CHAOS XVI
"Hey, do you think those people in the cards are alright?" Lucy asked quietly. She sat in a rowboat with Gray, her compass celestial spirit Pyxis, and more shockingly, Juvia from Phantom Lord, as they sailed out of territorial waters and towards the stronghold Erza and Natsu had been taken to.
"The army is there, so they should be fine. More importantly, where are we?"
"Juvia thinks we are lost." Juvia added. Lucy was still unsure how the Rain Woman of the Element Four had gotten there but decided against questioning it.
"We're headed towards Natsu, right, Pyxis?" The little winged celestial spirit jumped up and down, confirming they were still on the right path. "He says yes, it just feels like we've been sailing for hours."
"How the hell did those two overpowered beasts get kidnapped?" Gray groused. "And what do they want with Happy?"
"Something about a catgirl?" Lucy tried to recall the conversation that occurred at the casino. At the time, she had been a little preoccupied with being stretched to death by some magic-resistant indestructible rope, but the attackers had voiced their plans loud and clear. "They're working on something big. Some type of resurrection. They were surprised when Natsu showed up, and said he was supposed to be somewhere else… then they trapped him in a lacrima."
"Was the lacrima a backup plan to deal with him specifically?"
"I'm sure if they didn't expect Natsu to be there they wouldn't have planted a trap for him. I think… it might've been for Erza."
"For Erza-san?" Juvia questioned with surprise.
"She knew those people. I think if they couldn't knock her out, they would've put her in the lacrima. They kept calling her 'big sis', it reminds me that we really don't know anything about her at all. She knew them before Fairy Tail. Do you remember what she was like back then, Gray?"
The ice mage thought for a moment. He remembered when Erza Scalet first arrived at the guild, timid and small. She kept to herself her first few weeks. At that time, he and Cana were the only children in the guild- besides Laxus, who had been born in. She never interacted with any of them, she preferred to spend day after day alone.
She did eventually warm up to the guild. Her strength grew tremendously as the years passed, and she broke further out of her shell after the Strauss siblings arrived. A friendly rivalry with Mirajane only pushed the two to further themselves. But never could he recall Erza mentioning her life before Fairy Tail. Granted he never spoke about his own history, and no one had asked. Fairy Tail was meant to be a fresh start for most of its members, a blank slate for a new life, so he never knew why she arrived at the guild so downcast and reserved. Her past was only now raising questions.
"Wait, do you feel that?" Juvia's words snapped Gray out of his thoughts. She stood up, feeling immense magic pressure. Gray and Lucy felt it too, looking in the same direction as the sky darkened and the shadow of a giant tower appeared in the distance.
"This is it…"
"Ah, you're awake!"
Erza's head whipped to the door as a new person entered her prison. Millianna greeted the newcomer before bouncing out of the room. "Sho." She gritted her teeth.
"The ceremony will take place tonight, are you excited?" He placed a tray of food on the bed in front of her. Ceremony? They're going to activate the R-system? Erza thought. "It's sad, you know. That you would betray us and Jellal. He's very angry. But for this, he'll forgive you. You've been chosen as the living sacrifice for the ceremony. It's upsetting that I won't get to see you again, sister."
Erza bit her lip. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a response.
"Cat got your tongue?" He pressed before laughing. "Get it? Because Millianna? …Okay, keep quiet. I won't blame you. After all, this place must hold terrible memories for you. I remember." Sho exited the room, leaving Erza to her thoughts.
"Trying to escape?" A cultist knocked Jellal to the ground as he took another stand against them. Every attempt was useless. They'd been caught, and now they were going to die.
"Because of these brats we're way behind schedule. I'd send 'em all to the chamber, but we need 'em in top shape for the upper floors." The leader of the cult grumbled, kicking one of the kids into a wall. The rest covered their heads in fear, crying uncontrollably as the cult members interrogated them.
"I'm willing to negotiate here, so quit the crying. Give up whichever one of you came up with the escape plan, and I'll only take that one. The rest of you won't face punishment. Wouldn't that be nice of us?"
Erza trembled uncontrollably. It was her; they all knew it. She found the entrance to the caves where the cult brought in materials. She watched them in the night to find out when the route was empty. And it was her that needed to step up to save the rest of her friends. She felt weaker than she ever had as she struggled to breathe, but she needed to take responsibility. They had trusted in her plan. She had trusted in herself. And it was all for nothing.
"Spit it out! Who's the mastermind?" The man slammed his staff on the ground.
"M-m-"
"I did it. I made the plan and told them what to do." Jellal stood up, cutting of Erza and glaring at the large man in front of him. He let out a bellowing laugh.
"Ah, so it was the redhead." He looked past Jellal and pointed his staff to Erza, who froze behind him. He motioned for his goons to grab her. Simon and Jellal jumped in front of her.
"I told you it was me!" Jellal shouted, only to be electrocuted by a bolt of lightning from one of the cultists. Jellal and Simon screamed in pain as they were tortured by the spell, and Erza was quietly picked up and carried off.
"I'll be okay. I'm fine." She whispered to no one as she was taken away. "Just like you said, Jellal. There's nothing to be afraid of."
"Leaving me with utensils, they must want me to escape." Erza mumbled to herself as she fumbled with the fork in her restraints. Her single handcuff popped right open, and she rushed out of the room. "Preaching about the R-system… it's black magic sophism. They're no different now from the rest." Sneaking out of the same door Sho had left from, it wasn't long until she ran into the boy in the hallway. He hadn't noticed her behind him, he never was very aware of his surroundings. She watched with mild concern as he ranted to himself in the middle of the walkway.
"Resurrection. Human sacrifice. Forbidden, inhumane, what of it? Magic has always been at odds with humanity. Magic erodes one's humanity. Jellal will lead us to heaven! When he resurrects Zeref, yes, the world will be reborn! With us as its rulers, my traitor sister and her ignorant friends, the incompetent fools on the Council, all will cower in fear and be drenched in grief! We will take away everyone's freedom! We will be the rulers of this world!" He cackled hysterically, eyes bulging as he ranted at blank space.
How had he lost himself like this? Erza bit back bile as she requipped a sword and slammed the hilt into Sho's head. He was knocked unconscious on impact. She gave him a pitiful look as she stepped over his still form.
"Don't worry, Sho. I'll defeat whoever did this to you." Erza requipped out of her evening gown into her protective armour before running down the hallway.
"Are you able to proceed with these discussions impartially, Siegrain?"
"The misgivings of my kin were known long before I joined the council. His involvement will make no difference as to how I handle a threat on our nation. Being as is, I've only been able to devise one possible solution to shut this project down once and for all."
"And that is?"
"We must fire Etherion."
The council erupted into chaos once again.
"Etherion?!"
"Have you gone mad?"
"Silence!" Chairman Crawford stood up, banging a gavel to call for order. The rest of the council sat down obediently, listening to their leader as he spoke. "Siegrain, I know you well enough to trust in your judgement, but please do explain why you feel the need to deploy our ultimate weapon for this?"
Siegrain let out a sigh, taking a stand to voice his reasons. "I intended to keep my personal knowledge to myself as to not raise concern or doubt in my place of work. The information I'm about to share comes from the childhood I spent with Jellal, the time when we were young, before I escaped my twisted home." Siegrain paused, letting a deep sigh fall through.
"Please, continue." Org spoke.
Siegrain nodded. "Jellal intends to use the R-System to resurrect the Dark Wizard, Zeref."
The council once again was thrust into panic.
"If this is truly the case, the urgency of this has increased tenfold." Ultear stood up, placing her hands on the roundtable. "We cannot allow this to happen, lest we be thrust back into the despair of four-hundred years ago we've heard of from historical records. For this I will agree with Siegrain. We must use Etherion."
Mumbles began as the rest of the council considered Ultear's reasoning. It was true, they could not allow any plots involving Zeref to come to fruition. The smallest of red flags must be taken as the highest-level threat when the Dark Wizard was named, and this was the realest plot stirring since many of the council members had taken their seats.
"Should we fire Etherion, we must understand the amount of destruction that will befall the surrounding area. There will be fallout. Caelum may see it as a declaration of war if they haven't investigated the Tower on their own yet." Org pointed out.
"I also have concerns about the innocent lives in that tower. Reports say five Fairy Tail wizards are out there now, including two S-Class mages. We can also now confirm slaves remain on that island who have been forced to upkeep this project. And even Jellal, who despite his evildoings is still human, still your twin! Are we supposed to let them die?" Yajima added.
"As I said before, I am capable of separating my feelings from my obligations. My dedication to the safety of the people of Fiore outweighs the sorrow I feel for my brother, who has had so many years to reform and step back into the light. Distressing as it is, I am willing to take the risk and full responsibility of the results of this attack. For this is the only way to guarantee the quelling of this threat. I ask for only three votes. Please consider the facts here and support me in this matter that runs deeper than blood."
The council sat in silence as they processed Siegrain's words. No matter what was to be decided, this could only end in one tragedy or another. The question now: who's tragedy would it be?
"An incident like this could easily be kept under wraps. We will recall the Navy and launch the attack, quietly destroying the tower. It is not visible from the mainland, and no one in Fiore has to know we were at risk of such darkness in the first place. I will vote to fire Etherion." Councilman Leiji spoke, offering his vote and reasoning.
Two more.
Councilman Yajima stood up. "No! We cannot take this risk. There are far more less deadly options for resolving this. Why haven't we considered calling the guilds? Or any of our allies? The military is out there now!"
"The guild masters are still recovering from a close call with one of Zeref's demons, Lullaby, not too long ago. It would be cruel to bother the guilds during this period of fragility. Let's also remember the threat of Deliora last month. The unusual activity of his demons alone should be enough of a warning that he intends to rise again." Ultear interjected.
"I must agree with Yajima," Org stood, declaring his vote. "I fear Etherion is too unpredictable to use now. With the times we are in and the growing strength of magic in our country, I believe something could arise further down the line. Etherion takes one year to recharge after firing, what if a bigger threat arises in a month? To launch such a permanent attack without having verified all the facts, its just too dangerous. I vote no."
Siegrain held back a grimace.
"I will vote yes." Michello announced. An expected choice, he liked to take the fastest routes to finishing anything. Launching Etherion meant a one and done finish, eliminating any chance of a drawn-out war or more gatherings hunting towards what could've been a quick solution.
Just one... but it's…
Lady Belno took a stand last, taking a deep breath before speaking. "I believe we should launch Etherion." Siegrain's head snapped towards the elder councilwoman. He held back a verbal reaction. It was a surprise, she tended to reject all his proposals, and this one was particularly violent. "It may be necessary to make some sacrifices this time. I was here during the destruction of the first seven towers, and I feel somewhat responsible for not doing more at the time to research the eighth. If we just finished our job back then, this wouldn't be a problem today."
"That settles it." Chairman Crawford banged his gavel, declaring the final decision. "We will launch Etherion."
A/N: been editing some of the older chapters for consistency. no major changes but feel free to take a look