Ben's eyes slightly widened from how little time there was; however, they quickly narrowed in determination. "Okay then. You grab the others and get outta here. I'm going after Erza." Ben proclaimed as he walked away from Sho.
"What?!" Sho exclaimed, shocked. "Didn't you hear me?! Erza told me…"
"I know what she told you." Ben interjected sternly. "But I never was good at following orders. I'm not leaving this tower without Erza; besides…" the teen hero paused as he looked at the floor with a thoughtful mien. "…I have a feeling that Erza's in real danger."
Sho tilted his head in confusion. "What? What do you mean? Are you saying Erza's too weak to defeat Jellal!?" He yelled angrily. "I'll have you know that Sister is a lot stronger…"
"I don't doubt her strength!" Ben shouted. "Not in the least bit. However, this Jellal guy, before he became evil, he used to be an old friend of Erza's. Right?"
"Yeah" Sho answered. "She also had a crush on him too."
Ben didn't know why, but he felt a painful twinge in his chest when he heard that. He was confused where it could've come from. The Omnitrix bearer inwardly shook his head and refocused on the current crisis.
"If that's the case, then Erza's ability to fight Jellal might be impaired." Ben stated gravely.
Sho's mouth gaped slightly as he stared at Ben in bewilderment. The brunette haired teen picked up on Sho's cluelessness and decided to elaborate.
"If Jellal was an old friend and possibly Erza's first love, then I doubt she could ever truly hate him." Ben explained. "Deep down she still cares for him and part of her may still think she can save him, naturally. And that could very well affect her ability to fight him without holding back. I've seen something similar to this happen before."
Ben reminisced on when he and Gwen were at odds on how to handle a power-crazed Kevin after he had absorbed the energy of his previous Ultimatrix to stop Aggregor. Despite the fact that he and Kevin were best friends; Ben was still ready to kill him to protect everyone else after Kevin injured Gwen. Gwen, however, couldn't ever bring herself to kill Kevin, even when he was hurting others or trying to absorb her Anodite energy.
When Ben had finally subdued Kevin as Ultimate Echo-Echo and was prepared to kill him, Gwen had managed to convince him otherwise. In the end, Kevin was returned to normal and everything worked out.
However, Ben wasn't very confident that things would work out so good in this situation. Nevertheless, just like with Kevin, Ben was ready to do whatever it took to protect innocent lives; even if it meant taking another or giving up his own.
"Also," Ben continued, regaining Sho's attention, "I have a feeling that Jellal knows this, and he'll undoubtedly use her feelings to his advantage."
Sho paled from this startling revelation, looking at the floor with wide eyes. "Sister…" He murmured worriedly.
"I have to get to her before it's too late. Sho, get everyone else out of here now!" Ben ordered.
Sho nodded and turned in the other direction. He took only a few steps forward before he stopped. "Tennyson…bring my sister back."
Ben glanced back and nodded determinedly. "You can count on it."
With that said, the superhero and card mage went their separate ways. When Ben made it across the damaged bridge and into another corridor, he ran as fast as he could with his attention focused on the hallway in front of him.
Realizing he wasn't going to get anywhere fast in human form, Ben activated the Omnitrix. He didn't bother scrolling through the selection as he tapped the first icon he saw and slammed the core back down. After the usual green light, replacing Ben was…
"Big Chill," Ben stated softly in a cold, eerie voice. He unfurled his wings and flew down the hall at a much faster speed than running as a human. "Hang on Erza. Don't you dare die."
…
Meanwhile, in the tower's throne room, Jellal picked up a knight piece and placed it in front of a king piece. This signified that he and Erza would soon fight. Jellal stood up from his throne when he saw Erza walk into the room.
"Don't tell me the game is over already." Jellal sighed in disappointment.
"You find that much pleasure in toying with the lives of others?" Erza asked, furrowing her brow at the hooded wizard.
"Between the moment of our birth and the moment of our death, there is only that game of emotions we call life." Jellal walked away from his throne, putting his hands in his coat pockets in a casual manner. "What could be drearier than simply existing day after day?" He stopped and turned to Erza with a dark smile. "It's been a long time. Hasn't it?"
"It certainly has." Erza said, glaring hard at him. "Sho and the others are no longer under your influence."
Jellal lightly scoffed. "That's fine with me. Now that the Tower of Heaven has been completed, I have no need for them."
Erza held out her sword and pointed it at Jellal. "You don't seem too worried that it'll soon be destroyed." She noted.
"You mean by the Etherion?" Jellal laughed a little.
"You're so carefree. I can only assume you were bluffing." Erza claimed.
Jellal pulled down his hood, revealing the insane excitement in his wide eyes. "Not so. The Etherion will rain down on us."
"I'm relieved to hear it." Erza countered, holding up her sword as she entered a battle stance. "That means I only have to keep you occupied for the next ten minutes, and then this nightmare will be over at last."
"No!" A black haze began to waft off of Jellal's right hand. "When the beam strikes, your life will be sacrificed to Zeref. This has always been certain. You cannot avoid fate, Erza." When Jellal closed and reopened his eyes, his right eye had a glowing purple symbol in it. "This is your destiny!" He exclaimed with an eerie undertone.
Erza and Jellal stared at one another; the former was glaring daggers while the latter was smiling smugly. The tension between them was palpable.
"When the Etherion strikes the tower in seven minutes, we'll take our final breaths." Jellal stated as an uncanny, onyx haze continued to billow off from Jellal's right hand. "Why don't we simply enjoy these last moments together?"
"You should know that I've cast off all my fears, even of my own death." Erza proclaimed strongly. "I'll relish in it because I'll be taking you down with me."
A ghostly, dark purple blob with red glyphs inside began to grow from Jellal's hand. "Oh really? Is that what you think?" Jellal turned to Erza with a sick, sinister smile on his face. "Well we'll just see about that!"
Suddenly, a few tendrils extended out from the ethereal blob and went straight for Erza. Titania stood calmly and swiftly sliced the ghostly tentacles to pieces with one swipe, throwing up a cloud of debris.
She went on the offensive and leapt at Jellal, intending to strike him; however, Jellal stopped her attack by grabbing the guard of her sword. Jellal charged his fist with darkness magic and punched Erza, sending her crashing through the walls and hurtling outside.
Erza used a piece of falling debris as a springboard to launch herself back to the tower, surprising Jellal slightly. When she landed back in the room, she crouched low and leapt at the blue haired mage, leaving a dust trail in her wake. She reared back her sword and swiped at the darkness mage, only for him to backpedal and avoid it.
"You would destroy the very thing you worked so hard to complete?!" Erza slashed at him again and missed. He then brought up his right hand and fired a beam of purple energy, forcing Erza to jump back. When her feet touched a crystal spike jutting from the giant lacrima in the center of the room, she used it to propel herself back toward him. "What's the point!?"
Jellal jumped away and narrowly escaped a powerful swipe from Erza, which instead cut the game board on his throne in half.
The blue haired mage chuckled. "So what? Why should I care about a pillar or two? After all, they're nothing but decorations."
"Maybe so but the reason they're here…is because the others spent all those years building them for you!" Erza countered angrily.
The sneer on Jellal's face never faltered. "How is it that you manage to find fault in everything I say?" He mused as a small dark purple energy sphere with red glyphs inside appeared over his right hand. "I didn't force them to work, they chose to. They knew how important the tower was to me. And now at long last…" Jellal clenched his fist and destroyed the dark, ghostly sphere in his hand, "It's been complete!"
All of a sudden, dark purple tendrils sprouted from the ground under Erza's feet and began to wrap around her. Erza's had eyes widened in apprehension as she struggled against them, but it was in vain. The tentacles morphed and trapped her inside a sphere of darkness magic.
Jellal ambled toward it nonchalantly. "While it's evident you've honed your skills over the years, you're no match for me." He said arrogantly.
Meanwhile, inside the darkness sphere, Erza struggled to break free. However, she was met with negative results. She then began to recall statements made by her friends.
"You're freaking me out 'cause this isn't like you at all…" Gray's voice rang through her mind. '…We wanna stay and help you out. Master taught us that even the strongest warriors need a little backup every once a while."
"No matter what, we're not leaving you behind, Erza." Ben's voice added.
"Aye, we're the Ultimate Team!" Happy cheered.
"I've always believed in you, Erza, and there's nothing that can change that." Simon said softly.
"With or without armor, you're still Erza Scarlet: the strong, beautiful, determined woman that I've gotten the pleasure to know these past two months." Ben stated.
Erza blushed lightly at that statement Ben had made, which would be forever etched into her memory. She then closed her eyes and remembered Sho, Wally, Millianna, Simon, and Grandpa Rob when they were in the tower ten years ago.
'I'll miss them…' She thought sadly.
"I WANNA REMATCH WHEN WE GET BACK TO FAIRY TAIL!" Natsu's loud, obnoxious voice rang through her mind.
After a moment, a small smile grew on Erza's lips.
Outside the sphere, Jellal was about to walk away until an X-shaped slash appeared in the darkness sphere. He turned back and his eyes widened in shock when he saw Erza on one knee, a dark haze billowing away from her.
"I told you," she returned to her feet, "I've cast off all of my fears, including you."
With a mighty war cry, Erza lunged forward and, within a blink of an eye, delivered a slash across Jellal's abdomen. The blue haired wizard was utterly shocked from the unexpected development.
"This is not the weak girl I remember.' Jellal thought as he fell back to the floor.
Erza walked toward and shot him a lethal glare that brought a fearful expression to Jellal's face. She kneeled over him and placed the tip of her sword to his neck, prepared to deliver the final blow. However, there was one thing Erza really wanted to know.
"Why don't you tell me what your real goal is, Jellal?" Erza demanded. Jellal was silent as a few nervous sweat drops raced down his face. "You and I both know that the R-System hasn't been completed. Do you know what I've been doing…since I left this place years ago? Researching it relentlessly. And I know that the tower itself is constructed exactly like the blueprints. There's still one thing you don't have, the final part to its completion."
Jellal's smile returned. "That's not true…cause your sacrifice will complete it."
"No." Erza shook her head. "Something even more basic than that: magic energy."
Jellal was silent as he stared up at Erza with a frown.
"I don't think you realize the amount of magic you'd have to accumulate just to activate the R-System." Erza asserted. "You could gather every single wizard on the continent and you still wouldn't have enough power to pull it off. This tower doesn't have the capacity to store that much magical power within its walls and you certainly can't do it on your own. I find it highly suspicious that you haven't tried to escape, despite knowing the council's preparing to attack. What are you up to?"
Jellal smiled. "Only three more minutes until the Etherion fires."
"Answer me!" Erza said more firmly. "You know your dream will never come true! So why are you willing to risk your life?" She grabbed Jellal's right leg and squeezed it hard, making him flinch in pain. "Do you want to die?! If that's the case, then we'll go together! I'll stay here to hold you down and I won't let go until the bitter end!" Erza declared, glowering intensely at him.
"To be honest," Jellal said softly with a smile, "that doesn't sound so bad."
Erza's eyes widened slightly from his statement.
"I no longer have control over my own body and soul because I've been possessed by Zeref." Jellal elaborated. "I'm merely a puppet he's been manipulating in order for him to become flesh and blood again."
"You were possessed by him?" Erza repeated, shocked over this new revelation.
Jellal continued smiling. "I wasn't able to save myself, and not even my closest friends were there to come to my rescue. That's when I realized…there is no heaven nor does true freedom really exist." He paused dramatically. "All of creation was finished before it even began."
The throne room began to shake and bits of the ceiling fell to the floor, due to the damage inflicted by the two's battle.
"Deep down I knew the R-System couldn't be completed," Jellal said, "but Zeref kept pushing me. He forced me to continue the tower's construction. I wanted to stop but I couldn't…it was like I was a freight train with no brakes." The blue haired mage looked up with a smile. "I surrender. Go ahead and finish me."
Erza clenched her teeth as her composure faltered slightly. Earlier she was ready to kill him; however, now that she'd heard the explanation for why Jellal became evil all those years ago, she wasn't sure she could bring herself to do it.
Jellal easily noticed her hesitation. "Isn't that why you came looking for me?" He asked.
Erza was silent as an image of the young azure haired boy she had once known flashed through her mind: her first friend. A moment passed as the tower continued to shake and ceiling debris fell to the floor. Finally, Erza pulled her sword away from Jellal's neck; much to his surprise.
"There's no need for me to spill your blood with my own hands." Erza said gently. "The Satellite Square is focused and the Etherion will fire any minute now." She laid down her sword (which disappeared) and released her hold on Jellal. "This means this is the end…of you… and me."
Jellal stood back up with closed eyes, standing by Erza but both were looking away from each other. "It is a grim fate we share."
"So all this time you were really just another of Zeref's victims." Erza said thoughtfully.
"It's my own fault. I let my weakness get the best of me." He berated himself. "The rift between my dream and reality was too deep for my mind to comprehend."
Erza turned to him. "The only people capable of saving you…your flaws and inner weakness…are those you call your friends."
Jellal looked at her with a downcast expression. "That's true."
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you back then." Erza smiled at him. "Can you forgive me?"
"Erza," Jellal said softly, opening his eyes. "You have saved me."
The two old friends fell to their knees and embraced each other. They knew that their deaths were quickly approaching. There was nothing they could do but await their fates. As Erza hugged Jellal, she felt a pain in her chest. Though she had had feelings for him in the past, they were now overshadowed by a newer, stronger feeling she presently had.
An image of a smiling Ben flashed through her mind, causing her to shed a single tear of sadness. She wouldn't get to see the young man who, out of her knowledge, she was steadily becoming enamored with or any of her friends ever again.
'Ben…everyone…I'm sorry…' Erza thought.
Suddenly, the tower began to shake more violently as a bright white light cast down through the openings in the ceiling.
As they awaited their deaths, Jellal placed his hand on the middle of Erza's back while he wore a large, maniacal smile.
…
Era
In the Magic Council's Headquarters, all the preparations had been made to fire the Etherion. The council was currently standing on a nearby balcony, observing their target through a large, floating lacrima in the center of the massive chamber.
Org raised his staff and chanted, "We pray to the sacred light for forgiveness! Let us fire the Etherion at once!"
Outside the Magic Council building, the four multi-colored lacrimas emitted powerful surges of magic energy which converged on the center lacrima, and then it fired a massive ball of bright, white energy into the sky.
…
Meanwhile, in another part of the tower, a disconcerted Necrofriggian was flying up a stairway that lead straight to the top of the tower. As the building began to shake and a white light poured in from the windows, Ben's eyes widened in trepidation.
"No," He murmured fretfully, knowing very well what was coming. "ERZA!"
Big Chill became intangible and flew straight up at top speed, phasing through any solid objects that blocked his way.
…
A brilliant white beam of pure magical energy fired from the Satellite Square in space. It pierced the atmosphere and struck the Tower of Heaven, engulfing it a blinding white light. The wizards who were in the boat hundreds of yards away watched as the Etherion struck the tower.
As a result of the massive outburst of energy, tidal waves were created and threw the wizards out of the boat and into the ocean. Thankfully, Juvia quickly created a water shell around her and the others, allowing them to float above the ocean. Though they were currently safe, the group watched in utter horror as the Etherion continued bearing down on the structure.
…
Era
The Magic Council's amphibious employees were all scrambling in their floating magical chairs to confirm the destruction of the Tower of Heaven after the Etherion Cannon was fired.
"The Etherion has impacted the target." A council employee notified.
"Was the target successfully destroyed? I need confirmation!" A second employee demanded.
"The density of the Ethernano fusion is increasing! Extreme weather conditions are expected!" a third employee informed.
Back up on the balconies, the faces of the Magic Council members were rather downcast.
Org covered his mouth with his hand. "Who knows how many innocent people might have been inside that tower…" He dreaded.
"But they were there for the sole purpose of resurrecting Zeref." Michello argued. "Their sacrifice had to be made to save the lives of others."
Org continued staring at the floor. "I understand that, Michello, but it's still heartbreaking all the same. I sincerely doubt the victims' families will be comforted by that reasoning."
…
After the Etherion blast had run its course, a massive smoke cloud was billowing from the island where the Tower of Heaven had once stood. The wizards inside Juvia's water shell looked on in dismay as tears streamed down their faces.
"No," Lucy whispered, "what's happening?"
"Oh no…did we lose them?" Happy asked sadly.
A long, painful moment passed as the smoke cloud began to disperse. Once it did, the group gasped in shock at what they saw. The Tower of Heaven was still standing!
The only difference was instead of being a twisted structure of tubes and gears it was now a massive, jagged crystal lacrima.
…
Meanwhile, in the throne room, Erza and Jellal continued to hug; however, the former paused when she realized that she was still breathing. She opened her eyes and was shocked to see that the materials that made up the tower had been transformed into crystal. A smoky mist wafted off the newly formed crystals.
"We're still alive." Erza muttered, dumbfounded.
Jellal stood up with a dark smile creeping on his face.
She looked up to him, and asked, "What have you done?"
Jellal chuckled for a second before he threw his head and arms back and let out mad, triumph laughter. It was then that Erza realized that she had been fooled. The Jellal she had known from childhood had not returned. He was still as evil as ever. Unfortunately, it was a realization made too late.
…
Era
"Ethernano neutralizers detected at the epicenter!" A council employee notified. "No…wait a minute…that's impossible!"
"There's been a sudden drop in fusion density!" Another employee cried.
"Picking up high levels of magic from another source," a third council worker said.
"The counter can't keep up with it!" a fourth employee exclaimed. "What could it be?!"
"Restoring visual feed…"
After a short moment, the lacrima that had been displaying the Tower of Heaven to the council, which had gone dark after the Etherion was fired, was now beginning to show them something…something they had never expected: the Tower of Heaven was still intact. Only now, it was a massive, jagged lacrima crystal.
"The target is still standing!" An employee yelled.
"It's a giant lacrima!"
"I think it actually absorbed the magic energy in the Etherion's blast!" Leiji realized.
Org looked at the image, his left eye as wide as it could be. "Impossible!"
Over on another balcony, separate from the other councilors, Siegrain was watching this phenomenon with his back turned to Yajima, who had now approached him.
"Siegrain, I think it's time you started explaining yourself!" Yajima exclaimed angrily.
Without warning, Siegrain's body began to distort and fade away. He took one last smug, triumphant look back at Yajima before vanishing completely, leaving Yajima shocked and stunned.
"He disappeared…" the councilor trailed off.
Unbeknownst to him, Ultear was watching where Siegrain once stood with a smile on her face.
…
In another part of the newly reformed crystal tower, Natsu was kneeling on the floor and clutching his aching head. His eyes fluttered open as his blurry vision began to refocus. When he regained his senses, he scanned his surroundings and was totally confused. The last thing he remembered was ignoring the order to retreat and rushing to help Erza, and then there was a bright light…
"What in the heck just happened to this place?" the Dragon Slayer wondered.
"Not sure…" an eerie voice called out, surprising Natsu.
Suddenly, an intangible Big Chill phased out from the floor in front of Natsu and became tangible once more.
"Ben?"
Big Chill tapped the Omnitrix dial and transformed back to Ben. He looked around at the crystal structures with narrowed eyes; though he was stoic on the outside, inside he was quite surprised over what had transpired. "Though I have a sneaky hunch that the Etherion is the reason the tower got a new makeover."
Determination flashed over Natsu's face as he clenched his right fist. "It doesn't matter. We need to find Erza and make sure she's okay."
Ben nodded in agreement with an equal resolve.
Without a word, the superhero and Dragon Slayer spotted a ramp-like structure that led up to the top of the tower and ran toward it as fast as they could; both with a fire in their eyes.
…
Erza watched in shock as Jellal continued to laugh like a maniac. "It's here!" Jellal yelled triumphantly with sinister glee in his eyes. "At long last…my moment of glory has arrived."
The re-quipping wizard's eyes went wide from horror. "Glory?" She repeated, her body beginning to lightly tremble.
"This is the true form of the Tower of Heaven, a giant lacrima crystal." Jellal explained. "Thanks to the council it's ready to activate. The Etherion's energy provided the missing piece to the puzzle, which means the R-System is now complete."
Erza stood up and gazed at Jellal in shock. The blue haired mage continued looking away for a moment before he turned back to Erza with a smug, victorious smile adorning his face.
"So…I was your pawn." Erza realized, glaring daggers at the evil wizard.
"Your expression is priceless, Erza." A voice commented.
Erza turned back and gasped in shock. Standing a few meters behind her was Siegrain, who was wearing an exultant smile that matched Jellal's perfectly. "He is incapable of using his full power right now. So he had to manipulate you in order to save himself."
The redhead wizard locked her eyes on Jellal's twin brother. "Siegrain!" She snarled.
Siegrain ambled forward with his hands tucked away in his white coat pockets.
"I don't understand…what are you doing here?" Erza asked.
Siegrain stopped in front of Erza. "This reminds me of when we first met years ago." He mused. "Do you remember?"
Erza remained silent as she glared hard at the blue haired councilmember. Siegrain walked away and stood on Jellal's right side; both had their hands inside their coat pockets.
"You accompanied Makarov to the Magic Council to submit a written apology for destruction of property." Jellal inputted.
Siegrain looked back at Erza with the exact same smile that Jellal had. "She attacked me out of nowhere. She must've mistaken me for you."
"I can't say I blame her; after all, we do look alike." Jellal complied.
"You refused to let up until I convinced you I was his twin." Siegrain continued. "Still, you were hostile toward me from that day forward."
"What did you expect?!" Erza countered crossly. "If you truly cared about your brother, you would've tried to stop him instead of helping him cover his tracks. And I know you've been spying on me and reporting back to him!"
The confident smiles on the twins' faces never left. "Is that so?" Jellal said.
"A mistake on my part." admitted Siegrain. "In retrospect, perhaps I should've said something that would've convinced you that I was going to find Jellal and kill him. But my biggest mistake was running into you in the first place; especially after the trouble I went through to become a councilmember."
"There's nothing worse than having to come up with excuses on the spot." Jellal added.
Erza glowered at the duo as the pieces began to fall together. "I get it." She murmured. "So, the two of you have been conspiring this whole time."
"Conspiring?" Jellal echoed.
"Not exactly," Siegrain said.
Jellal took a step closer to his twin. "I'm afraid it's more complicated than that."
Siegrain blinked and, much to Erza's shock, his body became distorted and nearly transparent.
"We're not twins, but two faces of the same person." Jellal and Siegrain said in unison. "And we have been from the start."
All of a sudden, Siegrain walked into Jellal and merged with him. A golden light shone off of his body temporarily before it died away. The blue haired wizard opened his eyes and smiled balefully at the redheaded warrior.
Erza took a step back, her eyes still wide from disbelief. "But…how is that possible?" She stuttered. "Was he just a projection?"
"You never expected for a moment that we were one and the same." Jellal taunted as a black haze started to billow off his body.
"So, you're the one responsible for firing the Etherion!" Erza deduced. "Did you worm your way onto the council just for that?!"
Jellal was silent for a short moment as he continued to smile smugly at Erza. "I hope you enjoyed the freedom I granted you all those years ago. Your release and everything after was all part of my plan to resurrect Zeref."
Erza clenched her fist and felt the tremble in rage. "How could you live with yourself knowing that your entire life has been ONE BIG LIE!?"
"Magical energy," Jellal said, ignoring Erza's question. Suddenly, dim purple light began to shine from his body. "I can feel it surging through my body."
…
Era
"A huge amount of power is building up in the Tower of Heaven!" a council employee reported.
"If too much power is contained in one place, it's sure to explode!" Another employee warned.
Yajima was still on the balcony, completely dumbstruck after having realized what had just taken place.
He placed his hand on the rail. "We've been had..."
Suddenly, the railing Yajima's hand was on crumbled to pieces. The floor beneath his feet began to rumble and crack and the ceiling of the chamber they were all in began to crumble away as well.
"What's happening to the building?!" Leiji asked, alarmed. "It's like it's starting to age and collapse!"
Org looked up at the ceiling as dust began to fall from the giant growing cracks. "This has to be the Arc of Time! But that's one of the Lost Magics!"
Large pieces of debris continued to fall from the ceiling as the Magic Council employees began to scream and run for their lives.
Yajima wandered through the collapsing building in somewhat of a daze, looking for the source of this madness, until he spotted Ultear with a white magic circle in her hands and a gleeful smile on her face.
"No! Ultear!" Yajima cried.
"This is all for master Siegrain..." Ultear said. "I suppose I should say master Jellal..." She paused and turned to Yajima. "All of his hard work has finally paid off, and now his life-long dream will become a reality!"
…
At the top of the Tower of Heaven, Erza was caught off-guard when Jellal sent a blast of darkness magic at her. She cried out as she went tumbling back across the room.
"Looks like someone's a little worse for wear," Jellal commented with a smirk. "Don't tell me you've used up all your strength fighting against Ikaruga."
Erza grabbed the floor and slid back on her hands and knees. When she came to a stop, she punched the floor and summoned a red magical circle, pulling out a large broadsword from her pocket dimension.
"JELLAL!" She jumped forward and reared back her weapon, fury burning in her eyes. "YOU'RE THROUGH!"
Erza swiped at him; however, Jellal narrowly sidestepped the attack and caused her to hit the ground instead. She summoned another magic circle and pulled out a replica of her current sword. She slashed at him once more, but Jellal ducked under the blow.
She then lifted her leg and tried to deliver a hard kick into the right side of his face. Jellal frowned as he backpedalled to elude the kick. Erza swiped at Jellal relentlessly, tearing up the crystal floor with each hit.
"By now, the Magic Council's headquarters is nothing but a pile of rubble." Jellal enlightened his opponent as he flew in the air above Erza. "I can't tell you how much of a blessing Ultear has been. I couldn't have done it without her. She has no fear of death because she believes all of mankind will become one in heaven. In fact, she told me she'd be more than happy to give her life so that my dream would come to fruition.
"That reminds me…" Jellal landed on top of a big crystal jutting from the floor. "…I should thank her for being an ignorant fool who's easy to manipulate."
"CURSE YOU!" Erza hollered as she leapt to Jellal with swords reared back. But again, the blue haired wizard quickly jumped away, causing her to destroy the crystal spike he had previously been standing on.
When he landed on another crystal formation, Erza landed on the floor below him. "I'm taking revenge for all the people you've abused!" The scarlet haired warrior proclaimed with a wrathful expression on her face. "This is the end, Jellal! I'll kill you!"
Suddenly, a hissing sound took Erza by surprise. Without warning, a dark patterned line began to manifest from the middle of Erza's back and slithered across her skin, and then wrapped around her right arm. "What's happening to my arm?" She asked fearfully, feeling her body grow numb.
"It's just a Bind Snake." Jellal answered. "I slipped it on you during our heartwarming embrace earlier."
The Bind Snake grew in length until it wrapped around all of Erza's upper body, causing her to drop her swords. She couldn't suppress an agonizing scream as her body flooded with pain.
"Now that I've collected the precise amount of magic power needed for the R-System," said Jellal, "there's one more thing that must been done before Zeref can be resurrected."
Jellal stepped toward Erza and sneered at her as she clenched her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, trying to keep her painful cries inside of her; however, it was proving to be very challenging.
"This is where you take center stage for your moment in the spotlight. The magical energy in this lacrima must be fused with the body of my sacrifice. Once that happens your flesh will break down and reconstruct itself to create Zeref's body." Jellal said with maniacal glee.
Suddenly, a large twelve-foot-tall lacrima sprouted from the ground directly behind Erza. Jellal sneered as he pushed Erza into the lacrima, which pulled her in like someone falling into water. Titania cried out in pain as she was absorbed into the crystal.
"You know…I really did love you, Erza. But that was then…this is now." Jellal stated with a jeering smile.
"NO! STOP!" Erza shouted desperately as her torso, thighs, and left arm were sucked inside the crystal while the rest of her body hung out.
Jellal turned away and closed his eyes as he began an incantation. "Oh great and mighty Zeref," He held out his arms, "I call upon you! To offer you this woman's flesh!"
The entire tower began to glow slightly brighter as the crystal continued to pull Erza in.
"Don't do this!" Erza yelled.
Jellal kept his eyes closed and ignored her.
"PLEASE JELLAL!" Erza cried, a tear forming in her left eye.
The azure haired wizard kept his eyes closed for a moment. He then reopened them and glanced back, only for them to widen in surprise. A brown haired young man had his arms wrapped under Erza's arms and was pulling her out of the lacrima.
"I gotcha." Ben assured as he finally pulled Erza out of the lacrima. They then fell to the floor, Erza still being held in Ben's arms. Natsu ran up to them and stood by Ben's right side.
The Omnitrix hero gently set Erza on the floor and kneeled above her on her right side. He turned to Jellal and shot him a fierce glare that spoke in volumes. "Did you really think I was just going to sit back and let you kill her, you scum!"
"That's right!" Natsu grinned toothily at the blue haired wizard. "Erza's an important part of our Fairy Tail family. I won't let you touch her either!"
Jellal remained silent and frowned at the sudden appearance of the shape-shifter and the Dragon Slayer.
Erza weakly opened her eyes and gazed up at Ben's face. "B-Ben…Natsu…" she whispered.
Ben dropped his fierce expression and looked down at Erza with a smile. "Yeah, it's us. You don't have to worry, Erza. We're here."
"Geez, what are you doing hanging around with this loser?" Natsu joked. "If we don't hurry up and get back to work, Lucy's not gonna be able to pay her rent. Trust me, you don't wanna make her angry."
Ben sweat dropped at Natsu's comment. "That's true. But don't yah think we should focus more on the evil wizard right now rather than Lucy's anger?"
"I'm sorry." Erza said weakly. "I can't move."
Ben frowned and looked at Erza in concern.
Natsu, however, stared at her with wide eyes. "No way," he muttered. Suddenly, a devious grin appeared on his face. He then kneeled on the opposite side of Ben and began to tickle Erza's body everywhere he could reach, causing her to laugh. "Time for some serious payback. This is what you get for always tormenting me!"
"NO." Erza laughed hard. "Please, stop it!"
Ben looked at Natsu incredulously. Though he was all for lightening up and having fun whenever he could, now was simply not the time. "SERIOUSLY?! AT A TIME LIKE THIS!?"
Natsu ceased his tickling and glared back at Ben. "What?! I may never get another chance to do this again!"
"Ben…Natsu…" Erza looked up at the two with a serious expression. "You two have got to get out of here as quickly as you can."
"I ain't leaving." Natsu retorted.
Ben scoffed. "And neither am I. I'm staying right here with you. If you can't do the fighting yourself then Natsu and I will do it for you."
"Oh yeah," the pink haired wizard remarked eagerly, punching an open palm.
"You can't…he's too powerful…besides you two don't know anything about him." Erza claimed.
"Give me a break; I've beaten guys that were way stronger than this loser." Ben dismissed.
"Besides, who says we need to know the guy to beat him up?" Natsu inquired.
Erza gazed up at the two; more specifically, at Ben. Tears began to stream down her face from her left eye. The teen hero felt his insides clench again, only this time, it was more painful than before when Erza had told him and the others the story of her horrible childhood.
"Please…do what I ask…" Erza begged.
Ben stared at the redhead blankly for a short moment…until his gaze hardened. For some reason, Ben couldn't bear seeing Erza like this. It killed him on the inside.
"No." Ben replied firmly.
He quickly activated the Omnitrix and slapped down the dial. After the flash of green, in his place was…
"Swampfire!" Ben exclaimed.
Erza looked up at the Methanosian in confusion. "W-What are…you doing?"
Swampfire's eyes narrowed. "What I have to."
He held out his right hand and expelled a green gas from the porthole in his palm. Erza's eyes widened momentarily when she inhaled the nauseous gas. She felt her eyelids grow heavy as her vision became blurry. Erza let out a low groan as Swampfire's sleeping gas sent her into unconsciousness.
Jellal turned to Swampfire and lifted a brow in interest.
"What'd you do to her?" Natsu asked.
Swampfire stood up and tapped the Omnitrix, transforming back to Ben. "I used Swampfire's sleeping gas to knock her out."
"And why would you do that?" Jellal spoke up. "What is the reasoning behind it?"
Ben continued staring down at Erza's sleeping form. "I had to…because she was crying." He paused as he clenched his fists tight. "She looked so weak and fragile…I can't explain it, but…whenever I see her like that…I feel like something inside me breaks. It hurts."
Natsu ignited his fists with flames. "I don't wanna see Erza like that either. I've always looked up to her as a strong warrior…and when she wakes up from this nightmare…I want her to feel like her old self again." Fire shrouded Natsu's body as he glowered angrily at the blue haired wizard.
Ben stood up and faced their soon-to-be opponent, scowling hard at him. "If you want her you'll have to go through us!"
"Is that a challenge?" Jellal smiled haughtily. "Well then, consider my interest peaked. I've always wanted to witness the power of a Dragon Slayer, as well as yours, Ben Tennyson"
"Trust me…" Ben gritted his teeth in pure anger. "…you're gonna regret you did."
The teen hero activated the Omnitrix and selected the first icon he saw. "IT'S HERO TIME!" He slapped down the dial as his body was engulfed with emerald light.