~*****~

"Unbelievable. Natsu, you really dropped the ball, didn't you?" I complain as I carry him up the stairs.

"Aw, shut up, ya jerk..." Natsu grumbled, his face pressed into the junction of my shoulder and neck. "Aw man, my head is still spinning..."

I giggle. "Well, you did just get eaten by birdbrain." I mention. "You're lucky Gray was able to save you. I had my own problems to handle."

"Oh, great..." He groaned.

"He defeated the owl, but he was badly wounded during the fight," I mention as I glance over the ledge. "Happy and Ballad are taking him to a safer place."

"WAIT, I LOST TO THAT OWL FREAK BUT GRAY WAS ABLE TO BEAT HIM?!" Natsu suddenly screamed in my ear.

I hobbled and nearly sailed over the edge but managed to right myself. "I didn't say you lost. You just got swallowed whole." I shrug. "And he exploited the weakness of motion sickness, so it was child's play to do so."

"It doesn't matter what happened, he's still gonna hold this over my head for at least the next month!" Natsu cried. "Man, this sucks!"

"You're missing the point," Metal Jaw commented.

"I WON'T STAND FOR THIS! I DEMAND A REMATCH!" Natsu shouts. "BRING THAT BIRDBRAIN BACK AND LET ME SHOW HIM WHAT I'VE GOT!"

"Do not tug on the scarf when you're trying to get down!" I snap at Natsu.

"It's my scarf!" He shouts back.

I jut my thumb at Metal Jaw. "Yeah? Well Metal Jaw ripped my top straight off my body while getting sucker punched by that birdbrain, so I need it."

"Uh... do we even know him?" Natsu asks.

Metal Jaw shook his head. "I'm Simon. I was friends with Erza back when we were kids." Simon explains.

"Oh, then that case, it's nice to meet you, Simon!" I chirp.

He suddenly leans over, grasping his midsection. "Are you okay, big guy?" Natsu asks.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I just got word from Wally." Simon mutters. "He and Milliana found Lucy and Juvia, but they're in bad shape. He said it looked like they took down one of the Trinity Raven all by themselves."

"The two of 'em?" Natsu hummed.

"They hadn't heard that we're not enemies anymore." Simon states. "So, they were confused when I asked them to take the girls to safety. Sho's also informed me that the last member of Trinity Raven has been defeated."

"Well, at least I'm not alone in doing nothing..." Natsu murmured.

"Your friend actually took down Jellal's right hand, Two Ton, while you were having trouble with Fukuro." Simon explained.

Natsu glanced at me, and I held up my hand in a salute, chiming, Yo. "I DIDN'T GET TO DO ANYTHING!" Natsu complained.

"Now that they're out of the picture, that just leaves Jellal. Erza's gone to find him." Simon mentions.

"By herself?" Natsu and I snap.

"She's got a score to settle and whether we like it or not, she wants to do it on her own." Simon explains. "I'm sure you're aware she and Jellal have quite a history. It's as if they're destined to fight each other. I'm worried about her because Jellal's stronger than she knows. I beg you. You two have to help her fight him."

"Not gonna happen." Natsu flat out says.

"What did you say?!" Simon bellows as I begin to chuckle. I hold my hands up as Simon shoves Natsu against the wall with a destructive force. "What's wrong with you!? You claim to be Erza's friend, but you refuse to help her?!"

"This is her fight," Natsu growls. "She wants to handle it on her own. She'd never forgive either one of us if we butted in on the action like that!"

"There's no way that she could ever win against Jellal." Simon explains bitterly.

"Then you're the one who doesn't know Erza," I snap. "She's stronger than you give her credit for. Watch your mouth."

"You've got it wrong," Simon says as he rounds back on us. "I'm not saying that I doubt the power of her magic. Despite everything that's happened, I know Erza wants to try to save Jellal. I have no doubt in my mind. In her heart, she could never truly hate the boy she remembers from childhood. Jellal is viciously cunning. He knows exactly how to manipulate her feelings to his advantage. And that's not the only thing working against her. As you know, the magic council is preparing to fire an Etherion Blast. When that happens, the tower and anyone inside it will be wiped out. If what Sho told me is correct, we only have ten minutes."

"What?" Natsu snapped.

"She ordered everyone else to leave the tower and went to face him alone. If you know her as well as you say, then you know what she's up to." Simon explains. Frost cracks against my skin as I slam my fist against the wall.

"That selfish bastard--" I hiss angrily. "She's going to give her live up by stalling that freak until the blast hits! Why didn't you start with that, stupid! Now, tell us where we can find Erza!"

Simon stares at us incredulously before giving us the information we needed. We try to hurry up as fast as we can, but we're covered into a bright light from overhead.

~*****~

I grunt irritably as my head throbs something fierce. "You okay, Aria?" Natsu asks cautiously.

My head tilts for a moment before I can see straight. I nod as I sit up, my palms pressing against his chest. "Yeah... My skull feels like it's gonna burst." I mention irritably.

"Yeah, same here." Natsu nodded, his grasp on my arms loosening just a fraction. "What the heck just happened to this place?"

"What is this?" I murmur as I palm the ground. "This is-- it's a giant Lacrima crystal!" I bark after a moment of staring. My skin tingles violently as I continue to smooth my palms over it. "It feels like... it's absorbed the magical energy of the etherion blast!"

"I didn't understand a word you said, but the look on your face says everything!" Natsu mentioned as he leapt up to his feet. "Grab on, we're gonna save Erza!" I grasp his hand and stare for a moment. I nod and run after him.

Closer to the top, we can hear the sounds of Erza fighting with everything she's got. I can barely hear a peep from Jellal. When we're up at the top, we don't bother attacking Jellal as he recites his ancient spell. "Erza's an important part of Fairy Tail family!" Natsu exclaims as I pull her out of the crystal she's being submerged in. "We won't let you touch her!"

"Natsu... Aria..." Erza murmurs.

"What the hell are you doing hanging out with this loser." I ask as I stare down at her. "We gotta hurry and get back to work, you know Lucy won't let me pay her rent."

"Yeah, makin' her angry is one of the things you don't wanna do." Natsu comments.

"Sorry," Erza grunts. "But I can't move."

"No way--" Natsu gasps and begins to tickle her. "Time for some serious pay back!" He exclaims.

"Hey, quit it!" I hiss at him, trying to worm his hands away from her while Erza just laughs.

"This is serious, so quit goofing off, stop it!" Erza laughs. She sucks in a breath and peers up at us again, still wrestling to stop the other. "Natsu, Aria, you've got to get out of here as fast as you can."

"No way, you're hogging all the fun again!" I mention irritably. "Not like you can fight anyway."

"You can't... He's too powerful." She whimpers. "Besides, you don't know anything about him."

Natsu and I stare at each other, our brows raised in confusion. "Since when did we need to know a guy to beat him up?" Natsu asks dryly.

"Please... just this once, do as I ask you." Erza whimpers. I hum in response and lift her up. "What are you doing?" She asks shakily.

"Takin' charge, since you're obviously in no position to do so." I retort as I slam my fist into her gut. "This isn't a proper take down, so once you've healed up, we're finally going to have that fight back at Fairy Tail." I explain as she slumps against me.

"You two are even fool hardier than the rumors make you out to be." Jellal comments as I lay her on the ground. "What kind of sick satisfaction do you two get from striking a defenseless friend?"

I turn and glare at him. "Since you care nothing for your friends, I don't expect you to understand." I snap.

"She was crying. We had to do it. She looked so weak and fragile. Her voice was trembling with fear. I don't want to see Erza like that. 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." Natsu growls. "If you wanna get to her, you'll have to go through us!"

"Is that a challenge?" Jellal scoffs. "Consider my interest piqued. I would love to witness the power of not one, but two dragon slayers."

Erza wasn't kidding when she said Jellal was powerful. Natsu and I matched him hit for hit, even with my own energy being replenished slightly each attack by sucking in, but even with all the powerful attacks we unleashed against him, the only thing that seemed to be affected was his coat.

"Is that the best you fools could do?" Jellal wondered as he tossed his burned coat to the ground. "Natsu Dragneel, son of Igneel. Aria Tangjia, daughter of Everest." My brows twitched. God, I hated my last name. "I was hoping to get a taste of the destructive might of a dragon slayer before I started ripping you to shreds with my bare hands. But if that's all you got, I won't waste my time."

"I'll show you!" Natsu barked as he rushed in again. I hissed through my teeth and followed through, matching his movements to properly assist in the battle.

"You must be punished for disrupting my ceremony." Jellal hummed. "Prepare to be destroyed by my heavenly body magic! Meteor!"

Jellal began to completely overwhelm us. "Man, this guy is fast," Natsu comments as I buckle, my hands wrapping around my ribs. "We'll have to rely on all of our senses to beat him."

I snap at him. "I got it, let's just get to it!" I hiss and scramble to my feet, leading the attack. I turn at the last moment, my fist swinging out to hit him, but he easily moves out the way, suddenly faster than before, and pummels us into the ground.

My face cracks against the ground, my teeth scraping against the Lacrima. My mind hazes as I feel a tingle of magic against my tongue. It feels wrong, so I try spitting it out. I scrape against the ground, my nails scrabbling uselessly before I slam my fist into the ground. "You punk! I'm gonna wreck this place!" I slump to my knees and spit the small crystal that had been lodged in my mouth. "You spent all that time in the magic council, you should've known that we were gonna wreck this place from the get-go--" I snap angrily as I slam my fists on the ground again. The ground around me shatters.

"D'you gotta take all the cool lines, Aria?" Natsu groaned as he got to his feet, his fist alighting with fire. "I'm all fired up now! More than I've ever been before!"

"You won't get in my way!" Jellal barks at us, his face morphed into utter rage. "This'll be the end of you! I've dreamed of this day, and I won't let two fools like you spoil it for me!"

Natsu guffaws. "Sorry, pal, but we're pretty tough! If you think you can take the both of us, then come and get us!"

Natsu draws the fire away from me as I suck in a tight breath, my fist slamming against the spires floor again. "Not so fast, Tangjia!" Jellal barks. I began avoiding his attacks as Natsu begins destroying the tower as well. "Now, I'm angry!" He bellows once Natsu lands besides me. "I didn't spend years building this tower just to have some punks tear it down! I won't let you!"

"You should've thought of that before messing with Erza!" I shout back. "Destroying stuff is something we do best!"

My eyes slip shut a fraction as I feel my internals shudder at the frost build up. A few more attacks, and they'll be frozen solid. I grimace at the weeks of pain I'll have to endure after this. "Whoa, what's going on with the magic? It's making me feel sick!" Natsu groans.

"No kidding--" I retort, huffing out small bursts of magic to ease the harsh freeze inside.

"Why's my shadow bending towards the light?" I hear Erza gasp. "That spell-- it could kill Natsu and Aria!"

My gaze flickers upwards. "And now, I'll plunge you two into infinite darkness, Dragon Slayers!" Jellal roars as a large black orb appears above him.

"Don't do it!" Erza bellows, her figure appearing before us. "Unless you wanna kill me, too!" The magic orb disappears almost immediately. "You don't want to lose your sacrifice to Zeref, do you?"

"That would be a problem," Jellal grunts. "The ceremony requires the body of a wizard comparable in strength to one of the ten wizard saints. However, I can find a suitable replacement. You're not the only one who fits that bill. I'll worry about that after I kill the three of you!" The awful magic reappears and forms a harsh orb above him.

"Watch out, what are you doing?!" Natsu exclaims.

"It's my fault that you're involved in this mess!" Erza says delicately. "The least I can do is protect you two!"

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" I shout at her.

"Heavenly Body Magic, Altaris!" Jellal shouts and launches the orb towards us.

"ERZA!!!" We shout. At the last second, someone jumps in front of her, taking the blast.

"Simon--" I gasp.

"Why, Simon..." Erza stammers.

Simon stumbles back a bit before he can answer. "To save you..." He says in a pain filled tone. He hits the ground.

"Simon!" Erza gasps.

"I had no idea you were still crawling around the tower, you despicable pest." Jellal snorts.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Erza demanded. "Why didn't you escape with the others?! Talk to me!"

"Please... don't cry..." Simon says through a very thick tone. "It's okay... I was happy... to give my... life... for you." Simon groans.

"Save your energy... Don't talk anymore. Just try to stay with me." Erza pleads.

"You were... the only person... who made me smile..." Simon murmured as he stared up at her.

"Don't die on me..." Erza whimpered. "Simon!" She cried. Simon's head tilted sideways, his body completely void of any magic left. Simon was gone. And it made my heart hurt. I'd seen countless friends die over the years, but nothing compared to seeing Erza so distraught like this. This was someone she cared about so deeply, that I could feel her emotions running through me, clear as day. Jellal was going to pay.

"What a perfectly foolish thing to do! He tried to play the valiant hero!" Jellal mocked with a hearty laugh. "But his death won't change a thing! Simon gave his own life to save yours, but he should have known I'm not letting any of you leave this tower alive!"

Natsu moves before I can even react, decimating Jellal all the while biting on a block of the tower. I gaze at Natsu through bleary eyes. It's just like before. That new air that surrounds Natsu. The true form of a dragon. Something I'd only experienced once in my life.

"How can he just, be so--" I stammer as I stare after him once the dust settles, and Jellal is laying in a crater. "Natsu!" I exclaim as he slumps to his knees.

I scramble forward and let him collapse onto my front as I slid to my knees. Erza presses her palm against my back and loops her arms around the both of us. It's like being embraced by someone you love so much. I gaze up at her, my heart swelling with relief that she's okay. That Natsu was able to defeat Jellal.

Our gazes snap to one another as the building begins to shake violently. "Can you stand?!" Erza asks desperately.

I attempt it, only to have all of the bones in my body to crack from the intense freeze. I grimace and slam my fist against my leg in frustration. "I'll manage!" I shout at her. "Take Natsu! I'll be right behind you!"

"I can't leave you!" She exclaims.

"You're not! I promise!" I shout back, and shoving her and Natsu to hurry. I stumble after, my body seizing violently with each step. The tower is falling apart below us, sending us tumbling every which way possible. My mind shuts off, my eyes darkening as I hit the ground, peering blindly at Erza turning back to shout at me to get up.