Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail or Artemis Fowl
Vaguely, Zeref thought he felt something hit his body. He heard the noise of leaves moving underneath him, and he distantly knew that he was no longer leaning against that tree. Instead, he was on the ground, not even bothering to sit up as the black magic exploded around him. The familiar sight of black swirls of magic gave him an oddly peaceful feeling, while filling him with dread at the same time. How many were dead now? The newcomer had been closest, but it wasn't as if others weren't nearby. In fact, who had moved him? His gaze flickered towards his side, widening in shock at the child, breathing heavily in the thick death magic.
His mouth opened to speak, but Zeref could not think of the words. "I know. It was the only way…yet again, I was unable to stop myself from resorting to this." Artemis sighed, shaking his head. "Perhaps you were right. Maybe I am destined to bear this curse…regardless, it is foolish to believe in things such as fate as well. The procedure I suggested for you should cure myself as well."
"What black magic spell do you even know of?" They were difficult to learn, and in the short time it took for Zeref to be caught up in his own outburst, he doubted Artemis could have casted one.
Smiling, Artemis shook his head. "Success is not needed to gain the curse. There was enough death surrounding you in this forest…I merely had to make a false attempt at resurrecting something to obtain this curse again."
The magic slowly began to die down, revealing Artemis and Zeref sitting inside the haze. In the distance, Zeref could see the large, mountainous man holding back Artemis' father. Holly was watching with wide eyes, hovering in the sky. Having been pulled away herself, the blue haired girl had fallen on the ground and was leaning back against a large, dark haired boy with iron piercings lining his nose. He had stumbled back himself, tripping onto the ground and holding the smaller girl tightly against his body as if that would shield her from this power.
"I do believe this means we are cutting it too close. Regardless of your decision…we should be leaving his island now." Artemis rose to his feet, glancing towards Holly. "Is the ethercube ready for launch?"
"Yes…but how are you alive?"
Watching Artemis, Zeref gave the boy a sad smile. "I did not realize…did we somehow become friends, while I was in that state?"
Glancing back towards him, Artemis gave him a half-smile. "In a way, I suppose. Few can match my intellect…despite your dark tendencies, there were moments in our conversations that I rather enjoyed. If this is who you truly are…I think we would become rather good friends, do you not?"
Nodding, Zeref glanced back towards Holly. "Indeed."
The young genius glanced back towards Holly, standing tensely by Zeref's side. "Imprison me within as well. In order to prevent Levy's death and remain alive myself…I did the same thing I did before. For all intents and purposes, I too bear Ankhseram's Curse."
"Wait…wasn't that the reason you tried tricking me in the first place?"
"I did not trick you, Captain. You merely assumed I was a fairy since I was able to connect to your system." Whatever this argument was, Zeref had a feeling it would take some time to fully complete.
The fairy seemed to realize this as well, pursing her lips and nodding. "Right." She held something in the palm of her hand, what looked like a simple black box. With a slight toss of her hand, it fell to the ground, landing by Zeref's feet. As soon as it impacted with the dirt, the device practically exploded on its own, growing and expanding to take on a new form. The walls vanished, or more accurately, moved. It happened nearly too fast for Zeref to even follow. Walls suddenly were around him, caging him inside of an odd object. Instead of having the same solid black color of the old material, these seemed to take on an odd purple glow. It even felt soft to the touch, as if it could absorb him like a sponge if he tried hard enough. Then again, the wall did not move in response to pressure, suggesting it was more durable than it felt or appeared to be.
"For what it's worth…I don't think this curse makes you a bad person, Artemis." Holly seemed to be debating with herself, troubled over what to say. "Maybe you are a mud man…maybe you killed someone because of this…but you also just saved someone's life right now. If you're willing to take on this curse to save lives, then that makes you a good person in my book, Fowl." By his side, the young genius slowly began to smile.
"Artemis!" The blue haired girl, Levy if he understood the earlier conversation properly, shot back up to her feet. "What is he doing in that thing?" She rose to her feet, looking like she was preparing a magical attack.
The fairy touched the odd helmet on her head, talking to what seemed like no one. Considering his own conversations with Mavis, Zeref couldn't exactly judge her, however. "Looks like we're ready for retrieval. Package is all sealed up and ready to go…and Foaly? Prep an OR for us. We've got an unusual treatment request coming your way."
"Do not worry, Levy." Artemis spoke with a small smile. "This was to be expected. After all, immortality is the only way to battle against true death magic…and to eliminate such a thing, extreme measures are required."
Even his father looked angry, his hands clenched into fists. "Arty…I swear, if you do not explain this when you return—"
"Butler can explain some of it, Father." Then again, it did not look like the now-named monstrous man was pleased either.
"I will not allow them to take you alone, Artemis."
"I do not believe you have a choice in that regard." Zeref glanced towards the fairy. "If they were willing to share their existence with us, I do believe Mavis would have found them long ago."
Nodding, Artemis smiled. "Indeed. Though…it would not have stopped her seven years from now." The odd phrasing likely confused most of the people here. However, Levy seemed to smile at it, looking almost amused by the comment despite being on the verge of tears. "I will return to you all soon."
"Oi! Stefan, or whatever your name is!" Gajeel glared at him, scowling. "Don't lie to Levy again, got it? If you're not gonna make it, tell her. She's tough. After all, that's why I'm making her an S-Class wizard, got it?"
Nodding, Artemis frowned. "Then…perhaps I will not make that such a guarantee. Removing a part of the brain is likely going to involve risks…not to mention the rest of the procedure." Artemis tilted his head, studying the girl for a moment. "I do wish you the best of luck in your goal, however. Please keep my warning in mind, as well. Mavis should assist you at the end of it all."
Raising his eyebrows, Zeref glanced towards Artemis. "How?"
"You've sensed her presence, have you not?" Smiling, Artemis tilted his head towards Zeref. "She isn't quite as dead as you believe her to be, Zeref."
An odd surge of warmth filled him. Perhaps he had not been speaking to just his imagination all those years, then. Mavis truly was on this island somewhere. Glancing through the purple-tinted view of the forest, he smiled. The same familiar sense came to him, her magical aura approaching. "Perhaps she is not." Glancing towards where he sensed her, Zeref nodded. "I am glad to hear it from someone else, though. Can you see her, Mavis? The fairy in front of me…I'm certain you'd love her…I can already imagine your smile."
Hidden within the trees above them all, out of sight from Levy and Gajeel and invisible to the others, Mavis smiled. "I do…and I'm glad you've found a friend, Zeref. Take care…and please, tell me what she's like, when you come back." Her words were too soft to be heard, drowned out by a slight breeze that blew through the trees. In a moment, her presence was gone, almost as soon as it had arrived.
"Anyway…now that we're all done talking to people that aren't real, mind if we wrap this up? I barely managed to let Root give me this mission. He's still got it out for me after that whole fiasco in Hamburg…"
Artemis smiled at her, chuckling slightly. "Yes, but now do you believe me when I say you keep your job, Captain? I assure you, both times we met, you held the same position."
"Oh yeah? And how did we meet before? Because I can't imagine how some mud boy tracked us down without already knowing we existed." Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her eyes were narrowed.
Glancing away, Artemis frowned. "Ah…perhaps it is best to just let that remain in the past. Er…future." The oddities that came about when speaking of future events never ceased to amuse him. Watching Artemis struggle made Zeref smile. He leaned back against the wall of the cube, finding he rather enjoyed this prison. "We did not start off on the right foot, so to speak."
Nodding, Holly kept her eyes narrowed. "Uh huh. I suspected as much. Just keep your eyes out, because while we may be friends, I still don't trust you at all, Artemis Fowl. Mud men always lie and steal, after all."
The boy smiled as if there was an odd irony to that statement. However, Zeref decided it was time to veer this conversation back on track. "As for this procedure…do you realize what might happen as a result?"
"Got a problem with losing your magic, wizard?" Holly snorted, shaking her head. "Gotta say, humans can't ever be happy with what they're given. They always want more, and that causes more messes like this."
Shaking his head, Zeref glanced at the ground. "No…I am quite content with that end result. In fact…it is better than any alternative I had considered." He grew quiet, turning towards Artemis. "Did…did I tell you about Natsu?"
Nodding, the young genius frowned. "Yes…but I cannot say I've discovered a way to stop the end result of this." He sounded serious, almost as if he were mourning himself. "Without your magic, all things tied to that power will cease to exist. For Natsu…"
"He will die." Zeref felt oddly numb to the idea. At one point in time, he would have absolutely refused to go through with this on account of that fact. Now, he was tired. He was tired of being rejected, of watching the world die around him. He had waited for so long, just trying to live in peace. In the end, he just wanted the chance to die like everyone else. His life had been too long, and he was not willing to go through with living any longer like this.
"Wait…what?" Levy stared at them with wide eyes.
"Did he just say what I think he said? Salamander can't be that weak."
Turning towards them, Artemis nodded. "I am sorry. I did not think you would help if you knew the truth." Taking a deep breath, Artemis seemed to glance at the sky above them. Following his gaze, Zeref noticed an odd quality to the air above them. It almost looked like a mirage, with an odd haze shimmering in the air. "Natsu is alive because Zeref made it so. When Zeref's magic vanishes…so will the force keeping Natsu alive." Turning towards Levy, Artemis smiled sadly. "He was never meant to be alive, Levy. Please, do not be angry with me for his loss…focus on the future that comes after instead. Lucy will need you, after all."
This time, Levy was not able to stop her tears. "No! We will stop this…somehow…we have to…Natsu can't just…" She sniffled, her shoulders shaking.
By her side, Gajeel seemed to frown, not quite as harshly as his usual scowls. "Come on." He grabbed her hand, trying to drag her away. Levy resisted, shaking her head. "Oi, I said come on!" His voice was more forceful, this time making Levy glance towards him. "If Salamander is going to die, then we've got some things to do with him first, right? Don't you want to say goodbye to your friend?"
Levy stared at him through tearstained eyes. Then, the solid script wizard gave a weak smile, nodding and letting him drag her away. Meanwhile, Artemis looked away, closing his eyes. Zeref could see that he was now realizing he was about to be the reason Natsu died yet again. However, it also made sense, in a way. Ankhseram must have designed his curse this way for a reason. The only way to eliminate the curse was to prove that the lesson had been learned and eliminate anything that was unnatural about the balance Ankhseram himself sought to create in the world.
And here's a chapter with a slightly more minor cliffhanger. I do hope you enjoyed, since my little break from classes is about to end...which means there might be another gap between chapters again. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!
