A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to a new chapter!

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail, I only own my OC.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: ERZA'S PAST

"There they are!" Another group of guards charge at the Fairy Tail crew. "The intruders!" Erza easily attacks them, knocking all of them down at once.

"Erza!" The crew is relieved to see Erza safe.

"Cool...!" Juvia commented.

"Why are you here?!" Erza is shocked to see them.

"Why?" Lucy repeated.

Juvia backs up a bit. "Um... Juvia is..."

"Go back!" Erza demanded, yelling at them. "This is not a place you should have come!"

"Don't say that crap, Erza! If we retreat with our tails between our legs, that'll shame the name of Fairy Tail! I'm not gonna let that Blockhead off easy!" Natsu shouted back.

"I said go back." Erza ordered.

"Happy's been kidnapped! You expect me to leave him?!" Natsu yelled.

"As well as Cain. There's no way in hell I'm leaving my partner behind." Aira added.

"Happy and Cain?! Millianna couldn't have..." Erza says to herself.

"Where are they?!" Natsu asked.

"I don't know..." Erza replied.

"Okay, got it!" Natsu wipes his lip.

"What do you get?" Aira asked.

"Happy and Cain are waiting for me!" Natsu sprints out of the room to look for his and Aira's partners.

"That idiot." Aira scoffed.

"We're going too!" Lucy exclaimed.

"No!" Erza holds her sword against them. "Millianna loves cats above all else. I cannot believe she would do harm to Happy and Cain. I will take responsibility for bringing both of them back. You get away from here as quickly as you can."

"No! We can't leave without you!" Lucy refuses to leave the tower.

"This is my problem!" Erza shouted. "I don't wish to drag you into it."

"I'd say it's a bit too late for that." Aira said. "You saw Natsu just now."

"Erza... What is this tower?! Who's Jellal?!" Lucy asked. She doesn't get a response from Erza. "If you don't want to tell us, that's fine. They said they were your old friends, right? But we're your friends now. We'll always have your back, no matter what!"

"There you have it." Aira smiled.

"Leave." Erza demanded.

"This ain't like you, Erza." Aira pointed out. "Just tell us to shut up and come along with you, like you always do. We'll lend you our strength!" They all smile at her. "There's nothing wrong with feeling afraid once in a while. Even for you!" Erza turns around with tears in her left eye. This freaks Aira out the most.

"I'm sorry..." Erza wipes her tear away. "I'm going to vanish from this world, whether I win or lose this battle..." They ask her on what she means. "This is a future I can't fight... As such... As such, I will tell you everything while I still exist..." They listen closely to what she is saying. "This is the Tower of Heaven, also known as the R-System. It happened over ten years ago... A black magic cult began constructing it in order to cast a forbidden spell that can bring the dead to life. It required many human sacrifices, who they also used as slave labor to amplify the amount of magic energy. I was one of the sacrifices here when I was little. One by one, people who tried to escape or resist disappeared. I never felt at ease. I was always afraid. Even so, I made friends I could trust... even if it was for but a brief time. It was around then that I met Jellal."

Past...

Erza's past and information about the Tower of Heaven and her old comrades is revealed.

Present...

"We stood up for our freedom... To save Jellal... Back then, Jellal was our leader... He had a strong sense of justice... I looked up to him. However... At some point, it was as if Jellal had become another person entirely... If you could call a person truly "evil"... then that is what I would call Jellal." Erza said.

Natsu is running through the halls inside the tower to search for Happy and Cain.

"We stood up for our freedom... To save Jellal..." Erza continues to tell them about her past.

Past...

Erza's past and Jellal's goals are revealed, from their friendship as children as slaves in the Tower of Heaven, up until their separation after Jellal becomes "evil".

Present...

"I... will fight Jellal." As Erza finishes telling about her past, she cries.

The Magic Council is cast in favor of using the Etherion. Now, only one more vote is needed. The council also concords that after the Etherion's firing, this Council will cease to exist.

"Hold on, Erza! That Zeref guy you mentioned...!" Aira said.

"Yes. I'm sure you've heard of him." Erza replied, wiping her tear away.

"Th-That monster came out of that Lullaby... They called it one of Zeref's demons!" Lucy said.

"That's not all. Deliora was most likely a demon from the Book of Zeref as well." Erza stated.

"Are you saying Jellal is trying to revive that same Zeref?" Juvia asked.

"I don't understand his motive, but according to Sho, a former friend of mine, they're supposed to become rulers in heaven once Zeref is revived..." Erza responded.

"This "former friend" business doesn't make sense to me..." Lucy thinks about it. "Wasn't Jellal the traitor, not you?"

"He must've fed them false information once I was gone." Erza replied. "But I did leave them here for eight whole years... That still makes me a traitor." She feels guilty about the whole situation.

"But you did it for their sake!" Lucy exclaimed. "Yet...!"

"It doesn't matter now, Lucy." Erza stated. "If I defeat Jellal, it will all be over."

"Is that really the case?" Aira thinks to himself. He remembers about Erza saying that she will vanish if she wins or lose. "Something about those words bothers me..."

"Wh-What's with that story, Sister...?" Sho approaches them. "Are you trying to get your friends' sympathy with that nonsense?! It's a load of crap! The truth was nothing like that!" He recalls a memory. "You blew up our boats and escaped on your own! We all would've ended up on the bottom of the sea if Jellal didn't catch wind of your betrayal! Jellal said this is the fate of those who don't learn to use magic in proper way! He said you got drunk with the power of magic and that now you're trying to cast off everything in your past, us included!"

"Jellal said that?" Aira asked.

"Would the Erza you know really have done something like that?" Lucy added.

"W-What would you know?! You don't know anything about this! Jellal's words were my only salvation! That's why I spent eight long years finishing this tower! For Jellal's sake... You're saying... it was all a lie...? That you're right... and that Jellal was wrong...?!" Sho's voice breaks down.

"That's right." A voice said. Simon appears in front of them.

"You!" Aira growled.

"Wait, Aira-san." Juvia puts his arm in front of him. "This gentleman knew he was attacking your double back then."

"What...?!" Aira said.

"As a dark-spell caster, he surely saw everything clearly." Juvia explained. "Ascertaining the truth was another reason Juvia came here."

"I'd expect no less from a member of Phantom's reowned Element 4." Simon said.

"What does this mean?" Sho asked.

"Sho... I did it to bring everyone to this tower without rousing your suspicions." Simon confronted.

"W-Why? Why would you...?" Sho tears up a bit.

"Sho..." Simon places his hand on his shoulder. "Jellal has everyone fooled. I decided to play along until the time was right."

"Simon... You were..."

Simon turns to Erza. "I always believed in you, Erza. For eight years straight..." Erza tears up a bit as she shakes his hand. "I'm happy to see you again, Erza. From the bottom of my heart."

"Simon..." Erza hugs Simon.

"How...? How can everyone have so much faith in you?" Sho begins to cry. "Why... Why couldn't I believe in you, Sister...?" He slams his fist on the ground. "Damn it!" He cries out loud. "What's real?! What should I believe in?!"

Erza kneels down in front of him. "I realize it's different to accept everything all at once. But I will say this... Over the past eight years, I never once forgot about any of you. I'm sorry that I was helpless... I'm sorry I was so weak..." She hugs Sho for comfort.

"But now you can do something. Isn't that right?" Simon said as Erza nods in agreement. "I've been waiting for this moment. For mighty wizards to gather here..."

"Mighty wizards?" Lucy repeated.

"We're going to fight Jellal..." Simon replied. "...all working together." They agree with Simon. "First, we must prevent the Salamander and the others from clashing."

A/N: There you go!

Hope you enjoyed!

~Kyle