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riverofmemoriesft · 7 years

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Redemption

Full Summary: There is a story that is told by travelers. It is rarely told, only beneath the comforting light of a full moon with a brightly lit fire as an offering to the demon they speak of. It is said to be a sacred tale that no man wishes to whisper unless it is done freely, beneath a blanket of stars that help to remind the demon of vows long since lost. A tale in which a demon breaks beneath the weight of redemption.

Author’s Note: It’s finally here, @ravendaydream! It’s finally done! It turned out to not exactly circle around Nalu so much as Natsu himself, but I hope you like it anyways. :) It’s the longest one-shot/chapter/etc. I’ve ever written.

It’s really...different. I’ve never written something like this. I went with an idea like I did with my Cross My Heart, but...more. It’s written in an almost snapshot sort of way. Natsu himself jumps around without warning. But I love it.

Words: 16,648

Warnings: Violence through death and fighting.

There is a story that is told by travelers.

It is rarely told, only beneath the comforting light of a full moon with a brightly lit fire as an offering to the demon they speak of.

It is said to be a sacred tale that no man wishes to whisper unless it is done freely, beneath a blanket of stars that help to remind the demon of vows long since lost.

A tale in which a demon breaks beneath the weight of redemption.

He hits the ground so hard that it splinters beneath him into a thousand fragments, blood spattering, a supernatural shriek in his throat. He stares up at the cloudy sky, his chest heaving, body streaked with blood that is both his and not his. He feels agonizing pain with every breath he takes, his onyx eyes flashing this way and that, seeking danger-

He digs his talons into the dirt beneath him and shoves himself onto his stomach to free the massive draconic wings at his back, stretching them so that their battered and torn flesh can breathe. Exhausted, he rests his head back on the ground, taking a huge breath that rattles in his chest and fills him with blistering lightning.

Nothing.

When he opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is gold. As a hybrid between dragon and demon, his heart twists with greed. But then he realizes what he's looking at: a girl. Her brown eyes are fierce as she leans over him, her lips pressed together unhappily. He looks at her blearily, forcing his demonic features into hiding.

It's painful. The horns are shoved into his skull, the wings folding and sinking into the skin of his back, muscles shifting to hold - or not hold - his wings. He takes a deep breath, shaken, and moans as the wounds delivered to his wings shift to his back.

"Demon," the girl realizes, startled.

He would have snorted at any other time. Instead, he just looks at her, taking in the symbol on the back of her right hand, feeling his heart twist with fear. True fear for the first time since he'd faced down Igneel. She's a mage. Of Fairy Tail, at that. The guild meant to hunt his kind down and kill them to help the humans that thought they deserved to witness the demons' extinction.

She frowns, gently running her fingers over a mark that had stained his cheek as it vanishes. He flinches at her touch, hating that he can't move, that he can't rip her into pieces like his instincts tell him to.

But there is a softer feeling, one that calms the rage, urges him to relax and calm him.

And it is that feeling that lulls him into sleep.

"Lucy," a voice says uneasily as he stirs a second time, "this isn't a good idea."

"It'll be fine," a softer voice disagrees. He keeps his breathing calm, listening, always listening. "There was something in his eyes...if we can help him, maybe we can get him on our side, Gray."

"Lucy," the man says urgently. Gray, she'd called him. She being Lucy, he assumes.

"Gray," she retorts, irritable. "It's fine. Just...don't tell anyone, okay?"

"You know Erza likes to come and go as she pleases. She'll break in if she needs to. She does it at my place all the time."

"Then one of us will need to be here at all times. And there's Happy. He can just make a run for it and distract her until one of us can get here. It's as simple as that."

"That's not simple at all."

"Well, get over it." He senses the approach before she kneels beside the comfortable bed he was sleeping in, his senses going into overdrive to figure out what's going on without opening his eyes. Someone brushes their soft hand over his forehead, pushing hair from his face. It's a strange feeling, one he's never felt before, but he doesn't respond.

Instead, he pretends he isn't awake at all.

When he opens his eyes, he is more than aware of who is around him - no one - and that it is late at night. It's dark, but his eyes adjust. Licking his lips, he hauls himself upright, hissing softly in pain as it snaps through his body. The fight had really shredded him, he realizes with surprise, thinking of the state of his wings.

He looks around, making sure that the woman who'd dragged him into her nice home was nowhere around. He eyes his surroundings, baring his teeth at how clean everything is - and at the cat that is sitting there on the nearby coffee table, staring warningly at him. A familiar, he recognizes. Trained to help mages spy on people.

Just what he needs.

The cat purrs fearlessly as he rumbles a sound low in his throat at it. A warning.

When the cat doesn't move, he slowly begins to wander, investigating where he's been brought. He peers out a window, recognizing a town. Which one, he doesn't know. Human towns all look the same to him.

He drops the curtain and finds himself in the kitchen, staring at a refridgerator that the woman - that Lucy, he remembers her name to be - owns. It's filled with all kinds of goodies, and he finds himself grinning as he stares into it.

Food.

In the lands he lives in, there's rarely anything to eat. Not unless you want to eat other demons. Even though he's the brother of the one who had created his kind, he isn't exempted from this hunger. It sharpens their appetite, he remembers being told. Their appetite for human blood, at least. It's what gives him his rage and helps him burn things down, and it strikes him that he hasn't noticed this until now.

Hunger.

Within a moment, he's ripping into whatever food he can lay his hands on, even devouring the somewhat moldy cheese at the back. He does it soundlessly, ripping through containers, shredding into raw meat, downing every drink.

All as Lucy sleeps peacefully in the other room.

A scream pierces the air the next morning and his eyes snap open. he's made himself at home in the rafters that hold up the ceiling, mostly decorative - but perfect for him to perch on. They're surprisingly strong, criss-crossing every now and then.

He snaps upright, looking beneath him to discover a shocked Lucy staring at the mess he'd left behind the night before. The refrigerator stands empty, trash and torn containers thrown everywhere, some even as far back as the opposite wall. There's no food left at all. He smirks a little at the expression on her face, at the way her lips are parted in horror, her dark eyes glittering with shock.

And then her body rips around and she's looking. He smirks, watching with a satisfied look in his eyes as she hunts through each room - for him. His onyx eyes lazily follow her until suddenly, she looks to the cat that meows. Her gaze snaps up and he loses his smirk, narrowing his eyes threateningly as she looks at him in a surprised way.

"You're awake," she breathes, stunned.

"So?" he challenges, a rumble low in his throat.

"So," she retorts, "most people wouldn't be up that quickly after receiving the wounds that you received."

He cocks his head a little and then snorts, shifting until he is perched like a bird upon the beam he sits on. "So," he practically purrs, eyes glimmering with a malicious look as he drops down to stand a few inches away from her, "I'm not most people. I'm a demon in case you didn't notice."

Lucy's lips quirk in amusement, and his mouth drops open. "So you are," she murmurs, "and not just any demon, if my gut instincts are right."

He proudly smirks at her, lifting his chin. "I am END," he tells her, waiting for the look of sheer terror that thousands have worn upon finding out his name. "Etherious Natsu Dragneel, brother to the creator of demons, Emperor of Alvarez, and god of death, Zeref."

Rather than looking scared, she appears excited. "Really?"

He's taken aback. "Uh...yeah?"

And rather than trying to kill him, she looks around her destroyed apartment and asks, "Still hungry?"

Natsu gives her suspicious glares as she lets him scarf down every bit of food he is handed. She says nothing, only watches as he pushes as much food as he can hold down his gullet. Finally, when he finishes a sixth full plate, he sets it aside and demands, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?" she says, arching a brow.

"Why are you not trying to kill me?" He jerks his chin at her hand, the back of it supporting a pink symbol. "You're a Fairy Tail mage. Isn't it your life goal to murder me and my kind?"

"We don't make murdering demons to be our goals," Lucy denies, sitting back. She crosses her arms, manicured fingernails digging into her flesh. "We make it our goal to end this war, so that we and others like us can live in peace without demons trying to kill us at every twist and turn. I want your help to stop that."

"No," he says instantly, baring his teeth. "Not only would that ruin the balance, that would mean my death for betrayal. Blood and your flesh...that's our only source of food."

"That's...disgusting. Can't you eat anything else?" She looks disgusted, furious, and horrified with his answer.

"We can," he admits, grinding his teeth. "But what makes you think we have access to it? Zeref blocks everything. Do you think I look like this on purpose?" He gestures to his thin form, growling.

"I suppose," Lucy admits, "I didn't think of that."

"No," he spits. "You didn't." He scowls. "Most demons are raised, have grown up to like the taste. They've acquired it over time. Eating something else is the worst idea ever to some of them." He remembers a time where he was human, where his biggest concern was whether his mother would find him if he hid under their table. He finds that he misses those times desperately, but can't bring back many memories of them. Pressing his lips together, Natsu huffs, "Your ideals are setting you up for failure, lady."

"Lucy," she corrects, "and no they're not, they just need to be put into action."

"Whatever you say." Natsu questions her no more, reaching for more food.

Days fly past and Natsu finds himself finally lowering his guard. Lucy's with him most days, along with her damn familiar, earning nasty looks from Natsu whenever he's around, but reluctantly, Natsu finds himself no longer minding her company. His body heals quickly, demon blood contributing to that.

Lucy tries as hard as she can to befriend him, but Natsu isn't exactly willing to cooperate. Nevertheless, he turns to her when he has questions, waiting anxiously for the day that she'll turn him over to her guild or even worse - Zeref.

It's on a rare day that Lucy's out - "Shopping," she'd told him upon walking out the door. "For your expensive appetite." - that something new happens.

Natsu's in the middle of quietly skimming through books, amazed by how many Lucy has and at the fact that they're simply there, when he hears something shift. A click, a bolt sliding. Someone's entering the apartment, and from the sound of their footsteps, it isn't Lucy. He hisses between his teeth, defensive, and launches himself into the rafters, hauling himself up with ease. No longer does it send agonizing pain down his spine to bunch his muscles and use them.

Happy meows a loud greeting to let whoever is there know he knows they shouldn't be there. Natsu backs into the darkest of corners, a low growl rumbling from between his lips, slitted onyx eyes watching intently.

His nostrils flare as a pair of people step into the main part of the apartment, speaking urgently under their breath to each other. The man's low tenor is familiar; Natsu realizes he's Gray, the one Lucy had spoken to when they'd thought him unconscious. The scarlet-haired woman in armor beside him, however, Natsu knows only as Titania - a powerful warrior mage known amongst demons as a she-devil in her own right.

He bares his teeth, furious with them for intruding in what he considers to be his space.

"We really shouldn't be here, Erza, Lucy's not even home," Gray's saying desperately. Natsu can see his black eyes dart this way and that, hunting and seeking. For Natsu, Natsu realizes. Trying to figure out where he is.

"No," Titania - Erza, Gray called her - says firmly. "I am concerned about Lucy, she hasn't come by the guildhall in almost a month, and she's so rushed and secretive when I see her in the street. I'll wait to speak with her here."

Natsu's lips curl back from his teeth. Some kind of ambush on Lucy? He shifts, glaring viciously, and then freezes when Erza stills.

She suddenly lifts her head, looking calmly around the apartment. "Someone's here," she tells Gray and he takes on an exasperated look.

"We are."

"No, someone else. Happy," she says, addressing the blue cat. Happy blinks at her. "Have you seen anyone?"

The cat, much to Natsu's sheer relief, does nothing but blink quietly at her. Lucy must have instructed him to act as if Natsu wasn't there if someone else showed up. Natsu, despite being wary of the familiar for his stay there, appreciates him in that moment.

"Hm," Erza murmurs suspiciously. Finally, she turns to look at her companion, and Natsu follows her gaze - only to stiffen, realizing that Gray is staring at him in shock. He bares his teeth instinctively, growling low in his throat when Erza snaps her head around to look, too.

Erza's dark eyes fill with shock. "What? Who are you? Why are you here?" Her voice grows dark, filling with anger, and Natsu's expression darkens at the feeling of violence that ripples through him.

He doesn't bother to answer, however, knowing that this mage before him could care less.

"Erza," Gray says uneasily when something flashes in her hand. A sword, Natsu realizes. He snarls now, furious, horns shoving themself from his head and wings from his back. Pain splinters through him. He's spent so long in his human-looking appearance that this one is foreign, the muscles in his back screaming at the added weight of his heavy draconic wings.

"Demon," Erza breathes.

"Look," Gray says sharply, looking between the two of them, "Erza, you need to stop and you," he adds, looking up at Natsu, "need to calm down, too."

Natsu hisses hatefully at him and then listens intently when footsteps fill his ears. Lucy. He smirks, settling down, tucking his wings safely against his back to make himself look innocent, as if he hasn't made this situation worse. Erza looks confused by this, but Natsu proceeds to turn his head and look at a door.

A moment later, Lucy steps in. She doesn't notice the people in her home at first, but when she does, she jumps and gasps, "Erza! Gray!"

"Lucy," Erza greets tightly, eyes never leaving Natsu. Lucy follows her glance and looks terrified. Natsu furrows his brow, finding he doesn't quite like that. He doesn't necessarily like Lucy, but she's not someone he hates, either.

Swallowing thickly, shooting a glare at Gray, who makes a helpless gesture, Lucy introduces, "Erza, Gray, this is Natsu. Natsu, these are my friends and guildmates, Titania Erza Scarlet and Gray Fullbuster."

Natsu's lips curve into a self-satisfied smirk as he studies them. They can't harm him here, not without Lucy's fury. So he slides down from the rafters of the apartment and lets them see the full extent of his demonic form, flexing the wings with a small grunt of effort. He nearly knocks a lamp over; the apartment wasn't made for large wings.

Erza stiffens. "Lucy," she says sharply, "why on earth do you have a demon in your house?"

"He was hurt," Lucy explains, and Natsu shoots Lucy a dark look for giving that information away, but she doesn't notice. "I figured if we helped him, talked with him, maybe we could get some insight on the demons' side of things. Figure out if we can come up with an agreement that both side can win with. So far, it's not looking good."

"She forgets," Natsu practically purrs, cackling in his head when Erza flinches, "that I may be END, but I'm not Zeref."

"What does that even mean?" Lucy says, exasperated.

Erza's voice goes up a pitch. "You brought END into your home?!"

"Okay, to be fair, Gray helped me." Gray sputters, horrified when Erza whirls on him with a deadly look in her eyes. Lucy comes to his rescue, grabbing Erza's arm with a pleading look in her dark eyes. "Look, Erza. Think about it. I've been chatting with Natsu, and he's not so bad. I mean, sure, he eats all of my food, but he hasn't tried to kill me, right?"

Yet, was the silent reply in Erza's and Gray's eyes, and Natsu doesn't know if he should feel insulted or not. He can go without killing, you know!

"Why wouldn't you tell me at the very least?" Erza says crossly, glaring at her. "I'm on your team, Lucy. It hurts me to think that you felt you couldn't trust me with this." Natsu watches, cocking his head. She has a pained expression on her face, and it fascinates him. Were humans and mages so sensitive that something like this could break them? "If you cannot trust me with this, how can I think you trust me to hold your life in my hands later?"

Natsu blinks, thinking that comment over, and it completely interests him. It's a true statement, after all. How can Erza believe Lucy trusts her if Lucy doesn't prove it in the most important of times? Within an instant, he finds himself fascinated with the relationships of the people in front of him, and he is caught by surprise when their attention turns on him.

"Are you interested in ending the war," Erza asks after a moment, "demon?"

"No," he answers bluntly. "We'd die out without it. Lucy's the only one who thinks I'm not gonna rip this town apart the second I'm ordered to."

Lucy glares at him, but the way his phrase is worded catches Gray's attention. "What do you mean 'ordered to'?" Gray demands. "What if you weren't ordered to? Would you leave us alone then?"

Natsu, rather than answering, flexes his wings and hoists himself back into the rafters to hide.

It's dark out now, silent. Natsu creeps out from the rafters, glancing towards where Lucy is sleeping. He can see her now, with her body curled around Happy. Three days have passed since Erza and Gray's visit and Lucy convinced them to stay away somehow. He still isn't sure on just how she's managed that.

Natsu watches her for a long moment, a little sad. He's grown kind of fond of the weird blonde, of her tics and attempts to make him smile. That's something else he doesn't get; why make Natsu smile? What point is there in such an action or attempt?

Grumbling at his own soft stupidity, Natsu finally hauls himself out of a window he's opened and eyes the street below from his perch. It's late in the night, and no one's out and about. So he shrugs his wings free, his horns shoving out of his skull, and uses the wings for balance as he drags himself up onto the roof. Once there, he smirks to himself, and then extends his wings to their full span.

It feels good to stretch the muscles, work them slowly to make sure they're working. Natsu snorts as a breeze washes smells of sweat and grime into his nose. People doing something they're not supposed to do, he guesses. Shrugging, as it's no business of his, Natsu turns and walks to the edge of the roof, grinning almost maniacally.

It's been weeks since he's flown. Weeks of hanging around in Lucy's place, watching her scamper around like a chicken with its head cut off. Weeks of learning how humans feel and work and laugh-

Demons don't do that, he realizes, snapping his wings out to catch the air. They strain, and he grimaces. He won't be returning home anytime soon. His wings need to be worked, the muscles put back to their original state. He scowls; he'd been planning on leaving tonight. He beats them harshly at the air, remembering the exercises he'd come up with as a child to work them, and realizes he'll have to do them again.

Growling, Natsu gives his wings another beat, and then turns back. He finds the apartment building in which Lucy lives and carefully alights on the roof, delicately tucking his wings tightly up against his back. A pout on his face, he turns his head to look this way and that before dropping to sit on the roof.

Just as he did when he was young, Natsu begins to stretch his wings as far as they'll go. He flexes them, twisting and using every muscle he can get to. Before he knows it, it's dawn, and he realizes that unless he wants to drag Fairy Tail to him, it's probably a good idea to get inside.

Natsu sighs heavily and winces in pain as his muscles scream at him while hiding the wings and horns. His head throbs. It's getting harder, he notices. To pull them out or push them in. Soon, he'll have to pick which way to go and he finds that he'd prefer to have them out so he can fly.

Without flying, he is trapped, and he needs that freedom to survive the world of demons.

Natsu turns his attention onto the sun as it begins to rise, his ears picking up the slightest of sounds. He hears Lucy wake up before long, greeting Happy. He listens as she calls his name, seeking his presence, and smirks when she tries again, panic filtering into it. Snickering, Natsu purposely smacks the roof to let her know that he's up there.

A cackle leaves his lip when he looks down to find her leaning out the window, him. "What are you doing up there?"

"Watching?" Natsu shrugs. "Was testing my wings, but it didn't work. I haven't used them enough to go home."

She frowns. "You were going to just leave without telling me?"

"Yes." He waves her aside and then swings down into her apartment despite her shriek of protest. Hitting the ground in front of her, he straightens, onyx eyes flashing. "I'm a demon. Doesn't matter how long you hide me. They'll find out and then I'm dead, Lucy."

"Fairy Tail doesn't work like that." She pauses. "Some of them do, but most of them don't. Our guildmaster's a good person. He wouldn't outright kill you. Not if you proved that you were willing to change."

"But I'm not." He grows agitated. He glares at her angrily, baring his teeth and using his height to his advantage as he leans towards her. She's brave, not so much as flinching. "You don't get it, do you? I'm a demon. I am Etherious Natsu Dragneel; I am END, and I am the strongest demon in Zeref's arsenal. If I wanted," he threatens, holding up a hand and shoving it near her eyes, letting flames blaze up, "I could rip your flesh from your bones and leave you for dead."

She shocks him when she steps closer, until she's a breath away, and shoves him hard. "So do it," she says icily. "Kill me. Prove that END is what the demons claim he is, what Zeref wants us to think. If you are what you claim to be, than kill me here and now."

Natsu doesn't know how to respond. His mouth opens and closes, and then stays closed. He feels tired suddenly, his onyx eyes darkening with simple exhaustion. "I just want to sleep," he says quietly, rubbing a hand down his face. Without waiting for her response, he turns and goes for the couch, where he's slept for weeks now.

Without looking at her face, he drops face first onto it and stills.

Natsu is crankily sitting among the rafters of Lucy's apartment when he senses a change. Beneath him, Lucy's making dinner. The argument is gone and two weeks in the past by this point, with no truthful solution, and he's pleased to see that she's making sure to keep up with his massive appetite.

He stops working the muscles in his wings to look up. He freezes, listening. And then a low growl thunders deep in his chest, working its way into a snarl. "Natsu?" Lucy questions, glancing up, looking concerned. "What's-"

She doesn't have time to finish speaking. Out of nowhere, the wall with the window he'd used to climb out is suddenly blasted inward. Lucy screams, Happy yowls, and Natsu lunges from the rafters, throwing his wings up to protect both from the splinters and shard that comes at them.

He doesn't have to see who it is to recognize their cackling laughter. "Jackal," he snarls, glaring.

Jackal's lips curl back over his teeth in a deadly-looking grin. "So END's lowered himself to protecting mages now? Won't Lord Zeref be interested in hearing about this-"

Natsu doesn't hesitate. He throws himself at the other demon, tearing and ripping with not just fire, but teeth and talons. This will be a fight to the death. Should this information get back to Zeref, or Zeref's favorite group of Spriggans, then Lucy will suffer in ways no one can imagine. Lucy screams his name as they topple over the side of the building. Natsu takes a moment to look around as he pushes himself to his feet, wings beating at the air to help with his balance.

Smoke piles into the air further into the town. This isn't just an attack on Magnolia, he realizes, this is a hunt for END and punishment for the town that had hid him. He's been gone for too long.

Everywhere, there is chaos as black mages and demons roam the streets, killing and even devouring whoever they can get their hands on. Jackal lunges as Natsu's distracted by a screaming child trapped beneath the talons of another demon, catching him by surprise. Natsu snarls as he hits the ground.

Not even he wants to see the lifeless bodies of children.

Jackal's fingers snap and threaten to blow him to kingdom come, but Natsu blasts him fearlessly with flames. Someone else is helping the child, he realizes, a man with wild orange hair and a ridiculously fancy suit. He stands beside a fierce Lucy, who's dressed in some kind of dress, the child in her arms.

Good, he thinks as Happy flees from the building, slinking to safety by their feet. At least they're okay enough to fight back.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouts, her eyes wide with worry for him - her friend, the person she's grown to care so much for in the last few months. Natsu's heart twists with fear and excitement at that realization despite the fight he's engaged in: Lucy is his friend, the first one he's ever had. Unlike even Zeref, who was only concerned about what Natsu can be used for, Lucy is worried that he'll die and leave her.

With a roar of flames, Natsu decides that he won't let that happen. He cracks a fist across Jackal's face, and the demon rears back with a snarl that Natsu returns. He does as he's taught himself for years, tilting his head down and brandishing his horns, knowing that it's easy for enemies to forget about them and cut themselves. He slams a heavy wing into Jackal's face, the talon at the tip of it gouging across his cheekbone. Jackal screams in pain and rage.

"Lucy, go!" he orders over his shoulder, baring his sharp teeth. His crimson-tinted eyes flicker with a demonic look that has her faltering nervously.

Finally, she nods curtly, tightening her grip around the child. "I'll meet you at our guildhall. It's two streets over. You can't miss it." She shows him the symbol on the back of her right hand and then turns and bolts. The man at her side - a Spirit, Natsu recognizes - gives him a nasty look before shooting after her, becoming a flicker of light that resembles a star.

"Lord Zeref's going to rip her into pieces," Jackal laughs, spitting blood. "She doesn't stand a chance against him."

"And you stand no chance against your master," Natsu sneers, lashing out with his magic. The fire is nearly black. He relishes in the heat, hears distant screams of despair, his name whispered on the lips of mages all across Magnolia.

They are scared, and with good reason; END is here.

But he trusts Lucy to keep him safe from them, even if he doesn't say it aloud. She will make sure they do not harm him. Natsu rips and tears at every piece of flesh he can get to, feeling it part from bone. Jackal fights back just as fiercely until suddenly, with a quick lunge and an animalistic snarl, Natsu's fangs are buried in his throat, ripping it out.

He's always hated the taste of blood.

Spitting it, he shoves the demon's body away and he coughs. He coughs harder, retching, wanting to vomit, and he realizes that he's been so far removed from his old life, that this...it's disgusting. He doesn't want to fight.

But for Lucy, he does.

Natsu tears his way down the street, his wings flared wide. The black mages flee before him. The demons scream in fear or rage, depending on who he confronts. He rips into whoever challenges him.

A girl screaming draws his attention from the demon that is his latest victim. He knows he's bathed in blood, knows that his presence is likely to frighten anyone other than Lucy. And even then, he wouldn't be surprised if he scares her.

He finds the screaming girl, a young blue-haired female reeking of dragon. A slayer, he muses, and then snarls at the demon that hovers over her, reaching down to bite into her throat. He slams into it like a bull, and the girl shrieks again as they fight above her. Natsu does his best to protect her when he incinerates it, using his wings to keep the heat from her.

She stares up at him owlishly with wide brown eyes. Her face is white as she trembles, realizing she stands no chance against a demon of his caliber should he turn on her. But he ignores her fear as he reaches down and hauls her quickly to her feet. He eyes the emblem on her shoulder. "Fairy Tail?"

She hesitantly nods. "Yes," she says after licking her lips.

Natsu nods to himself and tells her, "I'm with Lucy."

Her eyes flicker with shock. "You know Lucy?"

"Yep," he says, popping the 'p'. "Keep close, okay?" She shouldn't be running around alone in a situation like this. She's a mage, but not yet strong enough to handle demons on her own. She's twelve, maybe thirteen, and she latches fearlessly onto his wingtip as he begins to prowl down the street. "Which way is your guildhall?"

"Take a left," she orders, skittering around a body and pool of blood. "And then straight. You...you can't miss it. Be careful. Mira's outside. She'll kill you before you can even-"

Natsu shoves his horns into his head, hides his talons and wings. He grins at the girl's stunned look. "Come on," he says, holding a hand out. She grips it tightly and he lets her tug him down the street. She takes a left, just as she said, and then straight.

He understands what she means by not missing the guildhall. It has Fairy Tail's emblem plastered on a few flags outside of it and on top of it all, it towers above every other building in the vicinity.

"Mira!" the girl calls when they get close. She darts away and Natsu falters, stopping to stare at the fierce demonic woman before the guild doors. Hope sprinkles through him. Another demon? But the woman loses her transformation a moment later and throws her arms open in relief. She gathers the girl to her, murmuring, "Wendy, you're okay!"

Natsu squares his shoulders and juts his chin out as he slinks closer. "He helped me," Wendy explains, her brown eyes flickering with excitement as she points to Natsu, "when I was separated from Romeo and Macao."

Mira's eyes turn sharply on Natsu, suspicious at the fact that a stranger who looks as normal as she does could hold up against demons of all things. Natsu can't help it; his lips curl away from his teeth at her suspicion, showing their sharp points, and Mira sweeps Wendy behind her in a protective manner, snarling, "Demon."

"Natsu," he corrects, voice cold. He flinches and tries to soften it. That won't get him anywhere. He gestures to Wendy. "Look, I wouldn't have left her alive if I wasn't trying to help. Where's Lucy?"

Mira gives him a snarl and he fights the instinctive urge to return it. But before she can retort, a familiar face he doesn't exactly feel reassured by appears. Titania Erza gives him a long look as she approaches from the other side of the street, red hair yanked out of her face and her armor stained with blood. "Mira," she calls finally, "he's fine. He speaks the truth...whatever it is he claims."

Mira sputters, and Wendy beams at Erza, who waves for Natsu to follow her. "Lucy's inside with Loke. A demon caught her by surprise while she was helping a child, but she'll be fine."

Natsu is surprised by the feeling of anxiety that suddenly races through his veins. Lucy's hurt? He follows the scarlet-haired woman in through the heavy doors, Wendy pacing quickly after them. He fights the urge to puff up in agitation when a few stop what they're doing to stare at him, instead choosing to ignore them as Erza lowers her voice and tells him, "Keep yourself under control, END-"

"Natsu," he bites out. "I'm Natsu."

She looks startled. "Forgive me. Please keep yourself under control, Natsu. While some of us are more…" She struggled for the word and gave up after a moment. "Not everyone would let you walk through here. You and your kind have hurt us. A lot. The only reason I'm allowing you anywhere near our guildhall without a scratch is because you've been with Lucy for so long without killing her. I trust you only because Lucy does."

Yet, to Natsu, from the woman called Titania, he feels as if that is enough.

The attack ends abruptly when Natsu disappears from the streets, and he finds himself suspicious about it, but doesn't leave Lucy's side to inform the friendlier of the people - Gray, Erza, even Wendy - about it. He keeps close to her, knowing she will warn anyone away.

She's amused with him, the way he sits close beside her and doesn't so much as fidget. His onyx eyes trail every movement,suspicion clear in his gaze - suspicion that turns to shock when a small child darts over and flings her arms around Lucy.

"Asuka," Lucy says with a wince, the action tugging on her wound. It's not too bad. A large gash from her left shoulder to the center of her chest. "What are you doing over here? Shouldn't you be with your parents?"

Asuka shyly ducks her head and looks at Natsu. "I wanted to meet the nice demon."

Natsu freezes, stiffening, and Lucy furrowed her brow. "He's not a demon," she lies, trying to trick the girl.

But she knows better and shows her teeth in a smile. "Mira said he was a nice demon."

"I'm going to kill her," Lucy sighs. She watches intently as, hesitantly, Natsu ducks his head to look into the girl's shy eyes and then extended a hand. She frowns at the normality of his hands and Natsu smirks as he carefully lets his talons show for the briefest of moments. She gasps in excitement and latches onto his fingers, shaking his hand.

"I'm Natsu," he tells her. "What's your name?"

"Asuka!" she replies cheerfully.

"Nice to meet you, Asuka." Natsu looks nervously to Lucy, who gives him a nod of approval. He hasn't done anything wrong, the look in her eyes tells him. He's pleased. He pulls back when a woman bustles over, tucking his hands into his lap. Her eyes are flickering between fear and anger as she glares suspiciously at him.

"Hello, Bisca," Lucy greets cheerfully as if she doesn't notice. No, he understands, studying Lucy's face, she does. She chooses to ignore it. "Bisca, this is-"

"I don't care," Bisca says shakily, clutching her daughter to her as she scoops her daughter into her arms. Asuka protests. Without another word, Bisca is sweeping away. Natsu rumbles low in his throat, annoyed.

"You can't blame them," Lucy sighs to him. "Not with you being END. You've slaughtered many mages, and-"

"I know what I did and I do what I need to do to survive, just like you guys," Natsu spits at her, flames licking at the corners of his mouth. Tension spikes around him, but he ignores it and settles down more fiercely, agitated further when a small old man began to approach with a muscled blond guy close behind him.

"Damn," Lucy hisses, sitting up straighter despite the pain it clearly causes. Her eyes flicker towards Natsu, who cocks his head challengingly at the tall blond. They stare each other down for a moment as she clears her throat and introduces, "Master, Laxus, this is-"

"END," the blond says bluntly. "You actually brought Zeref's favorite demon into our guildhall. I thought Mira was kidding."

Lucy and Natsu both bristle until Makarov says sharply, "Explain yourself."

"He was hurt," Lucy begins, but Natsu takes one look at him and cuts her off. "He's not askin' you, Luce." He scoops Happy into his lap with a huff, hating the cat yet not wanting to face this without some sort of control. This would keep him from frying anyone.

"Got shot down by Igneel a few weeks ago," Natsu tells him. "Lucy found me, with that ice prick, I think." Lucy squawks at his language choice, but Natsu waves her off. The guildmaster, Makarov Dreyar, Natsu recognizes, watches the interaction intently. "Patched me up. I can't get home. Now I don't want to and the bastards decided to come looking. Probably at Zeref's demand. I'm his little brother after all." He spits the words in irritation.

He doesn't even want to side with the mages at this point.

He's tired. He just wants to be free to do as he sees fit. And he pushes these thoughts into his expression, staring Makarov Dreyar in the eye until Makarov nods slowly. As if seeing what Natsu wants.

"It was a risky action you took, Lucy," he says gently, turning to the blonde. "Bringing END here...it could have been bad."

"He looked like he needed help," she says simply with a mischievous smile that earns her a glare from Laxus.

But before he can say anything, Natsu snaps, "My name's Natsu. Etherious is just a stupid addition Zeref made when he made me what I am. My name is Natsu. Not END. Natsu."

Makarov gives him a startled look. "...well, Natsu," he says, speaking slowly in thought. "You've proven tonight that you will not allow our mages to die-"

"I don't care about you, or any of your damn mages." Natsu snarls irritably, and something sharp crackles over his skin. Lightning, which circles Laxus. A lightning mage could be deadly. Lethal. "I don't care," he repeats, softening his voice so it's just plain cranky. "I saved the brat because she was young. I saved Lucy because I like Lucy only. I don't care about the rest of you."

"I can't let you stay here," Makarov says finally. "You attract demons that seek you, black mages sent by Zeref. You are a danger. Not to my guild, but to those we protect in Magnolia. I, personally, would not mind your presence. It would be helpful. But-"

"I get it." Natsu feels agony suddenly splice through him. A weird pain. He's not sure what it is, but he recognizes disappointment somewhere in there. Lucy protests desperately, but Makarov ignores her. "I was headin' out anyways."

"Sure you were," Laxus bites.

Natsu snaps his jaws once at the other man before focusing back on Makarov. To his surprise, Makarov looks disappointed, too. Swallowing his pride, Natsu asks, voice soft, "I...can't stay at all?" He ignores Laxus' glare. He ignores Lucy's startled look. The strange feeling that tightens in his chest when Makarov's expression changes for a moment.

"No," he decides and that weird agony shreds his mind into pieces. "I'm sorry. We can't allow a demon to stay here. There's too many things that could go wrong."

Natsu's jaw works furiously for a moment. He tries to think of a reason that isn't a lie, because he has enjoyed shredding people into bloody bits in the past, even if he doesn't plan on it in the future. He has nothing. Nothing to offer a guild who values family more than information, more than a powerful ally.

Which leaves him with two choices. Return home and be forced to deal with whatever Zeref debates to be suitable punishment, or go and piss off Igneel. He falters. Igneel had been fierce in their battle, willing to slaughter him. But he'd hesitated at every twist and turn. Those hesitations had been what allowed him to lay blows on the dragon.

But he's harmed a dragon's young, and no dragon will ever forgive him for that.

Torture or death.

The only options a demon could be left with.

Taking a ragged breath, knowing his fangs have grown in his anger and...whatever it is he feels, Natsu inclines his head to Makarov. He never planned on showing respect to the guildmaster. Never planned on giving a damn about Lucy or her guild. He still doesn't care much about Fairy Tail. But she does. She, who had forgiven him every time he snapped his jaws in her direction. She, who had dealt with his attitude, fed him, and screamed his name in fear when he'd disappeared into battle even though he was a demon.

Lucy cares. And because Lucy cares...he'll make a show of caring, too.

Makarov grants him one night in the guildhall, where everyone is taking shelter. But it doesn't surprise him when Erza and Gray join he, Lucy, and Happy. Probably sent by Makarov to keep an eye on him, he supposes. He eyes Lucy as she smiles brightly at something Gray said.

That weird painful feeling increases as he studies her face.

When he wakes up the morning after he leaves, he won't see Lucy again. Once, weeks and weeks ago, he would have thanked the dead gods for it. He would have slaughtered her in an instant, knowing that the strictest of Zeref's laws were that anyone who looked upon END's face ended up dead.

Now, he finds himself staring openly at her, not caring when Erza notices. Not caring when Lucy notices. That stupid blonde woman, with her stupid cat, and her stupid smile.

He realizes he will miss her.

He sputters in horror when something blears his eye, drips to his legs, and soaks into the cloth that covers them. He looks desperately to Lucy for answers, just as he always does. She's looking at him with her mouth in an 'o'. Erza breathes out a soft gasp. Gray looks shocked.

"Natsu?" Lucy says gently.

His breathing is ragged when he sucks in air. "I don't...what the hell…"

She laughs gently and presses her hand over his cheek, swiping the dampness away with her thumb. The warmth surprises him. His hand flies up to grip her wrist and Erza stiffens, but doesn't move. With a warm look in her brown eyes, Lucy says quietly, "I didn't know demons could cry."

"I'm not crying," he says angrily.

"Do you have something else you call it?" Gray sneers.

"Gray, be kind to him," Erza scolds. She's relaxed now. Natsu gets the impression that he's completely earned her trust, though he's not sure on how or why. Her dark eyes look at him with a kind look. Nearly as kind as Asuka had looked. "Natsu," she says with a smile, "why do you cry?"

"I'm not," he denies.

"You are," the three others all respond with Happy meowing loudly. They speak quietly, in hushed tones. They don't want to wake anyone else up.

"Natsu, why are you crying?" Erza repeats, this time fierce and firm. "Tell me."

He irritably swipes at his eyes, flashing his fangs at her. Erza doesn't flinch. "I don't know," he spits.

"Yes, you do," she disagrees. "You know why you're crying."

"Erza," Lucy protests.

"Tell me why you're crying," Erza says. "Because I will personally deliver your answer to whoever will help you attain the freedom you've told Lucy you desire."

His head snaps around and Lucy flushes, looking into her lap. "I had to convince them you weren't out to kill me," she mutters in explanation for giving away such private thoughts and wishes.

Natsu returns his gaze to Erza, searching her own. Finally, he says roughly, "I'm tired. I've been alive for too long," he pauses to let them acknowledge that yes, he really is almost five hundred years old, as old as their war, "and there's nowhere. Nowhere a demon can go." His voice begins to pick up a hint of rage. "Being targeted by my own kind sends me away from a guild, I've killed too many people to be allowed into a regular town, and the demons will kill me if I go home." He says nothing about his current plan. He will go to Igneel, let him destroy him. Maybe it's the only way he will find peace. In death. He tries not to hate himself as his voice cracks when he says, "But I want to protect Lucy. You're the only one who's ever done anything nice, like feeding me. You didn't...immediately assume I'd kill you. You didn't think of what having a prisoner like me would do for you. You just...wanted to help."

The blonde's lips part in shock and she sputters now, confused. He's claimed to hate her at various points, after all. He's called her stupid for as long as he's been around her. She finds herself with the faith of a demon - the capability to entirely ruin and destroy END! - in her hands.

Instead, she rises painfully to her knees, ignoring the pain that rises in her. He stills as she gently grips his cheeks, a hand on each one, and then presses her soft lips to his forehead.

No words are said as Erza and Gray exchange a look.

Natsu's gone before first light.

He doesn't bother to hide his wings in the mountains of Fiore. There's no human who would brave them. No human dares to enter the territory of the Fire Dragon King.

With a great amount of effort, Natsu stretches his scarred wings out. He is, by all means, a demon-dragon hybrid. He will not find a home here. He will not find a home anywhere, but maybe, just maybe, he can find peace.

Maybe, just maybe, he can convince Igneel to help the mages in their war against the demons. To help protect Lucy and even those she cares for, because they certainly don't want his help.

Despite the height of the mountains, it's sunny and he bathes in the warmth. He lets his wings soak up the heat as he walks, his stomach aching. He remembers when hunger of this type had meant nothing to him. Now, after being spoiled by Lucy, he's hungry. But he can't hunt here; not in this land.

The demon pauses when his sensitive pointed ears first pick up the familiar sound of beating wings. His lips quirk tiredly; he's been found out at last. Strange, since he's all ready so far in. He's nearly at the nest. Have they let him get close?

Fire suddenly explodes from the sky and Natsu looks up at the source without an ounce of fight in him. He doesn't even bother to growl. He's tired, so tired. But he's hungry, and he uses the flames to his advantage, sucking them down like a starving child. A roar fills his ears, signifying the identity of his challenger.

Igneel, of course. Only Igneel would dare to challenge END.

Igneel slams into the side of the mountain and it shakes beneath him. He snarls, red scales gleaming healthily in the sun. The wounds Natsu left so long ago are healed over, scars on his tough hide. Natsu doesn't bother to respond to his attitude, merely tilts his head back to study the dragon as he bares his teeth.

"How dare you return," Igneel roars, "after killing so many!?"

Natsu just stares at him for a few moments. He studies the dragon, taking in the rage. The grief and pain.

And he realizes that Igneel may be as tired as he is. With a bitter laugh, he sneers pathetically at the dragon, "What are you gonna do, Dragon King? Kill me? Didn't work out so well last time, did it? I'll tell you what, you got pretty close."

He remembers his first encounter with the dragon, five hundred years prior. His first time out as a demon, struggling to deal with new senses and weapons and everything new. The dragon had been curious, smelling the dragon within him, and it had been the creeping black fingers of Zeref's magic that had driven END to attack.

Igneel's gaze flickers with surprise. END has never taken the time to vocally challenge him. "...you have changed."

Natsu's smirk becomes cruel out of habit. "So?"

"You want to die."

It's the first time it has been said aloud. Natsu's irritable behavior goes up in smoke. "Your point?" Igneel says nothing, staring at him. "Kill me and be done with it, Dragon King. Kill me. I don't care."

If he can't protect Lucy, he'll take away one of Zeref's favorite weapons. One of his most powerful ones.

He will cost Zeref the war.

"Lies," Igneel says after a long silence. His head cocks, a sound rumbling low in his chest. "You don't want to die. You have lost hope after gaining it. I wasn't aware that END was capable of hope."

"I didn't know you were capable of conversation with me," Natsu retorts, though his words lacked their usual bite. He lifts his chin, attempting the pride he'd once allowed himself. "Are you going to kill me or not?"

"No," Igneel denies, "I think not. You are useful alive." The dragon clicks his jaws in a way that Natsu himself has done every now and then when agitated. "Tell me. Where is it that you learned of hope, END?"

"My name is Natsu," he sighs, too tired to bark at him like he did Makarov the morning before. "I didn't learn hope. I don't have hope. Demons don't know how to hope."

"But dragons do." Igneel looks down his snout at Natsu, eyes glittering. "You are a hybrid, are you not? You can feel just as I do. Hope, loss, perhaps even love. You have, I am assuming, felt all of them, even if you do not recognize them."

Natsu remembers crying, the strange disappointment he'd felt when Makarov had told him to leave. Remembers the agony of realizing he'd have to leave and never set foot in the town again. "Maybe," he says uncertainly.

"Where?" Igneel demands. "Where did you learn of these?"

He doesn't bother to avoid it. He's never been good at avoiding conversation topics, nor has he ever cared for another's opinion. But he finds himself nervous as he says, "Lucy. I met Lucy."

Igneel is surprised. "A girl has tamed the Demon King?"

"No," Natsu retorts. "No one tamed the Demon King." As if he was someone who could be tamed. He wasn't an animal! "I just...met Lucy." His heart twists in a way he doesn't understand. It hurts. And despite everything, he wants to see Lucy.

Igneel's eyes are fierce as he questions, "Is this Lucy dead?"

"No. She's...alive. I was told to leave by her guildmaster." Natsu looks away, growling. Igneel looks shocked, so he snorts, "She's a mage. Of Fairy Tail." He sighs heavily. "Are you done questioning me? I'm tired."

Igneel recognizes the alternate meaning to what he says and instead of ripping him into shreds like Natsu would have prefered, he tucks his chin to his chest and says, "You will no longer return to the lands of the demons?" Natsu shakes his head. "Surely you have a goal."

"Just…" Natsu grips a horn in his hand, throat suddenly thick with emotion. Those tears, those stupid, stupid tears well in his eyes and with a sudden snarl, he rips the horn from his head. It snaps free with a loud sound and Igneel flinches at it. Pain explodes down his head, but he doesn't so much as care.

"I don't want to be alone anymore. I don't want to be stuck somewhere alone. I don't want to be here." A snarl escapes him, flames licking at his lips. The temper END is known for emerges, but isn't directed at his "enemy". "I hate it. I hate Zeref. I hate that I am a demon. I hate that people look at me, claim that I am a monster without pause. I hate it."

Natsu takes a deep breath and whispers, "I just want to go home."

He's never understood the meaning of that word until now.

Because home is where the blonde girl who taught him so much is, and damn it all, he misses her. He hasn't realized just how much he'd changed until now. When did he go from hateful demon master to this mess he's become? So much has changed...so much has become about Lucy, and he isn't sure what to think about it.

He knows what home is now.

Home is sitting in her apartment, watching her fill plates with massive amounts of food because she wants to.

Home is dealing with that stupid cat, because she likes Happy.

Home is staring stupidly at her as she attempts to make him truly smile, something he never did for her, because she wants to see it.

Home is where Lucy is.

Igneel breathes out a cloud of smoke. "Have you become human enough," he says, earning a glare from Natsu for the idea he presents, "to ask for an old enemy's help?"

"No," he says in immediate response, and then pauses. "Depends. Why would you help me? I killed your hatchlings and ate them." Blunt truth.

"Do you regret it?"

"...yes," he finally says, thinking of the children he saved in Magnolia. Wendy and the others. How he hated seeing them bleed and would rather starve than taste a child's blood on his tongue. "Yes. I...I think so." Because what is regret?

He is distantly reminded of Erza, asking why he'd cried. Saying she'd declare her support for him and present it to whoever would help him attain freedom.

To his surprise, Igneel's scaled lips twist into a strange grimace.

"Then we will take the demon from you and make you a dragon of sorts. If it can be put in, it can be taken out."

Natsu learns what hope is when it blossoms in his chest.

He isn't surprised when he is shunned by the dragons.

When Igneel declares his intentions, no one challenges him. Except for a grumbling iron dragon, but Igneel points out the benefits to befriending him. Not that Natsu intends to like any of them; he can't wait to get out of there, actually.

Within months, he is perfectly at home, however. He finds himself realizing that he's even made a friend out of Igneel - perhaps even a parent, as the dragon chides him for bad behavior and guides him down proper paths during tough situations.

He keeps his wings put away despite the near desperate urge to fly. The dragons dislike him enough as it is, he sees no reason in provoking them further. Igneel sees the despair when he watches dragons beat their heavy wings and reassures him that it's likely for the best.

He spends most of his time alone or with Igneel and another dragon, Grandeeney, who sees him for who he is and not what he his. She alone helps Igneel to try and figure out ways of dragging the demonic curse magic from his veins and he puts up with whatever painful endeavor they put him through.

At one point, Natsu had found himself in excruciating pain, screaming piercingly as the dragons used their magic to try and rip his own out. He'd passed out and didn't remember much else, only that he'd been weak enough to not move for days afterwards.

Winter has arrived by the time something ridiculously exciting happens. To keep himself from catching too much attention, Natsu tends to stay in Igneel's presence. He doesn't need warmth. It dwells within him. But he doesn't want the others noticing.

One morning, Igneel rumbles, "The slayers are arriving this evening."

Natsu stiffens. "What?"

"Two from Fairy Tail, two from Sabertooth." Igneel's gaze slides to him. "They are children of dragons, absorbers of our magic. They are taught by the dragons that have taken them in. Grandeeney is a parent to one of them. You will be expected to meet them peacefully. It may earn you approval. Grandeeney and I will take the time to approach your own changes with a similar approach that is taken with dragon slayers. Perhaps we can snuff out the demon and replace it with dragon. It will make you more draconic than the others, but it may be our last solution."

Natsu presses his lips together, thinking about that as he watches dragons do whatever they did throughout the day. His onyx eyes flicker to Iook up at him. After a moment, he looks away. "Who does Wendy go with?"

"Grandeeney. You've met the little one?" Igneel seems amused. "Have you met Fairy Tail's other slayer? Gajeel?"

Natsu shakes his head. "No," he mutters. "Just Wendy. She knows Lucy."

"There are four. As I said, two are from Fairy Tail and two are from Sabertooth. There are Wendy and Gajeel, son of Metalicana." Natsu grimaces as he thinks of the iron dragon, who has declared his opinion of Natsu a dozen or so times. "Sting is Weisslogia's son, and Rogue is Skiadrum's."

Natsu huffs. "Like hell the three males will want anything to do with me. They'll try and kill me on sight." He cracks a large yawn, rocking back a little before murmuring, "When do they get here?"

"Soon. Hours."

Natsu doesn't respond this time, staying silent instead. Finally, he rumbles, "How much longer before you admit there's nothing you can do?"

Igneel snorts softly in surprise. "What?"

"How much longer," Natsu repeats, "until you admit that you can't do anything to make me less demonic? It's not working. Everything you try fails. You might as well do what everyone's said you should do. Kill me and be done with it." That hope that had blossomed so long ago has long since vanished. He's tired again. Tired and ready to move on. He'd hoped once that he could become more draconic, less demonic. That it would convince Makarov that he could stay and do as he liked.

Now…

"Don't give up on hope, Natsu," Igneel tells him, reeling back his head to look at the demon beside him. "Never give up on hope, for it is what will keep you grounded in the toughest of times. Perhaps seeing Wendy will be good for you. She'll have news of Lucy, will she not?"

A prickle of what might be excitement fills his chest. He's been so very careful to not get too excited about the prospect of hearing about the girl. He doesn't know where it came from, when he decided to latch so tightly onto the weird blonde.

"I guess," is all he says, but Igneel knows better.

"Something reeks," is the first signal that the slayers have arrived.

Natsu peers at them from his perch, wings stretched out to capture the dying rays of sunlight. He's chosen to forgo meeting them right away. Igneel agreed it would be better, anyways. He can pick out the only one he cares for in an instant: Wendy is there, her brown eyes glittering as she runs for the nearby Grandeeney. Each holds a cat, a familiar.

It makes him wonder how Lucy has one if dragons are specifically the keepers.

He scans each of them, picking them out with ease. The one complaining of what Natsu assumes to be his scent is Gajeel, simply by the piercings. Rogue is the silent one, with the shadows flickering strangely around him. Sting is the other one, the cheerful blond, who greets Weisslogia with a laugh.

Natsu touches the horn he lost to his own hand, thinking, then sits back, tucking his wings in tight. He switches, touching the other horn. The whole horn, the reminder that he is not dragon, nor is he mage. He is demon, and he will remain as such until the fates say otherwise.

After an hour of watching the dragons slide amongst one another, the slayers reporting to Igneel on the state of the war - Natsu notes that they've gained ground - he decides to make his appearance.

He stretches his wings wide, deciding to glide to Igneel's side. The fire dragon will offer comfort while he deals with this new development. Comfort he hasn't ever needed before, but finds himself craving. Gaining these slayers' favor will help him in the future.

He's never considered the benefits of allies before.

His wings are so neglected that they buckle beneath his weight the second he's airborne. But he forces them to cooperate and he manages to achieve his goal of landing beside Igneel, albeit clumsily. His wings snap out to help with balance, but only catch on Igneel, and the dragon stares in stunned silence along with others and the slayers as he hits the ground on his hands and knees.

He snarls, finding his cheeks heated. Confusion floods him, only furthering his agitation when Igneel roars with amusement, the other dragons following suit. "Shut up," he grumbles, tucking his wings in and giving Igneel a nasty look. He is aware that the three male slayers' eyes linger on his marks, the black ink that slithers over his skin, but focuses on Wendy as she smiles largely.

"I remember you!" she says excitedly. "You're Lucy's friend, the one that helped me!"

"Flustered, Natsu?" Igneel rumbles as he turns red, nearly bursting into flames as the strange itch runs through him. "I've never seen you experience embarrassment before-"

"END," Gajeel realizes. "You brought END into the nest?"

Natsu growls, but Igneel silences him with a click of his jaws. Before he can speak, Sting sputters, "That's END?" Rogue says nothing, but bristles, the shadows rising around him as he glares.

"I'm Natsu," he snaps after a moment, cutting Igneel off when he tries to speak again. "Nat-su."

Wendy makes a trill in the back of her throat, but falls quiet when Igneel gives her a look. Finally, the Fire Dragon King says, "Natsu is here with permission from myself. I will give you explanations later." Without further explanation, he leaves Natsu to the mercy of the slayers, sighing heavily.

Natsu grumbles. But he says nothing, instead demanding, "How's Lucy?"

"You have no right to know how Lucy is," Gajeel begins, but Wendy interrupts with a large smile.

"Sad. But she's been better lately. She captured a Spriggan with Gajeel's girlfriend," Wendy says proudly, her gaze warm. Gajeel glares viciously at her for giving away such private information. "I think she's been working too hard, but I also think she's been looking for you."

Natsu's stunned to find that he's pleased by this information. He flexes his wings, tilts his head. "The war...is Zeref losing?"

"Why do you care?" Rogue asks quietly. Not in a rude way, nor in a nosey way. Just curiosity. "Why would a demon such as yourself care, Natsu?"

"I'm tired," Natsu says simply. "I'm tired and don't want to taste blood."

It doesn't make sense to those around him, but the general idea of it seems to satisfy Rogue and Sting. Gajeel glares suspiciously still, but grits his teeth and clamps his mouth shut. Sting muses, "Who would have thought. END wanting to be done with war and asking about a mage?"

Natsu feels in his bones that he's won them - even Gajeel - over.

By the time they leave, Natsu's surprisingly close with all of them. He enjoys their company, especially Wendy. He even has a weird companionship with Gajeel, arguing and bickering most of the time, but neither truly disliking one another.

When Wendy bids him farewell with a hug - something only Lucy has given him before he left, and he informs her of that when she asks why he's panicking - she promises to tell Lucy about where he is and what he's trying to do. He thanks her and is honestly sad that he won't see her for some time.

They've been gone for almost a week when the solution is finally found.

"It will hurt," Grandeeney warns, her gentle face anxious.

Natsu, aware of what's to come, snorts. "I've felt worse."

He doesn't question the sadness that surrounds him. The sadness leaking from the two dragons who have grown to care for this weird demon so much. At least, he supposes as Grandeeney readies herself, if he dies now Zeref can't drag him back.

The pain as he is cut open is excruciating, but he forces himself to drag his mind away from the pain. He's done this before, when Zeref wanted to experiment on him, and he doesn't mind the pain. But when Grandeeney finds what she is looking for, his black heart beating before her eyes, and the lacrima is worked into its flesh, he shudders and gives a sound he's never made before.

He is shivering violently by the time the procedure is over and Grandeeney is soothing his aches and pains away with her magic, Igneel's massive head bent over his. Natsu finds it strange that his hair is damp with sweat; he never feels the results of heat.

He's given a few weeks to heal, to make sure he won't be damaged by this new addition. The lacrima of a fire dragon, a dying gift for END from Igneel's closest friend before he'd become nothing.

Finally, Igneel orders Natsu to summon his wings.

He can't at first, and he panics. He screams in rage and even terror, because his wings are gone, his wings are gone, his wings are-

His freedom is gone!

Igneel endures the blistering flames that not even he can absorb, though he enjoys them, and waits patiently until Natsu can calm himself. His temper is volatile now, agitation becoming fury at the slightest of things. But at the same time, the pink-haired man seems to feel more. He has yet to grin or smile or laugh, but he watches things with wonder, with curiosity.

Eventually, he can summon his wings and horns, but the marks are no longer there. He is relieved, leaving them out for weeks. The other dragons reluctantly allow him to join their company, and eventually even welcome him, demanding questions he would never have answered before.

It isn't long before Igneel declares Natsu a success. In the many weeks, he hasn't sensed a shred of demonic power.

Natsu is pleased by this information and practically purrs when a scaled scarf is gifted to him, created from Igneel's scales.

Winter was long gone and past when the mountain shakes beneath him, waking him from a peaceful slumber at Igneel's side. He's grown so close to the dragon who has taken him in, fathered him in a way Zeref failed at. Natsu doesn't recognize the power. When he looks to Igneel for answers, the dragon, however, is bristling.

"What?" Natsu demands, cranky.

It doesn't take long for him to learn. A dragon known as Acnologia has awoken, dragged to life by Zeref. Natsu knows it's punishment for abandoning the war, for abandoning Zeref. But he can't bring himself to care; he can only hate the god of death.

He expects Igneel and the other dragons to shred Acnologia to bits. For centuries, they've lived as creatures feared even by demons. Igneel has thrived in a battle with the strongest demon to ever exist; why shouldn't he win against Acnologia?

But blood spatters the air as Acnologia's jaws close over Igneel's snout, the dragon of chaos fighting furiously to kill the Fire Dragon King. The other dragons are gone. They fled the moment the chaos dragon awoke. Only a few had stayed, and they lay dead among the rocks, killed quickly. Natsu is horrified when he sees Grandeeney and even the crabby Metalicana among them.

The dragon feeds on magic, all magic, he realizes, taking it in and using it against those who give it to him. He flares his wings when he feels the dragon shift, snarling and lunging as Igneel rears back and screams his rage.

Three moves is all it takes.

Acnologia shifts, preparing to deliver the blow.

Igneel sinks his talons and fangs into his enemy's arm, ripping it clean off.

His throat is suddenly torn out by savage jaws.

Natsu doesn't fully comprehend what has happened, even as Acnologia roars his triumph. His face is cut open with a gash. Blood trickles from accidental wounds given by runaway magic. He doesn't care as he sinks to his knees beside Igneel's body when Acnologia leaves, cementing that this had been a blow meant for Natsu himself.

"Igneel?" he breathes, numb. Is this what loss is? he wonders. Is this what it means to feel loss?

"Igneel," he tries again, voice cracking. He presses his hand against the dragon's cooling neck, trying to sort his mind around his new feelings. There is emptiness, so much emptiness…

"Igneel!"

"Natsu," Erza had once asked, "why do you cry?"

A sound, a foreign sound he's heard only from the people he's about to kill, tears itself from his throat. "I don't know."

"Natsu, why are you crying?"

I don't know!

"Yes, you do. You know why you're crying."

He throws his head back and screams.

He's roaming aimlessly through the stones of the mountain when the voice trickles past his ears from somewhere far off. He's not sure how long it's been since the dragons were slaughtered by a dragon he assumes to be of Zeref's making. Long enough that the weather is warm and the dragons' bodies have long since lost their true appearance.

He knows he looks like the monster he knows he is. Bony from starvation. Wings, as weak as they are, tucked against his back. Horns, one snapped off, spiraling from his head. So he hides, listening as a barely audible gravely voice demands, "Hello?"

His eyes blink once, twice. He recognizes that voice. But he says nothing in response as Gajeel tries again, voice worried now.

Someone responds.

Natsu cocks his head a little. He doesn't know who that is.

His blood runs cold when a feminine voice answers, and he doesn't need to hear words to recognize her.

Lucy.

A metallic cry fills the air; a dragon's roar from the lips of a dragon slayers. Natsu isn't sure where the instinct comes from, but a snarling cry is dragged out of him. He rubs his chest, the heavy scars a reminder. Grandeeney had placed a dragon's soul into his chest before their deaths.

He grimaces.

Lucy.

Lucy will known that he did nothing to stop the death of the dragons.

"Who the fuck-" Gajeel cuts himself off, shouting, "Who's hangin' around? You better have a damn good reason, 'cause-"

"Oh, my god!" a voice suddenly screams.

"Oh," Lucy gasps and he flinches, for he knows what they've discovered.

He slinks out of hiding while they're distracted. His onyx eyes flicker over Lucy first, taking in her confident stature. He can't see her face from here, but her body is tense as she stares at the decaying body that had once belonged to a water dragon. Gajeel has sunk to his knees, an uncharacteristic show of despair as a tiny blue-haired woman touches his shoulder.

Hoarsely, he says, "They're dead."

Gajeel's on his feet in an instant. They all whirl around. The blue-haired woman eyes him with confusion and shock. Gajeel is furious and grieving and so much more, but it is Lucy he is looking at. The shock on her face as she stares at him, takes in the scarf wrapped around his throat, the deep scars on his naked chest.

He doesn't tear his eyes from her, flexing his wings as he says, "Acnologia, dragon of chaos, came. I don't remember when." He finally shifts his gaze towards Gajeel, who stares into his onyx eyes with crimson hatred. "Sometime towards the end of winter. He killed those who didn't run months beforehand."

"Natsu," Lucy says, stunned. There is so much emotion in her voice, all emotion he feels. Horror, pain, anger, fear.

He lists the names of the dragons' bodies. "-Metalicana, Grandeeney, and-" It hurts, truly hurts him, to say, "Igneel." He pauses. "I protected them. From the vultures. And the other animals." His fingers skim his scarf.

"You didn't leave?" the woman demands, clearly not understanding who he is as she frowns at his skeletal body. "I know dragons are loyal-"

"He's not a dragon," Gajeel spits out, his voice so full of hatred and grief, "He'll never be a dragon. He's a demon. He's END. He brought this on them by coming here."

"I'm not a demon anymore. I'm Natsu. I'm...not END." Natsu touches the scar on his chest, remembering the dragon's soul he now possesses. He likes to think of it as his own soul now. "Igneel's dead," he mumbles. His voice is so soft, but Lucy notices. "I had to...I had to watch over him." His voice breaks, his eyes returning to her. He knows what tears are. He knows that they are what begin to fall. He barely notices when Lucy steps forward, reaching up to curl her fingers over his cheeks. For the first time in months, he feels warmth, and his fingers latch onto her shoulders. "I had to watch over him. I had to. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't...I didn't want to leave him."

Despite the fact that he left without saying goodbye, that he hasn't seen this strange girl who started him off on this journey in months, Lucy draws his forehead down to hers and closes her eyes.

Natsu knows what it means to cry.

Despite Gajeel's fury, Lucy and the other girl - Levy - coax him down from the mountains. It takes days. He doesn't know what's changed inside of him. Doesn't know why he falters, why he turns to look back every few steps.

"You loved Igneel," Lucy says one evening, when they've finally reached the foothills. It's almost awkward with her. He remembers living within her home, a demon ready to go home so he can report to Zeref. He had thought it hurt to leave Lucy; this was worse. He almost misses the lack of pain in that life. "It's why you hurt so much."

"I don't like it," he mumbles, earning an apologetic giggle from Levy. "I don't like love."

"No, you don't like mourning. You don't like grief." Lucy pauses to tap his heart. "To love is to be happy, Natsu. One day, it won't hurt so much. One day, you'll be able to look back and smile."

Gajeel, even Gajeel, who has wanted nothing but to kill him for dragging death upon his family, stops when Natsu says, "I don't know what that is." It's such an odd thing to come from a man who was once death incarnate. Lucy stares, Levy blinks, and Gajeel snorts. "I don't...know what that is."

"You've never smiled or laughed or...anything?" Levy stares long and hard at him.

He doesn't know how to answer. He turns to look for Igneel, who would have explained, but is reminded with a pain that Igneel's gone now. But Lucy's there and she takes his hand, squeezing it as she says softly, "That's okay. We'll show you how. "

A slice of anger suddenly fills him, the mood in his mind shifting from despair to fury in seconds with no explanation. "No, because I can't go back with you," he spits, suddenly full of rage. He snatches his hand away. Lucy blinks at him in shock. He bristles. "I'm not wanted in Magnolia. Or Fiore. I wasn't even wanted with the dragons." His body trembles. Where does he go? He has nowhere. No options now that the dragons are dead.

He can't even ask someone to kill him, because the only one left who can is his brother.

"Wendy told Master what she saw when she went to visit her mother last," Lucy says calmly, studying his face. His eyes are darting this way and that. "She told him that she saw END, living amongst dragons, embarrassed because he tripped. She told him that she saw END look to Igneel for help, question if something was right or wrong."

"So?" he says, his voice slipping into something tired. It drives her to speak quickly, worried for him. Worried for the demon who'd once sneered at her. Terrified for the demon that had sought her for comfort twice upon crying.

She is scared that the demon she had started on this path to redemption would break beneath the weight of it all.

"So she told Master," Levy adds, "that you're named Natsu and that she wants you to be given the option to join the guild. He couldn't exactly say no when Erza, Gray, and Lucy all popped in and said they agreed. Gajeel even gave you support."

"Yeah, well, doesn't matter now. Fucker's going to get our guild- ouch woman! What the fuck?" He glared at Levy, who had kneed him so sharply in the thigh that he was hopping.

"So," Levy finishes, glaring at him, "Natsu, so long as you help us in our war, you're not alone. You have a family who is curious about getting to know you. You've got a home."

Natsu looks to Lucy, confused.

She smiled kindly and pats his hand as she takes it again, not giving him the chance to pull away. "Welcome to Fairy Tail," she tells him.

He swears that she's told him, "Welcome home."

Natsu reacquaints himself with Lucy as they make their way towards the town Fairy Tail is based in. He doesn't know what it is to apologize until Levy pulls him aside and points it out gently. When he does, Lucy is so surprised that she trips and nearly falls down.

She forgives him, but warns that she wants him to make it up to her.

He doesn't understand, but says he will.

Gajeel does his best to avoid him, but Natsu can sense that the blame is being transferred from him to Zeref and Acnologia. It seems he understands that Natsu grieves, too, for a parent. And he proves that he has moved his blame elsewhere the day that he shoves an apple into Natsu's mouth, gruffly telling him that he needs to bulk up.

When they reach the first town, Lucy stops Natsu and tells him, "Natsu, can you put your wings away?"

Levy's amazed. "He can do that?"

Natsu touches his horns, remembers that they haven't been hidden in months. "No," he says stubbornly. "No, I need them."

Lucy blinks and then smiles gently. "I know, but you can't go through town like that. It'll attract more attention than your hair and then we'll be in trouble. You're known for wings and horns and everything in between. Zeref will find you."

"He finds me no matter where I go," Natsu tells her.

"I know," she says with a sigh. "But let's make it harder for him."

"I don't know if they can come back if I put them away."

"I know, Natsu." She runs her fingers in soothing circles on his back, her eyes flicking towards his face.

"I like to fly."

"I know."

"I need them to be free."

"I know."

"They look like Igneel's."

He silences her with that, stretching his wings wide so that the damaged tissue catches the dying rays of sunlight. The heat warms them, the sharp talons at the apex of them glinting. He remembers working them in Lucy's apartment, remembers stretching them out to catch the sun in the dragons' nest.

He wonders when he lost the ability to drag himself into his pride and ignore everyone else. He misses when he was energetic, remembers what it was like to not have to force himself to do something. He touches his own wing for a moment, and then jumps when Levy touches the other, curiously running her fingers down the membrane.

"They're very nice wings, Natsu," she tells him. Her lips quirk a little when he glares half-heartedly at her for touching them. He tries to retract it, but the muscles are so weak from doing anything but opening and tucking them that he can't do even that much.

"They are," Lucy agrees, smiling brightly. He jolts when she joins Levy in stroking the touch. Gajeel gives them a look, thinking them crazy for petting END. "But, Natsu, look at me." He forces his eyes to hers. "I know you're tired, that you don't fully understand everything that's going on in your heart right now, but think of it this way. Would Igneel want you to put yourself at risk?"

"No," he admits. His fingers curl into his palms. "I guess he wouldn't."

"I'll make you a promise." She takes his hand, winding their fingers and giving it a squeeze. "And a celestial mage doesn't break her promises. When we get back to Magnolia, I'll help you figure out how to bring them back. I promise. And you know what else I'll promise? I promise that we will win this war, that you'll be known not as END, Zeref's favorite and most powerful demon, but as Natsu, son of Igneel and member of Fairy Tail, so that when people see them, they won't be frightened. Rather, they'll surround you with warmth and gratitude."

For the first time in a long, long time, Natsu's lips tilt upwards in a smirk. Not quite a smile, but enough that it makes Lucy beam. "S'quite a promise, Lucy."

"But one I'll keep."

She doesn't let his go of his hand as he forces his horns and wings into his skull and body.

They reach Magnolia almost a month later. Natsu falters on the outskirts and Lucy, smiling, waves Gajeel and Levy onwards when they pause to look back at him. She watches them go and then smiles at Natsu, asking, "Alright?"

"Makarov said I couldn't stay here because I attract danger." He's been away for almost a year, and he's certain that even though the demonic marks are gone, that even though there's a dragon's soul dwelling in him, he attracts even more danger. "I brought Acnologia on the dragons. That's worse than Zeref himself, Lucy."

"Perhaps." He watches in silence as she takes his hand. Her fingers are warm on his and he finds himself confused when she lifts them to her lips, looking up at him beneath her lashes. Something twists in his chest, but it isn't unpleasant.

This girl, who had taught him to recognize that the demons are in the wrong, that Zeref shouldn't be doing what he does, who screamed his name because she was scared for END, who's helped him sort out the agony and grief, means so much that he grips her fingers back and rumbles, "I'm tired."

She says nothing, waiting.

"I'm tired," he repeats, "of war. Of Zeref. Of Acnologia. Of the taste of blood, of anger, and hatred, and stupid things like that." She giggles at his wording. "I am tired." He pauses, thinks, and then said, "Igneel...when I first went to the mountains, I thought he'd kill me. So that Zeref couldn't use me against you." Her eyes widen a fraction. "I wanted to win you the war."

"Natsu," she says, but he cuts her off.

"I don't care about Gajeel or Levy or the guild you like and are a part of. I don't care about Grandeeney or the other dragons." Excluding Igneel, of course. Igneel was someone who meant the world to him. He voices as much, adding, "But Igneel's gone."

His voice sharpens. "I have a dragon's soul to tell me what isn't right or what isn't wrong. But I'm still a demon, Lucy. I'm still END, brother of the death god and emperor of Alvarez. I'm selfish. Demons don't care about anyone but themselves and their things. You're not a thing," he adds quickly when she glares, "but, in Igneel's words, you managed something: you tamed the Demon King."

She sucks in a sharp breath when he grimaces, forcing himself to drain his magic and summon his wings and horns. He lets her see every scar he supports. "So, because I'm selfish, I only care because you care. I only care for your guild because they are yours. I'll do what you want. No one else. You promised you'd make people stop seeing me as a monster, so I'll promise you something in return.

"I'll promise you that I will kill anything that hurts you with my own bare hands."

As a demon, he doesn't understand the emotion swirling in her eyes, the reason that her eyes fill with tears as she says fiercely, "You said you don't want to kill anymore, Natsu. That's the beauty of freedom. You don't have to."

For her, he will.

He sits among the rafters of Fairy Tail's guildhall, his shoulder burning from the weight of the symbol emblazoned upon it. He thinks he understands what it means, to be a part of this guild. He's not entirely certain, but he feels that Lucy will help him as she laughs about something below.

Walking in had been terrifying - seeing Wendy's face break with agony when she'd learned of the fate of the dragons, too. Watching she and Gajeel leave for the train station together, to inform Sting and Rogue...Natsu knows it is regret he feels even now. He wishes that this isn't something that needed to be told.

Makarov welcomed him, even murmuring an apology, and the guild had been wary but taken it in stride. Natsu had been shocked when the same silver-haired Mira from months before had slammed a plate down in front of him and ordered firmly, "Eat."

Lucy has told him what family is, but he doesn't feel like he's a part of it. Not like she, who is smiling and laughing in delight, is. He watches her closely. His wings and horns were put away hours before, his body now curled up to doze and watch from afar.

"Natsu."

It isn't said very loud, but he hears it anyways - hears Erza's voice slither up to his ear. He looks beneath him and finds the scarlet-haired woman looking back up. He's waited for her. He's wanted to speak with her, even. He drops heavily from the rafters, yet lands near silently beside her. To her credit, she doesn't jump or respond in any way. She merely smiles a fraction.

"I'm glad that you've returned," she tells him.

He doesn't respond, then looks her in the eye and says, "I know what it is to cry."

She blinks, then smiles so kindly that he is confused. "I know. And it makes you a better person to know what it means to truly cry. It makes you human."

Natsu's lips quirk up at the corners - not a smile, but a ghost of one.

"Tell me," Lucy says one night, her eyes studying the stars above her head. She'd dragged him up to look at them, pointing out her celestial friends. "What do you think of Fairy Tail?" "I don't know," he says with the blunt honesty of a child. "They're weird. Most of them don't like me."

"True, but Happy likes you."

Natsu looks to the blue-furred cat on his chest and rolls his eyes before making himself comfortable. "I don't care for any of them. Just you and Wendy and Gajeel and maybe Levy and Erza."

"Not even Gray?"

Natsu snarls at the mage's name, earning laughter from Lucy. He can't stand the prick; he glares and insults him every chance he gets. Lucy's laughter fades after a while. "We received word that Zeref himself is coming to Magnolia."

"We're going to die." A simple phrase. The blunt honesty of a child, who grew up beneath the eye of the very god they discuss.

"Don't think that way." She gives him a firm look.

He ignores it. "I'll make sure you're safe. I'll protect you til my last breath."

"Thank you, Natsu, that's very kind."

"I won't let you go alone," he continues. "There'd be no point if you're not here." SHe sputters and he snorts. "It's not fun if we're not together, Luce," he says pointedly, giving her a look as if she's stupid for thinking otherwise. He twists his head to look at her.

And she is sad, so sad, when she reaches over to touch his cheek. "You have to live and protect everyone that deserves it, Natsu." She searches his onyx eyes with a fierce look. "Igneel would have wanted that."

"Igneel's not here."

"No, but I am, and if I died, I'd want you to live on and do that very same thing."

"But you won't die."

"I might. It's war. We all lose in some way."

"Shut up, Lucy."

She sighs and ignores his grumpiness as she stretches her hand up and points to the stars. "I'll join my mother in the stars, just as all of my bloodline has. If I do die in the upcoming battles, then that's where you'll have to look. Look to the stars, and I'll be there with you. Okay? Look to the stars and show me how happy you are to be alive by smiling as brightly as you can, and you'll see me smiling back."

He snaps his jaws and grumbles at her again to shut up.

Zeref arrives one afternoon after lunch. They've long since evacuated Magnolia, so only the guild remains along with whoever has come to help. Other guilds take up residence in abandoned houses. Natsu sticks as close to Lucy as he can outside of visiting once or twice with the slayers.

He arrives as he always has - with a bang.

Natsu feels the familiar fingers latching onto his mind the second he's near and shoots up from Lucy's dining table to snarl at something no other person can see. Lucy's there with Gray, Erza, Sting, Rogue, and a woman named Yukino, who dabbles in celestial magic.

"Natsu?" Erza says curiously, but he's half out the window. Lucy calls his name and that alone drags him back to reality. He freezes, nearly tipping out, and it's only a quick lunge on Sting's part that keeps him from breaking his neck.

"Natsu," Lucy says when he's back in, clutching his head with a moan. She kneels before him. She places a hand over each of his, which rest on his head. He shudders beneath her touch. "Tell me, what's wrong?"

"Zeref," he wheezes. "Zeref's summoning me."

None of them are stupid. They know what it means. "I'll tell the guilds," Erza says, summoning Gray to her side. They run outside, and Rogue slides into the shadows as he follows, intending to help. Sting and Yukino linger uncertainly.

"Easy," Lucy murmurs, and the hairs on his neck rise at the feeling of her breath on his face as she leans her head into his.

"I'm here," she soothes, her hands traveling to his shoulders. They run down his muscled arms, stroking his skin until the feelings fade and he's shivering against her, taking a shaken breath. "I'm here."

He lifts his gaze and searches her eyes. She smiles comfortingly. "Let's fight. For the future," she murmurs. Confidence surges through her, and she shares it with him through a simple press of her lips to his cheek. "Okay?"

"For the future," he breathes.

Igneel would be proud, he tells himself.

He understands the full extent of love.

The battle is amazingly short.

But it is devastating, Zeref's goal simple.

If END will no longer do as he commands, then Zeref has no problem with destroying END and all that he has come to love.

When he sends Acnologia, it's total chaos. The chaos dragon has wrecked half of the town by the time he crosses town, wings flared in preparation and flames surging around him. He alone can fight this monster, his flames not touchable by even Zeref himself. He's left Lucy safely with Erza.

Natsu's fight is brutal. He screams when his wing is ripped clean off, remembering how Igneel had removed Acnologia's arm. Pain fills his body, but Natsu ignores it as he fights viciously to defend Magnolia and those within it against the dragon who destroyed so much. His flames incinerate anything within a mile, and he pays no attention to where Acnologia fires. No, he only focuses on the situation at hand.

It's a method that has served him well in the past, and it works.

With a scream of triumph, Natsu brings the dragon down, ripping its throat out with flaming talons and teeth. It's less clean than Igneel's death had been, but it does what he wants it to do. He shreds the dragon's throat. Acnologia hits the ground with a heavy thud and Natsu, body slicked with blood, one wing limply hanging, looks around.

His next aim is Zeref, but his idea dies when he sees the state of the town. There isn't a section that isn't destroyed. His throat swells with panic.

Lucy!

He ignores his pain and practically flies as he races through the shattered town, dragging in every scent, hunting for something new.

He can't find her.

He can't find her!

Lucy, Lucy, Lucy-

"Natsu!"

A sob nearly rips from his throat when he finds her, surrounded by other injured mages. The count is so much less after the massive battle, and he catches her when she throws her arms around him in what he knows now to be a hug. One of relief and she doesn't even care when he accidentally covers her, too, in Acnologia's black blood.

"There are so many dead," someone says, looking out over the city. "So many dead, killed by that thing."

It hits Natsu that this was not a battle.

This was his battle.

And he has failed.

Natsu will no longer see Wendy's smiling face. Her familiar wanders the groups, looking for her, meowing loudly. Happy keeps her silent company and it hurts Natsu so much that he clutches at his chest, rubbing away the ache.

The ache has been there for weeks now, since he nearly drained his magic killing Acnologia. It gets worse with each passing day and Natsu can feel the truth tickling in his mind. he knows what this ache means.

He has a dragon's soul, tainted now by a demon's, and it had become a poison that is slowly killing him. But he says nothing to Lucy, who has suffered enough. A day doesn't go by where she doesn't cry and Natsu's hand flutters uselessly over her back as he tries to comfort her. There's no one to show him how, though, and he helplessly looks around.

They avoid him again. Even Gray, even Erza. They blame him. He knows better than to think otherwise. He is the reason they've lost their family. Not many of them are left. Only a dozen or so.

He wishes he could rip open his chest and urge that soul to poison him faster.

Zeref's next strike is the end of them all.

The end of Fairy Tail, of Natsu, of the war.

It comes swiftly, in the dead of night. Natsu doesn't know what is what, bloodlust and desire for revenge dragging him into the dark clutches of Zeref as the death god himself appears in the middle of the battle, dragging Natsu to him.

Natsu has the distinct feeling that Zeref wants to die as he shamelessly and tiredly carves his heart from his chest. He doesn't take chances, burying his fangs in Zeref's throat as he's been taught to kill.

Blood drips from his chin as he pulls back. As he realizes he is alone except for the dying breaths of black mages who thought to help their lord.

Except for the whispering of his name.

His heart is numb as he finds her.

His face is blank as he settles to the ground beside her. Her brown eyes, once delighted to see him, are bleared with pain and tears. She's blinded, but he soothes her with a simple whisper of her name.

"Lucy," he says, voice quivering.

She can't speak, the pain too much, but he feels her seek his face with a weak hand. He lowers his head over hers so that she has an easier time. His fingers trap hers against his cheek, carefully following even the slightest movement until she urges him to cover her lips with his.

He tastes Zeref’s blood and her dying breath on his tongue and knows that to love is to be alone.

There are rumors on the lips of travelers that comment on the demon that slinks through the ruins of Magnolia, Fiore. It's said that he protects what remains even as his body weakens, poisoned by an attempt to remove the demon from him.

In the dead of night, people murmur that this demon supposedly used to be the strongest of all, known as the monstrous END, but has long since been tamed by a girl of stars and a dragon king. Both names are long lost to the boundaries of time. Few claim that they have seen him. To lie is to bring death itself to their doors.

Centuries have passed since the Demon War, but supposedly, the demon lingers. He is not only the last of dragons, but the last of demons,and those who have seem him declare that he not once threatens them as they move past. He merely watches them through tired, tired eyes.

According to those who have seen him, he looks to the stars when you are long gone.

It's said that he even knows how to smile at them.

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