Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail
The firing barrage began once more, while Zeref dangled from the rope on the platform. Bullets tore through the wooden platform itself, and the banister created to hold Zeref in the air. He felt the entire structure shake, making his body sway over the hole created so his feet would not rest on the ground. In the meantime, more bullets tore through his body, pushing his body into more pain and suffering as it started.
With Lahar working on an enchantment, Zeref knew the pain would increase soon. Maybe he shouldn't have gone into this so calmly. Soon, his magic would be released, simply because the Council refused to acknowledge the truth. He heard the clanging as bullets collided with the steel surface of the cuffs, deepening the cracks that had already begun to form. New ones began to appear on different sides of it. With one more shot, the chain holding his arms together snapped, at least allowing him to move his arms more freely.
Watching, Zeref spotted Lahar at the base of the platform, rising to his feet with a frown on his face. As he stood, the entire platform seemed to become lit with electricity. Lightning danced across the ground, and slowly it began to spike upward towards his body. Weakly searching for the enchantment's writing, Zeref finally found it. Anyone trapped inside would be electrocuted every time they moved. It was quite effective, he noted, when combined with the forced motion from the firing squad and the swinging rope.
Burns now appeared on his skin, healing in seconds and making him groan slightly. This was becoming one of the more painful attempts to end his life, Zeref noted. Another shot collided with one of the cuffs, making him glance towards it weakly. A few moments longer and they would be destroyed. Closing his eyes, Zeref tried to focus on calming his mind before that happened. However, the pain was making it almost impossible to do so. All of the time he spent meditating was going to be for nothing, he realized.
Shaking, another shot of lightning streaked out towards him and made him gasp in pain again. Another shot collided with him at the same time, as he attempted to risk the pain and warn them. "Get…away…" In response, Lahar's enchantment activated again. More lightning surrounded his body, making him scream in pain for the first time in years. This was getting to be too much. It had been so long since he attempted crude methods like this to end his life. He had forgotten how painful they could be.
The shocks seemed to affect the cuffs as well. With one last shot, a snap echoed throughout the air. Zeref stilled, at least as much as he could. A headache was forming, a familiar feeling as his magic slowly began to return to him. Pressure built within him, but a partial seal still kept it from releasing. His left arm still had a chain dangling from his wrist, the cuff keeping it attached to his arm.
Ignoring the shock, Zeref swung his arm behind his back to try and protect the single thing keeping his magic from exploding. As he did so, he heard a shout echo from the crowd. "Stop it! Can't you see he isn't dying?" Glancing upwards, Zeref spotted Natsu and felt a light smile flicker across his face. "Let him go, this is just pointless. You're torturing the guy, and it's doing nothing!"
His angry outburst didn't stop a thing. No one payed attention to him, ignoring the dragon slayer as if he weren't even there. With a growl, Natsu pushed forward through the crowd. Zeref wanted to shout out a warning to him, but another shock flooded his senses and made him groan in pain instead. His head hung forward, despite the rope biting into his neck. It was lolling around, with his strength fading slowly. Healing used up much more magic energy than these people realized, but Zeref couldn't control that aspect of his magic. If damage continued occurring, his body would heal even if he ran out of magic completely. The same would happen with his death magic. So long as he valued life, even if he had no magic in his body, the death predation would begin and unleash itself on the world around him.
Unable to help himself, Zeref's right hand lifted and pressed itself into his hair. A shock made his body go stiff in response, his other arm sliding somewhat towards his side from the pain. The pounding in his head was getting worse, begging to be released. "Please…get back…" he begged.
"Don't ignore him you bastards!" Natsu shouted, jumping in front of the firing squad. Flames erupted around him, a wall of fire surrounding the dragon slayer as he glared harshly at the wizards. Startled, they stopped firing for a brief moment and stared at the angry fire wizard in front of them. "Now, get the hell away, or I'll make you get back."
Slowly, the pain from the shots began to fade as Zeref swayed slightly in the air. "Natsu…" he whispered, smiling lightly. He owed the dragon slayer much for this, but he didn't expect the final shock that came as his swaying slowed. Lightning coursed over his body, making him gasp and throw his head back. It danced along his skin, burning his neck and face as it trailed over his entire body. A crack echoed in his ears, making him blink and stare behind him at the cuff. Even without the shots, the shock was enough to break the remaining resistance in the material.
The dragon slayer heard the sound, standing up straight with wide eyes. "Run." he ordered, shoving people ahead of him. Turning back, Natsu spotted Lahar and grabbed the rune knight, shoving him into the crowd carelessly. The captain tripped and stumbled onto the ground, turning his head back to glance towards Zeref. The black wizard had both of his hands buried in his hair now. He cried out, gritting his teeth as the magic finally pushed free from the restraints placed upon him for so long.
A black cloud covered the entire platform, bursting outwards with a force that no one could compete with. It expanded even further, making Zeref grit his teeth and grimace as he saw the spell near Natsu's form at the edge of the platform. The dragon slayer took a step away from the spell, narrowing his gaze as he watched carefully from the very edge of the spell. Zeref wondered just how many risks that boy was going to take, but slowly, the energy began to die off. The black cloud slowly began to dissipate, the swirling black magic fading away. Wisps seemed to linger in the air for a moment, but people only stared with wide eyes as the black wizard hunched over on the ground. He gasped in pain as yet another shock filled his body, but at least the rest of his pain was gone. At some point, one of the shots had torn through the rope holding him in the air. The shock just now broke through the last resistance left within the rope, letting it snap and allowing Zeref to slump over on the wooden floor.
Not in the mood to suffer any longer, Zeref teleported out of the enchantment Lahar created. Appearing by Natsu's side, Zeref glared out at the wizards present. Fearfully, they backed away from his proximity. "As I told one of your knights before, I kill when I wish to let people live. Next time, keep that in mind and don't foolishly break the only thing restraining my magic."
Feeling weak and exhausted, Zeref actually found himself pressing a hand to Natsu's shoulder to stay balanced. The dragon slayer glanced at him, frowning as he studied Zeref for a moment. "Come on, we're getting out of here." he stated, grabbing Zeref's arm and dragging him behind the wizard.
Hesitating, Zeref let the boy drag his feet as he glanced at the crowd around them. This was going to completely destroy any chance Natsu had of remaining free. "I did not wish to drag you into this." His voice was quiet, but the dragon slayer still heard.
"You know me, I don't listen anyway." Natsu commented, giving him a slight smirk. "Anyway, these guys are being stupid. They won't let me leave this place, so I would've had to break out anyway. At least this way I get to help out a friend in the process."
With everything happening and how tired he was, Zeref didn't do much thinking before speaking. "I wish you really were him, Natsu. My brother…" he trailed off, his voice sad and distant.
Blinking, the dragon slayer grinned. "Well, I'd say that's progress. A big step from insisting we aren't friends, huh?"
Blinking, Zeref only smiled and nodded. More determined, Zeref began moving his feet with Natsu's. The crowd was too stunned to react at first. Lahar moved before anyone else, chasing after them as they attempted to flee. A few shouts were heard as the Council ordered the knights into action. While Zeref may have broken free from his restraints, he had a long way to go before finding true freedom. However, with Natsu by his side, he had no doubt that they would find Zeref's guild again and return to the task of freeing Mavis from the power of Ankhseram's Curse.
Footsteps continued to pound against the ground behind him. "I thought you said you weren't going to escape, black wizard!" Lahar shouted, further ahead than any of the knights.
Glancing back, Zeref shrugged. "I stated that I could have escaped if I wished to do so. I simply wasn't motivated until now."
The rune knight captain glanced between Zeref and Natsu, scowling in irritation. "Stop this at once! Natsu, if you do not stop aiding him this instant, you will be under arrest for treason and for harboring an escaped criminal." It wasn't entirely the case, but close enough to true that Zeref felt the Council would get away with it.
Glaring, Natsu glanced over his shoulder at the rune knights. "Like I said, you guys wouldn't understand him at all. I don't care what he told ya, I'm his friend, and that's all there is to it. If I have to fight you guys to help him get free, then so be it."
The dragon slayer seemed prepared to stop and fight, but Zeref grabbed his arm and shook his head. Battle was not the answer, not right now. With an entire army of rune knights after them, Natsu's power alone would not stop them. Perhaps Zeref could do so, but his magic would mean killing them all. It wasn't something he could do casually, and at the moment, the threat didn't warrant such an attack.
From within the crowd, Zeref spotted an outburst of magic. "Oh, pardon me. I meant to hit Zeref, didn't I?" God Serena questioned, laughing brightly as he sent another wave of elemental magic into the crowd. His first attack had been lightning, but now the wizard saint moved on to water.
"Wait, he's helping you?" Natsu questioned, glancing at Zeref.
Nodding, Zeref spoke under his breath so other wouldn't hear. "He's one of the Spriggan Twelve, like August." With that, the dragon slayer snorted and shook his head.
"The Council's stupid if they can't figure that out." he commented, shaking his head.
Only nodding in agreement, Zeref let God Serena deal with delaying the main force chasing them. A few wizard saints moved to restrain their fellow Council member, insisting that his attacks were unnecessary at the moment. As they did so, a massive tree grew within the center of the army, with a familiar face rising on one of the branches. "I finally captured the black wizard!" Warrod shouted to the army.
A few paused, looking relieved and staring up at the wizard saint with smiles on their faces. "Just kidding!" he added, laughing in amusement.
Grimacing, Zeref reached out telepathically to his former student. Warrod, this isn't necessary. Do not get yourself in as much trouble as I am at the moment. It would do neither of us any good. The man smiled at him in response, waving as Zeref began vanishing from sight.
It is the least I can do, for everything you've done for us. If she were here, Mavis would be proud to see what you've done for her guild. They are more of a family now than they have ever been, and that is not her doing, Zeref. That is your doing. His response echoed in Zeref's mind, making him frown and shake his head. He couldn't think about Mavis right now, but he could let Warrod make his own choices.
Closing his eyes, Zeref sighed. "Thank you, Warrod." he whispered.
Still, he heard footsteps chasing after them even after two wizard saints intervened to distract the force behind them. Lahar was still there, and as Natsu finally stopped to turn back, they noticed that he was alone. "You've got no chance, Lahar. It's just you against the two of us, and if I'm being honest, I don't even need Zeref to handle you." Natsu warned, crossing his arms over his chest.
The three of them had come quite a ways, Zeref noted. Trees were around them, blocking them from the view of any knights still attempting to chase after them. Glancing at Lahar, Zeref could see that the man had nothing on him to communicate with his allies. Sensing for magic, it became clear that he was no telepath either. Lahar was alone, and with only enchantments to fight with, he was at a disadvantage. With Natsu by his side, Zeref calmly gazed at the rune knight. He did not wish for a fight, but he had a feeling it would be unavoidable. Lahar simply didn't know when to give up, and right now, it would be his undoing.
"It has to be around here somewhere." A voice interrupted Zeref's thoughts, and startled all of them before a single one of them could move. That voice was familiar, though, and it did not belong here. Glancing back, Zeref's gaze narrowed at the familiar cloak and scarf around the man near them. His entire face was hidden beneath that scarf, and a hat that was pulled down to cover his hair and his forehead. The only thing visible through all of it was his eyes, and that was only if someone attempted to focus hard on his face.
Behind the man's back, a set of staves were sheathed, ready for use at a moment's notice. "Mystogan…what are you doing here?" The wizard blinked, staring at Zeref with just as much shock.
"Master? Isn't this near Era?" Mystogan paused, glancing to see the rune knight behind him. "It appears as if you were causing trouble already." Lifting a hand, Zeref knew what Mystogan was planning to do. Sighing, Zeref shook his head and grabbed his wrist to stop him.
"He already knows. Sleep magic won't stop anything now." Observing them, both Lahar and Natsu were blinking in surprise.
Unlike Natsu, though, Lahar seemed to recognize the name at least. "Mystogan…Fairy Tail's S-Class wizard, whose face has never been seen. I knew we didn't have you captured with the guild, but I never expected to encounter you here." The rune knight captain pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Your master is under arrest, for numerous crimes against the country. Currently, he is trying to escape his punishment and must be brought back into custody."
The logical presentation of facts was not going to work on Mystogan. While most of his guild didn't realize the truth, Zeref knew of his true story to some extent. Mystogan had come to him long ago, claiming to be on a mission to stop Fiore from losing all of its magic to another world. Zeref hadn't quite understood the details of all of it, but he granted the boy entrance to the guild for his work. In a way, Mystogan had reminded him of himself. He had secrets to keep and was always on the run, leading to a rather isolated and lonely existence.
With the debt owed to Zeref, Mystogan would not betray him easily. "That is not my concern." Mystogan stated calmly. "All of you, we should be getting away from this place. It is dangerous here."
This was alarming to Zeref, based on what he knew of Mystogan's mission. He was searching for something that drained magic away from their world, and into another. Something like that could likely serve as a portal of sorts, too. Nodding, he began to get ready to move, but Lahar grabbed his arm and glared harshly at him. "We aren't going anywhere. I've caught you, black wizard. Now, it is time to return so we can finish delivering your sentence."
Scoffing, Natsu rolled his eyes and pulled Zeref away. The black wizard was feeling oddly like the rope in a game of tug of war at the moment. It was not a pleasant feeling. "Not going to happen. Didn't you hear him before? Zeref's immortal, so you can't exactly kill him."
Scowling, Lahar crossed his arms over his chest. "No, but we can determine a way to separate him from his curse. They aren't unbreakable, and after ending it, we can then carry out his sentence." This made Zeref chuckle darkly, shaking his head.
"You don't even comprehend what it is you are attempting to fight back against." he informed the man. "All you know is that my curse grants immortality. Do you truly think that is all it does?"
Mystogan followed their conversation for a moment, but interrupted before Lahar could reply. "This is foolish. Master, you need to leave, now. I can feel it…the anima is getting closer…"
With those words, Mystogan began to pull staves from his back and placed them on the ground. They formed a circle of some kind, sticking up into the air in an odd formation as Mystogan stood at the edge of his tools. With his hands held outward, he seemed to be waiting for something before acting. "No…it is too big…I can't…" Mystogan glanced back at the wizard behind him, grimacing before pulling something out of his pocket.
"I do not know where we will end up." Mystogan began, watching as Natsu frowned at the bottle in his grip. Inside were small pills of some form, though Zeref did not know what they were for. "Find me when we arrive. Make sure you take one of those pills as well. And as for the rune knight…where we are going, we are not enemies in the slightest. It will require teamwork if we wish to succeed in escaping safely, especially with Zeref accompanying us."
Frowning, Zeref wondered why he was an issue. However, Lahar seemed to frown at Mystogan for a moment, studying the man closely. "I am not your ally, it is my job to ensure that justice is carried out….however, your voice…you couldn't possibly be Siegrain, could you?"
"Siegrain?" Mystogan questioned, glancing towards Zeref. "I expected to be mistaken as another in this world, however, that is not the name I thought I would be known as. Perhaps when we arrive, you will understand more."
Making a note to look into this council member, Zeref nodded and stared up at the sky. Something dark was coming in to the area, a black cloud growing and expanding above them. He could feel the dark energy coming from the spell. In a way, it felt similar to the eclipse gate. The magic was powerful and strong, but designed to open a pathway from one point to another. It existed in this world here, but the other end was tied to another world, rather than another time.
Already swallowing a pill, Natsu glanced around at the others with a frown. He moved to hand off the bottle, but at that moment, something shuddered in the air. "What the hell is that thing?" Natsu questioned, while Zeref frowned.
"As Mystogan said, it is an anima. He's been working on stopping them, but it appears as if this one came too suddenly for him to prevent it." The Fairy Tail wizard nodded in agreement, looking grim as the wind picked up. Lightning seemed to dance within the gray cloud swirling above them as the energy began to spike in the air. "To put it simply, it will take us to another world."
Lahar gasped, his eyes wide as he was tugged off of his feet. All of them seemed to be getting lifted into the air. In the distance, Zeref thought he could hear screams as people attempted to run to safety. He felt Mystogan by his side, his staves hovering with him as his hood was thrown down by the wind. Staring at the man, he truly was identical in appearance to the council member Lahar had mentioned. There had to be a reason behind it, though Zeref didn't have time to consider it much further. A bright flash of light flooded his vision, blinding him. Then, he felt as if he were suspended in time for a moment. Nothing existed around him, and he was hovering in an area of nothingness.
Blinking his eyes open, Zeref glanced around at a gray landscape, just as devoid as life as his surroundings usually were. For a moment, he seemed to be in a strange world. Glancing around, Zeref found it oddly familiar. The grayness around him, and the blank sight of the sky…he slowly began to freeze, sitting up straight. This was the realm he had seen, when Ankhseram cursed him. It had been a brief moment, a single flash of another world with a face hovering in his mind. A warning, telling him to cease his interference in the balance of the world. Then, nothing before he woke up.
The sight left him breathing hard, panicking. He had to get out, before something worse occurred. He looked for an exit, but saw none. However, as his panic rose, the world around him seemed to lose tangibility. Everything began to fall away, fading into nothing until he, too, was falling.
Breathing hard, Zeref's eyes flashed open yet again. Whatever that had been, it wasn't reality. Here, however, was a different story. Sitting up, Zeref glanced around at new surroundings. It looked like a desert of some kind. Sand filled the ground, and the sun beat down on them from a blue sky. Clouds were sparse and few in between, as were trees and animals. There was no sign of civilization, but glancing around, Zeref could see his companions. They had gotten lucky, it seemed. None of them were separated, and at the moment, they truly needed all the help they could get.
The others looked like they were just recovering as well, though none of them were as shaken as Zeref had been. Maybe the gods lived in the place between worlds, he reasoned. It would allow them to watch over all realms, and not just their own. Perhaps he would look into it later, but for now, he had to focus on determining just what this world was like.
Turning towards Mystogan, he determined that this was the best choice for answers. "We're here." he stated calmly, glancing towards his guild master. "Welcome to Edolas, the land without magic."
Those words echoed in his mind, making Zeref become still. There was no magic here. Glancing at his hands, Zeref wasn't sure if he could believe it or not. Normally, there was a restless energy within him that constantly put him on edge. He couldn't relax at home as a result, with the curse constantly reminding him that it could explode at any moment. While he hadn't noticed it at first due to the shock of that in-between world, now he realized that energy was gone. There was no hum in his veins, nothing pushing to explode from beneath his skin.
Glancing around, Zeref spotted a rock buried in the sand. Grabbing it, he quickly pressed it to his wrist, wanting to test his theory. The sharp end cut into his skin, making him frown slightly as blood welled on his arm. Mystogan watched in silence, not stopping his odd actions. Slowly, however, Zeref felt a smile grow on his face. "You are correct…there is no magic at all in this place…" His curse couldn't reach him here. Maybe there was no need to return, he thought. With this world, he could finally age and die like everyone else. The dripping blood on his arm confirmed as much.
"Hey, don't get any ideas." Natsu grumbled from behind them. "Maybe there isn't magic, but that doesn't mean you don't have things to do back home. Do I need to remind you about Mavis?"
That name made Zeref stiffen, shaking his head as he scowled and clenched his hand into a fist. Natsu was right, but he wished he could stay. "I…perhaps you do." Closing his eyes, Zeref tried to focus on something else. The more he thought about his mortality in this world, the worse off he would be.
Rising to his feet, the rune knight captain glanced between his companions with a frown. "Edolas, you said? I can't believe it…an entirely different world, where magic doesn't exist." Lahar seemed to be stunned by the fact, gazing around with a look of fear and apprehension.
This was something factual, and that would benefit Zeref in many ways. "Yes, that is correct. In fact, even my curse appears to have vanished within this world. Likely, we will have to be more careful than usual here…Mystogan, you said before that I would cause issue here. Is there a particular reason for that?"
Frowning, the blue haired wizard nodded. "It would simply be best to avoid the guards for now. Just as I have a counterpart in Earthland, there is another version of you in this world. Let's just say…he's made the queen rather upset, recently." It didn't surprise him, Zeref thought. He didn't typically make friends with others, so it was only expected that his counterpart would upset people as well.
Turning towards Zeref, Lahar scowled in irritation. "It appears as if you cause trouble no matter what world you exist in." he commented.
"Actually, he isn't the problem in this world." Mystogan corrected. "In reality, the queen has gone mad. She is…attempting to steal magic away from your world. I would rather not discuss the details at the moment, but it is simply best for us to avoid her. If you follow me, I can take us to the nearest town so we can regroup and speak more about what to expect while we are here."
With no better plans, they began following after the wizard. While Lahar still seemed wary of them, he did not argue against Mystogan's leadership and followed behind the Fairy Tail wizard. "Very well. Considering the circumstances, it appears as if I have no choice. Our truce is temporary, black wizard. Do not forget that much."
Smiling, Zeref chuckled lightly and shook his head. "I assure you, it is not something that will be easy to let go of. Then again, you appear to be changing your mind already about me." With that, the rune knight tensed and focused on the path he was taking. They journeyed in a tense silence from that point on, though Zeref could feel the rune knight's curious gaze turning towards him every few moments.
Surprise! How many of you saw that coming? In case it hasn't become obvious already with the mentions of the queen, I am massively altering the Edolas Arc for this story. The basic premise of an alternate world without magic, and with different versions of everyone is still in place, but beyond that...well, I just wanted to focus on a different plot than what was seen in canon for it. More will be revealed as the story continues on.
Also, thank you to the guest that reviewed. Honestly, I can't quite tell if you liked it or not, but your review made me smile, so thanks for that! (I was kinda imagining the retired Council Member that we saw in the Tartaros Arc as the one shouting at them all to shoot. I can't remember his name that well...I think it was Michello or something like that. He seemed like the type of guy that would freak out and irrationally tell everyone to just keep shooting instead of thinking rationally and stopping for a moment).
For everyone else, feel free to let me know what you think of this new direction with a review!