Disclaimer I do not own Fairy Tail. Why would I be writing fanfiction if I owned something like that?
Beta Reader: volfwildman
Cover Art by KegiSpringfield
(Jellal's POV)
To say that I was mad would be an understatement.
Over the course of the past hour or two, I was slowly but surely turning absolutely livid.
It has started out so well too. Teleporting each of the idiots into a different room and have my assassins kill them. I didn't have much hope for my 'friends'. I figured they would weaken Erza and maybe Simon would kill that Card mage.
But nooooooo. Instead, I slowly watched as the assassins I paid top fucking dollar for each gets beaten down! Best in the business my fine ass!
And so at the moment, I was currently trying to calm down as I glared at the viewing lacrima. Right now all the intruders are back together which makes things even more annoying. It seems like they were able to convince the idiots I call friends that I was just using them and didn't really see them as friends or family. I mean it is the truth but still.
"It's ok Jellal. It's ok. So what the assassins I paid a lot of jewels for were defeated. So what not a single one of the intruders is dead. Even if I'm all alone now I'm still more than enough to handle all of this mess." I feel my anger slightly go away as I slowly talk to myself.
"In the end, all I need is two things. Convince those idiots on the Magic Council that the best course of action is to fire Etherion at the tower so it can absorb all the mage in the blast and get Erza to sacrifice for Zeref to return. At least the first of those two things are going swimmingly." Upon saying this I close my eyes and start looking through another pair of eyes.
Before I had been in my throne room at the Tower of Heaven but now I stood in a room with a magic circle on the floor and a magic lacrima floating in the middle. Around me are members of the Magic Council. Some of them were Wizard Saints just like me or rather just like Siegrain. Others were simply notable mages with a lot of political power in whatever Earthland nation they were from. In the end, it didn't matter as all of them were arguing over what to do.
"The R-System of the Tower of Heaven cannot be activated! If the Dark mage Zeref would come back then all of Earthland would be doomed!" Shouted Ultear. I grinned a little at her words, she really was such a nice little puppet. At this point, most of the Council was on board if only because of the thought of reviving Zeref but two still held back.
"I just simply can't condone the use of such a massive weapon of destruction. I understand that the situation is bad but we still don't know all the facts. I ask my fellow Council members to simply wait for more information to come to us." It was Yajima saying this in a calm voice.
"I can understand your point Yajima but we can't take any chances over this. It's better to overdo it rather than under in this situation." Crawford was the one to say this. In order to fire the Etherion all but one of the Magic Council members needed to approve it. I believe in the past all of them were needed but apparently, the rules were changed because of a particularly stubborn member a few decades ago.
"Crawford is right Yajima. I can understand and even respect your thought process, but I'm afraid that we simply don't have the time to wait for more information. Each second we wait my horrid brother is one step closer to using the R-System to revive the most infamous man in all of Earthland's history if not the history of the world. Maybe it might be too much but it's far better than just standing here and watching him succeed." I put a lot of authority into my voice as I spoke. All I needed to do was convince either the old fool or the other one that this was a necessary evil.
There was a pause as everyone let my words sink in. Yajima seemed to almost be convinced by my words before a determined look overcame his face and I knew that there was nothing I could say that would convince him to change his mind. The other one, however.
"I'm sorry Yajima but I have to agree with Crawford and Siegrain. It might be too much but it's better safe than sorry." And with those words from some member whose name I didn't care to know everything fell into place.
Yajima let out a sad sigh as every other Council member raised their hands to start the activation of the Etherion. It took all my willpower to not smile manically as this happened. For all the annoyances of the last hour, I was still succeeding. After years upon years of waiting my grand plans were all coming together. One or two hiccups had happened but nothing could stop me now.
With a blink, I was back at the Tower of Heaven. It was then that I let the manic smile cut my face in two as I laughed at my victory. The Magic Council was truly an organization of prideful and single-minded idiots. If I were a normal citizen, I would have been rather unnerved that such a group held such a large amount of influence and power over the Ishgar peninsula and the nations that called it home.
But I wasn't just a normal citizen. I was Jellal Fernandes, the man that would soon revive Zeref. I was a god among men and it would soon be recognized by all of the idiots that live on Earthland. I would soon finally have that true freedom that I longed so long for.
With everything falling into place I felt it was only right that I gloated a bit. So with that in mind, I turned back towards the view lacrima. Erza and her 'family' were still there talking to each other along with Sho and Simon. I could slightly hear what they were saying but I didn't care another at the moment to try and hear more.
With a smug smile on my face, I turn on the speaker function of the device.
(Bishop's POV)
The first minute of all of us being back together was a bit awkward mainly in part due to Sho who was visibly unsure about us. This lasted up until Cana started asking him about his Card magic.
"That's so cool!" Cana all but shouted as she held Sho's Capture Card in her hands. Cana had been the first to break the ice by asking about what he had done to try and capture Erza back in the casino. At first, Sho had a nervous expression but slowly as he talked more and more about his magic his enthusiasm for it came to the surface.
Cana meets that enthusiasm with her own as the two rapidly talk about the different applications of Card magic much to Erza's visible happiness as said women seemed to be having a happy reunion with Simon. There was no doubt in my mind that she was happy that her old and new family seemed to be getting along. Even if two of her old family were still unconscious, one of which Natsu was looking over with a confused expression.
"Hey Sho," asked Natsu, "Isn't this the weird blocky guy? Why does he look normal now?"
Sho paused before he could continue onward with his little conversation with Cana and looked over toward Natsu and Wally. "Oh, that? Wally always thought that mafia people looked cool so when he started learning Polygon Magic he learned to change his body to look more like a mafioso. I guess since he got knocked out he changed back to how he normally looks."
Natsu nodded his head in understanding as Lucy and Gray carried Millianna's body over and placed it beside Wally's. I blinked a bit at the knowledge. Was it like that in Canon? Really it was rather hard to remember what was in the show after not seeing the thing for more than twenty years. I mainly remember the beginning and the end at this point as most of the middle was lost to me. I hope I'm not forgetting anything else that's important.
The moment after that thought a ding echoed across the room as a familiar voice soon started speaking loud and clear. "Well, this is rather disappointing. I didn't have that high hopes for my little friends but I at least thought that Trinity Raven would get rid of one or two of you. In the end, I suppose that it matters little when Etherion fires."
He paused as he seemed to let us take in his words. My eyes widened as I remember the fact that the Magic Council knew about the R-System and was going to try and destroy the tower. Everyone else looked up in surprise and slight horror at smug Jellal's voice. "It shouldn't be more than ten maybe fifteen minutes before they fire the thing. So have fun with that knowledge."
The same ding from before singled that Jellal had stopped speaking as everyone remained still and silent. How had I forgotten the giant magical space laser of all things? Oh right...because it's been twenty years since I last saw the show. A show that I didn't even pay that close attention to in the first place. Didn't help that I only started to write things down a little after being here for fifteen years. Starting to really wish I had just accepted the reality of me being a member of Fairy Tail much quicker now.
While I laminated my imperfect memory the others stared at each other in shocked silence. In the end, it was Erza who first reacted as she turned swiftly towards Sho and spoke. "Sho! Do you know anything about this?! Jellal sounds far too happy about the fact that Etherion is going to turn the island into a crater."
At Erza's words, Sho seemed to snap out of his own daze as we all looked towards him, hoping for a good answer. After a few seconds, he spoke, "I-I think it's because the tower is built around one big magic absorbing lacrima. Me and the other always wondered how he was going to get magic to power it for the R-System but I didn't think he would get it from the Magic Council firing the Etherion on us."
The tension in the room left slightly as everyone let out a breath they had been holding. I was similarly glad that I didn't have to try and explain that there was a lacrima here myself. After another second Erza spoke up once more, "R-System?"
"It's what Jellal calls all the inbuilt magic circles and other lacrima built into the tower. It stands for Resurrection System. It's apparently designed to bring someone back to life. That's what Jellal plans to use to bring Zeref back and find what he calls true freedom. But it needs a lot of magic to work and a powerful sacrifice. You were supposed to be the sacrifice Erza but Jellal didn't tell us how he planned to get the magic for the tower."
Erza nodded in understanding as everyone else processed precisely what was going on here. Gray ended up speaking next. "We can't let that happen! If Etherion fires then he has the magic needed to revive Zeref."
"And how the hell are we supposed to do that!? On my way here with Simon, I tried to contact the Rune Knights with my communication lacrima but were out of range from the nearest Rune Knight Station. We have no way of getting the council's attention!" Cana said in a voice clearly full of annoyance at the situation at hand.
While everyone started to argue about what to do I tried to remember what I had read about the Etherion. There wasn't much written about it due to the fact that the Magic Council didn't want anyone to know too much about it but I do remember reading some details about it. One particular detail came to mind as I started eyeing the walls of the room. "Hey, Sho does any of these walls connect to the outside of the tower?"
Everyone paused as I spoke and Sho started looking around the room. After a few seconds, he spoke up as he pointed his finger to one of the walls. "I believe that wall is connected to the outside. Why?"
Everyone looked at me in confusion as I looked towards the wall that Sho had pointed to. A small smile found its way onto my face as I turned towards Natsu. "Hey Natsu can you do me a favor and make a big hole in that wall?"
(Magic Council's POV)
The room that the Magic Council resided in was tense and quiet as they stared at the lacrima that controlled Etherion. The Superweapon was made with a combination of lacrimas and permanent magic circles and a single shot from it could turn cities to dust. One of the lacrima that made up the weapon was a high range viewing lacrimal that was staring down at the twisting tower that sat upon the small island.
The decision to use Etherion as one not lightly made. It was one of the most powerful magical weapons in the world for a reason and was only second to another superweapon that the Magic Council had hidden away. As a result, many of the members of the council were truly unsure of the decision they had just made but were comforted by the fact that this was the best option at the moment.
From the reports that Siegrain and Ultear had provided the tower was less than a day away from being ready to activate the R-System and bring back Zeref. They had already commanded the nearest Rune Knight Station to send a large number of troops towards the island but it would take hours for them to get there due to the distance it was from the said station along with the time needed to get the knights ready as well.
It was time that the Council simply didn't have. It was this reason that many of the members had decided to vote in favor of using the weapon. If they had other options then they would have used them but at this moment there were none.
Until one presented itself.
"What the?" Said Yajima as he started at the lacrima that was showing the island. He and several other council members noticed that the air above the tower appeared to be shifting. Many of the members started to panic, believing that the tower was going to do something and escape the Etherion until the blur formed into words.
"Dear Magic Council." said in thick black letters above the tower.
"What's this! Is Jellal truly trying to bargain with us! The fool believes he can get a deal with the Magic Council!" Org one of the senior members stated which got a few nods from other members that agreed with the fool part of his words. However, before anyone could say anything else the words and letters shifted to form a new sentence.
"This is Bishop Vern of the Fairy Tail Guild."
The members of the council paused once more as many of them recognized the name. Unknown to Bishop he had earned a lot of goodwill with the council. Fairy Tail had always been a problem guild ever since its creation but when it started to contend for the number one guild spot the problems grew. That is until Bishop stepped in and started to control the more destructive members of the guild. The council had launched a minor investigation into why the guild had started to keep it's levels of destruction at more manageable levels and found Bishop to be the cause of this.
This resulted in Bishop being known to many of the Magic Council and being seen as an example of a proper mage. The council had kept an eye on the Illusionist as a result and kept up with his increasingly impressive achievements. So when they saw this message many of them looked on in interest as the words shifted once more.
"I along with Erza Vern-Scarlet, Cana Vern-Alberona, Natsu Vern-Dragneel, Gray Vern-Fullbuster, and Lucy Heartfilla am on the island." The council took a moment to read the words before they once more shifted.
"We are currently stopping the R-System from being activated. All enemies within the tower beside Jella have been neutralized. We are now moving to take him into custody."
Many of the Council members' eyes widened as the implications of what they had read hit them. These implications become very pronounced with the new and very short message.
"Please do not fire Etherion."
It took a solid second before the council room erupted into chaos as damn near every member of the council tried to talk at once. No one could understand the words the others were saying as they all tried to be heard. This only changed when Siegrain activated his magic to create a loud bang sound that shut everyone up as they turned to him.
"This is clearly a trick by my evil twin! Don't let yourselves be fooled! How would members of Fairy Tail even know about the Tower of Heaven let alone the R-System! We need to-" Before he could finish his sentence the large black words shifted.
"For proof use the Etherion's high spec viewing lacrima to zoom into the north side of the tower. I and my teammates have created a hole in the side of the tower and I'm currently leaning out of it."
There was another pause and before Siegrain could say anything Yajima spoke first. "Quick! Zoom into the northern side of the tower and see if we can't find the Gatekeeper."
Ultear tried to come up with some words of protest but they died in her throat when one of the attendees started to zoom. Silence once more found its way into the room as each member of the council waited with held breath to see what the zoom would revolve. It only took a minute but they found what they were looking for.
Leaning from a new hole in the tower was none other than Bishop Vern as he stared into the sky. To add even more credit to this Natsu Vern-Dragneel also stuck his upper body out of the sideways hole and looked around the sky. The two seemed to start talking but the council paid little attention to that as they stared at the proof in front of them.
"I renounce my vote for the Etherion!" Shouted Org
His words broke the other members out of their stupor as nearly all of them renounced their votes as well. The only two who weren't were Ultear who stared at the lacrima in disbelief and Siegrain who stared in quickly accumulating rage.
Said rage only doubled when the lacrima made a powering down noise that told everyone in the room that the Etherion was deactivated. Many of the council members looked at the magical tool in relief that they did not in fact need to use one of the most powerful magical weapons they had. This relief turned to shock when Siegrain teleported right next to it.
Siegrain wasted no time in grabbing the lacrima before turning to Ultear and nodding to her. Upon getting a nod back he swiftly disappeared much to the confusion and shock of the Magic Council.
Said shock and confusion did not last long as the Magic Council Headquarters started coming down around them.
(Jellal's POV)
The second that my Thought Projection teleport into the throne room with the lacrima we simply just stared at each other. Anger and wrath were clear in both of our eyes as we thought of what had just happened at the same time.
We stared in silence until I spoke up, "It's still not lost. I have the lacrima that controls Etherion. I just needed to override its safety locks."
My Thought Projection spoke not a second after me, "Yes I can override the locks but I know that it will take a day or two for that to happen. And that's time that I simply don't have."
I frowned before getting up from my throne and walking towards my mirror image. It didn't take long before I stood beside him and grabbed the lacrima from him. Not a second after I did this did he start to shift and merge back into me and soon I was alone once more.
Anger raged through my preoccupied mind as I stared at the lacrima in my hands. Many thoughts streamed through my brain as I processed the situation I was in. Eventually, words came to my mouth, "No...No it's fine! So what if it takes me a day to unlock this damn thing! I'll still unlock it. I can fend off the Rune Knights that will be coming in the next few hours. I'm a fucking Wizard Saint for a reason. All I need to be is patient and I can have part one of my plan."
I paused as my eyes narrowed at my personal viewing Lacrima.
"But first let me get part two."
(Bishop's POV)
"Ok, I think at this point they're not going to fire," I said as I stopped poking my upper body out of the large hole in the wall that Natsu had gladly created for me.
"You really think that you conceived the Magic Council not to fire at the tower?" Ask a clearly nervous Simon.
I shrugged at his words before speaking. "Maybe? Maybe not? I gave it my best try so I can only hope that they noticed my illusion and my body as well. I know that the viewing lacrima on the Etherion is strong enough to see a person all the way on the ground."
It had been one of the things that the Magic Council had allowed to be known about the Etherion. It was clear in the famous magic weapons book I had read before that they were very proud of the weapon and wanted to show it off but couldn't give the full details so they mostly bragged about the non-important parts of it.
Erza and Cana didn't look too convinced by my words but seemed to keep quiet. If I had to guess they didn't have any better ideas. I had decided to not talk about the magic absorbing lacrima since I felt it wasn't needed to conceive them. Firing the Ehterion was a big deal and something that could get the entire council replaced if they used it on the wrong target or used it without needing to use it. The nations of Earthland didn't like that weapon being used all willy nilly.
All of us kept quiet for a little bit more as the other seemed to be trying to think of a backup plan when a ding was once more heard throughout the room and Jellal's voice spoke. "I suppose I should offer my...congratulations to the Illusionist for convincing the council to not fire."
There was a visible relief of tension at his words as it confirmed that we had succeeded. Said relief did not last long however. "I guess it's a good thing that my Thought Projection on the council brought the lacrima that controls Etherion to me. You might know him as Siegrain."
And the tension once more streamed back into the room. I made to speak but Erza beat me to it. "You wouldn't have told us about this if you could just use the lacrima Jellal. Important magical items like that have built-in safety locks to prevent the wrong people from using it. Even if you could break those locks it would take you a couple of days."
There was a pause before Jellal replied in a very clearly annoyed and almost crazed voice. "Ohhh as much as I hate to say this your right, my dear Erza. It will take a day for me to get this thing working but in the meantime, I suppose I should take care of the intruders that have come to my island and the so-called family that has betrayed me. Speaking of which."
Jellal seemed to be cut off as soon as he spoke the last sentence. Before any of us could react to his words I felt my magic sense go off as in a flash of magic Jellal appeared behind a stunned Erza.
"I'll be taking this."
Magic once more started to flare up around Jellal along with Erza as they prepared to teleport away. My reflexes kicked in as I lunged for Erza who I happened to next to at the time. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw many of the others do the same thing.
Just as they were about to teleport out I grabbed onto Erza's wrist and felt the magic swiftly spread to me as everything flashed before us. I was blinded during this and it was only when the flash was gone that I could start to see again. Unfortunately, I never got to clear my vision in time to feel a wave of magic knock me back a few feet onto my back.
The second that my body stopped moving I was on my feet as I looked towards a very manically annoyed-looking Jellal. To my side, I saw Erza also getting up from the blast and to my surprise so was Natsu. I guess he was able to grab onto Erza at the last second as well. None of the others seemed to have made it through.
"Well," Jellal began, "Once more my plans just have to be ruined. I truly just wanted to have some fun with my dear old friend for a bit before I went out and took care of the rest of you. Oh well, I guess I should look on the bright side."
At this point, I looked directly at Jellal's face. A mad smile was spreading across his face as I saw very little saintly left within his crazed eyes. This was a man who wasn't in control of his own thoughts. A puppet to his own insanity caused by someone else.
"This means I get to tear two of Erza's dear brothers apart right in front of her!"
AN: I hope I was able to truly get by just how crazy Jellal has become at this point. He tried to hide it under a professional demeanor but bits of it shined out in early chapters. I also hope people enjoy how I'm portraying the Magic Council in this story. Most stories don't put them in a good light but they're meant to control the chaos of magic rather than be good guys that help our heroes. They have a job and they try to do it to the best of their ability.
Volfwildman still couldn't actually Beta this chapter as still hasn't gotten a new laptop. This weekly shout-out goes to Sukaleske for slightly predicting that Bishop would be fighting Jellal. Even if he's fighting alongside Erza and Natsu.
Usually, I would make some joke here about leaving a review but right now I'm just going to tell you guys that my birthday is next Monday and I would appreciate it if you all would leave a review as a present for me. Mainly I want to know how you're liking this arc. I feel like I'm not doing as good of a job as the last arc but that just might be because I had more fun with the last arc.
Have a great day.
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