Yo guys, I'm back with another chapter of 'Different meeting at the Tower'. I was actually planning to post this a week earlier, but school, work and other unexpected things got in the way which lead that I couldn't post it. *bows in apology*

Well, Christmas break has started which means I can be a lazy bastard and write things on FF, Huuuuuuraaay! Ah yes, another thing. The reviews I got from this story is really motivating. I thought that people wouldn't give it a chance since our great friend(mine anyway, nah just kiddin, I only like his personality and tattoo*snickers*) Jellal was turned into a girl. To see that certain blueberry haters put their hatred aside and give the story a chance is quite bracing.*chuckles*

Well, I'll give you guys a heads-up first. Intro Ark is always so hard for me, but don't worry. After two more chaps, I'll start with canon. There are several small changes or shoud I say, MAJOR CHANGES. Jellal being a girl certainly changed the entire core of FT and because of that, there will be some OC arks and OC's. For those who don't like it, sorry but there is nothing to do about it. Otherwise, you'll get a twisted story that doesn't make any sense. Okay, that's enough of me.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, that honor goes to Hiro Mashima. If I did, I would change the whole damn story so it would make a bit sense to me. Hopefully, I don't get sued by him because of this *laughs nervously*

Chapter 3: Panic and a doomed fate.

A change.

Natsu's appearance changed drastically when that black seal appeared beneath him. The kid's cheery rose hair turned pitch black and his deep onyx eyes shined a fiery red now as he continued to stare at the bearded man before him. Natsu's face was unreadable and an unsettling silence hovered around the area. All the spectators were rendered silent when they witnessed the kid's change. Not one minute ago, the boy was fighting a hopeless battle against a man three times his size and now the mentioned man was frozen still in his place because of what he saw not too long ago.

"It is time for you to pay for the atrocities you have committed, Jarum." The bearded man's eyes went wide when the kid called him by his real name. He took an involuntary step back as he began to stutter.

"H-how do you k-know my name..." The giant asked with slight fear escaping his mouth. Natsu let out an amused snicker before his face gained an evil smirk. A black aura surrounded the ex-pinkette and in the blink of an eye he stood back to back with the giant.

"I can look into your very soul, my friend. The things you have done before you came here are unforgivable." The kid's fist glowed black and dark red flames danced around it. The bearded man let out a scream of pain as he felt the fist pierce his abdomen. Before he could turn around the boy reappeared right in front of his face with the same black aura covering him. The kid grinned maliciously at him and he cocked his right fist back to deliver another scorching punch. Natsu's fist made contact with Jarum's jaw and the bearded man was sent crashing against a wall, causing a small quake to occur. Jarum stood up weakly and rubbed his face to ease the pain he just felt before he hissed when his hand touched the burned spot on his jaw. His eyes wandered to that of the boy's form as he tried to stand up again. The giant's eyes once again made contact with those red orbs of Natsu.

Natsu engulfed his hand in dark red flames again as he walked calmly in the giant's direction. Jarum couldn't help but tremble by this point. This kid was a monster. The black aura surrounding him, the fiery red eyes that pierced a man's soul and those dark red flames dancing around his body. A real demon that came straight out of the pits of hell. The man's teeth started to clatter as he weakly raised his hands before him, signaling surrender. However, Natsu would have none of that. He brought his red hot hand out and slapped the man hard on his cheek. An audible hiss could be heard throughout the place as people gasped at what they saw. The left side of Jarum's face was almost burned away when Natsu slapped him.

"P-please, s-stop. I-I am innocent. I have n-never h-harmed anyone in my entire life! Please, s-spare me!" Natsu's eyes were covered by his pitch black locks as he brought his hand to his side. The man started to shed tears in desperation and pain as he started to whimper. His mercy was now at this kid and he wasn't so sure if he would make it.

Jarum felt a hand placed on his shoulder and raised his head, his eyes still watery because of his tears. The bearded man was met with the calm and composed face of the raven haired boy who looked at him with pity and disgust. Natsu brought his face to the giant's ear and began to whisper something.

"There is no such thing as innocence. Sparing you would be an insult to those you have killed and lies will not save you forever. Now... be condemned by the Three Judges of Hell, sinner." With these final words, Natsu summoned chains of dark scarlet flames, each one wrapped around one of Jarum's limbs. The giant man's eyes went wide in shock before fear started to take him over. He trashed around in his chains as he began to scream in desperation, demanding to be released. The raven haired boy shook his head, tired of this pitiful display of cowardice. Covered in his black aura, Natsu jumped into the air and hovered as he brought his hands to his side in a maw like stance. Black light started to gather in his jaw formed hands as they slowly formed a sphere of compressed black magic. After he was finished gathering magic power, he brought his hands for him.

"Infernal Abyss Magic: Styx!" The raven haired Natsu summoned a pitch black seal with a pentagram at its center. A black beam of light burst out of the seal and surged through the air as it made its way to Jarum. By now, the bearded man accepted his fate as he limply stood there on his knees, waiting for his end. In mere seconds the light engulfed and completely disintegrated him into ashes. The beam pierced through the walls of the Tower, roaring past several clouds causing them to vaporize before it finally disappeared in the night's sky.

Natsu descended from his airborne form and landed on the hard ground with a loud thud. He saw the terrified looks on the slaves around him as they silently continued to watch on. With a low growl he brought them out of their shock. His black aura vanished and his red eyes started to glow less, but still enough to scare them off. It was then that he heard a scream pierce his eardrums.

"DEMON!"

The surrounding slaves started to run away from the scene in complete panick, all of them screaming and shouting about a rampaging demon killing everybody in the area. It was complete chaos in the mines as more and more people started to run and scream in fear. All but three people ran away from the raven haired Natsu. The kid noticed three individuals standing amidst the hysterical mass of running slaves. Two of them were boys with raven colored hair, much like himself in his current state, and a girl with azure blue hair and a tattoo on her right eye, all three of them staring with terrified glints in their eyes. Natsu tilted his head to his side and gained a minded glance on his face.

"Those eyes... Where did I see them before...?" Images of an azure haired girl smiling at him flashed before his eyes. Then, another one showing a scarlet haired girl smiling warmly at him appeared. Numerous memories flooded through his mind as he began to remember them all, showing him that this place was familiar. His hair started to bleed back into bright pink and his eyes no longer burned an intense red. The rose haired boy staggered a bit before he collapsed to his knees and clutched his head with both hands as he rubbed his temples to ease the dizziness. When the azure haired girl saw him fall to the ground she instantly ran up to him, followed closely by her two companions. Natsu squinted his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose trying to ease his upcoming headache. He came face to face with the azure haired girl holding him in her arms.

"J-Jessa? Wally? S-Simon? W-what happened?" The pinkette asked groggily as he rubbed his forehead, his vision still blurry because of the drawbacks that came with his powers. He glanced around and noticed slaves were running around in a panicked manner, all of them shouting about a demon killing off everyone. This caught Natsu's attention.

"W-what's going on, Jessa? D-did something happen?" The pinkette asked while he tried to stand on his own legs. Natsu got no answer from the bluenette. The pinkette shook her shoulders slightly to gain her attention, but that too didn't help. Jessamine was wandering deep in her own mind, processing of what she saw.

What happened to Natsu? The moment that black seal appeared, his whole being changed notably. Those locks as black as the night, those burning red eyes, the black lights and dark flames dancing around his body. What did she just witness? When her eyes gazed into that of the pinkette's, she almost saw something in them. Something like another presence. A shiver ran down her spine when she remembered those fiery red eyes.

"...Oi, Jessamine. Answer me!" the azure haired girl was brought back to reality when she heard Natsu calling her. The pinkette looked at her with worried eyes as he rested his hand on her shoulder. The bluenette shook her head to clear her thoughts and stood up, putting up a fake smile to show that she was alright. Natsu continued asking questions, wanting to have a clearer picture of the situation.

"What's going on? The slaves are running around for their dear lives. Did the guards do something?" The pinkette asked frankly, not wanting to waste time if something dangerous was going on. This was the first time he saw so much panic around the Tower. Maybe, one of the rituals those priests were performing went out of hand or they felt like punishing random people for their own sick pleasure.

The pinkette got no answer from his friend. She simply took his hand and ran to the General Containment Cells where all the slaves resided. He was about to question her why she wasn't answering him until he remembered something else. Why was he here in the first place? He clasped his head again, trying to remember what happened here. He remembered being awakened by Jessamine and that they made their way down to catch up with the rest of their little group. Simon, Milliana, Sho, Wally, Erza...

The pinkette's eyes widened and he gasped when his mind mentioned Erza. Now he remembered why he was here. His scarlet haired friend got attacked and almost abused by a man whose face he couldn't depict any longer. Natsu began to panic, afraid that something terrible happened to his scarlet haired friend. He forcefully tucked at the azure haired girl's hand, enough to make her stop and turn around. The rose head stared at her with serious eyes as he began to speak.

"Jessamine, I want you to answer me now. What's going on here and where is Erza?" The pinkette demanded, his voice leaving no room to argue. He felt worried for Erza's well being and the fact that people were running around in panic also aided to his concern. He just wanted to be informed what was happening here because he didn't like it when he wasn't aware if something was going on that could influence their lives, especially if it made the difference between life and death.

Jessamine hesitated for a moment. She knew Natsu was a good person and it would devastate him if he found out that he killed someone in cold blood. No, that monster wasn't Natsu, she simply refused to believe that the kid she grew up with was that thing! But the information that he killed someone moments ago would surely disturb him so she decided to lie instead. Letting out a deep sigh she faced the rose haired kid and was about to start telling him what happened. But before she could speak, Simon stepped forward and placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder.

"Someone is killing off people, claiming that he is possessed by a demon. We have to go back to the rest, Natsu." Simon informed the pinkette, his eyes showing that he was serious. Natsu glanced over to his dark haired friend and nodded at his answer.

"Let's go guys, no need to stay here then." Natsu replied back and ran towards the cell chambers. The rest nodded in agreement and followed suit. Jessamine looked over at Simon who gave her an understanding nod, showing that he understood the situation. The bluenette smiled back in gratitude and nodded back. She was glad that Simon was there with them. Jessamine didn't know how to explain this all to Natsu without telling him the truth. She made a mental note to tell Rob-Jii about this when they were alone.

30 minutes earlier.

Rob gently placed a wet towel on Erza's forehead. Beside Erza sat Milliana, watching the redhead with worried and watery eyes. The old man sighed heavily when he started to tend to the scarlet haired girl's wounds. Not too long ago, Jessamine stormed inside their prison cell carrying an unconscious Erza on her back. The azure haired girl explained what happened when she and Natsu were about to start their daily routine with the rest of their little group. The eyes of the old fairy went wide when he heard that Erza almost got abused were it not for Natsu. Jessamine asked Rob if he could take care of Erza while she went back to see if Natsu was alright. The old man caressed the locks of the redhead soothingly as he gazed outside their prison window, looking at the nightnight's sky.

"Look at what you got yourself into, my dear." The old man rubbed his temple as he continued to watch outside, his mind drifting back to his guild. His home. He smiled fondly at the memories playing through his mind back when he was a mage wandering the world, taking jobs with his family and friends. He really missed those times and wished that one day he would be back in Fairy Tail until he let out his last breath. But to every peaceful moment comes an end when the old man suddenly felt the ground shake violently. Then, out of his window he saw a massive black beam of light erupt through one of the Tower(tower's) walls as it continued surging through the sky until it disappeared in the darkness of the night.

"W-what was that?" Rob questioned inwardly as he continued to stare into the night, his eyes filled with disbelief at what he just saw. Milliana also sported a face that screamed shock at what they both just saw. Her eyes traveled to Rob's face who was looking intently at the night's sky.

"D-did I just see...magic?" Before the old man could think any further he heard loud screams coming from outside. He softly placed Erza's head on the ground and made his way towards the cell door, followed by the cat face girl who was clutching at his old rag(rags for clothes). His eyes looked around and spotted slaves running around the chambers, all of them yelling and screaming in panic. The old man stared with a puzzled expression at what he was seeing.

"DEMON!

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

All kinds of things were shouted by the slaves running through the chambers, many of them about a demon raging inside the Tower and mercilessly slaughtering people. Rob tried to spot his kids among the crowd but he couldn't distinguish the color pink or azure in the mass. He began to feel worried for Natsu and Jessamine and inwardly hoped that nothing bad happened to them. The old man was brought out of his thoughts when he heard someone moan painfully and he turned around to meet the questioning eyes of Erza.

The redhead woke up minutes ago with a throbbing headache. She slowly tried to sit up but was pushed back gently by an aged hand. Erza squinted her eyes and tried to make out who was with her before she recognized the deep onyx eyes of her father-figure.

"R-Rob-Jii?" The scarlet head asked weakly as she continued to gaze at the old fairy who smiled at her the moment she woke up. Rob brought a small bowl of water and urged her to drink it. The red head nodded weakly before she took the bowl and drank its content. The water flowed down her throat and Erza immediately felt better. It cleared her throat and she instantly felt refreshed. She placed the bowl on the floor and continued staring at Rob who sat next to her with a thoughtful look on his face.

"W-where are the others, Ojii-san?" Rob turned around when he heard her talk to him. The redhead saw the worried glint in Rob's eyes and she too started to feel uncomfortable. But the redhead's attention was turned to the screams and shouts outside their cell. She ran to the cell bars and clutched them tightly while she stuck her head between them before she looked around noticing the panicked mass.

"What's going on, Rob-Jii?" The scarlet head asked, startled because of the scared people. The old fairy stood up and walked next to the girl as he placed a hand on her head, his face sporting a serious look.

"I don't know but I could honestly care less. All I want is for the kids to return safely." Erza nodded at him as she continued searching for salmon or blue colored hair.

At the top of the Tower.

A man clad in black robes sat comfortably on his chair as he watched in amusement through the lacrima orbs surrounding the throne room, showing all kinds of scenarios going on inside the Tower. But one specific scene he played over and over again. Natsu's attack. The black cloaked man chuckled slightly every time he saw that giant man called Jarum reduced to nothing.

"What a discovery. If Master Hades saw this he would be delighted to no end." His head turned around and watched as another scene unfolded itself before him, this one showing a group of kids running back to their cells. An evil smirk appeared on the cloaked man's face as he stood up and brought his middle and index finger to his temple.

"To all guards, There is some trouble going on in Cell block 82. Slaves are running around in panick and I want it settled down, now." He smiled diabolically at the second part of his order. " Also, bring me the one responsible for all the ruckus. I want to punish him personally." All the guards complied to his order and started to mobilize through the Tower. He continued to watch on from his chair, already imagining that their goal was finally one step closer. The man summoned a Lacrima orb and contacted his master to inform him about the current states(situation). The cloaked man poured some of his magic in it and chanted some words, causing the crystal sphere to illuminate before the image of an elderly man came to view. The man had a long curly white beard, a thick white moustache, long white hair slicked back and a stoic face devoid of any kind of emotion. The black clad man bowed slightly and respectfully when the man's face appeared.

"Greetings, Master Hades. I have great news regarding our goal at the Tower of Heaven." The man started in a respectful manner as he addressed the man known as Hades. The old man nodded slowly and gestured him to continue.

"Speak." The cloaked man nodded again before he started to explain himself.

"The Tower's progress is on schedule," The black clad man explained while he showed images of the Tower and its states of how far the state of its progression was." I believe that within the next week, the Tower will be completed." Hades supported his head with his hand while he scratched his beard with his other in thought.

"And what about the sacrifice? Have you found someone suitable?" The black robed man slowly shook his head, ashamed that he couldn't come up with a qualified person to sacrifice. Without a suitable person to sacrifice, all their effort would be for nothing. Hades let out a tired and disappointed sigh before he addressed his subordinate, his voice having a threatening undertone as he spoke.

"If you cannot come up with something as simple as a sacrifice, then why would I bother to even have you here...?" The cloaked man began to tremble at the menacing glare he received from his master as he continued to stare at Hades' Lacrima image. Even through the Lacrima he could feel the overwhelming magic power coming from Hades, the Guild Master of Grimoire Heart. As the leader of the Balam Alliance, Grimoire Heart is known as the most feared and strongest Dark Guild. To be the master of such a guild he can surely be seen as a wizard with at least the strength of a Holy Mage.

Hades lowered his magic power but still looked with a threatening scowl at his subordinate.

"I don't have the time nor the patience to deal with you now. Contact me when you have news regarding the sacrifice." His face started to flicker a few times before it completely vanished from sight. The cloaked man let out a sigh of relief. He thought that he would die from the pressure only. The man removed his hood showing his snow white hair that reached to his shoulders and dark tanned skin. The man had a rather young face, probably in his thirties, and eyes (that had) a deep shade of black. He wiped some sweat from his forehead as he let his eyes wander the place. The man sat back on his throne and wondered who he could use as a sacrifice. Using slaves would ultimately result in rebellion if they found out that slaves were being used as sacrifices. He couldn't use that right now. And besides, the condition was that the sacrifice had to be as strong as an S-class mage leastwise. Looking for someone outside the Tower would cost too much time and effort. S-class mages were not classified as S-class for the fun of it. They were strong and capable fighters and defeating one would surely cost him some energy. Mage Saints were out of the question. S-class mages were already hard enough, let alone Mage Saints. The white haired man suddenly had a revelation as he remembered what happened some time ago.

"The boy..." A dark smile crept on the man's face as he finally came with the answer for their problem.

"Yes... He will do. Also, that old man from Fairy Tail can be a good start. He will be sacrificed first to add some twigs to the fire before the firewood comes." He laughed darkly because of his sense of humor as he began to make preparations for the upcoming rituals.

Natsu and his little group were running past the mass of slaves who were running around in complete panic. They evaded bodies who tripped and dashed through narrow areas to avoid being overwhelmed by the thick mass. The group made it to the corridors that lead to the General Containment Cells and to their relief, it wasn't over flooded by panicking slaves. Natsu and his friends were about to make a run for it to their cells when they suddenly heard guards rushing to the scene. They were all wielding staffs and whips which were covered in electricity or fire. The kids were looking in shock at what they were about to see. The guards were going to restore the order, their way.

Screams were echoing throughout the halls as the guards started to maintain the disrupted order around the Tower. Whips ripped through flesh and staffs crushed bones as the guards forced the slaves into submission. Natsu clenched both his fists as he continued to stare with an angered and shocked look at the guards who were still punishing the slaves like there was no tomorrow. He unconsciously tapped into his magic as a black aura started to overtake the pinkette's body and dark red flames circled around his fists. He was about to charge head on and rip those guards apart when he suddenly felt two arms embrace him from behind. Natsu turned around and saw the pleading look in Jessamine's eyes. He could tell that she too was heavily disturbed and pained because of what she saw happening to the slaves, but there was nothing they could do without bringing themselves into trouble. The bluenette slowly shook her head, implying that they couldn't help them and pulled the pinkette out of the place.

When the black aura appeared again, Jessamine almost got a heart attack as her blood started to run cold. She immediately rushed to the pinkette before he could do something that he would surely regret. She didn't care if those flames burned her or if that light would hurt her, she would stop Natsu at all cost. Knowing that he didn't have control of his newly acquired powers, he would only add more oil to the fire. He wasn't even aware that he possessed magic and a very dark and powerful one at that. The bluenette embraced the pinkette and, to her surprise, the flames didn't hurt her nor did the light. She stared into his black onyx eyes and pleaded him to stop.

Natsu lowered his head before he reluctantly nodded. He eyed both Wally and Simon who were nodding at him with sad and regretful eyes. The pinkette sighed before he told his friends to get out of here. The group made their way through the halls trying to dodge the guard's attention in the process. They made it to the stairs that lead to the higher cells and climbed them up. When their eyes fell on the cell that belonged to their little group, they stopped dead in their tracks. Guards were standing before the cell door...

"Where is the boy with rose hair?" The leader of the guards, a priest, growled impatiently as his eyes gazed around the cell. The priest was rather chubby as his face and cheeks were quite round. It also didn't help his image that he fitted tightly in his clothes. The man wore a dark red robe with strange black signs and marks covering the sleeves and hood. The back of the priest portrayed a black Petrine Cross.

Rob stared at the cleric with a serious expression on his face while he stood protectively in front of Erza and Milliana.

"As you can see, father, he isn't here." The cleric's growling increased when he heard the mocking undertone Rob gave him when he answered back. He cracked his whip a few time before he lashed out at Rob who dodged his attack in the nick of time. The priest was about to lash out again, but he suddenly felt a strong hand rest on his shoulder. He turned around with an angry glare plastered on his face before he snapped at the guard who dared to stop him.

"Who do you think you are!? I was about to punish this filthy slave for his disrespect!" The guard's grip on the cleric's shoulder increased as the priest cringed a bit in pain.

"I'm sorry for ruining your fun, but we have more important things to do, your eminence..." The guardsman spoke evenly while he loosened his grip on the man's shoulder. The priest huffed before he stepped back. While he turned around he noticed a distinctive pink in the background. The man's face morphed into a dark sneer before he started talking.

"Speak of the devil, you're just the person I wanted to see..." The old fairy's eyes widened when he heard the priest talking. There, behind the guards, stood Natsu, Jessamine, Wally and Simon. The group of kids were looking with slight fear at the guards standing in front of them. The priest cleared his throat before he started talking.

"Now that the two persons I wanted to take with me are here...guards, take the rose haired boy and the old man!" Natsu was instantly grabbed and subdued by two strong guards while other guards walked over to Rob. The group of kids was shocked before they started to protest heavily. Jessamine trashed violently in the guard's arms who was having a hard withholding the azure head.

"Where are you taking them?! What's the meaning of this?!" The priest turned around and grinned like a madman while he gazed at the group of kids.

"It's finally complete," The priest mused while his face sported a victorious and content smile, "It's time for the ritual... TO REVIVE OUR LORD THE GREAT ZEREF!," He eyed both Natsu and Rob before he continued with his speech," And these two are the requirements for the ritual. They will be... the necessary sacrifice.

Cliffhangers, yeah, I know... I love them too *grins*

Alright then, thank you guys for reviewing this story of your humble serpent. The reviews I got so far were motivating and I bow humbling before the audience. *bows humbly, yeah I already said it in the previous sentence, don't comment on it*

Nah, I'm not really in it to give a note and the end, I'm dead tired of walking all around town and distribute Christmas cards. Don't ask, lets just say, I'm a good fella *chuckles*

What I do want to say is that I slightly improved (very slightly) the others chapters, especially Chapter 2, because some parts were confusing as hell. That's what you get when you're writing while you're half asleep. *chuckles*.

Okay, Fafnir hissing out, till next time guys and a happy Christmas to ya all! (if I haven'te updated before that is)