Secret of Scarlet

Chapter 01: Secrets of the Tower

Erza huffed as she left the prison cell she was once locked in. One of her former friend and comrade, Shou, was left unconscious as she tried to figure out where she was. Looking at one direction, she rushed to the direction she knew Jellal would be.

(Meanwhile…)

The group we all know and love were having a blast (sorta) swimming underwater all the way to the hidden entrance. Only to be found out and now they're having a blast (Natsu only, really…) beating up all the guards.

(Meanwhile… again…)

On the throne-like chair, a man with blue hair under a hood smirked, looking at the chess pieces he had on a nearby table.

"Let the games… begin…"

(Aaaaand, back to Erza)

Erza was rushing up the spiraling stair as she thought back on her life here at the Tower of Heaven.

"Tch…" She muttered, about to rush faster when she noticed that this particular part of the spiraling stair case was higher in temperature than the others. Her curiosity getting the better of her, for reasons unknown, she touched the stone walls, trying to feel where the hotness was coming from before she reached the wooden door where the heat was coming from. Frowning, Erza tried to see what was behind the door as she opened the small window, before suddenly closing it as flames suddenly popped out.

Erza jumped back in time just for the flames to drop onto the ground. Upon further inspection, it was black.

"What in the world-…"

Suddenly, she felt a huge amount of Magical energy behind the door. Immediately Requipping her armor into Entei no Yoroi (Fire Empress Armor), she braced herself just as the door and walls exploded, the black flames engulfed everything. Erza flinched as a whiff of the flames fell on her left arm's armor. Erza suddenly had a really bad feeling that she should get rid of the armor quickly, and so she did, Requipping back to her original armor.

"Wh-what was that! Even with Entei no Yoroi, I still felt the flames' full capacity! How is that possible!"

Erza watched as the flames continued to engulf and eat up the walls and door. "Amazing, even after that explosion, it's still burning…"

Curiosity taking the best of her, again, Erza peered beyond the flames, seeing a man, probably around his late 20's or early 30's, laying on the ground. Her eyes widened, seeing the burned arms of the man and the melted chains behind him.

"He willingly burned his own arms to get rid of the chains…"

And then at the man.

"Who is he? I've never seen him before when I was last here… is he a new slave? Was he even here before?" Oddly enough, he looked really familiar to her, as if she knew him her entire life. Erza tried to think of an answer, but placed it at the back of her mind as the cackle of the flames brought her back into reality.

Not being the one to abandon someone who is hurt, Erza cautiously stepped over the black flames and picked up the man, noting that the black flames were still burning on the man's arms, but weren't incinerating the muscles. "Odd…" She wondered, carrying the man outside of the now burned and melted prison, before rushing back to where she started.

(Later…)

Erza was carrying the man over her shoulders, her sword on one hand, the rest levitating around her. Slicing, dicing, and slashing towards her goal, she found her way towards the main entrance, before finding herself seeing her guild mates.

"Erza!"

"You're ok!"

Needless to say, Erza was surprised. "Y-you guys! What are you guys here!"

"Why! If we let those arrogant assholes walk all over us, it's gonna dirty Fairy Tail's reputation!" Natsu yelled. "I have a score to settle with that block guy!"

Erza was confused, but also frustrated about why her guild mates followed her. Juvia looked like she was about to say something when she interrupted, "Go back."

"Huh?"

"You shouldn't be here…"

"But Erza…" Lucy let out.

"And why not!" Natsu yelled. "They took Happy too! We won't leave here without him!"

"Happy? Could it be that Miriana…" Erza muttered as Gray noticed the body on Erza. "H-hey, who's the guy you're holding?"

"Who, this? I found him in one of the prison cells, so I thought he was a prisoner here." Erza said, laying the body down. The group quickly noticed the black flames that were threatening to burn the man to crisps. "Juvia, I need you to try and saturate the flames." Erza ordered mildly as Juvia complied.

But before the water from Juvia could even reach the flames, they evaporated. This shocked everyone. "How can that be? Juvai's water should be moist enough…" Juvia muttered in confusion as Erza narrowed her eyes. "He must have been a strong Fire Mage. His flames even managed to burn my Entei no Yoroi."

"EHH!" Natsu yelled.

"But 'black' flames? This is the first time I've seen one." Gray muttered. "He looks pretty exhausted too." Lucy said, trying to brush the hair out of the man's eyes before the burning hand grabbed hers. She screamed as everyone grew alert. The man's right eye was open, revealing a black and red patterned eye, as he tried to stand up.

"Give… give… her… back…" He muttered, his breathing being heavy.

Lucy continued to cry as the man slowly let her go. Everyone else tried to listen to what the man was saying before he closed his eyes, succumbing to unconsciousness.

"Well, looks like he won't be going anywhere for a while…" Gray muttered.

As Natsu ran off after declaring something about beating up a block guy and saving Happy, the others prepared to followed him when Erza stopped them.

Gray frowned as he said, "We're already involved. You saw how Natsu was." Erza was silent as Lucy continued off, "Erza, what is this tower? And who's Jellal?"

Erza only looked down.

"This tower is called the Tower of Heaven…"

Everyone turned around to see the blonde haired man, forcing himself to lean on the wall, even while his arms burned. "They called this place the Tower of Heaven…" He muttered, his right eye closed with something red drying on his cheek, his left eye is revealing bright blue eyes. "But I don't believe them… they want to revive someone. I don't know who they want to revive, nor do I care… all I know is that they dragged slaves in here to make it for them. Then they will pick a sacrifice, one with large amount of Magical reserves, preferably someone young…" He muttered, much to everyone's shock as Erza began shivering.

"They… they picked my daughter…" He muttered, tears running down his face. "I tried to stop them… but they managed to seal a majority of my powers…" He chocked and coughed. "I couldn't do anything as they dragged her away…" He gritted his teeth in anger as he pressed his hand on his eyes, tears rushing down. "I… I dunno who you guys are… but… please… save my daughter…" He said. He repeated his line a couple of times before falling asleep, his body exhausted beyond human capability.

As Lucy tried to lessen the man's pain, she asked, "Erza, is that true?"

Erza looked up. "That was years ago. There aren't any more slaves and everyone who was a slave either died during the revolution and some joined to build this tower. I don't know who else escaped, but I was one of the few who managed to." She admitted. She then gazed at the blonde man. "Grab him and get out of here. I'll get Natsu and Happy back…"

"No way Erza." Gray interrupted. "Since Natsu already left, we're all in this mess already. There's no turning back now."

"That's right, Erza. They might have been your friends in the past, but we're your comrades now." Lucy said. "And we'll be there for you no matter what."

Erza bit her lip, preventing herself from crying. "Go… go back…"

"That's not like you at all, Erza…" Gray sighed. "Why don't you spare us all this hogwash and just say 'Come with me!' like you always do?" He asked. "We'll help you. Even for you, it's ok to be scared once in a while…" Gray walked up to Erza to pat her on the shoulder when she turned around, tears brimming.

Gray stumbled back shocked as Lucy looked on in awe. Erza whipped off her tears. "I'm sorry…" She mumbled.

(Later…)

After telling her story, the group agreed that they should leave the blonde man somewhere safe.

The man was encased in ice with enough space to breathe air from before the group left to fight. The man opened his eyes one last time before he succumbed back into the darkness. The last thing he saw was bright red hair swishing among the wind.

Before he slept, he whispered…

"… Erza…?"

Erza blinked and turned back at the blonde man. Finding him fast asleep she looked back at the tower with determination in her eyes. Requipping once more, she rushed forward, her comrades behind her.

(…)

Where am I…?

"D… dy…"

Who's there…?

"D… ddy…!"

Red… hair…?

"Da… y…"

Erza…?

"Da… y!"

Erza…! No… no…! NO…! Give her back! NO! Stop! STOP! NO! Erza! No!

"Da… dy~…!"

STOP! Erza~~!

"DADDY~~!"

AMATERASU…

Ignisha's Notes: Well, looks like this is gonna be a series.

Ignisha's Facts: Who the dude is, most of you guys figured it out. There will be no pairings, besides the ones that are obvious in the Fairy Tail Manga. The relationship between Erza and the dude will be revealed later on, so don't worry about it! You' guys'll find out eventually! Like I said, this was all originally a small idea! Never meant to be a series, but because popularity demanded it, I'm succumbing to this! I have to warn you guys, though, I won't be able to update much cause of college and ROTC going on is making it worse. I mean, I gotta think about my future too, y'know! For those of you in college, you should know what I'm talking about. Those of you in High School and below, you'll find out soon enough. Anyway, back to the story, more will revealed. But first, answers for a few questions.

~Many of you guys commented about the "ramen guy" who beat Erza's previous score. Who, what, where, when, and how he is is inconvenient. He is nothing but a supporting character who is just there for shows. That's all. You can expect that he'll never show up since Erza beat the hell out of him after eating all those ramen. By the way, the current score for the "How Many Ramen can You Eat in 30 Minutes" is 53.

~Many of you guys were also commenting on who the mysterious dude is. ... COME ON! It should be obvious! I mean, I did mention "blonde" man didn't I?

~How the mysterious dude got captured in the Tower of Heaven will be revealed soon enough. Where he came from will also be revealed, including his Magic, age, and wife. ... ... ... "maybe" wife.

That is all.

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