Hey guys! Been a while, hasn't it? ^^;

Anyway, this is going to be the final installation of [Fairy Tail, the True Tale]. While I love all of you who have followed this story or liked it, the amount of work put into it is not worth the response. As I said at the beginning of this adventure, I had written the story to multiple stopping points, this being one of them. :) So I am finishing the story here. I hope you understand.

This chapter isn't as polished as I'd have liked, but I felt obligated to post the ending to this story, rather than leave you hanging.

Thanks for sticking with me, and enjoy the last chapter!

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"Zeref-nii?" Aki called listlessly, reentering the clearing. She glanced at the spot beneath a large rock; worn, a small indent sunk into the earth. She wondered absently how long the other had been sitting there. Not that she cared. "Zeref-nii?"

There was no answer.

'Probably ran off because of an animal,' she thought, taking off in a random direction. 'I'll find him soon; he wouldn't have gotten far.'

"Zeref-nii…"

After thirty minutes, she could feel a burning in her throat, but she had only been gone a day, and he had been in an odd state when she had left with the body. He shouldn't have been able to wander much further than she had now searched.

'I'll find him soon.'

"Zeref-nii?"

It had been half a day, and she was breathing in short, sharp gasps, sprinting from tree to tree, searching for the tail of his white sash, a bit of porcelain in the greyed forest. She wondered why her breathing was so hard; she didn't get tired, after being cursed. She shouldn't be tired ever again. So why?

"Zeref-nii!"

She returned to the clearing and sat down under that same stone, leaning forward against her knees and hugging herself.

'He'll be back soon. He must have had something to do, too. Maybe that's why he couldn't carry the body. That's it. He had something to do. He'll come back.'

It had been several days, and she was curled on the ground, crying for no discernable reason. Lying in the same impression as that girl-

"EGG!" she howled, jumping to her feet. A second later, the ground exploded, sending pieces of dirt and rock flying in all directions.

She woke up after a minute, noting with a twitch of irritation that her dress had been torn by the boulder that had hit her.

'Back…'

Without looking around once, she teleported away. She was bored, and what better way to entertain oneself when bored than with a game? She hadn't yet commanded Alvarez, but she knew it wouldn't be that difficult.

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Aki woke up to find herself riding piggyback on Natsu.

"You've gotten really strong, huh?" Natsu said, somehow knowing she was awake.

Aki flushed. "I- I- Uh-" Natsu glanced back at her, eyebrows raised but still smiling warmly, and she untensed. "You have no idea…" she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder.

Noticing unspoken words that most would overlook, Natsu prodded, "'No idea' what?"

Aki sighed. "I always wanted to impress you… but I was always too weak to-"

"You weren't weak at all!" Natsu denied, shaking his head. "You were constantly trying to get stronger even though it made you blind and deaf and sick!" Aki didn't speak, face buried in his shoulder. Natsu pressed on, insistent, "No matter what, you never gave up! That's pretty strong." He finished with a tone of finality and pride.

Aki shivered, then lifted her head, looking around warily. Then she slumped again. "I was so terrified every single time, though…"

"And you did it anyway!"

"Yeah, but I didn't actually accomplish anything."

Natsu scoffed.

"You were blind?" Happy, floating back to join them, asked.

Aki shook her head. "I was weak-"

"Not!"

"-and whenever I did too much, I would lose my vision, and sometimes my hearing. It would leave me bedridden for weeks."

"Oh."

Natsu hopped slightly, grinning back at her. "But not anymore."

Aki smiled faintly. "Not anymore. I got a lot of practice, without any of the consequences…"

She trailed off, looking despondent.

Natsu and Happy exchanged worried looks.

"But you're so strong now!" Happy encouraged, tail swishing back and forth as he made a fist.

Natsu nodded at his partner. "And you can use all those magics!"

"Yeah…" She shook her head, sighing heavily. "But all I need to do is breathe too hard and I'm already relying on magic to keep my body functioning. It's more a preventative measure than anything else. Once I get sick, I won't have access to my magic anymore, and I'll be in the same place as I was- was then."

"You'll lose your magic?" Natsu asked, alarmed.

"No, no, I mean, yes, but only for a little while," Aki said hurriedly. "I always recovered from it, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"This makes no sense," Happy lamented, his ears drooping. Aki laughed.

"We're back!" Natsu announced, kicking his door in. "Mavis!" he added in surprise.

Aki's head shot up, searching the small living room for-

"Mavis," she said tersely, wriggling off Natsu.

She spun around, but Mavis, who was sitting next to Zeref on the large sofa, said hurriedly, "I'm not going to be here for long, I just needed to say something." Her voice almost broke, but she gave no credence to it, slightly pained eyes focused on Aki, who frowned.

"Okay." Aki, anxiety radiating around her, sat herself on the arm of an armchair opposite the two.

Natsu, catching Mavis's eye, folded his arms doggedly, sitting in the armchair.

Mavis sighed, looking down at her hands. "I've already told Zeref this, back when you were doing the drinking contest, but" —she took a quiet, shaky breath— "I am not going to be here for a while." She was silent for a moment, chewing her words. "I don't have the energy to stay away from Tenrou Island for very long. I stayed as long as I could, and I'll have to take a couple weeks to 'recharge,' so to speak. I might be able to visit a couple times between now and then, but only for thirty minutes max. And- and that's, uh, why," she finished, uncharacteristically lame. "I just- wanted to say goodbye to you, Aki-n-e-ne- Aki," she stuttered, tilting her head and giving a strained smile.

Aki merely blinked. "You… you're leaving?"

Mavis's head bobbed. "Yes."

"Already?"

"Yes."

Natsu startled as Aki leapt to her feet, fists clenched and shouting furiously, "So, what, you're just going to ditch again?"

"You know that wasn't her fault-" Zeref started, affronted in Mavis's place.

"I'm not talking to her, Zeref-oni!" Aki shouted viciously, hair flying. "I'm talking to you!" Zeref opened his mouth, but, realization spreading across his face, didn't speak. "I knew this was going to happen again! I knew it!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Natsu, looking between the two in bewilderment.

Aki rounded on him. He saw no trace of tears or pleas; her pupils were bright red, miniature suns burning through him with their ferocity. While melancholy and regret hummed their melodies, a hidden fear from centuries past conducting them, their music was deadened by a rage that had festered within her core for just as long. It didn't play its hymn; it crashed through her, engulfing the world in its discordant sound. Fury had broken through its damn, expressed for the first time after years of repression – overlooked and forgotten, now terrible in its cataclysmic intensity.

"Last time she went, he just left!" She pointed at Zeref, who hung his head.

Natsu's eyebrows knitted. "What do you mean, just left?"

A solar flare, Aki spun back around to Zeref, sneering. "I don't know, Zeref. You want to tell him, or me?" Zeref mumbled incoherently, and Aki snorted. "Yeah!" she bellowed. "Yeah, just 'mumble mumble boohoo! I'm just gonna ditch 'cause my girlfriend died!'"

+She was blown back by a gale of Black Magic; Zeref was on his feet, hand outstretched, his own eyes red. He no longer looked ashamed, but apoplectic. A spiderweb seemed to reach inside and yank him out with a screeching crash, and Natsu spun to see Aki in her YuKitsu transformation, crouching in front of Zeref, who was throwing black orbs of magic at her. Each time they nearly hit, one of Aki's tails would touch it, and they'd dissipate.

He stepped forward eagerly, but a hand appeared on his shoulder. He looked around to see Mavis shaking her head solemnly.

"They need to fight it out between themselves," she said.

"Obviously," Natsu said excitedly. "This fight is going to be so cool!"

—

I laughed derisively, deflecting the Orbs of the Blackened Sky Zeref-nii was sending at me. "Building some secret little plan?" I mocked, pressing my back right paw into the ground. "みずわり[1]!" He jumped, hanging from a tree branch as the ground he had been standing on disintegrated. I used the moment between his jump and grabbing the tree branch to draw a magic circle with one of my tails. "たいじゅのアーク!"

[Mizuwari (Crush Magic)]

[Great Tree Arc Magic]

As he reached the branch, the tree came to life, wrapping around him tightly. I snarled in frustration as he vanished, feeling a tingling behind me. "あんこくばくえんじん!"

[Dark Blast Inferno (Black Magic)]

"アイスメイク: ピラー!" A pillar of ice launched me into the sky, leaving Zeref-nii's Black Magic covered hand to cut through the ice where I had been. He grunted as a second pillar of ice ploughed into his stomach, but it didn't do any real damage.

[Ice Make: Platform]

I growled in frustration as black mist grew around his feet, flinging him up to meet me. He grabbed me with his magic and flung me away from the circle I had been making, sending me crashing into the ground and knocking the wind out of me.

"てんじんのゼフィロス!" I rasped, and my lungs filled with air. I leapt up, fully healed, and shouted, "クラシュ!"

[Sky Deity's Zephyros (Sky Deity Slayer Magic)]

[Crush (Crush Magic)]

Zeref-nii twisted again, reappearing behind me. "くろまほう:スワロー!"

[Black Magic: Swallow]

I laughed mockingly, flexing my magic and transporting slightly to the right. His magic shot right by me as I dipped a tail tip into it. "コッピー:センダーにかえれ!" It shot, double in size, back at Zeref-nii. An explosion filled the air, followed swiftly by a cloud of dust.

[Copy Magic: Return to Sender]

"くろまほう:くろいロック!" A ball of writhing, black tendrils wrapped around me, lifting me into the air, and he clenched his hand, crushing me.

[Black Magic: Black Lock]

"はくりゅうのホーリーブレス!" A blinding white light burst from my mouth, ploughing easily through the Black Magic and then into him. The black sphere dissolved along with my ice make me as I shouted "アビスブレーク!"

[White Dragon's Holy Breath (White Dragon Slayer Magic)]

[Abyss Break (Heavenly Body Magic)]

The magic circle I had made activated, releasing a torrent of elemental magic right into Zeref-nii's stomach. I swore, knowing it hadn't worked. Falling through the air, I sensed the rune circle hidden within the ground, and flipped up. I made to shoot upward, but something clenched in my throat and I faltered, my Beast Soul: YuKitsu dissolving. I fell once more to the earth, suffocated by black mist, and, with a tremendous thud, I smacked into the ground.

Flipping over, coughing up blood, I pressed both hands into the ground. "はおうがんさい!" I crumpled as Zeref-nii landed on top of me, forcing both my arms down on either side of me.

[Supreme King Rock Crush (Earth Magic)]

"Aki!" he snarled. I merely sneered up at him.

Before he could do anything else, two hands of rock clapped together, encasing him between, crushing him. I could see his confusion as he failed to teleport, how his eyes darted around, widening when he saw my runes. I grinned. "ストームブリンガー!" As he was encaged by a massive cylinder of knife sharp air currents, I added, "とがのほのう!" Golden flames appeared, and I sent them through a hole I had created in the barrier. A fire tornado spinning around him, I leapt back, tracing several circles into the ground. "てんじんのゼフィロス!"

[Storm Bringer (Wind Magic)]

[Flame of rebuke (Fire Magic)]

[Sky Deity's Zephyros (Sky Deity Slayer Magic)]

I mustered myself for the final attack, standing over my circles, arms sticking downwards, hands over each other in front of me, palms facing the ground. Forcing more and more of my magic into them, I crouched, digging my hands into the center circle.

"りゅうのまほう!" A ball formed high above me, circling as it pulsed with each additional type, wind swirling visibly around it. "みず! くうき! しろい! アイヤン! ダイアモンド! き! ど! ゆき! アイス! らいえん! どく! がつ! きん! ぎん! ひ! セージ! かみなり! ジェード! ミティアー! のほうこう!"

[Dragon Slayer Magic ]

[Roar of the Water, Air, White, Iron, Diamond, Tree, Earth, Snow, Ice, Poison, Moon, Gold, Silver, Fire, Sage, Lightening, Jade, and Meteor Dragon (Dragon Slayer Magic)]

With a tremendous effort I roared the vicious beam of Dragon Slayer Magic at Zeref-nii, dissipating my wind barrier just before it hit. I stumbled, already feeling the strain caused by magics I hadn't truly mastered.

"あくまのほじ!" The wind was completely knocked out of me as tendrils of shadow twisted around me, effectively stopping any movement. "Aki!"

[Demon's Grasp (Black Magic)]

I merely growled as he landed in front of me, watching him move cautiously closer.

"Aki! Give!"

I, unable to do anything else, raised my eyebrows.

Eyes flashing, he swept both of his arms in a circular motion until the bottom of his hands met. The top hand's index and middle fingers pointed upwards, the bottom's little and index fingers downwards. A purple miasma wafted around him as he snarled, "くいあらためよ!"

[Repent (Black Magic) [The spell Zeref used on Hades.]]

Darkness engulfed me, sucking most of my magic and scattering it to the sky. It struck from more angles than most people were aware of, then faded. I hung limply as Zeref-nii reached for my head. He froze when he pulled it up, revealing my triumphant grin.

He smashed into the ground, crushed down to the neck in the torn-up earth by the spell I had planted when I had plunged my hands into the center matrix before the Dragons' Roar. Link between magic and caster broken, the shadows released me, and I dropped roughly to the ground.

Sat on my splayed knees, I clutched at my throbbing side, no longer having the energy to use Healing Magic; that was fine. As Zeref-nii used his magic to propel him from the ground, I shouted, "てんをきりさくごうわんなるちからを! イルアームス!" and punched the earth with all the force I could muster. The other magic trigger I had set activated, wrapping Zeref-nii in lines upon lines of runes, forcing him to his stomach, pulling his arms behind his back.

[O strengthen the body to cleave the heavens! Ile Arms! (Sky Dragon Slayer Magic)]

I forced myself up and sat on top of him, holding his head to the ground. He struggled against his bindings, but, unable to rewrite the runes for the loss of the magic they inflicted upon him, he could do nothing. "I win!"

"Take it back!" he spat venomously up at me.

I sneered. "Take what back, exactly?"

"You talked about her death so lightly!" he growled, struggling harder.

He grunted as I tightened the magic's hold on him. "I don't take it lightly – I never did! But you talk about it like you had no dragon flapping fault in it!"

"I needed time to be alone!"

I punched him in the back, just above where the runes were holding his arms, eliciting a shout of pain. "So, what, you can just disappear?!" I howled, disregarding how my throat tore. "You were the only thing I h-had! And you just vanished for seven! Whole! Years!" I emphasized each of the last three words with a punch to his back, glad that he couldn't see the hot tears running down my cheeks. "Do you realize how much that hurt!? How much pain I went through?!"

"How much you went-" Zeref started incredulously.

"At least you knew where I was! Knew that you could come crawling back any time and I'd just be there waiting for you!"

"Mavis died-!"

"That's no excuse!" I screamed, pummeling his back with weaker and weaker punches. "I cared about Mavis, too, you flapping lizard skin! But I was right there! I needed you then! You should have needed me, too!"

Zeref-nii stopped struggling for a moment, but I gave him no lenience.

"She died, and you ditched me! I couldn't believe you!"

He twitched, scoffing dismissively. "You didn't care about that when I came back! You-"

He grunted as I punched him again. "I was flapping cursed, Zeref-oni!" My furious bellows were cracking, slowly reducing to scratchy growls by my growing exhaustion. "Of course I had to act like I didn't care! Do you realize how much pain I was in?! Did you ever stop for a second to consider-"

"I WAS CURSED, TOO!" Zeref-nii roared back, trembling under me. "I WASN'T THINKING RIGHT EITHER!"

I wavered, wiping furiously at my eyes with my sleeve. "But you deny now that it was wrong!" I rasped out.

He grit his teeth. "Mavis-"

[Author note, "The third-person singular simple present indicative form of grit is grits." What is wrong with English?! Imagine having to memorize everysinglevariant of that! It is an abomination of a language! GAH!]

An excruciating scream rent itself from me, and I started beating my fists against his back as hard as I could, giving up on magic, giving up on restraint, just wanting to release the lump in my searing throat.

"Leafy! Leafy, stop! Stop!" Natsu-nii-chan lifted me by the armpits, freeing Zeref-nii from only my fists. I snarled, dangling limply as Zeref groaned, still trapped by my magic. "Leafy," Natsu-nii-chan said gently, plopping down cross-legged beside Zeref-nii. "Leafy, let him up."

I shook my head, eyes not leaving Zeref-nii.

"Come on," he coaxed, settling me in his lap. "He's lost. Let him go."

I bit my lip, wishing my eyes would stop watering.

"Come on."

A strangled sob left my throat.

"Let him go."

The runes slowly broke apart, each letter floating into the air before dissolving in the sunset. I glared at Zeref-nii for as long as I could see him, then closed my eyes firmly.

—

Zeref winced as he pushed himself up, grimacing.

"I'm sorry for the awful timing-" Mavis had joined them with Natsu. "-but I'm not going to be here for much longer. I don't have the time to fix all I've broken, but I wanted to say g" —she gasped quietly, grabbing her arm— "oodbye." She raised her other hand, flickering in and out of existence.

"Mavis-" Zeref started, but-

"Are you leaving again?" Aki demanded scratchily. "Zeref-oni?!"

Zeref winced, not meeting Aki's eyes. Mavis stepped forward, hand tracing his cheek. "I'll be back, Zeref. Two weeks or so, a couple visits in between, and I'll be here again."

Zeref took her hand, pressing it against his cheek as he looked at her achingly. "You'll only visit for half an hour. You'll only be back for a week, then. It's too soon. It's too short."

Mavis giggled playfully, tilting her head. "You should get on that, then. But don't leave your family," she added firmly. "Don't leave your blood family, and don't leave Fairy Tail. Give them a chance and open up." She took his hand with both of hers, gazing into his eyes. "Don't leave your family this time."

Zeref bit his lip.

Mavis sighed as she faded in and out of sight, looking down at her ghosting body.

"Mei…" Mavis turned to Aki, eyes wide. The other averted her gaze, staring down at her and Natsu's hands in her lap. "I did miss you… I- you were part of-" she trailed off, muttering gibberish. Abruptly, she looked up, saying with new vigor, albeit in a scratchy voice, "Mei, I do love you, too. I'm- I'm sorry."

Mavis let out a little sob, throwing herself at Aki. Natsu, displaying tact he rarely showed, leaned back, out of the way. "I thought Aki-nee hated me!" she wailed, fists tightening around Aki's shirt. "I thought-"

Natsu's jaw dropped. Aki-nee?

Aki leaned forward, returning the embrace tightly. "I didn't hate you at all," she mumbled, patting her head. "I just couldn't think of you without remembering… It wasn't your fault. You didn't ask him to do that. He's just an idiot," she added, as fierce as before, scowling at Zeref. As Aki's sleeve was soaked with tears, she shifted off Natsu's lap, glomping the other comfortingly. "We'll come visit you," she said, pushing Mavis's bangs back and smiling affectionately. "Fairy Tail has their annual S-class trials there, right?"

"Aki-nee!" Mavis sniffed, moon eyed and tearful, "I missed you so much! I'm really sorry!"

Aki's smile turned painful, tears falling down her own cheeks. "I wish I hadn't avoided you. We could've played again," she said, voice cracking. "You didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry, too, Mei."

"'s- t's okay, Aki-nee!" Mavis sniffled. "You were hurt! I love you!"

Pulling back, Aki prompted regretfully, "It's time, isn't it, Mei?"

Mavis nodded tearfully at her.

"Say goodbye to your idiotic future husband, then," Aki chuckled, smirking slightly.

Mavis blushed bright red and looked down, fidgeting with the hem of her pink dress. Then she scuttled over to Zeref and tackled him.

"I love you, Zeref," she murmured, tears falling from her eyes—though they shimmered out of existence long before they could explain Zeref's own wet cheeks.

"I love you, too, Mavis," he spoke, agony incarnate. He kissed her, full on the mouth, hanging on desperately to her fading body as though it would disappear, {oh, wait ;P,} clutching her as to a lifeline.

He pulled away only in time to see her smile before she vanished entirely, voice echoing, "I love you, Zeref."

Thank you to all who enjoyed this story, and if there was any plot point not tied up just message me, I'll see what I can do. I really appreciate those of you who liked, and especially anybody who commented. If people suddenly get more invested and remotivate me, I might continue the story, since I still have hundreds and hundreds of pages of unedited content. But until then, Goodbye!