Chapter 26 - The Power Within

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Hey guys! I'd like to thank my loyal readers for sticking with me. Before we begin, props go to MysticKai for giving me most of the ideas for this story.

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Near the top of the tower a pair of loud screams were heard. Natsu and Roxas were seen running to Jellal. Natsu's fist was surrounded by flames which he used to punch Jellal in the face, but he managed to duck under it. Jellal later avoided a blue fire punch that was thrown by Roxas, however this distraction gave Natsu the opening he needed. The Dragon Slayer engulfed his right leg in flames and kicked Jellal causing him to fly through the air. As he did, Natsu was punching him relentlessly this sent him to a crystal sticking out of the ground. He opened his eyes and saw a blast of blue flames speeding towards him, they all exploded on him. Natsu stood in front of Roxas before the Fox Slayer threw a punch and sent a huge gust of wind to Natsu, creating a Tailwind that propelled the Dragonslayer at a much faster speed while running to Jellal.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Natsu chanted as his arms were engulfed in flames which he sent to Jellal. He managed to block it but the flames threw him off balance but as Natsu was on all fours close to Jellal, he wasn't done yet. "...and...Talon!" both his feet were covered in his flames and he quickly raised them upwards to kick Jellal forcing him to another crystal wall. Natsu was upside down while Roxas stood next to him. "Fire Dragon's Roar/Nine-Tail's Howl!" After Natsu puffed his cheeks, a huge burst of flames shot from his mouth to Jellal while Roxas took a deep breath and created a huge blast of blue fire. The combined fire attacks made a huge explosion where Jellal was standing.

When the flames faded on Roxas and Natsu's side they maintained a serious look.

Jellal's silhouette could be seen through the flames, he moved his right arm through them as if they did little damage while also throwing off his jacket revealing himself to be wearing a tight sleeveless shirt with black fighting gloves. "Are you being serious?" he asked maintaining a smirk on his face.

"Our attacks didn't even faze him?" Roxas asked in slight disbelief.

"Natsu Dragneel... Child of Igneel. Roxas Eragon... Son of Arceus." Jellal began and caused both of his opponents to flinch. The dark wizard held out his right hand. "I wanted to know what it is like to fight the both of you before I destroyed you, but this is nothing to fear at all."

"Say what!?" Natsu yelled. He sprinted over to Jellal.

"Natsu wait!" Roxas exclaimed.

"How dare you interrupt the ceremony?" Jellal began as his right eye was now showing the symbol of Zeref. "I will use my Heavenly Body magic to tear you to shreds!" "Meteor!" he body was surrounded by a bright yellow outline which made him avoid Natsu's attack. Once he was out of the Dragon Slayer's sight he charged into his back, head first while lying back.

After the hit Natsu turned around to face Jellal but he was faced a kick to the face before Jellal followed with a punch and a kick while flying through the air and disappearing from Natsu's sight, Natsu fell to his knees looking at Jellal flying around using he Meteor. "Damn he's too fast!" but as he said that, he saw Roxas kick Jellal while he was in the air however, he grabbed Roxas's leg after the kick before throwing him to a crystal tower which collapsed on impact. Jellal charged to where Roxas was and saw he was gone.

"Huh? Where did he..." he sensed Roxas's presence behind him. Jellal turned to fight Roxas but, the fox slayer threw a punch, which made contact with his stomach which sent Jellal flying back, but he flipped into a position where he could kick off the crystal wall with both his legs, once he did he threw a hard punch to Roxas which sent him sliding across the ground.

"Nine-Tail's Flash Bullet!"Roxas yelled and flew in a very fast speed, becoming a sliver blur.

"Let's see what you got, Roxas." Jellal said, meeting Roxas halfway as they became nothing but streaks flashing across the air. Soon they were bouncing all over the area at speeds that were almost unheard of and totally invisible to all but the strongest of mages.

Roxas and Jellal reappeared in a swirl of dust and a clap of thunder, Jellal's shin slamming into Roxas's as both tried to hit the other with a high kick that would've connected to the other's head if they both hadn't tried the same move at the same time, the shockwave from the colliding blows slamming into the walls and fracturing them.

The two bounced apart and got ready for another round of attacks.

"So your Flight magic allows you to keep up with me? I like your technique Roxas, however..." he quickly disappeared from Roxas's sight, but Roxas sensed he was behind him and forced himself to the ground to avoid Jellal's melee attack and shot a powerful stream of blue flames from his mouth to hit Jellal in his surprised state but he was shocked when he saw that Jellal was gone. "Looking for me?" Jella kicked Roxas like a football which made the slivernette skid across the crystal floor and slammed into another wall.

Roxas spit out some blood while he was on the ground. 'Even though I can see him, he's still fast, but how? Can he somehow predict my movements?'

"Roxas!" Natsu worriedly yelled.

"I'm okay, but we have to read his movements, but that won't be easy since he isn't touching the ground."

"I'll just use my other senses to find him!" Natsu said. He quickly caught a glimpse of Jellal's direction and ignited his right fist but was shocked when he missed.

"Your attacks will never hit me ever again!" Jellal said to the both of them before releasing a barrage of attacks that were doing damage to both Natsu and Roxas that made them scream out in pain. After one more impact to them, both of them lost the pupils in their eyes as they slowly flew back. "This is the end. I will show you true destructive magic." Jellal flew high into the air. He formed the peace sign on his right hand and placed it on his left palm. "Be judged under the seven stars!" Seven bright yellow seals are formed, they fly under him while he was flying high up. "Seven Star Blades! Grand Chariot!" the seals now connected to each other with electric bolts forming what looks like a constellation. He blasted the attack which consisted of seven streams of light shot from each seal falling towards Natsu and Roxas. After it quickly formed the same constellation on the ground, the attack created a tremendous explosion that could be seen from way outside the tower. After the attack Natsu and Roxas, who now had several tears in their clothes, free fell through the air and slammed into the ground. Jellal landed several meters from his opponents. "That is a spell that destroys with the power of falling meteors." Jellal said as he explained the destructive power of his magic. "I'm impressed your bodies are still intact. Perhaps I went a bit over board. It would be dangerous to damage the R-System any further. The magical power is starting to leak out. I must hurry." He said looking to the unconscious body of Erza. "Isn't that right, Erza." He walked to her while kicking a piece of the R-System which was pebble sized. He turned around to Natsu, weakly throwing pebbles at Jellal. Roxas who was thought to be unconscious clenched his fist while gathering up the dust around him.

Natsu began chuckling. "That attack hit... So breaking tower, or um, lacrima... That's bad, huh?" Jellal had a shocked face when he realized this. "Rotten luck for you!" Natsu punched the ground hard which sent many cracks around the floor.

"Don't!" Jellal yelled.

Roxas slowly got to his knees as well. "I just realized something, something that I should have figured out a long time ago, back then while you were using your Meteor... I could feel your moments through the floor of this thing... That means..." Roxas balled his right hand into a fist. "I can do... THIS!" he punched the ground with all his might and send an shockwave which Jellal avoided but the wave exploded on a huge mass of the Lacrima. "From what I understand, Lacrima is a crystal." Roxas fully stood up. "We just figured out your weakness!"

Natsu stood up afterwards. "Breaking things just happens to be Fairy Tail wizards' specialty. Natsu engulfs his right hand in a huge ball of fire. "I'm fired up! More than I've ever been!"

"It's over Jellal! You can't win!" Roxas yelled as blue fire spun around him in a aura.

Jellal had a shocked expression on his face that was mixed with rage as he was surrounded in a bright yellow outline. "You little brats!" He got in a fighting stance while staring down Roxas and Natsu.

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Meanwhile out in the sea. The others were still in Juvia's Water Lock and looking at the tower. "I wonder if Roxas and the others are alright." Lucy asked.

"They'll be alright. They are Fairy Tail wizards." Happy reminded.

"Plus, Whiskers is powerful, and Pyro, well he's destructive as all hell. They are totally getting out of there alive, and they'll save Erza too." Ariel confidently said.

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Thunder was heard clapping in the sky as the top of the tower came into view. "You stupid brats! I'll send you to Hell regretting the fact that you ever stood up again!" Jellal yelled.

Natsu chuckled. "One thing I know is that I can be really stubborn." Natsu gave a smirk.

"I'll make sure you pay for everything you have done Jellal!" Roxas threatened.

Jellal quickly outstretched his left hand and held it with his right arm. He shot balls of bright yellow light with tails towards both Natsu and Roxas.

Both of them were able to dodge some of them and when three were speeding to Roxas, he spun and engulfed his arm in blue fire that blocked the beams of light from hitting him. Jellal saw the flames speed to him and they created an explosion after they hit. Natsu jumped high into the air to cause a huge impact to Jellal. "Bring it!" Natsu yelled as he fell towards his target, but Jellal countered by blasting an electric energy which engulfed the Dragon Slayer but he landed on his feet as the dug along the floor. When he stopped Jellal shot another huge ball of bright yellow energy to Natsu. Roxas stepped in front of Natsu and shot a blast of blue flames, the energy blast burst through the blast and engulfed both of them as it was pushing them away from Jellal.

Erza slowly regained consciousness and saw what was happening. Both Roxas and Natsu were trying to stop the blast that was already pushing them back. "Natsu! Roxas!" Erza worriedly yelled. Natsu increased his strength and made the energy beam explode in front of them without causing harm. Jellal was surprised.

"What's wrong? Is that all you got?!" Natsu asked. "You're scared of breakin' the tower, so you're holding back. That ain't gonna work on me bub!" Natsu yelled as he started running towards Jellal.

"You ain't gonna talk so big for long, you brat!" he outstretched his left palm and shot a bright yellow energy beam at Natsu which sent him flying. What he didn't see was Roxas speeding towards him and his fist was engulfed in blue-fire. He performed a battle cry to let Jellal know he was coming. "You're not as powerful as you think you are, punk!" Jellal angrily said. "Meteor!" He surrounded himself in the yellow outline and Roxas's attack missed. He quickly felt the air Jellal was producing when he appeared behind him. Roxas raised his arms to block Jellal's kick but it only shot him backwards.

"Damn you!" Roxas jumped back and threw his fists forwards, causing another shockwave to speed towards Jellal, instinctively he avoided it allowing Roxas to get close. He threw a punch at his face which made Jellal slide back, but Jellal blasted a bright beam of light at Roxas which forced him to slam into the other side of the tower ceiling.

Jellal saw Natsu running to him and prepared to take the attack. Natsu jumped high into the air and generated a huge fireball above his head. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" he threw the fireball into floor in front of Jellal. When unguarded himself from the attack he saw that the flames didn't hit him, but rather they hit the tower. He saw many pieces of Lacrima getting burned up. He was shocked and to make matters worse he saw Roxas flying high up into the air, before he let himself fall to the ground close to Jellal and made a huge crater when he hit the surface, all the Lacrima shards forced into the air by the impact were destroyed when Roxas made a blazing arcs in all directions that incinerated them.

"They are both... the tower!" Erza quickly realized their plan.

Natsu and Roxas landed on opposite sides of Jellal. "The tower!" he began as Jellal clenched his fist, a vain could be seen on his neck. "The tower I spent years constructing... How dare you!" Natsu was panting while Roxas glared at Jellal.

"I should be asking you the same question?"

"What was that?" he angrily asked.

"You're going through this much effort to bring back someone who is the destroyer of all life? No matter what it takes, I won't let you toy with people's lives anymore!" Roxas yelled with a determined face.

"Why you!" Jellal sped over to him. Roxas closed his eyes and he used his magic sense to determine Jellal's next move. He performed a smirk that only most would normally do, he drove his fist into the side of Jellal which made him fly through the air. He quickly opened his eyes and glared at Roxas with a furious expression as he activated his Meteor. "ROXAS ERAGON!" Jellal screamed in frustration as he sped towards the Fox Slayer.

"JELLAL!" Roxas yelled in a similar manner as he jumped high into the air and engulfed his right fist in blue-flames.

Both forces slammed their fists together in the air Roxas's fire around his arm fizzled out Jellal threw a hard punch to Roxas which sent him speeding back to the ground, next to where Natsu was standing. Natsu helped Roxas to his feet. "Hey Roxas, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine, I've taken worse beatings... I won't give up." He saw Jellal land on the ground. "Never!" he growled.

"You two..." Jellal began.

"No matter what you do, me and Roxas will keep fighting till the very end, or until we destroy this tower." Natsu said with a smirk. "I warned you that my specialty is destroying stuff." Both he and Roxas were struggling to maintain a defensive stance.

"Natsu... Roxas... They can both barely stand..." she worriedly thought.

"YOU WONT GET AWAY WITH IT!" Jellal screamed in absolute rage. He crossed his arms and raised his crossed hands over his head and a bright yellow seal quickly formed. This made a huge shockwave which Roxas and Natsu were struggling to stand against.

Erza was struggling to keep the headwind from blowing her away but when she looked up she had a terrified expression.

"What's with this magical power? It's making me sick..." Natsu said.

Roxas dug hands into the Lacrima to prevent himself from being blown away. "Natsu! Hang on!"

Erza observed something odd. 'The shadows are extending backwards to the light source!?' it quickly dawned on her what Jellal was doing. "Oh no! This magic is..."

"Both of you! Fall into infinite darkness!" soon an orb of darkness formed high above him.

"JELLAL!" Erza got to her feet and stepped in front of Natsu and Roxas. "Would you let me be killed as well?" Jellal hesitated for a second when he saw Erza was shielding them. The attack subsided. "You need a body to resurrect Zeref, correct?"

"Yes it is a general requirement that the body be of a wizard, about as powerful as one of the Ten Wizard Saints." Jellal replied in a calmer tone.

"Erza! What are you doing!?" Roxas yelled.

"But at this point it, it doesn't have to be you anymore. Die together! All of you!" The attack resumed and the ball of darkness grew and continued to suck in so much air.

"Erza move!" Natsu said.

"We can't let you... not after we came to save you!" Roxas sternly said trying to get Erza to move.

"You have nothing to fear." She began with a smirk. "I will protect you, both of you."

"ERZA NO!" Natsu screamed.

Jellal was finally prepared to unleash his attack. "Heavenly Body Magic: Altairis!" he threw the ball of darkness towards the three. The dark ball slid across the tower floor as it sped to Erza.

"ERZA!" Natsu and Roxas cried. Erza braced herself for the attack but before it could hit her. A shadowy figure steps in front of the attack with his arms outstretched. Everyone was shocked at what happened. The figure revealed grit his teeth before a tremendous explosion rocked the top of the tower.

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The explosion could be seen from the outside. "It exploded!" Happy exclaimed.

"They're okay... right?" Lucy said.

"No, this isn't happening..." Ariel began.

Sho felt a pain in his chest. "Sho, what's wrong?" Millianna asked.

"You don't look to good." Gray commented.

"What is this unsettled feeling I have...?" Sho said to himself.

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The smoke cleared on the tower. Once it did, Simon with his arms outstretched in both directions stood with a furious expression and the top part of his clothes had been destroyed leaving only the metal chin, and the fabric wrapped around his head, he was revealed to have dark hair.

Roxas was the first to comment on what happened. "No... you're..."

Erza began to flashback to when Rob had protected her from an attack before he died right in front of her eyes. She recognized that Simon was in the exact same position. "Simon..."

"E-Erza..." he muttered before he collapsed onto his back.

"Simon!" Erza cried. She ran to his side after he fell.

"Still crawling around here? You worm." Jellal commented.

"But, why?" Erza asked looking down to Simon. "Simon!"

Simon in his extremely weakened stated managed to smile. "I'm glad... that I... could be... of help... to you... at last..." he began coughing.

"I understand! Now, no more talking."

"You were... always... so kind..." he struggled as it was apparent he was now getting short of breath.

Erza looked over him with a very worried face. "Simon..." As he continued breathing he looked over and saw a younger version of Erza who was smiling at him. This brought a smile to his face, however Erza was screaming his name out in reality. He soon closed his eyes.

'I've... always... loved... you...' those were his last thoughts and he now lay motionless on the ground. Erza with her hands on his chest hoped that he was still alive.

Natsu had a shocked expression while Roxas shared the same look. Tears were flowing from Erza face over Simon's lifeless body.

"NOOOO!" Erza cried before she broke down into tears.

A chuckle was heard and it was from Jellal before it broke into laughter. "How pointless! How incredibly pointless! They call that throwing away your life, Simon!" he said while still looking amused. "This doesn't change anything. Because there's is no way anyone is leaving this tower alive!"

"Shut up." They all heard. They both saw Roxas who was now engulfed in a crimson aura. "A person dying... IS FUNNY TO YOU!?" Roxas furiously said in a low voice. "You will pay! Jellal!" He unleashed an extremely powerful blast of magic at Jellal which forced him to a Lacrima wall. This shocked him as he looked at Roxas.

Roxas now stood in the center of the area, but his body was shrouded entirely in a crimson aura of magic power. His hair floated upwards, except for a few bangs as well as his clothes. His whisker-like marks widened and thickened in shape as his teeth became sharper along with his nails suddenly growing longer. His eyes shone dark red and slitted, but also had a blue hue showing that he was struggling to control himself. But what really got everyone's attention was a silhouette of an massive fox with nine tails that appeared behind Roxas.

"What is this power....!" Erza began.

'This pressure!' Jellal thought.

"Is this Roxas?" Natsu thought.

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From Juvia's bubble, everyone could see the huge fox as it roared to the heavens. They could feel the raging winds from there. "What's is that!?" Happy asked.

"Is that a giant fox?" Sho asked.

"This power I'm sensing..." Gray said.

"It's...Roxas." Lucy muttered.

Everyone looked at her. "What?"

"I can...s-sense his power. I d-don't know how...but that's him." Lucy continued. 'But...something's wrong' She knew she had felt this power back when Roxas fought Gajeel.

Happy began celebrating. "Oh yeah! Watch how Roxas is going to kick some serious butt!"

"So cool." Millianna happily said.

"That looks pretty dandy to me." Wally said.

"I just hope Roxas doesn't do more harm than good." A tear shed from Lucy's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Gray asked.

"The last time I saw Roxas used this power, he beat down Gajeel but nearly killed him if I hadn't stopped him. I don't think he's in full control."

Happy walked over to the blonde. "It will be alright! We have to believe in them, we will get out of this and they will be coming home with us!" Happy declared.

"You're right...If Jellal triggered it, then Roxas will go for him and destroy the tower in the process. I just hope that he will be alright."

"He will be!" the cat confidently said. "I know it."

"Roxas...." Lucy whispered.

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Meanwhile above the tower, Roxas in his Nine-Tailed state hovered above the Tower of Heaven. His glare turned to Jellal. "I"m going to break you."

He looked up at the Fox Slayer. 'So, that is it. The power of the Nine-Tails!' Roxas then flew towards Jellal to collide with him. He clashed with him and this sent both of them through the many crystals on the roof both of them were floating in the air behind the tower, Jellal was by the Tower while Roxas was flying a small distance away from it. "Bastard!" Jellal angrily yelled. He used his Meteor and flew above Roxas he proceeded to shoot a huge beam of light towards him. The Fox Slayer countered and sent threw a shockwave to counter the beam. Through the smoke a small mass of blue-fire was speeding to his wrist. When it hit, his whole body flew back with the same momentum.

Jellal gritted his teeth in pain because the fire on his wrist had boiling hot. Jellal used his free right hand to try and break it but his right hand was now stuck over his left hand as Roxas shot another mass of blue flames that wrapped around both arms and held them in place. When Jellal saw he was stuck, Roxas engulfed his fists in crimson flames and flew down to Jellal, beating him senseless. After Jellal's body was pounded by the barrage, he flew up high. "I'll kill you!" he yelled. He performed a gesture with both hands which made a magical seal appear and this made seven seals appear above him. When the formed the constellation, Jellal smirked. "Goodbye, Fox Slayer! Grand Chariot!" the seal each shot a powerful beam of light that focused on Roxas.

Showing no fear he shot a blast of crimson flames to counter Jellal's Grand Chariot but when there were still beams speeding to him he quickly avoided them. When he got close to Jellal the mage disappeared from his sight. Roxas couldn't sense his presence in time and he was punched back to the roof of the tower. An explosion was made when he hit the ground, kicking up dust and debris.

Jellal landed on the tower and saw Roxas get back to his feet but still in the Nine-Tails State. "Where is that magic that you can use, Roxas? Don't tell me it was just a one-time fluke." Roxas punched both his fists together as he sped over to Jellal and decreased his wind resistance, so much so that Jellal couldn't see him coming. He punched Jellal several times and cross slashed through Jellal with his claws and before he slid a distance from him. Roxas turned around and shot a glare at Jellal. His fist was clenched and crimson flames surrounded them. 'What... !?' Roxas sprinted to Jellal.

"Nine-Tail's Scared Fist!" he exclaimed punching Jellal in the face. Erza and Natsu who saw this were shocked by Roxas's power. When Jellal stepped back he saw Roxas was in the air. He saw the crimson flames from his Fox Slayer magic in both his arms. They each made a growing mass of fire that Roxas put together by slamming his hands together and the mixture of flames grew and he raised it over his head.

Jellal looked at the colossal dark ball of crimson fire that Roxas was going to use on him. "Nine-Tail's Roaring Bomb!" he threw the huge fireball on top of Jellal which made a huge explosion and made dark flames tower into the air which was able to be seen from outside the tower. Roxas landed on the ground looked into the huge crater and saw that Jellal was gone as he used his Meteor to avoid it. He angrily looked behind him and Jellal punched him in the face, both Natsu and Erza were shocked as to how Jellal avoided the huge attack. Roxas slid across the floor while making craters in the floor. He crashed into a huge crystal shard which collapsed on him and covered him in debris.

"Roxas!" Erza cried.

"So much for the Fox Slayer." Jellal said with a smirk, he was then shocked to see Natsu with a piece of the Lacrima in his hand, he was actually taking bites from it. 'That bastard. He is eating the R-System!' As he continued to consume the Lacrima he was now becoming engulfed in bright blue energy. When the energy was gone he slammed his fists into the ground this force a wave a light blue energy to Jellal, he managed to avoid it, after that Natsu began coughing out the liquefied Lacrima he ate and he was holding his throat as it looked like it was killing him, he began to roll on the ground.

"That's insane!" Erza yelled. "Etherano is fused with other elements other than fire, you know!"

Natsu was screaming while holding his throat, veins were etched on his hand and his face.

Jellal was now slightly confused. 'Did you seriously think you can power up by eating magic energy instead of flames? That kind of pea-brained thinking will lead to your own downfall!'

As Natsu was screaming, huge flames engulfed him while his eyes shone bright red, soon a fiery figure of a dragon appeared behind him. He was standing with his arms relaxed and his legs bent while his eyes still had the bright red glow, his clothes were floating upwards on his body as a result of the raging flames around him. Suddenly scales began growing on Natsu's face, his eyes returned to normal as the flames continued to rage.

'He's actually absorbing Etherion!?' Jellal thought.

Natsu's sped to Jellal and threw his knee to his chest while the flames followed him. "You're the reason...!" he speeded to Jellal and grabbed him by the throat and was forcing him through floor and through the many floors of the R-System. "Erza is crying!"

Meanwhile in the floor that Roxas was buried under, the crystals that fell on him began to shine a bright colour. They quickly shattered into small pieces and Roxas yelled out and a aura of crimson flames surrounded him as he screamed. He saw Erza lying on her knees.

"Erza..." Roxas said in his Nine-Tails State voice. He saw the hole that Natsu charged Jellal through.

"I made a promise!" Natsu yelled as still pushed Jellal through several floors. Natsu remembered Simon telling both him and Roxas to take care of Erza. "I made a promise!" Natsu repeated.

"You cocky bastard! Meteor!" he flew up and away from Natsu as the Dragon Slayer fell through the tower but he managed to stop himself. "You'll never be able to catch me at this speed! What!?" As he flew up he saw Roxas speeding down to him. An crimson magical seal engulfed his hands that were locked by his fingers, he slammed his connected hands which were covered in crimson flames on top of Jellal's head which forced him back down, spinning to where Natsu was running up to catch him and when the Dragon Slayer caught up to Jellal, he gave a huge punch to his gut which forced both of to the ceiling of the roof. Roxas saw this while standing on a crystal shard below. He shot into the air and chased the two.

Meanwhile on the ceiling Erza saw Natsu and Jellal speeding from through a hole. "Impossible! I can't lose!" Jellal declared, he recovered from the punch and spun in the air to kick Natsu to a high crystal shard. Jellal seeing his opportunity jumped from a crystal so he could be high in the air above Natsu. "I'm making a kingdom of freedom!" Before he could get to Natsu he saw Roxas speeding towards him at a fast pace.

He surrounded himself in crimson flames. "Nine-Tail's Charge!" He collided with Jellal sending him flying further into the air. Jellal grabbed Roxas by his stomach and threw him to a crystal that was opposite Natsu.

"Zeref whispered to me in my pain and fear!" Jellal yelled as he flew towards Roxas. "'Do you desire true freedom?' Zeref beckoned... That's right! Only I can sense Zeref! I am the chosen one! Zeref and I will create a truly free kingdom together!" He collided into the crystal Roxas was leaning on and he missed and saw that Roxas was above him. The Fox Slayer then vanished and punched Jellal towards Natsu.

Natsu began running towards Jellal from the ground after hearing everything he said. "And you'll make it by taking away other people's freedom!"

Jellal managed to control himself in the air and began firing bright yellow energy projections from his hands. "Only the ones with the will change the world can make history!" Natsu managed to get to a crystal after dodging all the energy beams as he saw Roxas was going to punch Jellal with a fiery crimson fist, but he saw this coming and grabbed the slivernette's wrist and threw him to the ground, not far from where Natsu is. "Why can't you both understand this!?"

Jellal made several movements with his hands and a huge bronze magical seal appeared. Natsu gasped while Erza knew what Jellal was planning.

"Abyss Break!?" Erza gasped. "You fiend! You plan to destroy the tower as well!?"

"A more years... No...this time I'll finish it in 5." Jellal replied. "Zeref wait for me!" suddenly a magenta like swipe was seen going through his stomach as the background around him turned black. This was a wound that was given to him by Erza in their earlier battle. The Abyss Break seal disappeared and he free-fell to the ground. While falling, he saw Natsu shooting flames from his feet to get to Jellal, and Roxas shot into the air to fly alongside Natsu.

"The freedom you desire is flawed!" Roxas bellowed out.

"You will never find freedom!" Natsu yelled. "There is no such thing as freedom for somebody taken over by ghosts."

"Before you can declare freedom for everyone else..." Roxas yelled. When he says this he made the crimson flames turn back to their blue color and whirl around him.

Soon huge flames formed a dragon and a fox around Natsu and Roxas as the fox and dragon merged together into a blue/red color.

Erza looked up and saw what was going on she saw the attack Natsu and Roxas were preparing. Her eyes were wide open. "Is that..."

Jellal saw the attack forming in front of him. "NO! It can't be!"

"A UNISON RAID?!" Both Erza and Jellal exclaimed.

"FREE YOURSELF FIRST, JELLAL!" they both exclaimed Jellal saw the dragon combined with the fox speeding to him. "FOX DRAGON'S SCARED INFERNO!" Natsu connected a hard punch to Jellal's face while Roxas threw a punch to his stomach. The screams of all three of them were heard as a colossal white energy engulfed the three of them. A dragon roar and a fox howl was heard after they had punched Jellal. The impact of him slamming into the tower created exploding shockwaves throughout the tower. A huge dust cloud formed at the bottom of the tower.

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Juvia was slightly struggling to stay in the air after Jellal's impact. "What happened?" Wally asked.

"What is going on over there?" Sho asked.

"It has to be Natsu and Roxas." Happy said.

"Yes I agree." Lucy said.

"But is it going to be okay?" Millianna asked.

"It'll be okay... Or so I'd like to think." Grey replied. "But they sure are going wild there..."

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Jellal was defeated and knocked out on the ground. Natsu and Roxas fell to the ground after giving the final blow to Jellal. When they hit the ground they made a small crater with their feet.

Erza was shocked at both the power of Natsu and Roxas. 'Natsu... Roxas... This is their true power... A Dragon Slayer... A Fox Slayer... their powers are extraordinary...' Erza thought as she looked at the serious faces of both Natsu and Roxas as they were still in their Dragon Force and the Nine-Tails State respectively. They were looking away from Erza. "They even defeated Jellal." Natsu turned around and smiled at Erza. Roxas's returned to normal, he then turned to face Erza as well and gave a smile too. 'The battle I've been fighting for these past 8 years is finally over.' Erza was smiling back at them. Moments later Natsu fell to his knees as Roxas was falling to his side. "Natsu! Roxas!" Erza rushes to them, catches them and stops them from hitting the ground. She brings them close and hugs them. Natsu's scales disappeared and Roxas' whiskers, teeth and claws then faded to normal.

"You're both really incredible..." Erza praised while hugging them. Soon the tower began vibrate and bright beams of light were seen coming from the tower.

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From Juvia's Water Lock the bright pillars of light were seen. "Nya! How pretty." Millianna said.

"No that's not good." Wally said.

"I feel a terrible magical power coming from that light!" Lucy said.

"Then that means... Is Etherion going out of control?" Gray asked.

"Out of control! What do you mean!?" Ariel exclaimed.

"The magical power of Etherion." Sho said.

"Keeping that great amount of magical power in one place can never be stable for long." Happy explained.

Juvia began to explain the situation too. "A turbulent vortex of magical power with nowhere else to go will burst out, causing a huge explosion."

Wally was scared as he stood by Millianna and Sho. "Woah! We'll be caught in it as well!"

"What about sister and the others! They are still inside!" Sho exclaimed.

Gray gave a huge glare at the scene. "This isn't about who's saving who anymore!" Gray exclaimed. "We're all going to be wiped out together!"

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Meanwhile on the tower Erza was carrying both Natsu and Roxas by putting their arms over her shoulders but she was moving too slowly and the tower was exploding around her. She saw Simon's body sliding into the many cracks that were on the falling tower, when she saw it slide she quickly looked away and resisted the urge to cry. She quickly jumped from crack to crack to find a way off the tower. She was avoiding pillars of light that were emerging from the floor of the tower. One of the pillars of light threw her off her balance causing her to fall, dropping her friends behind her.

A bubble had formed in front of her as Erza looked behind her with an angry expression. 'Magical power strong enough to deform the container... The Lacrima... That's even more destructive power than I had ever imagined. Even if we get outside, we'll be caught in the explosion."'"Damn!" she cursed while punching the floor. "Is this the end?" she looked to Natsu's unconscious form before turning to Roxas who was also unable to move due to unconsciousness too. 'No... There's no way I'll give up. Now it's my turn to save the both you.' An explosion behind her quickly interrupted her thoughts. 'But it's impossible to hold it back. What can I do?' she had a flashback to when Jellal had her restricted with his Bind Snake, she remembered that Jellal told her that the power that the Lacrima holds will be used to reconstitute her body into Zeref's. Erza looked to a large piece of the R-System that was still intact and saw her own reflection. 'If I can fuse with Etherion, then I can control this power? Can I stop the explosion?' she wondered. She placed her palm on the bubble that appeared in front her earlier.

Once she placed and pressed hard, her palm penetrated the bubble, the contents of it made her yell in pain. 'Good. The Lacrima is still accepting me.' Natsu started to wake up, he saw Erza's arm reaching into the Lacrima. He got to his feet and looked at her in concern.

"Erza..."

She looked back to see Natsu looking at her. Erza was also unaware that Roxas was awake too only he was on his knees. "W-what are you doing?" Roxas asked making his presence known.

"Erza... you're putting yourself into the Lacrima?" Natsu said.

"This is the only way to stop Etherion."

"Stop Etherion?"

"I'm confused. Didn't Etherion fire already?" Roxas said, scratching his head.

"The blast was absorbed by the Lacrima." Erza quickly explained. "Look around you. This tower will shortly explode as Etherion goes out of control." Natsu and Roxas had shocked looks on their faces. "But if I can fuse with Etherion and suppress it..."

Natsu quickly got up. "What are you saying you idiot!?"

"If you do that then you'll... you know what's going to happen!" Roxas exclaimed getting up on one leg. Erza gave a scream that indicated she was in deep pain. Natsu tried running to her but he fell to his stomach after realizing he didn't have the energy.

"Crap... I can't... move..." Roxas cursed as he tried to get up and stop Erza from her crazy plan.

"Don't worry about it anymore. I'll stop it for sure!"

"Don't!" Natsu screamed.

"It shouldn't end... like this." Roxas used what strength he had to launch himself closer to Erza while Natsu crawled with all his strength.

Erza looked at both of them as most of her body was inside the Lacrima. "Natsu, Roxas... I couldn't have lived without Fairy Tail. A world without my friends is unthinkable. You are all that important to me." The Lacrima began to cover her and it was reaching her face. "I don't care, as long as I can save everybody, even if it costs me this body. So be it!" her entire body was now inside the Lacrima.

Roxas's expression quickly turned to horror as both he and Natsu began banging on the Lacrima. Roxas punched the Lacrima but his fist just wouldn't go through.

"Erza! Get out of there!" Natsu yelled.

Roxas continued to punch even harder. "We're not going to let it end like this! Erza!" Rixas exclaimed.

Erza was floating backwards in the Lacrima. 'Roxas, Natsu, take care of everyone for me.Because I will always be by your side.'

Natsu had tears building up on his eyes and Roxas looked at the Lacrima in disbelief. "ERZA!" they both screamed as an explosion centered around the Lacrima Erza was in engulfed them.

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The others watched as the tower began to give of a bright blue glow.

"It's exploding!" Wally yelled as everyone was bracing themselves. Millianna held onto Wally. Ariel and Lucy held onto each other. They would feel wind shockwaves rocking them.

"No, its not!" Gray noticed. "Etherion is heading up into the sky!" A bright blue light was blasting into the night sky.

"What does that mean!?" Milliana yelled.

"Are we safe?" Wally asked.

They saw the beam stop and soon huge waves began to rage around from where the tower was. Winds were blowing so hard that they pushed the water bubble off balance and away.

Elsewhere Fukuro was carrying both Ikaruga and Vidaldus away from the tower using his rocket boosters.

In the Water Lock, everyone noticed something odd. "It disappeared!" Happy yelled.

"Etherion went into the sky!" Gray said.

Lucy, Ariel and Happy were looking up in disbelief and screamed the names of their companions and in order.

"ROXAS!"

"ERZA!"

"NATSU!"

They all looked at the place where the tower once stood, as it was now completely gone.

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Roxas's vision burned white as he found himself laying prone in a foggy abyss again. He groggily stood to his feet. "Ugh, where am I?" he muttered to himself before his eyes widen in realization. "Wait, the tower! Erza! Natsu!"

"Calling your pathetic friends?" A familiar voice said before sardonic laughing.

Roxas swiftly turned around and turned to see his dark doppelgänger appear. "You again?"

"You truly are pathetic." Dark Roxas snorted. "You and the pink-headed idiot went to try and save your that stupid redhead from that punk and got your assses handed to you. You should've killed that weakling Jellal, then perhaps that Simon guy would've lived and then none of this would be happening," he spat." Do you know how many people just died in that explosion because of your mistake?...Not that I care, of course. But do you know who's hands their blood is on?" he questioned.

Roxas growled at him. "I don't have time to deal with you right now. My friends need me, and I'm ending this conversation now." He then turned to walk away.

"Why, 'cause you can't handle the guilt? Or maybe it's because you know that I'm right? But then you start to think, if he's right about that, was he also right about giving into hatred and rage?"

"Shut the hell up!" Roxas demanded, turning to face him.

"Or what?" Dark Roxas mocked. "This could've been avoided if you had just followed my advice. Millions of lives could've been saved and you could be on your merry weakling way. But, because you'd play the noble hero, all their blood is on your hands," he laughed.

Roxas glared at him. "If you're trying to play games, it's not working. I know that know has died in that explosion. The magic shot up up into the sky, because of Erza. I know she tried to sacrifice herself to save everyone, but I know for a fact that she's still alive, like everyone else. Instead of hearing all this crap from you, I need to be making sure that they're okay."

Dark Roxas seethed at him. "So, the coward really does have a backbone. Yet, you're still unwilling to give into hatred. If you have any sense at all, you'll go and assort dominance over them weaklings," He clenched his fist. "How could you be scared of something that can be so thrilling? As I said before, let go of that crap called 'love'. Hate and anger is your true strength! Soon, you'll see it's the only way."

Roxas's glare never wavered. "And as I told you before, you don't know the first thing about me. You may look like me, but we're far from being the same person. You can keep all the talk about 'hate' and 'anger'. I don't need none of that, as long as my friends have my back, I'll destroy anything that represents darkness, including you. I'm through with you." Once again, Roxas turns and walks away. There was a bright light, before he then vanished.

"Well, I'm just getting started with you. We'll see how long you play 'hero'. But I'm done for now. I won't talk to you any longer," Dark Roxas said as he began fading into darkness. He had been biding his time, waiting for the ultimate opportunity to take control of the body and put the fool away in the darkness.

But, like all good things, it'll have to wait.

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Erza slowly wakes up and finds that she is on the shore but even more surprising was the fact that supporting her was Natsu and Roxas on their shoulders, she could hear the both of them panting. "Natsu... Roxas?" they both looked at her and smiled even though they were completely drained. Erza saw a boat with everyone on it waving to them. 'So, this is the family. I was about to leave? Thank you, both of you' She thought as she was reunited with her friends.

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Next Time: Return to Magnolia

After Jellal is defeated and everyone reunites, Erza offers Sho, Millianna and Wally a place in Fairy Tail. When they return to Fairy Tail, some surprises are waiting for them.

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