Jellal's P.O.V.

"We have to hurry up, she's running in the direction of their guild hall," I reminded the rest of our team, who seemed less than happy with me. I don't blame them.

But I have to keep this act up, for Erza. So she can let me go and focus on herself. 

"Yeah, well it's your own damn fault she ran off in the first place, Jellal," Natsu spat as he jogged behind me, "Why'd you have to be like that to her? She didn't do a thing to you,"

"You better have a good explanation or this team of ours isn't going to last much longer," Gray agreed.

Erza could've only been a half-mile or so in front of us, maybe a little more. We just needed to pick up the pace a little bit more to catch up to her, but we were running out of time. The Damned's guildhall was getting closer and closer.

"Don't you get it?" I shouted back at them without turning to face them as I ran, "I have to be this way! It's the only way she's going to let go! This job is too dangerous to be worrying about another person while fighting. She has to worry about herself,"

Just then, I felt a sharp grasp on the back of my clothing that pulled me backwards, onto the ground. 

"Don't you get it?" Natsu spat in my face as he hovered over me and grabbed me by the collar, "The reason our team, no, our entire guild has always made it through is because we depend on each other. You've got it all wrong, Jellal."

"We don't just fight for ourselves," Lucy added with a bitter expression.

"We fight for our family," Gray stated as he stepped forward behind Natsu.

"We fight for the people we care about." Juvia finished, now gathering with the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards.

I didn't know what to say.

"Erza's fighting spirit lies completely in her heart," Gray crossed his arms, "And right now, I don't think she's going to be fighting her best."

Natsu let go of my shirt and got off of me, rising to his feet, "We're going to go after her and give her a reason to fight. If you're gonna keep being a coward, don't bother coming along."

With that the four of them ran off, leaving Meldy and I behind. 

I sat on the ground for a moment, their words seeping into my mind like acid. I was stunned, but also renewed. Their speech not only gave me a reason to fight, but it also made a need to see Erza grow quickly inside of me. I turned to Meldy, who was picking a flower off the side of the path.

"Why didn't you go with them?" I asked her, wondering why she would stay with a guy like me, after the things I've done today.

"Because I understand you," She replied, not taking her eyes off the flower, "You're kind of stupid in relationships because you've never been in one, it's understandable."

"What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that you think too much," She calmly glanced over at me with a gentle smile, "You complicate things in your head so much that you force yourself into things that you really don't want to do."

I gave her a half smile in return, grateful for her loyalty, "I don't know what I'd do without you, Meldy. Thank you."

She giggled before handing me her roadside flower. It was a daisy, with white petals and a sunny-yellow center. I felt relaxed looking at it, before tucking it into the pocket of my cloak.

Getting up and dusting myself off, I turned to Meldy, "Want a lift?"

"Really?" She stared up at me with round, excited eyes. When I nodded, her face lit up as she lept onto my back, "Fast, fast, fast!"

"Alright, alright," I replied with a short laugh, activating my meteor spell. Within seconds, we had caught up with the rest of our team and I allowed Meldy to jump off my back.

Her feet skidded across the dirt road as she did, causing the others to stop at my sudden appearance.

"You've all taught me something rather impressive," I spoke clearly to them, "Allow me to make this up to all of you, as well as Erza. I can't promise I won't make more stupid mistakes, but I can promise that I'll make it right. If you'll excuse me, I have to go find a particular Fairy Tail mage,"

"Hold on, not so fast," Gray stopped me, "Is that all you gotta say about that attitude you had this morning? 'Cause that wan't only directed at Erza, that was directed at all of us."

"What are you suggesting?" I eyed him, wondering if he had figured out the second meaning to my actions.

"Why'd you have to act that way? You said somethin' before about doing it to make it Erza easier to let go of you- are you trying to pull the same crap on us?" He questioned, putting the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle.

"All of you are truly amazing wizards for your age," I mumbled, looking down at my feet, "It's been a pleasure watching you grow so strong so quickly. I have no doubt that this entire continent, even the entire world, is far safer due to your upbringing."

Natsu looked around at everyone before loudly whispering to Happy, "Do you have any idea what he's saying?"

"No clue!" Happy whispered back.

That's Natsu for you.

"Even though I'm older than you all, each one of you has a thousand things you could teach me. When I'm surrounded by Fairy Tail members, I can feel their wisdom of friendship, family, and magic in the air they breathe," I looked away once again, "I give many thanks to all of you for all the wonderful things you've done and installed within me. I will never forget them."

"Funny that this sounds like a goodbye," Gray responded suspiciously from behind me.

"Perhaps I'll see you at the guildhall," I shifted on my feet, readying my meteor spell once again, "Take care, and fight your hardest," I turned halfway around to give them one last look before a left, "For Fairy Tail."

And with that, I was off.

Too much time had been wasted arguing with one another, Erza must've strayed even further ahead than before. I charged forward, ready to protect the girl I love with everything I had. 

Even if it's for the last time.

I cleared my head of such dramatic thoughts as I plunged deeper into the forest. Without sign of her yet, I felt myself growing worrisome. 

How far ahead could she have been?

Erza's P.O.V.

Tick's blade tore into the tapestry before he quickly slammed my body against it. My hand still stung from the magic safe, and pulsated with a burning heat I couldn't shake. Despite this, he pressed the edge of his blade directly against my throat, causing my breathing to hitch. 

"Make this work, or we're both dead," He whispered coarsely into my ear as the door to Asmodai's bedroom cracked open.

Asmodai seemed calm, but more or less angry. That was, until a toothy grin slid across her face.

"What have we got here, darling?" Her voice matching Tick's in accent. She paced forward with strides of fascination, as if admiring artwork, "Long time no see, red head."

"She broke free from her restraints, I caught her in time, though," He smirked as he cocked his head to give Asmodai a smile.

When he turned away, I was given the perfect chance. I requipted into my flight armor before kicking him off of me. Once I was free of his dagger, it was only seconds before I threw myself at him. 

If he wanted a fight, I was going to give him one.

He barely lifted his blade in time, allowing himself to fend off a strong attack to the chest. With incomparable speed, I swung again and again at him until I saw his dominant hand ignite. 

A white-hot flare shot past my leg. It was so close to me, that I could feel the heat of it as it thrashed onward. Shooting him a glare, I left out a grunt as I put a large amount of force behind my attack. 

He blocked once again, but we were both sent backwards as we tumbled through the wall and onto the walkway outside. I landed on Tick, my sword raised and ready to pierce him as soon as I was willing. 

I think he knew that too, when I looked in his eyes. 

What scared me most, was the fact that there was no anger, no determination, no excitement- not even an ounce of fear in his face. 

I was breathing ruggedly as we eyed one another, each wondering what the next step was.

Clapping erupted from behind me, causing my head to snap back towards the room.

"Bravo, bravo!" Asmodai cheered with delight, "how wonderful it is to see such a battle. However," She trailed off as she met us outside of the room. The train of her old fashioned dressed dragged behind her, looking as if it would fall off if given the proper tug.

"Fights are so boring if there's no stakes, isn't that right, darling?" She tapped her chin while meeting Tick's glance, "How about I strike a deal with you both?"

I lowered my blade, giving her the chance to finish.

"Whoever wins this fight, gets to take on me," She smiled cheekily, like it was some sort of childish game she was playing, "And if Erza beats me, I'll turn myself in to the magic council. If Tick beats me, I'll give him what he so desperately wants."

We both drew in air as thoughts raced through ours minds.

I had the potential to take down the woman who caused hundreds, maybe thousands of people pain. I could make her atone for her sins and potentially save the lives of the people who get in her way. I could make her pay for manipulating Jellal's dreams, for bringing back Simon, for nearly killing all of us. I could make her pay.

Tick, however, could finally regain his sense of self. He could figure out what everything meant to him, and how he ended up here. He could meet his parents or  siblings who've probably been looking for him for years now. He could go on to lead a happy and fulfilling life. Who was I to take that away from him?

We looked at each other, equally as conflicted. We held each other in that moment, suspended in what-happeneds and what-ifs. 

In a reluctant decision, his hand grew brighter, "I'm sorry," His eyebrows furrowed in sincerity, "But I'm not a good person."

His magic hit me like a wave of electricity. With a scream, I was shot down the walkway of the living complex. I looked down and saw the damage he'd done, the black burns trembling at the surface of my skin. 

He was powerful.

Nevertheless, I wasn't just going to let him throw me around like a rag doll. We both rose to our feet and charged at one another in frantic shouts. In a last second decision, I leapt onto the wall and threw myself at him as I tackled him over the edge of the walkway. 

A three-story drop ended it's flight as Tick released himself from me as we both hit the floor. My hand began to flare red as the magic safe's burn increased in intensity. I needed medical attention, or a reversal spell at least.

But I didn't have time for any of that.

I cleared my mind and threw myself at him once again, as our blades locked again and again. It was almost amazing, the way he kept up with my high-speed attacks. Flight armor was my fastest armor, and also one of my most difficult to beat. I didn't know how, but he kept up with every single one of my moves.

Meanwhile, my burns were getting worse.

His hand ignited once again, as a wave of electricity washed the room over in heavy tides. It set my nerves on edge in the same threatening way that Laxus' did. A pitch-black cloud of doubt entered my mind as his attack managed to throw me off once again.

"Lightening Empress Armor," I muttered through aching burns as I regained my footwork. My skin screamed at every move I made, and my hand was practically begging me to stop fighting.

But a Fairy Tail wizard never stops fighting.

With a furious shout, I ran at him with my staff raised. The blade on the end surged with electrical power- much like his own. I used the electric magic his attacks had left in the area to make my offense even more destructive. 

Within seconds, hundred of bolts filled the room. Tick disappeared behind a wall of light, unable to be seen even after it had passed. Then, on the other side of the nearly-destroyed guildhall, his body climbed out of a pile of fallen wooden structures. 

Dusting his shoulders off, he stared at me with a smirk as his eyes shone bright green. Random objects sailed upwards at his control. There must've been a hundred of them.

"You haven't forgotten my soul manipulation magic, right?" He questioned as I took a step back.

"Never," I spat, remembering Simon trudging through the streets towards Meredy and I, "I don't think I'll ever forget."

With that statement, his expression seemed more empathetic, "I'm sorry, Scarlet, I really am."

I requipted into my Sea Empress armor, "Your apologies are meaningless if they don't measure up to your actions,"

After a long pause, the objects began to glow with his explosive magic. I had no idea how I was going to take on all of them.

"Sorry is the only thing I can give you right now," He spoke neutrally as he lifted his arms to conduct his inanimate army.

"WATER SLICER!" I screamed with all the effort I had left in me. Half moons of water flung around the room, destroying everything they could as I took on as many of the objects as I could with my crystal sword. 

I darted from one end of the room to the other before realizing the objects were linking with one another, to form a large explosive mass in the air around them. 

"WATER SLICER!" I belted once more, as water severed links and destroyed around a dozen of them. It was then that I realized when I destroyed objects, more would take their place. 

"Ignes in caelo," Tick spoke soberly as his eyes shut harshly. With that, all of the objects slammed into one another to form a gigantic mass of amplified explosive energy.

"WATER PILLAR!" I desperately gasped as a tidal wave appeared before me. 

Tick's spell detonated. 

Despite my efforts, his magic sailed through my own without a fraction of a problem. The attack hit me so directly, that it pushed me into the ground, and left my body twitching frantically. It felt like a hundred thousand knives were being twisted into every inch of my body.

I screamed profusely against the pain, but it did little to help.

I laid in the ground, burnt by the surge of electrical energy surging through my veins. My hand, still being affected by the magic safe's defense, finally gave in. My sword rolled out of my palm and across the floor with a clang.

My eyes landed on Tick, who was covering his eyes with his hands. Almost trembling, he lowered them to meet my gaze.

He walked over in an intrigued way, as if he didn't know whether to feel accomplished or ashamed. By the looks of it, he settled on both.

"I'm sorry," He repeated with a fragile voice, "I'm sorry I couldn't be the person you wanted me to be."

A small smile tugged reluctantly on my lips, "It's okay."

"What?"

"It's okay, Tick," I murmured with a raspy voice, "I u-understand."

His eyebrows furrowed once again as I could see the questions he had toppling over one another in his mind. With a sigh, he looked upwards at Asmodai, who had retrieved a chair and exquisite drink to sip as she watched them fight. 

He turned back to me, looking over my injuries before placing one arm under my shoulders and another under my legs. 

He lifted me from the scorched ground and moved me over to a scratched up couch on the other side of the room, "I'm a bad person, y'know? I'm not supposed to be filling this whole nice-guy, hero look I am right now."

I felt my eyes crinkle a bit as a laugh escaped me, before exiting into a dry cough.

There was a moment of silence as he continued to settle me into the couch while looking over the marks all over my skin, "That hope you have for me, I saw it in your eyes," He rambled as he grabbed a distraught bar cloth from the floor, "Get rid of it."

He wound the white cloth around and around my hand, taking precise cautiousness to be gentle, "It pisses me off when people have that kind of hope in me."

Another cough erupted from my throat as I began to speak, "M-Maybe it's because you're a-afraid."

"The hell 'ave I got to be afraid of? I just beat Erza-bloody-Scarlet in a duel," He smirked, tying a loose knot.

"Maybe you're afraid of being good, b-because all you've ever known is bad," I continued as the cracks in my voice became evident, "Maybe you're afraid to be yourself, because you're afraid to get hurt again."

He looked down at my abdomen, scuff marks making their way across my pale skin. His fingers grazed the marks absent mindedly as I continued, "I think you don't want help because you're afraid to ask for it, so..."

I used my good hand to turn his face towards me, "I'm telling you that it's okay. It's okay to have a dark side. It's okay to be damaged. It's okay to have a bad past, with bad people, doing bad things. As long as your heart resides in the light, you can always find the right path to follow."

His eyes widened before settling into a softer look. 

A small smile crept back onto his face in that boyish way I was getting quite familiar with, "If you ever decide to stop fighting, you should become a writer. You've got a good way with words."

I scoffed, "I'm too clumsy for that sort of thing."

"I don't know," He shrugged, "I was kinda moved."

"Really?"

He nodded in response, his white hair dancing around his forehead as he did so. His dark red eyes flicked around the room a bit, "So moved, in fact,"

He trailed off for a bit, biting his lip as he tried to keep his eyes from meeting my own. It seemed like he was making a tough decision.

"That I surrender," He mumbled a little bitterly. He stayed silent for awhile, before shooting a pointing finger at me, "But this doesn't mean I'm a good guy or anything, y'hear? If anything- it makes me even worse! I'm sending a half-dead girl like you into battle with that- that-" He threw back his arm to point frantically at Asmodai, "Thing."

I chuckled, sitting upwards on the couch, "How terrible of you indeed."

"And y'know what?" He spoke quickly on, "I'm just gonna sit here. I'm just gonna sit here, and watch you get beat up. Because that's what bad people do, and I am a bad person. So don't expect help, or charity, or even the smallest flinch from me, got it?"

"Loud and clear," I responded before shakily rising up. I had a job to complete. My legs threatened to let me fall with every step I dragged forward, and my skin still felt like it was on fire as I walked away from Tick, who had propped himself up on the couch.

"You see this? Me just sitting here as you struggle to walk?" He paused for a moment, "You know who does that?"

"Bad people,"

"Bad people," He spoke over me as he agreed, "glad we're on the same page, carry on."

I forced myself forward, not allowing the will inside of me to fade. The want- no- the need to win was more dire than ever before. My external wounds paled in comparison to the turmoil just below the surface. I requipted into my black wing armor, ready for anything she could throw at me. In a simple movement, I turned around.

"And Tick"

"Mhm,"

I gave him a full-hearted smile, "If I don't make it, I just want you to know," I took a deep breath, looking down at the floor before gaining the courage to look at him once more, "I forgive you."

He didn't respond, but held an expression that said everything I needed to know.

"Fairy Tail's doors will always be open to you," 

With a smile and all the courage I could muster up inside of my body, I walked back into the open as Asmodai descended the stairs. We locked eyes and shared an equal amount of determination in our intentions. 

For my guild,

For my friends,

For my family,

I will defeat  Asmodai.