Title: Blood Revelation
Author: Sane. Allen
Rated: T
Genre: Angst, Hurt and Comfort, Romance
Summary: Nastu was kidnapped by a dark guild few days after Erza was declared to be the 7th guild master of Fairy tail. Three weeks after Natsu got kidnapped, Zeref, who heard what happen to Natsu, pass by a castle where he heard Natsu screams. The dark mage saved him, but the fairy tail mages arrive when he healed Nastu and both of the revealed something that the other mages never accepted for few years.
Pairing: Eventually Gray x Natsu
Warnings: Bad Grammars, OOC, Angst scene, Mention of rapes, torture, brother complex, temporary female Natsu, bad languages, gore and violence, trigger warnings and major AU.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Brother complex mode, angry"
(Actions while singing/ actions while playing song/ scene change)
"Flashback/Past/memories"
"Emphasizing"
Please enjoy the story!
A/N: I'll using Natsu and Etherias to call our favorite salamander
Opening Song: V.I.P from Magi
Akogare o ima tsukanda
(Natsu, who was facing to the right and face down, slowly looks up and look in front and gives a sad smile.)
Daikansei no namari ni kokochiyoku utareta nara
(Zeref, who was facing to the left, face down as well, looks up although albeit faster and gives us a sad look)
(Gray, who was standing in the middle, face down, looks up and raise both of his hands, his fisted hand to the other and began to use his magic)
Saa tobikomou
(Then Gray release it, viewing this words
"Blood Revelation
ケツち
コクつ.げる")
Ashita kara umarekawaru to ka dareka ga mikiritsuketa to ka kono machi no sutairu to ka
(Sakura petals began to fall from their tree. Zeref, who's back is facing us, walks few meters away before stopping and look behind him and watch the petals flew before reaching his hand out and caught some sakura petals before blowing it and looks up.)
Sonna mono ni nagasaretsuzukete kado no toreta genseki ni wa kitto daremo you wa nai
(Nastu, who was laying down at the grass under the shade of tree, watch the petals flew over him before reaching out and caught one of the petals, and inhaled deeply when the breeze pass him and he lets go of the petals his holding)
Fushigi to tobira no mukou ni wa V.I.P nanoru yatsu wa naku daremo ga kunou no hate sa
(Gray, who was climbing at a plain grass mountain, stops and look down where he saw the town below him and looks up and watches the petals flew, before reaching out and took some petals before pocketing it, he smiled and then he continue to walk)
Akogare o ima tsukanda mi o yudanereba ii kaji wa kono te ni mittsu
(Zeref, who's face was near the view before it began to move away and showed as his whole body, open his closed eyes, as the view moves away from him and held up his fisted hand before opening it and releasing some black mist. Natsu jump in front of Zeref smiling and blow some fire towards the black mist, which made the mist to burst into flame before it disappeared, showing)
Kazoete the show time
( Natsu and Zeref standing back to back smiling and their hands intertwined.)
Daikansei no namari ni kokochiyoku utareta nara saa tobikomou
(Gray appeared in front of them and began to make some arrows with his magic and shoots it at us, followed by Erza who was wearing her Heaven's wheeled armor and her swords circling around before firing at us and lastly Lucy who summoned her celestial spirits.)
("Blood Revelation
ケツち
コクつ.げる")
(Bloody 10: The Truce and Guilt)
(At the Fairy Tail Guild)
"Ne… Master Gildarts…" Romeo called out, followed by Asuka, who was holding his hand. Ever since they knew that Natsu, Wendy, Happy, Carla and Lily aren't coming back, they spend more time with each other. Asuka's reason for being with him, was that Romeo was like Natsu-nii, who she loves as a brother and then Romeo also said that Natsu-nii would want him to protect the younger member of their family. Since then, the two of them are almost impossible to separate.
"Hmm… What is Romeo?" The Fifth Master asks, looking at them while smiling.
"They will bring the master back here right?" he asks bluntly, which made the older mage to blink and laugh.
"Of course they will, why did you ask that?"
"Because they promise they will bring back Natsu-nii, but they failed and then we lost Wendy-nee and Carla, Happy and Lily." Asuka's words slice Gildarts heart, he then smiled forcefully.
'It really hurts especially if it's this kids are being honest.' He thought, before patting their heads.
"They will be back together with the master." The children hummed at his answer before they turn and left him alone at the bar and they then proceed at the spot where they knew Natsu would always sit, the table at the left corner of the room, near their job board which is still empty.
"Ne, Rome-nii…" Asuka started, to which the boy hummed. "If they brought, grandpa back… will you forgive them?" she then look at him and saw his cold and dull eyes staring at her own eyes directly.
"Forgive them? *scoffs* I will never forgive them. If they brought the master back, yay they're amazing." He said sarcastically and rolls his eyes. "But for me, bringing the master won't make me trust them. They probably care for the master a lot, more than Natsu-nii, Wendy, Carla, Happy and Lily. They were send to save Natsu-nii, yet we lose five members of our family. I don't care whatever it is that they did because it will never bring them back." The boy then glance back at her. "Just as Zeref said, 'They abandoned them' in other words they can't bring them back, ever."
'Such big words for a young boy.' Gildarts thought, hearing what the boy said and notice how the remaining dragon slayers flinched at the boy's words, he then glance around the guild and knew that what Romeo said was heard by everyone, not just him and the remaining search party who didn't went together with Mest and the otehrs. The boy didn't even bother to lower his voice. The guild master then glance at the boy's father and saw that what Macao was still feeling sad and angry ever since the mistake their search party did.
"Master…" Mira whispered softly, which made the sixth master to look at her. "Romeo and Asuka will never forgive us right? No matter how much we tried." she asks before looking at him straight in the eyes.
"Your right," Gildarts sighed, glancing at the two kids they mentioned. "Natsu has been always close to Romeo and then when Asuka met him and Wendy they became close as well… you can say that those two can attract children and can take good care of them. However, due to that closeness... their feelings are much worse than ours."
"But… Natsu and Gray are close as well… yet he said those things to him."
"Well Mira, what Gray said during that time is different from what he's feeling right now. I bet that his probably beating himself up for what he did, physically or mentally."
"But those feelings are nothing to what Romeo and Asuka are dealing with, right?"
"No... What Gray felt is probably twice as much as those two." He then glance at Mira. "We all know that they fought each other, but that's just how they are. They are polar opposite, ice and fire, but they are still friends, best friends, watching each other's back and showed that they care for each other through a friendly violence."
"Demo…"
"When Gray said those things to Natsu, he was probably overcome by rage. Seeing Zeref activated his anger for what the dark mage did to his family and add up that Natsu was kidnapped and in the hand of the mage who destroyed his childhood, probably snapped him. But I knew Gray, I knew that the moment those words escaped his mouth, he regretted them."
After his explanation, Mira smiled and said.
"Maybe… if we ever see Natsu again, he'll forgive us and the others, they might also apologize to him as well."
"If only Mira… if only." With that their conversation ended.
(An hour Later)
An hour later after the conversation between Gildarts and Mira, the door opened. The fairytail mages, who were chatting to each other quietly, turn and look at the direction of the door and saw their master with the team they sent to get him.
"Master!" Mira cried, and then they all cheered. Gildarts smiled and walk towards Makarov, who looked at him shock.
"Welcome back, Master." He said, bowing.
"G-Gildarts!?" Makarov shouted, and Erza rub the back of her neck sheepishly.
"Actually, Gildarts is took his title as a master of fairytail, Master Makarov." She said.
"Shouldn't you be calling me by my name then?"
"How about you'll be the 2nd grand master of our guild and the first is the 1st grand master after all your two are around and so that we can still called you master. It's kind of awkward calling you by your name." Lisanna said, the others all agree at that before they turn to look at their master who smiled and said.
"I'm home."
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Glad you made it home alive, Master Makarov." Romeo said, walking towards them together with Asuka. Makarov smiled and look at them before he froze when he saw that the two kids are looking at him emotionlessly and coldly.
"R-romeo…" Macao stuttered.
"Asuka-chan…" the girl's mother called her to which they both ignored before looking at team Natsu… no… their Natsu-nii and other friends isn't coming back anymore so it's no longer team Natsu, they're team Erza.
"Good thing you didn't fail this time." The fire mage boy added coldly, making the said team to flinch.
"Stop that, Romeo!" Macao shouted, which made the boy to glare at him.
"Stop? Are you telling me that we should celebrate even if we lose five members of our family, father?" he asked, Macao flinched before looking at the other fairy tail mages, who looks at the floor. Gildarts then look at the boy and smiled.
"Romeo… we'll talk about that later today, okay? Let's just celebrate."
"Actually, now that the mood of cheerfulness disappeared," the Grand master started, they twitched and look at him. "I can talk about what happen in Albareth." He finished before walking towards their stage, step on it, slamming his staff down and closed his eyes.
"Everyone, forgive me." He started, they all look at him. "I won't make any excuses. The one who destroyed the place you all call home was me. I am try sorry."
"We already heard everything from Mest." Max said, however Makarov bit his lip before sighing.
"My plan, my reason for going to the Albareth, had only done a little amount of good. The Albareth won't be coming for us… yet."
"Yet?!"
"That's right…" Makarov nods. "Their plan on coming towards us… has been postpone. Their emperor seems to have a change of mind about attacking us. And so, they made a truce between us."
"A truce you say…" Gray mumbled, while Erza asked.
"Conditions?" when she said the word, Makarov sighed before telling them the condition to let the truce between them to remain.
"The Emperor's (Zeref's ) Condition. (A/N: Please note the words and sentences that are inside the parenthesis. Those are apart of the condition but the Master didn't tell them about it.)
1. The Ishgar council won't know who or what the emperor is.
2. Fairytail will stay away from their land.
3. Should ever fairy tail fought or tries to kill/hurt my (siblings and) people then its war.
4. (Fairytail won't know about Natsu, Wendy, Carla, Lily and Happy staying in Albareth, excluding you.)
5. (Fairytail won't know about Natsu's turning and them being one of the rulers of the empire, excluding you)
6. Albareth Empire and it's people shall be no longer a part of a council or guild conversation after announcing the truce.
7. Should an Albarethian, be it people, spriggan or the emperor, went to Ishgar, we will stay out of their business.
Makarov's Condition
1. The empire aren't allowed to harm any fairy tail mages
2. Albareth will not attack Ishgar, unless we break the rules
3. Albareth will stop trying to get the fairy heart and keeps it a secret.
4. (I, Makarov, will still be in contact with Natsu and the others through a letter each month)
5. Lastly, should a spriggan, the emperor or a people of the Albareth empire steps foot on Ishgar, I will be informed."
"Those are the conditions? I expect for the Albareth to have more conditions not 5." Laxus stated, looking at his Grandfather who frown.
'It's 7 Laxus, but you don't need to know the other two conditions or else a war will start.'
"But we only have 4 conditions. Are those Grand master?" Lisanna ask, making them look at Makarov who nodded.
"What important to me is for you to be safe, and there is something I must discuss with you all. Lumen Histoire, or more accurately, fairy heart…" as he said this Mavis slowly began to walk towards to the front.
"!"
(A/N: Spoiler alert but with AU… note this is the last spoiler at the next chapter I will the true plot will begin)
"Allow me to tackle that topic, Sixth. No… Grand Master."
"The First Master?!" as Mavis appeared in front of them, the new fairy tail mages were speechless.
"Is this her spirit form? Or is it…" Erza thought and then the first master spoke.
"Everyone…. Fairy heart has been treated as the ultimate secret of this guild. A secret that must never be revealed to the world at large. But you all must know the reason Zeref is after it. you must know of my sin."
"Sin?" Erza asked.
"First…" Makarov started.
"It's okay... the time has finally come for me to tell all. This is the story of a cursed boy and a cursed girl. And the story of the magic they both sought." She started slowly and sadly.
Flashback
(A hundred years ago Mavis POV)
This was a story that happened hundred years ago slightly before fairy tail was formed. Magnolia's west Forest. That was where we met by chance. I met Zeref when he was taking a bath at a pond. He was suffering from the Ankhseram Curse… a curse that toyed at the fates of others by robbing them of their lives. But I was intrigued by him. he taught me most of my magic. At that time, magnolia had been under the control of a dark guild. We had to learn magic as fast as we could to free magnolia from them. That was when it happened, in the midst of battle. I used a black magic spell that was still incomplete but we won anyway. However the price I had to pay was a body that stopped aging. I didn't think much of it back then.
April, Year X686 Fairy tail is formed. It was a time when the lords were in a feud over their trading rights. The second trade was was just about to begin. Guild wizards were roped into the battle as soldiers for these lords.
"Please get the left wing to retreat." Mavis stated, pointing at the said wing of their field.
"Wha.. what are you talking about, little girl!" one of the soldiers shouted. "That's the weakest part of the enemy's base! Now should be the time for attack! I don't give a damn if you're a wizard or whatever, but stay out of the way!"
"If I were the enemy, I'd have troops kept on standby for an ambush. Once the enemy is draw closer, I'd have the element of surprise." Mavis told him, pointing at the map laid at the table. "And on the west, I'd have reinforcements waiting that would be my main force.
"….."
"I can think of 49 other ways to deal with this but… we have to get the left wing to retreat first. If not, we will be dancing to the enemy's tune the whole time."
Heh, there she goes again, the Princess…" Yuri who will late become Makarov's father, commented.
"I've never actually seen a princess this dangerous before." Precht, the 2nd master of fairy tail in the future stated.
"But that's some Analytical skills she's got there." Warrod added.
"So when will it be our turn?" Yuri asks.
"Please stop the enemy from advancing there's an 85% chance that the reinforcements will come from the west, so please be careful." Mavis told them.
"Awright. Time to go all out then!" Yuri exclaimed.
"Hmph."
"Let's go, men!" Warrod declared.
"I believe in you!"
"So that's fairy tail's tiny master?" the one who scolded Mavis wonder out loud, sweat dropping.
"Fairy…?" the soldier behind him asked. And the next thing they knew the soldiers are down.
"They… won… even with the difference in numbers…"
"Fairy… Tactician…." They both gaped.
(Fairy tail guild)
"We won!"
"Look at all this cash!"
"Bring all the wine!"
"Cheers!" the fairy celebrated while Mavis watched gloomy, sitting at the bar counter.
"What's wrong, Mavis?" Yuri asked.
"…. …. I wonder how many lives were lost in today's battle…And till when will this battle go on…? I want to go on an Adventure." She said, swinging her legs.
Year X690 the end of the second trade wars, the number of those injured and the death count were 10 times higher than in the first war. It was said that the reason behind this was the wizard guild interventions. That was when the world of magic decided that guilds could no longer wage war or be a part of any war by drafting a treaty.
The treaty states that all guilds should no longer have the means to or be a part of war regardless of the reasons.
With that, a short era of peace dawned upon the world of magic.
(6 years later, year X696)
I met with him again, pure coincidence.
"Mavis…" Zeref stated, looking at her shocked.
"AH! Mr. Black Wizard from before! YAAY3" Mavis then run towards him then Zeref raise his hands trying to stop him.
"Woah! Wait! Don't you remember, I'm cursed!" he declared.
"Of course!"
"Then don't…" before he could finish Mavis already jump at him, hugging him.
"We won because of you back then… and because of you, I saved my friends…"
(A while later at a field)
"Zeref!? That black wizard, Zeref!? You're him?!" the first master shouted, while the said mage merely smiled.
"That's why I never wanted to tell you my name."
"The one that lived for 300 years…?"
"Yeah… was it that long though…"
"But you're nothing like what people say you are…"
"Oh, the bad ones huh? Those are mostly accurate though."
"There's no way that's true! You have very kind eyes. And I don't believe those rumors."
"Such innocence."
"!" unknowingly to her, Mavis blushed.
"Oh yeah, do you still remember Yuri? He's gonna be a father soon!"
"That boy, a father?"
"Well, it's been 10 years since then…" Zeref smiled at her although he was slight confused on the inside.
"But you haven't change at all since then…"
"Ah… this body… yeah… it was the price I had to pay for using incomplete magic 10 years ago. But I don't regret my choices, after all, it saved my friends."
"You used 'Rou'!?" Zeref shouted, before grabbing Mavis face and hit their forehead together and closed his eyes.
Bang!
"WAH! What was that for…" the blond mage look at the black haired one flustered. Zeref then let go of her, his eyes wide with shocked and terror.
"Zeref…"
"It's not that you've stopped growing… you've now become immortal, just like I am…"
"Huh?" Mavis eyes widen.
"Have you chose what kind of lives you will be taking…? At your own discretion, of course… it's the curse of ankhseram. The more you don't want to take a life, the more it'll…"
"Nonsense!" she cut in, her whole body shivering.
"I… nobody around me… has died… yet…"
"Well, not now but… I see… there was a war a while back, wasn't there… wars make you see lives in a different way… maybe that's why you noticed it quite as much."
"That's… I…!"
"You don't know the true meaning behind taking a life. And once you find out… everyone around you will disappear." As he said those Mavis paled, trembling and sweating while he looked away.
"Why… why would you say such things…?"
"It's the truth."
"I.. thought you were…"
"Now, do you understand? I'm everything the rumors made me out to be."
"….!" She then ran away from him crying, while Zeref look at her back.
"So it's true… you've always had it in you. The power to walk alongside me." He then smiled.
'I don't believe this! Not at all! Life is precious! Important! I know!' she thought.
"You really don't know how precious life is." Zeref's words rang in her mind. Big tears flow down from her eyes.
'I do know! That the lives of the friends I love are precious…' she then stopped in front of their guild, hearing cheers and celebration coming inside.
"Yuri! It's a boy!"
"OHHH!"
'I know!'
(Year X696, Birth of Yuri's child, Makarov)
"OOOH!" Warrod exclaimed all of them blushing.
"A boy, huh…" and yes even the future second master is blushing.
"You really did it, Rita." Yuri said, blushing while Rita his wife is cradling Makarov near her sweating and Mavis standing at her right while Yuri is standing at the left.
"He's so adorable!" Mavis smiled.
"You didn't have to go through all of the trouble of delivering him at the guild, though." One of the mage stated, Yuri wink at him.
"Rita absolutely insisted."
"I want to raise this child amidst all of your love…" Riat stated before looking at their master. "Master… would you be our child's godmother? Give him a name."
"M-ME?!"
"Please Mavis.." Yuri smiled at her.
"Pippoko sounds like a winner to me." They look at the future second master, sweating.
"As you can see we're totally hopeless at coming up with names. Please, Mavis." Warrod stated.
She then look at the baby with an 'o' before smiling.
"Makarov. It's the name of a kind king in a book I read long ago." She smiled at the mother who said.
"A wonderful name…"
"Makarov!" Yuri declared lifting the baby up.
"I liked pippoko…"
"Makarov! From this day forth, your name shall be Makarov!"
"Gugu!" Makarov squealed.
"For the sake of the future of this child, we all must…" Rita panted her face getting all sweaty.
"Yes." Mavis agree, grabbing Rita's hand. "Hand in hand we shall…" and then her hand slip. Rita's eyes closed and stopped breathing.
"!"
"Rita! What's wrong?!" Yuri shouted, asking.
"She must have used too much of her energy in the delivery."
"Rita! RITAAAAAA!" Mavis looked at her, with wide eye, sweating and paling.
'You are yet unaware of the true preciousness of life.' Zeref words rang in her mind and she began to tremble.
'The day you become aware,'
"Rita! What's wrong, dear! RITA! RITA!"
'Those around you will begin to disappear.' And then tears began to fall down.
"AAAAH! AGH! AGH!" she screamed before running away from them.
"MAVIS!" they all shouted, looking at her as she ran away. She ran and headed to the forest, as she ran away far from the guild she tripped and saw the plants around her withering.
"No… Stop…" and then the curse activated, killing her surroundings.
The curse of contradiction. The more you love life, the more you steal it away. If you do not love life, then you will not take it.
I withered trees… killed animals… humans, too… from that fay forth, I didn't step foot into the guild. I wandered aimlessly… and countless lives disappeared around me.
(One year passed)
Zeref appeared, walking towards Mavis who was leaning at the dead tree behind her, her knees drawn up to her chest.
"I've been searching for you, Mavis."
"Zeref…" she said eyes bags surround her eyes.
"Things have been hard, I see…" he stated.
"… I haven't eaten in a half year. but… I cannot seem to die. Such is the curse of ankhsera,. Even if you head were to be cut from your shoulders, you would still live. Please…" she then trembled before looking at him sweating and her eyes dilate.
"Zeref… Kill me…"
"I am not capable… no more than you can kill me. I too was like this, in the beginning. Truth be told, even now I would gladly embrace death were I able to have it. But let us take a step back for a moment and change our perspective. You and I, we now have unlimited time." She look at him, her trembles stopping.
"I've made magical being called the Etherias. Yes… in order to kill myself, I've tired to use powers beyond that of humanity. How it will all play out in the end is anyone's guess. Right now, I'm building a nation."
"Nation…?"
"Not on this continent… but on another, I am moving people, accumulating land… it's actually quite fun."
"First…" Makarov cut in before looking at her, when they made an eye contact, the Grand Master look away and slightly shake his head that went unnoticed to all of them except from the first master, Mavis immediately understood something. A part of the truce was to never mention that Zeref is the emperor of that nation and so she change a part of her story.
"Over there, a friend of mine is the emperor. He's ordering me to gather people and used them nothing more than units… mere pawns. Accordingly, ankhseram's curse does not respond… if I'm merely using that friend and people, it's like I'm playing some sort of simulation game."
"Why, though?" Mavis went to her hands and knees.
"In preparation for a battle… or so he said. Please do not misunderstand me… I don't like or favor conflict. I find it ugly and repugnant. Even the nation-building we're doing now is but ugly territorial expansion. I get no joy out of it, none whatsoever."
"But… didn't you just say how fun it was?" she ask slowly.
"Did I? Really?" he asked his hair covering his eyes.
'Will my thoughts themselves begin to contradict each other too?' she thought and saw how he lift a hand and covered his left eye.
"That is why I live. I live to die. I want to see my little brother… no… I want to break him in two… no I want to be broken in two… hm? What's this? My head… hurts…" and that's when she saw his pain and suffering, his eyes dilate.
'Zeref…'
"This world… continually… rejects me. This blasted world." Mavis then run towards him as he fell down to his knees and hugged him.
"I will not reject you. I accept you." She said tears flowing down from her eyes while Zeref had tears in his eyes.
"!"
"I am the only one who could possibly understand how you feel. Do not give up… we shall find a way to break this damned curse. I'm sure of it. And we shall do it, hand in hand..." she leaned away holding his shoulders and smiled. And then tears flowed down from his eyes.
"…Hand in… hand?" he ask.
"Yes."
"Mavis…" he then give her a sad looked as tears flowed down before he hug her and she hug back.
"No one has ever been this kind to me…" he then trembled.
"No. They have. You've just forgotten.
"And I've never loved anyone this much…" as he finished their words they slowly leaned towards each other sealing their fate and kissed.
The abyss of magic. The beginning of everything. Such is the unifying magic, love. Love makes miracles. And, at times, it also capable of calamities. The love of these two, afflicted with the curse of contradiction… brought forth one final contradiction.
Mavis fell down away from him and a tear drops.
The curse that causes one to steal life the more one loves it… stole away my supposedly immortal own.
After that he brought me back to the guild, walking at the streets calmly.
"You're that black wizard from back then… why are you… wait, is that Mavis you're carrying!? She's been missing for over a year… everyone was worried sick!" Pretch shouted.
"You… are you alone here?"
"Yes… everyone else is off preparing for the harvest festival. I got stuck with the job of master after Mavis ran off." He said crossing his arms over his chest.
"Master? Ah, that's right… this thing… is a guild… I've simply come to return this." Zeref stated his hair covering his eyes and drop Mavis to the ground without care.
"OI! WHAT THE EHELL ARE YOU DOING!? SHE ISN'T SOME DOLL!" the second master shouted.
"This… thing… it no longer moves." Zeref stated, making the former to sweat and look at Mavis.
"!" he then ran and grab her. "Mavis! Are you okay!? What happened!? Are you sleeping!?"
"Yes… she will sleep forevermore…" Zeref answered walking away from them. "Goodnight, Mavis."
"Wh-who in the world are you!?"
"….. Zeref."
"!"
(A/N: the statement below is Zeref's POV so… Mavis didn't tell the fairytail mages about this)
"Well, no… if Mavis is a fairy, then I am an ugly fairy. A spriggan I guess." He said sadly. "I'm tired of all of this. I don't want to see a single soul. That's it… I'll go back to my simulation game. At last in arkitashia, I won't run into any humans. Just pawns. I should have never fallen in love." As he said the last statement, he trembled and tears fall down from his eyes once again. Never."
(Back at the fairy tail guild)
'Zeref…. The infamous black wizard Zeref?!'
"Mavis?! What's the matter!? What did he do to you!?" the second master shouted. "Is she… really dead?" he thought out loud before leaning down to her chest.
'Wait… her heart… it still lives… it's not beating but I can sense a fain magical energy emanating from it… I've got to bring her back! We're still in the middle of renovation, but in the basement of the guild, there should be a lacrima designed for use in resurrection.'
And so my body ended up being sealed within a lacrima. Precht tried every resurrection Magic he could think of, but… every attempt proved futile… and it wasn't long after, that Precht and his genius intellect realized what exactly was going on. I was under the curse of ankhseram.
"Could it be? Were you the one who stole Rita's life? There's no way I could ever tell the other members about this."
And so he decided to keep everything top-secret. Year X697, Precht decied to make it official and announced to the guild that I had died. An empty grave was built on our guild's holy land, Tenrou Island. Tenrou Island was, after all, my birthplace and the place I first met Precht and the others. That same year, Precht officially became the second master. This was in accordance with my last will and testament, made while I was still alive. Precht fulfilled his duties as a master, but on the side, he was pouring his heart and soul into attempting to revive me. Three years later, year X700. Yuri passed away, all the while unaware as to the real cause of his wife's death. For theee following 30 years… Precht continued, diligently, working towards my resurrection. Here, things took a most unexpected turn.
Precht, the genius… his unparalleled knowledge and ability and the semipermanent lifeforce preservation ability my immortal agelessness afforded… the two combined birthed a magic beyond explanation.
"Th…this is… this magic could uproot the very foundations of the magic world…"
(End of Flashback)
"Eternal magic, FAIRY HEART." Mavis ended, shocking them.
"Eternal… Magic?" Lucy asked.
"What in the world…" Erza trailed off.
"As the name implies… Eternal infinite. An inextinguishable font of magical energy."
"What the heck is that!? A source of magic you can use your whole life?!" Gray asked.
"Let me give an example. You all are familiar with the Etherion Weapon. The Former Magic council's super magic that could erase an entire country with just one shot. Fairy heart has enough magical energy to allow infinite firings of Etherion. Well, to say it has "enough" is itself incorrect. It is after all infinite."
"…."
"….."
"…."
"…."
"If such magic were to become known to the world, it really would shake it to its core." Lisanna stated.
"Ivan himself once desired fairy heart. And I know not how it leaked but word of its existence seems to have reached Albareth."
"So Albareth is coming here to steal fairy heart?" Eflman asks.
"But why? They're already plenty strong enough, no?" Mira stated.
"I believe they wish to use it to defeat acnologia. He throws a wrench in every dark guilds plans."
"In other words, without something like fairy heart, we can't defeat acnologia!?" Cana exclaimed.
"No way…" Levy mumbled.
"This may be a stupid question, but… if this magic is so strong why don't we use it to beat up acnologia and Albareth both?" Gajeel asked.
"You certainly have a point. I too, considered using it when we were confronted with all those faces. But even if we were to win a temporary victory with it, there's no telling what would happen next. If …. What if that endlessly pouring rain of etherion could not be controlled…" Makarov explained, while internally he's making sure his children at the Albareth are safe.
"No matter the reason, we cannot affort to set fairy heart loose upon the world." One of the mages shouted.
"Yeah! No Way!"
"I mean, it's the body of the first! We can't just hand it over to someone else!"
"Who would think that a magic born of my sins… would pull all of you in such peril…" Mavis stated.
"It ain't no sin to fall in love with someone. Even I wouldn't arrest you for that." Gajeel stated, shocking the first and making Levy to blush while the others gaped at him.
"ReallY?"
"Stop lookin' at me like that you idiots!?"
"First, please… do not blame yourself." Erza said.
"Yes… this is just the result of a series of unfortunate events." Mira added.
"If it weren't for you, there'd be no fairy tail." Lucy stated followed by Cana.
"Which means we'd have never met each other."
"You're the person that brought together all the people here today. We want to protect the guild that you created. That's why we fight." Gray smiled and then Mavis smiled with relief tears flowing from her eyes.
"It's really become a wonderful guild, hasn't it… first…?" Makarov asked and the atmosphere they had at the moment was gone by a single word.
"Hypocrites!" Romeo shouted, holding Asuka's hand while Gildarts, who was making sure the kids remained quite while he listened, is holding his hand that he use to cover the boy's mouth, burning.
"Romeo-kun?" Mavis asks confused, while Makarov frown.
"All of you are hypocrite." He said angrily, his body trembling while Asuka is glaring at them. "Wonderful guild you say? What is wonderful in your definition!? Does it define about disowning five members of your guild because they seems to side someone else!?" he then glared at Gajeel.
"And you! It's not a sin that you the first fell in love with someone, even though its Zeref and you won't arrest her for that! How hypocrite can you be! When you shunned Natsu-nii for being a brother of Zeref! You didn't even listen to them!" he then look at them before shouting.
"HYPOCRITE! ALL OF YOU ARE HYPOCRITE! YOU CARED SO MUCH TO THE FIRST THAT YOU LISTENED TO HER AND YET… WHEN NATSU-NII AND THE OTHERS TRIED TO EXPLAIN YOU DIDN'T LISTEN, T'S LIKE… YOU DIDN'T CARE ABOUT HIM AT ALL! THIS GUILD…. I HATE THIS GUILD!" he ended before letting go of Asuka's hand and turned to run away, the young girl followed him, agreeing with his statement, leaving them in daze and shocked before the first look at the mages and glared at them releasing a huge amount of dark aura.
"What did he mean about those words?" Makarov and the first ask together making the aura around them so intense. Erza gulped and together with the search party they began to explained, with Juvia explaining everything with hatred and malice in her statement.
(At a forest)
Romeo together with Asuka walk at the forest where their special place is.
"Romeo-nii…" Asuka called out making the said boy to hum in acknowledgement. "If we're going there, they might find out about it and destroy it Romeo-nii-san." She finished to which Rome merely pat her head.
"Don't worry we'll be just staying there for a minute or two." As he said that they both stopped and look at the tree in front of them. They smiled did nothing but stand in front of the tree, listening to the wind as it gently passed them, when the wind pass by them a minute later, they both look at each other, nodding and smiled at the tree before leaving.
"See… it's only for a minute." Romeo said. "This is the only place where we can calm ourselves okay, Asuka."
"Hai!" Back at the tree they were standing in front of is a small wooden desk table that are used for kids just like Asuka's age, four pillars on each corners holding a triangular roof above it. At the desk was a basket of fruit and five pictures frames, the picture of Natsu, Wendy, as well as the others, smiling.
(At the Albareth empire)
Brandish hummed happily while Natsu sighed and went to look for her brothers and sisters, wanting to talk with them about something ever since their ship arrive an hour ago.
"Welcome back, Princess." The guards, who are standing in front of the castle doors, greeted her to which she nodded. As she was about to pass by them she paused and look at them.
"Do you know where my siblings are?" she asked, one of the guards answered.
"Your younger siblings are in the balcony garden and while the emperor is in the meeting hall." She hummed at his answer before nodding and proceeds to where her younger siblings are.
"Um… hime?"
"Brandish, you and Marin head to back to your rooms, I'll report to the emperor all that had happen." She ordered to which they nodded and separated ways when they passed an intersection hallway. Etherias sighed and snapped her fingers before appearing behind Wendy and the others.
"Wendy." She called softly which made them to look at her startled.
"How did you manage to do that!?" Carla shriek after recovering from their shock to which Natsu chuckled.
"Oh Carla, I'm E.N.D, don't think that I don't have new things up in my sleeves." She smiled to which they shake their heads.
"Let's go… I need to talk to Zeref-nii and I want you guys there as well." She then grabs Wendy's hand who grabs Carla's hand and in return Carla grabs Lily's hand while Happy grabs Etherias's other hand and then they left the garden. Their walk towards the meeting hall was silence, an comfortable silent and it didn't take them longer to arrive at the room where their brother is. Etherias, being her, entered silently without permission and look at the occupants of the room, Invel trailing off from his statement.
"….tell them about…. Our plans…."
Silence
Crickets
Tumbleweed?
"Ugh, enough already." Etherias groaned and look at her brother. "I need to talk to you Nii-sama… without the shields of course."
"Of course." Zeref nodded at the Spriggan, which are Invel and August to leave, to which they comply and left the room bowing at the other rulers of their empire.
"So Natsu…."
"Tell me about the fairy heart and what plan do you have for it." She asked straight to the point, while taking a seat beside her brother, happy beside her while Wendy and the others across them. Zeref sighed and began to tell them his history with Mavis, the whole truth.
(30 minutes later)
Natsu, who was leaning at her chest, cross her arms across her chest and look intensely at her brother before looking at her other siblings, who had their jaw drops. Zeref look at his younger siblings' reaction before looking at his blood sibling and blink when he saw his reaction was nonchalantly.
"Nastu?" he asks and made the pink haired mage look at her.
"Hm?"
"Your… not…"
"Why am I not shock like the others?" She finished to which Zeref nodded while her other siblings look at her.
"In other words, nii-sama." She started, rolling her eyes at him and smirked playfully. "I already got used of you having so many secrets that being surprise at something, is no longer my reaction."
"I didn't expect that." He said, before looking at Wendy when she chuckled.
"Well, if that's the case I guess onii-sama will be the most shocked one from now on." She commented to which Zeref agreed at.
"But what is this plan that you're talking about?" Carla asks, to which Zeref then took seriously and look at them.
"At the beginning before everything started… I plan to capture take the fairy heart and used it to annihilate both Ishgar and Acnologia… however due to… the previous events… I plan to change that." He stated looking at how he's siblings took in the news. Wendy and the three exceeds flinch while Natsu merely look at him before sighing.
"You still plan on annihilating ishgar… right?" she asks, to which he nodded hesitantly.
"Nee-san?" Happy asked, which made her to look at him.
"What is it, Happy?" she ask back, the young blue haired boy open his mouth before closing it.
"Why didn't you react that oni-sama is trying to annihilate ishgar?" Lily asked instead.
"It isn't much of a surprise. This is just my thought but for hundreds of years, Zeref-nii-sama has always been alive and was rejected by the people in Ishgar once they heard his name or simple knew him by appearance wouldn't you go hate the people who did that? Even if the people are dead the cycle will repeat itself. I mean… you guys saw how the fairy tail rejected us because we decided to stay with him and didn't give us the chance to explain or to prove that he didn't mean something bad." Etherias said, before standing up and walk towards the window across her. Her siblings watched her as she walk and look outside her hands behind her before she turned and look at them with a serious face.
"Am I right, nii-sama?" she asked smiling right afterwards.
"Your right." Zeref smiled at her before looking at his other siblings. "You guys might think that its just a worthless revenge demo… for me and Natsu it isn't. Nastu may not suffer the same fate as me but he and I are blood relatives, he remembers everything of his past and he knows how much pain of being alone and how I've suffered for being alone adding the rejection. I began to loathe them and plan to have a one-sided annihilation and kill those non-mages… however, with my sanity back, with my sister back at my side and you adding to it… I plan to give them a second chance."
"How?" Carla asks.
"After a few years from now I plan to go back to Ishgar, whether I take you with me or not is yet to be decided. I will see how those people will react towards me if I ever mentioned my name if they react horribly then—"
"And by horribly, you mean when they called you bad names like monster or something, right?" Natsu cut in to which Zeref nodded and continued his statement.
"Then I will no longer give them that chance. However if they didn't then I will ignore them and let them live. But that doesn't stop me from trying to take the fairy heart."
"Why?" Wendy asked.
"I need to use it for Acnologia. I need the fairy heart to annihilate him once and for all."
"Why do you hate Acnologia so much?" Lily asked.
"Because Acnologia whether as a dragon or as a dragon slayer will not stop until he is sure that he's the most powerful dragon slayer there is. He won't stop until he is crown as the Dragon king. And to be crowned as a dragon king he needs to kill all the dragon slayers all over the world, be it the first or second generation."
"You also had a dragon slayer with your army right, nii-sama?" Natsu guessed looking below.
"God Serena." Zeref answered.
"God Serena wasn't he the top 1 in the ten saints?" Carla asks, to which Zeref nodded.
"He is and he is not bother about destroying the Ishgar at all."
"So will you still stay with us?" Etherias asks, walking towards and stand beside her brother. There were a bit of silence before Wendy answered.
"Hai." With a smiled and the other exceeds nodded at them, to which they response with a smile full of relief.
"Arigato." Zeref said.
"Nii-sama… there's something I want to know." Natsu started before sitting at her seat before. They all look at her and noticed how her serious she is.
"What is it?"
(At the fairy tail guild)
The search party brace themselves on their pending doom after having told the Grand Master that had happen.
"Why?" Mavis started, both her and the second grand master look at the floor. "Why and how could you say such a thing? I saw how Natsu and the others cared and love this guild and this is how you repay them." Slowly Mavis began to tremble. "You could have waited for an explanation… wait for them to tell you why… so why didn't you? I'm not saying this I was Zeref former lover… I'm asking you because I saw how he grieved about his dead brother and when they are finally reunited… after he just save Nastu… you went and tried to HURT THEM!?" she then snapped her head and look at them.
"FAIRY TAIL GUILD IS TO CREAT WONDERFUL MEMORIES! THIS GUILD IS CREATED FOR A FAMILY THAT WE LACK OR DON'T HAVE! YOU CAN'T DECIDE A MEMBERS FAITH WITHOUT KNOWING A THING! IT'S THE MASTER'S JOB TO DO SO!"
"First calm down." Makarov said before looking at them calmly but his eyes held fury and sorrow. 'I don't want to believe him at first. But now…' he thought before closing his eyes and opened them once again.
"Did you reflect on what you've done?" he asks softly, all except Juvia, nodded to which he nods back and look at the first who seems to calm down.
"Can we expect that this will never happen again?" she asks, to which they nod again.
"Then we expect you to do so. But don't expect that you're off the hook. Why? Because we lose the youngest members of our guild. Even though we had Romeo and Asuka here with us, they are parting with slowly based on how Romeo shouted earlier… we're slowly parting away from our young family member. Please keep it in mind that the guild will never be the same. If we're back to normal, it won't be the same there will still be darkness within our hearts."
"Hai… masters." They said guiltily, except from Juvia who refuse to speak at all.
(Night time)
Gray sighed as he walk down the streets of their peaceful city missing the times were a certain pink haired mage would bother him for a fight or for merely a walk and yes they can walk peacefully side by side without the other trying to fight the other. As continued down his track he failed to realize that he already passed by his apartment only when did he stands in front of a familiar, yet painful to see, door did he realize his mistake and sighed. He was standing in front of Natsu's old home, reluctantly he turned the door knob and look around. Everything was clean and there are no blood lingering in the floor nor are there any dust, so Gray knew that it was Lisanna who clean the house, expecting a certain mage to come home.
With heavy steps Gray went inside and head towards the bookshelf standing in front of the door filled with books that looks new. Inhaling deeply, Gray reached at one of the book that had their insignia and opened like he did hundreds of times before when Natsu was here, and invites himself over with or without the fire mage's permission and acceptance. He flip the book cover and another page before smiling at what he saw.
Pictures.
Pictures of their time at the guild, the happiness moments, sometimes there are pictures that seems to be sad and obviously stolen, there are also pictures of the places they went to and the scene where they fought to protect their guild.
"You really do have a talent for photography flame brain. I'm surprise you didn't manage to destroy the camera." He said absently, expecting a reply a 'Don't touch my things without my permission bastard!' only to be met by silence. Gray flinch before biting his lip and flip to the last page skipping the other pictures and saw the pictures of their team together Wendy and Carla included. There were drawn arrow figures at the pic stating what they are to the fire mage. Gray fell down to his knees and tears began to fall out of his eyes. The guilt and pain eating him up as he read the sentence on what he was to the dragon slayer.
'My bestest friend'
"Natsu…"
TBC
FOR THOSE WHO ARE FOLLOWING AND FAVORITING AND REVIEWING THIS STORY I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ME! *bows*
MioRiChan : Thank you for reviewing… and here's the chapter you've been waiting for~.
Wind2048 : Yeah… actually I'm thinking this story might last until I graduate from my course so I think this story will keep on going to two or three years, considering my one month and one chapter update. And I never stop my stories… I'm sure there are others who noticed that I rarely update my other stories but… I'm still continuing them no matter how long it takes XD
Lady of Madness : oh this story is yaoi… I'll be a spoiler for a bit… umm at the ending Gray will confess his feelings to Natsu, who already moved on from his experience with the Erebus Valdis. Though it's a slight hetero because Gray doesn't know Natsu was Etherias, who he had a crush on, when they met. And thank you for loving this!
Samantha : thank you!
123Tobby : umm… you okay about Gray x Natsu right? Hehehe… oh and this is the chapter you've been waiting for thank you!
CloudKitty : Thank you!
laxusdrayer2324: Yeah… and Natsu's new start will change their lives.
0FairyTail0: Here's the chapter you've been waiting for I hope you like it.
And there are new schedule updates… I'll be updating every first week of the month so next update will be on July 1st-7th.
I also now have an Archive of Our Own Account in the pen name of *Sane_Allen12345* you can also follow me there.
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