The final battle begins. I hope it is as emotional for you to read it as it was for me to write it. Enjoy Chapter 21 now!

Chapter 21

"Regulus Impact!" Loke's attack blasted off the demon clone that was latching on to him, calling him hot. "Lucy, get it together!"

"I know…" Lucy said, snapping her whip into the army. "Just…Wendy…" Lucy looked over to the site of the carnage where the battle with Mard Geer had taken place. Though Sting was carrying me to Zeref, there was still a war being waged on the streets outside.

Laxus was down for the count, having taken both Gajeel and my attacks when he pinned Mard Geer down. Gajeel was clutching his blood gushing leg as Rogue leaned against a building, gasping from the pain of his own broken foot. Erik was the last dragon slayer remaining, but he was busy dealing with the army and his magic was running low. Meanwhile, Erza, Gray and Jellal were cutting wide swaths through the army and the cats were doing their best job too. Only Carla was sobbing over Wendy's body.

"Loke…I'm not sure we can…" Lucy whispered, momentarily giving in to despair. That's when Loke gripped her arm firmly and glared at her.

"Don't say that!" he snapped. "Do you not believe in Natsu?"

"I do believe in him, Loke," she yelled back. "I love Natsu, but Wendy's death…I think it broke him."

"Natsu's not gonna break so easily," Gray countered, drawing closer. In fact, Lucy noticed that all of them were closing ranks, the army being pushed in on them.

"He has a way of pushing forward, doesn't he?" Erza chuckled out. "He disappeared for seven years. None of us ever though we'd see him again, but he still found a way back. I almost envy his determination."

"You see, Lucy, everyone here believes in the strength of Natsu's will," Loke consoled her. "So, let's do our part."

"I can hear it…the sound of Sting battling Zeref," Erik said.

"Then let's not waste any more time here," Jellal said. "Erza, protect the others. True Heavenly Body Magic, Sema!" It was a falling meteor that struck the army en masse, obliterating them all before the Alliance members could even blink. Yes, it was all over in seconds. Loke let go of Lucy and everyone turned to look at the facility.

"Hey…if you guys wanna help Salamander, take me up there," Gajeel grunted. Rogue grunted his own agreement with that statement. "That bastard…killed her…I'm gonna tear him to shreds, and that stupid dragon along with it."

"That's the spirit, Gajeel," Lily said, floating down to pick him up.

"I'm going, too," Happy said, rising from where he had been comforting Carla. Erza looked a little discomfited by this particular notion.

"I'm not against it, but I'm afraid you won't be of much use in a final fight," Erza said. Happy could care less about her concerns and decided to say so to her face.

"I don't care!" he screamed. "Natsu's my friend! I believe in him! I want to be there when he wins! He…He's my best friend! He rescued me from loneliness and confusion. I'll always be by his side…because I love him!"

"Oh, Happy…" Lucy said softly, taking Happy in her arms and hugging him. "I believe in him, too."

"Fro think so, too!"

"If we all believe in him, then let's watch him kick Zeref's ass," Gray said emphatically, pounding his fists together.

I'm not sure, but I think that in some way, their beliefs reached me.

"Wendy, are you crying again?" I asked of the little girl in the corner, barely older than six.

"No," she lied, even though it was so obvious in her voice. I had to restrain myself from laughing as I walked over to the corner and sat down next to her, taking her into a hug. She turned around and buried her head into my chest. I could actually feel the tears then.

"What happened this time?"

"I slipped up…" she sobbed out. "I said I saw a dragon and…they all laughed at me."

"There's nothing wrong with that. They're just jealous," I laughed out, stroking her hair calmly. She was finally done crying.

"You're just trying to make me feel better, Natsu."

"Is it working?" She answered by nodding with a smile. "That's good, then."

"I just don't like it," she pouted. "I know what we saw was real, but I really miss my mama. It hurts to know people don't believe me."

"Yeah, it sucks," I said. "But we'll see them again, I promise you that. Until then, you let your big brothers take care of everything. We'll protect you, no matter what."

I failed her.

I think that was the biggest reason for why I'd stopped hoping. I made a promise that I ended up not being able to keep. It hurt me more than anything else, including the physical damage on my body, which I felt with every step Sting took through the darkened facility. Over every stairway, and that elevator shaft, to the very rooftop where Zeref was. I could smell him, but still couldn't muster the energy to move. Sting set me down.

"I'm done with all this," he called to our once-brother. "I thought, maybe there's a way to save you, a way to go back to how everything was. But that was four hundred years ago."

"You remember now?" Zeref asked calmly, his back turned to Sting. "And Natsu?"

"He remembers, too," Sting spat. "You know what he remembers more? Wendy!"

"Wendy? You mean, she's…" Zeref actually sounded sad, and when he turned around, he had tears in his eyes. It was a disconcerting sight, but not enough to make Sting let his guard down.

"Yeah, she was killed, because of you!" Sting screamed. "I was always one of the weakest of us, maybe that's why I wanted to believe you had some goodness in you. That's gone now! You're just a crybaby who killed our little sister!"

"That was never what I wanted," Zeref told him despondently.

"Honestly, I don't give a fuck what you wanted," Sting snarled out. "Right now, I don't even care that Wendy always hated her brothers fighting. All I care about is pounding your fucking face into the ground until both you and Acnologia are dragon dust."

"And where have you found your confidence, Sting?" Zeref asked quietly. "Last I remembered, you always clung to Natsu because of your own weakness. What changed?"

"I changed," he answered. "I noticed my own weakness and I worked to change it. You see, people can change, but I've known for a while that you don't believe that. Acnologia's poisoned your mind."

"Then answer my first question: where does your confidence come from?"

"From need." Sting breathed in slowly, but deliberately and then entered Dragon Force. "I need to beat you and Acnologia or the world will never be free. Holy Ray!"

Zeref had obviously not been expecting Sting to start attacking right way, because he just stood there as the barrage of holy magic beset him. Actually, the number of projectiles seemed larger than usual, fueled by Sting's indomitable rage. Zeref finally moved, holding his hand up as a black orb formed in it. He tossed it upwards, where it split into multiple orbs. Those things started sucking in the attack, diverting them away from Zeref. I looked up, some feeling coming back into my limbs as I watched the fight begin. I noticed that Sting's Holy Ray attack hadn't been used offensively; it was used for cover.

Sting was running in at top speed through the barrage of his own attacks, using the bright light to get closer to Zeref. His fist was brimming with holy light as he reached his opponent and socked his fist across Zeref's face and sent the Black Wizard tumbling backward. Zeref flew through the air, but managed to eventually right himself and his body was covered by that eerie black haze. His eyes flashed red and the wave shot out. Sting dropped as quickly as he could, landing on his stomach.

"White Dragon's Roar!" he cried and his laser flashed out along the ground in a raging arc towards Zeref.

"Hey, Natsu-san! Looking forward to today?"

"You sure are happy today. So, what are you so happy about?"

"Watch this. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Brothers shouldn't fight, you know."

My hand twitched. Wendy's reminder was practically a knife to the heart, but it was a reminder nonetheless. I lifted my head, fascinated by how powerful Sting had grown from the time he had first shown me his laser. With his attack still going, Sting raised his head and the giant white laser moved upward, angling for Zeref. Zeref responded by raising his hand and creating a black barrier around himself that neutralized the attack. Seeing this, Sting stopped his attack and flipped back onto his feet. He ran at Zeref again and punched. Zeref dodged his head to the side and swiped Sting's other punch aside with the back of his hand. Then his right hand snapped outward and nailed Sting in the stomach. Sting skidded backwards.

"The hell you do to me?" Sting snapped. He looked down at his chest and even I could see it. Zeref's attack had bore through his clothes and emblazoned on his chest was the number 120…119…

"A Death Timer," Zeref answered casually, like he was discussing a flavor of tea. "In less than two minutes, you'll be dead and our battle will be concluded. I won't need to do anything."

"When are you gonna learn?" Sting screamed, diving forward again to pummel Zeref. The black mage sighed and dodged each of the attacks until Sting brought both fists out and slammed them into his head. "Our family never gives up. I'm not gonna die. White Dragon's Talons!"

Sting's next move surprised me as he impaled himself with his own attack. The burst of holy magic energy engulfed his body and made it so bright that I couldn't even see what was happening. I could hear, though, and Sting was screaming in agony. I can only imagine that Zeref watched the scene with growing disinterest. Finally, the light receded and Sting was down on one knee, breathing heavily. The timer was gone.

"See? You can't kill us…that easily…" Sting gasped out as he shakily rose to his feet. Zeref looked surprised at this turn of events.

"Interesting. You were never able to deal with that attack in past lives," he commented.

"Well, things are different now," Sting informed him. "This time, we have friends who believe and trust in us. We have people who challenge us to do better, to think different; something we never had before. We've grown stronger than ever."

"I can see that. It makes me almost conflicted. As your brother, I'm proud of you for growing so strong, but as your enemy it frustrates me that it will be that much harder to kill you."

"Yeah, well, I don't get it!" Sting roared, increasing his speed as he ran at Zeref and began rapidly punching. He never hit his mark, but Zeref had no room to counterattack. "What is with you and destroying this world?"

"This world is just a receptacle for ugliness," Zeref answered. "Four hundred years I've come back because the darkness of this world is too much. Perhaps Acnologia made it that way, I'm not sure. But the only solution at this point is to start all over again in a world free of human error."

"That's bullcrap!" Sting yelled, landing a kick on Zeref's stomach. "A world like that isn't worth living in at all. Don't you know that yet? If you were sick of living life after life because of the darkness, then maybe you should have looked to the light and realized that there's just as much good in the world because we came back every time! If you can't believe that, though, I'll just beat it into you. Dragon Slayer Secret Art! Holy Nova!"

I'm not sure what it was this time, but the light that Sting's body gave off was so blinding that I had to shut my eyes tight. This meant that I couldn't see a single thing going on, but I could feel it. Sting had grown much stronger. The whole building rumbled and I squinted, my eyes opening just a crack to see a large chunk of the rooftop, or the facility in general, crumbling to pieces. Zeref was flying back from the holy magic attack and he landed on one of the large pieces of rubble.

"Suspend," he stated calmly and the falling rocks were inexplicably held in place by what looked to be some sort of black electromagnetic force field. This allowed Zeref to easily regain his footing and put some distance between him and Sting. For his part, Sting glared at our former brother, gasping for breath from the exertion of his last attack. Once he'd recovered enough, he ran forward once again.

Thanks to the suspended pieces of roof, Sting had an even footing to jump across as he made his way back towards Zeref. The black-haired wizard raised his hands, preparing to no doubt cast a nasty spell. It was that same feeling of death and foreboding that gripped me and I attempted to make my body move. I couldn't, which was getting exceedingly stranger by the second. That is, it was strange until I looked down and saw the stigmata of Sting's talons on my chest. I could still lift my head, just in time for Sting to headbutt Zeref in the stomach and land a right hook across his jaw, sending them both tumbling off the rock.

"You preach about the goodness in this world, yet you want nothing more than to fight," Zeref commented. Sting just snarled, planted his feet and launched himself upward.

"White Dragon's Holy Breath!" he bellowed and the blast of holy energy funneled downward, impaling Zeref and taking most of the facility (here meaning the part I wasn't on) with it. "Now you've got nowhere left to run!"

"I'm not running, Sting," Zeref said. From my angle, I could see Zeref had landed perfectly fine on the ground below, though he did look a little worse for wear.

"Holy Ray!" As Sting fell, he sent off his rays of holy magic, all of them attempting to converge on a single point: Zeref. This time, he didn't even try to dodge or summon his black orbs. He just held two fingers up and a paling was erected that completely deflected the attack with next to no effort. Sting still continued his dive, even with his cover gone, and his hand continued to shine. He angled his fist forward, right for Zeref, who continued to hold his hand up. He exposed his palm and just before Sting's attack hit, he caught it. My younger brother wasn't going to be fooled by the same attack twice. He dropped and kneed Zeref straight in the stomach, breaking himself free to roll away.

When Zeref recovered, his eyes glowed red and the black wave of death once more surrounded him. Sting remained in a crouch as he landed. My horrible feeling intensified and I strained against Sting's magic to move, my own magic beginning to flood back into me and heat my body up. I wasn't losing another family member. Zeref sent his death wave directly at Sting, who threw his arms out as a shield to protect against the death magic. Once he was sure it was gone, Sting dropped his shield to find Zeref right in front of him. He punched and missed while Zeref grabbed his arm.

"I'm sorry, Sting," he lamented. My body was burning up now and I felt the paralysis beginning to leave my body. "But while this has been a fun diversion, you are not strong enough to kill me and end my wicked thoughts."

"Then stop thinking them!" Sting snapped, but even from here, I could see that his eyes were wide with fear.

"I cannot."

Time froze.

All I heard was my own heartbeat. All I saw were Zeref and Sting: the oldest and the one who had been the youngest four hundred years ago.

Then the moment passed. Time started again.

Now, I heard screaming. Now, I saw Sting fall back, cradling a stump where his right arm once was, not even a trace of it remaining except for the blood coming out of it.

"Damn it!" I heard him scream through gritted teeth. The pain must have been unbearable.

"Can you please understand?" Zeref said in the most melancholy voice.

"Shut…up…" Sting gasped as he dropped to his knees. His hand, his remaining hand, flew over to his stump and cradled it while he heaved in breaths. My fist clenched and I finally felt the last of the stigmata melting away. All I had to do now was get to Sting. To my amazement, though, Sting was getting to his feet again and making way for Zeref. He weakly punched forward. Zeref didn't even try to move because Sting's attack held no power, failing as suddenly as it had started. Like the wind blowing over a leaf, Zeref tapped Sting with his foot and toppled him over.

"Forgive me," Zeref murmured quietly, but I could hear it. I rose to my feet, rage and grief flooding my veins like a never-ending source of energy. He wasn't going to kill another person close to me, even if he was my brother. No…this was ending now. I was starting to feel that I knew how it would end, but no matter the cost, I was ready to see it through. "Farewell…Sting."

"ZEREF!" I roared as my body lit itself on fire and I flew down, landing my fist into his face and driving him away from Sting. He slammed into the nearby rubble.

"Natsu-san…" Sting said with a stupid little smile. I looked down at him.

"You did good, Sting. Leave the rest to me," I told him. "As for you guys, keep out of it. Zeref's mine."

"Not fair, Salamander," Gajeel huffed. I looked away to see Lucy and Levy supporting Gajeel while Erza held on to Rogue and Jellal to Erik. They were all there. I knew they wanted to fight, too, and were it any other fight, I would have let them…probably. But when I saw Wendy's body lying there amongst the rubble and Laxus crawling over to pick it up, I knew this was my fight alone. I had to settle things with Zeref, as his younger brother. It could only be me. I wasn't going to let anyone get involved or hurt anymore.

"Sorry, Gajeel," I said, even if I didn't mean it. The rubble where Zeref had been flung was beginning to move. "I know he's your brother, too. But no one loved Zeref more than me. It's why he has to be stopped. For Zeref Dragneel's sake, I'll win this."

"So, you remember me now, Natsu?" Zeref asked, finally standing up. I noticed that he was no longer unblemished. Maybe he wasn't even trying now that I was on the field.

"I'm cold…and hungry brother…"

"I know…I know Natsu, but don't worry. I'll keep you warm. We're brothers…I'm here for you."

"I love you, Zeref."

"Of course I do. Sting told you that," I snapped, taking a step closer to him. He didn't move. "You were my brother and I loved you. I loved you so much that I never left your side, even after our homeland was destroyed and out parents were killed. Even when Igneel took us in and we had a new family. It could have been any one of us taken by Acnologia, but it was you. Instead of fighting against fate, like we did, you just gave in and started hating the world. So, I'm going to slay Acnologia and free you."

"You'll kill me?"

"If that's what it takes…for Wendy…" I used the fire under my feet and shot forward like a jetpack. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Zeref couldn't even raise his hands before my fist sank right into his face and sent him crashing into the ground. He flipped backward almost as soon as he landed. I didn't stop. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"

It could have been little more than a headbutt, considering all I did was drive him backward before he slammed his elbow into the back of my neck. I recoiled instantly with a Talons that snapped his head upward.

"Is that the best you can do, Natsu? I'd have thought four hundred years would make you stronger." For a moment, I almost gave into the tone of his voice; it sounded so much like he was still my brother. I shook that off. Zeref was just baiting me, making me lower my guard, but I wasn't going to let him in like that. I created a flame in my hands and sent it roaring towards him. He held out his hand and extinguished it. "That's better."

"I can show you a lot better!" I screamed, giving out a Fire Dragon's Roar at full blast.

"Natsu, you've always put conviction behind your attacks. With how weak they are, I have to wonder what's driving you at this point," Zeref taunted. That gave me pause, but not because it surprised me. No, it made me angry.

"Why'd you have to hit those kids? Now we won't get any food, Zeref."

"They ticked me off. No one says crap about my brother and gets away with it."

"Even if it means no food?"

"You're worth more than food. We do anything for family."

"I'm doing this for Wendy! The sister that you killed!" I roared. "I'm doing this to free you from the darkness that made you even think of hurting her!"

"You think I wanted Wendy to die?" he asked me, horrified. I couldn't care less by this point. "I never wanted any of you to die. I wanted to die! So I fought you, to make you stronger, so that you could end me!"

"Then maybe you should have thought about that before creating your demons!" I ran at Zeref and grabbed him by his clothes, slamming my head against his. He actually cried out in pain. "Brothers are supposed to protect their sisters! Not kill them!

"Wendy told me brothers aren't supposed to fight, either, but right now, I've got no choice. That's the conviction behind my strength. My family, my friends, and Igneel, too. They're all giving me the strength to finish you."

"And what if I removed them from the equation? What if I killed them, too?"

"You won't lay a finger on them. I promise!" With those words, I punched the ground and my flames spread out in all directions, creating a ring of fire around us, blacking out everyone else. Wendy's face surfaced in my mind. "I promise…"

"Then prove it to me. Prove that you have the strength to free me!" Zeref yelled. I lunged forward and tackled him to the ground right before punching him in the face. Blood flew out of his mouth and I smirked. It was almost just like old times, only this time I'd win. I punched him again just as I felt his own hand touch my chest and blast me off. I recoiled and looked down at my chest where I saw a timer ticking down from five minutes. "That was meant to be instant death, but I guess the scarf made of Igneel's faded scaled saved you again. No wonder he gave it to you; you have five minutes to live."

"More than enough!" I told him. "I'll do it in three! I'll finish off Acnologia and save everyone!" With my proclamation made, I kicked up at him in a Talons attack, nailing him in the chest. He gasped as the air left his lungs and I moved in to grab his face. "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

Zeref flew back and I got into his face, pummeling every inch of him I could reach. All those attacks were four hundred years of pent up frustration right there, just pouring out. Zeref's eyes flashed red and I reacted instantly, leaping back and rolling along the ground as Zeref's death wave blasted out and obliterated my ring of fire. The others were in the line of fire now. That wasn't good. I took a look at the number on my chest and saw that a minute had already elapsed. I had to move quicker. Thankfully, Zeref was starting to look exhausted after his battle with Sting. His slower reaction time helped me.

All around us, the facility where it had all began (no doubt the site where Zonia was four hundred years ago before Zeref used Acnologia's power to destroy it) had been ripped to pieces, leaving gigantic stones behind. I ran over and picked up one of the biggest, my body straining to do so before I slammed it right over Zeref's head.

"Just tell me one thing, Zeref!" I screamed out as I leapt amongst the collapsing rubble to grab my former brother. "Why do you want to die so badly?"

"Because I want no further part of this world. Because four hundred years is too long to live."

"So that's a reason to give up on the world? On life? !" With my questions, I slammed my flaming fists across his jaw. My final hit was an uppercut that sent him flying. As he was flung away, he sent a death wave at me. I rolled to the side.

"What is there worth living for?" he asked as he landed shakily. "Humans make the same mistakes. That's why the world would be better off without them, including me."

"That's such a load of crap!" I yelled, lightning surrounding my body along with the flames. "There's a lot worth living for. You just need to look for it! There's so much light and love if you're just willing to open up and accept it.

"You say humanity makes mistakes, and you'd be right, but mistakes are the only way we learn! They're the only way we grow! If I hadn't made mistake after mistake these last four hundred years, then I wouldn't be able to beat you now!"

"You tell him, Natsu!"

"Aye, sir!"

"You can beat him, Natsu."

"Kick his ass, Fire Crotch!"

"Finish him, Salamander!"

"Natsu-san…"

"Natsu, we believe in you." Lucy and all my other friends' words gave me strength. I shot forward like a lightning bolt. Zeref brought his hands together and blasted his attack straight at me like a beam. Using fire, I leapt over it and slammed into Zeref with my Lightning Flame Dragon's Firing Hammer.

"You want a world that's free from that? Fine, go ahead and make it! But keep it to yourself, because the world we've got is good enough! We don't need perfection! We just need our friends and our family and all the beauty there is to living!"

"Why is it always just the two of us?"

"Because our family's gone."

"Can't we find a new family."

"Of course we can…Family is more than blood, you know. Family is what we choose it to be."

"What….?" Zeref asked, still dazed from my attack. I slammed my fists together and electricity shot out, creating a bizarre electromagnetic field that levitated numerous pieces of rubble in the area. I breathed in and noticed my timer was going down, so with a tremendous heave, I slammed all the rocks right on to Zeref in a massive pile before I used my fire to blow them apart in a gigantic explosion.

"If you can't believe that, then just watch," I said, watching as the rocks crumbled away. My timer was just seconds away from going off now, and I just stood there. I can't guess at what the others were thinking, but I do know that as I looked at Zeref, he was scared. Most of all, he was scared his brother was going to die. But I wasn't planning on it. No, Death Magic was just another form of magic like lightning or those god-slayer flames. As the timer hit zero, I opened my mouth and sucked it in.

"Natsu!" called everyone, even Zeref. I could feel the nasty magic choking me, but I still swallowed it and with my flames, burned it all away. I felt my body seize from the effort, nearly shutting down, but I desperately clung to life in that moment, to prove something. I raised my hand into the air, the Fairy Tail sign on display. All around me, my friends reciprocated.

"See? I'm still standing right here!" I shouted. I swear the whole city heard me. "I made a promise to Wendy! I intend on keeping that, on clinging to life until I can beat you. But since you lost your way and don't see the merit in that, you can go ahead and die! But take your stupid world with you, 'cause we don't need it. Fairy Tail walks the path of life!"

As if to emphasize my point, I slammed through the rocks I had made and sent a punch to Zeref's stomach that engulfed him in flames and lightning. It was pretty impressive if I do say so myself, but I knew it wouldn't be enough. When Zeref finally crash-landed, he sent off a massive black wave that essentially destroyed all the rocks surrounding him. Obviously, he wasn't going to let me use that move again. Zeref stood and I noticed that his head was bleeding. That was a first ever since Acnologia corrupted him. It could only mean one thing: Acnologia's life force was finally running out. So was mine.

I may have been able to eat that death magic, but there was no denying that it was doing a number on my system. I wasn't going to let it show, but I could tell there wasn't much time left before my body just shut down. I'd have to finish this before then, and there was only one way I could do that.

"Igneel…dad…" I whispered, clutching my chest tightly. "Give me your strength, one last time."

Of course, Natsu. Now, make your father proud. I had to smile at that as the scales reappeared on my body and my whole body became a bonfire of golden flames. I could even feel my insides burning. My power was off the charts, but my body was overheating beyond what even I could handle. This was going to be a very quick finale. So, I pounced, jetting forward and punching Zeref on the side of his face. I could feel his skin starting to turn to ash.

Zeref slammed his hands together as he fell away and sent his death magic roaring at me. I had no time to dodge, so I forced myself to downright swallow it. It burned me more than any fire, eating away at my insides. I coughed and blood came out. This was really going to be the end for me. After all my talk about walking the path of life, I found it utterly ironic that I was going to die here. Just one more sacrifice like all the slayers before me.

Wow, that's a retarded hair color.

Will you help me find my mama?

But…it's a laser! Isn't it cool, Natsu-san?

My family…they were all counting on me to finish this battle for them, and even if my body would be ripped apart, I sure as hell was. There were things I needed to say first.

"Hey, Gajeel," I said. He looked up, so I knew I had his attention. "Take care of them. You're the only big brother now, all right." Gajeel looked confused for a moment, but he caught on quickly.

"What the hell is that crap, Natsu?" he screamed. It actually made me smile. Four hundred years, and for the first time he actually called me Natsu instead of Salamander. "Don't you saddle me with that! We're supposed to take care of our family together, asshole!"

"Sorry, I'm just a hypocrite," I said with my usual grin. "Oh, yeah…one more thing. Sorry we couldn't make it to the beach, but I'm really glad I got the chance to love you, Lucy Heartfilia."

"N-Natsu…no…"

"Now, Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Blazing Phoenix Blade!" As I finished calling it out, I impaled Zeref in the stomach with my attack. I started burning through him, but it wasn't enough before my attack ended. He put some distance between us immediately, almost looking scared at how things would turn out. I coughed out blood again but it instantly burned up in my flames.

"No…stay back, Natsu!" Zeref said. He held his hands together and all of his death magic coalesced into one space. I took a step toward him and he let it loose. That wasn't going to stop me. I cranked up the heat of my flames, knowing full well that this was going to be the end of me. I started running, too, straight into that wave of death magic, my fires burning off Zeref's final attack. He couldn't move, transfixed on my draconic appearance. I raised my fist, pouring the rest of my life energy into it.

"ZEREF, I'M FREEING YOU!" I roared, and with that, sunk my fist straight into his stomach. I burned through the flesh and bone, like a dragon's claw mauling its prey, until my fist came out through the other side. Zeref didn't even have the chance to scream in agony before I retracted my fist and sank to my knees. Zeref fell with me and I quickly caught him. Inside, I could feel the magic energy that had dwelled in Zeref fading away. Acnologia was surely in its death throes. When Zeref looked up and I saw his peaceful back eyes, I knew that I had done it.

"Zeref, you'll always be here right?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because, I don't want to be alone. You're my brother, so you'll stay with me, right?"

"Of course, Natsu. I'm never going to leave you. I'll stay alive and be right by your side forever."

"Promise me?"

"I promise."

"Nat…su…" Zeref wheezed. I smiled at him, feeling the flames fading, some of my skin becoming ash. "But…you'll die…too…"

"No," I told him as I wrapped my arms around my older brother. "I didn't die. I lived."

"I wish…I could've done that, too…" he said sadly. My brother was back. "I…Natsu…my brother…I love…you…" His body slumped against mine, all life leaving it. A tear rolled down my cheek as I felt my body finally starting to shut down. It was all I could do to say those final words.

"Me, too. I love you, too." I hope he heard them.

Then, it ended. My body gave out, and I died, my brother in my hands, but my sister in my heart.

Author's Note: Sorry for the short note last chapter, but I figured it would be more impactful. I hope this one was just as emotional for you, the readers. I really tried to make it so. More importantly, I want to note about Sting and Gajeel. Last chapter was the first time Sting called Natsu without the honorific, which was entirely intentional; just like Gajeel finally called him Natsu. If you go back through, you'll see I deliberately made it all this way. Anyway, that's it, so let me know what you thought of this chapter: the fights, the emotions, so forth and so on. Until next chapter, Review and Dare to Be Silly.