A/N: Hey all. I am so very sorry for not updating sooner. Life has been pretty hectic these past weeks with work/school/trying to have a social life. The time off did at the very least give me some feedback on how many people are interested in this story. Thanks everyone so much for the support! (Especially celtic-booty - I've really appreciated your continued support and love for this story - so this chapter's for you!:))
I've now watched the ToH arc so many times, I nearly have it memorized :p If you haven't noticed, I use the Funimation English dub for all the canon dialogue in this fic. It can get tiring, but I feel it conveys what I want better. Now, this may prove to be an issue later on as all the flashbacks in the 2014 anime are changed from the first series, but I'm just going to ignore that and keep it this way, so if you notice that this scene doesn't match the flashback in the newest dubs, that's why.
Anyways, here's the next instalment that took so much time. I am glad to have gotten some other jerza works under my belt, but I really feel I haven't given this story enough love. I shall try to be more mindful of that in the future. It was tough to decide how I wanted to approach Jellal's posession, I hope you guys like what I'm doing. Thanks a million! :D ~ Tortoislume
Chapter 7
Jellal crept through the halls, making as little noise as possible with his steps. They're probably keeping her in Sector 8. He thought. Everyone knew the rumours about where the "punishment facilities" resided. He glanced down at the weapon he was holding. It was a blade, yet had no point at the end. It's fine, the side looks plenty sharp. Besides, he had one hope on which the success of his plan depended: Grandpa Rob's intuition. He had told him and Erza that they had the makings of wizards. Putting that together with the information Rob had explained regarding magic; that its manipulation requires dedication and the belief that you can do it, that righteous intentions make magic stronger, and that the more powerful your feelings are for your fight, the more powerful your attacks are - Jellal felt with all he had that if this couldn't unleash the hidden potential within him that Grandpa Rob had mentioned, nothing would.
Jellal logicked what he could about the tower's layout. Their crew was stationed in Sector 6, and he knew that Sector 7 was towards the darker part of the building, only to be entered through the second floor. Thankfully there weren't too many guards posted in this part of the building. They shouldn't check for the guard I knocked out for another hour or so...but I can't rely on that!
As he approached the staircase he needed to climb, he heard footsteps coming nearer at a steady pace. They're not aware of my presence for now. He hid in a nook and waited until the two guards had walked past. They began to ascend the staircase. Jellal crept forward and followed them up.
When they stopped at the second floor lookout, both about a foot from the railing, Jellal swept forward and swooped his sword against the nape of both their necks. He hit with such ferocity that he swore he saw beams of golden light propelling his sword faster and harder than he thought possible. Both guards immediately keeled over the railing and fell down a story, laying passed out on the ground. Hopefully no one comes across them too quickly.
He ran through the tunnel that led from Sector 6 to Sector 7, blood pounding through his veins, gushing with adrenaline. I wasn't hallucinating back there. I can make my magic work. I can save Erza. He ran as fast as he could, no longer fearful of who he might come across. His barefeet were light against the hard stone floors, almost gliding forward he was so quick.
Somehow, he seemed to be running faster and faster, like his speed had no cap. Seeing a single guard coming up before him, Jellal managed to reach him and knock him out with his sword handle before he'd even been noticed. This seems to be working. He thought.
It took no time at all with his pace to reach the entrance to Sector 8. Jellal slowed down, knowing that there were surely more guards here than anywhere else in the tower. This is probably where those bastards all get their kicks. Just the thought of them touching, of them hurting Erza made him want to destroy them. Still, I mustn't get too cocky with my new powers.
Jellal took a long, deep breath before entering the densely guarded hallway. It didn't take more than a couple seconds for the guards to all notice him, but by that point he'd already knocked out four of them. Swinging his blade berserk, he hit and beat any who tried to come near him. One after another came at him and were defeated. Before he knew it they were all passed out on the floor at his feet. I think I might have killed a few of them, but there's no time to worry about that now.
He rushed forward to the door in front of him. Forcing it open, he entered a creepily decorated room containing a giant lacrima and pole as its focal points. Tied to the pole was Erza, leaning forwards in a limp, lifeless manner. Jellal's insides boiled and he ran towards her
"ERZA!" He cried to her, panting as he reached her. Her hair was covering her face. She seemed unable to do anything other than look at the ground. He noticed how hard she was shivering. What did those monsters do to her? I should have gotten here faster!
He put down his sword, hastening to her side. " Hold on." He told her, beginning to work on the knot that bound her hands. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here." He reassured. As her hands were freed she began crippling forward until he caught her, holding her close as he set her gently on the ground. He felt his heart ease a little knowing she was finally with him again.
That ease vanished when he looked at her more closely. As she lay back in Jellal's arms, her hair had fallen back, unobscuring her face. In the place where her adorable, big brown right eye had been was a bloody hole, only fragments of the lid left over to cover it. He gasped in horror. How could someone do something like this. She's always been so beautiful. How could someone want to tarnish that?
"Your eye - " He sobbed, unable to held himself. He leaned down and held her tighter "They've gone too far. What did she do to deserve this? What did any of us do?" He asked the nothingness. I hate that there are people out there that gain pleasure from this. "Nooo!" He screamed, sobbing even further, his hands trembling as they held her.
"Jellal?" Her voice was weak, but he heard it all the same. At least she's well enough to still speak. "That's right, it's me. You'll be safe now. I'm here with you." He told her, trying to sound consoling.
"H-how will we get out?" She asked, her voice wavering. He smiled softly. "Don't worry about that. I managed to get here because I learned to use magic. I think the odds for us escaping this place have turned in our favour. I believed in my heart that I could do it, and I did - just like Granpa Rob said!" She smiled weakly, still not fully focused after her torture. I really want to escape. More than ever. Now I know that flying under the radar is useless - we need to fight for freedom.
Jellal helped lift Erza to her feet, slinging her arm around him for support. She seems so weak right now. I...I can't think about what they did to her. It would just make me want to kill them all.
As they left the torture room, he saw a band of guardsmen turning the corner, yelling and and brandishing their weapons violently, snarling beasts at their side. I'll have to take them all down myself. Erza's in no condition to help. He set Erza to the side gently, ignoring her pleas for him to run away. I'm sure as hell not running away.
The guards and their ferocious pink dog-creatures came at him in a flash, their attacks and yells jumbled together. Somehow, through all the confusion, Jellal managed to fend them back with his blade, using his fast attacks to catch them before they understood what was happening. Though it took all his effort and concentration, he managed to knock them all out on a pile, panting from the exertion. It felt like all the energy had been drained from his body after those attacks. He picked up Erza again and they made their way forward, aware as a shackle bot beeped at them, its eyes glowing red, meaning it was sending their image to more guards.
"Well, there's no turning back now." Jellal said, holding Erza close. "We're gonna have to fight.""...we have to fight" Erza's voice still sounded delirious, but Jellal knew she understood the magnitude of what was happening.
A few paces forward, the ground began to glow eerily, and from it emerged the the heads, shoulders, then torsos of the horrendous beings Jellal had only heard nightmarish tales of, hoping they were only rumours. They groaned as their forms rose from the stone floor. "Oh no...Magic soldiers!" He cried. Of course. This is the place where all nightmares are real.
Jellal tried earnestly to fend off the creepy, gaunt, lifeless beings, but his power was almost completely depleted after fighting so many. Then one soldier opened its mouth and shot a blast of destructive energy at him. "Jellal!" He heard Erza cry as he fell to the floor, vanquished. He wasn't sure how long he lay on the cold stone, unable to move, wavering between consciousness and the black abyss.
Then he heard a familiar voice. That bucktoothed guard. "Now this isn't surprising in the slightest. Mr. Hero here trying to be a big boy and save his pretty little damsel." He cackled. Jellal felt dread flow through him at their predicament. "I'm surprised you managed to kill three of our men, I will admit that's quite impressive. Along with all the others you knocked out... I think it's only fitting that you be the one we take to the torture chamber. Aren't you happy? You got exactly what you wanted! We're giving little Scarlet here back to the prisoners - she's an awfully hard worker after all, it would be a shame to be set back just because of a little mishap. Besides -" The man stepped purposefully on his arm, pulling him up by the hair to speak directly into his ear and earning a groan from Jellal. "Us controlling her means we get to control you as well. It's so convenient to know what you're weakness is." Jellal opened his eyes, still unable to move, and watched helplessly as a pair of guards dragged Erza away. "JELLLAL!" She screamed. "I-it's okay Erza. I can h-handle a little hurt. As l-long as you're a-alright…" He passed out when the guard stepped on his face, crushing his cheek.
When he awoke, he found himself in the exact position he'd found Erza in earlier. Looking around the morbid room, he tried his best to release the ties binding his hands. "I wouldn't bother struggling if I were you. You'll want to save your energy for when we're zapping the life outta ya! Heh"
Jellal looked up and saw the fat guard chuckling, accompanied by his dentally-deformed companion. "...Wh-where's Erza?" He asked, hoping beyond hope that they had just left her alone while he was passed out. "Don't worry about your little crush, she's all safe and cozy in her cell now. Does that make you happy?" The thinner guard asked. Jellal couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "Don't get too used to it. We're going to make you wish you'd never been born." The fat guard approached him, smiling. Jellal scowled. I wish I could see that fat face screwed up in torment.
The oversized ball of lard pointed his staff at the giant lacrima, and shot a beam of electrocution magic directly at Jellal. When it hit him, he had to hold back a scream. No way am I giving them the satisfaction of knowing they've hurt me. It would bring them far too much enjoyment. So he bottled it in. The guards sent bolt after bolt crashing into his body, shaking him to his core, but his resolve was stronger than the pain. As the attacks increased, Jellal concentrated on letting them flow through him and dissipate into the floor. These bolts are still magic. If I can control my own magic, maybe I can find a way to let this flow through me without being harmed by it. He put all his thought power towards doing just that. Somehow, the bolts began to feel less painful.
The guards increased the intensity of the magic bolts once more, and Jellal began to wonder just how much of this he could endure. He began groaning a little when the stronger bolts hit him. Concentrate on letting them flow through you. He reminded himself.
"This kid's no fun - he hasn't made a peep this whole time." The obese guard exclaimed. "Drop the tough guy act or we'll go to more extreme measures like we did with your little girlfriend." Said the thinner one. Jellal recalled the sight of Erza's missing eye and felt his stomach clench. These men truly deserve to die.
"You just don't get it. You guys don't realize just how lucky you are to be building the R-System, do ya?" He didn't care which guard was talking anymore, he was too absorbed in his anger. Lucky, huh? I don't feel that anything in my life has been lucky. From the curse I was on my mother, to seeing her die, to being brought to this hellhole...I don't think I've ever had the experience of encountering "luck".
The guards continued their little bout of stroking each other's egos and justifying their unjustifiable actions, oblivious to the thoughts pounding through Jellal's head. "It's a special honor, and once the tower has been completed everyone who worked on it goes to heaven." He heard the nasal voice of the bucktoothed guard explain. A heaven nobody asked for.
"We're gonna use the R-System to resurrect our God" The fat man claimed like it was proven fact. If anything like a god were to exist, they wouldn't stand by the likes of you. Jellal felt the bile in his stomach, and with a rush of adrenaline stated "Shut up you fat pig." calmly, looking at the overweight guard.
"What did you just call me?!" The whalelike thing reacted. "Forget him, we're wasting time here. We have to deal with the rioters!" The thinner man commented, and the bolts began to let up. Jellal let out a "HHnnng!" of pain as the last one ripped through him, but then it all ended, and he was able to feel the nothingness again. He hadn't even noticed the torture while his anger was pulsing through him.
"Rest up kid, we're gonna keep zapping you until you're begging our God for mercy" The bovine man commented as the pair walked out of the room laughing, leaving Jellal alone, tied to the pole. He noticed that his clothes and skin were smoking from the torture, but he was otherwise alright.
He thought over what the guards had said. Why we're all stuck here, why all those people were killed. All for some being they've never seen. All for something that's just in their heads. "God? I don't believe there is such a thing. If there was then we wouldn't have to suffer like this." He spoke aloud to the black abyss surrounding him. If a God is a being like what the mystics back in my village would describe, why would they listen to these kinds of people? Why wouldn't they help a kid like me? He suddenly felt a pulse of energy. The room seemed to be filling with a red mist. Must be my imagination. He turned back to his thoughts. To his people being killed; to watching his mother's chest being ripped open; to being hauled off to this putrid tower and its even more putrid occupants.
"I hate it." He spat, mulling through all the needless torture, suffering, and death he'd seen."Is that so?" He could have sworn he heard a deep voice say. There's no one in here. It's just my imagination acting up after all this trauma.
He carried on talking to himself. "All of it. I hate them and their God. Everything about this lousy world." I never deserved any of this, nor did Erza or anyone stuck in this tower. The people who make this happen should all be killed.
"Embrace your feelings of malice and share them with me. I thrive on dark emotions. They make me stronger." That's definitely a voice in here, not my imagination! He thought, raising his head and looking around for the speaker.
"Who are you?" He asked the darkness. The red mist was intensifying, like vaporized blood.
"What amusing creatures," the voice answered. "I'm right here within their tower, so very close to them. Yet they've gone through all this trouble to resurrect me. Just to make me flesh and bone." The voice held no emotion, nor any distinguishable gender. Jellal looked around frantically but could not spot who was talking.
"Show yourself!" He yelled, scared and frustrated. No one walked out into the light radiating from the lacrima. Instead, clumps of what appeared to be dark matter began to cluster before him, sticking together crudely to form a blob of darkness. The form began to grow mystical red lines, like some kind of runes he'd never seen before. The blob grew more, sprouting a head. Jellal felt fear course through him. What IS this thing? Will it kill me?
"They may have all the faith in the world, but it's your hatred that allows you to sense my presence." It spoke. Jellal wasn't sure whether or not to trust the being. Though it talks to me as though I'm an equal.
It grew and grew and grew, now towering over Jellal as his whole body shook with terror. "Jellal, you are a fortunate child. For your have met the God they so revere." No! No, it can't be. This isn't possible! His eyes widened in horror as he looked into the face of evil itself.
The entity let out a bout of laughter. "My name is Zeref, and hatred is my very existence" As it spoke, Jellal stared as a strange shape appeared on what would be considered its face. The shape quivered, and widened, eventually ripping open to reveal what looked to be an ancient symbol for an eye. Jellal wasn't sure if he'd lost his sense of fear or if he just wasn't scared anymore. He couldn't close his eyes, no matter how much he wanted to stop looking at that face. The more he looked into it, the more it felt like something was infesting itself in his mind.
He gasped just before the being came even closer to him, and reached forward with its face. Jellal saw it reach out a tendon from the strange eye, and connect with his right eye. Upon making contact, he felt complete bliss. The tendon worked to pump some kind of inky blackness into his mind that felt so delicious. With this blackness came knowledge, confidence, and power. Though he felt pain, he felt more invincible every second the blackness pumped into his mind. The red runes encircled his body in their grasp, making sure the entire being could enter his brain.
I understand now. He thought. The eye symbol shone before him, even with his eyes closed. The voice that was speaking to him before from the outside now echoed through his mind.
There's no freedom in this world. It told him. He's right. Freedom is just a construct, a fantasy I chose to believe in to deal with the misfortunes I was dealt. No matter where I go or what I do, there will always be restrictive forces working against me. But...now that Zeref has enlightened me, I know. I know that a truly free world can be obtained. I need to bring him back, so that all the restrictive forces that confine our lives can be overthrown by him.
I will make your dreams come true. Zeref's voice continued in his head. He has chosen me as the vessel to bring about his resurrection. Because of this, I will be the one who reigns in the new, perfect world he brings about. I can have everything I wanted - everything I was denied by fate. I can have my friends, family, and Erza all safe and comfortable once the world is subservient to only me and Zeref.
True freedom lies with me. Jellal's imagination concocted images of the paradise he could bring about. He saw his mother, alive and well. He saw the friends he'd made at the tower, unscathed and happy, thanking him for saving them. Finally, he saw Erza, rushing into his arms, telling him that he meant everything to her, that she would do anything for him, that she loved him. His mind felt lighter than it ever had and he couldn't help the smile forming on his face. I'm so very happy that I've been chosen. I know now, that some must die to bring this world about. It's all for the greater good; that's just part of life. I must cleanse the world of those who taint it.
He passed out while the parasitic entity implanted itself further into his brain. It surrounded the part of his mind that held his senses of guilt and rationality, and blocked them from the rest. Jellal had never slept so blissfully, dreaming of the heaven that he would build and rule.