Summary: After a long, tiresome, and dangerous quest…Fairy Tail finally finds out what Zeref had hidden in the chest.

Pairings: Implied Natsu/Lucy, implied Zeref/Mavis, implied sort of brotherly Zeref/Natsu, and general other friendship and family feels.

YouTube Prompt: A Natsu/Lucy video to 'I'd Come for You' by Nickleback.

It started randomly on a mission.

They had been out on a little island on a quest to bring back an artefact when they encountered some of Zeref's fanatic cultists and ended up in battle with them. When it was finally over they found that the half wrecked temple did not only housed the artefact but a strange looking key.

It wasn't a celestial key, Lucy had checked, and Levy then explored the library for any information. It took both Levy and Crux two weeks to find out the information.

The key was apparently one of seven keys that made up a map to a dangerous deadly magic that Zeref had created.

"Zeref had way too much free time on his hands," Natsu muttered darkly at this revelation, "this is the eighteenth dangerous magic we've encountered since he died."

"Anyone would be bored after four hundred years," Master shrugged unbothered by it all, "it's no big deal. As long as we keep the keys separate there's no problems."

And with that the key was locked into a safe in the room they used to keep Mavis' body and that was that.

No one gave it a single thought until someone with a second key tried to attack the guild.

They had defeated the assailant with ease and the second key was also safely locked away into the safe while Lucy and Levy began to research more into the magical artefact on the side-line. Just in case.

Natsu and Lucy accidentally stumble on the third key on an archaeological job they had taken. Only this time they also encountered a hoard of demons, the leftovers of Tartarus, and undoubtedly it resulted in barely a victory as a bloody Natsu carried an unconscious Lucy to the nearest town for medical aid. The guild grimly agreed at this point especially when Natsu admitted most of the demons escaped with their lives that it was for the best of the world to hunt down the rest of the keys before they fall into the wrong hands.

Two intensive months follow in which Fairy Tail members were assaulted by demons, the building was attacked, and they began to find themselves competing against demons to get hold of the rest of the keys.

They had some victories, and they had some loses, but inevitably they gained enough keys for Levy to determine the location.

A specially picked team consisting of Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, Wendy, Charle, Gajeel, Lily, Juvia, and Levy was sent to obtain the artefact before the demons do.

It was a living nightmare.

The location was a crumbling stone church hidden in a forest on a far flung island. It was booby-trapped to the teeth with mystical beasts, exploding traps, and all the other typical clichés. They had been almost squashed to death by moving walls and rolling stones, they had almost been poisoned by venomous stings and toxic teeth. Lucy got trapped under a skeleton when she fell through a trap door and landed in a crypt and her screams still echoed in everyone's ears.

Then there was the deadly battles with the demons.

By the time they hobbled home they all had new scars, bruises, and nightmares to add to their collection.

But they did it.

They got the chest with the seven keyholes and if it turned out they had the wrong one then Master can go and get it himself.

Curiosity instantly got the better of the guild and instead of storing it safe and sound in their safe they all huddled round it.

"Are you going to open the damn thing or what?" Laxus grunted. "The sooner we know what it is the sooner we can all get back to our lives."

"All right, Mr Grumpy-Pants," Natsu teased with a smug grin. Laxus had acted like he was completely uninterested the entire time and now he was the one egging for them to open the chest. Natsu found it freaking hilarious. "We're opening it"

Levy slotted in all seven keys and turned them….only for nothing to happen.

"Huh…." Gray muttered. "Maybe we did get the wrong chest?"

"We didn't get the wrong chest!" Gajeel scowled. "There was only one and it was under all that freaking protection. We didn't get the wrong chest."

"Maybe we were on the wrong island?" Gray suggested.

"We didn't get the wrong island!" Levy barked indignantly. "Unlike some people here I can read."

"I can read!" Gray said sulkily.

"Maps?" Levy asked cynically. "Coded maps in runes?"

"….No."

"Then thank you to keep your trust in me," Levy said firmly. She eyed the keys carefully as her brow furrowed in thought "Freed…." She murmured. "Can you see the runes on the edge of the keys?"

"Let's see," Freed said fascinated. Levy handed him the keys and he carefully examined them all before he was able to translate them. "Apparently we need a drop of blood from seven Dragon Slayers to activate the keys."

"….urgh!" Natsu groaned childishly. "Why is it always seven?!"

"Never mind that," Lucy shook her head disbelievingly, "how did he know there would be seven Dragon Slayers?!"

"Psychic," Natsu nodded sagely, "has to be."

"….Dumbass," Gajeel muttered.

"Regardless," Erza said stiffly, "we will need the blood of seven Dragon Slayers."

Four were easily obtainable and it wasn't that hard to get Sting and Rogue to donate a drop of blood but it took some time to track Erik Cobra down on one of his redemption quests and then to actually persuade him to do it. Enough time that they were almost all entirely healed by the time they actually gathered round the chest once again

"I swear to God," Gray grumbled, "if it turns out to be some boring assed philosophy essay like the last Zeref artefact I am going to find a way to resurrect your brother and kill him again."

"You and me both," Natsu growled irritably. He had been dragged out of Lucy's bed by Erza this morning because of this and he would love nothing more than to kick Zeref's ass for interrupting sneaky cuddle time from beyond the grave. "Who knew having a big brother would be so annoying?"

Lucy rolled her eyes before she coughed loudly causing the boys to stand to attention. With deliberate slowness to savour the moment Lucy slid the seven (now bloodied) keys into their locks and then turned them slowly.

Click!

The chest top popped open and slowly Lucy lifted it up. Everyone suddenly pushed forwards and shoved their heads over the chest to look at…

"…a piece of paper?!" several people yelped all at once. "All of this," Natsu carried on furiously, "for one piece of freaking paper?!"

"Here," Levy said as she plucked the tiny shred of paper out of the now incredibly oversized chest. "Let me read it," she said calmly, "Dear Natsu," Levy read out, "Gotcha. Love Zeref."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"….GODDAMNIT ZEREF!" Natsu exploded. "IF YOU WEREN'T DEAD ALREADY I WOULD FRICKING KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

Meanwhile somewhere in a town far, far, away a dark haired publisher suddenly threw back his head in hysterical – if slightly evil – laughter. His girlfriend stared at him bewilderedly before she joined in.

To him, her twinkling laughter sounded like bells.