Hello! CGP Here after going MIA-... I'm sorry about that- life happened.. I ..don't really want to talk about it. Not yet anyway. I apologize for not updating Flame's Desire just yet- it will be, I promise! I have most of it written up, I just.. lost some of it and am trying to get it back.

Anyway, please enjoy this little piece I wrote for a request on Tumblr for SnarkyPineCone. I have a few other requests to do, but to show I'm alive, I thought I'd get this off the top of my list. The next request will come after Flame's Desire gets updated.

The request? ..well.. read and find out! ...also, please enjoy. I had intended it to be something short, but it didn't seem to E.N.D that way at all.

Also, I don't own anything except for a few theories I tossed here and there. Please enjoy!

-CGP

Mind Splitting

The mighty Dragon had fallen.

It had been like watching a fiery meteor crashing through the atmosphere and striking the ground at such velocity the world shook. King of the Fire Dragons, Igneel, had been defeated. His scales were a pale shade of the former vibrant red and blood seeped from incisions in his scales. He could no longer see through his left eye, just shapes and blurs as pain wracked his powerful frame.

If it had been in any other circumstance, Igneel would have been proud of the power his son possessed, but now, he only felt dread and an intense guilt.

"Was that it? I thought Dragons would at least challenge me, but that's all you can do?" A voice from the dragon's deepest, most secret nightmares echoed as light foot steps brought Natsu into his vision. The boy he had once raised no longer looked upon him in awe and fascination. His lips turned up in a malicious sneer as flames crawled along his body like a second skin. "Or are you holding back because you raised me? Pathetic!"

A growl rumbled through his prone form as Igneel snapped, "You are not my son."

Displeased by Igneel's retort, the face of Natsu scrunched to a glare full of hate as he hissed his annoyance. With the ease one takes to step on an ant, he slammed his foot down, through the almost cracked claws of his father. The resounding roar of nerve endings screaming in pain echoed through the darkened sky as a cruel smirk replaced his hateful gaze. "I am your son. Pity you couldn't kill me when you had the chance- but you were too much a loving father weren't you? You let me sleep inside this body and intended me to stay that way: you left me ignorant. Then you just left me!"

Enraged, guilt-ridden and desperate to stop what he couldn't years ago, the Dragon tried to lift himself, tail flailing much like the rest of his weakened limbs. He couldn't listen to this, he couldn't let E.N.D's words get in his head, he couldn't-

"How's it feel, pops?" Natsu's nonchalance left Igneel's heart frozen, "to know you failed? I'll finish you and the others before I find Zeref." The name of the Black Wizard contorted his features again as he laughed, flames spewing from his lips in wisps even as he kicked another claw in half from his fathers talons. "That's what he wanted right? To die? I can grant that now, can't I?!"

Thrashing in his uncharacteristic helplessness, Igneel tried to calm the demon even as he used his senses to search for the others. Grandeeney and Metallicana were already devastated by the destruction of E.N.D, but they had sworn to protect their young. The Guild Natsu had been part of should have been far enough away by now, but did they listen? Would they? He knew their penchant for disobeying, for sticking together, but he couldn't allow this beast near them- E.N.D.. no..Natsu..would never forgive himself.

"Natsu..." He tried to reason, "do not harm your guild members any further... Do not do this to your-"

Hands engulfed in dark flames clawed into his side and Igneel's plea was drowned out by a gut-wrenching roar. Blood poured from his wound even as E.N.D. howled angrily against him.

"Not Natsu! Natsu is dead! You killed him!" He hissed, unaware of the blood staining his bare arms. "You killed him the moment you let that Ice Mage destroy the book and look where that brought you? Helpless before me! Even those mage's couldn't take me! I can still smell their delicious blood in the air... you think they can hide from me? You're wrong. I'm all that's left, Father, accept that."

The acidic tone used when speaking a term that had once been so endearing caused more pain than any wound granted to him. The old Dragon rumbled in his throat and tried to pull his strength together...If his son was dead.. if this was how it would be... then he could no longer be weak.. he would have to destroy him.

The boy now turned demon laughed and laughed, voice crackling from the mania that engulfed him and his flames. "Come on old man! Try to kill me! One more time! I'm going to relish bathing in the rest of your blood!"

He tried to stand with every ounce of strength, Igneel forced his legs to hold his weight even as his serpentine head wavered back and forth to regain balance. Flames licked at his tongue as heat pooled deep in his belly, preparing a roar so devestating it would send the demon flying into the next mountain. That was his intention even as his heart and mind warred with each other. So it has come to this.. my son. If ever there was a time for sorrow, the Fire Dragon King Igneel felt it sting at his good eye like poison.

E.N.D relished the struggle, spacing his legs together as he braced himself. "Come on, that's it- feed me! This is just the start of your death, make it a good one!"

Igneel's returning smirk was more futile acceptance than confidence. Issuing forth the power needed for his attack, he took in the air around him and felt the power well within in before it exploded through his mouth in a stream of fire hotter than any volcano. The sudden sound of rocks sliding down a pile of ruins caught his attention mid-roar and the dragon choked on his own flame, swallowing it down as shock struck him. Who was-?

Natsu- no E.N.D.- caught the sound as well and both heads turned to see a flash of golden hair as a girl beaten and better slid through the debris, working her way to them with the most empty eyes Igneel had seen in years. He recognized her instantly even before the pink of her Guild Mark met his slit pupils. Why was the celestial maiden here? A surreal burst of panic suddenly gripped him.

"Go back, Girl!" He shouted, voice causing the very ground to rumble. Lucy paused for only a moment, eying the carnage with her mouth agape.

E.N.D.'s grin could have split his face in two. "What's this? A new contender? One of the little fairies I played house with?" Licking his lips, he laughed wickedly even as the girl eyed him in abject horror. "Oh, isn't this hilarious! That's the one he teamed up with!"

He took a step towards her, only too happy to see her step back, mouth moving to speak but no words escaping her mouth. There was a scent about her that made his blood sing.. killing her would be fun, but his path was blocked by the large tail of Igneel, dropping between them like a barrier.

"Do not touch her!" He ordered, eyes blazing on the girl's form. "I said go back, this is not your place!"

Her answer was quiet, but both heard her clear as day. With a voice exhausted from constant battle, but determined Lucy spoke to Igneel, "You're wrong. I'm right where I need to be. I said I'd never leave a friend behind and I meant it."

Grimacing, Igneel barred his teeth, trying to make her see reason. "He is not your friend any longer. Go back to your Family, get to safety!" She was no one to Igneel. He'd never known her, never spoke with her, but he remembered the time spent inside Natsu, watching his every move. He knew what she meant to his son, keeping her here would only hurt them further. He couldn't allow that.

A sudden blast of dark fire pierced through the armor of his tail as Natsu's wings of the fire dragon seered through the nerves. Under risk of losing half his appendage, Igneel withdrew revealing the face of a very agitated demon.

"You can't protect her. Don't even try." E.N.D. Hissed as his arms began to burn once more, preparing his brilliant flame. Dark eyes glared at his father. "I'll kill you before you can do anything at all."

"NATSU!" Her voice bellowed like an order, echoing through the area even as she finally grasped her courage. Lucy stepped forward, hand to her heart and stared the Demon down. "Stop this! You can't kill Igneel!It'll kill you!"

"How many times must I say that he's already dead?" The demon replied, turning his attention to her. "He'll die either way, and you dare to order me? What gives you the right? You're no one, just a weak, simple-minded girl that could never do a thing on her own. What? Surprised I know? I'm him after all, I know everything he's ever thought about you."

She faltered then, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "No. Natsu would never think that. He was always telling me I'm stronger than I give myself credit for and I believe that! Wake up, Natsu! This isn't what you want!"

"Oh but it is what I want." E.N.D. Cackled, raising his arms to examine the fire still lit up. "I want to hear you scream as my fire burns you to nothing, I want to see your charred corpse in front of me!"

It happened too fast for her to react, his brilliant flame came at her like a rocket before she could muster any amount of magic left to her to dodge let alone block. She couldn't use her keys, even Aquarius' power had left her, but as the explosion of his attack threw dust into the air, E.N.D did not look satisfied. Even as he had attacked the defenseless mage, Igneel was no longer limping behind him. Tch... of course the old Dragon was holding more strength in him than he gave away.

As the dust settled, the scorched wing of Igneel blocked Lucy from his sight, wavering from the force of the fire even as it dispersed. His eyes held a stern grimness even as he retracted the wing to reveal the Celestial Mage, face chapped from the pressure and hair wind-blown, but unharmed.

"Please Natsu..." She pleaded, taking a few steps forward even as the Fire Dragon grumbled and moved to keep her in place. "Please listen to me. Come home. Everyone's waiting. Even Happy. Let's go back together to rebuild the Guild, don't we have more adventures to go on?"

Snarling in disgust, E.N.D glowered, "That wont work, mage, he's already dead, remember?"

"I don't believe that-" Lucy started, eyes determined.

"-And neither does the rest of us!" A new voice echoed, interrupting them and causing the three to look above. Atop the broken walls and fallen rocks, circling the valley, stood the rest of Fairy Tail with Makarov at the front. "As one of my brats, Natsu would never give up so easily!"

The cheer that resounded was deafening even E.N.D stared in surprise and Igneel groaned. Of course they didn't listen.

"Why did I even bother to try..." The Fire Dragon grumbled, but Lucy's hopeful smile even lit up his dire countenance.

"Fairy Tail never leaves a member behind." She said, smiling, "even when he's trying to kill us. He's done so much for us already, how could we leave him now, when he needs us most?"

The roar of the Guild muted Igneel's response as many voices rose to cheer the blonde forward.

"Drinks on me when you get his butt back in line, Lucy!"

"Come on Natsu, we're waiting for ya!"

"It's no fun without ya' Natsu!"

On and on they cheered and sweltering pride lit up Igneel's heart as bright as any flame he could unleash. What a wonderful Guild his son had found, truly wonderful. However, the Demon still stood before them, listening with a dubious expression on his face.

Licking his lips, E.N.D studied the group of them much as one would to an unsightly bird chirping by their window in the morning. "Really? Is that it? Trying to tame me with your.. power of family bullshit? Don't make me laugh. You're just temporarily preventing the inevitable." As he spoke, he barely caught the whispers of Lucy as she whispered something to the Dragon, but found he could hardly care. Perhaps he'd just save her for last... let his inner self struggle more with the thought of destroying her.

Yes, that would work nicely.

"Igneel... let me get close to him." Lucy asked, eyes dead set on the demon basking in the attention as he imagined the many ways he was going to tear them a part.

"I can't do that." He responded, voice grave. "If Natsu returns to normal, he would never forgive himself if I let you get hurt."

"I need to be near him, Igneel." Lucy begged again, "I need to tell him something... I can't do that from here."

"You have a plan?"

"You know I do." She replied and the Dragon smiled. "I don't know if it will work, but I have to try." Blinking back tears, Lucy looked to all her Guild and smiled a fond, sad grin. "It's my one chance.. and if I fail... "

Kneeling his nose to her back, Igneel pushed her forward before the words could escape her. "Go Celestial maiden. I will not let him harm you...nor will your Guild from what I've seen. Just do not wait to call for us."

"Thank you, Igneel." The relief and fear in her tone was enough to endear him to her and the Dragon nudged her once more.

"Go! And when this is all over, allow me to call you daughter."

Taking steps forward, she turned her head in shock for just a moment, face dusting in pink, "Ex-excuse me-!"

"Go!" Igneel was not about to explain to her the intricacies of his son's heart let alone on the battle field. Sending her off was difficult, but he could practically hear her mind as she looked at him. She did have a plan and if she was anything like her Mother, it would work. It had to. She urged her forward.

And she went.

She was battle weary, arms and legs bruised and running on the last leg of adrenaline she could pull from within, but she moved with an intense need. Magic well within her, clamoring to be released even as it was consumed by her never ending exhaustion. E.N.D observed her with an indifference that was chilling before striking out once more with a bloodied hand. He'd stop her before she made it close to him.

A blast of Dragon Fire in front of the blonde derailed his line of sight and the demon's eyes focused to the Fire King behind her. His jaw was open wide as smoke and flame issued from his mouth. When he raised his hand to strike once more, another blast erupted from the Dragon's maw, once more enveloping Lucy in a smokescreen. She danced around the debris, trusted the protection of Natsu's father and continued onward.

When she tripped, E.N.D thought he'd finally found his opening and enveloped her location in a diameter of flames that parted the clouds, but a flash of scarlet came between, moments before the strike and the gigantic shield of Adamantine Blocked the attack, cracking to dust under its force. He snarled in annoyance as Titania Erza shielded the girl, trembling at her own weariness.

"Again?" The Demon hissed as the blonde stood up once more.

"Do not falter." Erza responded, eyes dead set on the monster that was not Natsu.

Lucy moved again and with an increasing amount of agitation, E.N.D tried again and again to halt her steps, but was stopped at every turn by dragon fire or a member of the Guild. An Ice Shield that sizzled steam was the Celestial Mage's next protector, a gust of wind that moved her from harms way came after. Wings from a cat sped her forward and even the heavy Iron of a reclusive Dragon Slayer defended her every step. All gave words of encouragement, all watched E.N.D with a stare of confidence that bellied the extent of their wounds. When he tried to attack the guild itself, they banded together with a magic of light and though many fell from the force, the carnage was so little that it hardly satisfied him.

Something boiled within. An anger or a devastating hope that scratched beneath his skin like a sickness. Heat pumped in his blood and hatred blinded him. He would destroy them, he would crush them all with torturous heat and he would do it by crushing that girl- that hope. It sickened him- it brought bile up from his stomach until he could no longer contain himself.

"LUCY!" Where had that bellow come from?

Confusion enveloped him even as a strong weight crashed against his weight, sending him falling backwards until his back began to spasm from the rock and stone digging into his spine. Arms encircled him even as golden hair covered him in a soft curtain.

She had made it and her body molded to his like a puzzle piece. (Disgusting, so disgusting, get her off!) Brown eyes stared into his dark empty ones as unshed tears glimmered. Stunned, the Demon snarled, unaware that the one calling her name had been him all along.

"I'm here." She said, voice rushed, "I'm right here Natsu, I'm not leaving you. You're not alone."

His body stilled and froze as if iron shackles gripped him. His breathing was heavy and the itching beneath his skin now crawled into his brain in a roar that left him struggling for control. "Get off me human!"

"No." Her fingers gripped into the tattered remains of his jacket to affirm her words. "I'm not moving, Natsu. Not until you're you. Not until you come back to me-to us! All of us! We need you! We're a family, remember? I've lost enough, I can't lose you too!"

E.N.D bit back the urge to ask her, to mock her loss. She was beneath him, why should he care? He grew quiet instead as an intense pressure surrounded them. Eyes darkened by his bangs now frayed and singed from his own fire, he listened with an attention that warred between a crazed sensation and a need to find the weakest crack to strike.

Lucy bit her lip, a moment of uncertainty in her eyes, but she did not falter. With tears now running freely down her cheeks, she tried to reach the human she was so sure was still alive. So foolish. So utterly foolish. "Aquarius is gone.. I can't call her anymore.. I've no family left, but Fairy Tail.. and you.. Fairy Tail can't be the same without you...so please..come back. I don't want this to end in regrets!" Her voice cracked in the end and the wind took it away as if it were a secret no one was ever meant to hear.

He had heard enough. The pressure building snapped like a taut rubber band as his flames slowly began to engulf him, raise his temperature until the girl began to wince and squirm in discomfort. Grabbing her in grip that would leave bruises against her skin, if not burnt imprints, he began to laugh. It was quiet at first, but grew until it almost sounded as if he were crying.

"You didn't listen." He rasped, voiced taking a high pitch of hysteria. "You didn't get off. Now I'll just burn you as you cling to me like a lost kitten. You've lost, Lucy Heartfilia. You're words have reached no one because he's not here."

He ignited and for one glorious moment, he heard the pained shrieks of the girl above him as she tried to wrench herself free of him and felt dizzy when horror passed through the guild and a painful howl joined them in a haunting symphony. It was beautiful, wonderful, exactly what he'd bring to everyone-!

Why was he howling too? His wall heat fell back upon him like an avalanche and a sudden pain struck him from the back of his eyes. The girl's struggle ceased even as his own began. Words and visions passed through his eyes at a rate he could not comprehend, that he did not wish to comprehend and in all of them, he felt the stare of wide, crying brown eyes.

E.N.D began to speak then, but if were truly him, he could not say. Words strung together in a disjointed chorus as the chaos he wrought now struck back at him. "I'll kill you! I'll kill her! No, Lucy! She's Lucy! Run- get away! Stop it, stop it! Kill, burn them -stop!- GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Slim fingers calmed his erratic thrashing -when had he started thrashing?- as Lucy cupped his face and a forehead with sweat slick hair pressed against his. Their breath mingled and tears fell atop his face to join his own.

He was... crying? Impossible...

Her voice came then, quiet and lulling, "Shhh.. it's okay.. it's okay.. stay calm." Her body shivered, either from pain, shock or weariness, she couldn't be sure, but she had to keep focus, she had to keep speaking. "I'm not hurt.. you wont hurt me."

Wont he? Oh but he would... but he wanted to, his fingers itched to rip into her throat and he wanted nothing more than to tear into that fragile throat... another stabbing thrum in his head caused E.N.D to flinch and a whine escaped his throat. How could he, the great Demon whine? How could his limbs stop obeying? How could...

"..what.. what regrets, Lucy?" How could his voice say things he did not wish them to say?

A hear beat pierced him stronger than any pain, weapon, confusion that could have harmed him as his insides tangled together when she smiled at him. A sad, mournful smile that still managed to light up her eyes. The heat had died off, the sounds of the battlefield were long gone and all breathing seemed to have stopped.

"I have to tell you something." Lucy said after a time while E.N.D struggled to attack even as his body listened in rapt attention. "Many things.. actually.. but not now... that can come later.. with less eyes.. with less.." ….pain. He could hear the end of her sentence even as she refused to speak it.

Instead her lips grazed his cheek as she whispered quietly, "I regret not letting you follow Asuka's orders... if I had known... if I'd only been less afraid I.. I..."

He never let her finish.

In a fury and wounded in a way he could not understand, E.N.D shoved her away and rolled himself atop her. With lit claws he dug into her skin, enraged by her words, by her effect by the the fact the was still screaming her name and tears were streaming down his face. His voice cried out in anguish as Lucy refused to scream any louder and bit her lip to silence her own cries. He hovered above her and tried to regain his earlier amusement at the thought of damaging her of all people- but instead there was nothing.

"Why can't I.. why wont you-?"Even his words could not carry the extent of his malice any longer.

Despite the tiny wounds he had given her, her fingers reached for him once more, drawing him down. His arms were far too weak to deny her. Were they his arms anymore? She pulled the demon to her and smiled at the terrified of eyes of Natsu that looked back at her.

"Keep fighting and lets continue our adventure." She kissed him then, lips chapped and full of every emotion that one could name.

And E.N.D felt his world topple over as Natsu took over in a rush of raw power that left him reeling as if he were being sealed once more. The book was no more, but darkness descended and he passed his counterpart by as he struggled to stay in control. There was none. There hadn't been any the moment Natsu had shouted her name.

What magic was this? He wondered even as his consciousness disappeared into the abyss that was the Dragon Slayer's magic. What.. magic.. was this?

When he opened his eyes. There was no E.N.D. There was only Natsu. The battlefield was replaced by tents and the smell of home cooked meals, but the destruction was everywhere you looked. He could not move far, too weak from the exertion of housing more than just himself and one dragon inside him and he had been greeted by everything he had known and loved.

His Guild was there, healing from the battles of Tartaros and his own possession. Reconstruction would begin soon, reparations would come later. Until then, he was ordered to rest and was watched with careful, frightened eyes that were afraid of him losing control once more. He didn't blame them, even if it hurt a little. He just smiled, glad to know his home, his family, had survived.

The Dragons roaring at all hours of the day made his heart soar and the realization that his Father was still near uplifted him, but nothing uplifted him more than the sight of a Golden-haired Celestial Mage, sitting by his bed each night, just waiting for him to heal.

She had a regret, he remembered, and her strength had saved him. Who was he to deny her?

E.N.D- no, Natsu- had a girl who loved him and a family that would never leave him. His nightmare, was finally over.

Yes! This was a Request to write my own version of the "Natsu is E.N.D" theory! .. Well the exact request was a hot Natsu is E.N.D Nalu story that has a happy ending. It's not very sexy or anything, but I hope it's still up to snuff either way!

Also, I will be looking back on this on and off to correct any errors. I wasn't able to thoroughly edit this. If you notice anything off, please let me know!