I am not going to lie; I was very tempted to finish the story in this chapter. If just for the sake of simplicity. But I have been patient for the last 5 years and more importantly, you all have been patient for the last five years so I might as well write the ending as good as I can make it.

Also, I actually have a good reason for taking so long this time! There was a freaking earthquake here! The building collapsing kind. And while I'm fine and nothing particularly important was broken it was pretty chaotic here lately. And what spare time I did have was spent doing my college projects.

Sigh

I'm tired :)))).

But anyway… enjoy this crappy chapter ~

Chapter 94:

Green eyes blinked open; the movement lost in the darkness. A small trickle of bluish light came from somewhere to his right and he turned his head, ignoring how much a simple movement like that hurt. Everything hurt, something he became more and more aware of as the numbness faded away. He grimaced, clenching one fist that he could feel against the hard floor as he finally managed to focus on the blue crystal that was emitting the weak light.

"W-What is going on?"

The black-haired guy looked up and, in the darkness, it took him a moment to recognize Gray. "Arthur!"

Arthur blinked in response, not sure what to say to that. The ice mage looked dead on his feet and with the cobwebs slowly moving out of his mind Arthur was able to see that the two were not alone. Wendy, Mira, and Laxus lied beside him, bunched up clothes that he realized mostly came from Gray under their heads. Happy and Carla have huddled together a bit further away, asleep or unconscious as well and Gajeel sat beside them, head resting on the wall behind him but his eyes were open as the dragon slayer stared in front of him, looking like he didn't see much at all.

"What happened?" Arthur asked again, blinking one more time and trying to clear his head. Gray grimaced, looking at the sky for a moment and Arthur followed his line of sight, eyes stopping on the black sky and the giant hole.

"…No… That's – It can't be!"

"It is," Gray grimaced, falling silent for a moment before he continued, "Before you ask, no I don't know where anyone else is or if everyone here is okay"

Arthur blinked, trying to sit up only for vertigo to hit him and he collapsed back, almost puking. "You shouldn't move junior," Gajeel's raspy voice echoed in the small room they were occupying. "You lost a lot of blood. Frankly, I'm surprised you're not dead yet"

'Yet,' Arthur swallowed, looking at himself and grimacing at the missing arm. The stump was encased in ice and he was not a doctor but he was not sure that was a good idea in the long run. But it did stop the bleeding better than clothing.

"… So… We killed Tartaros only for an army of demons straight from Hell to show up?"

"We don't know if Tartaros is dead," Gray said after a moment, "Natsu went to deal with Mard Geer so I'd say he's dead by now but there are other members we can't really account for"

"And it isn't just an army of demons," Gajeel added, "I am certain that Ankhseram is there as well, if not the rest of the super assholes"

"Supreme," Gray muttered, though he obviously didn't care about the accuracy, turning his dark eyes to the entrance of the room. "Anyway. We, and I mean Gajeel and I with the cats, managed to drag you all here, and hopefully, no one will find us until all this is over"

Arthur stared at the ice mage in shock, managing to push himself into a sitting position. "We're hiding?! People are dying out there! Our friends are dying out there and we're hiding?!"

Gray glared at him with such intensity that Natsu would be proud, "You think I want to sit here and do nothing and pray that I will have to keep doing nothing?! Out of eight people in this room I am the only one who can actually fight! What do you think a demon would do if he found you? Do you really think that he would just turn around and think 'well they are defeated so I don't have to bother with killing them'?!"

"If you two keep screaming like that we won't stay hidden for long," Laxus informed them through gritted teeth as he pushed himself into a sitting position and leaned against a wall.

"You should be resting," Gajeel muttered and Laxus rolled his eyes, "And so should you"

"You're right, Gray," Arthur said after few moments passed in silence, "I'm sorry… It's just…"

Gray sighed, shifting in his position against the wall and adjusting the hold on the small crystal of ice that was lighting up the room, "Yea… I get it"

Acnologia looked at the screeching demons in the sky and the dragons that were tearing them apart. Their victory was not in question but… his eyes turned to the distant portal and he swallowed. Knowing Natsu and his luck he was right underneath that portal. And he didn't doubt that Ankhseram was there as well. That Zeref was there as well.

He growled, blasting another demon away. He couldn't just leave the dragons on their own. Even if they are going to be alright, he was their king he –

He let Irene die. He let Natsu die once.

He won't do it again. He can't do it again.

"IGNEEL!" he bellowed, turning his head to the red dragon who glanced at him. A grim smile lifted Igneel's lips and the fire king nodded at the High King. "GO!"

Acnologia paused, suddenly unsure. What kind of a king leaves in the middle of a battle? King should put his people before his family.

"GO AND SAVE THE FUCKING WORLD, YOU IDIOT!"

Acnologia blinked before he nodded and twisted in the air, disappearing in the Void.

Soft footsteps alerted Ultear to the presence behind her but she kept her eyes on the empty eyes staring back at her from a bloody face. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Really, she would much rather have the ground swallow her whole than have him look at her like this. And was it incredibly selfish and wrong to think about that now?

'Is it wrong of me to think that, Lisanna? Is it the demon inside me that is so vain or was it always like that?'

A disturbingly hot hand landed on her shoulder and she flinched, turning to stare at the familiar pale skin covered in dirt and blood. She heard him swallow – the only reaction he made to her appearance that he didn't manage to hide – and she turned her head away, turning back to the dead body in her hands. His hand squeezed ever so slightly as if he was trying to say, 'It doesn't matter

Instead, what left his mouth was, "Is she dead?"

Ultear bit the inside of her cheek, turning to look back at Lisanna's bloody face. The too-hot hand disappeared from her shoulder, leaving an uncomfortable coldness behind and a moment later Natsu was kneeling beside her.

"We have to go," the words sounded cold, uncaring almost but Ultear knew him well enough to hear the tightness and the underlying anger. Ultear bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, considering carefully what to say next as she looked away from Lisanna's corpse and towards the torn sky.

"Why is this happening?"

That was not what she wanted to say. She opened her mouth to tell him that she was being stupid, that she knew he didn't have an answer. Natsu answered before she could, however, and this time the anger was clearer, "Ankhseram thinks he can rule the world. At least that's my guess." He grimaced; he was not used to guessing. He knew. But really, how much did he know lately?

He sighed, pushing himself to his feet and a second later pulled Ultear up as well. The demonized mage stumbled and almost fell before Natsu steadied her and she turned to glare at him but he wasn't looking at her, his eyes fixed on Lisanna's corpse. "She really was never meant to be alive here"

Ultear blinked, shocked at the soft-spoken words as she turned towards him. "Why would you say that?"

Natsu shook his head, his eyes moving back towards the sky. The demons already reached the ground spreading over the ruins of Plutogrim. "I need to find Ankhseram," Ultear opened her mouth to protest but before she could Natsu spoke again, "Don't even try. You need to find Gray and Gajeel, they should be with Mira and the rest and they need you"

Ultear swallowed, biting her already bleeding lip, as she grabbed his upper arm, "You need me as well"

Natsu gave a sad mockery of a smile as he leaned closer, wrapping his other arm around her. Without hesitation. Without disgust. Ultear tensed, ready to push him away before he squeezed her closer and she relaxed, if only slightly. He leaned forward, his lips brushing against her own before he stepped back so suddenly that Ultear had to fight back vertigo. "I'll be fine. Immortal, remember?"

Ultear returned the weak smile, nodding. She didn't believe him. He didn't believe him. But it was a lie that they both had to believe. "They were north of here the last time I saw them," Natsu said, looking away again and Ultear knew him well enough to know he wanted this conversation to be over. She didn't want to leave. "Okay. Let's hope I find them fast" She took off as fast as she could go in her weakened state and Natsu gritted his teeth, hating the fact that he was letting her go on her own.

But it was better than the alternative.

"I'm happy for you. Despite what will happen now I think I ought to let you know"

Natsu spun on his heel, snarl twisting his face. "Don't pretend that you have no fucking choice!"

Zeref shrugged, hands clasped behind his back. "We all see what we want to see. You might think I have a choice. I do not"

"I would rather rot in hell than hurt my family," the dragon prince growled, leaning forward. Red energy sparked over his shoulders and Zeref rose an eyebrow in apparent interest. "Do you know what would happen if I read your book?"

Natsu tensed, every muscle in him suddenly rock-solid as he stared at the book Zeref held in his hands as he moved them in front of himself. His stomach twisted and he swallowed down the bile that rose. "Don't. You. Dare"

"Why not?" Zeref countered, face oddly serene and his fingers barely moved when Natsu twisted his arm in the air, a ball of searing hot red and black exploding into life above his palm and he sent it flying at Zeref, who barely even looked at it before he disappeared in a purple flash.

Zeref appeared to his right, one palm resting on top of the book covers and the other holding the bottom. "I am sorry, you know"

"Then fucking act like it!" the dragon snarled at him, closing the distance in two quick strides before he jumped into the air, both feet alight with red and black. Zeref leaned back, avoiding the attack by a mare inch and he twisted again as Natsu slammed his fist a second later into the ground where he stood.

"Do you remember how I read to you? Do you remember the bedtime stories from when we were little?"

Natsu's response came in the form of a spell. "Chaos dragon's ROAR!"

He was forced to disappear into the void again as the world around him exploded in black and red. He reappeared outside of the void but this time Natsu was waiting and his fist connected with Zeref's jaw hard enough to sent him flying. "What did I ever do to you?"

Something shifted in Zeref's black eyes and they bled red. A snarl pulled his lips apart. "You died"

"That's hardly my fault," Natsu growled, hand reaching towards the book only for Zeref to jump back and in a flash, the book disappeared into the void. The Black Mage twisted out of the next kick, bringing up his arm and a ball of pure black appeared in front of his outstretched palm. "It is. You and your damned heroics even when we were children"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

He didn't stop even as he looked over the Black Wizard, magic exploding towards Zeref and he was moving again, twisting to the side and raising his foot to catch Zeref in the side with it.

"When Acnologia came to our village and started tearing it apart -," Zeref paused ducking under the blow and sending one of his own that didn't even graze. He looked at Natsu, a frown on his face. "You knew Acnologia killed you the first time," it was a statement, not a question but Natsu still managed to shrug and answer between their trading blows.

"Ankhseram was talkative"

Zeref's red eyes narrowed as he spat. He dodged the next attack, the strength behind the spell blowing up at least fifty meters behind him. "Of course, he is. Our parents hid us and went outside to help fight against the monster. You followed them. A stupid, stupid toddler you were"

Natsu snarled as he jumped back, avoiding a barrage of black orbs that turned the stone it hit into dust. He looked at Zeref. Something didn't add up. Something was wrong.

Natsu stopped moving, "Wait… On Tenrou Acnologia came because of you. Because he owed you favor for turning him into a dragon? How is that possible if you were still a child when Acnologia as a dragon razed our hometown"

Zeref paused as well, a grin splitting his face, his red eyes crazed. He wiggled his fingers in the air. "Time travel"

Natsu blinked. "No. That's -"

"Impossible?" Zeref shrugged, "So is bringing back the dead"

Natsu scowled. Point.

"Who do you think made the Eclipse gate? But really Natsu. You have to see that everything I ever did was because of you!"

The dragon prince didn't answer, instead of blasting another spell in Zeref's direction. A thought occurred to him. A dark and ugly thought that seemed so ridiculous that he couldn't help but chuckle. Zeref stopped, almost getting blasted off his feet for the minute pause. "Why are you laughing?"

"Did it ever occur to you that Acnologia came to that village to kill you while you were still a child? Still helpless to stop you from becoming who you are. Because he knew what you would do? To him. To the world?"

Zeref stumbled back, not even reacting as Natsu slammed his heel into his chest.

"That's not possible"

"Is it not? Does that seem so improbable? Is it so hard to imagine that it was your own actions that killed me?"

Zeref snarled, "That's not what happened! That's -"

"Impossible?" Natsu grinned an ugly grin. "So is time-travel"

Zeref's face contorted, eye twitching as he looked at Natsu with wild eyes before he screamed at him a wordless scream, black exploding around him and rushing at the dragon prince as if it was alive. Natsu twisted out of the way only for it to turn and lunge at him again. The second it touched him his skin rotted, falling off and he cursed disappearing into the void and appearing above it, watching as it withered and died when it lost sight of him. The second blast was already moving towards him and he dodged again, blasting it away with magic.

"You are wrong! You - you! It was all his fault! Don't you see it?! Don't you see it?! Acnologia did it all! He ruined us!"

Another tendril of black joined the first, the magic rising around Natsu like tentacles, too fast for him to dodge and he hissed as another brushed against his shoulder, skin, and muscles rotting away and he screamed, falling through the void and appearing on the wall, hand pressing against the bare bone for a brief second before he glanced at it, grimacing at the black the flesh around the hole even as the muscles already reformed and the skin knitted itself back together.

"Denial won't get you anywhere"

He gathered his magic around him like a cloak, pulling at the curse and magic as quickly as he could as Zeref started advancing towards him, his magic rising around him as if it had a mind of its own and Natsu swallowed, the weight of it almost physical.

Despite appearances, Zeref was a 400-year-old Black Wizard who was quite possibly stronger than Acnologia. And Natsu would do well to not forget that again.

He pushed the magic out, wings painlessly spreading behind him and horns curving on his head, and in the next second, he was in the air, avoiding the next attack. It still left him lightheaded, the painlessness of the transformation but he didn't have time to delve into it. He had a fight to win. A war to win. A family to save.

"Chaos dragon's ROAR!"

Acnologia appeared just above the ruins of Plutogrim, barely even able to turn around when something slammed into him hard enough to knock him straight out of the sky. He gasped in shock as he slammed into the ground, sure that several ribs broke at impact with whatever hit him but he didn't waste a second before he jumped back onto his feet, turning around to look at what hit him. A figure made of shadows floated down in front of his face, a white grin on the shadowy face.

"My, my, Acnologia. What a fun surprise"

Acnologia didn't hesitate. He opened his mouth, a roar forming and blasting into the demon god immediately.

"And here I thought you at least had manners," Ankhseram tutted sadly, now floating to Acnologia's right.

"You never should've come here," Acnologia growled snapping his teeth at the god who disappeared in a swirl of shadows. "I seem to recall that you struggled against me and Natsu last time we fought"

If he had visible irises, Acnologia was sure Ankhseram would've been rolling his eyes. "I was angry but it was a contract. It was… me letting off some steam as you beasts would say. Nothing more. I was hardly fighting seriously"

Acnologia raised an eyebrow at the god, both of them floating in the air, unmoving. A second later the dragon king shifted, magic coursing through him as he transformed into his human form. It was a form that valued speed and agility over strength and defense. And he had a feeling that that was what he will need.

Ankhseram's smile widened even further when Acnologia stayed silent. "Am I to take your silence as agreement?"

"Take it as disbelief," Acnologia responded flatly, hand outstretched towards the God for barely a second before a wave of chaos energy sprung forth, as tall and wide as the dragon king himself and he smirked as the god didn't even try to move only for the magic to split in front of Ankhseram like a wave on the cliff. Ankhseram gave him a wicked grin, "You'll have to try harder than that. Or you can simply leave now and I'll be so kind as to let you and your miserable kin live on that island of yours while I rule this plane. That is your kin expect Natsu. He is mine, after all"

Acnologia snarled, showing all his teeth. "Over my dead body will you touch him"

Ankhseram's grinned widened again spreading from ear to ear. "That can be easily arranged"

Makarov hurried through the abandoned, ruined streets of Magnolia, struggling to draw in a breath after running for what was likely twenty miles. Even in a titan form that was no easy task for him and he cursed his age, dragging himself to the ruins of the guild and stumbling at the first good look at it.

His home in shambles. His family, dying.

And he, away from it all in a likely vain hope that this, that she might be able to fix the sky. He shifted, enlarging himself as he started the mad, desperate dig to reach the bottom of the guildhall before it's too late. If it wasn't too late already.

He paused when he saw the body, feeling his heart skip a bit as his eyes fell on Annie's cooling corpse. Tears sprung to the corners of his old eyes, his hands shook and he nearly dropped the heavy stone he was holding. Biting back a sob he went back to digging.

It is too late already. But at least it isn't over. There was still a chance.

'The essence of a god,' Natsu had said and Makarov could hear those words as clear as if Natsu has spoken them this very moment.

'Yes,' Mavis had answered, 'Did you know it is possible to kill a god?'

'Nothing is truly immortal'

How the old master hoped that Natsu and Mavis were right. How he hoped that there is at least something he could do. Something to help the fight.

…Something to make it up to Natsu.

He said he would die for his family once. He was ready to make good on that promise.

Behind him, over the black, moonless, and starless sky, the sun started rising, red as blood.

End of chapter 94.

Damn… I've been writing this chapter for what…? Three months… Damn.

Anyway. I don't really have much to say so… I hope you enjoyed it. We've almost reached the finale of the story. You excited? I'm excited :D

Please review and thanks for reading :)