Chapter 66: The Aftermath of the Tower of Heaven
Three days.
Three days since the tower fell. Three days since Simon's sacrifice. Three days since Natsu Dragneel had collapsed in Erza's arms, his body ravaged by the lacrima he had consumed, his flames finally guttering to embers.
He hadn't woken since.
The hotel room was quiet, the curtains drawn against the afternoon sun. Erza sat in a chair beside the bed, watching the rise and fall of Natsu's chest, counting each breath like a prayer.
His face was peaceful. Younger, somehow, without the fire in his eyes. The scales had faded, the golden irises returned to their normal brown, the impossible heat of Dragon Force reduced to the gentle warmth of a sleeping man.
Three days.
The door opened softly. Lucy slipped inside, her expression worried.
"Still nothing?"
Erza shook her head. "The healers say his body is repairing itself. The lacrima energy is integrating with his magic. They say he will wake when he's ready."
Lucy walked to the other side of the bed and took Natsu's hand. His fingers were warm, relaxed. She squeezed gently.
"You saved us all, you idiot," she whispered. "Again."
A knock at the door. Different this time. Hesitant.
Erza rose, her hand moving instinctively toward where her sword would be. She opened the door and found three people she never expected to see again.
Wally. Millianna. Sho.
They stood in the hallway like children waiting punishment, their heads bowed, their hands clasped nervously in front of them. Wally's dead eyes were gone, replaced by something raw and uncertain. Millianna's cat ears drooped. Sho wouldn't meet Erza's gaze.
"We came to apologize," Sho said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Erza studied them for a long moment. Then she stepped aside.
"Come in."
They filed past her, stopping when they saw Natsu on the bed. Millianna's hand flew to her mouth.
"Is he...?"
"He's sleeping," Lucy said. "He'll wake up."
Wally stared at the Dragon Slayer, at the man he had shot, the man who had survived being eaten, the man who had destroyed Jellal. Something shifted in his expression.
"I'm sorry," he said. It was the first time any of them had heard him sound human. "For everything. For the casino. For the shot. For... for all of it."
Millianna nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry for the cat head. That was mean. Really mean. I wasn't thinking. I was just... I was so angry and confused and..."
Sho stepped forward. His eyes finally met Erza's.
"We believed him for eight years, nee-san. We believed everything Jellal told us. We hated you. We wanted you dead. And you... you still tried to save us. You still... Simon..."
His voice broke.
Erza crossed the room and pulled him into a hug. Then another arm wrapped around Millianna. Then another around Wally. She held all three of them, these broken children who had been just as victimized as she had.
"It's over," she said quietly. "It's all over. You're free now."
They cried. All of them. Even Wally, who had thought himself beyond such things. They cried for eight lost years. For Simon. For the people they had been and the people they might become.
When the tears finally stopped, Erza stepped back and looked at them with the eyes of a commander.
"You have nowhere to go," she said. It wasn't a question.
Sho shook his head. "The tower is gone. Jellal is gone. We don't have anything. Anyone."
Erza nodded slowly. Then she smiled.
"Then you'll come with me. To Fairy Tail."
Their eyes went wide.
"What?"
"Fairy Tail is my family. My home. And you three... you were my family first. Before everything. Before Jellal. Before the tower. You were mine, and I was yours." She reached out and touched Sho's face. "I'm not losing you again."
Wally's jaw worked. "But after everything we did... the casino... the attack... we hurt your friends..."
"My friends are alive because of you. Wally, you could have killed Lucy at the casino. You didn't. Millianna, you could have hurt Happy. You played with him instead. Sho, you protected me when I was in that card. You ran with me instead of delivering me to Jellal."
She looked at each of them in turn.
"You were victims too. Jellal used you. Ultear used you. But that's over now. In Fairy Tail, we don't judge people by their past. We judge them by who they choose to become."
Millianna burst into tears again and launched herself at Erza. Sho followed. Even Wally, after a moment's hesitation, joined the embrace.
Lucy watched from the bedside, a soft smile on her face. 'Erza,' she thought, 'you really are something special.'
Later, Erza led the trio through the hotel corridors toward the room where the others were gathered. Gray and Juvia had been... spending time together. Lucy was writing in her journal. Happy was, presumably, raiding the kitchen for fish.
As they walked, Erza felt it.
A presence. A voice.
"You've become really strong, Erza."
She spun, her hand reaching for a sword that wasn't there. The corridor behind her was empty. Just shadows and closed doors and the distant sound of conversation.
Her heart pounded.
'Jellal,' she thought. 'That was his voice. I know it was.'
But there was no one there. No figure in the shadows. No hint of magic. Just her imagination, playing tricks on her exhausted mind.
She stood still for a long moment, listening. Waiting.
Nothing.
With a slow breath, she turned and continued walking.
'It was nothing,' she told herself. 'Just my mind. Just memories. He's gone.'
She almost believed it.
In her room, Lucy sat at the small desk by the window, her pen moving across the pages of her journal. She wrote quickly, capturing everything Erza had told her about the final moments in the tower.
*...and when Jellal was finally free of Zeref's possession, when the madness lifted and he saw what he had done, he used the last of his power to protect the tower. To save everyone inside. Erza didn't see it herself, but she believes it. She believes that somewhere, in that final moment, the real Jellal fought through and did one last good thing.*
Lucy paused, her pen hovering over the page.
*I kind of feel sorry for him. Jellal, I mean. He was one of Zeref's victims too. Just like everyone else. Just like...*
She didn't finish the thought. The door opened, and Erza walked in.
"Lucy." Erza's voice was businesslike. "Where are Sho and the others? I need to introduce them to everyone."
Lucy looked up, blinking. "I thought they were with you."
Erza frowned. "They were. I went to get something from my room, and when I came back, they were gone."
"They probably just went exploring. The hotel is big."
"Perhaps." Erza didn't look convinced. "When you see them, tell them to stay put. And tell Natsu and Gray to prepare some fireworks."
Lucy's eyebrows rose. "Fireworks? What for?"
Erza smiled. It was a small thing, soft and sad and hopeful all at once.
"A farewell."
They found them on the hotel's rooftop, watching the sunset paint the sky in shades of orange and pink. Sho stood at the edge, his blond hair ruffled by the breeze. Millianna sat cross-legged, her cat ears twitching at sounds only she could hear. Wally leaned against a ventilation unit, his expression peaceful.
Erza climbed the last step and stopped.
"You're leaving," she said. It wasn't a question.
Sho turned. "We can't stay, nee-san."
"Why not? Fairy Tail would welcome you. I would welcome you."
"We know." Millianna's voice was soft. "That's why we have to go."
Wally pushed off from the vent and walked toward her. "We've been in one place our whole lives, Erza. First the tower, then following Jellal, then running from who we were. We don't know who we are outside of all that. We need to find out."
Sho nodded. "We need to see the world. Meet people. Make our own choices for the first time." He smiled, and it was genuine. "We need to become people worth knowing. People worthy of Fairy Tail."
Erza wanted to argue. Wanted to grab them and hold them and never let go. But she understood. She had done the same thing, eight years ago, when she escaped the tower. She had needed to find herself before she could belong anywhere.
"Then go," she said. "But not without a proper send-off."
She raised her hand. Below, in the hotel courtyard, three figures stood ready. Gray, ice forming in his palm. Lucy, her keys gleaming in the fading light.
"FOR FAIRY TAIL!" Erza called.
The first firework shot into the sky. It exploded in a shower of sparks that rained down like stars.
Then Gray's. Blue and white, a glittering ice flower that bloomed and shattered into a thousand frozen diamonds.
Then Lucy's. Gold and silver, the shape of a lion's head, Loke's contribution to the celebration.
The sky exploded in color and light, a farewell fit for warriors, for survivors, for family.
Sho watched with tears in his eyes. Millianna clapped her hands in delight. Even Wally smiled, a real smile, small but genuine.
Erza stepped forward and pulled each of them into one last hug.
"Go," she whispered. "Be free. Be happy. And know that wherever you go, whatever you become, you will always have a home in Fairy Tail."
Sho pressed his forehead to hers. "Thank you, nee-san. For everything."
Millianna kissed her cheek. "We'll come back someday. I promise."
Wally just nodded. But his eyes said everything.
They turned and walked to the edge of the roof. A small flying vehicle waited, enchanted to carry them wherever they wanted to go.
Sho looked back one last time.
"Tell Simon... tell him we'll make him proud."
Erza's throat tightened. "He knows."
They climbed in. The vehicle lifted off, rising slowly, then faster, then shooting away across the darkening sky.
Erza watched until they were just a speck, until they disappeared into the stars.
Below, the fireworks continued to blaze.
And for the first time in eight years, the children of the Tower of Heaven were finally, truly free.
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Next Time: Natsu and Erza at Long Last