Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

It was the next day that Zeref discovered the irony of his discussion with Makarov. He'd been meditating in his room, questioning what to do now that he had a new plan to eliminate his suffering and push off his worries onto someone else for a change. Yet, it was a plan that really left him personally with little to work on. So, the meditation had begun, along with questioning if he should leave Alvarez for the time being, before he grew to be too caring for that girl, and lost his safe haven from the curse.

True, he hadn't believed he would let himself grow too attached, but he still would prefer to be cautious. His future self had been strangely quiet about his latest plans, and Zeref didn't know if that was because he approved or not of what was going on. Regardless, his attention had been pulled away rather suddenly. For the second time, his wards were being tampered with. Yet, at least this time, it wasn't as alarming as Levy's magic, with a skillful manipulation of the circles dictating who could and could not enter. Rather, it felt like someone wasn't even bothering to examine what they were and decided to just beat at them with whatever magic force they had. As a result, it was highly unlikely for them to be successful, yet it was perplexing that another intruder would make such an attempt.

He had planned to ignore it, and let the guards deal with the issue. Yet, a knock came at his door not much later, disturbing him again. With a sigh, he rose to his feet, opening the door. He frowned, seeing Master Makarov shaking his head, running a hand through his balding hair. "I don't know what has gotten into him, but maybe you can talk some sense into him instead."

"Into whom?"

"Natsu." Zeref blinked, his eyes widening. "I thought I sensed his magic, and sure enough, he's right outside, bashing his fists into the air and claiming he's going to burn down your wards. Not like he'll manage, but he won't listen when I tell him to leave things be, and as for his other claims…" Makarov sighed, shaking his head. "I knew that boy was impulsive, but this is just worse. Maybe if you speak with him, he'll let go of this nonsense and leave your empire in peace so I can actually focus on our agreement for a change."

To his knowledge, Natsu had no reason to be here at all. Zeref had ensured that the boy would see him as an enemy; on Tenrou Island, perhaps the shock had made it more difficult to inspire anger, but he'd definitely managed to inspire rage and despair when encountering his brother within Tartaros. "I…suppose I shall see what he thinks he can accomplish, coming to Vistarion."

Zeref moved past the guild master, but found the shorter man following after him anyway. Considering what was outside, he supposed he didn't mind. Natsu was, after all, more of an ally to Makarov than his own, despite being family. As he walked outside, he saw two guards, trying to calm the boy yet remaining inside the ward, as they should for their own safety with a violent intruder. Yet, Natsu was not slowing down, it seemed. As he'd sensed, the boy was just lashing out with fire at the ward, causing little effect in the overall construction and proving that fire and simply having power did not solve all problems.

"I'm sorry. We can't let you pass…"

"Damn it, I'm your emperor's god damn brother! Don't I get some kind of privileges or something for that?"

"He doesn't have a brother…"

"Well, he probably just didn't tell you guys about me!" Natsu glared, and the guards kept arguing. Yet, Zeref had frozen, his eyes wide.

"See? He has this ridiculous idea in his mind that the two of you are related. I don't know if it was his plan to get inside or not, but hopefully you can get him to leave this be for now." Natsu was right, though. Since Zeref had not revealed anything yet, he realized yet another person who must have come to the past.

Natsu looked up, spotting Zeref and grinning, waving over at him. "Hey, Zeref! You gonna tell them to let me in or not?" He…wasn't certain. The dragon slayer frowned, before sighing and crossing his arms over his chest. "Right, you kinda don't like me right now, right? Or, well, it wasn't really clear. Tell you what, you let me in, and I'll fight you like you wanted me to. That's…what you planned for, right?"

It was likely the strangest offering he'd had, coming from an attempt to bribe for entrance into the castle. "You'll…fight me?"

Natsu nodded. "Last time, I actually managed to do some damage." The boy wasn't smiling. He focused on Zeref, before looking away. "Not that I really feel like fighting you now. No, I came to knock some sense into you first. There's no way in hell I'm gonna just sit back and let you use me as some tool to kill you, Zeref. I mean, what sort of a person would that make me?"

This wasn't a conversation to be had where the rest of Alvarez could hear. Glancing at the guards, he nodded towards them. "He can pass. But Natsu, there is no need for the fight." The dragon slayer blinked, before slowly grinning.

"Really? That's great. I guess you aren't as set on that plan as I thought you'd be at this point." Makarov was staring at the two of them, and Natsu seemed to finally notice he was there. "Hey, gramps! I didn't think you'd be here already."

"I…Natsu, what do you even mean with that? And…" He trailed off, glancing towards Zeref. Yet, he'd already begun walking back. Natsu and Makarov quickly followed, and Zeref paused, turning back towards them.

"He isn't wrong, Makarov. And as for how he is even aware of such an event…I imagine you came with Levy as well?"

Natsu grinned, nodding at him. "Oh! So that's why you aren't interested in fighting me. I didn't realize she found you first."

"Just how many of you did she even bring? I…I just can't keep track of this anymore…"

"Oh, not many more. I mean, she sorta needed Dimaria with the whole time rift problem anyway, and she didn't want to tear apart friendships and stuff that formed in the future, so of course Nab and Loke had to come. But Lucy's Loke's key holder, so it made sense to bring her too, and then there was the whole 'don't make Zeref mad with strange actions amongst the generals' thing that convinced the others to come along too. Oh! And Jellal wanted to help, since he's friends with Ultear, so we got him too."

That was at least somewhat informative. It explained some of why he'd noticed strange behaviors as well. Not all of the Twelve had returned, likely since it would only require a small group to help hide Dimaria's actions. If that was all they were doing, maybe he shouldn't be hugely concerned. "Natsu…did you just say Nab was helping?" Makarov was staring at him. Zeref frowned, trying to identify the name. Likely, it was a Fairy Tail wizard. Still, Zeref did not recall seeing notes on him.

"Oh, yeah. Believe it or not, he had the power to put a stop to the war!" Wait…what? A wizard he couldn't even recall the name of had been his undoing in this alternate timeline? Zeref stared at the dragon slayer, who was still grinning. "Well, not just him, but he sorta started it all. Plus, he went on some jobs with me, helped me…" His eyes widened, and he spun around to Zeref suddenly. "Right! We need to get Igneel back!"

He…had no idea what to say to that. "Pardon?"

Natsu nodded, grinning. "Igneel. You know, big dragon, the one who raised me? You brought him back before, so don't tell me it isn't possible."

"Please no. Why are all of my guild members getting invested in black magic at once? I need a voice of reason. Things like this make me glad I don't have to be a guild master anymore in my old age."

"Well, we are going to get the guild back together, but that's gonna happen later. I want to get Igneel back first! Then he can make it easier to get to the Fairy Tail members, 'cus he can just fly us to them."

Pressing a hand to his forehead, Zeref grimaced. "Even if I had an inclination to bring Igneel back to life…it is not something I can manage. Do you even realize how much energy it requires to sustain a dragon?"

"Yeah, that's why you tether him to all of us again." That was mildly alarming, hearing how Natsu knew about the tether. Likely, that meant he was aware of how Zeref's death would affect himself. "Oh! And you said something else about the spell. Something about the one you usually use not working right? I dunno the details, but we needed Jellal's tower to do it…"

"Jellal's…" Zeref trailed off, his eyes widening. "The R-System? I…I actually used it?"

Natsu nodded, still smiling as if that wasn't stunning news. "Yeah, that's what you called it! Well, I guess technically Levy activated it, since you sorta worked too much in altering it beforehand…" She'd already used living magic before. Zeref was starting to get a headache, and was regretting agreeing to meet this intruder.

"Natsu." He didn't care what else the boy had to say. "I am not bringing a dragon back to life. There is no reason to it at all."

"Well, of course there is."

"Further training isn't a good reason, Natsu." That was the only thing he could imagine being on the boy's mind. Right now, Zeref needed meditation again.

"I mean, not that I don't plan on training, but that's not the reason." Natsu crossed his arms over his chest. "We gotta hatch the egg, and you were the one who said we needed a dragon to do it."

An…egg? He'd given up trying to follow what logic this boy had. However, that was when Levy passed them, seeming to be heading towards the dining hall. Zeref moved towards her, lifting his gaze. "Please…just…do something about him." She looked behind his shoulder, seeing Natsu. Her eyes widened, and Natsu grinned.

"Hey, Sis! I was just tellin' Zeref we needed to get Igneel back!"

"You were…" She glanced at Zeref, before shaking her head. "Natsu, now isn't really the time." She wasn't as energetic as before. There was almost something resigned about the way she moved, avoiding looking at Zeref for too long. Had she given up, then? Realized that Zeref could never be the man he had been in her timeline? He didn't know, but if she entertained Natsu for him, he really didn't care. "Come on, I'll talk to you about it while I eat. There's some stuff I gotta get done. Lucy and Jellal are waiting for you in Crocus too, you know."

"Really? Right! I forgot, Lucy was there when I interrupted the Grand Magic Games!" The two of them began to walk off, and Zeref watched. He'd dealt with his brother before, certainly, but never quite like that. It was as if Natsu was friends with him again. In most cases, Zeref would have struggled to be kind and just listen, but Natsu was always different. It seemed like whatever had happened in the future had allowed for the two of them to almost become like brothers again.

"Well, he'll be out of your hair soon enough, based on that." Makarov glanced over at him, frowning. "Are you still certain you wish to go through with this?"

Staring into the dining hall, Zeref frowned. Natsu spoke to him that way, expecting him to behave differently, to be kinder, calmer…more willing to acknowledge their bond. With Natsu, he was starting to realize why Levy insisted he'd be happier, if he avoided the war. "I'm even more certain than I was before." Makarov stared at him, his eyes widening. "My brother…wishes to have a family with a version of myself I cannot fathom becoming…and a dragon I haven't the faintest idea on how to bring back." Glancing over at Makarov, he nodded. "He has those answers, and is the person Natsu was willing to allow into his family. That is the Zeref that deserves to live on, the one that wishes to exist…and if it brings him happiness, then I care not what the cost is for me."

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