"Where is she?!" A shrill voice cried out, no doubt waking up anyone that had managed to fall asleep on the cell block after another exhaustive day under the yoke of the dark guild. "Where is my mom? What did you do to her?" There was no doubt in Rob's mind as the voice was silenced by the meaty thwack of a fist meeting flesh. Their captor's had raided another village, and had brought more slaves for labor.

The sound of chains dragging along the ground could be heard drawing closer until, finally, a lone torch lit up the bleak cell, blinding Rob and the children inside. He could make out the jingling of keys as he shielded his eyes from the light, and then a muffled groan and a loud crash as another body, covered head to toe in chains was thrust into the cell, before a muffled curse announced that the newcomer was being trussed up at the rear of the cell.

A dull clanging rang out as the chains were driven into the wall by stakes.

"Why the hell did we bring this one back if we weren't going to put him to work?" One of the guards growled out after smashing his thumb with the heavy mallet.

"Boss said he was strong. Probably wants to try to convert him. Did you hear what he did to the raiders?"

"Nah, what did he do?"

"Well," The second guard started with a snicker. "They found a pretty little village out in the middle of nowhere, real picturesque. Nice trees, quaint little houses, all that. So they gathered up everyone in the center of town, and then they set the whole place ablaze. Turns out, two of them are wizards, a blonde haired bastard that used some sort of Teleport Magic, and this red haired bitch that could create and manipulate chains."

"Chain Make magic?"

"I dunno. Anyways, they started to cause trouble, so the bosses stepped in and put 'em down, like dogs, right in front of everyone. Turns out, this brat is their kid, and it shook him up pretty bad. I don't know what magic he was using, but there's going to be a lot of empty beds in the barracks."

"Wait, wait, wait… If this little punk is so strong, how did he get captured?"

"A mix of Sleep and Illusion Magic, I hear. They chained him up while he was dazed and confused."

"So these chains…"

"Magic absorbing metal. If the kid tries to use magic, it'll be useless unless the chains come off. And the only people that have keys…"

"The bosses?"

"Bingo."

With a final clang, the last stake was driven into the wall, and the guards left the cell, chuckling at the fate of the poor bastard they had just strung up.

Once he was sure they were gone, Rob rushed to the rear of the cell to check on the new cell mate and was brought up short at what he saw. A young boy, probably no older than nine years old, was covered in chains and nailed to the wall.

His parents must have been quite powerful if the slavers are this nervous about the boy. Rob wondered.

"Is he okay?" A voice quietly called from the other side of the cell. The speaker, a young girl of eleven with red hair and brown eyes, crawled across the cell floor and gasped when she saw the child. "Why would they do this to a little kid?" She asked Rob, so perplexed by the unprovoked cruelty of their masters.

"Fear, little Erza. If what those guards said is to be believed, the slavers bit off more than they could chew when they attacked this boy's parents. They fear the magic he is capable of manipulating."

"Magic?" Asked in wonder. "You mean this little boy can use magic?"

"I have a name!" A shrill voice called out indignantly from the bundle of chains. Blue eyes pierced the dark as the young boy took in his surroundings and the strangers in front of him. He gasped in surprise when his gaze rested on Erza, and he thrashed against his chains.

"Mom! You're okay! I knew those guys were…" He trailed off as his eyes continued to adjust to the dark. "You aren't my mom?" He asked in confusion.

"Your mom?" Erza asked, surprised.

The little boy huffed in frustration. "You look so much like her, with your pretty red hair."

"No, my boy, she isn't. This is Erza, a prisoner, stolen away from her family, just like you and every other child here. My name is Rob, although everyone here just calls me Old Man Rob." He ended with a kind chuckle.

"What about my mom? And my dad?" The child asked hurriedly, his eyes shining in fear.

Erza's shoulders slumped at the question. She had heard the story the guards told. "They… they were…" Erza said numbly. How can the world be so cruel to someone so little?

"They were able to escape, but they were unable to save you." Rob said quickly, cutting Erza off with a look that said they would have a private discussion later. "The slavers took you as a hostage so that your parents would back down."

"Oh…" He replied. He sounded so relieved, it nearly broke Erza's heart. "Why am I all chained up? I probably look like some weird metal mummy, huh?" He asked. Erza couldn't help but giggle; he did look like a mummy.

"That," Rob stated slowly. "Is because the slavers are afraid that you and your magic, like your parents, will cause them trouble. They don't want to risk you manipulating your magic and catching them off guard."

"That's dumb!" The kid shouted. "Those jerks have some nerve, taking away magic!"

"You can use magic?!" The Erza exclaimed in disbelief. At such a young age. Rob thought in wonder.

"Well, duh! Of course I can, my parents taught me how."

"Wow!" Erza exclaimed, her eyes shining in excitement. "I've never seen someone do magic before! Can I see?"

Rob chuckled at her question. It had been so long since he had seen the girl smile.

"I wish I could show you; trust me, my magic is way cooler than my mom and dad's. But for some reason, it doesn't seem to be working. Gah, this is so annoying!" He groaned.

"It's those chains." Rob stated sadly. "They absorb magical energy. I'm afraid that you will not be capable of using your magic until those chains come off."

"Oh…" The boy hung his head low, and did not speak for a long time. Rob was about to give some words of encouragement, until he heard the boy begin to snore. He smiled sadly.

As much as this child has been through, I imagine he needs his sleep. He turned to Erza to suggest she rest as well, only to find her slumped against the wall next to the boy, asleep. He smiled as he laid down as well, at peace for the first time in a long while.

. . .

The next day, the boy awoke to ring of eyes surrounding him, and he realized that Erza and the old man were not his only cell mates. Seeing that he was awake, a boy with blue hair and a tattoo on the right side of his face introduced himself as Jellal and then introduced everyone else in the cell.

The young boy was happy. Despite their bleak situation, everyone seemed friendly enough, and had welcomed him with open arms.

"It's nice to meet you all! My name's Naruto Uzumaki, and don't you forget it!" At his loud introduction, Rob and all of the children in the cell laughed at him.

As the day wore on, they were all herded out of the cell for work, leaving Naruto alone and chained in the dark.

A few hours after they had left, two men came into his cell bearing torches. The two were like night and day, one tall and lean with a nasally voice, the other short and fat, his voice ridiculously deep. His gut jiggled as he spoke.

"So, you're the little runt from the last raid, huh? We lost a lot of people to you and your worthless parents."

"We sure did, you little shit. So, to make up for the losses, you're gonna be working for us, lending us the power of your magical talent."

Naruto stiffened up at the dark mage's claim. "And why would I want to do that? Just keep talking, just you watch! My parents are gonna come for me, and they're gonna rip you to shreds!" He spat out. The fat man chuckled as he waddled forward, leaning forward to whisper in his ear.

"That ought to be a really neat trick, considering the condition we left them in at your village…" He said darkly.

"…what are you talking about, fatso?"

Before the mage could register the insult, the lanky man stepped between them, sensing an opportunity. "What he means doesn't matter. The truth is, the only way you will ever see your parents again is if this tower is completed. So, if you are willing to lend us your power, you can work for us and we'll bring them to see you. If you don't help us…" He let the threat hang, and wasn't disappointed when the kid took the bait.

"You shut up! There's no way I'd ever help scum like you! My parents would never forgive me."

"Scum?!" The fat one shouted, slamming his fist into the boy's face, throwing his head back against the cell wall, knocking him out cold. "The nerve of that brat! We're Zeref's chosen!"

"Ease up! He's no good to us dead." The lanky overseer shouted, jerking the fat man towards the door. "Let's go."

"Whatever!" The fat one huffed, before storming out of the room, and slamming right into the old man that was walking in, knocking him to the dirt. "Watch it, slave!"

The man scrambled in the dirt, bowing their head. "Forgive me, master! Please, I meant no disrespect."

The two mages moved past his prostrated form, ignoring him. They never saw the smile that graced Rob's face as he slipped a key into his tattered clothes.

. . .

A week later, Naruto awoke to the sound of shouting, and found that the area outside the cell was ringed with guards. The two overseers stood just on the other side of the cell, and on the other side of them he could see Erza, Simon, Jellal and the others. They looked terrified.

"So," The fat one said, his belly rumbling as he tried to hold back his laughter. "Attempting an escape, are we? And who's the mastermind behind this little operation? My guess would be… You!" He shouted, grabbing Erza by the hair before dragging her out of the room. Jellal tried to follow, tried to get Erza back, shouting that it was his idea, but he was thrown back by a kick from the lanky mage.

"Know your place scum. You'll get her back in one piece… Mostly." He strolled out of the cell as well, laughing at his own joke. The guards followed after caving in the small tunnel the group had managed to construct.

Naruto felt the chains around him shake as he tried to pull himself from the wall; he wanted to help so badly, but there was nothing he could do. The dark mages had taken away his power and the girl he looked up to like a sister, but he was powerless, unable to intervene.

If I ever get out of these chains. He thought darkly.

Drifting off to sleep a few hours later, Naruto and the others never saw Jellal knock out the guard that came to deliver their rations.

. . .

"We can't just leave him behind!" Naruto heard a young girl shout. "He saved my life! We can't keep bowing and scraping for these slavers! We have to stand up and fight!" Loud cheers followed her statement.

Naruto opened his eyes when he felt someone pulling on his chains and was astonished to see Erza.

"Onee-chan!" He shouted. "You're ba-… Erza, what happened to your eye?" He asked quietly when he saw the patch covering her right eye. She just smiled and shook her head sadly as she worked a key into the locks on his chains. Naruto could hear shouting and the sounds of weapons clashing outside the cell. "What's going on? Where did you get that key?"

"Grandpa Rob gave it to me. He said he stole it from one of the overseers, but that's not important! Jellal came to save me, but he got captured instead! We need to save him! Will you help us Naruto?" She asked as the chains fell from his body and he collapsed to the floor. His body hadn't moved at all in the time that he had been there, so the last thing Erza expected was for him to stand up with a smile plastered on his face.

"That's a dumb question, onee-chan. Of course I'll help my friends." He spread his arms wide as he stretched his limbs. Then his smile disappeared. "My magic still isn't working. I can feel it being drained away…"

He gazed at his arms. "Why didn't you take the cuffs off?" He asked, referring to the metal bands around his wrists. Unlike the chains, which had been clipped onto him by a series of locks, the cuffs appeared to be welded shut on his wrists.

"Oh no…" Erza whispered. She had been counting on the young boy's 'awesome magic' to help in the fight to save Jellal.

"Don't worry!" Naruto said, his face serious. "My dad taught me how to fight without magic, so I won't be defenseless. Now come on! We need to save Jellal!"

. . .

Naruto wondered what exactly he had done to anger the Universe so much. First, he was kidnapped by slavers. Then he was imprisoned, and now he was in the middle of a small war as the slaves fought for their freedom against the dark guild.

All things considered, the battle was going surprisingly well. They had managed to liberate numerous cell blocks and they had the guilds soldiers on the defensive. And Erza was amazing. The girl he considered as his adoptive sister was a force of nature, and he couldn't help but think of his mother when he saw Erza fight and direct the rebelling slaves.

Granted that was at the beginning of the rebellion; now that they had shaken off their initial surprise, the soldiers were holding their ground. But Erza just kept pushing on, driving the freedom fighters forward.

The charge against the entrenched guards was cut short as a series of explosions cut the vanguard to pieces.

"Magic soldiers!" Naruto heard Sho, one of the friends he had made in his cell, shout. In the distance he could see their deformed bodies floating over the battleground, unleashing torrents of magical energy into the retreating rebels.

"NO!" Erza cried out. "We have to keep pushing forward!" She continued to run towards the oncoming horde, trying in vain to rally the scattered slaves.

Naruto moved to join her but found himself face-to-chest with a massive guardsman bearing a broadax and a sadistic grin. Oh, come on…

Naruto pulled himself to the side as the axe slammed into the ground where he had been, cleaving into the stone. There is no way I can block that head on. Lightning fast, the axe was moving again, flying to cleave Naruto's head from his shoulders, only for Naruto to duck beneath, driving his sword home into the brute's chest. The soldier drew back and stared down at the blade, a dumbstruck look on his face before chuckling as he pulled the blade out and threw it away.

"Gonna take a little more than that, you worthless brat." He brought the axe up high with a flourish and brought it arcing down. The world seemed to slow as Naruto gazed across the battleground. Erza was crying, lying in the dirt where she had been knocked by the retreating slaves. Simon fell to the ground, blood pouring from his now destroyed eye socket. Naruto numbly realized that they were losing, and he was powerless to help.

None of them can die! They're good people!

He thought back on the way Rob and Erza and all the others had doted on him when he had been imprisoned with them.

They're kind people.

He could feel his magic building, but it was being siphoned away just as quickly.

They're my friends.

The axe continued to fall steadily as the world began to speed up again, and Naruto raised his arms above his head, hoping to catch the head on his wrists. If I can't get these stupid things off, I'll at least use them to my advantage!

Naruto wasn't sure who was more surprised at what happened next, him or the soldier. The moment the axe made contact with his cuffs, both the axe head and the cuffs shattered.

"My axe!" The soldier sputtered out. "That was magically reinforced steel! How did you…?" His eyes narrowed in recognition. "You're that kid." The soldiers rage ebbed away as he noticed an odd look on the boy's face. The kid was smirking.

"What the hell are you-" A scream pierced the air, silencing the battlefield, and drawing Naruto's attention back to Erza. In front of her stood old man Rob, covered head to toe with burns. Ahead of him, a massive crater stood between him and the oncoming magic soldiers.

He blocked their combined attack. Naruto thought in wonder. I never realized that the old man was a mage too. He was brought out of his wonder as Rob fell to the ground, his skin a sickly green color. He showed all the signs of what his parents had called Magic Exhaustion. He used up all of his power to save Erza. He thought numbly.

As he watched, Rob whispered in Erza's ears with a smile on his face, before crumbling to dust in Erza's arms. The field grew deathly silent upon the death of the kind old man, and Naruto felt his magic come alive, coiling like a snake in the pit of his stomach, fuelled to greater heights than ever before by his emotions running rampant. He felt it from Erza as well. My magic is back. He watched in awe as a massive magic circled flared beneath Erza, and every weapon near her rose into the air and launched into the approaching soldiers.

"Hey, you little brat! I'm your opponent, so you better not-" Whatever the soldier was going to say died on his lips when he felt the pressure coming off of the child in front of him. His magic power… Geez, he makes the bosses look like little kids!

"Take Over." The kid said slowly, the weight of his words carrying enough force to drive every dark guild member in the area to their knees. "Kurama's Cloak." A blinding light engulfed the boy, forcing everyone to turn away from the magnificent blaze of magic energy. As the light died away, everyone, slaves and slaver's alike, found themselves too shocked to move. Where there had once been a shrimp of a blonde haired boy, a monster now stood. The beast appeared to be made out of pure red ethernano, flowing all over its form. Its eyes were like white lanterns as it stared into the hearts of everyone present, and nine menacing tails coiled to-and-fro behind its back.

"Na-Naruto?" Milliana, another of the children from his cell called out. "Is that you?" Despite her fear, her were shining in excitement. You look like a gigantic red kitty cat! A really scary red kitty…

The creature turned its head toward the speaker, and its face drew back in a terrible grin, revealing massive razor-like teeth and a mouth like the abyss. It spoke.

"Bahahahaha! You should all see the looks on your faces! I told you that my magic was cool, didn't I?" Naruto turned his gaze back to the soldier in front of him. "Behold, puny mortal! Would you stand against the might of Kura- Oh, gosh, ha haha ha! I can't even take myself seriously! Just look at you! Not even three seconds ago you were all 'ooh I'm gonna get you.'" As Naruto fell onto his back, laughing while the soldier fainted, the slaves felt their spirits raise, like his mirth was contagious, raising their morale. By comparison, the guild soldiers felt their morale flagging, like the monster was siphoning off their confidence, bringing their counter attack to a grinding halt.

With Naruto and Erza backing them, the rebels found that their victory might not be a far off dream after all.

"Get them!" One of the overseers called over the towers intercom. "You outnumber them three to one, and they only have two mages! Finish the-" The rest of his orders were drowned out as Naruto unleashed a monstrous roar that shook the very foundations of the construct. Rubble fell from the ceiling, forcing everyone to scramble to avoid being crushed.

"You! Just keep talking, just you watch! I'm going to come for you, and I'll rip you to shreds! You think you can keep us down? You think you can get away with imprisoning us?! Think again fatty, cuz no matter how many of your guys we need to go through, you won't keep us from our freedom!" His message hung in the air, and silence ruled the battleground, until suddenly, Erza's voice rang out, dominating the attention of everyone present.

"Forward, everyone! For our friends! For our family! For our freedom, forward!" With a flourish of her blade, she charged into the stunned soldiers, followed by the slaves, Naruto bringing up the rear to provide support.

. . .

Within hours, the dark guild had been routed, fleeing for their ships, only to find that the slaves had commandeered them first. Hoping to flee back into the tower, they turned back, only to find themselves face-to-knees with the massive nine-tailed beast.

"Going somewhere, are we? Hoping to escape the island?" It asked menacingly. Even the most stalwart of the guards found themselves falling to their knees, cowering in fear.

"Please!" One of them squeaked out. "Mercy! We only wanted to bring back Lord Zeref, and bring balance!"

The monster cocked its head to the side at the statement. "This form of mine, the nine-tailed fox, is the master of light and dark, yin and yang, the beginning and the end. I don't know who this Zeref-teme is, but if I ever meet him, I'll make him pay for having lousy followers like you." The beast smiled. "Mercy? Hold still, and I'll give you a one way trip out of my presence." Its nine tails moved as one, the tails curling so that their tips hung inches away from his mouth, and everyone present watched in awe as the creature pulled pure light and dark ethernano from the air, gathering it into a purple ball before swallowing it.

With an audible 'poof', the beast's abdomen expanded with the force of an explosion and it opened its maw directly at the cultists.

"Bijūdama."

Oh, crap. The cultists thought collectively.

An immense wave rocketed from the beast's mouth, carrying the cultists far and away from the island. Although the attack was usually utilized to wipe out entire armies, or even landscapes, Naruto had modified the power level to simply blow the cultists off of the island and into the ocean a good distance away.

Now that that's taken care of, I had better go find onee-chan. She wasn't on the boats, so she probably went to find Jellal. I hope he's okay… He thought as he sped away on all fours, trying to find Erza's scent through all the dust and residue left over from the battlefield.

"True freedom can only be gained with Zeref, don't you see, Erza?" Naruto's ears perked at the sound of Jellal's voice. There's that name again. But what is Jellal talking about?

Naruto slowed his pace and dropped his take over. There's no telling what kind of punishment they put him through. I can't risk freaking him out.

As he was about to round the corner, he heard Erza cry out in pain and he knew something was wrong; in his Take Over state, he could sense life force and he knew for fact that Erza and Jellal were the only people in the room. Which meant…

Jellal is hurting Erza. Naruto stiffened at the thought, rushing into the room. As he came into sight of the two of them, he saw Erza being held above the ground, wrapped in some strange dark energy that was being controlled by Jellal. Jellal looked like a completely different person, the shadows beneath his eyes suggested a major lack of sleep, but one of his eyes had some freaky symbol dominating it.

"Goodbye, foolish Erza." He stated casually as he blasted her back, throwing her from the ledge.

In desperation, Naruto underwent his takeover again, using his tails to catapult himself through the doorway. He twisted his body in midair, catching Erza as a searing pain bloomed across his back. He felt his body impact the water, and the pain coupled with his hasty takeover, forced him to black out.