A/N: I can see a lot of you going, 'Wait, what? Two new chapters in a row?' I know that this is a bit unusual, but I decided that the last chapter was just a little too cruel to leave you all hanging on for more than a month, so here you go!

Also, to ssjgodGohan, I believe that you are correct- I did botch the origin story on Zeref and Natsu a bit, but I've decided to leave it as is, since the essence is the same; Natsu died, Zeref done messed up, and now we have E.N.D. to deal with.

Now, let's see how our favorite Fairy Tail team handles this new predicament...?


Pact with the Devil

Fairy Tail stayed still all of two seconds.

"Kill him!" Erza shouted, lunging at the Black Wizard, whose eyes narrowed quickly.

"Malthinae!" he barked, and Erza found herself suddenly unable to move or even speak. Switching his gaze to others, who were all readying magical attacks, he extended his hand and exclaimed, "Skolir eka fra bullts!" The magic projectiles all shattered or otherwise dissipated as soon as they came within five feet of the wizard.

"That won't stop us!" Albriech exclaimed as he readied another energy burst, causing Zeref's scowl to deepen. "Holy Trident!" A lance made of light sprung from above his head and shot straight towards Zeref's heart, but he made no move to dodge.

Instead, he gave the novice magician a flat stare as he muttered, "Ganga." The spear suddenly reversed directions and slammed into the ground at Albriech's feet, causing an explosion substantial enough to fling him back, knocking him out cold against a tree.

"Get him, Scorpio!" Lucy ordered as the scorpion-like spirit appeared to give Zeref a blast of sand from his tail.

Zeref looked like he was past annoyed at this point. Aiming his palm at the oncoming sand funnel, he shouted, "Istrali!" White-hot fire splashed against the sand, turning it into glass as soon the magic energies clashed. Glaring at everyone, he snapped, "Enough of this! I come not to harm, but to help! Natsu's essence as we know him hangs in the balance!"

"Why should we believe you?!" Gray demanded. "You're responsible for the deaths of everyone I loved, including my master and my parents!"

"Not to mention the Tower of Heaven that imprisoned Erza, took countless lives, and nearly destroyed Fiore!" Lucy added, since Erza was still gagged by Zeref's magic.

"I do not deny these wrongdoings!" Zeref cried. "I seek only to make amends for my crime against Natsu! Once I have found a way to free him, you may strike me down for all that I have done! I just want to save my little brother!" His words caused the others to pause for a moment.

"How can we trust you?" Baldor asked. "Based on what our friends have told us, your word is all but meaningless."

"There is a way," Saphira said. "An ancient way..."

"The Ancient Language," Eragon said aloud. "Of course, Saphira!"

"What are you talking about?" Gray asked, his eyes still trained on his hated enemy.

"When speaking the Ancient Language, it's impossible to lie," Eragon explained. "Which means that any promises he makes while speaking it will be forever binding, even unto death."

"Ah, yes…" Zeref nodded. "You are correct, young rider. If that is what it takes, please, specify what you wish me to swear, and I shall accommodate."

"Hold on, you sure about this, Eragon?" Happy cautioned. "This guy is even worse than Galbatorix and Durza put together, hard as that might be to believe. You're just gonna take his word for it?"

"I will, if he binds himself with the language of the elves," Eragon stated, his eyes never leaving Zeref's. "If he truly means us no harm, these words will banish any doubt I have."

"Rrgh…" Gray scowled. "All right, but first he lets Erza go."

"Will she attack me if I do?" Zeref asked.

"No, she won't… will she?" Lucy asked the red-head a bit nervously.

Erza could not move to shake her head or speak, but her eyes told her comrades that she would comply… probably. "She'll be fine as long as you don't try to hurt any of us," Gray said after a moment. "Let her go."

"As you say," Zeref nodded, lowering his hand and mentally releasing the spell. Just as Gray had predicted, Erza dropped to the ground without a sound, though she did not put away her sword.

"Proceed, Black Wizard," she said in a low voice.

"First, Eragon's conditions," Zeref reminded them.

"Very well, there are four things which you must promise," Eragon said. "One, you will swear not to kill any of us here. Two, you must promise to give Natsu's condition top priority in your life until it is cured. Three, you will swear that even if you decide to leave after you are done helping Natsu, you will return once you have found a permanent solution for his condition that does not involve killing him. And four, you will never ally yourself with Galbatorix or his Empire in any way."

Zeref nodded to himself after Eragon was done speaking. "Very well, I shall do as you have asked."

"Wait," Baldor said before the wizard could begin to make his oaths. "There is a fifth condition, one that I will add myself."

"Which is…?" Zeref asked.

"You will return to Carvahall with Albriech and myself," he said, stunning everyone that was present. "You will remain under our watch so that we can be sure that you are not up to anything of evil intent."

"Are you crazy?!" Happy shouted.

"This man is one of the most destructive forces in history, and you want to invite him into your home?!" Carla added. "Have you abandoned your wits?!"

"No," Baldor said, his voice hard. "But someone has to keep an eye on him, someone who understands the situation."

"I have no objections to this, nor do I plan to cause anyone any harm," Zeref said somberly. "I have caused enough suffering for too many lifetimes. I don't want to cause any more."

"Okay, one last thing," Gray demanded. "How'd you even get here? Why'd you come here at all? And how come we haven't been killed by your curse or whatever it is that you were talking about?"

"All of that can be answered by one word…" Zeref said, smiling a bit. "Mavis."

"…Wait, are you talking about Mavis Vermillion, the founding master of Fairy Tail?" Erza frowned. "If so, what does she have to with this?"

"We knew one another before she perished, and I have long been aware of her spirit's presence," he answered. "When she realized where Natsu and his friends had been trapped, she told me that it was a world with magic… but lacking in curses like the one that bound me. Here, I am free of the death curse that I have lived with for so long…"

"So you don't kill stuff on accident like you used to?" Happy asked.

"Precisely," Zeref nodded. "And instead of relying on my usual methods of magic, I decided to use this world's language for magic, save for archive magic."

"Wait, does that mean that we could use magic like Eragon?" Carla asked with a raised eyebrow.

"So long as you possess an internal spring of magic that you can access on command, yes, even exceeds can perform magic," Zeref nodded. "But please, may we continue this later? I would like to get to work on Natsu before he begins to wake."

"Yes, let's," Eragon nodded. "But first, your oaths."

"As you wish," Zeref said as he bowed to the young rider.


Several hours later, when the sun had begun to creep over the horizon, the entire group was present- Carla and Happy had gone to find Murtagh and Wendy and bring them back once Zeref's oaths were in place- and the Black Wizard's work was complete. During the time that Zeref was working, Baldor had taken Albriech aside and explained what he planned to do with the man once he was done.

At first Albriech had objected profusely, but when Baldor brought up his earlier points, as well as the fact that Roran would still need help developing his magic, the older son of Horst gave in. "We're not masters of magic either, but if the Empire ever decides to hit our hometown because of our actions, we'd best be there, I suppose," he muttered.

"Will we ever see you again?" Wendy asked them.

"Wiol ono," they replied in unison. For you. It seemed that in their time spent with Brom and Eragon, they had learned a few phrases in the Ancient Language.

"Thank you," she smiled lightly. "I'll look forward to it."

"Well, we are Fairy Tail wizards," Baldor grinned. "We watch for one another, even if it's from across the world."

"It is done," Zeref said as he rose from his kneeling position. He had spent the last several hours hunched over Natsu, both keeping him asleep and placing the enchantment that he had described earlier. "E.N.D. can now be subdued."

"How?" Erza asked.

"If he begins to show signs of emerging again, you need only speak a simple phrase in his presence to activate the conditioning," the older Dragneel replied. "Kneel, Dragon of Tartarus."

"That's it?" Gray asked dubiously. "You're sure that this'll work?"

"Vel einradhin iet ai vanyali ethgran," he answered.

"Meaning…?" Gray turned to Eragon.

"Upon his word as a magic-user," the rider answered. Looking at Zeref, he added, "I am satisfied. But know that your oaths hold you until I release you from them, or one these that are present does so in my stead."

"I understand," Zeref nodded. "I will accompany the young slayers to their home as soon as they are ready to depart. The only thing I ask for in return for all of this is that you not tell Natsu who I really am, nor about his hidden form… not yet. He should hear it from me, but not until I've completely righted this wrong."

"Probably wouldn't do him any good to hear that his brother is one of the most hated people in all of history…" Happy said. "Uh, no offense, Mister."

"None taken," Zeref said heavily. "He will wake in a few hours, and he should be back to normal… at least, as close to normal as he can get."

"I think we could all do with some sleep," Erza sighed. "We'll say our good-byes in the morning."

"Before we do…" Zeref said, and the others tensed up, so he quickly made a placating gesture as he added, "I wish to leave each of you with a parting gift… For the sake of you being Natsu's family when I could not."

"What'd you have in mind?" Gray asked, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of having anything further to do with Zeref.

"I wish to help each of you with your magical prowess through various means," Zeref replied. "To the rider, I will use archive magic to grant him a complete knowledge of the Ancient Language, at least as far as archive magic can grant him."

"I'll be able to speak it fluently, like you?" Eragon asked eagerly.

"It will take come practice since you are simply going to be receiving the information all at once, not like how I can access it whenever I need it, but yes, that is the idea. You will know the words by definition, but not necessarily how to use each of them in proper context, something that you will have to learn on your own," Zeref said. "To your dragon, I can grant a complete history of the dragons that lived in Alagaesia during the ages past, even before the riders."

Saphira's curiosity was piqued, but she made no comment on the matter.

"To Erza, I can grant an armor with similar properties to the Dorma Anem," Zeref continued. "It will grant her much resistance to all forms of magic, though it will require a great deal of magic power to run.

"To Gray, I offer the power to slay your worst nightmares," he added. "Should you choose to accept, you will receive the magic power of an Ice Demon Slayer."

"Would it work against you?" Gray asked with a smirk and hint of black humor.

"No more than the next wizard," Zeref replied flatly. "You will still be able to use your ice-make magic, if that makes you feel any better."

"Maybe a bit," the cold wizard admitted.

"Hey, what about us?!" Happy demanded as he pointed at Carla. "Why do we always get forgotten?"

"I already have my clairvoyance, thank you very much," the white exceed sniffed. "I don't need any help from a shady character like Zeref!"

"I was going to offer you the same gift as Eragon- and Lucy- but if you wish to remain as you are, that's fine, too," Zeref shrugged.

"I want in on that!" Happy exclaimed.

"I guess I won't say no if Eragon doesn't…" Lucy said, though it was with some degree of apprehension.

"It could be useful…" Carla admitted begrudgingly.

"To Wendy, I offer something more... complex," Zeref said hesitantly, and they way that he did so made everyone else stiffen slightly. Seeing their reactions, he said, "It's not going to be dangerous, just difficult. There are spells, both in this world and that of our own, that allow the body to grow faster than nature's usual course."

"What are you saying?" Carla demanded, her wariness growing, while Wendy shivered uncertainly.

"I know Wendy is the youngest of the Dragon Slayers, and the least powerful in comparison to her comrades," Zeref stated. It was not said to be cruel, simply as a fact. It still stung a little, Wendy thought. However... "I can accelerate her growth so that she will match Natsu's biological age in a matter of weeks instead of years," Zeref offered. "She will become stronger as a result, and more capable of handling the spells she has been learning from Grendina's book." He pointed at the mentioned parchments, which were lying beside her belongings.

"That actually sounds pretty good to me," Wendy said timidly.

"Don't be absurd, child!" Carla protested. "We don't know what kind of long-term effects this might have!"

"It won't last more than four weeks, and the spell will feed off of her own inner power, though not enough to weaken her prowess in battle substantially," Zeref said. "She may grow tired a bit more easily until the transformation wears off, but by the time it does, she will be stronger than before."

"Finally, to my escorts, I offer the chance to teach you more about Dragon Slayer magic," Zeref continued. "It won't be the same as if you continued to train with Natsu and Wendy, but at least your skills will not grow stale."

"Hmm…" Baldor and Albriech exchanged glances before the elder son said, "We'll bear it in mind while we travel. We still don't trust you."

"Understandable," the ancient youth nodded. "But for the rest of you, your answers must be given before we depart, for I do not know when I will see you again."

"Can we have until the morning?" Lucy groaned. "My eyes are gonna shut on their own if I stay up any longer…"

"It is morning," Zeref said as he gestured in the direction of the early dawn.

"Shut up," Lucy muttered as she lay down in the grass. "I'm goin' to sleep."

"Someone needs to keep watch," Erza said. "But I don't think any of us are in any condition to stay awake any longer."

"I can keep watch," Zeref volunteered. "My oaths in the Ancient Language prevent me from harming any of you in any way, so there is no danger."

"He does make a convincing case," Eragon said heavily as he leaned back against Saphira's warm underbelly. "I'll take his offer."

"You look like you aren't well-rested either," Wendy said softly, though her gaze remained wary. "Are you sure that you can stay up?"

"I will be fine, young slayer," the man said quietly. "Rest, and do not fear harm. I will protect you until you are all able to resume your journey."

"I'm too tired to argue," Gray said in defeat. "Do whatever you want." Then he lay on his back, promptly falling asleep.

One by one, the others followed suit, even Erza. Once Zeref sensed that the last of them had truly fallen into their dreams, he stood and placed a hand on one of the trees next to Saphira. Muttering a short phrase in the Ancient Language, he felt some of his power go into the plant. He proceeded to do this with several more trees in the clearing in a rough circle before sitting beside Natsu once more.

"Now I can rest," he sighed as he leaned back and closed his eyes. Truth be told, he was even more exhausted than the others, but he didn't want them to see him placing enchantments on the forest- they likely would have suspected foul play on his part. He had set up wards in the forest to alert him to the presence of anyone within a mile, and to 'discourage' anyone who wanted to get too close.

Finally… he thought heavily. I can use my magic to protect… and not to… end…

He fell asleep before the thought was even finished.


"All right, where's the meathead that knocked me out?!"

The group woke to the sound of Natsu shouting at the top of his lungs. As Lucy looked up at the screaming dragon slayer, she thought, At least he's sounding more like himself…

"I'm gonna knock his teeth in when I catch up with-" Thunk!

"Shut up, flame-for-brains," Gray muttered, plopping his arm back down on the ground after hitting Natsu with a rock. "It's too early for this."

"Settle down, Natsu…" Wendy yawned. "We had to stay up all night."

"And all on your account," Carla sniffed as she stretched. "Honestly, would it kill you to show come gratitude every now and again?"

"All on my what?" Natsu asked as he rubbed his head. "And Gray, I'm gonna give you a major sunburn when you get off your butt."

"Oh yeah?" Gray yawned. "I'd like to see you try, buddy."

"Fire Drago-" Blam!

"Shut it!" Lucy and Erza shouted at the same time, even as Natsu fell face-first on the ground. Everyone looked over to see that Erza had used a mace to knock him down while Lucy had flat-out kicked him over.

"Not to self…" Albriech muttered as he rubbed his eyes. "Don't wake up beautiful women until they're ready to get up on their own…"

"And here I was thinking that all two-legs were slow learners," Saphira commented as Natsu lay in the dirt, voice muffled by the earth.

"Hrgh-fr-mff-beh…" he said.

"I don't think so, pal," Happy said as he moved to stand beside the fire wizard. "You couldn't even beat Erza on a good day."

"I could totally take Lucy, though!" he protested as he picked himself up.

"That's not saying much," Happy grinned, relieved to see Natsu acting more like himself.

"Hey!" Lucy growled. "Watch it, or you're next!"

"Just sayin'," Happy smirked.

"Rrgh…" Erza grumbled as she sat up. "I suppose everyone got enough rest?"

"From what I can tell, we should all be good to travel," Zeref said from he sat against a tree trunk.

"Hey, you!" Natsu shouted. "Why'd you knock me out, huh?!"

"Maybe because you were getting out of control?" Carla said dryly. "Honestly…"

"I get out of control all the time!" he protested.

"This was a different variety of crazy," Happy interjected. "Speakin' of which…" Looking up at Natsu directly, he asked, "How're ya feeling, Natsu?"

"Fine, same as alw-" He paused mid-sentence as a thoughtful look crossed his face. "Actually, I feel better than fine. I feel pretty good!"

Erza shot Zeref a glare who held up his hands in self-defense. "Did you do anything to his memory?" she hissed.

"No, but the mental strain on his psyche has been greatly reduced," he answered. "His memories are unmolested by my magic, so he is fine in that regard. I assume that he will still be pained at the passing of his friend, but he seems to do a fine job at hiding it."

"That he does…" Erza admitted.

"Well, I think it's time we go our separate ways for now," Albriech said as he walked up to the gathering. "We should get back home, and Eragon's family should know about what's happened as of late."

"What, you're leaving?!" Natsu yelped. "Why?! Seriously, what'd I miss?!"

"The creepy guy helped you feel better, Baldor and Albriech are gonna go home with him so that they can all teach Eragon's cousin dragon slayer magic, and we're gonna meet up with them sometime so we can go beat the Empire," Happy said in a rapid-pace fashion.

"But…" Natsu's face feel a bit before he perked back up. "All right," he said, surprising everyone with a slight grin. "But ya better not try to take on the king without us, got it?"

"Same to you," Albriech said as he extended a hand. Natsu grasped it firmly and shook hands with the man.

"We'll miss you all," Baldor added.

"Hey, do me a favor on your way back?" Natsu said once they had all said their farewells, the stranger in black standing away during the proceedings.

"What is it?" Albriech asked.

"Say hi… to Lisanna for me," Natsu said, his eyes a bit sad. "For all of us. It's mean a lot to me."

There was a grave silence for a moment, only broken when the white dragon said, "We will, Natsu. You have our word as Fairy Tail wizards."

"Then be well in your travels," Erza said.

"Same to you," Baldor said as he and his brother moved away for Zeref to come stand before them once more.

"So…" he said softly. "Have you each considered my offer?"

"We have," Erza nodded. "Though it makes us uneasy, the oaths that Eragon had you swear have allayed enough of our fears. We will accept your gifts."

"Wait, what?" Natsu asked, confused.

"Very well," Zeref said as he raised his hands, which glowed with golden light. "This may feel a bit strange, but I promise that it's completely harmless." Each of them suddenly felt a presence in their minds that began to fill their conscience with new knowledge, though not in a painful pace or capacity. The only exceptions were Erza, whose gift was given to her by transferring the armor across with her magical storage abilities, and Wendy, who felt more of a strange crawling sensation throughout her body, just on the verge of being unpleasant, though the sensation quickly faded.

Once it was done, the wizards- and dragon- shook their heads as the new information melted into their memories, disconcerting them for a few seconds. However, the process was short-lived, and they soon felt right again.

"Okay…" Natsu muttered as he rubbed his head. "What'd he just do…?"

"What did you do?" Erza demanded, her eyes narrowed as she rounded on Zeref, who regarded her calmly. "You never mentioned a gift for Natsu."

"It was not mine, but Igneel's," he said somberly. "It was a few spells reserved for the Fire Dragon King- spells that Igneel never had the chance to teach Natsu, much like how Wendy was not able to complete her training with her mother."

"Who-what-now?" Natsu asked, still swaying unsteadily. Apparently, his brain was having a harder time processing the new information than the others.

"Easy there," Lucy said as he started to topple, grabbing him up and throwing his arm over her shoulders so that she could support him more easily.

"Thanks, Luce…" he grinned weakly.

"Don't mention it, big guy," she grinned back, relieved to see him acting more like himself, and less like… whatever it was that Zeref had created.

"Is that all?" Erza asked through gritted teeth while Gray examined an arcane mark that had appeared on his left arm.

"I leave you with one final token of goodwill," Zeref said as he turned away. "While you all rested, I used my magic to sense what was going on around us… even into the town, and the prison therein."

"And?" Erza snapped.

"There is a prisoner who needs rescuing," Zeref answered. "An elf that may have more to do with us being here than one might expect."

"An elf?!" Eragon gaped. "In Gil'ead?!"

"What?!" Natsu exclaimed. "Everyone knows elves are made up!"

"Says the dragon slayer…" Carla sighed in disappointment.


Gajeel: Kinda powering everyone up a bit early, aren't ya?

Mataras: Not really... I think people in the fandom really underestimate how strong Durza is, not to mention his virtual immortality. If you think about, Erza's magic is really the only one suited for taking him on, and even then it would be risky. Not only is he about on par with them in terms of magic power, his is a lot more versatile than the Earthlanders.

Makarov: You make a good point, but the majority of people that they face couldn't hope to stand up to them how they were, much less now.

Mataras: Again, I feel that there may be a slight misunderstanding here... With the exception of Wendy, Zeref has done nothing to increase their power or stamina, so the playing field is still going to be about the same as before.

Levy: I guess that makes sense.

Mataras: And before anyone asks about Baldor and Albriech, yes, this was my plan all along! Also, it'svery hard to keep such a large group dynamic going for so long... They'll show up when Roran's arc comes around, don't worry.

Laxus: Hey, wait a minute... Weren't you trying to hide from the Strauss siblings?

Mataras: ...You had to bring that up, huh?

Gajeel: And speak of the she-devil...

Mirajane: Found you, little bastard!

Mataras: Bye guys!