Ok, I was going to just copy and paste the same note from my other stories, however, I decided that would just be tedious. If you want a more in-depth explanation, just have a look at the latest chapter for A Demon's Rebirth, or The Beginning of the E.N.D. but, to make it simple though, a poll is on my profile for the pairing of this story. I will switch the poll around to each respective story when I update it, so, since I just updated this, the poll for this story is now on my profile and not the one for A Demon's Rebirth, which was there previously. If you want the single pairing, in other words no harem, just vote for the main pairing of the story, who in this case, is Ultear. I will base who goes in to the harem, if anyone, based on their votes in relation to the main (Ultear). If Ultear has the most votes, the story will stay a single pairing, if just Meredy has more votes than Ultear, this will be Natsu/Ultear/Meredy and so on. If Ultear has the lowest amount of votes, everyone on the poll will be in the harem. Lastly, each harem poll will continue until chapter 5, at which point, I will close the poll and the results will be announced. Oh and just an FYI, I added Cana and Angel as an option as well, after a bit of thought. This being said, I also have the next chapter done as well, so you will get another update tomorrow, or the day after, depending on if I choose to update my DxD story, before the next chapter of this one. For now though, enjoy.
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.
Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Fairy Tail anime/manga. All I own are my original characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
*expression*
FlashbackTechniques
Chapter 2 – The Truth
After Natsu headed back to the village, Erza heavily probed him for his whereabouts, for where had went. Once Erza finally accepted that Natsu wasn't trying to escape from the "punishment", Erza relented and let Natsu be.
'Sheesh Happy, what's Erza's deal?' Questioned Natsu, to his favourite blue furred friend.
'Hmm, I don't know, maybe she was upset they didn't have any strawberry cake at the feast.' Suggested Happy, as he floated next to Natsu, as they walked to their tent for the night.
'Hmm, you might be right actually.' Muttered Natsu aloud, while pondering his current predicament internally.
"If Zeref knows what we did… this could get really bad, really fast." Thought Natsu, as he looked to the sky in thought.
'Hey Happy, what did you say you favourite colour was again?' Questioned Natsu suddenly.
'Blue of course, just like all the tasty fish in the sea.' Replied Happy, as he started to drool.
"Yep, Happy doesn't remember Carla then. After she joined, his favourite colour became white." Concluded Natsu mentally.
'Ne, Natsu, what's with the weird look on your face?' Asked Happy curiously.
'Hmm, what do you mean?' Asked Natsu curiously.
'You look like Laxus, your face is really serious looking.' Explained Happy.
'Oh, I'm just thinking about things.' Replied Natsu, stopping Happy in his tracks.
'EHHH! Natsu, are you sick or something, you never think?' Questioned Happy in a panic, getting a tick mark to form on Natsu's forehead.
'Shut up Happy! I'm smart and I can think when I want to!' Shouted Natsu.
'Ah Natsu's sick, I need to tell someone! Gray, Erza, Lucy, Natsu's sick!' Shouted Happy, as he flew back to the feast.
'Hehe Happy, you are one cheeky little Exceed.' Muttered Natsu fondly.
"Although, I'm so not buying him any fish for a week for that." Thought Natsu with a smirk, before clutching his head.
'Ugh, my head does hurt though. I wonder if Happy jinxed me?' Whispered Natsu curiously.
Natsu made his way inside his tent and proceeded to lie down on the floor, before dropping like a bag of rocks and falling into a deep sleep.
-line break-'Natsu, you've done it now!' Boomed a voice, startling Natsu.Natsu opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by lava. If Natsu had to guess, he was either on, in, or near a volcano.
'What the hell, where am I?' Questioned Natsu aloud.
Natsu looked around in confusion, before he heard something, something he had not heard in years: the sound of heavily flapping wings.
'No way.' Whispered Natsu, as a short distance in front of him, was his foster father, Igneel, hovering in front of him.
Natsu gaped and stared at the King of Fire Dragons, even as he descended to the ground.
'Igneel… heh, I must be dreaming, of course.' Intoned Natsu hollowly.
'Actually, this is real.' Retorted Igneel.Natsu looked at the gigantic scaled beast in front of him. Natsu was tiny compared to the beast, being only slightly smaller than the Dragon's head. The dark red scales, glowed in the light of the lava, and the beige underbelly, blended smoothly, with the clay like surface they stood on.
'What do you mean… real?' Asked Natsu in shock.
Igneel stared at Natsu for a moment, before huffing slightly. 'Very well, I should start from what you want to know first. On July seven, seven years ago, I and all the other Dragons as well, disappeared, as I'm sure you know by now.' Began Igneel, getting Natsu full and undivided attention. 'What you and all the other Dragon Slayers didn't know, was that we didn't leave you, rather, we've been inside you all this whole time.' Said Igneel shocking Natsu. 'You heard about Acnologia… well the few Dragons who remained in the aftermath of his killing spree, decided to adopt children and teach them Dragon Slaying magic, in the hopes that one day, they could kill Acnologia.' Revealed Igneel.
'So you taught us to be able to kill Acnologia? None of us could do anything against him though.' Said Natsu sombrely.
'Don't mistake my words Natsu, raising you was not only to have you kill Acnologia. I cared and still do care deeply for you, you are my son in all but blood.' Said Igneel, getting a small smile from Natsu. 'Although we did intend for you to fight Acnologia, none of us actually had very high hopes of any of you being successful.' Continued Igneel. 'You see, Dragon Slaying magic is dangerous and overuse of it, can even turn someone into a Dragon. That is how Acnologia came to be, not from bathing in the blood of my kin, as most would have you believe, but rather, by overusing his magic. I'm sure you are already thinking, why did this not happen to you or any of the other Dragon Slayers, therein lies the reason for why I am here. The Dragons, entered the bodies of the Dragon slayers they trained, and in doing so, helped create antibodies, to prevent them from turning into Dragons. This also allowed us to preserve our lives, as Acnologia took the souls of many of the Dragons, mine included. Our end goal, was to use what was left of our time, to kill Acnologia, when an opportune moment arose.' Finished Igneel.
'Natsu… I'm sorry. In hindsight, nothing really stopped us from telling you all this… but we thought it was for the best. You were all kids at the time and this would have either all gone over your heads, or scared you all pointlessly. Even now, I am only telling you this because something else has come up… something which has forced my hand.' Answered Igneel solemnly.'W-what is it?' Asked Natsu worriedly.
'I am not much longer for this world anymore.' Stated Igneel.'Why, what's wrong?' Questioned Natsu in a panic.
'Your little trip into the past would have normally taken all your magic, you know. That girl with the Lost Magic knows her spell well. The reason no one would survive a spell like that, is because of the massive amount of magic it requires… it drained almost all that was left of me.' Explained Igneel softly.
'So you mean… I killed you.' Muttered Natsu aghast.
'Natsu, this isn't your fault and don't think for a second it is. I was already on borrowed time as it was. Although I am going to pass soon, I believe there is something I must tell you first. There is a reason why I trained you and believe that you could defeat Acnologia. You see Natsu, we have met before.' Said Igneel sternly.'Yeah, of course we have, back when you raised me, I know that.' Said Natsu slightly confused.
'No Natsu, even before that… you recall what the Lost Magic user told you about me just before, right?' Asked Igneel.'Yeah, you fought E.N.D., but what does that have to do with anything?' Questioned Natsu, now very confused.
'Natsu… there is no easy way to tell you this, so I will be direct. Around four hundred years ago, I fought E.N.D., however, after our fight, most of E.N.D.'s consciousness was sealed away in the book of E.N.D., leaving E.N.D. without its memories, however, just a decade or so ago… I trained E.N.D. in Dragon Slayer magic.' Said Igneel.Natsu absorbed this statement, before his eyes slowly widened in realisation and his mouth dropped in shock. 'Yes Natsu, you were, or rather, you are E.N.D., Etherious Natsu Dragneel.' Confirmed Igneel.
'Why… why are you telling me all of this?' Asked Natsu quietly.
'*sigh* I never wanted you to know, rather, I hoped you never would. I wanted you to be free, as Natsu Dragneel, which is why I raised you as my own. I never wanted you to only know the life of E.N.D., full of destruction and death, I wanted you to experience the beauty of life as well. Alas, as my time is running out, I felt it was my duty to let you know, lest you find out some other way that might twist your mind. Listen to me Natsu, you are and always will be, Natsu Dragneel, the son of Igneel the Fire Dragon King and nothing will ever change that.' Said Igneel softly.Natsu jumped up abruptly and hugged Igneel's snout for all he was worth, as he cried tears of joy. True, he may have been a demon in the past, but that didn't matter right now, Igneel accepted him and even saw him as his own son, which was all the assurance Natsu needed.
'I must rest now, Natsu. I won't go just yet, but I won't be able to stay with you much longer. The last thing I need to tell you though is this: you must accept E.N.D., once you do, you will have the power you need and finally be complete.' Said Igneel, before starting to fade away.'Wait Igneel, don't leave yet.' Cried Natsu, as he reached out for him in vain, as his hand passed right through him.
'Don't forget I'm with you Natsu, always.' Said Igneel before he vanished.-line break-'No Igneel… wait.' Muttered Natsu, as he vainly grabbed blindly, before clutching something firm which he squeezed.
An odd moan caused Natsu's eyes to snap open and see Ultear there.
Ultear was going to tease Natsu for groping her, but one look into his eyes, caused her to shelf that idea.
'Natsu what's wrong?' Asked Ultear, as she noticed Natsu was crying.
'I guess you were right. Last Ages shouldn't have worked like that.' Said Natsu tearfully, as twin tear tracks rolled down his face.
'It turns out, we are only here right now thanks to Igneel.' Said Natsu.
'Igneel, what do you mean?' Asked Ultear in confusion.
'He was inside me the whole time. I spent years looking for him, but he was with me all along. He is the reason we survived.' Continued Natsu, getting Ultear to gasp in surprise.
'What do you mean?' Asked Ultear, as she knelt next to Natsu on the ground.
'He was waiting inside me… for the chance to face Acnologia, but he gave up almost all of his magic, just so we could come back safely. He nearly killed himself for me.' Finished Natsu.
'I'm so sorry Natsu.' Said Ultear, as she hugged Natsu and rested his head on her shoulder, gently wrapping her arms around him.
Ultear didn't say a word and let Natsu cry into her shoulder. She was inwardly shocked at the revelation, but couldn't even begin to understand what Natsu felt. The only thing she could compare it to, was when she had found out that her mother had been tricked and had always loved her, but even then… it just wasn't the same.
After a few minutes Natsu, had finished crying and gave a hollow chuckle which surprised Ultear.
'You know what else though? Igneel told me about E.N.D. and how he fought him.' Started Natsu, getting Ultear to focus on Natsu, as he pulled away and looked into her eyes with a glazed expression.
'It turns out, that Igneel trained E.N.D. in Dragon Slaying magic… just over a decade ago.' Said Natsu hollowly.
Ultear's eyes widened at this revelation, but knew it wasn't the time to be surprised now.
'Shhh it's ok Natsu, you're still the Natsu we all know.' Said Ultear, as she pulled Natsu back into a hug.
Natsu's eyes widened at Ultear's actions, before unbidden tears came to his eyes.
'H-how can you say that? Your own mother died to stop Deliora. How can you comfort me when I am exactly the same?' Asked Natsu sadly, before he was taken aback, as Ultear harshly slapped him across the face.
'Don't you ever say that!' Shouted Ultear harshly, causing Natsu to recoil.
'You are nothing like Deliora. You are, and always will be, Natsu Dragneel. The man who would do anything to save his comrades and always do what is right. A demon wouldn't be able to forgive those who hurt him. A demon wouldn't have stopped me from killing Rogue. A demon wouldn't have stopped me from sacrificing my life. A demon would not comfort me and make me feel good about myself, for one of the few times in my miserable life. You are not a demon. You are Natsu Dragneel, and no matter who or what you are, you are a good person.' Said Ultear passionately.
Natsu was speechless, not knowing what to say to that. Ultear's words had struck Natsu deeply. He may be E.N.D., but Ultear was right: no matter what, he was Natsu Dragneel.
'Better now?' Asked Ultear softly, to which Natsu could only mutely nod.
Ultear pulled Natsu back into a hug and slowly rubbed his back. Natsu started to get drowsy and only muttered one thing, before sleep claimed him.
'Ultear, thank you… so much.' Whispered Natsu, before falling asleep on Ultear's shoulder.
Ultear remained still for a moment, before gently lowering Natsu back on his temporary bed. After she had ensured his head was well positioned on the pillow, she stood up.
'No, Natsu, thank you. You too Igneel… it is all thanks to you that I have another chance and I promise to be there for Natsu in your place.' Said Ultear quietly, before leaving the Dragon Slayer to rest peacefully.