- episode 39 -

on the boat

The Etherion blast was coming any minute now. While a boat was carrying Lucy and the others away, Simon, Natsu, and Erza were still inside the R-system tower, all ready to take down Jellal once and for all. But as the boat floated over gentle waves, none of the passengers could deny the guilt and worry that consumed them.

"Damn it! We need to go back and save Erza!" Grey shouted in a sudden burst, leaping to his feet and nearly overturned the boat.

"What about Natsu?" Lucy added, trying to hide her worry. "He's your friend, too!"

Grey crossed his arms and looked to the side with his chin up. "Friends? With that guy? Who'd want to be friend with a fire-breathing idiot like him?" The tension was palpable in the small boat, emphasized when Grey sat down and sighed, uncrossing his arms and putting them on either side of him, as though he couldn't hold himself up otherwise. "I hate to say this, but I'm worried. I don't know if they can handle it."

"Natsu will beat him," Happy piped up despite tears streaming from his face. "I'm sure of it!"

***

in the tower

Even though she was holding a blade against him, in her eyes was the hint of desperate salvation. Despite her knowledge of what evil he'd committed, when she looked at him, she saw an overlay of him as a boy, the one she'd looked up to and admired. So while the hand holding the blade neither wavered nor trembled, neither did it carry enough resolve to make the tough decision and truly stop Jellal. Both of them recognized this, but neither made a move.

"Stop this, Jellal!" Erza cried out, her blade leveled at his throat. "You and I both know that the tower is incomplete without a vast quantity of magic energy, so why are you going to such lengths? Just give up now."

"Don't you see?" Jellal asked, laughing into the cold night air. "With the Tower of Heaven, I can revive Zeref and bring true freedom to the new world. A regret to have to sacrifice you, indeed, but it will all be worth it once Zeref has returned."

"Why can't you see that you don't need Zeref? You have friends that will stand beside you, so stop thinking that you're weak and powerless without him! Come back to us!" she said suddenly, her emotion showing itself. Her grip on the sword loosened for just a second, but that was all it took. Jellal knocked it aside easily, without Erza even moving to combat him, and then they were both kneeling, facing each other.

"Erza...there is nothing you can do. I was possessed by Zeref in a moment of weakness and led the Tower to its completion. I blame myself for that, and I can't hold it against you if you do the same. But right now..." Jellal sighed, looking at the ground to his right. "There is nothing we can do. The Etherion blast will rid us of our past and this Tower in a single moment, and we can't stop it. We simply must accept it."

The sword in her other hand clattered to the ground as she reached out and hugged Jellal. Their embrace was illuminated a second later by the harsh white glow of the light of the Etherion blast, but while Erza trembled slightly, she made no move to avoid it. The noise of the blast grew louder and louder, until it felt like it would consume the two of them, take their very existences and just make them vanish...

But then the sound of wind equalled the roar of the inferno, and Erza moved to observe what was happening, only instead of witnessing her own destruction, she saw Natsu, his mouth open, and he was...

"Natsu!" she yelled, trying to stand to her feet but being pushed down by the ferocious wind. "You can't! You'll die!"

Natsu, who was swallowing the Etherion as though it were mere flames, consumed the last of it and looked over at her with a sad smile as he began to glow. "It's worth it. Erza, I know that I always challenged you as a kid-"

"You still challenge me, you idiot!" she yelled with tears streaming from her left eye.

"-but it was only because I admired how strong you were, how strong you are. You're the strongest person I've ever met."

"That's...that's not true," she murmured, her eyes shaking. "I'm...weak. I just hide behind my armor."

"And you're one of my best friends," Natsu continued, causing Erza to look up. By this point, light was emerging from his pores and bathing the Tower in light, this time warm light. "Without you, Fairy Tail would have been no fun. So thanks for making the guild a great place to be."

"Natsu!"

He smiled brightly, his eyes closed, and added, "Take care of Happy for me. Give him lots of fish, all the time." Erza could only watch him grinning; she couldn't move...couldn't try to stop him...because by the time she began to walk, then run, towards him, it was already too late.

"Wait! Natsu! You can't-"

But his time was up. Nobody's body, not even Natsu's, could handle that many Ethernano particles. He exploded, releasing a stream of light into the sky, and once the light had dissipated, some of it floated back down, looking like some kind of fairy dust.

"Natsu!" Erza screamed into the twinkling sky, but he was gone, at least in physical form. When she looked into the sky, she could almost see him grinning back at her like always. "Natsu! You get back here, right now, you..." But she couldn't continue.

The tears leaked from both of her eyes, and she fell to the ground, unable to find the strength to hold herself up after so much magical energy had been drained in her battles and from the presence of the Etherion blast.

"Natsu..." she whispered as her vision faded.

***

on the boat

"They did it! They reversed the Etherion's blast!" Lucy cried out, shouting joyfully while Happy flew in little circles around her head.

"Aye!"

While everyone else celebrated, Grey was quiet. But...how did they do it? he wondered. Not even Erza could have reflect that, especially not after taking down that assassin and Jellal. Just what happened up there? "Ice make: Telescope!" he called, then focused in on the top of the tower. He immediately spotted Erza's red hair, then Jellal's blue hair. He even located Simon a few stories down. "But where's Natsu?" he asked to himself, as quietly as possible.

"Whatcha looking for?" Lucy asked, popping up next to him and nearing tipping the boat (for the second time).

"Just making sure they're safe," he said. It's not totally a lie. I just...get this uneasy feeling.

"Oh? Did you see them?"

"I saw Erza. She's safe. Same with Jellal and Simon," he said, avoiding the topic of Natsu because where the hell was he?

"What about Natsu?" Lucy immediately asked, smiling hopefully.

"I'm sure he's there. I just can't see him because the crystals are blocking my line of sight."

"Oh, right," Lucy agreed, although Grey sensed her fear. "That's probably it."

Just then, the fairy dust-like mini crystals passed over them, and Happy cried out. "No!"

"What is it, Happy?" Grey asked in a get-to-business tone.

Happy was sobbing. "No! Not Natsu!"

"What do you mean, Happy?" Lucy asked, but when Happy just continued sobbing, she changed approaches. "Spit it out, you stupid cat! What about Natsu?"

"I can feel it," Happy choked out. "I can feel his life essence in the Ethernano crystal particles."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucy asked uncomprehendingly, looking between Happy and Grey.

"It means..." Grey began, looking regretfully towards the Tower, "that Natsu's gone."