DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL

~ ~ ~ CRIMSON DEVIL ~ ~ ~

Chapter 1: A different beginning

- July 6th, X377 -

A light breeze blew in the warm summer afternoon, while a pleasant quiet reigned in the forest. The sun was high in the sky and its rays illuminated everything, including a huge creature covered with red scales, which was resting with its eyes closed at the edge of a large clearing. Two large wings were folded over its back, while its enormous body moved slightly in rhythm with its breaths.

Despite being enormous and intimidating, including horns and sharp claws, the creature was peaceful, intent on enjoying the peace of that day.

"I suppose you know that my brother isn't just a human."

The huge creature slowly opened its left eye, whose sclera was yellow instead of white, and turned its gaze to a young boy dressed in black sitting under a tree with a book in his hands. The boy raised his head, looking at the creature with his particular red eyes, as the breeze continued to blow, waving his black hair.

"I know, Zeref. I can feel it." said the creature with a deep, male voice. A voice suitable for someone like him, the Fire Dragon King: Igneel.

"And you still want to teach him your magic?" asked Zeref, not at all surprised by the admission of the dragon.

"I don't see why I should think otherwise. I'm already fond of that little guy, besides he is different from those other Etherious. Before losing his life he was a human, he wasn't created from scratch as an Etherious." replied Igneel closing his eye.

"You're right, but he's still the strongest I've created. He must be able to kill me after all." Zeref showed a little smile while thinking about his little brother, now turned into his most lethal creation.

"Give him enough time and he may surprise you. Also, when I'll be inside him, I'll suppress that power and make him not become a blood-thirsty demon." grunted Igneel before yawning.

"Please do it, I would like his life to be as peaceful and pleasant as possible." nodded Zeref with another small smile, before asking "Any news about the others?"

This time, Igneel opened both his eyes before lifting his head, looking at the sky "They are ready, all of them. Tonight we will use that spell. Anna said she is ready to open the gate."

"Good, then we'll act tonight, with the lunar eclipse." Zeref stood up before walking toward the heart of the forest but after a few steps, he turned to Igneel "I don't know if I'll see you again at this time, but I want to thank you for everything."

"I think we will meet again in one way or another, my friend." said Igneel with a smile before taking off and hovering in the air, vanishing in a few seconds behind the tops of the trees. Zeref watched the sky with the smile still on his face before continuing to walk, fading into the darkness of the forest.

- That night -

"Are you all ready?" asked a woman with long blond hair, looking at the five dragons in front of her, including Igneel. When all five nodded, she nodded back and turned to the huge construct behind her before pulling out twelve gold keys.

After a long enchantment, the twelve keys began to shine. In a few seconds, the keys rose in the air and went into the construct that looked like a huge two-leaf gate. With a dull sound, the gate began to open slowly, showing a world completely white and full of light.

"Impressive." noted one of the dragons, whose was completely white.

"Even if it doesn't seem, my Eclipse Gate can connect this world with that of the future, exactly four hundred years from now." explained Zeref, looking at the light "When that time comes, I will open the gate again thanks to a descendant of Anna. Although I will have to wait for four hundred years, for you it will only be a few moments."

"Now that I think about it, how will the arrival happen?" asked a dragon which seemed to be made entirely of metal "Will our children appear together before you and Anna's descendant?"

Zeref shook his head "Unfortunately no. The gate works that way only with those who are endowed with vast magical power at the time of passage, such as myself. In your case you will simply be teleported somewhere in the world, but if my calculations are correct, you won't be too far from each other. Maybe several kilometers, or even more, but you will hardly arrive in different kingdoms or regions."

"Better than nothing, but unfortunately we can not tell our children where to go if we feel the presence of someone among us." sighed a female white dragon before looking at the sleeping form of a young blue-haired girl who was sleeping near her claws.

"We could try to cross the gate together."

"It would not work, Weisslogia. To ensure that the gate works at its best, only one person at a time can pass, maybe two if they don't require too much energy." explained Zeref shaking his head.

"Perhaps two children could pass together, but I think that more than two would exhaust the energies contained in the keys." added Anna looking at the five sleeping children.

"What do you think, Weisslogia? We could send Rogue and Sting together." proposed a black dragon with red eyes "After all, they are the only ones who have 'killed' a dragon."

"Do you really want to carry on your plan?" asked Igneel looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, it could be a way to get them to become stronger." nodded Weisslogia before looking at Anna "Can you send both of our children together?"

"Yes, it would be better then to send them first, now that the available power is still a lot." said Anna gesturing toward the Eclipse Gate.

"Then let's not waste any more time. Are you ready, Skiadrum?" asked Weisslogia and his friend nodded. The two touched their respective children with the tip of a claw and the two young humans began to shine, pervaded by a white energy, in the case of Sting, and a dark energy, in Rogue's case. Weisslogia and Skiadrum went on like this for a few minutes until the two dragons began to become transparent, until they disappeared into thin air together with the glow.

"What do you think, Grandine?" Igneel looked at the only female dragon present.

"The Dragon Soul Technique was a success." nodded Grandine and so Anna created two small orbs of light that absorbed Sting and Rogue like bubbles, making them levitate in midair. Wishing them good luck, she pushed them into the light beyond the Eclipse Gate and both vanished instantly.

"If it's okay with you, I'll go now." said the dragon made of metal before starting the same procedure, fading into the body of his son, who was snoring without noticing anything.

"Gajeel has always had a deep sleeper." chuckled Anna before sending him toward the light "Who's next?"

"I'll go, probably Zeref wants to say goodbye to his brother." said Grandine looking at the dark mage who merely nodded at her with a smile. Within minutes, she too vanished inside her daughter's body and Anna directed her towards the light.

Only three people and a dragon remained in front of the open gate, one of which was a salmon-haired child intent on sleeping with a white scarf around his neck. Zeref approached him and smiled as he saw him sleeping peacefully.

"I'm sorry for everything Natsu. I hope you can live happily and become strong even without having to use the power I gave you when I...brought you back to life." said the dark mage, preferring to use that term "I'm sure we'll meet again in the future and I hope we can talk like two brothers. In the meantime I will find a way to stop me without you feeling affected." he looked up at the calm face of Igneel "Take care of him, my friend."

"I will, I swear on my honor." nodded Igneel before placing the tip of his claw on Natsu's chest, who was then wrapped in a red glow.

However, after about a minute, Igneel widened his eyes in shock, immediately looking away. Zeref and Anna followed his gaze and, beyond some mountains, saw a distant blue glow. Anna didn't seem to understand what it was but Zeref narrowed his eyes "Is that-?"

"GET DOWN!" roared Igneel moving in front of them just when an energy beam hit him, causing a violent explosion that forced Zeref and Anna to fall to the ground, while Natsu remained protected thanks to Igneel's tail.

Zeref got up immediately and saw that Igneel was wounded on his left side, where the scales were damaged and he was losing a lot of blood. Looking towards the mountains, he saw different winged shapes getting closer and closer, but above all getting bigger.

"Dragons..." murmured Zeref looking at them with glowing red eyes.

"Now of all times? How did they find out about this place?!" said Anna while taking out another golden key with a black snake around it before pointing it toward the sky "Gate of the Snake Charmer, I open thee! Ophiuchus!"

Igneel and Zeref ignored the huge magic circle that appeared above Anna, which was surrounded by a huge cloud of dark fog from which appeared a giant red-eyed snake with parts of the body that seemed mechanical. The huge reptile moved agilely in front of his mistress to protect her while the dragons were now a few hundred yards away from them.

"Those crystals..." growled Igneel "ANIMUS!"

"It's been a long time since we last met! Isn't it, Igneel?" said the huge blue dragon landing in front of the Fire Dragon King.

"What are you doing here?" hissed Igneel.

"What do you think? We're here to kill you! You and the others have dishonored our race! Not only have you allied with humans, but you have also taught them that damned magic! Do you want to create another Acnologia?!" roared Animus glaring at Zeref and Anna "The Black Wizard...your insolence knows no boundaries, Igneel."

The other dragons growled at the humans while Ophiuchus hissed at them. He was bigger than a normal dragon, but they were probably more powerful than him. Anna knew it well and most of her energy had been used to open the Eclipse Gate.

'I don't know how long it will stay open, but we can't allow these dragons to go into the future...' the blonde looked at the dark mage "Zeref..."

"I know, there're too many of them..." said Zeref looking around while walking toward the sleeping form of Natsu. Fortunately they had used a powerful spell to make him and the other Dragon Slayers sleep.

"Can't you do something?"

"Not without killing you and Natsu." Zeref stared at the dragons in the sky 'The one called Animus is probably the strongest, but Igneel is still weak...and the others are too far away, I can't surprise them with a spell right now. What to do...'

Deciding that there was no time to be careful, Zeref put a hand in his robe and took out a book, confusing the various dragons that were watching him, yet in a few moments they felt a dark presence coming from that book.

Zeref stared at them for a few moments before whispering "Deliora." and a sudden glow of blue light blinded everyone but when the dragons managed to reopen their eyes, they were shocked to see a huge blue-faced demon next to Igneel and Ophiuchus. Zeref pointed at the dragons in the sky with one finger "Destroy them."

And thus, chaos broke out.

Igneel lunged at Animus, sinking his teeth into the body of the enemy dragon while Anna took Natsu in her arms, creating a barrier of light around her. At the same time, Deliora fired a violent beam of energy against the dragons in the sky, succeeding in striking three of them, and Ophiuchus rushed on them, using his huge body to crush them, all the while Zeref used his dark magic to hurl energy balls to the remaining dragons.

The clash went on for almost an hour but Anna, the only one who had managed to stay outside the fight, realized how things were going badly for them.

'We have defeated three dragons thanks to Zeref's Etherious but there are still eight left and Ophiuchus is suffering too much damage! Igneel and Animus are still fighting but I don't know how long Igneel can still fight.' thought the blonde mage holding Natsu against her chest 'At this rate even with the immortality of Zeref we won't be able to win. And my energies are now running out, soon the gate will close...'

'Anna. Igneel.'

Anna looked up in surprise 'Zeref?

'I'm using Telepathy to speak with you. You have already noticed it but the situation is not the best. The dragons are damaging Deliora and I can't use my most powerful spells without killing even Anna and Natsu.' explained Zeref while creating new demons from the rocks around them.

'This bastard is too persistent! If I were not so weak I would have already defeated him but I don't know how long the fight will go on!' growled Igneel while hitting his opponent with his claws.

'Should we retreat? We can always wait for the next eclipse!' said Anna with hope.

'No, if I'm right the next solar eclipse will take place in about two hundred years.' replied Zeref 'By that time everything could be different and we can't risk it.'

'So what do you suggest? Because admitted, and not granted, that other dragons come to help us, I do not know how long we can last.' asked Igneel shooting a beam of fire from his mouth.

'We must send Natsu through the gate.' said Zeref shocking the other two 'I'll make changes to the book of E.N.D. so as to facilitate him when he'll be alone on the other side. Igneel, when you started the ritual for the Dragon Soul Technique, you gave him part of your power, right?'

'Yes, in order to be able to completely transfer ourselves into the bodies of you humans, we must first adapt you to our power. But I have never witnessed an interrupted ritual and I don't know what could happen to Natsu. He could even lose his memory and forget all my teachings.' explained Igneel with a worried voice.

A pained hiss echoed in the air as Ophiuchus fell to the ground 'He's reaching the limit! Zeref, if you have to do something, do it now!'

'Igneel, he's my brother but also your foster son. I also need your consent.' said Zeref looking at the red dragon who remained silent before roaring with enough power to push back Animus.

"DO IT!"

Zeref nodded before rushing to Anna and Natsu, materializing a book with three letters on it: E.N.D.

Anna lowered the barrier and laid Natsu on the ground while Zeref began to recite an enchantment in a strange language as his energy was sucked into the book, whose pages were constantly changing. The enchantment continued for a few seconds, after which Zeref dematerialized the book "It's done, now go."

Anna nodded at him before running toward the gate with Natsu in her arms but at the last moment, a beam of energy fired by another dragon hit the ground behind her, making her fall into the light but due the power of the shockwave, she lost her grip on Natsu who disappeared in front of her eyes.

"NATSU!"

Zeref had seen everything and, as the gate began to close, Ophiuchus vanished to return to his dimension. The boy slowly turned toward the dragon that had attacked Anna and Natsu and his eyes glowed red.

As he moved his hands and cast a spell, not even the dragon managed to hold back the shivers down its spine upon hearing the cold voice of that human.

"Now...you'll die."

- July 7th, X777 -

The first rays of sunlight illuminated the silent forest, which began to come alive with the sounds of animals and of nature itself. Some birds flew free in the air, before going to settle in the middle of a clearing, intrigued by the stranger who lay dormant in the grass. Chirping, they hopped around the pink-haired boy, even poking at his hands to see if he was still alive.

Woken up from the surrounding sounds, Natsu slowly opened his eyes, trying to figure out where he was. He sat up and looked around, blinking a couple of times to get used to the light of the sun "Where...where am I?"

That clearing was unknown to him and even the smells were, it was a completely new place for him, yet he didn't know how he got there. He tried to remember what he had done the day before but, much to his confusion, realized he remembered little or nothing of the previous day.

He remembered waking up and eating some meat offered by...someone, before following that someone to...train?

"I was training...in what?" wondered Natsu tilting his head "I can't remember..."

"You're awake. Good."

Natsu jumped up in fright, looking around, but saw no one. Yet he was sure he had heard a deep male voice.

"No need to look for me. I am inside of you."

"Inside of me...like a ghost?!" shouted Natsu paling instantly.

The voice made an amused chuckle "No, I'm not a ghost. I'm you."

"You're...me?" asked Natsu "Am I going crazy...?"

"Far from it, Natsu. Consider me as a part of you. A part of your mind that has its own consciousness."

"I...don't think I understand." said Natsu with a little sweatdrop. At least the voice was calm and it didn't sound evil.

"I can be evil if you wish so."

Natsu's eyes widened in surprise "You can hear my thoughts?!"

"...please, remember what I said a few seconds ago..."

"Uh...that...you're me?"

"Yes, I'm inside your body and your mind. I am you, and you are me. We're both the same being."

"But I do not remember having ever heard your voice..."

"That's because I just got my consciousness, but in the end it doesn't change what we are."

"So...you're Natsu?" asked the pink-haired boy with confusion clear in his voice.

"Yes, but I can see that it could cause problems, so you can just call me...E.N.D."

To be continued...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's it, end of the first chapter! Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the reviews!

I know I know, I have many stories to update, but this idea came to me just yesterday and I decided to write it! That's how I am, so deal with it!

As you have probably noticed after reading this first chapter (and I apologize if it is short, but I wanted to finish it as soon as possible): Igneel hasn't merged with Natsu to go in the future and Zeref has made changes to the book by E.N.D. to help Natsu, hence the reason for which E.N.D. has a personal conscience and has the opportunity to talk with Natsu, who doesn't remember much of the past because of the interrupted ritual!

Probably many of you will wonder why E.N.D. seems rather calm and kind rather than being a bloodthirsty demon. You will have the answer in the next chapters if you decide to follow this story!

Among other things I do not know if I will change the name of the story, it is currently temporary until I decide.

Hope you'll review and put this fic on your favorite list!

See you around!