...is that what Jellal told you?"
"Mmm." Shō nodded, "You took what was left of Nii-San and escaped from the island to the mainland. And you've stuck by him all this time. And...you can't even realize that he's not real."
"You're wrong!" Erza yelled, "Jellal lied! He's lying to you all! Naruto's not dead! He's alive! He survived everything!"
"See! You can't even fathom it!" Shō said despairingly, "You're so engrossed in the idea that Nii-San is still alive that you can't even face the truth!"
"This is the truth! Jellal's been lying to you! We aren't delusional or inconsolable! We're still us!"
"IF YOU WERE STILL YOU, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE LEFT US!"
Erza reeled back at the force and intensity behind Shō's voice when he yelled. The teenager had a distant and pained look in his eyes as he muttered, "Y-yeah, we never should have been separated. If we just stayed together too t-t-then we could have lived happily as one big family. But you abandoned us. And Nii-San's dead now because of you. And we've been here waiting for a chance to fix it. B-but now's our chance to change everything back."
Shō eyes regained some sanity as he reminded himself of their goal, "Yeah...that's right. Tomorrow...everything will be fixed." Shō lowered himself to his knees to face Erza directly. A glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes, "With your experience using it and Jellal's perfection of the system, we'll be able to fix the world and make things better. Bring back our families. All our friends. Even Nii-San. We'll help you set everything right, Nee-San. We'll make the world a better place."
By resurrecting Zeref.
Shō was talking like the cult members all those years ago. Promising things will change when the tower is activated and they can resurrect Zeref.
The difference was that the people back then did it solely for the sake of bringing back the Black Mage and letting him pilfer the souls and lives of the innocent.
Shō made it sound like they were truly going to force Zeref to change the world for the better...
But even though his words sounded so demented...there was no malice behind them. There was a sincere and earnest tone in his voice. The same childish wonder he spoke with as a boy was now telling her they were going to change the world by bringing Zeref back to life.
Erza struggled to keep her composure when faced with her brother like this. She lowered her gaze towards the ground and thought of something that could calm her down. Anything! Anything to...
...
"I have a new sister now."
Shō looked up at her, "Huh?"
"I have a new sister now. Koyuki. A young girl I chose to look after when her mother is away. I look after her with Naruto." A fond smile came over Erza's face as she remembered a happy memory within the cell, "And sometimes when I'm with her, I'm reminded of my time with you and Milliana. I can see your faces alongside hers when I play with her and watch over her. I see her and I think...maybe this is what it could have been like if we stayed together just a bit longer. Perhaps...I could have protected you better if I was more like I am now."
Shō blinked in surprise, "Nee-San-"
"But that's a lie." Erza spat out in self-depreciation as she clenched her fists tightly and shivered, "After all these years. Even after all this time and I'm still afraid. I thought I would have at least gotten a little bit stronger...but I'm still afraid of coming here. My whole body shakes...because I can't face my fear without hiding behind armor. All this time...and I'm still pathetic."
"Nee-San." Shō looked at the pain and self-loathing in her voice and eyes. He hesitated for a moment before leaning forward and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
Erza was caught off guard by the hug, "Shō..."
The blond boy hugged her tightly, "I know you didn't want any of this to happen. You were just doing what you could to keep things together." He pulled back to look at her directly, "I don't blame you for any of this Nee-San. None of us are angry. It might be scary, coming back here after all this time, but just bear with it a little longer. Just a little longer and everything can be-GAH!"
Shō gasped when Erza's knee shot up and dug into his sternum. The blond's groaned and partially drooled while trying to catch his breath. He struggled to look up just in time as Erza's legs wrapped around his neck and roughly brought him face first into the stone ground. He let out one last groan before passing out with a bloody nose on the ground.
She pulled the high-heel off and snaked her foot into his pocket. After a little rummaging she finally found the set of keys he used to open the cell door. Once she found them, she pulled them out and held them up to her hands with surprising flexibility. And once they were in her grasp it was only a matter of testing out each key to see if one fit.
*Click*
One of the latches unlocked and freed her hand to more easily unlock the other one. Once she was free of her shackles, she moved Shō off her and stood up in her cell. Her body glowed brightly and her blue rose dress disappeared, leaving her stark naked before her base armor appeared over her.
Her hair returned from out of its ponytail and she stood in the old cell silently while she composed herself. The redhead took a moment and looked back at her friend as he was unceremoniously laid out on the ground.
...
A tinge of pity and sadness filled her stomach before she stepped over and kneeled by his side. She gently rolled him over on his side so that he could rest and breathe a little easier. She wiped the blood from his nose and cleaned him up to see his resting face.
...
There was so much wrong going on here. Her friends were being manipulated. Her comrades had been attacked and sacrificed on a whim. And they were using this tower to achieve something. So much was wrong...and someone was at the center of it all...
Erza stood up, looked at the door of the cell, and realized what she must do. Her gauntlets creaked as her fists and teeth clenched with fury...
"Jellal."
########Hunter########
"It appears...your little pet has gotten out of her cage. And she's angry enough to want to bite and claw anyone in her way." A man with long black hair noted as he walked around the control room at the top of the tower. He looked at the crystal Lacrima that displayed the image of Erza running through the halls and attacking anyone who got in her way, "Aren't you worried she might cause a racket, Jellal-sama?"
"Not at all. In fact..."
The figure in the black hood, sitting upon a throne and looking down at a chessboard fitted with extravagant and unorthodox pieces. He moved the armored knight a spot ahead and chuckled, "This just makes it all the more interesting. With this the game finally begins, and it's up to the pieces to decide who will win when the time has come."
"I am actually quite interested in seeing how 'Titania' Erza plans to traverse the tower in an attempt to find you." An elegant, respectful female voice stated through the shadows as she hid a small smile behind her sleeve, "After all, she will have to handle facing her old comrades in order to reach here."
Another voice spoke, "Hoot. Hoot."
Jellal gave a mindful hum, "Oh, I doubt that will prove much of a problem. Erza is very good at handling matters like that."
There was a lasting tone of an alarm that ran through the chamber room for a moment and seemed to gain the attention of everyone in the room. The man with the long black hair stepped over and waved his hand over the Lacrima as the image changed. It displayed several Mages attacking the lowest level of the Tower, the cargo bay that allowed ships to enter for supply drops. The long-haired man rubbed his chin, "It seems we have more company now."
"Oho~." The female voice seemed amused as she looked at the image of the invading Mages, "Look at their coat of arms. Mages of Fairy Tail. Just like Titania." She mused humorously, "Did your recovery team not say that they dealt with each of the Fairy Mages permanently?"
Jellal let a small smile crack underneath his hood and shook his head, "I wouldn't put it past them to survive whatever Shō and the others did. They understood the task of trying to eliminate the targets but they were never trained in the ways of giving their strikes finality. Like yours have."
"Jellal-sama..."
A fourth shadow emerged from behind the throne and addressed the man sitting in it with a relaxed tone, "Would you like that I take care of them? Considering you requested the assistance of Death's Head Caucus to assure these proceedings go off uninterrupted, we would be ashamed if we didn't play our part and handle a mess when it shows itself."
Jellal contemplated the option before looking back at the Lacrima as it focused in on Naruto landing on a platform and smacking the guards away with a wave of Wind. He nodded, "Your services are most appreciated. But don't concern yourself with handling all of them at the same time if the matter becomes to rowdy. Just handle the most dangerous element and I'm certain we'll be able to handle the rest."
"But of course sir." The figure stepped out from behind the throne and looked towards his comrades, "Stick around for the time being. And if Jellal-sama has a task for you...well, you are the best in the guild for a reason."
"Yes, Master."
########Hunter########
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
"Ice Make: Cannon!"
"Water Nebula!"
"Flying Gauntlet!"
"Get 'em Virgo!"
"Of course, Princess."
The chaos of Fairy Mages, Virgo, and Juvia assaulting the guards of the lower level encompassed everything as the new cult members were knocked off platforms and fell towards the patches of water. The remaining guards watched in fright as their enemies completely overwhelmed them in a matter of minutes. They weighed the options of what to do against these strangers before just deciding to run away as fast as possible.
Once the last person had been beaten and knocked out of sight, the Fairy Mages regrouped. Natsu cracked his knuckles, "These guys sucked. They definitely need to get better guys to guard this place. It was wide open."
Lucy sent Virgo back to the Celestial World and walked up to her friends, still wet from entering through the water and dressed in the bikini she was wearing underneath her clothes. She wrung out her hair, "Well, to be fair, I doubt they were thinking that anybody'd be stupid enough to swim a dozen meters under solid rock and pop up n the water."
"They underestimated Juvia's ability to adapt in the ocean." Juvia said calmly before sneering in Lucy's direction, "Yes, she was extremely valuable in the effort to get here, unlike some people."
Lucy deadpanned, "Yes. You were a big help. Now wipe the grin off your face."
Naruto stepped forward on the platform and looked around at their surroundings. He silently stared at the intricate platforms and water basins beneath them as Gray asked behind him, "What's up Naruto? Did you notice something?"
"This is different. It's all different." Naruto said while looking over the edge, "This was just one big structure with cells covering the walls all the way to the top. And they blew out the floor too. There used to be a graveyard underneath there." His eyes narrowed angrily and his clenched his fist, "There were bodies laid to rest under there."
They could see the anger building in the blond's dual-colored eyes, not even bothering to ask when they could see how angry he was coming back here. This whole place might just be one big trigger for him. Lucy hesitated, "Naruto? We...we should keep going."
Naruto spared her a look before staring back at the lower level. He finally nodded before steeping away from the edge, "Yeah, good idea."
She nodded and started leading them towards the wall to exit while Natsu psyched himself up, "Stupid jerks! Why the hell would they take Happy in the first place?!"
Naruto answered, "That was probably Milliana. She's obsessed with cats. Loves 'em more than anything. You might be hard-pressed trying to take him back from her."
"And she's pretty quick too." Gray noted, getting a grumble of agreement from Lucy and Juvia. They knew full well how much of a pain in the ass that cat tube thing she used could be, "If she pulls out a tube and throws it at you, get out of the way. You do not wanna get caught in that thing."
"No worries. I'm way better at avoiding that crap than you guys." Juvia hung her head in shame and Lucy aimed a small glare at him while Gray struggled not to punch him in the face, "I just got get a good hit and-"
Natsu froze in place as the air that smelled of salt water and moldy rocks suddenly became drenched in something else. It reeked of it.
Blood.
Lucy looked back, "Nat-"
"GET DOWN!"
Natsu dashed forward and tackled Lucy to the floor as several projectiles went over their heads faster than they could see. They all suddenly got into a defensive stance as projectiles started getting hurled around their heads at blinding speeds. Natsu kept Lucy's head down as she screamed, "Ahh! What's going on?!"
Juvia's body continually changed from physical to liquid as the projectiles flew through her body. She looked around desperately, "Juvia cannot tell where they are attacking from!"
"Shit!" Gray created a shield of ice to block the attacks from every point of vision above them, "We gotta do something!"
Naruto ducked and avoided the attacks that went for his head and body while trying to figure out the point of origin for the attacks. His eyes darted back and forth, trying to find the enemy that was striking from the shadows before landing in a crouch. He summoned his black sword from his Requip space before jumping back to his feet.
*Clack*Clack*Clack*
The whiskered Mage parried and knocked each strike out of the air as the projectiles flew in every direction. Most of them fell over the side but one sharp kunai fell by his foot. He slipped his shoe underneath it before kicking it up and grabbing it out of the air. He examined it closely and narrowed his eyes, "Ninja."
"That's right." A voice echoed out through the entire level, "Most people don't survive the onslaught of flying knives piercing their bodies, let alone blocking them and guessing who their attacker may be. You're a strong opponent."
A man stepped out of the shadows further down from the platform they were standing on, surprising them all on how he was able to get down here without getting their attention. He was an older man, with a relaxed expression on his face and shaggy black hair. He was wearing a purple hakama and had both his hands hidden away in his sleeves. He cracked a small smile, "I can understand why Jellal-sama suggested I handle the most dangerous element first. You could be a big hassle in the plans for today."
Gray shattered the shield he was hiding behind and stared at the strange man cautiously. He shook his head, "This guy is strong. We gotta be careful."
Natsu stood up and engulfed his hands in flame, "Don't care. If this guy's getting in our way than we just gotta kick his ass like the others!"
Natsu started running toward the strange man as the new opponent just stood in place. He smiled and placed one foot back.
"No!" Naruto grabbed Natsu's shoulder and pushed him aside before throwing the kunai he had picked up at the other ninja.
The black-haired man smirked and dashed forward at staggering speed, knocking the kunai aside with another he pulled out of his sleeve as he soared at the blond man with intent. Naruto swung his sword out and parried the rapid strikes of the skilled killer that turned in the air and landed behind them. The assassin extended his hands and kunai slipped into his palms, dashing forward to attack the group of Fairy Mages before they could counter.
Naruto intercepted his advance and blocked the kunai with his blade, sparks flying off between the two men who struggled for ground against the other. Naruto pushed forward with his sword but met equal resistance from the assassin who smiled menacingly at him. His friends yelled, "Naruto!"
The blond yelled back at them, "I'll handle this guy! You guys go ahead and get Erza back!"
"But-"
"Go! I can do this!"
The Fairy group hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow his wishes and recuse their friends. The team ran down the platform and followed the wall to the inner levels of the tower as Naruto held off the other ninja. The man smiled and pressured the whiskered man further with anticipation, "You have much confidence believing you can handle me by yourself, young one."
Naruto smirked in return, not wanting to reveal how focused he was in keeping the other fighter at bay, "Well, I feel like I need to focus taking you on myself. I mean, who better to face a ninja than a ninja, right?"
"Oh~, I thought I recognized the teachings of a killer from shadows in your movement. Well then, this really will be fun, Hunter."
The sound of metal clicking emanated around them and Naruto felt his skin crawl in response. He jumped back just as the section of platform they stood on was sliced apart into thin pieces and exploded violently. Naruto looked back up and saw his opponent had vanished from sight in the chaos and the remaining debris fell towards the bottom of the water basin.
"I suppose we will get to see who is the greater assassin now, won't we boy? Now that you're trapped in my web."
Naruto looked up and saw the man was now standing firmly in midair like there was an invisible platform beneath his feet. He abandoned his hakama to reveal his muscular form and weapon patches around his legs. He held out his hands and summoned kunai from a Requip space before smiling down at the Fairy Mage, "I am the master of the mercenary guild, Death's Head Caucus. I am the assassin, Tobita Danzo, also known as the Red Spider. I hope you can prove to be an entertaining prey."
...
"Hmmm."
The assassin raised an eyebrow, "Did I say something of interest, young one?"
"No. It's just...it's all coming up today. The woman I love has been kidnapped. I'm back in this stupid tower. I'm reliving all the crap I tried to put away. And now, just for fun, someone named Danzo is standing in my way. I'm sorry..."
A torrent of wind poured off of Naruto's body and spread across the entire level. He looked up and focused a malicious glare on his opponent as he gripped his sword even tighter, "But you ain't gonna get off easy. Because you had to face me on a really, really bad day."
########Hunter########
Done
It's an assassin guild. And who better to lead an assassin's guild than a trained ninja. In case you guys felt the guy was similar, based on Jiraia from Gintama.
Now, Erza's on the loose, the Fairies on the run, Naruto's holding off a trained killer, the Council is bustling on what to do, and Jellal...is just sitting back and watching the whole damn thing.
In we go.
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