A/N: Struggled a lot with this one. My pacing is off. Sorry for any mistakes!

Thank you to those who still read and who post reviews and stuff. It makes me so happy whenever I get them! Then a month goes by before the next chapter goes up and I feel so bad T-T


They invaded Silver's compound looking for a fight and some answers, but what they found instead was a friendly zombie with a plan.

"You don't look like you're dead," Natsu said, suspiciously poking Silver's arm. They were seated on the floor in a wide circle; Natsu was the only one who dared get that close to the undead demon.

Silver rolled his eyes for probably the tenth time since he'd managed to calm the bunch of them down enough to convey that his desire to not fight was genuine.

"Keyes has some interesting curses," Silver said. "It's pretty effective for bringing the dead back to life. The only thing different from when I was alive is that my life rests upon his will alone. Other than that, I'm good as new."

"You still haven't explained why you're with Tartarus," Gray said, sitting back at a safe distance. "My father wasn't the kind of man who would willingly submit to that kind of demon."

Silver smiled wryly. "It's to be expected. I'm with them because I am useful, and helping them out is the only way to stay alive. Of course, I was ordered not to seek you out under any circumstances. But I hoped I'd still be able to see you by chance one day, so I did as I was told. Little did I know you'd actually come to me."

"Is it okay for you to be not fighting us, then?" Lucy said.

"Not entirely, but I'm safe for now," Silver said. "Keyes is in a meeting with Mard via lacrima. I was there for the first part and just got back."

"So Keyes is here?" Gajeel said, standing up suddenly.

"Oh, no, we have teleportation lacrima that connect my headquarters here with a secret room in the presidential suite. I intend to send some of you over there shortly, before his meeting ends and he can end me. So long as I put on somewhat of a show over here in the meantime, he won't notice if I'm holding back while I fight."

"So many lacrima," Gajeel scoffed. "Rich people."

"How much exactly can he sense from you at any given time?" Lucy said, very clearly interested in this whole affair from an academic standpoint.

"Mm, it's somewhat limited — it's not like he can read my mind or anything — but it's enough that he'd know if I decided to find Gray in Fiore, for example. He can sense my general location and the state of my body. He's the one keeping this body running, after all. It belongs to him and his curses," Silver said.

"So he'll know you're not fighting us."

"Exactly. And given how worked up I am right now over seeing my son again for the first time in a decade, he's sure to get some sense of my emotional state as well. He'll know you're here."

"We'd better get going then," Gajeel said. Still standing, he reached out a hand to pull Juvia to her feet. "Where's this teleportation lacrima?"

"Just through that door, actually," Silver said, pointing the door he came from. "Like I said, I only just returned."

"D-Dad," Gray said, "when we defeat Keith, what will happen to you?"

Silver grinned. "Smart boy. I'll disappear, of course. It'd be useless of you all to waste your energy fighting me when killing Keyes, and I'd rather spend my remaining time with my son, so that's why I'm helping you out. You all are lucky Gray's with you. I trained myself in ice type demon-slaying magic; I wouldn't be an easy opponent, not with my life on the line if you make your way to Keyes. But now that I've seen Gray again, I can let myself die happily."

"Dad!"

Silver's smile turned sad. "Sorry it has to be like this, Gray. You grew up well and found yourself some good friends. I'm glad."

"Let's get a move on," Natsu said, jumping to his feet. He'd had enough of this sappy nonsense; it was time to kick some Tartarus ass.

"Right," Lucy said. "Gray and Natsu, you stay here. Happy too."

"Aye!"

Natsu paused. "Wait. Why me, too?"

"When we defeat Keith, Silver will disappear and Gray will be alone. We need someone to stay with him as support. And as backup just in case Silver has something up his sleeve."

"Good idea, blondie," Gajeel said. "I still don't completely trust this guy. For all we know, that lacrima could be sending us straight into a trap."

Silver smiled wanly. "Keyes mainly uses magic barrier particles. He's pretty much made of the stuff. Be careful not to let any touch you. And while he prefers long-distance combat due to the nature of his curses, his physical strength isn't to be trifled with either. He is a Tartarus demon, after all. Make the battle quick; the longer you're exposed to those particles, the more likely you are to become permanently infected with magic deficiency poisoning."

"Thanks for the advice," Gajeel said reluctantly.

"Natsu, you're staying here," Lucy ordered. "Gajeel, Juvia, let's do this."

Natsu whined, but he knew better than to disagree with Lucy's plan. He trusted that between the three of them, they'd be able to take down a member of Tartarus just fine. He just wished he could do it along with them, instead of playing babysitter for Gray's reunion with his undead dad.

He was about to plop back down again, but Silver swiped an arm out to trip him, sending him flat on his face.

"Want to spar?" Silver said, grinning.

Natsu scowled. "After that? You bet. I'm gonna kick your zombie ass."

"Wait, Dad—"

"Don't get too beat up while we're gone," Gajeel called as the others all went into the other room.

"You're the one who should be worried, dumbass!" Natsu shouted back. The moment of distraction was enough for Silver to send him sprawling on his stomach again. "Dammit, cut it out!"

"Not sure why I should be worried. Gray doesn't look too eager to fight me right now, and that talking cat doesn't look too tough."

"I'm plenty tough!" Happy protested.

"Yeah! He's my partner! Don't insult him!"

"So? Show me what you've got, then," Silver said. He finally stood up and assumed a fighting stance. Natsu spared a glare at Gray — who was still uselessly sitting and staring with a dumb look on his face — before leaping forward, fists aflame.

Natsu very quickly figured out what magic— erm, what curses the demonized Silver Fullbuster used.

"You've got to be kidding me," Natsu droned. "Hey, Gray, looks like he really is your old man after all."

"Oh? Does Gray use ice, too?" Silver said, interest piqued. Natsu used the opportunity to send him a Fire Dragon's Roar to the face. Silver seemed unfazed.

"You've been alive this whole time and you still don't know?" Gray said, arms crossed.

"Like I said, I wasn't allowed to look for you. The most I found out was that you were alive and at a guild called Fairy Tail."

"Yeah, I'm an ice mage," Gray said. "I learned it in order to defeat the demon that killed my parents."

"I was wondering what happened to that thing! I guess you succeeded, then?"

Gray got a funny look on his face that Natsu didn't like, so he decided he'd had enough of this line of conversation. Less talk, more fight. There was no way he'd let Silver trip him twice and get away with it.

"Happy?"

"Aye!"

Paws pushed Natsu from behind and lifted him up, propelling him forward for an aerial foot to Silver's face. Silver was knocked to the ground, his face squashed under Natsu's heel. But that only lasted for a moment before Silver countered, and Natsu retreated back to a safe distance to prepare his next attack.

"Damn, that caught me off-guard," Silver said, looking at Happy. "It's not enough that thing can talk, but it flies, too?"

"Hey! Happy's not a thing!" Natsu protested.

"Gray, your dad's a meanie," Happy whined.

"My bad, my bad. I've just never seen a talking, flying cat before," Silver said.

"Gray, you just gonna stand there?" Natsu said.

Gray leaned back against the wall. "If he's trying to help us as he says, we should be getting information from him. You can spar or whatever. I'll ask questions."

Silver smiled. "Fair enough. Fighting this little fire mage shouldn't require too much of my focus. Ask away."

"You might regret saying that," Gray said as Natsu leapt forward again, new fury filling him at the latest round of patronization from Gray's dad. "Natsu's not that weak."

"I don't need you tellin' him that," Natsu grumbled, throwing a flaming fist at Silver's head. Silver blocked the punch, so Natsu kneed him in the groin instead. "He can figure that out for himself."

They quickly fell into a steady rhythm of exchanging blows as Silver answered Gray's interrogation.

"Lucy said Mard Geer was going to use her to revive END. We know END is a demon of Zeref, but why is he doing that?"

"I don't know either," Silver said. "I think our master believes reviving END will lead to Zeref's return. Tartarus demons are all Zeref's, after all."

"All demons are Zeref's," Natsu said.

"Tartarus is special," Silver said. "Most of the demons you've been seeing aren't from Zeref directly; they were created by members of Tartarus."

"They're demons created by other demons," Gray said. "Then Tartarus was made by Zeref himself?"

"Corr— oof!"

Natsu cackled when his punch hit Silver square in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him for a moment.

Silver coughed and stepped back to regain his breath. "Correct," he finished. "Tartarus are Zeref's words made flesh. They're the living embodiment of spellbooks Zeref wrote long ago."

"Don't talk about him like he's some god," Natsu said.

"To the demons of Tartarus, he pretty much is a god," Silver said. "They were all experiments leading up to the creation of Zeref's true masterpiece, END."

"And they think if they can wake up END, Zeref will return to Ishgar."

"Yes."

"And you helped them."

Silver didn't respond. He refocused back on his skirmish with Natsu, sending ice to Natsu's feet in order to render him immobile. Natsu broke free easily, which seemed to surprise Silver much more than seemed necessary. He really was underestimating Natsu's abilities, wasn't he? If Silver thought a little ice could hold him back, he had another thing coming.

Silver's eyes bored into Natsu, and Natsu glared back. "Just now," Silver said, "I could feel…"

"Dad," Gray said, interrupting whatever Silver was about to say. "I won't let them revive END. I won't let your legacy be tarnished. I swear to you."

Silver eyed Natsu a moment longer before turning to Gray with a sigh and a smile. "I'll leave you to it."

Gray hugged his father, the two of them holding each other close.

While Gray was oblivious to it, Natsu could tell that Silver had wanted to say something, and Natsu couldn't shake the feeling that it was important. But he'd apparently changed his mind about saying it, because Silver's eyes didn't drift Natsu's way again, even as he dissolved to dust in Gray's arms.

His father gone, Gray collapsed to the ground, crying out in a way that was painful to hear. His screams of anguish ripped through the air. To lose a father twice…Natsu couldn't even imagine how Gray felt at a moment like this. Natsu at least had hope his dad was still alive. Gray had naught but a crumbling skeleton.

But if Silver was gone, that meant the others had taken care of Keith and two less members of Tartarus were on the loose. Juvia's town was saved. And Gray's father was dead for a second time. The battle was won, but this victory didn't taste sweet at all.

Gray was still shaking and crying when the others returned moments later. Juvia instantly rushed to his side, reaching to touch him but pulling back, uncertain. She ended up squatting next to him, looking on sadly and gently, offering silent company.

"Looks like he really was Gray's old man," Gajeel mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Aye," Happy confirmed.

Lucy approached Natsu as well. "Is he okay?" she whispered.

"He'll be fine," Natsu replied. "Just give him a minute to let it all out."

She nodded. "Poor Gray. Why do all these missions end up digging into his past like this?"

Natsu didn't have an answer for that. In a sense, he was just glad it wasn't him whose demons were coming back to haunt him, literally or figuratively. But it's not like he wished this sort of thing on Gray either, no matter how much they butted heads.

As if they needed any more drama from Tartaros, a shimmering figure started to appear on the other side of the room. They all looked up in surprise as Mard Geer materialized in the room.

"Who're—" Gajeel started, but Lucy was already speaking his name aloud.

"Mard Geer," she said, voice low and hand on her keys. Natsu got into fighting position as well. Lucy, Gajeel, and Juvia just came back from winning a fight, and though they looked physically fine, Natsu could sense it had taken a toll on their bodies. If they were going to have to fight a third member of Tartaros today, Natsu needed to take the lead and let his teammates rest.

Mard Geer clicked his tongue at the group of them. "Really now, you've even made me use a personal long-distance teleportation lacrima. These aren't cheap, you know."

"What are you doing here?" Natsu growled.

"I came to clean up the mess," Mard Geer said calmly. He glanced at Gray. "I've lost two valuable guildmembers today. And a country lost its president. You lot just don't quit, do you?"

"How'd that skeleton guy manage to get elected anyway?" Gajeel said. "Demons shouldn't be running human countries."

Mard scoffed. "Read a newspaper," he said. "Keyes was quite popular among the lower classes. Well, that was before he took office and we got Silver involved."

All this while, Mard walked slowly toward where Gray and Juvia crouched protectively in front of Silver's skeleton, a confident swagger in his hips and a loose hold on the book in his arms. If Natsu could just find an opening…

When Mard's glance averted for a moment, Natsu saw his chance. He lunged forward, using the power of his fire to propel him even faster. A demon would have fast reflexes, so Natsu had to be faster.

Mard was only halfway to reacting when Natsu reached him and snatched the book away. Just like before, touching it gave him a burning sensation, but this time he was prepared. He gripped it tighter, pulling back so Mard couldn't reach for the stolen book. Without the book, Tartaros's would lose its purpose. And Fairy Tail could do a little research on the book of their own, to find a way to destroy it so Zeref could never be revived or summoned or whatever it was Mard was trying to do with the Book of END. With the book in Natsu's possession, it was all over for Tartaros.

Those were Natsu's thoughts, but reality was not so simple. Before Natsu could take off with the book in his possession, he found himself unable to move. It was as if his whole body became frozen. He couldn't control his own muscles.

Surprisingly, though, Mard didn't immediately grab the book back from Natsu's motionless hand. And when Natsu, struggling, managed to look down at it, he figured out why. The markings on the book were glowing, if that was the word. Or the opposite of glowing. There seemed to be a darkness radiating from the book's pattern, a darkness that mimicked the demonic tattoos slithering up Natsu's right arm.

Natsu's immediate reaction was to drop the book like he did the first time, reacting as if he'd touched a hot stove. But his mind and his body were not linked. Every fiber of his being was shrinking away from the book, but physically, he didn't do more than perhaps tremble a bit. Something was wrong. And Mard looked just as surprised as Natsu, so this wasn't his doing. What was going on?

Silver's words from moments before returned to him: "Just now, I could feel…" Had Silver felt something in him about END? No, it was impossible. Something like that...

After a beat of silence that felt like an hour, Mard swiped the book away from Natsu and the demonic tattoos faded. Natsu stared at his arm, stunned. He couldn't believe what just happened. This couldn't be right.

"Well," Mard said, recovering his composure. His body started to flicker with the telltale signs of teleportation. As he disappeared, his words pierced Natsu like bullets. "We can continue this later. I believe I have found the way to revive END after all, Etherious Natsu Dragneel."


A/N: I found a semi-solution for my lack of progress lately. I got hired at a full-time job a few weeks ago (woo!) and instead of only working on stuff when I'm home, I put the remaining chapters up in a google doc so I can write when I have downtime at my job. Genius! How did I not do this before? Sometimes I wanna write but I can't because I don't have my laptop with me, so this is a great solution that I should've done ages ago.

So that's how I finally got this chapter done. The next chapter is already finished so that one should be fairly quick, but after that it's back to the void. One of these days I'll get back on track. One of these days. Honestly, I started writing this fic like a year and a half ago so like...I really gotta get my butt into gear so I can finish it before two years have gone by and I'm still working on it. Save me from myself lol.

Thanks for reading!