Here's the next chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it :)
NinjaFang1331 - Thank you so much.
ikusatsunagi - No problem, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Djinn - Thank you so much, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
GhostlyDrew - Sorry about that. There were a lot of elements and subplots that needed to be involved and I tried my best to portray them as best as I can. Hopefully, this chapter should read a little bit better.
Lelouch of Zero - That's good to hear and I'm glad you're eager for more. I hope you like the battle I have planned. Thank you so much for reading.
Skull Flame - Yes, Juvia is a still a little bit socially awkward and can't wait to write her meeting other characters, especially after what happened with Phantom Lord. In regards to what would happen to Simon...well, you'll just have to find out. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
Guest - Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now is the battle everybody is waiting for: Night Terror vs Jellal. I hope you'll like it and happy new year to you too.
MDM11 - Thank you so much and sorry again about the wait. I'll try to include as many of your suggestions into this story like always. Hope you'll enjoy the chapter.
danielsnow - Thanks, the epilogue to the Tower of Heaven arc is coming near and I hope you'll like it. Also I quite agree that Millianna is definitely a rehabilitated villain. Thanks again for reading.
wellingtonlucas282 - No problem, glad you enjoy it.
Thank you all for reviewing.
Chapter 25: The Battle Of The Tower
Open Sea
A few miles away form the island's coast, the other members of Fairy Tail as well as Sho, Wally, and Millianna had been thrown off their boat when the Etherion made impact; the force of the destruction magic made huge waves that would have drowned them if Juvia hadn't been quick and created an oxygen bubble large enough for all of them. The bubble containing the mages bobbed and bounced on the rough seas, making them feel a little sea sick. However, they were all more concerned of another thing:
The Tower of Heaven had turned into a lacrima.
It was, admittedly, a pretty sight to behold. A giant blue crystal hundreds of meters tall that sparkled and twinkled brightly and filled the darkened sky with its dazzling light. It stood proudly and in contrast to the dull rocky island at the bottom and its sharp pillars seemed to scrap the heavens itself. If it was anything else, they would have thought it was an absolute wonder. However, every single mage in the oxygen bubble knew what it really was and stood for. It was the source of power that allowed the R System to operate and a tool for Jellal to usher in the arrival of a new dark age in Earthland's history. They all dreaded and paled at the sight of it.
"What have we done?" Millianna muttered in utter disbelief.
"What...what's happening," Sho uttered in confusion, "Is this the Phobos' plan."
Wally growled, "Will you shut up about the Phobos. It ain't him. Jellal betrayed us."
Sho's eyes widened at what he said and began to shake when he saw Millianna nod in agreement, "No, but the Phobos said-"
"Night Terror's like that," Grey interrupted with a sigh, "Let me guess, he told you that he was the one responsible for all of this."
"Y-yeah."
"He must have told you that so you can get Erza away...although it failed."
"You're wrong!" Sho yelled furiously at him, "All of you are wrong! Jellal-"
"Jellal betrayed you," Lucy softly said, shaking her head, "I know it is hard to believe, but he's been lying to you from the start. The Phobos clan died before this tower was built; there is no possible way that they simply allowed it to happen. Erza has been trying to tell you this for ages."
"But...but..." Sho stammered as tears formed in his eyes.
The news had heard was too much for him and he slumped down on the floor of the oxygen bubble and averted his eyes away from the tower. Flare sighed in concern, not once looking away from the pillar of lacrima crystals in the distance.
"Please be safe," she whispered to herself.
Top of The Tower
Erza was surprised that she was alive.
Surprised and, above all else, confused. She was sure that the Etherion hit, but she could still hear, touch, smell.
It just didn't feel like she had died.
Her eyes blinked open and she squinted slightly at the blue light all around; she lifted her head off the cold, hard ground and tried look around at her surroundings again. This was not the dark, dingy throne room she had entered only a few minutes ago; the ceiling was gone and everything, from the floor to the walls were made of a bright blue crystal. Before she could comprehend where she was or what was going on, she heard a small menacing chuckle from behind her.
"Heh, heh, heh, heh..."
She slowly turned around and saw that Jellal, who had also survived Etherion, was hunched over; his shoulders shook with every laugh that escaped his lips and his hair covered most of his face from her. But Erza knew that his mouth was pulled back into a wicked grin.
"Jellal?" she whispered.
The blue haired mage didn't respond to her question and continued his quiet laughter.
"...heh, heh, heh, heh, ha, ha, ha!, HA!, HA!, HA! HA!"
Suddenly, Jellal reared back his shoulders and cackled manically into the air; his arms outstretched to either side of him as he continued to bellowed with malice laughter.
"FINALLY!" he yelled triumphantly, "FINALLY THE TIME HAS COME!"
Erza moved back away from him, her eyes wide in disbelief, "You..."
He grinned down at her, "Does this surprise you, Erza? This is the true form of the Tower of Heaven! It is a giant lacrima crystal! And because of the Council and the Etherion, I am able to harbour it's magical power! THE R SYSTEM IS FULLY OPERATIONAL!"
Erza got to her feet and looked around her surroundings, 'He tricked me,' she thought in dread, 'He knew my weakness and exploited it. And like an idiot...I fell for it.'
"You were so cute, Erza," a new voice called out, making her turn around. She gasped in shock to see Siegrain, a complete carbon copy of Jellal except that he wore a white cloak and trousers, step out from seemingly nowhere, "Jallel couldn't put forth his truth strength. He was actually in danger, so the only thing he could do was trick you."
"Siegrain?" Erza uttered in disbelief, "Wh-what are you doing here?" before she glanced back at Jellal in realising, "You have been covering up what Jallel has been doing to the Council all this time. You've have been working with him to rebuild the Tower!"
"Not quite, Miss Erza."
All three mages turned in surprise as a familiar voice spoke out. Out of the few shadows that remained, Night Terror stepped out onto the crystal floor; Erza grimaced at the sight of the Phobos while Jellal and Siegrain merely sneered.
"My apologies for being late," Night Terror mused, "It is rather difficult finding your way up here. Especially, now that it all looks the same."
"You were never invited," Jellal growled irritably before he smirked, "But that's alright. I deal with you as well."
"Night Terror-" Erza try to say before the Phobos cut her off.
"You have been lied to once again, Miss Erza. Mr Siegrain has not been working for Mr Jellal, but rather they are the same person," he explained, "the figure known as Mr Siegrain of the Magic Council is and had always been a thought projection; he never existed. I should have known from our first meeting, I detected very little magic coming from you."
Siegrain smirked before he walked up to Jellal's side. The two people, before their eyes, began to merge together until only Jellal was the only person left.
"How every observant of you," he darkly chuckled.
Erza took a step back, her face fell into one of absolute horror, "No. All this time...all this time I could have stopped you."
"You can be forgiven," Night Terror calmly told her, "I assume that Mr Siegrain had manipulated you to believe otherwise. Let me guess, some sort of memory curse or perhaps you concealed You appearance in some way to Miss Erza."
Jellal shook her head, "Oh no, nothing like that. At our first meeting, a few years back, Erza attacked me until I told her...that Siegrain was my twin brother."
...
...
...
...
Night Terror turned his head towards Erza and gave her a blank look. The red haired mage noticed his stunned silence and frowned angrily, a tick mark appearing on her forehead.
"Don't look at me like that!"
Night Terror continued to stare at her "...look...what look...what do mean?"
"You're looking at me as if you're disappointed at me."
"...not disappointed...just...but you believed that? They have the same marking over their eye and everything."
"Shut up!" she roared at him before she requiped a sword into her hand and pointed it at Jellal, "I'm not making any more mistakes. I'm taking you down."
Jellal gave a short laugh, "You used most of your energy battling the Phobos and Ikaruga. You just won against my weaker form; do you honestly believe you can do it again now that I have my full magic back? Look at you, you can barely raise your own sword."
Night Terror looked over and saw that he was right, Erza did seem to be struggling to keep her sword up. There were cuts and bruises all over her body; dirt and grim was smeared across her face and her legs were beginning to shake. She was in no state to fight.
"Give up now before I make you," Jellal continued, "It's very easy. All you have to do is merge your body with the lacrima and activate the R System. This offer extends to you Phobos...in fact, if either of you sacrifice themselves to Lord Zaref then I will allow the other to survive. How does that sound?"
"BASTARD!" Erza roared as she moved forward and raised her sword.
However, she only managed to take a few steps before she fell to her hands and knees in pain, her sword clattering at her side. She gritted her teeth and tried her best to get up, but she was far too tired.
"Pathetic," Jellal coldly mocked; he began to radiate power as he got into a fighting stance.
"Miss Erza, stay back and let me battle him," Night Terror told her, keeping his eyes trained on Jellal, "you are in no state to continue."
Erza shook her head as she tried to stand up once more, "I-I can't let you fight him…he's my enemy-"
"Miss Erza!" the Phobos shouted, making her jump, "Mr Jellal is bringing back a new reign of evil across the world! I am sorry, but he is not the young boy you once knew! He is currently a threat to everybody! Fighting him in your condition is not going to help anybody! Are you not the one who told me to forget the past for the betterment of others! Or was that a lie!" he glanced back and saw that Erza looking down at the ground; too weak to move an inch, "You may join me once you have regained your strength, but until then…" his eyes narrowed on the dark mage, "let me fight him."
Night Terror launched at Jellal, his clawed hand outstretched and ready to bring it down on the dark mage. Jellal leapt back and dodged the attack, but blinked in surprise when he saw the Phobos suddenly disappear in front of him. Suddenly, he felt four claws dig into his shoulder and tossed him across the room, much to Jellal's surprise. Before he landed on the crystal floor, Night Terror appeared next to him and kicked his stomach upwards so he flew in the air. Night Terror leapt up to meet him and began pelting him with hits, swipes and kicks; not giving Jellal a chance to think or do anything. He sent out a shadowy tendril and sluggard if into his stomach, pushing him down to the crystal floor and causing it to shatter. Night Terror landed nimbly before he put his clawed hands out beside him. Immediately, from the shadows and the darkness of the night, dozens upon dozens of tendrils emerged and slithered their way to a recovering Jellal, ready to pounce on him.
"Shadow Magic: Hundred Hands Of The Abyss!" the Phobos cried before the tendrils shot towards the mage and smothered him in darkness.
Jellal was lost under a mountain of shadows, moving and slithering around him and keeping him at bay. Night Terror kept it up; being sure that he was truly unconscious before he could release him. When suddenly…
Boom!
A muffled explosion came from the pile of shadows, making the tendrils shake and stop for a few seconds.
"What?" Night Terror uttered in confusion.
Boom!
Another explosion came from the shadows; somehow it was even stronger then the last.
BOOOM!
The mountain of shadows burst and fell apart, causing the Phobos to grunt in pain and shield himself with his arm. As soon as he lowered it, he saw, where the shadows had once been, Jellal completely unharmed and smirking back at him. His cloak had been feared to pieces and now he wore a skin-tight sleeveless purple shirt and blue trousers. The mark of his right eye began to glow red with power, ready to use leash his own magic.
"Is that all," he mocked as he body began to glow yellow, "or is Fairy Tail's Night Terror nothing but a bad dream! Heavenly Body Magic: Meteor!"
At blinding speeds, Jellal launched at him which caught Night Terror by surprise. The Phobos dodged to the left just in time and he sailed over his shoulder. However, Jellal he didn't slow down at all and merely changed trajectory by jumping off the crystal walls.
'Heavenly Body magic,' Night Terror thought in realisation, 'This is advanced magic. I cannot even see him.'
Night Terror tried his best to track his movement until he finally spotted him aiming at his right side. As he zoomed over, the Phobos swung at him with his claw…only for Jellal to change direction in mid-air, leading him to swipe at air.
Night Terror suddenly felt a kick to his back and the several powerful punches on his stomach and legs as Jellal swarmed and bombarded him. One strong punch to the side of his head knocked him of his feet and slid against the lacrima floor; he only stopped when he dug his claws into the crystal. He sensed Jellal flying towards him and so he sunk into the nearby shadow and dodged before his foot slammed into the floor.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jellal saw a shadowy form glide across the floor swiftly and then up the wall; he grinned maliciously before he sped after it.
"You really think your speed can match mine!" Jellal cried out as he began to fly beside the shadowy form over the crystal wall. He flipped forward and slammed his heel onto where the shadow was; it only managed to quickly divert before Jellal could hit it, "This is the gift that my lord has gifted me! It has no equal!"
The shadowy form tried to shake off Jellal; making sharp corners, twisting and turning, but it was no use. Jellal was just too fast; faster than Night Terror.
"I've never seen such speed," Erza muttered, her eyes not being able to keep up with the two mages, "Jellal has gotten stronger."
Suddenly, Night Terror burst out of the shadow form in front of Jellal and met him head on and aimed a swipe at his right side. Jellal, seeing the feeble attempt, dodge to the left back when he felt something hit the base of his neck, surprising him. While Night Terror distracted him with the first attack, he had conjured a shadowy tendril from behind Jellal and hoped it would distract him long enough. It seemed to have worked as Night Terror was able to deliver a jab to Jellal's stomach throwing him back and dispelling the Meteor attack.
However, the mage landed in his feet and gritted his teeth in anger and determination. Night Terror didn't wait before he created four shadow tendrils from his back and shot them towards Jellal. The dark mage began to glow bright yellow once more and battered the tendrils away; defending himself by swatting them, kicking them and punching them as they continued their assault. Jellal chuckled as he was able to thwart Night Terror's Shadow magic attacks until he noticed something.
"One, two, three," he said, counting all the tendrils assaulting, "Then where's the-" he snapped his head around and saw the forth and last tendril gunning towards his back. However, he merely grinned and prepared to hit away just the like the other three, "your tricks are ineffective against me, Phobos!"
However, what caught him off guard, was that the tendril stopped suddenly and that two large hands reached out from the darkness and together. Two muscular arms and a head followed it and now Jellal could see a familiar face glowering at him.
"Darkness Magic," Simon snarled as a purple seal formed between his hands, "Dark Burst!"
A loud explosion of darkness hit Jellal in the back, almost knocking off his feet at the sheer force. The Dark Burst was powerful, but it only stung the dark mage; Jellal was far from giving up. The tendril carried Simon away from him and dropped him carefully at Night Terror's side. With his one eye, Simon looked back at the exhausted Erza and frowned in concern.
"Erza-"
"You're here," Erza gasped, shocked to see him, "don't tell me Night Terror dragged you into this as well."
"He didn't do anything…I volunteered."
Jellal spat and glared at Simon and then at Night Terror, "Another little pest that managed to scurry up here. I'll crush you just as easily."
Night Terror gave a small smile from beneath his mask, "I am afraid that your little plan must come to an end. Mr Simon, is everything ready?"
"Ready," he answered with a firm nod.
"Good," the Phobos darkly said as he tilted his head back, stretched out his arms and began to focus on his magic, "then I shall begin."
"Begin what!" Jellal snarled before he sensed a surge of magical power come from down below.
He ran over to the edge of the tower and looked down; expecting to see the rocky island from below. However, what met his eyes, was just pitch black darkness that surrounded the base of the tower. Rising up from the darkness was one giant shadowy tendril, about the length and width of the lacrima tower itself; the tip began split off into four sharp claws as it made its slow ascent before those shadow claws began to dig and cut into the lacrima crystal tearing and slashing the side of if. The entire tower shook as the shadow claw attacked it; threatening it to topple it over if it continued.
Jellal growled and turned back to Night Terror and Simon, "What are you doing!?"
"Breaking the R System," Simon coldly replied, "when Night Terror was distracting you, I was using my Darkness magic at the base of the tower. If we can collapse the tower then we can stop you."
"You little shits!"
"It's over Jellal. All your hard work will be for nothing in a few seconds."
Meanwhile, Night Terror gritted his teeth and focused on controlling the shadows, 'This is much more difficult then I was expecting. I never moved so much darkness from far away,' he felt a headache beginning to form, causing him to flinch at the familiar feeling, 'No! Now now! I will not become a Deimos again! Just a little bit more and it will all be done.'
Jellal glanced over at Night Terror and noticed how much he was concentrating; he gave an eerie grin in response, "Must take a lot of you to conjure something like this, right Phobos?"
"Don't listen to him, Night Terror," Simon muttered, not keeping his eye of Jellal, "We're almost done in destroying the R System."
Jellal chuckled in response, "O Night Terror, the last of the Phobos Clan, I know a lot about you. Granted, not in identity or appearance, but I know what you are. In some ways, you remind me a lot of Erza...very loyal to the point that you are willing to put yourself in front of others so you can protect them..."
'Where is he going with this?' Night Terror thought, his mind and body beginning to strain under the pressure.
"...I wonder how far that extends to..." Jellal continued as he raised his hand over his head, "...Say, that I was going to kill two people right now...would you abandoned your goal to save them or would you let them die for the sake of others!" he cried as he created nine longswords made of yellow crackling electricity behind him.
The Phobos eyes widened as he glanced from the swords to the still weak Erza and the stunned Simon. Simon noticed what Jellal was doing and immediately shook his head at Night Terror.
"Don't you dare! He's trying to make you lose focus! I can take the hit!"
"Heavenly Body magic: Jiu Leixing!" Jellal cried as he ordered the swords to fly towards the two.
To Night Terror, it seemed like it was going in slow motion. He saw the nine swords sparked as if zoomed towards them; the way Erza looked up with tired, pain filled eyes up at the incoming missiles, the way that Simon closed his eye, gritted hit teeth, and raised his arms up to form an cross in front of him as he waited and braced himself. At one moment, he saw two skilled mages trying to defended themselves from harm, but he only had to blink before he saw two different, but familiar people.
A young girl with short red hair wearing old rags stood where Erza had previously been; while a young boy with black hair also wearing rags stood where Simon had been. They both looked as if they had beaten, starved and on the verge of death; years of neglect and cruelty evident on every part of them. They faces were filled with fear as they looked up at the vicious Jiu Leixing attack aimed directly at them; their eyes were filled with tears and their hands raised above them in a feeble attempt to stop their deaths. In another moment, the child versions of Erza and Simon were replaced by their current selves; their fear and pain much more hidden now then they were before.
Night Terror had no idea what had happened in the split second, but it pained him; mentally pained him as if he scratched away a healing scar.
It was too much for him to bare.
The Jui Leixing swords exploded on impact, covering the area in a blanket of blackened smoke. Jellal waited patiently for the smoke to lift, but once he did, he grinned victoriously.
Meanwhile, Erza opened her eyes carefully, once she noticed she was unharmed, before she looked through the smoke and gasped once she was able to see again. Night Terror was standing, but hunched over Simon; parts of his robe were torn open to reveal his blackened and stained armour underneath. His breathing was laboured and shaky and he looked as he was going to fall over at any moment. Not only that, but Simon was lying on the ground, gripping his bare shoulder as his blood dripped down his arm and pooled onto the floor. Erza staggered to her feet and limped towards the two.
"Night...what did you do?" she gasped as the Phobos remade his robe with his shadows.
"I...just...could not...stand it..." he grunted out before he looked down at Simon, "...my apologies...Mr Simon...I missed one..."
Simon gritted his teeth to fight back the pain and looked up at him, "Never mind me! Why did you do that!? We can't destroy the tower now!"
"I am sorry...but I had to..."
"Had to what?"
"Help you," the Night Terror sorrowfully as tears began to form his eyes, "The Phobos were supposed to help you. You were so young...and suffered so much," he softly said.
Erza and Simon were touched by his words, but the moment was ruined when Jellal chuckle echoed through the chamber.
"It is too late for repercussions, Phobos," Jellal said, "Now do the right Erza and get out of the way. I still have need for you."
Night Terror glanced back at Simon and instantly could tell he was in no state to continue fighting. With a flick of his claw, a shadow tendril seeped out and gently grabbed Simon before dragging him back into the shadows, much to his protest. Erza watched him disappear into the darkness before turning back to Night Terror.
"Where are you taking him?"
"The Akane Resort...it the only place I can think off that will take care of his injuries."
"Good," Erza soundly said before she staggered and fell back to her hands and knees as the pain took her again.
The Phobos turned towards Jellal and limped towards him, causing the dark mage to raise an eyebrow.
"You still want to oppose me?"
Night Terror stopped and revealed his claw, "After everything you have done; I will not allow you to get away with it."
Jellal gave an uncaring smirk, "Fine," he said before he raised his hands in front of him, "Then allow me the honour of being the mage who killed the last Phobos on this planet! Grand Char-"
Suddenly, he had to stop as he saw something in the corner of his eye. He twisted his body around in order to to meet it, but he was too late. The person flying towards him at great speeds reared his head back, inhaled plenty of air until his cheeks bulged before declaring:
"FIRE DRAGON'S RROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRR!"
A jet of flames shot out of Natsu's mouth, hitting Jellal at point blank and catching him off guard. The fire was so intense that the crisp, cold air turned into hot, humid air in seconds. Once he was done and the fire around Jellal continued to blaze, Natsu jumped away and landed beside Night Terror, much to the Phobos' surprise.
"Mr Natsu!" Night Terror uttered in astonishment.
"NIGHT! WHAT THE HELL, MAN!" Natsu shouted at him, "YOU'RE FIGHTING THE FINAL BOSS WITHOUT ME! THAT'S NOT FAIR! WE ARRIVED AT THE SAME TIME!"
"That is what your are more concerned about?" Night Terror sighed with a sweat drop.
"IDIOTS!" a voice roared from the blaze as it began to die down. Out of the flickering flames, Jellal appeared completely unscathed; his face twisted in absolute fury, "HOW MANY MORE PESTS DO I HAVE TO DEAL WITH BEFORE I GET WHAT I WANT!
Natsu turned back to Jellal and snarled at him, "WHAT'D YOU SAY! I'MA GOING TO TAKE YOU DOWN!"
"Mr Natsu wait. Mr Jellal is much stronger then he seems."
"Yeah, I know," Natsu told him, not taking his eyes off of the dark mage, "I saw that giant shadow claw down below; we're you trying to destroy the tower."
"Indeed."
The Dragon Slayer glanced back at him and gave him a sharp grin, "It'll be a shame if some of that powerful magic Jellal's got happened to hit the tower, wouldn't it?"
The Phobos eyes widened at the hint before he smirked and narrowed his eyes in determination, "I suppose it would. Destroying property is what Fairy Tail specialises in after all."
Natsu's grin widened before he sprinted towards Jellal, his feet began to burst on fire before he jumped and swung his right leg at his head, "FIRE DRAGON'S CLAW!"
Jellal ducked underneath the high kick and was about to respond with a counterattack when he had to leap back before he was hit by a swipe from Night Terror who suddenly appeared from his side. Jellal grunted as he deflected and blocked every single attack from the two Fairy Tail mages, finding it difficult to fight them on both fronts. Meanwhile, Night Terror and Natsu continued their bombardment, not giving Jellal a chance to breath and making his anger grow by the second. After several seconds of constant attacks, Jellal had enough; he reared back his head, threw out his arms and released a wave of powerful dark magic that knocked them off their feet.
"I AM DONE WASTING TIME!" he bellowed before he raised his arms into the air, "ALL OF YOU WILL BE CRUSHED UNDER MY POWER!"
"Here it comes," Natsu grinned as the wind began to whip around Jellal, growing fiercer and wilder by the second, "This is the spell that's going to take the tower down. Get ready for it," he said as he began to crouch down to avoid being sucked in by the whirlwind.
Night Terror frowned before he glanced back at Erza who was awake to see what is happening, "Mr Natsu, the trajectory of the attack. It is aimed at us and Miss Erza."
"What?" Natsu gasped as he looked back as well, "But I though he needed Erza for the thing to work."
"Not necessarily," Jellal's voice cut through the howling wind like a cold knife, "The R System requires the body of a mage equal to that of one of the Ten Wizard Saints, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I can always find somebody else. After all, why should I sacrifice my tower for one measly insect."
"He knew what we were doing from the start," Natsu realised with an annoyed growl.
Night Terror raised his claw to try to conjure a wall of shadows before them, but, to his shock, his shadows began to suck into the whirlwind as well, "What? But how?"
Jellal laughed cruelly, "Your shadows are defenceless against my Heavenly Body magic, Phobos!" he declared as the whirlwind began to take form of a swirling, menacing black hole above his head. It started of small, but it gradually grew and grew until it was almost too big for the room, "YOU WILL BE CRUSHED UNTIL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT! YOU'LL BE WIPED OUT EXISTANCE; CONSTANTLY COLLAPSING ON YOURSLEVES FOREVER! HEAVENLY BODY MAGIC: ALTARIS!"
The black hole launched at them; growing even bigger as it flew towards them. It's power becoming overwhelming and it was becoming more difficult to not get sucked in to it.
Night Terror did not think, but reacted.
He ran up to meet the Altaris attack mid-way, put his hands up and used as much Fear magic he could muster. Altaris slammed into his Fear magic, bushing him back a few feet before he could get a grip. He pushed back with all his might as he fought against the spell. This was far different then the time he averted Phantom Lord's Jupiter Cannon. He was weak, tiered and injured and he little to no preparation. He tried to use more and more Fear magic to scare the infused magic of Altaris, but it was too much. Altaris was getting stronger by the second and it was quickly overwhelming his magic.
There was no way he could stop the attack.
It was clear to Natsu and Erza that Night Terror was struggling against the power of Jellal, but there was nothing they could physically do.
"Come on! Night! Keep it up!" Natsu encouraged from behind him, "You fought stronger then this guy! This should be an easy win!"
Erza merely stared in concern for him; her mind going completely blank for what she can do.
Night Terror grunted and groaned in agony as he used more and more Fear magic until another headache began, signalling he was reaching his limit, 'I cannot continue…it is simply too overwhelming,' he thought before he thought about the Natsu and Erza, 'perhaps…I should give in and take the brunt of the spell…it might save them, but I will not make it…' he took a few more seconds for him to ponder on his decision before he finally came to a decision, "…I must give in. I am sorry Miss Flare, I will not...be able to teach you anymore...I am sorry Miss Lucy...for not saying goodbye...I am sorry Maighstir for not returning...I am sorry everybody at Fairy Tail...for failing.'
With final push of his Fear magic, he sighed and released his hold on Altaris...
...
...
...
...
...although, just before he was about to let go, he spotted a wrinkled, translucent hand pressed against Altaris. He blinked in confusion, wondering briefly what it was for a second; before his eyes drifted up the faint arm it was attached to and towards the familiar person it belonged to. Night Terror gave a soft gasp as he recognised the kind, wisdom-filled eyes, the gentle smile stretched across his elderly face; like his hand and arms, he was also translucent like a ghost; but that didn't stop him from emanating his warmth and tranquillity.
"Giving up so soon, leanabh," he chuckled, much to his astonishment, "where's that fighting spirit we know and love."
"Grandfather," Night Terror uttered.
Condhuine gave another short chuckle, "You seemed shocked. You've look like you've seen a ghost!"
Night Terror couldn't reply due to the shock, but suddenly another voice cut in before he can.
"Forgive my father's ill-timed sense of humour," Night Terror snapped his head around to see a transparent young woman with long blond hair and similar eyes to Condhuine; both of her hands were also pushed against Altaris, "I cannot imagine how much you had to endure because of him."
"Ailis," Night Terror mumbled, "What is this? What is going on?"
Another ghostly pair of hands appeared and pushed against Altaris, "What does it look like?" the ghost of a woman in her late fifties grumbled, "We're helping you."
"Master Gealtachd," Night Terror uttered before he started to look around as more and more ghostly figures of his long deceased clan began to appear. First it was only a few, but then it grew by its tens and then by its hundreds. All of them were pushing back against the attack, contributing their own Fear magic to aid him, "Stop it! This is my fight! Do not disturb your eternal rest, because of me! This is my fight!"
"That's where you are wrong," Caradoc the baker said.
"Who does this Jellal person think he is?" Farmer Cumhai grumbled, "Using our Clan as scapegoats."
"Ruining our name," Erin the tailor muttered distastefully while her daughter helped her from beside her.
"Sullying our reputation," Owen grumbled.
"Insulting our culture and customs," Ailis said with a vicious smirk, "I think it's time to teach this whelp why you shouldn't mess with us!"
All around him, 2797 former Phobos cheered and cried in agreement as they slowly began to push against Altaris.
Jellal's proud smirk fell from his face as he saw Night Terror actually pushing back against one of his strongest attacks. He had been struggling at the start and just when he thought he was going to give up he managed to turn it around. Jellal was starting to feel concerned.
"Impossible. He should be too weak. How is he doing this?" he muttered.
"That's it, Night! Keep on going!" Natsu cried out as he watched the Phobos get the upper hand, "Just a little bit more!"
"How...how is he doing this?" Erza gasped in amazement and shock.
The ghostly form of Condhuine looked back and smiled as he saw Natsu and Erza, "They look fine friends you have there. You're very lucky, indeed," he commented before his face turned serious, "Many people have been hurt because of Jellal's lies...make sure you tell the truth and finally release them from their chains, leanabh."
Night Terror looked back at him before he gave a sound nod, "I promise."
Finding a new source of strength, Night Terror along with the rest of his deceased Clan began to raise Alataris up to above their head; using the Fear magic to make it move. Jellal stepped back in shock as he saw the Phobos not only stop his attack, but manipulate it.
"No! What's going on!" he shouted in fury.
He gasped when, for a split second, he saw hundreds of ghostly figures surrounding Night Terror helping lift up Altaris; men, women and children all joining in to stop his attack. And for the first time in a long time, Jellal was afraid. Afraid of the army of ghosts glaring at him with their dark, empty eyes as if they were judging him. He gulped and took another step back as they vanished into thin air.
By that time, Night Terror had hefted the orb of destruction over his head; standing tall as he conquered it. As soon as was ready and he had the strength, Night Terror declared:
"LE CUMHACHD A CINNEADH PHOBOS! SGRIOSAIDH MI THU!" he roared as he threw Altaris at the crystal floor.
KABOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!
An explosion ripped through the upper levels of the tower; it was so powerful that the other members of Fairy Tail and Jellal's former Henchpeople were almost thrown off their feet by the force. Shards of crystal splintered and rocketed off the tower and large cracks began to form in the sides. When the explosion died down and they mages at the top of the tower recovered, they saw that Altaris had created a giant jagged crater where it impacted.
In the middle of the crater, surrounded by a plume of smoke, Night Terror stood tall; his breathing was heavy and they were some more damage to his cloak, but he was far from defeated. He turned his head up at Jellal and shot him a dark look which made him wince slightly in fear.
"Mr Natsu," he called out without taking his eyes off Jellal, "Shall we finish this!"
The dragon slayer grinned in reply and smacked his fist into his open palm, "You're on!" he shouted before he jumped and leapt over the crater towards Jellal, "FIRE DRAGON'S CLAW!"
Jellal didn't have time to dodge out of the way and resulted to put up his arm and take the blow of the attack. As soon as it hit, the dark mage was knocked way, but managed to keep his footing until several shadow tendrils grabbed his limbs. They lifted him up in the air and slammed him through one of a pillar of crystal. Suddenly, Natsu came out of seemingly nowhere and punched square in the jaw, making him fly across the chamber. Another shadow tendril grabbed Jellal around the waist in mid-air and slammed him down at the bottom of the large crater. Jellal cried out in pain when he landed; his entire body racked in agony and his muscles were starting to seize up.
From the edge of the crater, Night Terro and Natsu watched as the dark mage rolled onto his hands and knees and spat out some blood on to the ground next to him, "Eight years..." he growled before he roared, "...EIGHT YEARS I'VE SLAVED AWAY ON THIS TOWER! ALL THOSE YEARS OF PLANNING AND BUIDLING; I'VE SACRFICED EVERYTHING! AND I'M NOT GOING TO LET SOME STUPID WEAK COCHROACHES SPOIL IT ALL!" he declared as he several magical seals formed around him.
"Abyss Break," Night Terror muttered, recognising the move, "He is going to kill everybody."
Natsu grinned and slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand, "We need to finish him off. Right now!"
Night Terror hummed thoughtfully, "I may have an idea," he mused, "What would you say to a collaboration, Mr Natsu."
"Sounds good to me!" he agreed.
Natsu leapt into the air and began spewing a jet of flames everywhere; the fire grew bigger around him, raising the temperature to that of an furnace. As Natsu's inferno increased, Night Terror used his remain strength to conjure as many shadows in the area around him and used them to envelop Natsu. The shadows began to stretch and take shape around the flames; it grew longer and more rigid before it sprouted eight limbs. Four of them grew to become long scaly legs with each ending with large sharp claws; one of them extended and stretched itself into a long tail with sharp spikes along the top ridge; another two became wide wings; the final one began to resemble a sharp head with two curled horns protruding from the back, narrow eyes and a wide mouth with several rows of teeth. Before everyone's eyes, the combination of Natsu's flames and Night Terror's shadows had formed a one hundred foot long dragon. Its entire body was pitch black, but its eyes, mouth and claws were Natsu's flames which flickered and sparked in a terrifying manner.
'I do hope Mr Natsu appreciates the shape I have given it," Night Terror hummed submerged in the dragon's body as it flew in the air around the tower, roaring and spewing fire from its mouth and eyes.
Open Sea
"What the-" Grey cried out as he and the others watched watched the black dragon soar into the night sky.
"A d-dragon!" Sho stammered, "Where did it come from!? I thought they went extinct!"
Lucy squinted at it and studied it intensely before she gasped, "It looks like it's made of Night Terror's shadows."
Flare gasped in delight, "That means he's alright!"
"But where is the fire coming from?" Juvia questioned, "Juvia didn't know that he could use Fire magic."
"He can't. That must mean that Natsu is up there as well," Grey grumbled.
"Cool! Aye!" Happy chirped.
"Amazing," Millianna uttered in disbelief as Wally nodded in agreement.
Above The Tower
The dragon flew up into the air over where the tower; climbing higher and higher until it was just at the cloud layer. It suddenly stopping and, letting gravity to pull it downwards, the behemoth flipped over with its mighty head downwards and zoomed back down towards the tower. It began to pick up speed; going faster and faster as it headed towards its target.
Jellal's concentration was broken as he heard a monstrous roar above him, making him dissolve his Abyss Break. He glanced up and saw, to his shock, a ferocious, gigantic, black scaled, red eyed dragon hurtling towards him. He had no time to move, no time to escape, no time to think as the maw of the dragon opened up, showing him the inferno of blazing fire within, and bellowed with both Night Terror and Natsu's voice:
"NIGHTMARE FIRE DRAGOOOOOOOONNNNNN'S FURYYYYYYYYYYY!"
As soon as the dragon made impact, an another giant explosion rippled through the tower. Along the sides of the tower, the lacrima crystal cracked, burst and splintered. A cabin reaction of explosions occurred throughout the floors; pillars of crystal collapsed, walls were ripped apart and the night air was showered in small pieces of lacrima which fluttered gently to the ground. In only a few minutes, the tower has caved in itself and rendered it as well as the R System unfunctional.
It took eight years to build the Tower of Heaven, but only a few moments to destroy it all.
Once it was safe to do so, Erza uncovered her eyes and looked around in disbelief. The entire lacrima chamber and the floors below it were utterly destroyed; large chunks of broken crystal began to tear away from the tower while shards began to rain down from above. Jellal's R System, everything he has been working on for the past eight years, has been demolished and crumbling away.
In the centre of it all, Natsu and Night Terror were slumped on the floor, completely unconscious. At first, she did not recognise the Phobos as his shadowy cloak was gone, leaving him in only his silvery armour and mask. She supposed that he used all the shadows that he could control for the last attack; even sacrificing his own cloak. They both, however, looked unharmed, which she was thankful about, and only needed some time to rest. She gave a relived smile as a tear rolled down from her eye.
"It's over," she whispered as she managed to get to her feet without collapsing, "the nightmare is over."
She looked around the area again, but did not see Jellal anywhere. She frowned sadly; she was unsure whether he was dead or not; she thought that if anybody were survive such an attack it would be him. She then wondered if she wanted him dead; she certainly did declare she would earlier, but, then again, she did fail. Was Jellal a victim in all of this; a puppet under the command of Zeref? Or had he really turned evil and was lost to reason forever?
An explosion of power from below her feet cut off her train of though. The floor beneath her, that was already to crack and crumble; shook violently and began to glow brighter and brighter. She sensed an enormous amount of magic bursting from the lacrima around from her.
"The tower!" Erza gasped in realisation, "the Destruction magic is becoming unstable without a suitable host. It can explode at any moment," she looked down at the her fellow guild members, 'I won't be able to carry them both all the way down in time,' she thought desperately, 'I need to wake them up.'
She kneeled down beside the two and was about to shake them awake when she noticed something in the corner of her eye. She looked around and saw a unbroken wall of lacrima behind her; its flat unscarred surface glowed prettily despite the dire circumstances. She saw her own blue tinted reflection in the mirrored surface watching back at her; it was as if her reflection was looking back at her and stared straight into her soul.
She stared at it; almost mesmerise by it before she glanced down at Natsu and Night Terror.
'It needs…a host…a sacrifice…' she thought slowly before she sighed and mustered a brave face, 'If it means they and everyone else will be safe…'
She stood up and looked back at the lacrima wall before her; she took a shaky breath and her body began to tremble. Without thinking, she reached into her hakama trouser pocket and pulled out her crystal necklace that she always wore when ever she slept. She felt the familiar soothing coolness and weight of the gem and instantly her nerves began to settle. She looked down at the gem and smiled wearily; it was at this tower that she received it and she had kept it safe ever since. That day was one of the worst in her entire life, but she remembered that little moment where she obtained the gem fondly.
-Flashback Eight Years Ago -
Dungeons, Tower of Heaven
The robed guards threw a young Erza roughly onto the floor and slammed the cell door behind her. She had been through and hour of nonstop torture; it was so harsh that she lost her right eye in the process, leaving it an empty socket covered in dirty bandages. She sniffed and whimpered as she clutched her eye while the guards chuckled cruelly behind the cold iron gates.
"That'll teach ya," one of them laughed.
"Now be a good girl and think about what you've done," the other one said before the walked off.
Erza continued to weep and curled up on the hard stone floor. She didn't know how much time had passed but the next thing she knew she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She gasped and scrambled away from the intruder who had got into her cell, only to find that it was the scary guard knelt down to her height. However, she didn't seem so scary now; she looked more distraught and exhausted with dark rings around her eyes and dull look in her eyes. She studied her and saw her face twitch in fury as her eyes fell upon her bandaged face; however she the gave the young a small smile and reached out her hand.
"It's okay," she softly said. Erza did not respond and just continued to glare at her, "let me see if we can get new clean bandages for you…or maybe some food…something to drink…"
She tried to get closer to her, but the young girl immediately backed away as far as she can; almost pressing herself against the wall.
"Go…away…" Erza rasped as she began to tremble once more, "…go…away…please…don't…hurt me."
To her surprise, as soon as she uttered that, she looked absolutely devastated; it was as if what she said was so painful to her. Her expression quickly changed back to a serious expression as she backed away.
"I'm…not going to hurt you. Nobody is ever going to hurt you again, because I am going to protect you and save everyone here," she said, her voice filled with determination, "We have to leave now. I have arranged several boats at the base of the tower which we can all escape on, but we have to be quick."
Erza snarled at her, "I'm going with you! Haven't you tortured me enough!"
"Erza-"
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed at older woman, causing her to back away in shock. Erza sniffed and hid her head in her hands and began to whimper, "Please leave me alone. I don't want go on. I want this nightmare to end."
After a few moments of silence between the two, Erza heard the sound of something clinking upon the stone floor and slowly looked up. She saw that the guard had placed an amber coloured crystal on the floor before she backed away to the cell door. She studied it through teary a teary eye and watched it glow softly in the torch light. She then looked up at her, wondering what she was doing.
"Take it," she softly said, "all your fears and nightmares will be gone when you touch it, I promise," she looked down at the jewel with a sad look, "I was hoping to give this as a birthday gift for my daughter's first birthday…but you need it more…"
'Daughter?' Erza thought in confusion.
"Her name's Una," she told her, replying to her confused expression, "She's just the sweetest thing…she's my little treasure…would you do me a favour? Once you escape and free, if you somehow happen to find Una…can you tell her that her mother, Aisling, loved her so much and she's sorry she wasn't there in her life," to Erza's astonishment, the woman, now know as Aisling, began to tighten her expression as if she was preventing herself from crying, "I know it's probably unlikely you would ever meet her…but it would make me happy…just knowing that somebody is out there looking for her."
A small tear escaped from Aisling's eye which she immediately rushed away with her hand. At that brief moment, Erza saw a blue tattled swirl on the back of her hand. The single image of the colour and design of the tattoo implanted on her mind and would only reawaken several years later when she saw the same tattoos that Night Terror had.
Some muffled shouting from somewhere alerted the two and made Aisling scowl in annoyance.
"They probably found the bodies," she muttered under her breath before she looked back at Erza, "use this time to escape when you still can. End this nightmare now forever."
And with those final words, Aisling turned and rushed out of the cell and down the corridor, leaving Erza all by herself. The young girl waited until she was sure she was gone before she looked down at the crystal on the floor. With one shaky hand, she reached out and gently picked it up.
- Flashback End -
Erza sighed wearily at the memory as she clutched the jewel in her hand; she glared up at the crystal wall in determination without a faint hint of fear in her movement.
"It all ends here," she muttered to herself.
Night Terror woke up suddenly and the first thing he noticed was the destruction all around him. The tower was collapsing and it abundantly became clear, judging by the explosions and the cracking of crystals, that they were going get trapped in it if they didn't escape. As he raised his head, he noticed the second things which was his shadowy cloak was gone and now only wore his blackened and stained armour; he must have reached the limit of his Shadow magic with the last attack. He grumbled in pain as he sat up, seeing an unconscious Natsu not too far away, but he could not see Erza.
He heard a pained grunt from behind him and turned in shock to see Erza with her right arm sinking into the wall of lacrima crystal as if it was made of water. The bright blue wall sucking her in as if it was alive which caused Erza to grit her teeth in agony.
"Miss Erza..." he called out calmly, catching her attention, "What...what are you doing?"
The red haired mage did not look around, but Night Terror could see the reflection of her face in the crystal, "Jellal said that in order for the R System to work...I would need to infuse my body with the lacrima. However, now that the tower is collapsing...the power of the Etherion is going haywire...we will not get out of here before the entire place explodes," she gave a small knowing smile, "If I fuse my body with the Etherion energy however...then that power would be stored within my body."
Night Terror felt his heart stop for a beat as dread began to weigh on him, "Miss Erza...that will mean-"
"It will mean that I can stop the explosion..." she finally turned to him and smiled softly, "...and everyone can live."
Shakily, Night Terror got to his feet and began to limp towards her, "Miss Erza get away from that now."
"Too late," she grunted as she was pulled further into the lacrima, "my fate is sealed."
"It is never too late. There has to be another way!" he cried urgently as he staggered to her and reached out for her hand, "ERZA GET AWAY FROM IT NOW!"
The red haired mage was yanked away from his grasp by the lacrima until only her left side of her body and her head remained out of it, "I'm sorry about how I treated you Night over all these years. I really wish we could have been better guildmates under different circumstances. Perhaps we could have been great friends," she mused without a single hint of fear in her voice. With her left hand, she tossed her crystal pendent that the guard have given her all those years ago towards Night Terror and he immediately caught it in his claw, "Use this to remember me by. I have no use for it anymore," she said as a tear rolled down her cheek, "All of my nightmares are over."
Finally, with one last sharp tug from the lacrima crystal, Erza was completely submerged inside. Night Terror rushed towards it and pounded his claws against the crystal.
"NO! PLEASE! WE NEED YOU! GET OUT OF THERE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!" he yelled in grief as he watched her drift further and further into the lacrima, "ERZA! ERZZZZZAAAAAA!"
However, she merely responded with a gentle smile before she vanished completely into the lacrima.
The reaction was almost immediate. The lacrima crystal around him began to shine blindingly, causing him to back away in shock. The entire tower of crystal began to shake and break apart once again and slowly float towards the centre where a large vortex was beginning to form.
"Erza!" he heard Natsu cry as he slammed himself against the crystal wall, he must have woken up without him realising, "Why did you let her go!?" he shouted at him.
"I...I..." he stammered, unable to form any sort of sentence.
"Hey!" Natsu cried over the booming noise and pointing down at his claw, "Why is that thing glowing!"
Night Terror frowned in confusion before looking down at the crystal which was, as Natsu said, glowing brightly. He studied the gem for a few seconds before his eyes widened in shock, "How...how did she get this!?"
"What!? What is it!?"
"It is Phobian. I have not seen one like this in ages," he uttered before he gasped in realisation, "I know a way to get her back! Mr Natsu, what I am about to do is really dangerous!"
"Then let me do it!"
"No it has to be me!" she said, now having to shout as the power vortex began to pick up speed, "Once I am done and I have save her, you need to get us out of here!" he ordered. Natsu still looked unsure and so he had to bellow, "NATSU! THIS IS THE ONLY WAY!"
"FINE!" he finally agreed, "WHAT ARE YOU ABOUT TO DO!"
Night Terror responded by squeezing his claw tightly around the crystal until he heard it crack. He opened it again and saw an amber liquid began to seep out of it and pool on his glove.
"This!" he declared before he raised, his clawed hand to his mouth, lifted his mask partially and drank every last drop of the liquid.
And that's it for today! Bit of a cliff hanger, but I know you guys love this sort of thing.
Thank you all for your patience. It has been a very busy month for me. Taking extra shifts at work, my laptop breaking down and just generally not finding time to properly write. But I managed to do as much as I can every day, because I love writing and I love hearing all of your responses.
Thank you all again and I hope you enjoy the next chapter!