"For your crimes against the ancient world, you are condemned to death."

"Ha, try it, short stuff."

"Keep your head down, don't meet any eyes. Don't take their pity. They didn't know."

"You don't know anything!"

Mom. Dad. Why?

"…It's very unlikely your son will recover from this." The doctor was speaking, what was he saying?

"No," her father's voice drifted into her ears. Her eyes squeezed. "Don't say that to me."

"I'm sorry sir, he…"

There was an odd silence, and she felt the fabric wrapped around her shift. Her father's abnormal warmth comforting against her skin.

"What happened?" More silence. "Don't pull that crap, doc, I know you know."

"…And how would I… I know that? I wasn't there."

Her father had a gruff laugh, cruel and unusual. Her eyes squeezed again.

"Your magic ability, duh. You can see memories by touchin' blood. Cantcha?"

Quiet. Again. She was getting annoyed. Where was Nashi? Where was mom?

"The boy was taken under the impression that he possessed a somewhat unique coding of DNA. From what I gathered with your daughter's memories, they believed he inherited something from you."

"From me." It wasn't a question.

The doctor cleared his throat. "Yes. Unsure exactly what. Children's minds often forget things that even their blood cannot detect." Dad was oddly silent, his fingers curling tightly with hers.

"Anyhow, your daughter was there as blackmail." Her father's fingers squeezed, and something on his face must have shown his anger as the doctor stuttered over his next words. "She was tortured relentlessly. I can not tell if he was in the room or not, but I do recall a severe amount of pain in her mind.

"They had small rebellions, and one escalated. Your wife appeared, sensing her magical children."

"Eight years old, and he's already kicking and screaming." Mother sighed into the hem of her sleeve.

"The kids are really mean, mama," Her daughter suffices, standing off to the side as her older brother launches at his father, who looks ready to respond in kind.

"Oh?" She asks, pattering over to her youngest and crouching in front of her.

"Yeah!" Her son pipes up from his father's tight grip. "Besides, I already know all the things they're teachin'."

She frowned at him, scooping her 4-year-old into her arms, tucking the loving girl into her neck. "With grammar like that, you must attend." She reprimanded, and Father snorted.

"Natsu, drop him please." Mother sighed, joining their boys. Natsu did so with little complaint, and despite his boisterous behaviour set his son down gently, reaching up quickly to take his daughter from his wife's arms. She snuggled into his warmth instinctively.

"The sun goes up," she observed, turning to her father. He stood, looking past her and into the glowing Sakura tree. "And the sun goes down."

He looked at her then, briefly, his eyes furrowing. She pretended not to notice. He didn't like it when she spoke much anymore.

"Hmm." He made a non-committal noise.

"We wish, and we pray for the sun to stay. But it never does." He doesn't react but continues to let her speak. Her words felt important.

Mother died under a Sakura tree. Brother didn't last long either. Perhaps she would die this day too, or would it be the Father's turn?

"It's rather cruel, don't you think?"

"What are you thinking?" He asked, turning on her. "Bringing this up now?" His voice was a growl.

She looked at him with her head still, gazing with only her eyes. She remained silent, escalating his anger.

"No time for rest." She said when his veins popped. She didn't feel like a confrontation today, despite her behaviour. "It is only those with fire for blood that may stand when the sun burns all."

He frowns after her, no longer hiding his contempt of her presence, ever fading.

"I think my soul's rebelling." She chuckled. Father was crying.

Mother died under a Sakura tree, and Brother didn't last long either. Father was next, daring to close to the dead Sakura in Magnolia.

"No, fight it!" He cried, tears uncharacteristically rising into his eyes. "Please, don't do this."

"Did I have a soul, to begin with, Father?!" She cried, her eyes landing on him from a high above branch. He looked at her, trembling with the weight the curse he could never escape from.

"What?!" He cried, trying to struggle past the black fire his daughter's magic generated. It was too strong, too much like his own brother, who died in Sakura's heart, Magnolia's heart.

"Was I born without a soul Father?!" She cried, her own tears pooling in her eyes. The red in her eyes was visible now to her father, who felt his heart shatter a final time. "Or did you remove it from me when you placed me with this curse!?"

"No." He was quiet, too quiet. Altair Dragneel didn't hear it. His mistake.

"I was not destined to be your demon's vessel." His daughter said calmly from her new standing, in front of him, at the base of the tree. She was too calm for his liking. "I was meant to be a spirit mage." She choked.

"I wanted to be a spirit mage father." She said, quietly.

"I know."

"I wanted to be a mage of the sun!" She cried, burying her head in her hands. Natsu took a step to his daughter, no doubt in his mind that they were his final ones. He wouldn't fight it this time.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, black filling his veins and spiking up his arm painfully. "I know." His hand slipped, and Altair screamed .

Altair Dragneel died under a Sakura tree. Her hair was a short cut, messy and without a single straight strand. It was pure gold. Her eyes were large coals. She was not tall, however, she wasn't short either.

Altair's brother died under the same Sakura tree. He was tall, for his age that is, and his hair was as long as it could be for a 10-year-old boy, straight but pink. He had light brown eyes, not seen in either of his parents.

Altair's parents died under the Sakura tree.

Altair was buried in the Sakura tree.

How was Altair buried in the Sakura tree? She was standing, not standing, falling, screaming, in front of her own eyes.

Altair died inside the Sakura tree. Zeref was born in that Sakura tree. Anskeram's perfect servant. Not Zeref Dragneel, simply Zeref, the Black Wizard of the lands, The perfect soldier of Death.

Zeref emerged from the tree, cuts and scrapes healing instantly from fighting the wood. They landed in a heap, eyes standing blandly at the ground. It turned to ash in their fingers.

Zeref looked up. Gravestones, four, next to one another, the only things holding any resemblance of life, whatever was left.

Zeref pushed themselves to their feet.

"Remember what we're fighting for," Father spoke in their head. He, she, they frowned. Father's command was law. You can not fight father's law.

Like their predecessor, Zeref ignored his voice and call. They moved to the graves, curious. They knew nothing, but a lot at the same time. It was confusing.

'Altair Dragneel' didn't stand out at first. The flowers on the Dragneel graves were dead, long before Zeref cursed this land.

How long had it been? How long had the flowers been dead? Zeref reached for the first ones in reach, not reacting to how the dead petals crumbled before their touch.

It was not expected, though. Zeref didn't understand, looking upon Altair's grave. They looked up, spotting the name similarly carved into the wood of the tree. Their eyes hardened as the tree withered visibly under their gaze, and the death stopped.

The air stilled, it seemed. Zeref drew their first breath and looked down to the grave of Altair.

"I will take care of you." Zeref said, enjoying Altair's voice.

"I am you." She said evenly soon after.

"I am not human. I never will be." They replied to the air, still and crusty.

"Yes." She agreed. "I was human once long ago. Not for very long." Altair turned his head to the side, staring out at Magnolia. It was night time, but the guild hall seemed as alive as ever, the loud sounds only now reaching them.

"How long ago was that?"

"Oh, only a few months, for me." Altair would be smiling, if she were alive. Zeref smiled, for her. "But for you, it's been a few decades since you last possessed a breathing being. Since your name was evoked."

"Oh?"

"Yes, well. I hope you will not decimate my legacy like you did my uncle."

"Uncle, was he?" Zeref remembered, of course, they did, they knew everything. Everything and nothing at once.

"I guess so. Not really. Biologically, it's difficult. Makes things dicey. Father was a demon, now I am the creator of Demons." Sometime during that simple sentence, Altair's voice changed to Zeref.

"I see. That is how things will be." They said together, as one. Zeref took her second breath, then coughed into her hand, eyes flaring with finality before fading.

"I don't know," Altair said, looking to the side. The master of the pitiful guild sweat rather heavily and the dragon slayer heard his teeth grind. It made her grin and he looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

Maybe she had. Wasn't too sure anymore.

"How don't you know how old you are?" He asked, eventually.

"Well, what year is it?" The raven asked casually.

Altair Zeref Dragneel was born in X800, the second and last child of the Natsu and Lucy Dragneel, following her brother Nashi Dragneel, born in X796.

Altair became a dragon slayer, trained by her father, 6th generation. She chose wrong. She didn't have a choice. Her demon had been there long before her dragon, and it was eaten alive.

Altair remained in a coma during the year of X807. Nashi died at 10 summers, in X807.

Natsu Dragneel only had Altair left. END was taking Altair in the freezing winter of X807. Natsu Dragneel dabbled much too close to comfort with his books. His Book.

END wasn't renamed but rebranded in X807. Altair Dragneel awoke to the first snow of winter.

It didn't last. END haunted Altair's father, and the young girl suffered for it. She lost her mother, her brother, her soul, her dragon and now her father was slipping to. She blamed the magic. It was all the Magic's fault. If we didn't have magic, it wouldn't ruin lives!

But Altair didn't want to remove magic, oh no, too ambitious. Altair tried to reach for the sun, and like Icarus, she didn't quite reach it. Ankseram was always watching Dragneels. Much too ambitious they must appear to God. Well, he took advantage.

Lucy lived long enough to see the Sakura one last time, way back in X807. Way back then, all those centuries ago. Nashi loved the festival, she claimed, but Altair knew Nashi despised the glowing tree. He only liked it 'cause dad liked it. Dad liked it 'cause mum liked it. Altair didn't like it all too much.

Nashi didn't live long from his rescue, he died in X807, two days after his mother and the last day of the Festival.

Natsu died killing his own daughter, under the same Sakura tree 10 years later. He tried to take her curse onto him, and he was victorious for a brief moment. Anskeram was always curious with Natsu, after all. He lived too long. But he wasn't anything special, destined to be the king of Dragon Slayers' he may be, but his time had passed.

Anskeram preferred Altair. She was much more compatible. So Zeref's curse, passed to Altair, stolen by Natsu. Natsu killed his very fragile daughter in those mere seconds of despair. She killed him in return. Just because she felt like it.

Altair died in X817. Zeref reemerged in X818, on the same hill in the same spot. Altair didn't stay gone long, it was much easier for Anskeram to control an unwilling pawn, rather than control a dead body with special abilities.

Altair's new life was different from the last. Much different. As Dragneel, she bore the guild mark but never was old enough to leave the village. As Zeref, she explored the world over and over.

Zeref Altair Dragneel wasn't very tall. Long hair tied back in a loose braid, or not tied back at all, and it was pitch black. No one knew what colour Zeref's natural eyes were, they were always red, and no one ever lived long enough to tell her what they were like anyway.

When Altair stepped passed the graves, hand glossing over her own grave, causing it to crumble to dust, she headed towards the tree. It shouldn't be alive. It created the dark wizard Zeref. It didn't deserve life. It was more of a personal justice when Zeref placed cold dead pale hands against its trunk and observed it's life into herself.

It was not nearly enough and so she turned her eyes, with a new found desire and craving, to Magnolia.

Hi everyone! Don't get me wrong, I don't really know why I made this. Vent writing sitting in my folders too long, I guess. Anyways I really liked how it turned out. A few key notes that I should address.

Note 1: Yes, I named the OC Altair. I'm sure most of you recognise it from Assassin's Creed. I very much am a fan of the series, but that wasn't my main reason for making her name as such. It fit. Simple as that. It sounded good.

Note 2: Sorry that it mainly focuses on the OC, but this is more of a vent piece than anything to be taken seriously. I don't believe any of this in any way is canon. It's purely AU.

Note 3: To clear up some things that may be confusing, I'd like to point of Altair was born with a demon seed inside her, as it's hinted at slightly. I didn't point it out, but Nashi had it too. Anyway, Altair wanted to be a Celestial mage like her mother - Lucy - but was trained as a dragon slayer by her father. I feel that if people like this story, I might make the sequel focusing on why the siblings were captured and "tortured" but it's not that obvious that Lucy died rescuing them. Anyway, Altair tried to control fire magic too hot for humans to handle and manipulate it into other types of Magical energy such as healing and life. Anskeram didn't like it.

Note 4: Please enjoy. I'd enjoy any feedback too! I don't have a beta, unfortunately.