Titania and The Hunter

Chapter 41: Trials of Perdition

I'm sorry this chapter doesn't get into the gritty part everyone's been waiting for. Unfortunately I've been hit with a little writer's block and the normal way I've written these chapters got screwed up in the process so it was irritating trying to continue writing. It hurts my eyes trying to write a minimum of 17K words when the font is the size of rice and no matter what I do the fucking program won't switch back.

Fortunately the block cleared, I have a clearer path of what I want to write, and my writing method and program should return to normal after this chapter.

I'm sorry for the wait you've been suffering and thank you all for still following all this time.

########Hunter########

"What you are suggesting, Siegrain, is in direct violation of each and every code the Magic Council has established since its creation."

The young Council member furrowed his gaze and spoke with a firm edge, "If that was true, then you would have decommissioned the entire thing years ago. But you kept it around. Because you knew, in desperate times, we might need to use it again."

"That may be, but keeping it functional and actually using it are two vastly different things." Org noted, "For one, the destruction and fallout of using it would be catastrophic. We would be receiving flak from the press, the population, and anyone that could see it coming. Plus, the king and his advisors would need to be forewarned any time we believe it is necessary to use the weapon."

Ultear shook her head, "Getting the information to the king and then waiting for their permission would take too long. We would be sitting here waiting for a yes while letting Jellal succeed in finishing the tower." She vigorously looked at the other members, "Sitting by and letting it happen would be a grievous mistake on our part! We have to act now!"

"We aren't just going to decide to use it because you're yelling louder, child!" Michello yelled back with a grouchy tone as he tapped his cane loudly against the marble floor, "The ramifications of using that weapon won't just be limited to this country! Alvarez has been keeping a watchful eye on us ever since their invasion attempt two years ago! If they see us use a weapon like that so close to the coast-"

"Alvarez is nowhere near where the tower was spotted!" Ultear argued, "It's off the south coast! It's closer to Caelum! Nowhere near Alakitasia! Alvarez will have no jurisdiction or knowledge about how we use it!"

"When a neutral country like ours uses a weapon as powerful as Etherion, everyone will get their hands on that knowledge! We cannot be so hasty to resort to it like this!"

Siegrain stood out of his seat and everyone turned their attention in him. The blue-haired man with the tattoo on his eye looked between them all with a reserved stare. His voice came out quietly, "I know how dangerous it is to use something like Etherion. By its nature it is not a device that should be used at the whim of man. Some of us even scrutinize our predecessors for creating something that destroys everything in its path. But the fact is that it was created so that in the face of an unprecedented danger we could stop it, and we have kept it working up until now for that same reason."

The young Wizard Saint looked down at the table, "We have heard about the atrocities Zeref created during his reign. The horrors he brought to the world centuries ago carved deep scars into our history. The monstrosities he called demons whose effects and damages can still be seen to this day. But these are merely legends. Stories passed down from generations because they wished to warn us of the horrors a man like Zeref can cause to this world. We have never personally seen what happened 400 years ago to make him so feared and yet his presence is still powerful enough to influence people to this day to continue his evil." He looked up from the table and stared directly at everyone around him, "Would you be willing to let a man like Zeref be revived to the land of the living because we couldn't come to a decision? Will our negligence be the thing that condemns millions of people to Hell?"

...

"It's not just about the after-effects of the weapon, Siegrain-kun." Yajima stated, his usual soft-spoken tone abandoned for a much firmer one, "Etherion erases everything. Matter. Magic. Everything. It will literally wipe its target from existence. There will be nothing left when the light clears." The old man looked the younger boy in the eyes, "There are people on that island. People that would cause harm to others if they could but people none the less. If we use Etherion while they're still there then they will just cease to exist. There wouldn't even be anything left of their souls when it was done. You won't be killing them Siegrain. You would be condemning them to oblivion for all eternity. Can we make that choice so easily?"

Siegrain shook his head and looked at the older man with a solemn face, "It seems like a simple answer to me, Yajima-San. I am willing to live with the sin of sacrificing the lives of those people if it assures salvation for the rest of the world. The question is if the rest of you are willing to shoulder that sin as well."

########Hunter########

Gray, Lucy, and Juvia took a moment to catch their bearings and reconvene in an empty hallway of the tower's interior. The Maker Mage looked around cautiously for any more tough enemies or cult members that may try to attack them while they rested. He couldn't spot any more approaching enemies or anyone else in the hallway. He nodded, "I think we're clear. We can take a second before we need to keep moving."

"There's so many of them! A-and it's like they just keep making more guys to attack us with!" Lucy was panting lightly and looked back from where they had just run from in a panic. She gave a small huff and pushed off her knees, "And what the heck was with that guy?" She shivered and held her arms tightly, "I felt cold just looking at him. Who was he?"

"Naruto said he was a ninja." Gray noted as he remembered the killing intent and precision the assassin showed trying to take them out. The Maker Mage looked back at them, "He definitely looked the part."

Juvia looked back at the shirtless Fairy Mage and asked, "Are you sure Naruto-San will be able to handle that man by himself? He seemed extremely powerful. Maybe we should go back and-"

"He can handle himself." Gray interrupted the Water Mage before she could voice her worry, "Naruto's more than enough to take on a killer like that. But he trusted us to make sure we find Erza and take her back from this place. So that's what we're gonna do."

"Princess." Virgo suddenly appeared behind Lucy from the Celestial World, carrying a beautiful outfit over her arms. She bowed her head respectfully to her key carrier, "Here are the garments I promised you. They should be sufficient in covering you for the rest of this journey while also protecting you from a fair amount of physical danger as well."

"Thanks Virgo!" Lucy cheered as she took the clothes from her maiden spirit and nodded thankfully, "Tonight looks like it's gonna be a tough one. Can you tell the others that I might be calling on them soon."

"Of course Princess." The pink-haired spirit gracefully nodded her head before her body glowed brightly and disappeared back through her gate.

Lucy looked over the clothes she had received and ducked into a corner out of the way of the rest of the hall. She peeked out, "Gray, I need to change. Don't you dare look this way." She saw Gray turn around and give a lazy wave over his shoulder as Juvia scowled at the blonde. Lucy started changing, "Don't you look either Natsu. I'll be angry if you do." She received no answer in return and stopped removing her swimsuit to peek around the corner, "Natsu?"

They all looked around and spotted no sign of the pink-haired Dragon Slayer anywhere. Gray felt his scorn rise and yelled, "God dammit! That's blockhead is gonna get us killed!"

Juvia asked, "Where could Natsu-San have run off to?"

Gray ran his hand over his face and moaned, "He went to look for Happy. If that dumbass had just waited a moment so we could plan something to make sure we wouldn't be running in blind!"

"Should we follow after him?"

Gray took in a sharp breath before shaking his head, "No, leave him. He's an idiot but he won't get himself hurt too bad. If anything all the crap he'll be doing will probably draw their attention off us. Let Natsu focus on getting Happy and we'll take Erza back."

"Over here! I heard something!"

Gray and Juvia looked over and saw a large group of new cult members coming from the corner with spears in hand. The one leading the charge pointed his weapon towards the Fairy Mages, "There's the intruders! Get them!"

"Spoke too soon." Gray prepared to attack and Juvia stepped up beside him, "Get ready!"

Lucy yelled from her changing spot, "W-wait! I'm not done yet!"

The cult members were approaching them faster and faster ready to fight. But a shadow quickly dropped down behind them and the new cult members looked back in surprise.

*Schwip*

The sound of a blade slicing through metal and air resonated through the hallway before the cult guards were all swatted away. The Fairies watched in stunned silence as the defeated guards crashed into the floor while a familiar redhead had her sword outstretched and kneeling on the ground.

The others stared at her in shock as Gray spoke up, "Erza?"

The woman with the blue and brown eyes heard the familiar voice and looked up in shock to see her friends in front of her. A sense of relief filled her chest that they were alive before immediately being replaced with dread that they were here. She stood up and looked between them, "Gray. Lucy..."

Juvia stepped forward and gave a small bow to the warrior they came to assist. She humbly spoke up, "H-hello, Erza-San. We haven't been introduced-"

"Leave."

"H-huh?"

"Leave. All of you." Erza waved them off, walking past them without meeting their eyes as she pointed her sword down the hall, "Get together, get back on whatever you took to get here, and go back to the coast. I'll meet up with you there."

Lucy finished dressing up in her long celestial gown and tried to persuade her friend, "Erza, we came to help."

"I know you did. But I won't need help here." Erza stopped before turning back at the blonde and asking with absolute seriousness, "Was anyone hurt in the hotel after they took me?"

"Huh? Um, Natsu got a little roughed up but he's fine. And Naruto was okay too."

"I see. That's good." Erza muttered to herself with a relieved sigh before she realized that if they had come here, Naruto probably had as well. The thought caused a cold pit to fill in her stomach before asking, "Where are they right now."

"Natsu ran off to look for Happy." Gray's eyes drifted off to the way they had just came, "Naruto's fighting someone back there. Some kinda killer hired to help protect this place." She looked back at him in confusion and he shook his head, "He can handle it. He said we needed to focus on getting you back. And that's what we're here to do."

"No. You need to get Happy and leave as fast as possible." Erza responded, "I have business here that I can't leave unfinished."

"You mean your family, right?"

Erza stood in place silently as Lucy's question hung in the air. The pregnant silence was enough of an answer for all of them to know Lucy was right. The redhead stayed silent before Lucy stepped towards her friend, "Naruto...he told us what this place is. What it means to you both. What happened here."

Erza didn't show any outward reaction to what Lucy admitted as Gray spoke up too. He assured his old friend, "If they're your old family then we'll understand if you want to help them. Or stop them. Whatever you want to do, just tell us." Gray proudly knocked his fist against the Fairy emblem on his chest and spoke with a solid tone, "As long as we have this mark, we're you're family too. And that means we're ready to stand by you no matter what. You don't even need to ask."

...

Erza looked back at her team, a sad look in her eyes and a weak smile. Gray gave a confident smirk and nodded as Lucy asked, "Erza, what are they trying to do with this Tower? Is it really what Naruto said it was?"

Erza wiped the tear forming in her left eye and nodded, "Yes. That's right. Jellal...he's trying to resurrect Zeref."

########Hunter########

Natsu raised his nose and took a deep whiff of every room he passed by in the tower hallway.

He stopped in front of a door and sniffed, "No."

He stopped in front of another door and sniffed, "No."

He stopped in front of another door and sniffed, "No."

Natsu repeated this process over and over while climbing each level of the tower to find his lost friend. After searching for a few minutes and getting a deep whiff of every room, Natsu finally stopped in front of one in particular.

It smelled like fur.

And Happy.

Natsu didn't waste a moment as he kicked the door down and barged in, "Happy!" He looked around, startled by the sheer amount of cat paraphernalia in the room but still focused on the cat he needed to retrieve. He called out again, "Happy! C'mon Buddy! I'm here to take you back!"

Happy's scent was somewhere lingering in this room. He was here, or at least he was here recently. He yelled again, "Happy! Happy! Hap-"

*Bang*

Natsu ducked down quickly and jumped back to the other side of the room as he looked up at the man that tried to shoot him from behind. Emerging from behind the entrance was the block-faced gunner that had attacked him earlier. The well-dressed man groaned and lowered his revolver, "I'm impressed. Not only did you survive but you came all the way here to get in the way again. Not very dandy, man."

Natsu lifted himself back to his feet and glared his attacker down with contempt. He growled through his teeth, "Shoot me once, piss me off. Shoot me twice, and I'm gonna send you flying you blocky bastard."

"Mmm." Wally hummed uninterestingly at Natsu's threat as he flipped his gun open to dislodge the used bullet casings. He thought he would be able to end it quickly with a shot to the back of the head, but it looked like this was going to take a little more time. He pulled out six bullets and started sorting them in, "Well I hope you realize, little man, that the moment you stepped into this tower, you sealed your-"

"WRAH!"

Wally dematerialized into cubes and dodged the flaming fist that threatened to cave in his face. Natsu yelled when his punch missed as the gunman appeared behind him again and aimed his gun at the mop of pink hair, "Fate."

*Bang*Bang*Bang*

Natsu flipped and dodged across the room as Wally's bullets followed after him and destroyed their surroundings. The bullets pierced the cat toys and pillows that littered the room as the Fairy Mage jumped through the floating cotton and debris. Wally's rapid fire stopped for a moment as he needed to reload his shots.

Natsu took this chance to dash at his enemy and try to finish him off in one shot. But the moment before he impacted the man's chest, the square-shaped man spread apart into cubes and let the Dragon Slayer pass through him. Wally sweated a little in worry, "That was close."

Natsu yelled angrily, "God dammit! Stop dodging me you freak!"

"You're one to talk, pyro-boy." Wally reloaded and aimed his revolver again, locking Natsu's head down his sights and ready to end this fight. He prepared to pull the trigger, "If you'd just stay in place I can promise a quicker end than-"

"WALLY!"

The usually composed gunner flinched when the female voice pierced the heavy fighting atmosphere. Another door on the other side of the room swung open at the cat-themed girl was looking around at the remains of her room in tearful despair. She looked at her friend and cried a little, "What did I tell you about firing your gun off in here! I knew this would happen!"

"Milliana!" Wally grumbled and kept his eyes on his opponent while trying to calm down his companion, "This guy is a serious threat! He has to be dealt with right now."

"Not in my room!"

Natsu pointed at the new girl, "Hey you! Where did you take Happy?"

Milliana looked over at the Dragon Slayer and leveled an annoyed glare at him for helping destroy her room. She stuck her tongue out at him indignantly, "No way! The kitty is mine now and I'm not giving him to you no matter what!"

"Sorry kid." Wally noted, "Once she's got her hands on a cat she won't let it go. If it makes you feel any better we'll take real good care of him."

Natsu glared at the two angrily and enveloped his fists in flames, "Like I'm taking your word after you kidnapped Erza and brought her back here."

Wally's eyes narrowed behind his shades and he grumbled, "What's are you talking about?"

"What the hell do you think I'm talking about?! You attack us! You try to kill Naruto-your friend! Then you bring Erza back to this shithole!" Natsu just shook his head with disdain, "Some friends you guys are."

Milliana and Wally both glared at the Fairy Mage intently as the gunner coldly asked, "What is that supposed to mean exactly, kid?"

"You know what it means." Natsu retorted, "Naruto told me all about what you guys went through here. What you're trying to do. That you guys would stick around here at all is nuts. But now you bring Erza into it so she can suffer all over again is just sick."

Milliana's eyes turned cold as she glared Natsu down, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"And you guys are just trying to convince yourself you're not hurting her! Coming back to this place is hell! And you're a part of it!" Natsu yelled back at them, "No friends would do something like that to someone they cherish like you say you do! And if this place is as bad as I heard then you guys are just torturing yourselves by staying here! If you guys wanna suffer then that's on you but I ain't gonna let you bring Erza and Naruto back into this!"

"Shut up!" Milliana jumped up and went in for a dive kick that Natsu sidestepped at the last moment. The cat girl landed on her feet and she followed up with a flurry of kicks and swipes at the Dragon Slayer's head. The pink-haired man dodged the brown-haired girl's attack as she desperately continued with a furious look in her eyes, "Don't act like you know the real Er-chan! Like you know the real Na-chan! You jerks just pretend to understand but you'll never know who they really are! What they've been through!"

"And I don't care!" Natsu grabbed her wrist and held her back as he showed his teeth, "I don't care what they went through because they're my friends! What I care about is that you're bringing them back into something that scares and terrifies them! And if you try-"

Wally reappeared beside them and pointed his gun at Natsu's temple.

*Bang*

Natsu released his grip on Milliana's hand and flipped back to avoid the shots that followed him. Wally fired shot after shot to force Natsu to evade before Milliana collected herself and fired a Nekōsoku Tube in his direction, "Take this!"

Natsu landed on his feet and watched as the rubber tube came his way and he could make no effort to dodge while landing. He prepared to propel himself with fire-

"NATSU!"

Happy came flying in from another room and dove into the cat-girl's attack, binding himself in the magic rope and deactivating his Aera. He fell roughly on his face, "OOF!"

"Happy!"

"Kitty!"

Wally clicked his teeth, "Now we got-"

"No!" Milliana pushed her friend's gun away and pleaded desperately, "Don't shoot the kitty!"

"I wasn't gonna shoot the cat! How bad do you think my aim is?"

"You shot the rest of my room!"

"Happy!" Natsu quickly picked up his feline friend as he struggled with the constricting rope around him. He gripped a part of rope and pulled it tight until it ripped apart. He held his best friend carefully, "Happy! You okay buddy?"

"Y-yeah." Happy shook his head to focus again and looked up at his best friend. Little tears formed in the sides of his eyes and he hugged the Dragon Slayer's torso, "Natsu~! I didn't think I'd see you again!"

"Pfft." Natsu patted the cat's head, "C'mon man. Like I would actually leave you behind."

Happy looked up at his friend sadly, "Natsu, that girl told me about this place. It's...it's really bad."

"I know man. Naruto told us too."

Happy teared up a little, "They said Naruto was dead. And Erza went crazy or something. They...they really, really want to help them."

Natsu looked down at the cat before sparing a look towards the two opponents that were talking between each other. Natsu thought for a moment before smiling and patting Happy's head, "Naruto ain't dead. And Erza's always been crazy. No worries Happy, we're here to help Erza instead." He reached over and grabbed the remains of the magic tube Happy was caught in, made sure it didn't distrust his magic anymore now that it was broken, and wrapped it around his fist, "And if that means we gotta knock these guys down for a bit and tumble this tower, we'll just do what Fairy Tail does best."

Happy looked up at his friend with relief at his optimism in this bad situation. His eyes started to water and his nose started running, "Natsu."

Natsu gave a confident smile to his friend before standing up and meeting the glares of the girl and the blocky man as they probably caught the end of his reassuring statement to the cat. Natsu smirked and held his hands up like he was issuing a challenge, "You guys wanna come at me again and see if you can do a little better now?"

Wally and Milliana's faces were twisted with anger and annoyance at the man in front of them. The gunman cocked the hammer back on his revolver and sternly warned the rose-haired man, "Don't get cocky kid. You haven't been able to stop us yet."

"I was more worried about my friend before. But now I'm focused all on you."

"WRRAAAHHHH!" Milliana charged forward in fury and threw her hand out, releasing several more tubes that stretched out to entangle the Fairy Mage. Natsu dashed forward, weaving around the magic tubes that promised to restrict and trap him if they connected. But Natsu dashed past them with renewed vigor and appeared directly in front of the cat girl. Milliana shot up with a start, "Wha-"

Natsu grabbed her wrist, "Got you!" He stepped back and swung her off her feet, causing the younger teen to shriek in shock as he spun her around. His back started catching fire and while Milliana was in line he created an explosive wave of flames that caught her, "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

"AHHH!" Milliana yelped as she was knocked back by the explosive fire and crashed into the wall across the room.

"Milliana!" Wally yelled back to his friend as she moaned in pain before falling to the ground. He pointed his barrel at Natsu and started firing, "Bastard! I'll kill you for that!"

Natsu engulfed one arm in blistering fire and created a massive wave between him and the gunner. The bullets were engulfed in the fire and it created a screen that blocked Wally's vision of his opponent. He panicked, opened up the revolver and tried to change the ammo as quickly as possible, "Shit!"

As the flames started to dissipate, a familiar orange tube spiked through the remaining orange glow and struck Wally between the eyes. His shades broke in half and he stumbled back, "What the-"

Natsu dashed through the fire and landed his palm against the blocky man's chest. Wally was so shocked he couldn't break apart in time and Natsu's voice pierced him, "Sorry man..."

"Fire Dragon's Grip Strike!"

*Boom*

Natsu's hand burst in a fiery explosion that covered Wally instantly and sent him through the wall and into the hallway. Natsu looked out at the unconscious man before sparing a look to the resting girl on the other side of his room. His eyes softened with empathy but his voice kept its stern edge.

"But they're my friends too."

########Hunter########

*Sching*

Naruto jumped into the air and felt his blade cross with Danzō knives, leaving a cloud of sparks from the quick exchange. The whiskered blond flipped through the air before landing on another platform and sprinting ahead as a rain of knives chased after him and littered the ground behind him. He immediately stopped and swung his black blade around to scatter the knives trained on him until they clattered against the ground and stopped. Naruto stood his ground with his blade at the ready, his eyes darting back and forth as his fingers tightened around the handle of his sword.

He felt something speed toward him from the side and jumped back as a blur passed by him while trying to slice his throat. He gathered his chakra into his hand and sent a quick flurry of jabs in the blur's direction, "Storm Fist!"

The barrage of Wind attacks flew through the air at staggering speeds and nearly caught up with the speedy assassin before he made an unnatural turn upwards and avoided the attacks altogether. Naruto clicked his teeth in anger before looking up as the assassin dashed around in the air like he could fly. The Fairy Mage's eyes attempted to keep up with the ninja's experienced moves but he could only catch glimpses before he disappeared again. Like he was ricocheting through the air, similar to Naruto's own technique of kicking off the wind.

But this wasn't that. And he bet it was much simpler than that.

He heard something split the air again and Naruto vaulted back as something pierced through the stone platform and reduced a section of it to nothing but rubble. Naruto soared through the air before he landed on the wall and stood straight along it with help from his chakra.

He heard the mercenary's deep voice echo through the room with a chuckle, "I must admit...this wall scaling trick you are using is quite impressive. I'd suspect it was Gravity magic you were using but I've killed Mages that use that variety of magic and it's very different. It's intriguing to see you use something like this. Quite unorthodox."

Naruto looked up and saw his enemy, the hired mercenary Mage Tobita Danzō, crouched in the middle of the air and looking down at him with a condescending glance. Naruto grumbled, "Pot. Kettle."

The rugged man smirked before he stood back up and crossed his arms. He chided the blond below him, "Don't go saying that so soon. You called yourself a ninja too, correct? Yet you have not attempted to land a killing strike against me at all so far. You put up a good show earlier but I barely sense any killing intent from you." He raised an eyebrow skeptically, "Might you be a ninja in name alone?"

"I know the techniques. It doesn't mean I need to follow through with their methods." Naruto rolled his shoulders before looking back up at the killer above him, "Should you really be wasting time testing me like this? Lowering your guard is a bad choice to make right now."

Naruto jumped off the wall and sped towards the Red Spider like a bullet. He swung out at the other ninja but the black-haired man leaned back as the sword passed just over his head. He jumped and positioned his feet towards the Fairy's chest before kicking forward and knocking them away from each other, "I never lower my guard."

Danzō fell through the air before he landed on something and spun around before launching himself back up towards the skyward blond. He let a pair of kunai slip into his palms and prepared to eviscerated his enemy but was shocked to see his whiskered opponent pull a red sword from his Requip space. Naruto turned in the air and created a massive wave of fire that spread out around him to block any attack, "Blazing Dragon Tail!"

*Squelch*

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as something almost invisible shot through the flames and actually pierced through his shoulder. He looked down to see a modicum of blood start to form under his shirt from his shoulder. He felt it start to pull him in and he swung his blade down in front of him to cut off whatever connection that was binding them. He fell through the last of the fire and aimed for a platform to land on. The moment he landed and felt he wasn't in danger, he reached up to check that his arm was still usable.

The entry and exit wounds were minuscule. And the object was nearly invisible.

He had a guess before but this definitely confirmed it.

Danzō voice rang out through the massive room in a patronizing tone, "Are you okay? I certainly hope I didn't hurt you too badly with that last attack. I was just so startled by that fire that I reacted without thinking. You know, if you're having trouble keeping up, I could give you a hint on how I walk through the air."

Naruto pulled his dark blue sword out and swung it upward as the pools of water at the bottom of the basement shot up like torrents, "Raging Stream!"

The streams of water finally collided and splashed against the ceiling until they spread apart and let a steady rain pour down across the entire room. Naruto looked up amidst the downpour as the droplets of water collided against something in the middle of the air and spread out along thin lines of steel tied between the walls.

Steel wires.

That's how he was 'walking on air'.

Danzō walked along his steel wire into the open and looked down at his opponent, his hair matted with salt water as he looked down at his opponent with some intrigue. He nodded, "You figured it out. That's impressive. Most people never realize it before I kill them."

"I'm just pissed it took me this long to notice." Naruto grumbled out angrily as he sent his elemental sword back into his Requip and held his head, "My head's so filled with other crap that I can't think straight. Took me longer than it should have to realize you can manipulate stings to suspend you in the air or attack."

"That's right." Danzō leaned forward and hung upside-down with a wire around his foot to keep him suspended. He hung there unnaturally before craning his head back to look down at his opponent, "I use String magic to manipulate garrote wire to kill my targets. I can twist it in any direction or manner I wish to complete whatever task I'm met with." His spread out his arms before swing them down towards Naruto, "Like this!"

Naruto grit his teeth and swung his sword out as several wires shot out towards him. He used his blade to parry and block the steel wires that scrapped and scratched along the black steel of his sword. He gathered Armor around his free forearm and used it to knock away the wires that twisted in the air and tried to attack his blind spot. He was pinned on both sides by garrote that threatened to make him a pin cushion if he slacked off for even a second.

The assassin took this opportunity and landed behind Naruto to try and slice at his throat. But Naruto felt the killing intent bearing down on him and inhaled deeply to fill his lungs with Wind before breathing out and letting it explode violently around him, "Tempest Wave!"

He pressure form the wind was so great that Danzō and his wires were blown off the platform entirely. But he threw his hand out and pierced another wire into the formation around him to swing and launch himself back up to his opponent. As he came back over the platform he caught sight of Naruto pulling out a light blue sword and creating a tornado around himself. Danzō eyes widened as he created a barrier of wires to protect himself from the torrential onslaught of shredding wind, "Infinite Storm Blade!"

The wire barrier was blasted backwards until it roughly impacted into the wall and Danzō's wires fell apart entirely. He groaned in discomfort and opened his eyes to see the whiskered blond jumping at him. The hired ninja braced against the wall and kicked off it to jump high into the air as Naruto's sword slashed through the stone. A portion of the wall exploded and Naruto landed against it before jumping after his opponent. The black-haired killer pulled out two kunai and blocked Naruto's blade before it made contact.

The Fairy Mage and the hired mercenary crossed blades and attempted to get the advantage against the other before they landed. Naruto swung his sword with staggering force and yelled, "You can't beat me! Stay out of our way and leave this place and I'll let you off before anyone else needs to get hurt!"

Sparks flew across Danzō's face as the sword creeped closer past his knives as they were falling towards the ground. He seemed panicked before a calm smile took its place, "See? No desire to kill. Can't call yourself a ninja if you won't follow through."

Danzō's swung his arm down and a garrote wire came shooting down from the ceiling and wrapped around Naruto's sword arm. The S-Class Mage was abruptly stopped in the air before being roughly pulled upwards until he slammed into the ceiling. The blond gasped in pain as several more wires shot out to entangle and bind him to center of the ceiling. He struggled to breath as one pulled around his neck and he squinted as the Red Spider smiled beneath him. The older killer chuckled and waved his hand, "Goodbye, young Hunter. It was fun while it lasted."

"WRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-" A part of the ceiling was sliced apart by the steel wires and a large chunk slid out of place with Naruto tied to the bottom of it. It slid from place and plummeted downward, destroying any platforms or bridges in its way as it was careening straight down the massive room. Naruto let out a rage-filled scream before it was drowned out with the sound of the ceiling chunk crashing into the ground and water with Naruto in the middle.

The entire basement shook with the force of the collision as Tobita Danzō looked down at his efforts with a smile. He leapt down from broken platform to broken platform as he descended down to the lowest level. No one could survive getting crushed by that, but Danzō wouldn't risk the chance considering the stories of how his opponent to never seemed to die. He had a reputation as the master of a mercenary guild to make sure his target was always dead. The guild master of Death's Head Caucus landed on the lowest floor, standing between the docking bays for boats and the broken remains of the ceiling. He smiled and walked towards the center of the rubble as a knife slipped into his hand.

He'd present the head of Fairy Tail's S-Class Mage as a gift to Jellal in good fortune.

He stepped between the rubble and smiled, "I hope Jellal-sama won't be too mad that I killed you. He said he had plans for both you and that little redhead he captured earlier. But maybe he'll still be able to have fun tormenting Titania with your head when I-"

*BOOOOOOM*

The largest pieces of debris in the center of the ground exploded violently and sent pieces of rubble flying in every direction. Danzō reacted quickly and sliced through any rocks coming his way before he had to cover his eyes from the wind and dust.

"What is he doing?"

Danzō's eyes widened in surprise as he looked up through the smoke cloud and saw a figure start to step out of it. The blond S-Class stepped into sight, bruises over his arms and face and a steady trail of blood going down from his forehead but not defeated by the ceiling falling on top of him. His whole body was glowing with protection from his magic before it receded and disappeared back into light. Naruto's dual-colored eyes were covered by his bangs before they parted and a chilling glare locked squarely on his enemy.

"What does Jellal want with Erza?"

Tobita Danzō looked on in surprise before a small, hopeful smile came over his face. He felt a cold sweat drip down the back of his hands as he gripped his kunai tighter.

Well...this really was going to be interesting.

########Hunter########

"And Naruto attacked him in retaliation. And then they just started fighting like they were possessed. They trade blows and despite their injuries they persisted forward to beat the other one." Erza continued retelling the last dark memories of their past and time in this place to her companions, "But Jellal's new powers were just so much stronger than anything Naruto and I could do. Before we could do anything he blew up the remnants of the tower and separated us from each other. I fell into the ocean and drifted in the sea for an entire day before washing up on the beach. Naruto passed out beneath the rubble here and couldn't escape for weeks. And Jellal..." Her blue and brown eyes closed as she clenched her fists tightly with regret and anger. She looked back up at her friends with determination burning in her eyes, "This tower being rebuilt. Our friends having to spend all these years building here again. Everything Jellal does today is because we couldn't stop him eight years ago. I need to stop Jellal and destroy this tower once and for all. To put an end to this madness."

Gray looked at the redhead in silence as Juvia seemed saddened by her tale and Lucy wiped a tear from her eyes. Hearing the hardships Erza and her friends had gone through really put weight into how much meeting them again after all this time meant for her and Naruto. And how devastating it must feel to see them being warped and manipulated by their oldest friend.

Gray grit his teeth and sharply inhaled to try and calm himself down. He looked around at the Tower's hallway and elegant interior and could feel the inside of his stomach start crawling as the stories she told them started becoming images in his eyes. He balled his fist tightly, "No wonder you guys hate the idea of coming back here. And were even more serious about not wanting us here either."

"Being back here, even after all this time, still feels like too much." Erza's eyes shifted downward in shame, "I can't imagine what it must have been like to stay here and rebuild it after it had fallen." The redhead's melancholy look shifted to a sad but relieved smile aimed towards her friends, "But it makes being here easier knowing that you came to help me."

Lucy rubbed her eyes and nodded her head, ignoring the redness around her eyes as she prepared to do whatever it took to help her friend. She pumped her arms, "What do we need to do?"

Juvia gave a small bow, "Whatever you may need, Juvia will provide assistance however she can."

Erza looked between her team, "What we need to focus on is stopping Jellal and his plans for the Tower of Heaven. If I can meet with him face-to-face then I can try to convince him. If that doesn't work then I'll be prepared to take him down myself if I have to."

Gray pointed out, "What about your friends? They'll still be on his side if we can't get them to join us."

A conflicted gleam filled Erza's eyes before they closed, "They've been here following his command for many years now. It might take time we don't have to try and make them understand that we're trying to help. If that's the case then it would be better to focus on stopping Jellal now and trying to convince them afterwards."

"It might not be as hard as you think."

Erza jerked up and turned around to see a large figure step out from the shadows. Simon, in all his statuesque glory, walked up to the Fairies unbidden before stopping just a foot away from them. Lucy panicked, "Ah! That's one of guys that attacked earlier!"

Gray realized Erza couldn't fight her friend this quickly and slammed his fist down on his palm in preparation for battle, "Erza, get back!"

"Wait."

Erza just raised her hand and motioned for her comrades to stop before they could react in any way. Erza stepped forward and craned her neck back to look up at her old friend. The only visible part of his face beneath the metal jaw and cloth was one of his eyes. But unlike earlier when it was cold and stern, his eye seemed much softer and familiar with her. Her shoulders eased and she felt a warmth fill her chest, "Simon..."

"I'm sorry you had to come back here Erza. I'm sorry we had to bring you here. And attack your friends." Simon's voice was filled with remorse as he lowered his head, "But what's about to happen here is too much for me to handle by myself. And I believe if anyone is strong enough to to stop Jellal, it might be you."

"Woah woah woah, hold on." Gray sputtered before pointing at the big man in shock, "You aren't brainwashed or loopy or whatever? You know what's going on?"

Erza looked up at him, "How long have you known?"

"Since the very beginning." Simon answered, "Since the moment Jellal returned from the remains of the Tower I've known something was wrong. The Jellal I knew would have stopped at nothing to bring you both back even if it killed him. And he never would have returned to that place even if you forced him. But the way he spoke and carried himself changed. He started speaking to the people and trying to convince them that rebuilding the Tower of Heaven could actually fix everything bad that had ever happened to them. He lied to Shō and the others, saying you killed Naruto and brought him back wrong. And that we needed the Tower to help you both. To make everything right. The way he talked and manipulated the others with his words was just...unnatural."

"But you stayed."

Simon nodded, "I stayed because I needed to watch over the others. Make sure they didn't get hurt. Or killed. I wanted to try and figure out a way to stop Jellal myself so I learned how to use magic like the others. I thought I was becoming strong enough but the rate and way Jellal grew was unbelievable. In just a few short years he had become stronger than any monster and there was nothing I could do. It seemed like he was unstoppable. But Jellal showed us what had become of you and Naruto. What you were doing. He was weaving more lies and convincing the others to follow him to bring you back but I saw you both...growing so strong...strong enough that you might be able to stop this."

Erza's eyes softened, "Simon."

"So when the day came that the Tower was near completion and you were close enough to retrieve, I realized this might be the only chance we had to finally put an end to all this. I followed the others to retrieve you and bring you back here because if you, the person they've been reaching for all this time spoke to them, maybe you could convince them that this was wrong. But Jellal was keeping an eye on us even when we were on the coast so I couldn't say anything. So I attacked Naruto. Not to kill but to delay him and show we were still alive and where we were going. I organized each of others to attack your friends with the least likelihood that it would kill them, long enough to deceive Jellal and for Naruto to escape and help them if they needed. I know how much being here hurts you both but you and Naruto are our last hope. I'm sorry but you two are the only ones strong enough to stop Jellal and the Tower." Simon's head lowered even more, "You two are the only ones that can make them see the light."

...

Erza stepped forward enough for Simon to open his eye and see the smile on her face. A small tear filled her left eye and her voice trembled with hope, "I'm sorry we've left you to handle our mess, old friend. It must have been so hard to bear this on your back."

Simon blinked in surprise before a tear welled up in his eye too and the corners of his smile showed over his metal jaw, "I'm just glad to see you again."

Simon bent down and the two old friends embraced in a hug. The cold and piercing anxiety that had filled them just a moment earlier melted away as the two companions finally spoke again after so many years.

"W-what are you talking about?"

Everyone looked back and saw Shō with bags under his eyes and a bruised nose standing behind them. The cards in his hands he was about to use to attack slowly slipped from his grip as his eyes trembled rapidly. His mouth opened and closed over and over as he stuttered, "S-Simon, what are you talking about? What did Née-San mean about all of that? What did you mean about Jellal lying?"

Simon separated from his hug with Erza and the redhead looked up at him with worry. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a reassuring nod before stepping forward, "Shō..." The younger blond hinged on his word as the scarred man answered, "It's true. Everything I've said to Erza. Everything she said to her friends. It's all true."

A look of complete devastation crossed the dark-skinned teen's face as Simon's words sunk in. His shoulders slumped desparily, "W...what?"

"It's true Shō." Erza affirmed as she stepped forward and nodded to the younger man, "Jellal has been deceiving you all this time. Naruto never died and I never brought him back. We escaped. And he's been keeping you all around this entire time to help him recreate the Tower." She looked at the anguish in his eyes and felt her stomach turn at the confusion he must have been feeling, "Jellal has been lying to you all."

Shō legs nearly gave out from shock before he steadied himself and looked down at the ground in horror. His thoughts were going rampant and his heart was beating so loudly that he could feel it through his ears. He couldn't make sense of it. J-Jellal told them what had happened. What they needed to do. They could use this place to fix everything! They could finally put all their suffering to good use by fixing this world! He looked up desperately at the one person that had been by his side through these past few years and pleaded, "S-Simon, you have to be joking! Please-please tell me what's going on! I-if this was real then you could have told me! I would have understood-"

"No you wouldn't Shō." Simon interrupted with a shake of his head as his eye softened with pity for the crushing reality he was presenting to his friend, "You love Erza and Naruto too much. You would have done anything to protect them again like they protected you. But Jellal twisted that love and affection and turned it into an obsession he could control. And the goal of helping Erza and Naruto slowly changed from a purpose to an excuse." Simon shook his head sadly, "We aren't helping them like this. We're hurting them."

...

Shō trembled some more and grit his teeth until they almost cracked. He lowered his head and screamed, "Why?! What was this for?! What was he trying to accomplish?! What's this all been for?!"

"I told you Shō...I'm doing this to change the world."

Everyone flinched and looked around for the disembodied voice that echoed through the walls around them. Lucy shivered and looked around in a panic, "W-where is that voice coming from?"

Erza stepped forward, "Jellal. Where are you?"

"Everywhere Erza. I'm in every inch. Every tile. Every grain of this Tower. My eyes are everywhere. And I see all of you. I see how lovely you've become over the years. And I see how strong you are now after all this time too, Naruto. Don't look so surprised. I've been keeping a watchful eye on all of you since the moment you entered through the waterways. The perilous fight happening in the basement. This little heart-to-heart in the hallways. I'm even watching you, Salamander, running back through the halls trying to find me. Don't waste your breath screaming, I'm not anywhere near you. All of you Fairies are so interesting to watch."

Gray yelled out, "What do you want you freak?! I hope you didn't call out to us just to show how creepy you are!"

"Oh, that's right. There's some business we have to address. Now there are a lot of you running around and some of you are scheming to stop me. And I have prepared for this outcome by acquiring the help of some gifted individuals in the art of ridding annoyances like you lot from the system. However, just a moment ago I received a very interesting piece of information from an informant of mine. The Magic Council has been notified of our existence and plans. And to make sure that our plans can not follow through and that no one could ever use its remains for their original purpose ever again, they've prepared to fire the Etherion cannon directly at us."

Several of the Fairy Mage's eyes widened in horror as Juvia covered her mouth, "E-Etherion."

"To the blissfully unaware, Etherion is the most powerful magical weapon capable of destroying nations that the Magic Council keeps lying around for the most dire situations. Apparently they deemed the Tower of Heaven as one of those terrible circumstances and plan to erase us from existence. But I happen to know that this magical weapon needs some time to gather a suitable amount of magic to fire. And I suppose it would reach its peak and fire within the hour. So here's how this may play out..."

"There is a group here that has reclaimed their prize and may choose to run. My hired help is prepared to scour every level of this structure in an effort to pick you off and retrieve the prize once more, the integral sacrifice for Zeref's revival. However with a ticking clock now in play, we are at the endgame of this little match. Will the Fairies try to stop me before I can activate the Tower or run away to save their skins? Will I be able to activate it before anyone takes my head and revive the Black Mage once and for all? Or will the Magic Council prove victorious and wipe us from the map? I'm very excited to see who comes out on top in this little game of ours..."

Gray furrowed his eyes, "This guy is a lunatic."

Lucy looked around worryingly before settling to face Erza for guidance, "What should we do Erza?"

"We can't let Jellal use this Tower. If we run then he'll escape and just try to recreate this place again wherever he can." Erza looked up sternly at the walls and ceiling knowing her friend was watching them, "We need to stop him here and now. Once we do then we can leave this place and let Etherion take care of it." The redhead faced down the hallway and narrowed her eyes...

"This all ends tonight."

"Very well. Let our Paradise Match commence."

########Hunter########

Done

I'll try to follow up soon. I know there's a lot to cover but I'll get it all in I promise.

And I know this chapter isn't anything special but I just needed to separate it for the sake of my sanity.

I hope you all can understand and bear with me just a little longer. I love you guys so much.

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