Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! Here we gooo!
FLASH!
Gildarts stared at Natsu with an amused expression on his face, clearly enjoying the reactions that he received from the young fire dragon slayer.
The little brat looked so flustered!
"Aaah. So you're married to Lisanna and Ember huh? How scandalous!" Gildarts teased Natsu.
"No I'm not!" Natsu grew flustered. "She keeps sayin' we are!"
"There's no need to be so shy about it Natsu!" Gildarts snickered.
"SHUT UP YOU OLD FART!" Natsu snapped.
"True love comes in many forms! Do not be ashamed!" Gildarts smirked.
Natsu went to attack the older mage, only for him to dodge and hit Natsu with only a flick of his finger, sending Natsu flying into the wall. Gildarts saw a flash of red from the corner of his eye and turned over, noticing that I was standing at the doorway to his home.
"Ember, what are you doing here, sweetheart?" Gildarts asked sweetly.
"Natsu left me in the woods, so I came here." I answered timidly.
Gildarts turned to glare at Natsu.
"Natsu! Get over here you little brat!" Gildarts shouted.
Natsu looked at me in surprise before his expression turned to fear at the thought of Erza killing him.
"I'm so sorry! I forgot!" Natsu's eyes widened.
"I told you, you went too fast for her." Happy snickered.
"I'm not mad." I looked down at my feet.
Gildarts and Natsu stopped bickering before giving me a look of concern. Gildarts released Natsu from his hold, walking over to me and picking me up from the ground.
"Is everything okay, Em?" Gildarts asked worriedly.
"I feel sad." I mumbled softly. "And I don't know why."
Gildarts held me almost like a parent would hold their child and rubbed my hair soothingly before sitting in his rocking chair.
"You don't know why you're sad?" Natsu looked confused.
"It's okay to feel sad, Ember. Ignore the brat." Gildarts stuck his tongue out at Natsu.
"Hey!"
"Now tell ol' Gildarts what troubles you." Gildarts let out a faint chuckle.
I was silent for a minute, trying to actually think about what had me so upset as I sat on Gildarts' lap, and finally recalled a conversation I had with Erza earlier this week.
"...I miss my old friends, but Erza told me they might be dead."
"Your old friends?" Gildarts raised an eyebrow.
I laid my head on his chest, feeling myself grow tired after the walk over here.
"Before Erza and I came to Fairy Tail...we had friends...when we were escaping, we had to leave them." I blinked away tears. "We haven't seen them since."
I could feel Gildarts tense up against me, clearly unsure of how to handle the situation, or know what to even say for that matter.
"I'm sorry you and Erza had to go through that. I remember that Makarov explained your situation." Gildarts mumbled. "But Ember..."
I perked up, listening intently to Gildarts.
"I don't want to completely agree with what Erza said, but I also don't want you to lose hope either. Your friends might be out there somewhere, but we'll never know for sure. But even though there's a slim chance, there's always still a chance, however small it may be. Just like Natsu searching for Igneel, there's a chance that Natsu will find Igneel someday."
Natsu perked up at the mention of Igneel, and smiled faintly, a look of determination on his face. I took in Gildarts' words, trying to understand what he was trying to tell me. He was basically saying that he didn't want me to get my hopes up, but to also not lose faith?
Talk about confusing...
I pulled away, rubbing my eyes tiredly before glancing up at Gildarts in confusion. He gave me a small smile, but it still showed much warmth. Gildarts was many things, and wise was clearly one of them. Sometimes I wondered how he developed the patience for basically everything, even for Natsu, and he was difficult to deal with at times.
"Sometimes, the only thing a wizard can have is hope. As long as we have that hope, nothing can take you down, even during the darkest of times. And whenever you see a chance at accomplishing something, to give others hope, you've gotta take it. A guild is the most strongest when they all unite and work together." Gildarts told me.
I nodded, letting out a yawn as I stretched like a cat before lying back on Gildarts. Gildarts seemed amused by my tired and sleepy behavior and continued to pet my hair.
"You're a good kid, Ember..." Gildarts chuckled. "Natsu, why can't you be more like Ember?"
"Why would I want to?!" Natsu snapped. "She can't even fight!"
"She may not be able to fight as good as you right now, but I bet you'll be eating those words when you're older, you little shit." Gildarts smirked.
"Yeah right! That'll be the day." Natsu scoffed. "Ember's way too nice. She wouldn't hurt a fly."
"You say that now..." Gildarts grinned.
FLASH!
My eyes fluttered open as I let out a small groan.
The fuck? Where am I?
I took in my surroundings, stilling my body so that I still appeared unconscious.
Wait...This can't be happening...I can't believe I'm actually returning after all of these years...
The Tower of Heaven. A place where only the most horrific things had occurred. Suddenly, I felt sick to my stomach, I wanted to throw up, I wanted to scream, and I regained those darkest desires I'd repressed after so many years.
I actually wanted to die.
I remember when I was but a child when I swore to myself that I'd rather die than to return there, and I truly meant that. I shook those thoughts from my head, trying to focus on the task at hand. I felt the area moving, and realized that I was on a boat, tied up next to Erza. I could hear Erza talking to Sho, and from the tremors in her voice, I could sense that she was just as scared as I was. If Sho and Simon were still alive, that means that Millianna, Wally and...
Jellal.
My eyes widened in fear from the thought of Jellal. He was once a great friend, very loyal and caring and at one point, I considered him to be like an older brother.
But in the end...the Tower of Heaven molded him into something horrific. They changed him...
"This place...where are we?" Erza groaned.
I kept my head down as Erza and Sho conversed with each other, making sure to listen carefully. Sho's mood swings were almost alarming, going from happy to see Erza and I, but then he would become angry within a split second, feeling betrayed by us as if we intentionally hurt him in any way. It was absurd that Sho was so hell-bent on not trusting us, even after all we had been through together.
"Why'd you do it...WHY DID YOU BETRAY JELLAL!" Sho yelled.
"Jellal..." Erza mumbled softly.
I wanted to lift up my head and yell at Sho, defend Erza's honor, but for some reason, I could tell that there was seriously something mentally wrong with Sho and that there would be no use in arguing with him. I felt many mixed emotions, and it made it very hard to concentrate.
FLASH!
Shrill and terrified screams had filled the air, people huddled in a circle hoping to save a child fighting death.
That child fighting for life was me.
It was almost like an out of body type of experience, like I was watching myself scream and cry from the sheer pain. The men at the Tower of Heaven were cruel, but they took punishment to an all new level. I had received a punishment unlike any other, both Erza and I were treated like scum, like bugs that needed to be squashed. It was because we were trying to run away that I was punished. We had almost made it, but then everything went horribly wrong. Erza got hurt too, her eye was wounded, with a bandage on top of it. I was laid onto my stomach, for the deep wounds on my back were being treated. Erza cried all night long as I was treated, with Simon, Sho, and Millianna all trying to comfort her in her time of need. After many hours, I was left alone, nothing more could be done, all that was left to do was wait.
"We've done all we can...she'll be lucky to survive the night." One of the slaves commented.
"She'll pull through. That girl is a fighter just like her sister. I can tell." An older man commented.
"Are sure Mister Rob?" Erza cried.
"Just call me Rob." He smiled sadly.
"How is she?" Millianna asked. "Can we see her?"
"I don't think that's such a good idea, kiddo. She needs all of the rest she can get to recover." Rob replied.
"Is she gonna be alright?" Wally asked worriedly.
"I believe so, yes." Rob nodded. "But...she'll have a huge scar on her back. Those men were ruthless." He mumbled softly.
Jellal looked at Erza with a look of anger on his face, clearly upset from what had happened.
"I'll make them pay for this Erza..." Jellal growled.
FLASH!
"Wake up, Em!"
I opened my eyes again, slowly lifting my head up until I was staring at Sho. Sho gave me a little smile that I recognized instantly, it usually meant that he was up to something. I knew better than to believe that what was ahead of Erza and I would be anything good. I stood up with the help of Sho, and he slowly led Erza and I out of the ship until we were on land.
No...oh Mavis...what do I do? I can't be here! I can't- -
"The Tower of Heaven. It's been completed?" Erza looked at the structure in shock.
"Why do you sound so surprised? We've been working on it since you both left almost ten years ago." Sho said.
"Has it been that long? It's amazing how much has changed...how much you all have changed." Erza glared at Sho.
I felt my breath become more shallow, my vision going in and out of focus, my heart beating rapidly. Erza took notice of my behavior, her eyes growing wide when she realized how terrified I was to even be here. Erza knew better than anyone of the anxiety I had when we both left the Tower of Heaven, it was something that took the longest time to recover from. I hadn't had a panic attack in years, but being here, it brought back all those retched memories along with the feelings of anxiety and fear.
I can't breathe! I can't- -
"Ember. Look at me." Erza said quickly.
Erza moved until she stood in front of me, so that I was looking at her. The others watched in what seemed to be amusement, like this was almost entertaining to watch, except for Simon. It was easy to tell that Simon didn't like to see me this way, but he kept a straight face, trying to seem unaffected and uncaring.
"You don't have to be afraid. I'm right here. I won't let you get hurt again." Erza mumbled softly.
As my body shook uncontrollably, I blinked several times as I tried looking at Erza, but continued to fail at doing so. My gaze kept returning to the newly finished Tower of Heaven.
I can't believe they finished the R-System...what do I do- -
"Ember." Erza spoke more firmly.
"You better get her under control, Erzie. Jellal doesn't like to be kept waiting." Millianna smiled tensely.
Erza grew tense, knowing it was probably better than to make our friends angry. Erza moved forward, and placed her forehead against mine, knowing it was the only form of comforting she could do, considering our arms were bound behind our backs.
"Ember. Listen to me." Erza muttered.
I took deep breaths, listening to the sound of my sister's voice.
"I know how you feel about this place. I know that more than anyone. But we don't have a choice in the matter. Please Ember...be strong. For the both of us. Don't lose hope. "
I could hear Gildarts' words ring through my head, and for a brief moment, I thought he was standing right next to me.
"Sometimes, the only thing a wizard can have is hope. As long as we have that hope, nothing can take you down, even during the darkest of times."
I gave Erza a weak smile, finally gaining some sense.
"I'll try..." My voice shook.
Soon enough, we're being placed into a jail cell, our arms raised up above our heads as we're held against the wall by a hook. If one could focus enough, there was still a faint smell of blood and dead corpses that littered this entire building.
"The ceremony will take place tonight. You'll both be staying here until then." Sho told us.
Wait...ceremony...that means they'll be activating the R-System!
"I'm sorry, but this is the price of betrayal. And although you've hurt him, Jellal's giving you a special honor. He'll be sacrificing one of you for the ceremony." He grinned evilly. "I'm sad I won't get to see you ever again, but you're going to help us get to heaven. Awe, you're both trembling, are you afraid of being sacrificed? Or does this cell bring back bad memories?"
I glanced over at the small hole in the wall, instantly remembering that escape plan. It was all Sho's idea, but I knew Erza was too noble to let Sho get hurt. We both loved and cared for Sho, and we never regretted taking the blame for him.
"I remember you guys took the blame that day...even though it was my plan...but I was too scared to say anything. I'm sorry, it was my fault." He mumbled.
"That's in the past Sho." I spoke up. "Right now I'm more concerned about how careless you're all being about trying to use the R-System. It's not safe, you don't know what you're doing."
Sho seemed surprised that I actually said anything, but he smirked again.
"I didn't expect you to know what its purpose was."
"It's the Resurrection-System. It brings back people from the dead at the cost of sacrifices. It's inhumane, and forbidden- -"
"It may be forbidden, but whoever said magic had to be humane?" Sho retorted. "I happen to think magic wears away at one's humanity."
"That's a black magic philosophy. Are you one of them now?" Erza looked at Sho in disbelief.
"Are you seriously comparing us to those idiots? They only thought this tower was good for resurrection magic. We know better because we've been enlightened. Jellal told us that he can use the tower to get us into heaven."
Erza began lifting her body up along the wall, trying to lift the rope restraining our hands from the hook on the wall as Sho was turned away from us. I followed her example, moving quietly as we both tried to work fast.
"To heaven?" Erza questioned.
"You see, once we use the R-System to revive him, the world will be reborn, and we will become its rulers. The cult members who kept us prisoner for all of those years, the loved ones of the sisters who betrayed us, the citizens who live their lives blissfully ignorant, those fools of the magic council, we're gonna put fear into the hearts of every single one of them! They'll be stripped of their freedom and denied any rights once we're in control! AND THEY'LL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO BOW DOWN BEFORE US!" Sho ranted.
Sho laughed maniacally, clearly distracted by his new dream, of this new world. Using his distraction against him, we both finally got down from the wall, Erza moving forward quickly and hitting Sho while he least expected it. Sho fell backwards, his head hitting the metal bars to the cell. He slumped after falling to the floor unconscious. Erza used her teeth to rip off Millianna's special rope, and took my restraints off as well.
"What could have possibly caused you to have changed so drastically?" Erza mumbled sadly.
Erza requipped, until she had on her usual armor, feeling more comfortable in it. Erza looked angry as I bent down and placed my hand on Sho's forehead before brushing hair from his face, but she didn't seem to be mad at us, she was probably angry for Sho.
"What the hell did Jellal do to you guys?" I blinked away tears.
I wiped my eyes and stood up quickly.
"Erza...what are we gonna do?"
I turned around to see Erza walking down the hallway out of the jail cell. I took off my high heels, running after Erza despite how constricting the dress I wore was. I finally made it over to her and grabbed her wrist, preventing her from going any further.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I snapped.
"I'm ending this. Jellal has to pay." Erza spoke lowly.
I nearly loosened my grip on Erza entirely once I saw the deadly look on her face, indicating that she was absolutely serious.
"Erza. I know he has to pay for what he's done, but we can't just run in blindly, we have to think this through and come up with a plan." I said.
"And I have a plan: attack." Erza nearly growled.
I can't let her do this alone, I can't lose her...
"Would you listen to me for once in your goddamn life?!" I shouted.
Erza snapped out of it, staring at me in surprise from my sudden outburst.
"I want to actually stick together so that we have a better fighting chance. I know what you're planning on doing, you want to take out Jellal on your own. But that's where I'm stopping you! I'm not letting you go alone! If we fight, we do it together!" I told her.
Erza gave me a small smile and using her requip magic, put me in another set of clothes, suitable for combat. I blushed at how revealing the outfit was, but didn't dare question it as I stared up at Erza in surprise.
"Let's go then. We'll take him down together."
Erza's look of determination sparked something within me and before I knew it, we were running around the Tower of Heaven, defeating and attacking anyone who stood in our way of Jellal.
Jellal's going to pay for what he's done.
The Tower of Heaven was many things, but it was not small. The search for Jellal was almost never-ending, and we took down anyone that stood in our way. I kept thinking about the past, at how much Jellal had changed. It was obvious that Jellal wasn't working alone, and I wasn't talking about Millianna, Sho, Wally, or Simon helping him. It felt like someone else was influencing Jellal from the beginning, causing him to go mad, making him into this monster of a human being. I didn't want to believe that Jellal had turned into a monster, I had a small glimpse of hope that deep down, our Jellal, the real Jellal was still there. Erza whipped out her sword as the guards shouted things about intruders, and I transformed my arm into a jagged steel blade as the both of us took down the guards in one hit.
"Erza! Ember!"
"Thank goodness you're okay!" Lucy smiled.
"Wow, they're so cool." Juvia stared at us in awe.
We looked over to see Natsu, Juvia, Lucy, and Gray standing before us.
Shit...they can't be here! They'll only get hurt.
"It's you! What are you all doing here inside the tower?" Erza asked worriedly.
"We came looking for you guys." Lucy answered.
"We haven't met! My name's Juvia and I- -"
"Go home." Erza snapped. "This place is far too dangerous!"
Natsu pounded his fists together, fire forming along his arms as he glared at us.
"You're not gonna scare me into leaving." Natsu said. "I ain't leavin' until the block guy gets a taste of my fist! And I'm gonna make him pay for shootin' me in the mouth!"
"You have to go." I mumbled.
"But why?" Lucy gave me a look of sadness.
"Your friends kidnapped Happy! I'm not leaving without him!" Natsu growled.
"They got him too?" Erza gasped. "Must have been Millianna."
"Where can I find him?!" Natsu asked angrily.
"I'm not sure." Erza replied.
"This means war!"
"Who are you declaring war against?" Gray gave Natsu a blank stare.
"THE JERKS THAT KIDNAPPED MY LITTLE BUDDY!" Natsu shouted.
Natsu ran like he was on fire before any of us could do a thing to stop him.
"What a moron." Gray grumbled.
"Let's go and help him!" Lucy said.
"NO." Erza pulled out her sword.
The glint of Erza's sword intimidated Lucy and the others, making them freeze where they stood. I put my hand on Erza's shoulder, trying to help keep her under control. The last thing I wanted was for Erza to bust their skulls for not listening, and I knew that she wasn't in the mood for games.
"Listen, Millianna is a cat lover. She'd never do anything to hurt Happy." I told them. "I promise we'll get them back to the guild, but you three need to leave immediately."
"No! That's ridiculous! We can help you!" Lucy argued.
"This is our problem and we don't want your help. This doesn't involve you." I spoke grimly.
The both of us began walking away, but Gray interrupted us.
"How can you say that? You saw Natsu! We're plenty involved!" Gray added.
"Ember, what's up with this tower? And who's this Jellal guy?" Lucy questioned me. "I can understand if you don't want to tell us, you said those guys were friends of yours right? Well we're your friends now and we're here to help you."
I moved my hand from her shoulder and quickly grabbed Erza's hand, noticing that her bottom lip was trembling.
I have to end this...it's breaking Erza...
"And no matter what happens, we're always gonna have your back!" Lucy finished.
"Yeah, she's right." Gray nodded.
"LEAVE." Erza snapped again.
"Come on." Lucy huffed.
"You're freaking me out because this isn't like you two at all. Where's the woman that would tell us to shut up and come along when we wanted to or not? We're staying here and helping you guys out. You told us that even the strongest warriors need backup once in a while." Gray said to Erza.
Erza let go of my hand, finally turning around with tears in her eyes. The others were surprised to see Erza look so frantic and scared, and just...upset about all of this.
"I'm sorry, but you can't help us. The odds are stacked against us. Win or lose with this battle, death will stare us in the face." Erza muttered.
"What do you mean by that?" Gray asked.
"There's no point in fighting what's inevitable. I can't...but what I can do is share our story with you. While we're still here." Erza smiled sadly.
As Erza told the truth, told our guild-mates about our past, they all listened intently, while giving us looks of sadness, pity, and anger. They had never known the horrors of the Tower of Heaven, and it seemed that they gained a better understanding of Erza and I. They now understood why I'm always so guarded as a person, and why Erza wears her armor.
"So we took a stand for our freedom. We hoped to save our dear friend Jellal. He was like the leader of our group back then. He had a strong sense of justice that I truly admired. However...something happened to him. It's just as if he became an entirely different person."
I looked down, my hair covering most of my face as I struggled to keep my emotions in check as well. The mere memories of Jellal were heart-shattering because I cared so much about him, I always thought of him as my brother, and he treated me like family as well before he went mad.
"There's only one way to describe Jellal's persona now. Pure, unadulterated, evil." Erza concluded.
"Ember." Lucy reached out to me, noticing my behavior.
"No, Lucy." I backed away. "Listen, you guys have to leave this horrible place. Don't bother worrying about us, don't bother trying to stop us- -"
"Why are you both being like this- -" Lucy cried.
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE!" I shouted.
I quickly wiped my eyes, trying to ignore the look on Lucy's face. I was afraid that if I'd look at her again, I might not be able to leave and go through with taking care of our business with Jellal.
"Normally, I'd let you come. But this time? No." I shook my head. "Jellal's gotten powerful, more powerful than you could imagine. He's not only my problem, but Erza's as well. We know him better than the three of you. There might be a chance that we'll make it out of this...but those chances are very slim. I don't like being so negative, but there's a chance that we won't be coming back home, but I swear on my life that Jellal won't make it out of here alive and breathing. I used to care for Jellal deeply, but...the person he used to be doesn't seem to exist anymore."
"Ember..." Lucy's voice cracked.
"I love you all so much, which is why you're not coming. Erza and I will take care of it, and we'll make sure Natsu and Happy get out of here. Just whatever you do...don't look back." I muttered.
Hey guys! Here's a new chapter! Sorry it took so long! I just got done finals and had to attend both my older siblings graduations over the weekend, that was fun (as well as tiring). Anyway, I've been re-thinking about where this story will go, and who Ember might be interested in, I'm not going to force it, I'll just let things happen as they go. If she ends up with Natsu, she ends up with Natsu, if she ends up with Loke or even Gajeel, then no harm done really, it's not a big deal. It's just a fanfic. But I want to continue to develop this story and make it even better! And over time, maybe I'll get up to 50 chapters or more! I know my writing over the years has gotten insanely better and I'm proud of my writing style now, it's just interesting to see how much I've progressed in my writing and I know we all get excited and happy over that kind of thing. I've been wanting to go back and re-write all of my stories, but I don't know if I'll get through them all within the year. Currently, I'm in my Fairy Tail phase, which means I'm pretty much only inspired to write Fairy Tail right now, I'm weird like that. Anyway, let me know what you think, I'm sorry that I didn't make the chapter longer, my schedule has been fucking insane lately and this took me three weeks to put together. Please review! I really want to know what you guys think of the story so far. I actually changed a lot when I went through and edited all of the chapters over the past few months. Also, I tried drawing Ember again and changed the cover art for this fanfic! I gave her Erza Knightwalker's hair, mostly because I wanted her to sort of be similar to Erza's Edolas version a little bit for when I get to that arc. I suck at drawing Fairy Tail style, but I'm usually good at adapting to other art styles so I might do another drawing of Ember sometime in the future. I would post the pic on Tumblr or Deviantart, but frankly, I don't really use my Deviantart account much these days at all. I might make a different account since my old one is full of my old embarrassing drawings from middle school and high school. I laughed so hard at how bad I used to be at drawing that I was actually crying I kid you not. Anyway, let me know what you think of the story so far, and let me know what you think about the new cover image for the story. Also, if anyone's confused about anything, just know that I do follow the English Dub version of Fairy Tail, but I don't go exactly by what's in the script, like how things actually went down, you know what I mean? It's pretty much the same, but I made a few minor changes to the episodes I've written about thus far. Just so you know! So don't ask why it's different than the anime. Thank you to those that have been reading this fanfic and I hope to go far with this story!
-bellas2silly
