END Begins

There we stood, at the top of the hill, staring down at Zeref as he prepared to seal his demons away for a long sleep. We had a very clear job, and we wouldn't rest until it was done. Our friends had died attempting this task, the land was in desolation. The only ones left were Natsu and I. Humanities last hope. Even Acnologia had turned on us, and it was all because of him. We lost the ones we hold dear, and Acnologia had paid with his sanity. Now it was time to pay in kind.

"You ready?" Natsu asked. I nodded, my eyes never leaving the cloaked man in the clearing.

"Are you?" I asked in return.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I hesitated, getting my bearings. Something terrible was going to happen. I could feel it. One of us, if not both, would surely die in this battle. But if we didn't do it now, we'd never get this chance again. I took a deep breath, missing the soothing scent of pine and grass on the wind, now replaced with ash and blood.

"Let's go." I commanded.

It was now or never.

Natsu and I took off down the hill, dashing right for the dark wizard as he turned to us. When my eyes met his, my resolve faltered for a moment as I saw the little boy I once knew. The boy I grew up with. But only for a moment. He had suffered so much. It was time to end it.

Natsu reached him first, throwing a punch in which knocked Zeref back. I dashed past the pink headed boy, conjuring a sword from my magic. I jumped into the air, full intention of stabbing the black haired boy and finishing him in one blow. However, his magic came out in a burst as I brought my blade down. Our rivaling magic's clashed, pushing against one another for superiority. I solely used the first magic, as did most in this era. Zeref once did too, until it gave birth to a new and darker magic in his grief.

Our magic dissipated and I was knocked back, skidding to a halt beside the pink haired man that accompanied me. Zeref stared at us with tears in his eyes.

"Natsu… Chiharu…" I stiffened at the use of my name. Never had my name sounded so hopeless coming from his mouth.

"Chi, don't forget, we have a job." Natsu said softly. I nodded numbly, conjuring my sword once more.

"I'm sorry, Zeref," I met his gaze with a sympathetic one. "But this is for your own good." I told him. Zeref looked at us and smiled sadly.

"To be honest… I couldn't think of a better way to die. I am among my friends… there is no other place I'd rather be." I fought the tears that threatened to come from my eyes. I knew he had created those demons to destroy him, but what purpose would they have after? The creatures were strong enough to defeat the most powerful dark wizard of all time. With no purpose they would destroy us all ruthlessly. Was this how desperate he was?

"Chi, let's go." Natsu said and lunged forward. I followed right after. We each prepared a simultaneous attack and Zeref stood there, ready to take it. However, the magic inside him had other plans. Green flames surrounded him and lashed out at us. I was knocked backwards from the force, but Natsu remained unaffected. The fire demon slayer passed right through and landed an attack on Zeref. However, his flames were consumed by the green fire and as soon as he made contact with Zeref, another burst of energy hit the man directly and knocked him backwards. I stared in horror and confusion as Natsu suddenly started writhing.

"Natsu!" I screamed and dashed to his side as he started screaming in pain. It looked as though something was roiling under his skin and his hands came up to his head, only to be pushed away as blood and horns rose from his head. I had to jump back when the green flames moved and shrouded him. I turned to Zeref, a look of horror stricken across his face.

"What did you do?!" I demanded as anger boiled over in me. He turned to me and back to Natsu, speechless. Natsu's screams suddenly turned to laughter and my blood ran cold.

"Wow!" Natsu said cheerfully, but somehow the voice made me freeze. "This is some power! It feels awesome!" He declared. I turned to see the same shock of pink hair, but that was the only thing that stayed the same. Black horns protruded and curled from his head, his pupils had turned a crimson color surrounded in black, his skin was covered in black markings that looked like ash, his nails had grown into talons and his already long canines had become even sharper.

"N…Natsu?" I questioned hesitantly. His eyes met mine and his lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Chiharu! Doesn't this look awesome! Hey, I feel strong enough to kill Zeref now!" He declared happily. Suddenly his features became darker as his smile only widened. "I feel strong enough to kill you too." My eyes widened as I realized that this was no longer my brother. He held his appearance, but my brother was not the one on the surface.

It was an Etherious.

"Etherious Natsu Dragneel." Zeref said. "END." Natsu turned to him and laughed.

"Sounds fitting, considering I'll be your down fall." His grin grew once more. "I will be the one to end you." And he lunged. I acted off impulse, kicking END in the stomach and knocking him backwards a few feet. I briefly wondered why I'd done that. Why not just let him kill Zeref, then I won't have to. But I shook those thoughts form my head. No, Natsu would hate himself if he let a demon kill his childhood friend… our childhood friend.

"Natsu, stop this, this isn't you!" He had to still be in there, he had to be! He jumped at me, swinging a claw at my face. I dodged and jumped back. "Please! I know you're still in there! It's me, Chiharu! You're sister!" I pleaded, but my cries fell on deaf ears as he lunged again. I ducked and punched him in the gut, sending him flying back and crashing into the ground. He rose from the dust, not a single scratch or bruise on him, that smile was still on his face.

"Don't you see, Chi?" He said and his eyes met mine. I swore I was staring into a menacing fire, hungry for blood. "I am Natsu, and he is me. I'm the demon from within the slayer." I stood shocked. My baby brother was turning out the same as his best friend. Taken by the monster they had unintentionally created. END used my shock against me. In a flash he was in front of me, his claw poised to rip out my heart.

"Good bye dear sister." And his claw ripped through me. I looked down, seeing his arm run through me so only the elbow was left on this side. Why didn't I feel anything? I looked back up and saw black flicker in the red. I knew it, my brother was still in there. There was only one thing left to do. I conjured my sword, the golden light seemed almost too bright in my current state He saw what I was about to do and removed his hand, attempting to jump back. But even in my injured state, he was too slow. I had completely forgotten about Zeref, the only thing left on my mind was to save my baby brother.

I stabbed my sword through his heart, muttering words of an ancient language as his body took on an ethereal glow. We had developed this spell together a long time ago, and I knew this spell had one of two outcomes. Either I would die or my life force would fragment across the ages while the original ceased to exist. But I didn't care, I was dying anyways. This was a spell I had meant to use on all the demons. It would split the human's they once were from the demons that had overtaken them. This was the one and only test run and I hoped to the heavens it would work.

And it did.

On the ground lay a book, titled END, the demon side of Natsu where he would remain sealed away. Lying next to it was a pile of clothing, with something small writhing underneath the fabric. I picked up the bundle and moved them around, a small baby was lying underneath. Tears streamed down my face as I stared at him.

"I'm so sorry Natsu… I'm so sorry…" I hugged the baby close to me as it cried with me. "There was no other way… I only wish for you to live a normal and happy life… make good friends… hell, maybe even find a nice girl!" I laughed, choking on my sobs. "But it seems I won't be able to meet her…" I kissed his forehead and his little form began to glow again. "I will send you far away from here… where I can entrust Igneel to protect and raise you… until you are ready… as it is there is no stopping your fate. Whatever comes to pass, you will get through it… just don't do it alone…" his body disappeared from my arms.

"…Where did you send him?" Zeref asked. I turned and smiled.

"You'll find him again someday… I'm certain of it… There's no one left to kill you now… I'm sorry." I told him. He dropped to his knees next to me.

"…How long do you have?"

"…Moments…" He hesitated before he gently grasped my hand.

"Chiharu, I—" I hushed him.

"Don't say anything. Just…" I squeezed his hand. What did I want him to do? I looked into his eyes, his irises turning a slight red as he became angered with himself. I felt my body becoming less lucid by the moment. I wouldn't last long. I leaned up and gently, tenderly kissed his forehead before pressing my forehead to his.

"I love you Zeref. I believe that one day, you will find the light again… and when that happens, I'll be waiting for you." I told him with a smile and tears flooded his eyes again. He grabbed my cheeks and kissed me, desperately trying to hold on. I kissed him back. His lips on mine were the last thing I felt before descending into darkness, the warmth they left flooding into me and I knew that whatever happened next, I would see them all again, at least one last time, in another life.

A/N: I'd like to make a shout out to Rapunzel3 for Beta Reading this story for me. If you have any common sense, you'll go read their story The Prince and The Thief. I hope you enjoyed this story, thanks for reading! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!