When the END comes

by DD42

He had always been there for her. In her darkest of moments, through thick and thin, he was her light, her anchor, her protector; her beloved friend. But now…now he has become her worst nightmare, and only she can help him. (Natsu/Lucy, END!Natsu, Avatar/Albareth War Arc's) *SECOND STORY ARC ADDED/COMPLETED*

10. Alt END Chapter 5: Old Friends

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back!

So…I had planned on finishing this story around the beginning of this month. But, as you can see, that didn't happen. I got busy with everything else going on here at college and did not have that much time to write. Even now my schedule is still a little crazy. Therefore, it'll be next month-November-when I'll be wrapping things up for this story. After this point there will only be two chapters left. I have the ending planned out in my head, I just need to write it down.

I thank each and every one of you who has been waiting for this latest installment and for taking time to give me your feedback.

So, last time we left off with Natsu, Lucy and Wendy working together once again after a year apart of crush Orochi's Finn. We also got to meet ten demon summons called "The Enforcers" who Natsu can call upon should the need arise. But, just when things seem to be looking on the upswing, our trio of mages discover that their dear friends Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser are missing and that dark forces may have had a hand in their disappearance. We now join them as they go in search of their wayward friends…who are currently in the company of some rather devious characters.

And as usual, here is a shout out to you wonderful readers who left a review for the previous chapter:

Wacko12: Hey dude, welcome back! You finally got to see "The Enforcers" after such a long wait; you happy now? X) Yeah, I had a lot of fun writing their parts and they'll play a big supporting role as this story draws to a close.

Rose Tiger: Hello and welcome back! Yep, Dark Gray-and Dark Juvia-are making their appearance in this chapter so let's see how our heroes handle this little problem with their former guild mates.

Sabrina-luna-potter: Hello and welcome back, how are you doing? I'm more of a RoWen guy myself but then again you can ship whoever you like; I got no problem with it. Yep, those are some of my favorites too and although they may not be exclusively in this story, I do try to include them when I can.

Johnny Spectre: Hey dude, what's happening? Yep, when you think about it whenever someone says "praise Zeref" they're actually saying "praise big brother Zeref". Yep, Juvia has taken to walking down the darkened path as well. Yep, I had a lot of fun making The Enforcers; last chapter wasn't the last you've seen of them however.

Snakeboy33: Hello and welcome to the story. In regards to your two questions, I think I may have some answers. You raised some excellent points with what you said and to be honest, in hindsight, I could have added those things to the chapters but I just forgot to do so…oops. And don't worry, there are no stupid questions; just stupid answers. Wendy, technically, is still a member of Lamia Scale. The plan was for her to check in with Gray and Juvia, spend some time with Natsu and then she'd go back to Margaret Town. But as you can see…things didn't work out as planned. As for Natsu and Lucy not wanting to get FT back together, I'm sorry for not further elaborating further on this. It mainly has to deal with Natsu; he's not the same man he used to be. In the year that he's been gone, he's become aware of how dangerous his powers truly are and in a sense, he's trying to find himself once again now that he's changed. And there's the fact that Zeref is still alive so he knows he'll have to face him eventually and he doesn't want to get too many people involved in his personal fight. I hope that answers your questions!

Sailor Pandabear: Hello, glad you liked the chapter!

Lilmymshem: Hello and welcome to the story, glad you are liking things so far.

AngelEmCuti: Hello and welcome to the story. Yep, Gruvia is a side pairing for this story! Hope the wait was worth it!

Guest: Hello and welcome. I'm glad you chose to leave a review for my story, it makes me happy to know that you like my crazy style of writing and the story itself. There's only two more chapters to go so I'll do my best to update when I can!

Anonymous: Hello! For all intents and purposes, I'm going to have Natsu and Zeref still be brothers, yes.

Sarjun18: Hello and welcome to the story. At the moment, Avatar knows Natsu is a demon of Zeref and they're basically treating him like a god. However, he'll turn that sentiment on its head soon enough.

Exxcaliburr: Hello and welcome to the story. I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying it so much. I wish the manga had some things in it too that we find in fanfiction…but then again, that's what fanfiction is for right?

HazelDragonNora: Hey 'Nora, how you doing!? College is going good it's just I've had some projects and other things going on that have demanded my attention at the moment. Glad to know you liked the previous chapter as I had a lot of fun creating The Enforcers. All shall be revealed concerning Gray and Juvia soon enough, just be patient please. And yep, we're almost at the finish line, I'm saving the best for last; END vs Zeref! Yeah, it's hard to believe I've come this far with a story that was only meant to be five chapters long, now look at it!

Shadow Knight Destoryer: Hello and welcome to the story. As of the moment, no I will not be adding the current fight between Fairy Tail and Alvarez to the story. I may allude to it happening but story wise; no. This story will be coming to an end in two chapters and that's my game plan for it.

The 10 year old: Hello, glad you liked the chapter!

Fufedoninha: Olá e bem-vindo para a história, eu acho que essa é a linguagem adequada (à direita Português?). Estou feliz que você acha que a história é legal, eu estou muito feliz em ouvir isso.

So, as usual, without further ado; let's continue! Also, expect some harsh language in this chapter as well; just a little disclaimer because you never know.

XXXX

Arc 2: Alternate END…

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CHAPTER 5: Old Friends, New Problems

XXXX

Avatar Guild Headquarters…

"All in the name of Zeref. Isn't that right…?" Said Gray Fullbuster; the former ice mage of Fairy Tail.

Gray smirked, without looking over his shoulder, as the ninth and final member of Avatar entered the chamber.

"…Juvia?" Gray finished as Juvia Lockser wrapped her arms around his chest from behind and rested her chin atop his head.

Juvia gave a smile that was as sweet as it was malicious.

"Of course Gray-sama," Juvia purred, "All in the name of Zeref."

Gray reached his hand up and took hold of Juvia's as she moved with all the grace and fluidity of her element and took her place beside Gray.

"You're late." Gray softly whispered to the water mage.

"Juvia apologizes, Juvia was enjoying her bath more than she should have." Juvia hummed sweetly.

"Although it would have gone much longer if you had joined Juvia. Juvia knows how much you enjoy washing my back…amongst other things."

"Are you enticing me Miss Lockser?" Gray smirked.

"Enough!" Arlock snapped, "Now is not the time for your amorous musings!"

"Sheesh get a room you two." Mary frowned, muttering under her breath while Briar narrowed her eyes at the pair.

"My, my," Juvia tittered, "you sound jealous Mary-san."

"Now, now, Juvia," Gray squeezed his paramours hand, "that's enough. Why don't we let our esteemed leader speak his mind?"

Arlock gave an irritated grunt as the dark mages settled down and focused their attention onto him.

"Now then," Arlock began, "the Purification Ritual, as it stands, is on track to proceeding as we had planned. Soon enough, we shall sacrifice enough living souls to summon forth Lord Zeref and usher in a new age; created in his image."

Arlock paused before gesturing to the center of the round table where a lacrima crystal flickered to life, projecting a holographic display.

"However, it has come to my attention that two, unforeseen and remarkable factors have appeared to our benefit. Two demons of Zeref have appeared here in the land of Fiore and they are not just the run of the mill creations of our Lord…"

The display changed to that of the recent Grand Magic Games; of Natsu-in his full demon form-going toe to toe with the Hunters.

"One of our underworld contacts provided this for us," Arlock said, "is it not glorious?"

The dark priest held his hands aloft as if in praise or a mighty blessing.

"Behold, Lord E.N.D and Zeref's Hunters!"

A collective gasp resounded out from the Avatar members. The majority of the dark mages starred at the hologram in both awe and fascination, as if they were seeing a once in a life time spectacle-a dream-coming to fruition. Which, to be fair, wasn't that far from the truth.

"My word," said Briar, "at long last, Lord E.N.D has returned."

"I have read of the Hunters. I knew they were magnificent creatures but to see them in the flesh…simply marvelous. Lord Zeref's will knows no bounds." Added Goumon.

Gray and Juvia however, could only stare with wide, disbelieving eyes. Juvia's hand shook as the memories of the desperate fight from the year before flashed in her mind's eye. Gray felt the wounds in his shoulder, the shoulder that E.N.D had sank his teeth into, heat up. The searing pain of the razor sharp teeth piercing his skin still burned in the scars even after a year.

"Gray-sama that's…" Juvia whispered in apprehension.

"I know…" Gray replied, his tone equally stressed.

"Natsu… He added as an afterthought before glaring at that hologram of his former guild mate and best friend.

"But I thought Lord E.N.D had been awoken last year only to be sealed away once more." Mary said, her fascination blending with her puzzlement.

"More importantly why are those Hunters fighting Lord E.N.D?" Jerome said, glancing at Arlock.

"They're supposed to heed Lord E.N.D's command, are they not?"

"Those creatures incurred the wrath of Lord E.N.D and were subsequently punished for doing so. They are simple minded beasts who do not know their place." Arlock replied, a hiss of steam leaving his mask.

"But Lord E.N.D is Lord Zeref's most powerful creation and therefore an extension of Zeref himself." Jerome persisted, "Therefore the Hunters should be bound and submissive to Lord E.N.D. Does anyone not find it suspicious that they are fighting one another?"

"Careful what you say Jerome," Arlock hissed, "what you say borders on heresy."

"All I'm saying-" Jerome continued but Arlock silenced him.

"Enough!" Arlock snapped, "We will hear no more of your paranoid delusions; especially if they are directed at two of Lord Zeref's creations themselves!"

The room was silent as Arlock took a calming breath, all the while Gray and Juvia's distress had gone unnoticed and they had regained their composure.

"Yes, it is true that Lord E.N.D was resealed back into his host last year, no thanks to those meddlesome mages of Fairy Tail. But as you can see, he escaped his bondage and has returned to walk the earth; preparing it to receive Lord Zeref's blessing. This, ladies and gentlemen, is an opportunity we cannot let go to waste. Lord E.N.D's appearance, along with that of the Hunters, is a sign that Lord Zeref is preparing to return; more so, they are hastening his return!

"If our plans succeed, we will undoubtedly attract Lord E.N.D's attention and in doing so we shall gain his favor. If we can make Lord E.N.D our ally, imagine what can be gained from that partnership; imagine what will await us when Lord Zeref returns. Therefore, if by chance Lord E.N.D appears to us, we must embrace him with open arms and let his will be done unto us."

"If by chance?" Gray spoke up, "What do you mean?"

"Lord E.N.D was last seen leaving Crocus for Margaret City. As of now his whereabouts are unknown. He could be anywhere at the moment so if we are to make sure he takes notice of us, it is imperative that our plans go off without a hitch."

Arlock stood then, taking his leave of the chamber as E.N.D's image faded away from the lacrima.

"The hour of reckoning is upon us," Arlock said, "prepare yourselves. This meeting is now adjourned."

"…How exciting," Mary beamed with an almost dreamy smile, "to think that we'll be able to meet Lord E.N.D himself."

"I still don't like it." Jerome grunted, "Arlock isn't seeing that Lord E.N.D's reappearance may also jeopardize our plans as well."

"How do you figure?" D-6 asked.

"Lord E.N.D from all accounts gathered from the previous year, is a bombastic and hard hitting demon. He attracts attention wherever he goes. The fact that he appeared at the Grand Magic Games only adds to this. Therefore, there is the possibility that Lord E.N.D may have attracted some unwanted attention; in particular the magic council. Do we really need them breathing down our necks at a time like this?"

"I see your point." D-6 added.

"Really now Scruffy," Briar said, "Do you think Lord E.N.D is concerned with the likes of the magic council. He could easily dispatch those fools with just the flick of his wrist if he chose to do so."

"I for one," Briar continued, "believe that we should not be worrying about threats from the outside but from within. We need don't need a creation of Zeref for someone to be aware of what we're doing."

"If the council has become aware of what we've been up to, that might put us in a "pot" of trouble." Goumon said.

"I think you mean "spot" of trouble." Mary snickered at the torture mages lame attempt at a joke.

"Never the less, an air of uncertainty still lies above our plans and that old man is too blind to see it." Jerome griped.

"Well that's gramps for you, he's a stubborn old mule doing what he does best; being stubborn." Mary grinned.

"Whatever way we look at it, fate shall ultimately decide what becomes of us." D-6 said.

"I don't care either way." Abel said, "So long as I get to have some fun, who cares what happens."

"You're all missing the point," Jerome said, "it's not the council that's the problem here; it's how they may have been alerted that's the real issue."

"You suspect a mole or moles within our ranks?" Gray said with a smug smile as all eyes turned to him and Juvia.

"Admit it already, you think Juvia and I are the moles."

"Can you really blame us?" Said Mary, "After all, you two are former members of Fairy Tail; the former number one Guild in all the land."

"We've ran thorough background checks on the both of you," Jerome added.

"Gray, your parents and entire village were massacred by a demon of Zeref. And to add further insult to injury, your former master and her daughter also died due to crossing paths with either a demon of Zeref or Zeref himself. And you, Juvia, your parents were water mages who were killed by a cult of Zeref worshipers, thus leaving you in the care of your uncle. But when he became ill and died, you were orphaned and remained so until you joined the Phantom Lord guild."

Jerome narrowed his eyes and drew his mouth into a thin line.

"Also…Lord E.N.D's host is none other than Natsu Dragneel; a former member of Fairy Tail and comrade of yours. Until now, he was missing for over a year."

"I fail to see what your point is." Gray scoffed with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"I agree, we've all been here for over a year now, why start asking these questions?" D-6 added, coming to the duo's defense.

"What I'm saying is that the both of you-Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser-have no reason in the slightest to worship Zeref. So I'm asking you this now; what's your angle?" Jerome affirmed.

Gray paused for a moment as he slowly took Juvia's hand into his before giving an almost disappointed shake of his head.

"It would appear that Jerome-san needs to be more perceptive in his searches wouldn't you agree Gray-sama?" Juvia tittered.

"Ultear, Ur's daughter, isn't dead. Far from it actually." Gray said, giving Juvia's hand a light squeeze.

"That still doesn't answer my question." Jerome persisted.

"For crying out loud, let it go already Scruffy." Briar stepped in, her tone annoyed at Jerome's accusations.

"No, Briar, I think it's time Juvia and I were explicitly clear on why we're here." Gray said before directing a pointed glare at Jerome while pointing his free hand at the swordsman.

A chill filled the hallway the Avatar members were standing in while Juvia's lips curled up into a very menacing and grin of sheer madness.

"The only reason we're here is because we're after Lord E.N.D himself." Gray said, punctuating each syllable of the demons name with a jab of his fist.

His fellow dark mages could only look at Gray with a mixture of shock and amazement. Earlier in the meeting chamber, they had sensed a brief bout of surprise and apprehension come from the ice and water mage but before they could ask the two about it, they regained their composure.

Composure that was no seemingly thrown out the window as Gray's own manic grin began to form on his lips while a dark aura engulfed him and Juvia.

"That thing…that man…that demon…" Gray sneered, "Zeref will be drawn to him. No matter where he goes, no matter where he hides, E.N.D and Zeref will be drawn to each other like moths to a flame. So, what better way to find Zeref himself than find the one thing that can draw him out? So long as I can do that, so long as Juvia and I can do that; I don't give a shit about anything else!"

"What about you Juvia?" Briar asked, looking to the water mage, "Why your interest in all of this?"

Juvia continued to grin as her eyes took on a rather disturbing glint, "Juvia lives for Gray-sama. Juvia lives to see his wish of finding E.N.D come true. Anyone who opposes this or stands in the way of Gray-sama's dream…"

Juvia formed her arm into a serrated water blade and held it up for all to see, the water glinting in the dim light.

"…Juvia will gut like a fish!" She hissed, still grinning.

"The two of us have longs since forgotten about Fairy Tail. We live to find that demon and when we do…"

Gray let out a brief bout of manic laughter while the dark markings on his and Juvia's bodies briefly came to life, drawing the attention of the others and causing them to subtly take a step back from the two.

"We'll wipe him out. Then nothing will stand between us and Zeref. We're not afraid to all that is necessary to see that happen; even if it means tagging along with you freaks."

"Wipe him out?" Mary questioned, perplexed, "But why? He's Lord E.N.D…and his host was one of your friends too."

Gray gave a derisive snort as did Juvia.

"Natsu-san has been dead to us ever since E.N.D awoke in him. The moment the demon took over, he killed Natsu-san. Now only E.N.D remains." Said Juvia.

"Besides E.N.D, more than anything, will try to kill Zeref. And we can't be having that now can we?" Gray added as he began to walk away, gently pulling Juvia with him as they walked hand in hand down the corridor.

"So until that day comes…" Gray said only for Juvia to finish his sentence.

"Kindly stay the hell out of our way." Juvia finished, letting out a gentle peel of deranged laughter that echoed off the walls.

"Just you wait…E.N.D…Natsu…" Gray thought to himself, "Just you wait."

XXXX

Elsewhere…

Sabretooth Guild…

A droning wail echoed in the wind; a ghostly call reminiscent of a banshee's cry.

It echoed off the rocks, canyons and hills that led to city the mages of Sabretooth called home. To those that heard the sound, they would take a moment to stop and pause to check their hearing; to make sure they weren't imagining things. Upon confirmation that, yes, the sound was very real they would also take notice of the fact that it was getting closer and closer.

They were about to receive a group of familiar if not unique visitors.

Two shrill, brief screams followed by the revving on engines announced the presence of the two hover bikes as they vaulted into the air, leveled out and then returned to earth as the menacing machines continued to levitate off the ground and move with near blinding speed.

The two bikes were red and black in color with their metal glinting in the sunlight with a polished sheen. They were sleek with straight, narrow lines and angled surfaces while being held together by a seemingly limitless, blazing blue flame.

Natsu and Uno guided their Hell bikes up and over a bend in the land before revving their engines once more and further accelerating their travel.

"KYAAA!" Lucy squealed as she held onto Natsu, "Natsu, slow down!"

"Yeah Natsu!" Happy echoed while he held onto Lucy, "You're going to fast!"

"Sorry you two but I really can't do that right now." Natsu called back over his shoulder, his voice rising above the rushing wind.

Uno matched speed with his master and pulled up alongside him while Wendy clung to the demon with a white knuckled death grip. A queasy look had formed on her face and it didn't take an expert to notice that Wendy was suffering from the motion sickness that came with being a dragon slayer.

Carla, like Happy, held onto Wendy for dear life as the two riders rounded a sharp turn in the terrain before once again righting themselves.

"Doesn't this bother you!?" Lucy called out to Natsu, "Being on a bike like this!?"

"Are you talking about when I get sick?" Natsu asked back.

"Yeah!"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders while keeping his eyes forward as he moved his bike in and around the topography of the land.

"Not really." Natsu replied, "Ever since E.N.D awoke in me, I don't get sick anymore. It's really weird but I'm not complaining."

Lucy couldn't help the frown the formed on her lips. She was glad that Natsu had found a way to get over his motion sickness, she really was. The sickness had caused more than its share of problems for Natsu and the others in the past. But at the same time, she missed how Natsu would rest against her and how she'd been able to run her fingers through his hair in order to soothe his aches and pains.

She had come to accept that there were a great many things about Natsu that had changed since he'd left over a year ago.

But, she had yet to come to terms with all of those changes none the less.

"Look," Happy suddenly said, "there it is!"

Lucy looked off to her right and was surprised to see a large city sprawled out before her. And at the center of it all was a large, grand building that towered over all the other structures in town. The large, golden sabretooth tiger atop the building easily identified it as the Sabretooth guild building.

"Wow, it's huge!" Lucy gawked at the sheer scale of the building, "So this is where Sting and Rogue call home."

"And with any luck we'll find them there." Natsu said as he began to marginally decrease to the speed of his bike.

"Natsu," Lucy looked back to her paramour with a concerned frown, "do you really think Sting and Rogue will be able to give us information in Gray and Juvia?"

Natsu tensed and frowned, "I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, her tone confused, "Wasn't the whole point of coming here to find information on where Gray and Juvia might be? You said that'd we'd find our answers here and…and…"

Lucy bit her lip as she pulled herself closer to Natsu.

"Natsu…you're not making any sense."

Natsu was quiet for a moment before he took his hands off the handlebars…and turned all the way around in his seat.

Lucy let out a terrified gasp as her eyes went wide in disbelief, "NATSU PAY ATTENTION!"

"WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!"

Natsu gave a dismissive wave of his hand with his characteristic smirk.

"Don't worry this thing practically drives itself. We won't crash, don't worry."

"How can I not!?" Lucy shrieked just as Natsu grabbed Lucy by the shoulders and held her in place.

"Lucy, listen." Natsu said, his voice suddenly firm, "I need you to trust me on this. I think there's more going on here with Gray and Juvia than we realize. We need to find them and find them soon. Even if it's just a small lead, we have to follow it none the less."

"But how can you be so sure?" Lucy questioned, "How can you believe anything at this point?"

"Because it's all I can do. I have to believe in Gray and Juvia, Lucy. In order to get them back home, I have to believe in them. We have to believe in them."

Natsu pressed his forehead against Lucy's with the spirit mage becoming captivated by the determined glint in the dragon slayers eyes.

"I promise you Lucy; we'll find them. I'll find them."

"Natsu…" Lucy whispered in awe of the man.

"Just…just trust me. I know that's asking a lot at the moment but please; trust me like you used to." Natsu said and then turned back around to driving the bike. Lucy frowned once more but said nothing as she gently rested her head against Natsu's back.

It wasn't long before both riders had entered the city and summarily dismounted the hell driven machines. On shaking legs, Wendy fell to her knees before bending down to kiss the ground.

"I thought I'd never set foot on solid ground again." Wendy sobbed in a comic fashion.

Uno, for his part, rolled his eyes beneath his hood and disappeared along with the bikes, opting to return back to the pocket dimension he called home.

"C'mon," Natsu said as he helped Wendy stand, "let's get to Sabretooth and see if we can't find what Sting and Rogue are up to."

After a bit of wandering through the city and getting some quick directions from Happy and Carla, the trio of mages arrived at the doors of Sabretooth. Upon entering, they found many of the sabre mages moving about the guild with a hustle and bustle reminiscent of Fairy Tail in its heyday.

They were also greeted by a very familiar face.

"Lucy-sama! Wendy-sama!" Yukio Aguria greeted brightly, "Happy and Carla-sama!"

"Yukino!" Lucy greeted her fellow spirit mage cheerfully as the two women embraced in an excited hug.

"It's been a while, how have you been?" Lucy asked as Yukino gave Wendy a similar hug before addressing the blonde mage.

"More than better," Yukino smiled, "I've been doing very well thank you. We've all been doing well thanks to you guys to be honest."

"Yeah, thanks to you guys at Fairy Tail all the work that used to come your way is now going to us." Orga drawled out as he leaned against a nearby table.

"We've been busier than we have ever been before…if I seem to recall." Added Rufus.

Yukino was about to apologize for her statement, fearing that she had said something wrong in regards to Fairy Tail's disbandment, but stopped when she finally that Natsu had also entered with Lucy and Wendy.

"Natsu-sama!?" Yukino said in shock, "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you come in!"

"It's alright Yukino," Natsu smiled good naturedly, "how've you been?"

"How've I been?" Yukino gawked, "Forget that, what about you!?"

"When you upped and disappeared, we spent quite some time seeing if we could find you; Rogue and Sting especially. They were really starting to get worried about you."

"It's a long story," Natsu sighed, "one that I'll have to tell you all another time. Speaking of Sting and Rogue, are they around? I need to talk to Rogue about something rather…important."

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A voice suddenly announced, "I must be hearing things because I could have sworn you were still missing Natsu."

"Speak of the devil and you shall receive." END said as the the guild master of Sabretooth, Sting Euciliefe, made his appearance at the sudden clamor of voices.

"And Lucy and Wendy are here too? Oh man, this must be our lucky day!"

…There was, however, one glaring and obvious change to the man.

"Well…he's certainly been packing on the pounds." END thought with a mild hint of disgust.

Sting, for whatever reason, was morbidly overweight.

"Seriously, for a Dragon Slayer that isn't natural."

"Relax," Natsu thought back, "he's fine."

"Long time no see Sting, you seem to be doing well." Natsu grinned as he and Sting shook hands.

"I could say the same for you too Natsu. Although I will admit the tattoos are something I wouldn't expect from you." Sting replied.

"Uhm," Lucy cut in, "Natsu are you sure this is Sting?"

Natsu cocked an eyebrow, "Yeah…who else would he be?"

"Well it's just that…uhm…" Lucy fidgetred, trying to find the right words.

"What?" Sting asked before looking at himself, "Oh! Sorry, um Yukino if you'd be so kind?"

"Of course Sting-sama." Yukino said and produced her Libra key, summoning the spirit who in turn, casted her magic to Sting.

In a puff of smoke, the young guild master was back to his fit and trim former self.

"There you go." Yukino smiled in a chipper manner.

"…What?" Was all Lucy could say. The day had gone from hectic to weird in less than a nano-second.

"So, what brings you here? I'm rather sure you're not here for just a casual visit." Sting said, crossing his arms.

"I need to speak with Rogue, do you know where he is?" Natsu answered.

"What for?" Sting asked, perplexed by Natsu wanting to speak to his best friend out of the blue.

"Do you know where he is yes or no?" Natsu said, his tone suddenly becoming tense with a subtle hint of agitation underneath it.

Taken aback by Natsu's split second change in demeanor, along with everyone else present, Sting could only answer the fire mage.

"He and Minerva took a job request. You just missed them so they should be at the city gates by now."

"Crap, we just there." Natsu hissed under his breathe, immediately turning on his heel and heading for the doors.

"I suggest you double time it if you want to catch up with them." END added.

"Right!" Natsu barked before he suddenly bolted out of the guild and darted down the street, back the way they'd come.

"Oh dear, Natsu wait up!" Lucy called out, breaking off into a run of her own, "Sorry for the intrusion guys; we'll catch up later!"

"It was nice to see you Sting-san and Yukino-san!" Wendy blurted out as she ran off to catch up with Lucy while Happy and Carla followed behind.

In their wake they left the mages of Sabretooth gawking at them in a confused and perplexed manner. Stings mouth opened and closed as if to say something but found himself coming up empty and winding up with a total loss for words.

"Sting-sama?" Yukino finally spoke up.

"Yes?" Sting replied.

"What…just happened?" Yukino asked, looking to the light mage who could only give an exasperated shrug of his shoulders.

"I have no idea." Sting replied, "I just hope Rogue gives that man whatever answers he's looking for."

XXXX

Skidding around a corner and flailing his arms for the briefest of moments to steady himself, Natsu pumped his legs once more as he continued on his determined sprint; his boots digging into the ground as he did so.

Suddenly, up ahead, Natsu saw the familiar of silhouettes of Rogue Cheney, Minerva Orlando and Frosch the Exceed.

"ROUGE!" Natsu barked, "ROGUE!"

Sting looked over his shoulder at the sound of Natsu's familiar voice with a look of surprise, an expression mirrored by Minerva as well.

"Natsu?" Sting said, "Is that-"

And then the fire dragon slayer barreled into his shadow mage counterpart and proceeded to haul him off further down the street.

"I'M BORROWING HIM FOR JUST A MINUTE!" Natsu hollered, "WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK!"

Minerva blinked once and then twice before the sound of panting caught her attention. She turned around just in time to see Lucy and Wendy make their arrival.

"What…" Lucy wheezed, "what has gotten into him!?"

"Natsu-san…"Wendy gasped, bracing her hands on her knees as she caught her breathe.

"You two are…" Minerva said before a pregnant pause befell the assembled exceed and women.

"Well, it's been quite some time since we last spoke hasn't it?" Minerva said, deciding to break the ice.

"Yeah." Lucy replied, giving her arm and awkward rub.

"I'm…I'm glad you were able to get back here okay. Everything going well for you?"

"Yes, I've…I've never been happier." Minerva smiled.

"You all seem to be doing well for yourselves." Wendy added, "We just came from the guild hall looking for you."

"Speaking of which, if you don't mind me asking, what was the big deal with Sting and him being so plump?" Lucy asked with a questioning smirk.

Minerva tittered, placing the tips of her fingers in her lips, "Oh yes, that's right! Just yesterday we celebrated out "Tiger, Tiger, Tiger, Food Festival!" and…Sting he…well…."

"He ate too much didn't he?" Lucy and Wendy asked in unison.

"Quite, you should have seen poor Yukino and Rogue; they had the worst cases of indigestion I've ever seen. But in the end, I was the one who walked away as the victor…while still maintaining my figure none the less." Minerva smiled, striking a rather silly pose that made Wendy and Lucy giggle.

"Is that why you all weren't at the Magic Games this year?" Lucy asked, "For the festival I mean."

"Not exactly," Minerva frowned slightly, "without Fairy Tail in attendance, many of the guilds didn't participate this year. For us, Sting thought there was no point in entering since there wouldn't be much of a challenge."

"Agreed!" Happy said, "The other guys sucked this year!"

"Fro thinks so too!" Frosch chimed in in his usual peppy manner.

It was then that Minerva's frown deepened and she gave Lucy a pensive glance.

"Speaking of the games…I do believe I owe you an apology. I'm sorry, for everything I did to you. I was a different person last year and I let myself get carried away."

Lucy studied Minerva for a minute before giving the woman a warm smile.

"Apology accepted." Lucy said, "To be honest, I've put all of that behind me now. You don't have to worry about it anymore. After all, crazier things have happened to me."

"So we've heard." Minerva said, "It was a shock to all of us when we heard that Fairy Tail had disbanded along with Natsu disappearing as well. For such a wonderful guild to break up and an even more extraordinary man to vanish, it was all disheartening news."

Lucy and Wendy looked to one another, as did Carla and Happy, before they all displayed their Fairy Tail guild marks with beaming, pride filled smiles.

"So long as we carry the memory of Fairy Tail in our hearts; it'll never be gone." Lucy affirmed, making Minerva smile.

"That's good to here Lucy." Minerva said, "I look forward to the day Fairy Tail returns."

"Well, I hope you're prepared to wait. Natsu and I are just trying to figure things out together at the moment…we want to spend some time together by ourselves and Natsu has some personal problems he needs to resolve before we can even think about heading back home."

"So it's just the two of you now?" Minerva asked, her lips pulling up in a teasing smile.

"You know, the more I look at you, the more I see that glow in your skin and eyes."

Lucy blushed furiously and sputtered out something unintelligible. But at the same time, she made no move to deny Minerva's subtle claims.

"Oh…really…I hadn't noticed…" Lucy said, pressing the tips of her index fingers together.

"Although I do suppose I've become adept at noticing it myself. After all, Sting and Yukino share that same glow every few weeks." Minerva teased, making Lucy gawk with a surprised laugh.

"What!?" Lucy said, going into full gossip mode, "Those two, are you serious!? No, scratch that, how serious are they!?"

"Quite serious although they've done a good job of hiding it from the others. I think I and Rogue are the only ones who know at the moment. But then again, I'm the only one who knows about Rogue and Kagura's little secret as well."

"Kagura!?" Lucy blanched, "As in Mermaid Heel's Kagura?"

"The very same." Minerva tittered before leaning in to whisper to Lucy, "They've got the glow too."

"No way!" Lucy hissed as she fought to suppress her grin.

"…And…" Minerva blushed all of the sudden, "I've shown a bit of the glow myself when those two let me…uhm…join them. Sometimes Sting and Yukino are invited as well and things get…interesting."

Lucy paused for a minute before comically recoiling back in absolute shock at what Minerva had just admitted to her.

"WAIT! WHAT!?" Lucy screeched.

"Uhm, Lucy," Wendy said, an innocent look of obliviousness on her face, "What are you to talking about?"

"Oh, uh, nothing Wendy; just nothing." Lucy gave a nervous wave of her hand, "Just grown up talk between two women. We'll talk about it later…when you're older."

"But I-" Wendy said.

"WHEN YOU'RE OLDER!" Lucy quickly reaffirmed, hell bent on preserving the younger girls innocence for as long as she could.

"Oh man." Wendy pouted.

XXXX

"Alright Natsu what gives!?" Snapped Rogue, placing his hands on his hips in frustration, "Here I was thinking you had finally come to pay us a visit and the next thing I know; you hijack me!"

"Sorry Rogue but I'm in a rush." Natsu grunted, "I need the request form for the job you're going on."

"Say what now?" Asked Rogue, bewildered by Natsu's request.

"Now. Rogue." Natsu hissed with such impatience and venom that Rogue took an involuntary step back from his fellow dragon slayer. He reached into his pocket and produced the desired form.

Natsu studied the paper, eyes hardened in concentration as he committed the details to memory.

"DESTROY AVATAR" the form read in bold letters along with a location of the dark guild-which was a few dozen miles away from Sabretooth-along with a substantial reward for completing the task.

"So this is where they are." Natsu whispered to himself.

"Rogue," he then spoke up, "I'm taking this job for you."

"You're what!?" Rogue balked.

"No way Natsu, Minerva and I took this job and therefore; we'll handle it. This is a Sabretooth mission and…and speaking of which you're in no position to handle this either; Fairy Tail disbanded remember?"

"I'm not doing this for Fairy Tail," Natsu said, undaunted, "I'm doing this for me."

Natsu paused, briefly, as he took a calming breathe and fixed Rogue with a look that left no room for argument from the shadow mage.

"Look…I'll handle this job for you guys and hand over the reward in return. But in doing so, I need you to make a promise."

"What kind of promise Natsu?" Rogue asked.

"Until I return here to Sabretooth, promise me that you and Frosch will not leave the city. No matter what happens, you are to look after him and not set one foot from here until I get back. Understand?"

"What?" Rogue asked, "Why?"

"…Do you trust me?" Natsu asked then, his tone becoming firm like steel.

"Natsu you're not making any sense and-"

"Do you trust me Rogue?" Natsu repeated, tone still firm.

Rogue's lips seamed into a thin line but after a moment, he nodded his head, "You know I do Natsu."

"Then let me handle this." Natsu said and stormed back off to Lucy, Wendy and the Exceed.

"C'mon guys, we're leaving." Natsu announced as he summoned Uno and the Hell bikes once again.

"Wait Natsu, didn't we just get here!?" Lucy questioned, but Natsu didn't respond. Sighing heavily, Lucy hopped on the back of the bike once more.

"Oh no, here we go again." Wendy moaned as Uno revved the engine of his bike.

"Minerva!" Natsu called out over his shoulder, "Keep an eye on Frosch and Rogue until we get back; do not, under any circumstances, let them leave!"

And then, with a roar of the engines, the bikes darted off and out the city gates in the blink of an eye, leaving a very baffled Minerva and Rogue in their wake.

"One year from now…" Future Rogue's voice echoed in Natsu's mind, a haunting memory from the previous year's debacle at the Grand Magic games.

"One year from now…make sure you tell…that I must protect Frosch. If I fail…Gray will kill Frosch."

Natsu growled to himself as he gunned the engine of his bike. He refused to let that happen. He refused to let Rogue turn into that man. He refused to let Lucy's future be taken away from her in the way her future self-had lost hers.

He refused to let Gray become a murderer.

XXXX

An hour later, Natsu had stopped the group at a clearing in a forest that was near to Avatar's location. The Hell bikes, as fast they could travel, also created a fair amount of noise. Not wanting to wake the dead and or let the free world know they were coming, Nastu opted to travel the rest of the way on foot and have some element of surprise on their side.

He'd wanted to go in guns blazing but after a mental scolding from END, Natsu relented to playing cloak and dagger for the time being.

"Who are these guys?" Happy asked, studying the job form Rogue had given Natsu, "I've never heard of them."

"They're a bunch of scary people." Wendy said to which Lucy nodded in confirmation.

"Its dark mage cult devoted to following Zeref. After all of the dark mage guilds were defeated they rose to power within in the underworld community." She said.

"Zeref!?" Natsu said in surprise before palming his face, "Oh son of a bitch."

"You have got to be kidding me." END added, his tone annoyed.

"There is no evidence to support that Zeref is directly involved with Avatar but the consensus is that they worship Zeref like he's some sort of god." Lucy continued.

"A god?" Zeref scoffed, "Pathetic, absolutely pathetic. I can personally assure you that Zeref doesn't give a shit about fanatics like these Avatar punks. In fact, even if he is aware of them, they are hardly worth his attention or time."

"People are crazy, what can I say?" Natsu though back.

"So we're up against a bunch of Zeref's lackey's eh?" Natsu smirked, "Pssh, piece of cake. I'm getting fired up just thinking about clobbering them."

"That still doesn't explain why Gray and Juvia are tied into all of this." Lucy said, frowning in concern.

"Do you think they got captured and are being held prisoner?" Wendy asked, her concern evident, "What if they stumbled onto something they shouldn't have."

"Unlikely." Natsu said before steepling his hands in front of his face, a look of deep concentration forming as his brow furrowed.

"Natsu," END prodded gently, "tell them."

Natsu gave a heavy sigh in reply as he ran his hand through his hair.

"There's something you guys need to know…about Gray. I didn't tell you guys earlier because I didn't think things would come this far but…at last year's Grand Magic Games, when I fought the Rogue from the future he told me…he told me that a year later, around this time, he and Gray would fight one another as enemies. And that things got bad…really bad."

"Future Rogue!?" Lucy gasped, the memory of her future self-dying at the hands of the corrupted mage flashing before her mind's eye.

"Enemies!?" Wendy balked, "Natsu, what does that mean!?"

"I don't know." Natsu replied, "Based on what Rogue told me, I figured Gray would somehow be at the job our Rogue was going to."

"But the future is bound to have changed right? I mean, how could it not after what we did…after what we know?" Lucy asked.

"Like I said, I don't know." Natsu admonished, "I'm not even sure if Gray and Juvia are even at this Avatar place. But right now this is the only information we have on their whereabouts so we have to give it a shot."

"But to think that both Gray and Juvia have become our enemies…" Wendy added, crestfallen.

"I think if they are at Avatar, they're not doing it of their own free will. Remember those black marks Juvia described in her diary, well, last year when E.N.D took over me…in those nightmares I had right before I left…I remember seeing those same marks on Gray when he fought E.N.D.

"Those are the marks of Devil Slayer Magic. I'm thinking, what if Gray learned that magic took quickly for his body to catch up with it and the magic itself is corrupting him."

"But how does that explain what happened to Juvia?" Lucy asked.

"Think about it, those two have been together since Fairy Tail broke up. You remember what Juvia wrote done. They spent all their time together whether it be going on jobs, cooking, cleaning, sharing the same bed, making love and even training together. Gray's magic was bound to have rubbed off on Juvia at some point. Since the magic came from Gray, it's probably corrupting Juvia just as it is him."

"Oh my god…" Lucy whispered.

"No." Wendy added, tears forming in her eyes as Happy gently patted her on the back.

Lucy fixed Natsu with a look of concern while a hint of betrayal formed in her eyes.

"Natsu," Lucy gripped the hem of her skirt, biting her lip, "why didn't you tell us this before? Why didn't you tell me? You knew Gray and Rogue fought so that means you also know the outcome of that fight…what happened that you're not telling me? And…what else are you hiding?"

She was surprised when Natsu took her hand into his own, giving it a comforting rub with his thumb.

"I know what it sounds like. But believe me, we'll get those two knuckleheads back and we'll bring them home where they belong. I promise."

"Yeah!" Wendy said, perking up at Natsu's confidence.

"…You always know how to cheer me up don't you?" Lucy asked, tugging Natsu's hand to rest above her heart.

XXXX

After gathering their things, the group followed Natsu as he led them deeper into the forest which had become overrun with the roots of the massive trees that surrounded them. The roots had become so numerous and tangled that they nearly obstructed the road that they had hardly noticed on their way in. Eventually they were led to ruins of an old, dilapidated church.

If a dark guild wanted a place to remain out of sight and mind, the church before them was the most obvious choice for a hiding spot.

"What a decrepit, spooky place." Wendy said, peeking up over the vine the group had hidden behind and dumped their packs at.

"I don't know," END said to Natsu, "a little decorating and a few repairs and you might get a rather cozy set up out of it."

"Says the dark and brooding demon." Natsu teased.

"…Fair enough." END quipped.

"What are we going to do?" Natsu asked his other half, "I'd suggest kicking in the front door but you'd probably break my legs if I tried it."

"Congratulations, you're starting to catch on." END said sardonically, "We can't go in through the front, they've probably prepared for that. I suggest we take the road less traveled and infiltrate their ranks in a manner they haven't considered."

Natsu scratched his chin in thought before asking aloud, "Any ideas on getting in there?"

"I'd suggest the roof but that would probably draw too much attention." Wendy said.

"Not to fear," Lucy added, drawing Virgo's key, "I have just the solution. With Virgo's powers we'll be able to sneak in right beneath their feet."

"Good thinking Lucy!" Wendy beamed.

"Clever girl." END added and Natsu could sense the demons smirk praise.

"That's my Lucy for you." Natsu thought with pride.

"Alright Virgo, we need you. Open gate of the Maiden!" Lucy called out to her spirit, "Vir-"

The maid spirit appeared but not in the manner the others were expecting. She was currently tied up with rope and bound in a rather provocative manner.

"-go?" Lucy finished as she and the others starred slack jawed at the spirit.

"Okay…now I've seen everything." END said.

"Virgo, what happened to you!?" Lucy said in panic.

"Are you alright!?" Wendy questioned as she and Lucy worked to free the spirit.

"Don't worry." Virgo said in her usual monotone but with a smile, "I was merely entertaining myself."

"Virgo…we really need to talk about this whole punishment thing you got going on." Lucy balked.

"….Hmm…" END hummed, "Kinky."

"Don't you dare get any ideas!" Natsu snapped at the demon who cackled in response.

"Star Dress Virgo Form!" Lucy said and in a flash of light, she took on an appearance similar to Virgo's.

"Wow Lucy, when'd you learn to do that!?" Wendy said excitedly, admiring Lucy's new appearance.

"It's something my spirits aught me over the past year. It increases my magic by two fold and I can even tap into the powers of the spirit I've summoned."

"I have an idea to add onto hers, now that I think of it." END said before explaining the details to Natsu.

"Hey, END and I just finished talking and we've come up with a plan. We'll split up into two teams. I'll find a way from the outside here while you, Wendy, Happy, Carla and Virgo sneak in from underground. We'll cover more ground that way and better our odds of finding Gray and Juvia." Natsu said.

"Good thinking Natsu…I mean END…no; I mean Natsu!" Lucy said before flushing in embarrassment, the Exceed giggling at her confusion.

Natsu then called forth one of his Enforcers and in a flash, Tres emerged from his coffin. The gunslinger took a puff of his cigarette before stretching his arms and back before drawing his guns.

"Ah, back in the action; and do quickly too." Tres said, "What's up boss?"

"I need you to keep an eye on the others while I find another way into that church there. They're going in from underground so you're going to be in tight quarters should anything happen." Natsu addressed the skeleton summon.

"Oh man, baby sitting again?" Tres groaned, "Why can't you have one of the others look after your girl and the brats?"

"Tres/Tres." Both Natsu and END growled in warning.

"Fine, fine," Tres held up his hands defensively, "I'll do it."

Natsu sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'll be in contact with Tres so if you find anything, I'll know. If you need back up, I'll try and find my way to you guys."

"Likewise." Lucy said before stepping up to Natsu and pecking him on the cheek.

"Be safe alright?" Lucy asked, "And don't beat up Gray too much you hear?"

"Same to you." Natsu smirked and with that, Lucy pecked him on the cheek one more time before she and Virgo dug a hole into the earth. Happy, Carla and Wendy soon followed and Tres gave a despondent sigh.

"What're my rules of engagement?" Tres asked.

"You know who Gray and Juvia are right?" Natsu asked to which Tres nodded, "Then shoot anyone or anything that isn't them. But try to keep things as long as possible."

"Affirmative." Tres said before he too jumped down the hole to join the others.

"Hm, so this is what it feels like to be a gopher." Tres's voice echoed out in a contemplative manner before the sounds of digging died off.

"Shall we?" END asked as Natsu looked to the church.

"Let's do this." Natsu said as he summoned his curse magic's.

"Stealth curse," Natsu said, "Shroud."

Like before with his heavy armor curse, Natsu changed to his etherious form, and his wings once again wrapped around him to form a second layer of armor. It resembled the heavy armor but was more sleek and streamlined to Natsu's body before bunching up around his neck in a material similar to a fabric. Natsu pulled the fabric up and over his maw and head, creating a cowl and deep set hood that hid the rest of Natsu's face.

Then a crystalline texture formed on the surface of his body and Natsu's form seemingly flickered in and out of reality before disappearing from sight. In actuality, the curse had warped Natsu's body so that it refracted the light of his environment around him, thus rendering him almost perfectly invisible to the naked eye.

It wasn't a fool proof curse in any sense though. If one looked hard enough, they would see Natsu's outline along with the air possessing an almost distorted shimmer. The distortion would increase the faster he moved so if Natsu played it slow and steady he would avoid detection if he was careful.

Natsu was about to move when he felt something tap the back of his mind. It was the sensation of two magical signatures but they were just at the periphery of his senses. The sensation had come and gone quickly so Natsu wasn't entirely sure what he had felt…but he thought he had sensed Levy and Gajeel.

Their magic was faint, almost nonexistent given the distance they were at away from Natsu.

"What is it?" END asked.

"I thought, for a moment, that I had sensed Levy and Gajeel. They're off to the south but at extreme range." Natsu replied.

"Strange…what would they be doing all the way out here?"

"Didn't Lucy say they were with the Magic Council now?"

"Yeah but she had no idea what they were up to." Natsu said.

"If they're this far out into the sticks and you were able to sense them, then the answer is fairly obvious; they're coming this way towards Avatar."

"Why would they do that?" Natsu asked, perplexed as to why the Magic Council would send two of its best agents out to-

And then it hit him.

"Avatar is a dark guild…they're coming to arrest them! That means they're going to try and arrest Gray and Juvia!"

"That would be the logical reason as to why, yes." END said.

"We can't let that happen!" Natsu said, his frustration evident.

"Calm down. We have some distance between them and us. But all the same, we should get moving and find your comrades as soon as possible."

"Right." Natsu replied, taking a few strides forward and leaping down into a vine filled gulley.

Setting off at an even pace, Natsu ventured close to the church before scaling one of the nearby trees. The font way in was obviously out of the choice and the roof, from what he could see, proved no better. There were holes and rooftop access but Natsu had the fleeting suspicion that there were hidden spells and traps that would alert anyone inside to his presence if he tripped them.

And then he spotted it.

On the Western wall, there appeared to be a drainage grate that led out into a small stream nearby. Odds were that no one had taken the time to really inspect the grate so Natsu quickly slipped down to the stream and was rewarded accordingly.

The grate was old, heavily rusting, and in needed repair. Forming his hands into claws, Natsu quickly but carefully cut away the metal bars one at a time and when nothing happened, figured his tampering had gone unnoticed. Slipping into the darkness beyond, Natsu called upon his Life Vision spell to help him see in the dark. The water silently sloshed around his ankles and Natsu was careful to slowly step and shuffle his way through the water.

Eventually he came upon a ladder and seeing as how the drain was too small beyond that point, Natsu followed it up. The manhole cover was old and equally rusted so Natsu moved inch by painstaking inch up and out of the way. Poking his head up, Natsu found himself in an old storage room that appeared to have been used recently.

At least he knew he was on the right track.

Sliding the cover back in place, Natsu crept around until he found a door…that was bolted shut.

He gave it a pull.

Nothing.

He gave a second, firmer pull.

Still nothing.

"Shit." Natsu hissed as he gave a wary glance around the room before he drew his fist back and punched it through the door, fumbling around before he found the external deadbolt.

"Smooth." END said.

"What was I supposed to do?" Natsu grunted.

"Hey, who's down there!?" A voice echoed from the outside hall.

"Double shit." Natsu hissed and sunk back amongst a pile of crates.

"Real smooth."

"END, be quiet." Natsu rasped.

"What? It's not like he can hear me." END replied.

"Hey, you guys know you're not supposed be clowning around down here." The voice called out, drawing closer before a glow of light could be seen.

A guard, dressed in strange cloak, entered the storage room wielding a lantern and a magic staff. Probably an Avatar guard Natsu mused.

"Hello?" The guard called out, "Hello? Show yourself."

The guard walked further into the room, carefully searching for whoever had caused the disturbance that had changed his routine patrol. Natsu remained behind the boxes, crouched low and back pressed to them thus making himself as small a target as possible. Even though he was invisible, he didn't want to take any risks.

The guard walked past him and Natsu poked his head up, eyeing both the door and guard. He could sneak past the man and be on his way but that would run the chance of the guard reporting the broken door and his entry being blown.

It would also put the others in danger.

Sighing in resignation, Natsu crept out of his hiding spot and on flat feet snuck up behind the guard. Just as the guard was about to turn around, Natsu's hands lurched out and with a quick motion, snapped the guard's neck.

Natsu let the poor saps body fall and caught the lantern before it could shatter on the floor. Natsu blew out the light and hid it, along with the body, behind some shelves. With any luck it would be sometime before the guy was missed.

"Sorry pal…better keep moving." Natsu lamented to himself, exiting the room and skulking along the wall of the hallway.

"That'd be a good idea." END quipped.

"Would you give it a rest already!?" Natsu snapped and END, once again, gave and amused chuckle.

"What, someone has to bust your balls every now and then so it might as well be me." END added to which Natsu simply rolled his eyes.

The hall curved and led up a set of winding stairs and were lit by a few intermittent torches. Natsu took the steps two at a time, quietly, and quickly reached the top which in turn led out into another hallway. Poking his head out, Natsu found that this hallway was better lit meaning he'd have to be extra careful moving about.

Voices suddenly caught his attention and craning his neck further, Natsu could see two guards standing by a door at the end of the hallway to his right. Looking left, the hallway led further into the church. Figuring he'd have better luck going right, since that was where the bad guys were, Natsu looked around for a means to bypass the guards.

He saw none.

He'd have to take them by surprise and not make a mess or he'd have to wait for them to leave. And that would take time. Time he didn't have.

And then he got an idea. The ceiling was rather high and was supported by a series of horizontal beams across the top. Turning his hands into claws, Natsu slowly snuck out of the stairwell and climbed with all the grace of the cat up the wall before latching onto one of the support beams. He then began to crawl forward, albeit upside down towards the guards. Once he was over them, Natsu locked his boots into the beam and let himself dangle.

The guards hadn't noticed him; his shroud and stealth were still hiding him.

Slowly rubbing his hands together, Natsu drew them apart, creating a long piece of wire that was so thin it was practically invisible itself. Natsu then fashioned a noose out of the wire and rubbed his hands once more, creating another wire and noose.

It was monomolecular wire or as it was more commonly known; microfilament wire, a carbon based single bonded molecular strand of wire of immense strength.

Natsu lowered the two wires so that the nooses silently slipped around the guards necks without them having noticed a thing. Natsu then drew the wires taught and snapped his arms up, pulling the guards with them.

By the time they reached him, which was a shorter amount of time than one would have expected, they were dead. Securing them to the support beams, Natsu let them silently dangle from on high. He then took a key ring from the one guard and fell to the floor below, landing in a silent crouch. Natsu, after trying two of the keys, was locking the door behind him a moment later.

He now found himself standing in a small balcony that overlooked a large chamber. A meeting room of some sort with a round table at the center. It was vacant, for the time being anyways.

Four hallways led out of the chamber, thus leaving Natsu a bit stumped as to where to go. Sticking to the shadows, he pondered his current conundrum.

"Hmmm…should I go to the left…or to the right? Forwards or backwards?" Natsu muttered to himself.

"Maybe you should try eenie, meenie, miney, mo?" END added in a matter of fact tone.

"My Lord, we're inside the building." Tres's voice suddenly cut Natsu out of his thoughts.

"We seem to have entered the basement." Natsu heard Virgo say.

"Ouch!" Lucy squeaked, "Tres, watch where you're pointing your guns!"

"Sorry!"

"Looks like no one noticed we're here yet." Wendy added.

"Do you know where you are?" Natsu asked.

"Depends on where you are my lord." Tres replied.

"I don't know, I seem to be in some sort of meeting area. Does that give you an idea of anything?"

"Nah…if I didn't know better I'd say we're in someone's torture chamber." Tres said.

"Oh my~" Virgo swooned, "Princess, would you like to punish me with some of these instruments?"

"Not now Virgo!" Lucy hissed.

"Oi!" A voice suddenly called out, "What you doing in our hideout?"

"Up there!" Wendy gasped in surprise.

"Uh-oh." Happy said.

"We've been spotted!" Added Carla.

"Tres talk to me, what's going on?" Natsu heatedly whispered into his mental link but the gunslinger had gone silent.

"Is it fun? Is what you're doing fun?" The newcomer asked in an almost playful manner.

"Wait what's he holding?" Lucy said before gasping in fright, "That's Mister Cursey!"

Natsu's mind reeled back to eight years earlier at the mention of the accursed doll. Back to Tenrou Island where the former owner of the doll had used to possess Lucy and the others before brutalizing them with the voodoo doll.

"Oh how fun! You know of my doll!" The newcomer said, the sound of him hopping down to the floor followed.

"I got this from some weirdo who used to be with Grimoire Heart. It possesses a very terrifying black magic." The newcomer sneered.

KA-CHACK

The sound of Tres cocking the hammers of his guns echoed across Natsu's mind…and then everything went to hell.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The sound of gunfire ripped through the once still calm of the church. The buildings unique design allowed the gunfire to travel all throughout the church…and alert everyone present to the calamity unfolding in the basement.

"TRES, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Lucy screeched as the sound of rock and wood shattering nearly drowned out her voice along with the gunfire.

"He's lost it!" Wendy screamed, "He's gone crazy!"

"AIEEEE!" The newcomer let out a terrified cry of his own.

THWACK

And then the commotion settled as the sound of Tres's labored breathing filled Natsu's ears while the newcomer's unconscious body fell to the floor. Natsu blinked once and then twice as the sound of the gunfire died off.

"Tres; have you lost your goddamn mind!?" Lucy screamed at the gunslinger.

"IT WAS A CLOWN!" Tres snapped, "I HATE CLOWNS! I FUCKING HATE 'EM!"

"You have got to be fucking kidding me…" END said, complelty floored by what had just occurred.

"Everybody and their grandmother now knows we're here now!"

"Tres, you just blew our cover! Seriously, do you always freak out like this!?" Lucy continued on her tirade.

"Not when clowns are involved; no!" Tres hissed back.

"Tres you dumbass!" Natsu snapped, unable to contain his outrage at the stunt his summon had just pulled.

"Abel, what's going on!?" The voice of another new arrival called out.

"Look another one!" Happy said.

"Ah pi-tea!" The new arrival said as he palmed his face upon seeing Abel's unconscious body.

"Intruders; how dare you harm Abel!" The new man said, "You shall pay for insolence! The fact that you are in my-the Great Goumon's-training room is a blessing for me! Prepare to meet your doom at the hands of my-"

BANG!

"AGH!" Goumon cried out.

"Spare me the theatrics. Seriously, why must every bad guy go into to some lengthy monologue? If you're going to attack; attack!" Tres said in a rather bored tone.

"You shot me!" Goumon raged in pain, "You shot me in the leg you creep!"

"That's two." Tres said, not paying the Avatar mage any mind before the sound of rushing air could be heard.

"And that makes three."

"Wendy up high!" Lucy called out.

"Right!" Wendy replied.

"Lucy kick/Wendy kick!" The two women said in unison as the kicked D-6 right into the ceiling before he could so much as attack.

"That wasn't so hard!" Happy said in his usually chipper tone before Carla smacked him upside the head.

"Idiot! Now that you said that something bad is bound to happen!" The white cat hissed.

"How…how can this be!?" Goumon groaned in pain, "We…we're high ranking mages of Avatar…this shouldn't have…happened…"

"If this is the best these "Avatar" guys can offer then I'm sadly disappointed." Tres said.

"You idiots…" A familiar voice sounded out and Natsu instantly perked up.

"Gray!" Natsu whispered, "Tres, I'm patching through to your eyes!"

"Go ahead my lord." Tres replied.

Natsu raised his index and middle finger to his temple and closed his eyes, closing his eyes and focusing on the mental link established by him and his summon. When he opened his eyes, he was now seeing the world through Tres's eyes.

He wasn't in control but he had a front row seat to the action none the less.

"These aren't some punks you can just push around. In fact, you could never hope to beat them on your own." Gray Fullbuster said as he descended the stairs off to the right.

Tres raised the gun in his left hand and took aim, tracking the ice mage as he reached the bottom, prompting Wendy and Lucy to let out surprised gasps at Gray's current appearance.

The sound of a pair of heels clicking on stone was heard and soon enough, a beautiful woman was at Gray's side.

Juvia Lockser scowled at Tres as he then took aim with his second gun, training it on her.

"We'll deal with them." Gray said, glaring at Tres and his former guild mates.

"You," Gray said, pointing at Tres, "who the hell are you? I've never seen you before."

"Who?" Tres said, "I do believe you mean "what". Saying "who" implies that I am a person; a living human being. I am no such thing. I am a summon of END, demon of Zeref."

"E.N.D?" Gray said before a cruel smirk formed on his lips.

"So he is here…good. Tell me, demon, where is your master? I'd very much like to know where he is. He and I have some catching up to do you see."

"Sorry pal, I don't respond well to thinly veiled threats against my Lord." Tres said before he fired a salvo of lead at Gray and Juvia.

Gray formed a protective wall of ice only for the powerful bullets to blast it to pieces in a shower crushed ice. A long whip of water suddenly snapped out from behind the ice and lashed out at Tres, forcing him to duck back to dodge the attack. Then, from within the water, a glaring Juvia appeared and leaped out at Tres and delivered a perfect roundhouse kick that Tres blocked with his forearm.

The force of the kick knocked Tres off his feet but he spun into the force of the attack, quickly recovering. He fired another barrage at Juvia who stood in place as she dodged and weaved in between the bullets. At one point even she broke her body apart, thanks to her water magic, and let the bullets pass through her midsection.

"Where is he!?" Gray snapped, charging Tres and taking him by surprise.

"Where's E.N.D!?"

Tres quickly flip cocked his guns, activating their sword forms, and brought them back to battery just in time to meet Gray's ice sword.

Ice and steel grinded against one another as Gray's red eyes locked with Tres hollowed out sockets.

"I can sense his magic on you," Gray said through gritted teeth, "that cursed magic. The magic of E.N.D."

"How perceptive of you." Tres quipped in a similar tone.

The two pushed off one another and slid apart, taking combative stances as Tres kept his one gun in sword mode before switching the other back to its firearm mode.

"Tres, stop it!" Lucy snapped at the summon, "Those two are the people we came looking for!"

"Is that why you're here?" Gray said, looking at Lucy and the others, "You came all this way just to find Juvia and me?"

"We were worried about you two!" Wendy spoke up, "Lyon-san and I hadn't heard from you two in over six months. Natsu and Lucy showed up in town a few days ago and we wanted to see if you two were alright."

"Didn't anyone ever teach you how to mind your own business?" Gray snapped at Wendy, the younger mage's eyes widening in shock.

"How dare you talk to Wendy like that!" Carla hissed.

"Yeah Gray, that wasn't very nice!" Happy added, "Can't you and Juvia see that she's been worried sick about the two of you?"

"As if we care about what some pint sized mage thinks of us." Juvia sneered.

"But we're you're friends; we have every right to care about you! Both of you!" Lucy cried out, "Gray, Juvia, can't you see that there's something wrong with you!? Can't you understand that we're here to help you and to bring you home!?"

"You act as if we're still in Fairy Tail "love rival."" Juvia said before chuckling darkly.

"Pathetic. Truly pathetic. We don't need that farce of a guild anymore; not when we have chosen to walk a different path."

"Fairy Tail is gone Lucy, didn't you catch the memo?" Gray smirked cruelly, "I mean, I know you were there when the old man disbanded us. After all, Natsu had just abandoned you."

"Gray-san!" Wendy gasped in shock, revulsion clearly showing on her face.

"Gray, that was uncalled for and you know it!" Happy snapped at the ice mage.

Lucy's hands balled into fists and she grit her teeth; her bangs shadowing her eyes as her head lowered.

"Fairy Tail doesn't exist anymore. And it no longer holds a place in my heart." Gray said.

"The same goes for Juvia. We have no need for all that "friendship" bullshit anymore."

With surprising calm, Lucy suddenly walked up to Gray…and promptly slapped him across the face.

Gray fixed Lucy with an annoyed glare only for Lucy to slap him a second time. Lucy raised her hand to deliver a third and final slap but was stopped when Juvia caught her wrist in a vice like grip.

"Don't you dare touch Gray-sama like that ever again." Juvia hissed as Lucy wrenched her hand free.

"How dare you!" Lucy barked at both Gray and Juvia as tears fell from her eyes.

"How dare you say something so insulting! You know damn well that all the memories created, the times we shared, everything we endured; it was all real! Fairy Tail was real and it still is! For you to say that all of that was bullshit is a flat out lie! I refuse to believe that!"

Lucy then focused her attention solely on Gray.

"And you…for you to call him that name…to insult him like that! He is your best friend Gray!"

"He's dead to me." Gray sneered, "You and I both know that only E.N.D remains. He's simply wearing Natsu's skin."

"You're wrong!" Lucy protested.

"Am I?" Gray replied…just as Juvia pulled him back in time to avoid Tres's surprise attack. His gun-sword was mere centimeters from cleaving his head in two.

"Tres!?" Lucy gasped, stumbling back.

"You humans are so overdramatic." Tres said, annoyed.

"Look girl I don't care if these two are your allies or not but I will not allow mister dark and brooding to threaten my master."

"You again." Gray hissed, "You're really starting to grate on my last nerve."

"Likewise." Tres quipped and fired his gun at Gray and Juvia again, forcing the two mages to scatter in order to dodge the bullets.

"Tres, stop!" Lucy cried out…but he ignored her.

Tres ceased his firing and charged Gray once more, bringing his sword to bear as he slashed at Gray while the ice mage managed to spin and weave in between the attacks. Tres was caught off guard however when a torrent of water slammed into his side, smashing him into a nearby wall. Drenched head to toe, Tres pulled himself free of the wall and glared at Juvia who gave a cocky smirk in turn.

"Gray-sama, he's all yours." Juvia said in a sickeningly sweet manner.

Gray swiped his hand out then and ice suddenly formed around Tres's legs and rapidly began to spread upwards.

"Oh crap!" Tres said as the ice rapidly encased his body. He aimed his gun at Gray and fired off a shot but the bullet was frozen in midair just as it left the barrel.

"Damn it, I'm frozen solid!" Tres's voice echoed throughout his mind.

Tres's point of view took a warped sheen, as if looking through a semi distorted piece of glass. Tres may have been frozen in place but that didn't mean he couldn't see or hear what happened outside the ice.

"Well now," Gray said, "that solves that."

"Good work Gray-sama." Juvia added, walking up to him and linking her arm with his.

"Tres!" Lucy cried out.

"No!" said Wendy.

The two women made to ran to Tres's aid but froze mid stride before falling to their knees, clutching their stomachs. They began to groan in pain as they collapsed, as if something was twisting their insides against their will. Wendy clamped her hand over her mouth but that did nothing to stop the bile that she began to cough up.

"There you are Mary," Gray said, "I was wondering when you'd get here."

The young girl with the cat eared bow smiled sweet smile as she sauntered over to Lucy and Wendy.

"Who are these people Gray, Juvia?" Mary tittered, "Are they your old friends? The ones from that long gone guild?"

"Princess hang on!" Virgo called out rushing to save her master only for a set of chains to suddenly wrap around her, Happy and Carla.

"Don't be so has-tea." Goumon said, having recovered from his gunshot wound.

"These chains are mode of magic sealing stone!" Virgo said as she was brought to her knees.

"And that was a really bad pun!" Happy added.

Mary snickered in a cruel manner, "Weaklings like you have no place interfering in our business. Did you honestly think that friendship crap you guys preach would do you any good here?"

"Aaagh…aaagghh!" Lucy moaned.

"I'm…I'm going to be sick…" Wendy said before she promptly vomited the contents of her stomach onto the floor. The poor girl then began to sob.

In a surprising act of mercy, Juvia used her water magic to wash the bile away from Wendy before giving her some fresh water to drink.

"Hurts doesn't it; my black magic?" Mary sneered.

"Easy Mary. We need them alive." Gray said as Jerome made his appearance.

"For what reason if I may ask." The swordsman said as he drew his blade and leveled it with Lucy's neck in warning.

"Lucy here has a special… "Connection" with E.N.D; wherever she goes he's bound to be not too far behind." Gray said.

"Oh really?" Mary hummed, "Do tell."

"All in due time. Just keep her alive and Lord E.N.D will be here soon enough."

"G-Gray…" Lucy coughed, "J-Juvia…you-you're being p-possessed! Can't you see it!? Y-You have to fight it!"

Gray looked to Juvia before sighing heavily.

"This is who we are now." Gray said as he removed his jacket while Juvia pulled the aside the slit in her dress.

"In order to find E.N.D…In order to find Zeref…" Gray said as a twisted grin split his face.

"We erased the mark of Fairy Tail with our own hands." Juvia finished.

Indeed, Gray and Juvia's guild marks were no longer in the places Lucy remembered them being. They had been replaced with the mark of Avatar.

The mark of a dark guild.

They both truly had cut all ties to Fairy Tail…to their family.

"No…" Lucy wheezed, "No!"

Gray then turned to Tres and walked over to his frozen form. He curled his fingers and the ice retracted from his head and shoulders.

"I am going to ask you one last time." Gray said evenly, "Where is E.N.D?"

"If I refuse to tell you?" Tres asked to which Gray smirked darkly.

"I'll make you. And if you still refuse to relent…we can always "ask" Lucy."

Tres paused for a minute before taking a puff of his now relit cigarette.

"…Uhm…" Tres said, right before the horrible sound of breaking bone and ice was heard. Tres, with all the strength he could manage, broke his gun and shooting arm free of the ice (at the expense of snapping his limb like a twig) and pressed the muzzle to his head.

"Yeah, fuck that." And pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The connection was severed and Natsu found himself back in his own head just as the gunshot's echoed faded away.

Natsu was frozen in place, his breathing deep and labored.

Had that happened? Had all of that really just happened?

"Natsu…" END spoke up.

Had he really just seen both Gray and Juvia turn on Lucy, Wendy and the Exceed? Their friends? Their family?

"Natsu…" END said again, his tone cautious.

Had he really just seen them denounce Fairy Tail and throw away everything they had accomplished together? All the memories they shared!?

"Natsu…Natsu, calm down." END spoke once more.

But Natsu didn't hear him. His maw slowly opened as a deep, menacing hiss left his sharpened teeth. Liquid fire coursed through his veins, stoking the flames of rage that burned in his heart.

"Natsu!" END called out to his other half but Natsu sprang to his feet and darted down the hallway. He didn't care if people could see his cloaked form darting down the halls or if he alerted others to his presence.

His temper, his anger, had taken hold of him. And it was all focused onto a particular ice and water mage.

Thankfully, he passed not a single living soul on his anger fueled sprint.

The hallway that led to the basement was filled with Gray and Juvia's scents but by the time he neared the area, they were gone.

Instead of heading into the basement to rescue Lucy and the others, his rage driven mind coaxed him into following the alternate path to pursue Gray and Juvia. Following the scent trail, Natsu had enough common sense to stop himself when he heard voices echo from further down the hallway. Creeping along like the predator he had become Natsu tuned into the conversation playing out between Gray, Juvia, and the other Avatar members.

"Goumon," Jerome said, "head back to the cells and deal with our guests. Find out how they learned of our hideout and what they're really doing here."

"Remember to spare the blonde one though." Mary added, "As Gray said, she is somehow the key to luring out Lord E.N.D."

"I will ensure that she is not too damaged." Goumon replied, "After all, she should consider herself honored that Lord E.N.D has even taken notice of her in the first place."

"I will inform Master Arlock of these recent developments." Jerome continued, "He will be most pleased with this. In the meantime, the Purification Ritual will be starting in only a matter of hours so begin making your needed preparations."

With that, the dark mages went their separate ways. Natsu hid in a small alcove in the wall as Goumon passed on by. He paid the man no mind as he snuck back out and rounded the bend, finding Gray and Juvia at their spots; apparently having chosen to wait behind.

They were now alone and in the open.

And Natsu chose that moment to strike.

However, as Natsu bolted forward, he failed to hear a new conversation start up between Gray and Juvia.

"They don't seem to suspect anything. Our cover still seems to be intact Gray-sama." Juvia said.

"For however long it lasts. Let's use it to our advantage and head back to the torture chamber and free Lucy, Wendy and the cats." Gray added.

"Juvia feels terrible for what she did." The water mage lamented but Gray put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We'll explain everything to them soon enough Juvia, don't worry. I don't feel much better myself but we had to keep up the act. I wasn't expecting them to show up either but we have a job to do none the less."

Gray made to turn, "C'mon. Let's cut them loose and get the hell out of here. With any luck we'll find Natsu along the way and-"

"Why wait!?" A voice suddenly hissed. Gray and Juvia were suddenly swept off their feet by an invisible force and slammed against the wall. A strangled gasp broke free of Gray's lips as something that felt like a hand constricted around his throat.

"I'm already here!" The voice hissed again as Gray and Juvia came to their senses.

"That voice!" Gray thought through the haze that filled his mind.

The shroud that hid Natsu began to dissipate as the crystalline sheen slowly shattered, reverting Natsu back to his standard etherious form.

"N-Natsu!?" Gray gasped in surprise.

"N-Natsu-san!?" Juvia coughed.

"Gray, Juvia," Natsu hissed, his tone laced with venom, "long time no see."

Natsu tightened his hold on the duo and lifted them further up the wall.

"Natsu…wait…" Gray gasped, "…wait!"

"Why should I?" Natsu replied, "Why should I listen to a pair of backstabbing traitors?"

"It's…not…what you…think…" Juvia wheezed.

"Is it?" Natsu quipped, "I heard everything that went on in that dungeon Gray. Everything. And here I find you, saying my name while just minutes ago, you said I was dead to you."

"I…I can…explain…" Gray coughed.

"Enough!" Natsu roared, "I will not here more of your bullshit!"

Natsu's eyes began to flicker between green and red as he began to visibly shake in anger.

"Traitors!" Natsu snapped, "Traitors! The both of you!"

Natsu tossed Juvia to the side then, forcing her to slide down the hall with a pained cry. He then formed his hand into one of his menacing claws and leveled it with Gray's heart. He cocked his hand back, ready to strike…

…And was suddenly tossed back against the opposite wall, releasing Gray while Natsu's arm seemingly came to life with a mind of its own. With a pained cry, Natsu's right arm began to twist and flex at odd angles before the fire mage fell to his knees against his own will. His arms snapped out then, bracing against the floor before he began to repeatedly smash his head against it.

"NATSU. DRAGNEEL!" END raged, punctuating each hit with a slam of Natsu's head, bending his host to his will.

"GET. YOUR. SHIT. TOGETHER!" END roared, "AND. CALM. THE. FUCK. DOWN!"

With a final smashing of Natsu's head, END relinquished control back to Natsu who slumped forward with a pained groan.

"Are you better now? Have you returned to your senses?" END asked after a pause.

"Sorry…I'm sorry…" Natsu replied, panting for air, "I…I don't know what happened…I…I just got so angry that I-"

"That you were about to kill your best friend." END retorted.

Natsu looked up to see that Gray was clutching his throat, gasping for breath while Juvia was at his side, steadying him.

"I didn't mean to!" Natsu protested, "I was just so furious at Gray and Juvia for betraying everyone and-"

"And you ignored their pleas for you to come to your senses. While you were drunk on bloodlust, I heard them try and say something to you."

"Why should I listen!?" Natsu snapped at END, who hissed in warning at his host.

"Because you're better than some cold blooded killing machine. You are Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail. Start acting like it!" END replied.

"Natsu…" Gray rasped, "Please…I know you're angry with us. But let us explain why we did all of that."

Natsu slowly stood back up on his feet and loomed over Gray and Juvia, glaring down at them as he crossed his arms.

"I know you have a lot of questions…" Gray said.

"Oh you don't know the half of it." Natsu bit out.

"Natsu-san please, here us out." Juvia spoke up, the fear evident in her eyes as she gazed up at the demon who had caused so much havoc just a year earlier.

"What could you possibly say to me that would justify you hurting Lucy, Wendy, Carla and Happy?" Natsu snapped.

"I know what it looks like Natsu. But Juvia and I had to do that. We didn't like it but we had no choice." Gray said.

"Natsu…Juvia and I are undercover. We've been spying on Avatar."

"…What?" Natsu said. He had been expecting a lame and pathetic excuse from Gray…but that was not one of them.

"Gray-sama and Juvia have been undercover to help the Magic Council and Jellal and Erza bring down Avatar." Juvia said.

"Jellal? Erza? The Magic Council?" Natsu said, obviously confused, "What the hell is going on!?"

"See what happens when you get the whole story?" END said, his tone smug.

"They were the ones who contacted us for help." Gray said, "We saw no reason not to."

Natsu began to massage his temples as he felt a headache coming on.

"…You expect me to believe all of this?" Natsu asked, suspicion clearly etched in his eyes.

Gray and Juvia looked at one another, nodded to each other and then looked back to Natsu. Then, to Natsu's shock, the dark markings that covered their bodies began to slowly fade away until their skin was completely unblemished by the cursed markings.

Natsu blinked once…and then twice.

"Alright…" He said, "You have my attention."

He crossed his arms then but held up a clawed finger in warning.

"But if you're lying to me…"

"Natsu, Juvia and I will give you nothing but the truth. I promise." Gray said.

Natsu narrowed his eyes but made no move to lower his finger, "Alright then…start talking."

XXXX

A/N: And that does if for this one folks! The third to last chapter is done and out!

Lucy and Wendy have been captured by Avatar but while they await their fates in a holding cell, Natsu has finally caught up with Gray and Juvia in search of answers to their apparent betrayal of Fairy Tail. But, all is not as it seems. Especially with the bond shared between Natsu and END.

In that regard ladies and gents were are now getting close to the end of this story. I know I said I'd have this finished by now but college, for the life of me, has demanded my attention. I've also been spending time with my friends in order to maintain my social life (or what counts for it) and I'm prepping to take a Civil Service Exam my state is offering so yeah…busy as always, what more do you expect from me?

I still am grateful to all of you who have waited patiently for this chapter and for being patient with me. I wish there was more I could do to express my gratitude but sadly, I can only give you these messages and try to convey my thoughts.

I am going to start working on the next chapter for this story as soon as I can and after that, I shall begin work on the final chapter…while also squeezing in some room for "Between Light and Shadow" while I'm at it.

As for the penultimate chapter, we'll see what Gray and Juvia have to say followed up by the decisive battle against Avatar!

Next time; Alt. END Chapter 6: Counterattack

As per usual, if you guys have any comments or questions, please put it in your review and I'll make sure to respond to you in the next chapter. If you have anything else that you wish to ask me or clarify, you can PM me and I'll do my best to respond ASAP.

Until next time; read, review and most importantly, HAPPY READING!