What's up mutha fuckaaaaa!
Okay, in all honesty, I am taking an unscheduled break from TOI. I will return but my work and shit is really hampering me in terms of my writing. I don't want to make TOI shit because my homework is destroying my will to fucking live.
So I will destroy another potential story I have in mind…
If you don't know this will be my first Half-cross-over story which features Undertale in terms of plot and Fairy Tail in terms of characters.
Can that be considered a cross-over?
Never mind…
LET'S READ!
))-((O#O))-((
Magnolia was in ruins…
Magnolia, the town that had survived the guild wars, the town that stayed together after the dragnoid incident and the town that had persevered through the war against the Alverez empire, laid in ruins…
Every single house had been evacuated and some had been completely knocked down, the once thriving town was now enveloped by a devilish red hue brought on by the twilight that was noon, this only made the thick, black plumes of smoke more prominent and easy to spot. The roads and walkways were overlapped by huge slabs of scorched, white marble and red bricks and any sign of life that may have been there before the disaster had packed up and scampered away in sheer terror.
This was the sight that Fairy Tail's Gray Fullbuster had to endure as he stood frigidly behind one of the few upright walls, waiting for his target to shamble into his sight. Ice sword at the ready for the inevitable fight that would take place.
The ice mage had been standing there for a full hour… Not daring to move or give any indication to his whereabouts away. He cupped his forehead with his free hand, sighing as he remembered the recent horrors that had engulfed Magnolia with the force of a tidal wave.
'Their gone…' His mind was in a frantic, desperate yet resigned whirr. 'Their all gone… Only master and possibly Laxus remain and he is fucking dying even then!'
But suddenly, his ears picked up the heavy thudding that were clearly footsteps. He almost felt like staying behind his little wall but remembered why he was here. He couldn't allow this monster to make it to the guild hall.
Not until Gramps could use the Lumen Histoire at least…
Gray peaked his head around the corner of his spot to see the familiar figure of a pink haired mage with fire lighting up and engulfing his clenched fists. He watched as the figure continued to dawdle slowly down the torn up road, not even bothering to step over the huge slabs and instead deciding to crush them under his feet as he walked on them.
He was making a bee-line for Fairy Tail…
Gray knew he had to stop him right here and right now. His previous thoughts of trying to reason with his old rival left him as soon as he heard the news from Gramps over two months ago.
))-((O#O))-((
(Two months earlier)
Gray was sitting at the bar, having a lovely little chat with Erza, she had asked for a full report on their last S-Class mission they did together.
To put it into perspective, Gray had ended up getting diverted away from Erza as he attempted to lead a group of powerful dark mages away from the main heard. Erza was already having trouble with the group she had to deal with now so it was the least he could do to repay her for the last time they went on a mission together.
In short he ended up tripping over his own feet, leaving himself open for the enemy and ended up getting a rather nasty cut that almost tore through his lung. He was found later by Erza and was quickly taken back to the guild to heal and rest up.
He woke up a few hours ago and felt perfectly fine, after getting the all clear from Porlyuscia he made his way out to the bar, where he instantly found himself knocking out a flying Macao and Wakaba.
He made his way to the bar and after being slumped all over by Cana, he found himself talking with Erza who had come over to check up on him and apologise for not helping him.
He quickly abated her doubts…
"Are you sure you're okay?" Erza repeated for the fifth time since their conversation started. "It has been some time since Natsu disappeared, maybe you are starting to get impatient from the lack of fighting?"
"Okay, first off." Gray quickly interrupted her. He ignored the light glare he received in response and continued. "When did you start wanting me to fight Natsu and secondly, yes, I am fine." He then looked down at his refilled beverage, sighing. "Just worried…"
That made Erza smile sadly; it had been a good month since their resident fire mage disappeared and he had not been found and no sort of reports of destruction had been filed in. For a loud, destructive and powerful mage such as Natsu it came as a surprise to them all to not hear a single thing from him.
He had been acting so strangely as well… Muttering to himself, getting more aggressive than usual, not eating nearly as much and becoming more disconnected with his family. When they brought this up he just waved off any claims about his behaviour and stormed out of the guild when pushed hard enough.
This left them shocked, but they didn't expect it to be the last time they saw him…
"Well, well, well..." She replied teasingly. "Did 'The Great Gray' just admit he cares about his rival?"
The look she received almost made her laugh…
"You're really bringing that up again?" He asked her pleadingly. "C'mon, I thought you said you wouldn't bring it up anymore!"
This time, Erza did laugh, his pathetic and pleading tone was just so adorable. It took her an entire minute to stop, getting a few shocked looks for her trouble before removing her head from his shoulder and her arm from from around his neck which neither she or Gray remembered being there in the first place and began to walk away.
But before she left she leaned over and into Gray's ear and whispered.
"I lied..."
'Oh Mavis, please no…' Was the ice mages thought process as she watched his best friend walk towards the doors. "Why me?"
But before she made it to the door Makarov had burst out of his office suddenly. Stopping any previous brawls and drawing attention to him.
And his sheet white face…
He looked at Gray and the ice mage could almost feel the tension suddenly increase massively. What had he done now?!
But the master looked away and cleared his throat before anyone could talk.
"My children..." He started very quietly. "I have some very bad news… Some very… Very bad news…" He wavering voice began to crack as his composure began to slip ever so slowly. "Apparently, just a few hours ago, the Lamia scale guild had come under attack by a powerful foe. They unfortunately were caught off-guard and had suffered very heavy casualties..."
The guild went completely silent… Gray's stomach suddenly dropped faster than it ever had before… Lamia scale had been attacked? What happened? Who attacked them? Were their survivors?
Was Lyon okay?…
"Now before you ask me what happened we don't know, but we know the assailant responsible." He had caught the attention of everyone. He could see Gray literally shaking from his spot on the stool. Erza making her way over to him just in-case the worst had happened. "But before that." He turned to Gray. "Gray, there is something you should know..."
All he could do was sit there and stare at Makarov, scared shitless. "W-What?..."
"Jura gave me some unfortunate news to relay over to you. He thought you had the right to know..." He took a deep breath and awaited the emotional turmoil to come. "Lyon has unfortunately passed away. He saved his friend Toby from a barrage of fiery streams but the injuries were too much for his body too handle." Makarov had to look away for a second as he watched one of his children go completely frigid. "I'm sorry."
))-((O#O))-((
'Fuuuuccck…' Was all Gray's mind could possibly muster. The memory surged through his mind and almost caused him too stumble on the spot. Luckily, he managed to recover just in time to grab onto the nearby pole that jutted up from the ground, perhaps part of the previous buildings structure.
He watched with morbid interest as his old rival continued to skulk forward. Anger and the familiar feeling of pure hatred filled him to the brim as his eyes continued to soak up the demon's form.
"Not so fast, flame brain..." His voice was but a whisper as he suddenly threw his left arm out to the side, resulting in a huge ice wall appearing out of nowhere and blocking the demon's path. Gray took the opportunity to place himself in the middle of the destroyed road and instantly let down his ice wall when he felt ready.
Even from his side he could feel his rival's power emanating from the other side. It almost overwhelmed the ice mage but he kept his ground, dispersing the intruding wall of ice as soon as he let out the shaky breath he had been keeping in.
It was then he could finally get a clear look at the demon…
"Ash face..." He droned. Rooted to the spot as the demon's eyes bored into his onyx ones. "I see you've been keeping yourself busy, very busy in fact."
The demon didn't move a muscle. He just stood there and gave him the blank look again.
Gray raised a hand just below his chin. "I have a question for you." He stated, feeling anxious and annoyed at the lack of response. He even would have accepted a middle fucking finger than the silent treatment. "You may have heard before, but not used as a question" At this, he was unable to keep the bitter hatred out of his voice when he attempted to let out a hint of sarcasm.
"Do you think that anyone can a good person?"
No sooner had those words left his mouth did the demon go completely solid. So he did remember. That made Gray smirk on the inside. But he elaborated for the demon just incase.
"Do you think that anyone can be somewhat decent at best if they just try and be nice?" He didn't get a vocal response, but when the demon moved a few shambling steps closer he got the answer he was looking for."Hmhm..." He let his arm drop, knowing what was going to happen. "We'll get back to that later."
The world around him seemed to disappear when he found himself moving a step closer, perfectly mirroring his enemies.
"I remember we first heard about the identity of the alleged demon attacking our neighbouring guilds." He began, letting out a shaky breath when the memories began to flood his memory.
))-((O#O))-((
(1 month earlier)
"Erza please."
"No Gray, I cannot allow what Natsu is doing to continue."
"But he took out every guild and village in the area! Including the wizard saints!"
"It doesn't matter who he has taken down, all that matters is that he has killed someone, excluding the entire genocide!"
This had been going on for ages now…
Two weeks ago, Lucy had all of a sudden disappeared, after hearing about what the guild was planning to do to Natsu if he didn't stop got her all up in a frenzy of insults and fruitless attempts to attack everyone through punches and kicks she left, claiming she would bring Natsu back and save him from whatever it was that had a hold of him.
All the guild had received from that was her fucking head, decapitated and bloody and kept wrapped up in a basket…
After that, the guild were told to stay in the town, they were not to go on any jobs or even attempt to visit anyone outside of town until they had a solid location of the rogue demon/dragon slayer.
It just so happened however that two weeks later they had found him.
After receiving a frantic call from Sting they quickly found out that Natsu was attacking Sabertooth. Unfortunately, before Sting could tell them about Rogue he screamed a blood curdling scream as a hand protruded out of his chest, blood had gone everywhere.
And, unfortunately, Makarov decided that he had to send out Erza, believing her to be the only one capable of stopping him with Laxus down and Gildarts on an SS-Class job and out of the country.
That was were Gray decided that he couldn't allow her to go…
"Erza, please listen to me..."
"Gray, stand aside." Was all he got in response. She wasn't having any of his talk.
But he stood firm, anger beginning to get the better of him. "Why won't you listen!?" He shouted, clenching his fists as he began to shake.
"Because there is nothing more to say or do!" She suddenly sheathed her sword. "Now, stand aside, please." He watched on in shock as she began to shake herself. "Don't make this any harder than it already is."
"But you don't even want to go! S-"
"Goddammit! Why are you so persistent!?"
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU TOO!"
Erza jumped, she couldn't believe her ears. Gray was getting in such as state because he was scared of losing her… She couldn't blame him, in truth… She was scared of losing him. Lucy had been killed by someone they considered a brother and friend. All they had was eachother, the guild didn't understand the bond the team had shared. No matter how much the guild valued those traits, Team Natsu had something special. Something that no bond could ever grow to be.
But with one recently dead and the other responsible for mass genocide, the two had no one but eachother.
But Erza knew why she didn't argue with her masters orders. The reason why she was doing this was because she recently found Gray becoming someone too special for her too lose. Not Jellal special, something greater, stronger, better. If he died then she would completely fall apart. She couldn't just rebuild if Gray died.
Maybe it was something more…
"Gray, please, I am doing this because the sooner this ends, the sooner we don't have to lose eachother." It was exceptionally hard for her to keep her voice steady and calm when she tried to elate him. "Surely you know I wouldn't do something I couldn't handle."
To that, all Gray could do was bow his head sadly, the feeling of loss already creeping up on him. "Bullshit..." He chuckled dryly. "But I know why you are doing this." He quickly grabbed her arm as she went to pass him. "Just promise me you'll come back alive… Please."
))-((O#O))-((
She never did return…
In fact, the only thing that made it back was her bloodied Heart Kreuz armour.
Gray could remember when it arrived. Not only did everyone end up in tears (Except for Laxus and Gajeel), but he was also in such a state of anger and turmoil that no-one could talk to him. Gramps tried, he really did. But he had to realise that Gray had just lost the three people closest to him. The team were like a family of their own, he knew that and so did the guild.
And he was all that remained…
However, as this passed through his head Gray had an epiphany. Was he really doing this because he wanted to buy Gramps some time? Or was he doing this because he didn't want to live anymore?
Or was he doing this because he HAD to?…
"Y'know, when Erza left I thought that if anyone could get to you, whether it be by violence or not it would be her." He clenched his fists tighter, feeling his nails dig into his skin. "But i'm sure you know what happened."
"Natsu..." He took a small step closer, his eyes refusing to leave his rival as he moved. "She was your friend… More than that, your family!" He felt his chest tighten as the unreleased anger finally began to vent. "So tell me, why did you decide that it was right for you to kill her!?"
His magic flared, surrounding him in a cold embrace as Natsu took another step closer…
"What gave you the right to end her life and then mock us with her armour!?" Gray felt a flow of tears begin to roll down his cheeks, his deceased friends popping in and out of his head as if he was trying to focus on what they looked like. "You even killed Juvia! And I swear to god if she did it just to get my attention I will be pissed!"
He didn't feel the need to bring up that memory, his depression had already set in at that point. Everyone just continued to give him the most pitying looks he had ever received. He didn't see Natsu take a few more steps closer, leaving them at a rough estimate of 20 meter's from eachother.
"But I want to know you're answer..." He finally calmed himself down, he felt his anger simmer down to a manageable level and his tears cease to fall. "Do you think that someone can be a good person if they try?"
No response again, it was expected…
"No answer?" He looked down at his tattoo, it was glowing and he knew why, a demon was nearby and he was standing in front of it. Even now, he felt it's killing intent. He ignored it for now, looking up without a second glance. "Well, i'm sure you gave Lucy the same response before you mercilessly slaughtered her..."
At this, Natsu actually grinned… A scary grin that almost chilled Gray down to the bone… He remembered and he was happy about it. The sick fuck.
"Well, enough of that. I have one more question for you..."
As soon as those words left his mouth Gray's eyes glowed an ominous blue hue. If one were to look closer they would see the tiny circles of ice in his iris's begin to form and glow brighter than any sun. Making the demon step back in surprise, yet not showing it on it's face.
"Do you want to have a really bad time?" He asked, receiving the first glare since the confrontation started. "Because if you try to pass me you will really hate what happens next, trust me when I say that you will regret it."
But Natsu didn't seem to care anymore as he took that fateful step forward. Gray sighed, but gave him a scary grin, matching the demon's.
"Well, I did promise Lucy before she left that I wouldn't hurt you, but I guess that is why I hate promises. They are meant to be broken."
What happened next actually startled the demon…
Ice begun forming everywhere, on the top of walls, covering damaged pole's and pieces of concrete as it made it's way around the ice mage. Who begun walking forward very slowly.
"It was such a nice day today too. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming..." He made it within ten feet of Natsu, who got ready to pounce. "On days like these, things like you..." Everything stopped, the world seemed to stop turning, time seemed to stop ticking and all Natsu/E.N.D could see was the bright glow of Gray's eyes as he raised his arms up into the air.
"Should be burning in hell!"
And before E.N.D could even do anything he was hailed upon by bitter cold spears and lances, all of them the size of doors and sharper than the Titania's swords. He wasn't fast enough to react, getting stabbed, slashed and grazed before he was quickly taken out by a huge chunk of sharp ice that Gray had fired at him, penetrating his entire chest and completely eviscerating his organs and bones as they were smashed out through his back…
Then E.N.D knew no more…
Until he was again at the SAVE screen again…
))-((O#O))-((
The demon looked at Natsu, who was gaping in absolute shock and fear at what had just transpired. He knew that he and Gray were now beginning to rival Gildarts in strength and durability but what he had seen Gray do to his captor filled him with dread, sadness and horror. But also with a strong glimmer of hope. Maybe he could finally end this nightmare once and for all. Maybe he could save the rest of the guild.
But then he saw the raw anguish and sadness in his eye's before the glow happened. He knew of the glow, it was part of his Devil Slaying magic. He would use that to tap into the further extent of his power to make him even more deadly on the field.
But Natsu had never seen the limit of his power…
Was Gray really holding back all this time and he just didn't say?… Then why didn't he do anything!? He could have gone with Erza, or Lucy, or even fucking Juvia!
But he couldn't think on that just now. Instead he focussed on the positive. Maybe Gray could kill him enough times to get the demon to give up.
That filled him with DETERMINATION…
"Don't smile you worthless being..." Came the monotone voice of E.N.D. Looking at him with anger, but Natsu could see the shock and doubt in the creature's face. He knew it knew that it would take literal hours, maybe even the time equivalent of a year or two to maybe beat the ice mage.
"What's the matter? Afraid?" He mocked in reply and receiving a painful punch to the gut for his trouble. "You should be..."
"Silence!" The demon roared before turning away from him and hovering his hand across the reset button in front of him.
Hopefully, he wouldn't get stuck in this dark void again…
"Attempt 2..." Was all Natsu said before slumping back against the invisible barrier behind him and waiting for the action the begin anew…
))-((O#O))-((
Gray felt immense satisfaction at seeing the corpse of the horrid demon in front of him. He grabbed one of the horns from E.N.D's head and ripped it off before shoving it straight into the forehead.
"Take that you piece of shit..."
But suddenly, the satisfaction became dread as a familiar dizzy feeling enveloped his sense's, causing him to cup his head in his hands and wait for it to stop. He tried not to growl from the pain, and luckily he had managed to stave it off for now. After a few seconds, he felt the feeling ebb away and he looked up to see himself behind the wall he was hiding behind again. His eyes widened as he realised what was causing the anomaly.
It was E.N.D Formally, Natsu Dragneel…
'Of course the fire breathing bastard would be able to cheat!'
He watched again as E.N.D trudged up the ruined road again but slightly faster. On closer inspection Gray noticed the expression he was sporting this time around.
'Just do what you did before Gray…'
So he brought up the wall and got into position. He released the wall and instead of giving E.N.D the same speech he decided to comment on the face he was pulling.
"Hmm, you look really… frustrated about something." He shot the demon a shit-eating grin before his eyes began to glow once more. "I guess i'm pretty good at this kind of job huh?"
Gray finally decided to say his piece about the lovely day, he could see the demon relax somewhat at this. Maybe he could keep the illusion up for some time.
Then he lifted his arms into the air again and bombarded E.N.D with the same spears and lances before firing his ice cannon at him again.
E.N.D did somewhat better this time around, he had managed to keep his organs inside oh his body and had been able to melt the icy weapon's before they did much damage to him. But he still got hit by the huge chunk of ice.
Which had managed to tear off his right arm… The demon howled as the angry pain shot through his body, almost crippling him. Luckily for him, Gray stopped attacking him.
The ice mage looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Hmm, not bad, not bad at all." He watched as E.N.D tried to shamble over toward him. Once he was near enough the demon tried striking him with a fiery fist. But Gray promptly caught it and doused the flames before crushing the hand, making E.N.D groan and growl. "But that wasn't nearly my strongest attack…"
With that said, he pulled the crippled demon to him and swiped his feet out from under him. Sending E.N.D to the ground with a heavy thud before covering his arm with an icy spearhead and sending it through the demon face, destroying every feature and killing him instantly.
))-((O#O))-((
"Back so soon?..." Was the first thing E.N.D heard when he landed on his ass in the black void known as the save/reset screen. He turned around and gave Natsu a smouldering glare.
"I told you to be quiet..." He growled, eyes blazing.
"And I didn't listen." Natsu then hopped onto his feet and clasped at the bars holding him in place. "And I never will, not until you have been killed for good."
"Well, with my natural power that won't be happening..." E.N.D stalked up to the bars and grabbed Natsu by the neck, bringing him too eye-level. "You are me and I am you, Zeref gave us this power and we will fulfil his wishes."
"I really wish I never killed him..."
"So you keep saying." The huge demon let the fire mage go and walked back to the reset button. "I'll get him this time..."
"So you keep saying..." Natsu mocked, mirroring the words spoken by the demon.
"Fuck off."
"Not going to happen asshole."
"I hate me." E.N.D sighed angrily before slamming his fiery palm down on the reset button.
"Attempt 3..." Natsu said, feeling the darkness creep up on them once more.
))-((O#O))-((
"That expression..." Gray took one look at E.N.D and instantly knew how to piss him off. "That's the expression of someone that's died twice in a row. Suffice it to say that you look rather unsatisfied."
His eyes began to glow again…
"Alright, time to make it a third."
E.N.D wasn't going to wait for him to finish his little poem this time around, and he made a mad dash for Gray, his body set alight and his first attack primed.
Only for Gray to create a wall of spikes that quickly left him impaled to the frozen formation. Just before E.N.D died for the third time he saw the satisfaction in the ice mage's eyes.
He was pleased…
The sick fuck…
))-((O#O))-((
"That wasn't even an attempt."
"Shut it." E.N.D ignored the mocking laugh from his other half before throwing his fist onto the button again. "I will kill this guy, he has pissed me right off."
"Attempt 4."
))-((O#O))-((
"That's the expression of someone who's died quice in a row." Gray suddenly let out a hostile chuckle. "Quice, frice? Are those even words? Well, at least we won't have to use it for too long anyway..."
E.N.D dodged and weaved through Gray's first attack, feeling better now that he could finally breathe, he decided to instantly attack him. He threw his fist at Gray with all his might, the speed was that of a bullet train, the power that of an asteroid.
But Gray had dodged it…, scratch that, he side-stepped it and was now looking at him with a pitying expression. As if he now was mocking him.
"Y'know, for the demon that has killed members of my family, I am sorely disappointed with that attack. I was definitely expecting more." Gray then threw his fist into E.N.D's stomach forcibly, making the demon throw up blood and choke as he then received an elbow to the back of his neck. The demon fell to the floor and before he could get up a large, jagged piece of ice was forced through his chest, piercing the heart and keeping him stuck to the ground.
He then lost consciousness and woke up at the save/reset screen again.
With Natsu's teasing laughter in the background.,,
))-((O#O))-((
(5 resets later)
"That's the expression of someone who has died seven time's in a row." Gray paused, his face scrunched up in concentration before he relaxed and grinned. "Oh, sorry, it was definitely nine times..." His eyes began to glow again. "Or was it ten?"
E.N.D, the most powerful demon ever to roam Fiore, the harbinger of destruction and the killer of the most powerful mage guild in Fiore, gulped as he felt the anxiousness grip him like a vice.
But hey, at least he made it past three attacks this time! Before being hoisted into the air and pulled apart from the limbs…
He could already see Natsu's reaction. Laughter, that was all it was now…
))-((O#O))-((
"I really wish I could kill you right here..."
"Yeah, well, I guess we both have something in common after all." Natsu got himself up from the edge of the black wall. "I mean, neither of us want to be stuck in here with eachother."
"Difference being I have control and after I kill this runt you will follow..." E.N.D turned away from Natsu once again.
"If you can even hit him that is… attempt 10."
"Fuck off..."
))-((O#O))-((
"Th-"
"Fire Demon's: Rage!" E.N.D didn't give Gray any time to talk before sending an intense stream of fire at him. The blazing attack glided over towards the ice mage and E.N.D ran up close behind the flames, ready to pounce on Gray the moment he had a window.
"Freeze..." Gray's monotone voice oozed out and suddenly, the cloud of fire was quickly frozen over, and E.N.D not having enough time to slow down, ran straight into it, smacking head first into it before landing on his back with a groan.
"Shit..." The demon rolled away from the humongous axe and retaliated by spouting flame geysers all around Gray, who just waved his hand and the flames met the same fate as the flames before them.
"So you can talk..." He grinned, forming five turrets and aiming them at the demon. "And here I thought the anomaly had no voice box." He fired the turrets, his expression distasteful when E.N.D managed to avoid most of them. The ones that hit left a few nasty wounds on him however.
"I guess I can see why you would rush me though." Gray stated, effortlessly blocking and dodging E.N.D's attacks with unnerving skill. "Seeing that you have died around ten times in a row. I would be fairly annoyed as well."
"Fire Demon's: Blazing inferno combo!" E.N.D ran up to the ice mage, every part of his body set alight as he begun swinging for Gray with all of his strength. Each punch and kick however was met by a sturdy and muscular arm that prevented any sort of damage that could have been dealt on Gray.
But soon, Gray slipped up…
He was starting to get really tired, by the time E.N.D had managed to finally hit the Ice mage the two had already going at it for 3 whole hours! Incidentally; Gray messed up with his foothold, he ended up tripping over a slab of concrete and focussed more on keeping his balance rather than blocking the oncoming kick sent his way.
So the kick connected with his chest, sending a powerful burning sensation through his body and him through the air, only to collide with one of the few remaining building that was still standing.
"Shit…." He looked up at E.N.D, clutching his chest, which was now somehow bare. "You finally hit me, about fucking time."
He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes locked onto the en-flamed demon before him. It still hadn't stuck that this thing was once Natsu Dragneel. The one guy he would fight and squabble with on a daily basis, the one guy he could consider his one true rival. The one guy who had put his life on the line for the guild and almost every individual he felt deserved it.
The one guy he thought of as a fucking brother…
"You… Are really persistent aren't you?" 'Fuck, that hurt more than I care to admit…' Gray winced as his skin started to sting painfully. He sighed before speaking once more. "Look, I know you didn't answer me before but..." He removed his hand from his chest, but not without a little hiss. "Somewhere in there, I know that my friend is in there." He pointed at E.N.D, the demon looked down and guessed he was pointing at his heart.
"A semblance of my friend, who once fought against people like you because he despised the thought of his friends suffering, even for the most trivial thing in the world." He dropped his left arm before reaching out with the right. A hopeful look on his face.
"C'mon flame brain, can you hear me?" He stumbled to his feet, feeling a wave of fatigue and dizziness hit him as he stood upright. "C'mon, lets just stop all this pointless fighting." He watched the demon shake slightly. Maybe he was getting through to him. "Just stop this, and well… This becomes a lot more easier for us."
'If he thinks that I will fall for this then he ha- ugghhh!'
E.N.D didn't have the time to finish his thought as he felt a struggle within him, he could feel a stinging sensation crawl all the up into his head, making him feel Numb. He knew exactly what was going on.
Natsu was fighting back…
'Quit fighting worm!' He fumed, struggling to keep his control over the body he owned. The stinging became more potent and painful in response.
Did the foolish mage believe that his old friend would actually spare him? He must be more stupid than he lets on.
'Fine… But don't cry to me when he destroys you…'
With that, the demon allowed Natsu to gain control of his body, causing the horns and scales to fade away from the young man's body. Leaving him just as he was before…
Natsu honestly felt like crying. Everything he had done, or E.N.D was still fresh in his mind and gaining his body back only reiterated the fact that he was still here and they weren't. He had not only taken away his love's life. But he had also destroyed Gray's for the fourth and fifth time. Even now he could see the fresh tear marks just under his shaded fringe.
But he looked up and stared at the anxious face of his long time rival. And finally spoke after a good minute of staring at eachother.
"I-Ice princess?..." His voice was but a whimper, Dry from lack of use yet E.N.D had been talking. Maybe he purposely dried the throat up… Bastard.
"Flame brain… I want you to know… That you are making the right choice here." Natsu looked away, tears threatening to fall, why was Gray being so damn nice! "I know that this must be hard for you, to give up everything you have worked for. But you are making the right decision by doing so."
"I… Never wanted this to happen, i'm sorry…"
"Don't worry, now come here you knuckle-head." Was the warm response. Natsu thought that this was it. He could maybe redeem himself, start over and build himself back to the point where he deserved to live again. He had committed so many horrible crimes, killed his friends and ruined another's life.
But here he was, about to hug him for the first time, and forgive him…
Or that was what he thought…
Gray, having the smaller man in his arms suddenly smirked. He forced the dragon slayer back and onto his ass before raising his hand up, causing multiple icy spikes to just out of the floor, impaling the shocked fire mage.
The blood from Natsu began to coat the floor, pooling around him and coating the spikes he was stuck on. His face one of shock, anguish and most of all, pain. He gagged for a few measly and pathetic seconds before feeling the familiar embrace of death wrap around his being.
But just before he passed, he heard one last thing from Gray…
"Get iced, demon bastard..."
))-((O#O))-((
When Natsu finally dropped back into the black void that was the SAVE/RESET room, he immediately heard the slow clapping from the other side of the room.
"Quite the show there I must admit..." E.N.D walked over to the dragon slayer, laughing mockingly as he did. "But you were foolish to even accept his 'mercy'."
But Natsu didn't respond… He just stood there, staring at the two glowing buttons blankly before crumbling to the ground and shaking.
"H-H-he killed…-"
"Well spotted..."
Natsu turned around with a furious glare, teeth bared and pupils shrunken. "It's all you're fault!"
With that said (more like screamed) the dragon slayer jumped at the demon. Throwing every single punch and kick he could as quickly as possible. But being one with E.N.D meant that the demon knew every single move he had learned. Each attack was blocked easily and precisely before E.N.D got bored and slammed his fist into Natsu's head.
"Don't blame me for this… You knew that killing Zeref would end with you sharing a body with me. Yet you chose to do it."
He didn't have a reply for that… he just hung there, head low and tears streaming as he continued to realise how much his life had changed.
"We deserve it..."
E.N.D looked up at him with a blank look. Eyes uncaring and cold, despite being a fire demon. "I can't find it in me to care in all honesty." He then turned around to face the buttons again. 2Now shut up, I have an Ice mage to deal with." 'He's more of a problem than that re-quip mage was that's for sure…'
This was his 11th attempt…
))-((O#O))-((
"Let's end all this pointless fighting and well, this becomes a lot more easier for us."
"Fat chance..." E.N.D Quickly rushed at Gray, hoping to catch him off guard. Unfortunately, all that did was inspire Gray to jump to the left and out of his path. The ice mage just sagged his shoulders, disappointed with his plan's failure.
"Oh well, at least I gave it a try..." His eyes glowed intensely. "Guess you like to do this the hard way then huh?" He didn't give E.N.D a chance to move before he was smashed into the air by a pillar of ice that had jutted out of the ground when Gray's fist swung up in an uppercut fashion. Leaving him open to any attack Gray thought was needed.
It just so happened that a spear through the abdomen was his choice of attack…
But E.N.D didn't flinch. The pain felt numb to him now, through Gray's overwhelming strength, speed and durability advantage he had inadvertently given his enemy one of the best and worse advantage in the history of battle.
The icy weapon shattered and crumbled away, revealing the hole through the demon's lower half. Thick crimson started pouring out from the wound, but to Gray's surprise the demon stayed upright. How much had he hurt him to make him so unresponsive to pain?!
'Either way, that's not stopping me…'
"Ice Devil's: Tundra palm!" Gray slammed his aura engulfed fist into the ground, and almost instantly, the area in front of him got swept up by a huge blast of air and snow, the ground itself got frozen beneath a thick layer of purple-ish ice and the force knocked E.N.D back and onto his ass. The snow had been bitter cold, even the demon's flames couldn't completely remove the chill after the flakes melted.
He had a hard time melting the ice around him…
"Ice Devil's: Cygnus Geyser!" E.N.D quickly formed a dome of fire around his person, keeping him safe(ish) from the huge chunk of ice that sprouted from the ground. He bared his teeth and tightened his fists, ready to counter his hardest enemy yet.
"Fire Demon's: Hell bird slash!" He threw his arms out to his side's and as he did so three thin, dangerous winged disc's formed and buzzed through the ice before reaching the end and flinging themselves at Gray as if they had a mind of their own.
"Freeze!" Gray's voice boomed and the disc's quickly shattered and splintered when they were covered in ice. Due to the attack. But Gray had to dodge another strike from E.N.D as he burst from inside the icy prison.
"Y'know, I first felt the anomaly a day after Erza had departed..." He stated casually, angering the demon. "I was so shocked and worried, if this continued on then what would be the point in carrying on? What was the point In living out the days if this happened each time?" He glared at E.N.D. "Then they stopped and not a day later did Erza's once beautiful armour land in our guild hall, caked in dried up blood. The fact that the anomaly as I have come to call stopped happening, I could easily guess what the hell happened."
He blocked another attack from E.N.D. "I think that she was forced to kill you a few times before you finally managed to prepare for the expected attacks." He then head-butted the demon in the nose, causing a loud crack and the demon to fall to the ground again. "Just like what you are doing now..."
"Quiet you damn insect!"
"Sounds like I hit a nerve there." He cheekily replied. Jumping away from the demon's kick and wiping his forehead from the sweat…
"But I think you really need to learn when to give up, and that one lesson is today..." He blocked E.N.D's punch and jumped to avoid his sweeping leg, pressing his feet into the demon's shoulders before giving a slightly fatigued grin. "Because, we have been at it for a long ass time now, and my magic and strength is starting to run low..."
'Not too mention my will to do this over and over again...'
"Good..." E.N.D growled, but then grunted painfully as Gray formed spikes below his shoe's and dug them into his shoulders roughly before pushing off him and landing ten feet away from him with a back-flip.
Now he had two heavily bleeding shoulders as well as a painful as fuck puncture in his abdomen, he was healing, but it was slower due the Devil Slayer's magic…
"Well then, give up now and I will grant you a quick death..." E.N.D Offered, He really didn't care anymore, he just wanted to get the guild hall to acquire the Lumen Histoire. Then he could finally purge Natsu from his rightful body and start a new era for Earthland.
"Ha… Ha… Now that would be stupid of me to do… especially after what you have done to us all." Gray felt his body begin to resist his commands and his muscles started to scream out to him to stop. But he put his hands together and looked at the demon in front of him with a smouldering and hateful glare. "If you manage to survive this, I will have to use a certain spell on you."
E.N.D didn't know what he meant, but when he felt Natsu scream inside of him he knew that it had to be detrimental to his progress.
But he wouldn't. Be. STOPPED!
So he reacted accordingly, he just suddenly dashed at Gray and fired a huge array of fireballs at him, hoping one would connect.
Gray quickly brought up icy tendril's that blocked most of the fireballs, however, he couldn't find the strength to move much further, so he took up to three fireballs to the chest, feeling the red mark previously on his chest burn and sizzle he screamed and grit his teeth, the third degree burn began to blacken the skin, but luckily, the ice mage had froze it over just in time.
"O-Okay, you asked for it..." He pushed his hands out and looked at E.N.D with a slight fear, he was beginning to lose hope that he could stop him from getting to Gramps. His eye's suddenly flashed so bright that E.N.D was temporarily blinded by it's intensity. "I-Ice Devil: Blizzard Storm!"
He didn't stand a chance, not without his sight…
The ground beneath him iced up even more and even worse was that he couldn't see anything! All he could feel was the air begin to freeze below -30 degree's and the force of thousand's of trains hit him harder than anything he had ever felt before.
Then something HUGE hit him and everything went black…
Moments later, he opened his eye's and saw the familiar hunched figure of Natsu and the two big glowing yellow buttons.
He was killed again…
"FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK!"
))-((O#O))-((
"I-Ice Devil's: Blizzard Storm!"
This time, E.N.D was going to finally kill Gray Fullbuster. He could see the young man's shaking form as he fired off his most effective spell yet.
He saw the ground freeze over and he looked away from the ice mage's eyes before jumping into the air and firing his own effective spell…
"Fire Demon's: Screeching Tide!" He cupped his hands together and thrusted them at the raging blizzard aimed at him. A colossal jet of fire spewed from his hands, forming the head of a grotesque demon on the way down before smashing against the harsh cold-front.
"You… Won't Stop me you stupid little worm!" E.N.D Shouted, he was having immense trouble going up against the attack, every time he managed to burn through a portion of the cold, the rest of it would just freeze over the flames and take it's place back.
It was a complete standstill….
But the ice mage then started shaking even more harshly as he struggled to keep attack up. If there was one thing about Natsu he found amazing was the endless amount of power he could throw out. For what he lacked in skills other than close quarters he made up for with his output and magical reserves.
He couldn't compete with that, he only had so much magic he could dish out before running dry. And that's what happened…
"NO! Come on!" He tried as hard as he could, but soon enough, the fire began claim more of the cold and soon enough it engulfed him too.
But even as he felt his skin peel and blister, he couldn't find the energy to scream…
So when the fire cleared, he was still conscious and was about to speak when E.N.D stood him up and plunged his fiery fist into Gray's chest, which made it all the way through and out of the other side.
"Ack! Ugh!" Gray felt his body freeze from shock, his breathing growing hitched and raspy with it. He suddenly choked on the gushing blood that began to make it's way up to his mouth, coughing lots of it out onto the insanely happy demon's face as he tried to find air.
E.N.D Mentally did a little dance, finally, after a good week (That's how it felt to him anyway) he had finally given this wretched mage his deserved punishment.
But he wasn't done talking apparently…
Gray somehow managed to stumble to his feet again, looking at the demon with an expression that confused him. It wasn't (mostly) fear. But it looked like resignation, tiredness, and… Relief?
He spared the demon a weak grin.
"Ugh… So… This is it fo- ack!" He suddenly coughed up more blood. Feeling his time running short he looked at the demon again, not bothering to wipe hid mouth of the blood. "This… Is it for me then huh?" He let his head hang limply. "Well, I'm going to Lucy's apartment… So fuck off."
With that, the ice mage turned away from the demon and began to walk away into the recently dark blue horizon. Limping and coughing all the way.
E.N.D Just kept on walking towards the guild. No one could stop him now.
The end is nigh…
))-((O#O))-((
Gray couldn't go any further…
His body was starting to fail on him and his left arm had gone limp a while ago. He couldn't see E.N.D anywhere and he smiled. That bastard wouldn't get to see him die…
That was good at least…
He managed to make it to the apartments, or what was left of them and slumped against the wall and slid to his knees before waiting for death to claim him.
It wouldn't be long now…
"Haa… Haa..." He looked up and he could see two shimmering figure's just beyond his slowly declining vision, due to the night rolling in it was easy to spot them out from the rest of the dark and depressing atmosphere.
He smiled, feeling the familiar warmth surround him as he looked at them. Maybe death wasn't going to be so bad after all.
But that didn't stop the tears that began to spill from his bloodied face.
"I-I tried… I really did, but he could cheat." He sniffled, feeling his past sins and recent emotions flare up against the good ones. "I..." He began to cough harder and harder, more and more blood flew out of his mouth and his wound. Even now, he could feel his lungs filling up with blood. "I'm… sorry, L-Lucy…. I didn't keep my promise..."
The shimmering began to draw nearer as he spoke in his broken tongue, his words almost unclear to the point of being nothing but mumbles and incoherent mutterings.
"E-Erza…. I g-guess we are both just as brash and- humpf- silly as eachother when it came to it..."
His eyes began to droop, his mind started going fuzzy and he could feel his grip on his life slip away with every second.
But he smiled, hopefully, he had managed to keep the demon bastard away from the guild long enough for them to escape or fight or whatever Master had in mind.
The thought that he had saved his friends gave him hope, and hope was all anyone needed, dying or not.
So as his eyes almost shut he could finally make out the shimmering…
It was Lucy, Lyon and Erza… he could see Juvia and a few others behind them but he didn't pay attention to her. All he could see was Erza's sad yet huge and happy smile on her face, a stray tear made it's way down her cheek as everyone else was weeping at the sight of his pitiful death.
He smiled as wide as he could, his friends really have been with him.
"H-Hey guys, drinks on me..."
And with that, the earth itself wept as the soul of Gray Fullbuster passed away, he would forever be with his friends wherever they may be. But he would forever be remembered by those who made it. One of the few that stood against E.N.D and died saving thousand's if not millions of lives due to his sacrifice.
Hopefully, he is happy wherever he is…
))-((O#O))-((
That took longer than expected…
First off I want to point out some things about this story.
1: It is going to be similar to how updated 'He won't harm you' Meaning that the next time I update will only be when I feel like it, so it will be very far away in the future before this sees a next chapter.
2: I based the following for the characters and their roles.
Lyon – Toriel
Lucy – Papyrus
Erza – Undyne
Juvia – Mettaton NEO (Because she is a shit character and I would never defile Metaton by making this mindless dolt his/her replacement)
Gray – Sans (I'm sure you could tell)
Natsu – Frisk
E.N.D – Chara
3: I am sure you can tell that things were explained rather randomly, well, that is because I was trying to make it seem more panicky, but my stories read out like bloody scripts so FAILURE!
4: Thank my GF for the "Get iced." line. BIG THANKS! XD
So thank you for watching and sorry for only updating twice this month… College is nearing the end and work is getting hard. But I should be trying harder.
Anyway until next time.
Stay cool,
-viperhat