Disclaimer: I do not own Fairytail.
Summary: Zeref is a well-known criminal who is sentenced to spend his entire life in prison. Natsu is a young man who has his whole life ahead of him, but who has made a mistake, landing him in prison. And who better to be his cellmate in the overcrowded prison? Zeref of course!
I do not know if this is how prison operates, but for the purpose of the story, this is how it works for now! Sorry if it's unrealistic.
Zeref looked up when he heard his cell door open. "Meet your new cellmate." The officer said, pushing a young man through the doors. Zeref could tell the police officer felt slightly sorry for the man but walked off regardless. Zeref could understand this, after all he was one of the most dangerous criminals in the world. The only reason he had a cellmate was because they were already overflowing as it was. Zeref smirked at the young man.
"Hello." Zeref said in a quiet voice. The pink-haired boy stared at him nervously. "My name's Zeref. Yours?"
"N-Natsu." The boy said, wringing his fingers as a habit.
"And how old are you, Natsu?"
"18." He stuttered. "H-how old are you?"
"22." Zeref said. Natsu sat next to Zeref. "So, what're you in here for?" Natsu sighed and leaned back on the wall. It was clear that Natsu didn't really want to talk about it.
"I'll tell you if you tell me first." Natsu said. Zeref sighed. he hadn't really expected the conversation to go this way.
"Fine. the list goes on for a while though." Natsu nodded. "I'm in here for some theft, some arson, but mostly murder." Zeref said. Natsu gulped, staring at him.
"H-how many?" Natsu asked. Zeref glanced at him.
"Hundreds." Zeref said, unblinking. Natsu stared at him for a moment, and then scooted away slightly. This action made Zeref laugh. He got that reaction a lot. Natsu laughed nervously. Zeref leaned back and sighed. it was unlikely they would talk much after Natsu knew this. "So… what did you do to get in here?"
"I… I'm in here for arson and a little bit of theft. Though, I fortunately didn't kill anyone with the fire, so my sentence isn't too long." Natsu said with a shrug. Zeref nodded and glanced at Natsu.
"How badly do you wish you could get out of this?" Natsu groaned
"Really bad." Natsu said with a sigh. "Unfortunately, there's no getting out of this… right?" Natsu tried. Zeref just smirked and folded his hands together.
"Just how far are you willing to go, is the real question." Zeref said. Natsu blinked at him, his eyes widening.
"W-What do you mean?" Natsu asked skeptically, his voice trembling slightly. Did Zeref mean that he wanted to break out of prison? Wasn't that against the law? Wait… Natsu was in here because he broke the law! What did he care if he broke it one more time? However, because Natsu broke the law was why he was even here discussing this. What did they do to people who broke the law twice? "B-but if we get caught, d-doesn't that mean we get an even longer sentence? I have a girlfriend… she's waiting for me out there! You might not care because you don't have a life, but I do!"
"And if you do escape then you can see her even sooner. And you can be together for longer, am I right? The important thing to ask yourself, is… does the reward outweigh the risk." Natsu bit his lip, thinking harder than he ever had in his entire life.
"I don't know…" Natsu said quietly after a long time. "Does it?"
"You tell me. After all, you're the one with a life." Zeref said smirking slightly. Natsu cleared his throat and glared.
"I didn't mean it like that and you know it!" Natsu cried. It was strange, talking with this man who'd murdered people… but for what? What purpose did that serve. Zeref didn't seem like a psychopath. Natsu hadn't done much research on psychopaths but he'd figured they were supposed to be a little… crazier? Natsu finally sighed and glanced at Zeref.
"What… why did you do it? You must've had a reason for killing people." Zeref stared at him blankly.
"I had a goal. They got in the way. So, I eliminated them." He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Natsu just stared at him for the longest time.
"You can't be serious… that's it?" Natsu said incredulously. Zeref just stared at him and tilted his head slightly.
"I do not understand." Suddenly he smirked. "What's there to not be serious about?" Natsu didn't say anything for a while, genuinely horrified by what he was hearing. Natsu slumped down and said finally,
"I'll think about it."
"Think about what?" Zeref asked, his brows drawing slightly together.
"About breaking out." Natsu said nervously. He rubbed his arms self consciously and then curled up on the bed, his back to Zeref. Perhaps turning his back on a murderer wasn't the smartest thing Natsu had ever done, but he didn't really want to look at Zeref right now.
"Alright. I'll be expecting your answer by the end of the week." Natsu could almost hear the smirk in his voice. Natsu ignored it, closed his eyes, and went to sleep. The next morning Natsu awoke to loud shouts echoing across the prison. He heard several people trying to break up what Natsu assumed to be a brawl.
"Wha's goin on?" Natsu asked, his voice laced with sleep. He flipped over, forgetting his earlier apprehension to look at Zeref after what he'd been told.
"Well, good morning sleeping beauty." Zeref said in the same teasing tone he had the night before. Natsu rolled his eyes and sat up. "So, how did you sleep. The bed is hard the first few nights. But eventually you get used to sleeping on a rock." Natsu yawned and stretched.
"Just how long's your sentence anyway?" Natsu asked. Zeref just gave him that playful smile, however Natsu could tell when someone thought he'd just asked the most obvious question in the world.
"I have a life sentence, obviously. 400 years to be exact, but it's not like I'll be around that long." He gave a quiet laugh. "If I'm on my best behavior my entire life then I might see the world one last time before I die."
"Well then, isn't that enough motivation?" Zeref just blinked at him. then he laughed.
"No. I don't think so. I plan to be as difficult as I can be without getting myself hurt." He said, smirking. "I honestly don't care. There's nothing out there for me. It's better in here." He paused his smile fading slightly. "At least here… I know there's nothing." His eyes traveled to Natsu's and locked themselves there. "At least I know I'm at rock bottom."
"But that's the good thing about rock bottom." Natsu gave him a little grin. "The only way left is up." Natsu pointed to the ceiling. Zeref nodded, his smile returning. Although Natsu saw how forced it was now.
"Yes." He said thoughtfully. "I suppose it is."
"And if you don't want to get out, then why suggest breaking out?" Natsu asked. Zeref stood up.
"I want it." He whispered. Zeref must've seen Natsu's confused look so he elaborated. "I want the world. It's right outside these walls made of iron. It's right there and I can't touch it. They got in the way of that dream."
"Who?"
"My parents. My friends… my girlfriend. They got in the way, so they had to go. No one can stand in my way. I must have it. They were my first victims." Natsu just stared, a new wave of dread creeping up within him. Zeref hadn't killed strangers. He'd killed people who he'd known all his life.
"How could you?" Natsu whispered, disgusted at the mere thought. A small smile crept up on Zeref's face again. he turned to Natsu.
"You know, I get that look a lot. But I don't care." His eyes narrowed. "I never truly liked any of them anyway. My mother was always gone, father also. My friends liked me because I did their homework. My girlfriend… she never truly loved me. You should've heard them. Begging for there lives like they actually mattered." He laughed merrily. "All living things die." He turned to Natsu. "Don't you agree?"
Natsu shook his head, dread in every crevice of his body. Was it even safe for him to be here? "That's the look they gave me. As if they wish I'd never been born. I don't really blame them for feeling like that honestly. I think it's good. If no one cares then it's a lot easier to not care yourself, don't you think?" words failed Natsu. "Do not look so shocked, Natsu. It's rather comical, and I am fairly certain this is no laughing matter. Besides, what's done is done. I can't return their lives. I can't make it alright. You're lucky really." This time, the sentence made Natsu angry.
"Lucky? You truly think I'm lucky? What the heck is wrong with you! I'm not lucky in the slightest!"
"That's what people think. They choose not to see the good of their situation. But once you've hit rock bottom, everyone's lucky now." Zeref said. "I envy you, truly. You have not murdered. No one stares at you like you're an alien. No one hates you… you have someone waiting for you on the other side of these iron bars." Natsu shook his head incredulously. How could Zeref be so insensitive? "Do you know how long it's been since I've spoken to another person? Years I think, years." Zeref sighed and dropped his gaze down to his hands. "Look, I know I'm crazy. People have been telling me this for years. I know I'm a monster. I know I'm a murdering, selfish, monster! I know." He whispered. "Every once in a while, I think about what things would've been like had I not stopped what I never felt… I try not to do that often, as I usually get depressed. but then I realize that it would not have been any better. Pretending to love my mother and father when I felt no such feelings. Pretending to like the friends that used me as their own personal calculator… and my girlfriend, who toyed with my feelings, made me love, and broke my heart. I was going to spare her, actually. I felt that we could rule the world together. I love her… and then I realize I'm wrong because… I don't know what love is. Say, if you could go back in time and change absolutely anything, what would you?"
"I would not have burned the building down, of course!" Natsu cried. "What about you?" Zeref turned to him, a small smile still adorning his features.
"I think I would've killed myself… no, that's not quite accurate. I would've stopped myself from being born at all." He said. And despite the smile, Natsu knew that Zeref was being completely sincere. Their conversation was interrupted when Natsu was taken out of his cell to go to the cafeteria with all the other prisoners. Zeref did not accompany them.
"Don't worry. As soon as we have just a little more room, we'll squeeze you in with somebody else." The officer said. "In fact, we're already going against protocol. Zeref isn't supposed to have much human contact." Natsu nodded stiffly. When Natsu got to the cafeteria he was surrounded by people. He winced at every loud noise and jumped with every crash. He didn't think his ears could survive for two years. Natsu sighed when he thought about having to do something so ludicrous. When Natsu finally got back to his cell he stared at Zeref for two seconds before saying,
"Let's do it." Zeref's smile widened and his eyes sparkled slightly. Natsu could almost pretend that Zeref was the child of the two of them. And if it weren't for the dark flicker of evil to pass through those sparkling eyes Natsu would've believed it.
"That sounds wonderful! I already have a plan of action. I've been working on such a strategy for quite some time." Zeref stood up and heaved his bed aside. There was a tiny hole in the cobble stone where Zeref pulled out a paper and a quill. "I've already drawn a map." Natsu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Number 1, how did you get paper and a quill down here? Number 2, how do you have a map of the place if you haven't talked to anyone in years? And haven't been out of your cell." Zeref's eyes flickered to Natsu's.
"Number 1, I have spies everywhere, even in the guard. Number 2, I said I haven't talked to anyone in years, not that they haven't talked to me." Natsu rolled his eyes at what could be considered, "cheap answers" at best.
"Whatever." He grumbled. Zeref smirked and rolled the map out. Everything was labeled clearly and overall Natsu was fairly impressed with the map. It had a rout marked in red ink. Natsu stared at it. "So, this is the rout we take to get out?"
"It seems you aren't all beauty after all." Natsu found that Zeref sounded strangely disappointed by the fact that Natsu actually had a brain. "Now, all we have to do is wait for the guards to make their rounds. We steal one of their keys and hop right out of here." Zeref smirked.
"You make it sound easy." Natsu said skeptically. Zeref's expression didn't change.
"Have you ever wondered perhaps, that it is not I that MAKE it sound easy, but that the task itself is rather simple." Natsu glowered at the fact Zeref had implied that Natsu was not smart enough to tell whether doing a task was hard or not.
"Shut up!" Natsu growled and crossed his arms. "Whatever, anyway, so we snatch the keys and leave once the guards are gone while taking this path?" Zeref nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes! Wow aren't you so smart!" he exclaimed, patting Natsu on the head like he was some sort of puppy that had just learned a new trick. Natsu actually contemplated whether he should bite Zeref or not. He decided not to. "Come on this will be easy." Zeref said. "Don't look so worried. I promise… we'll get out of here." Zeref said his smile confident and his posture relaxed. Natsu's tense shoulders relaxed and he smiled and nodded, reassured by Zeref's overwhelming confidence in their plan.
So, they waited in silence for the right moment to arise. "I'm coming, Lucy." Natsu thought, ready to do whatever it took to be with her again. even commit the ultimate treason and escape what Natsu knew he deserved.
It was late at night when the guards did their final rounds. There was always one guard by their cell, but Natsu knew they could defeat him. they'd already snagged the keys from one of the oblivious guards. The one that was supposed to be watching them sounded dead to the world. Both boys decided that it was safe.
"Are you ready?" Zeref whispered. Natsu could only mutely nod. Zeref smiled reassuring. "It'll be okay." He said. Natsu hoped that he was right. The cell opened with a soft click and Natsu pushed it open. They'd done the whole, "stuff your pillows under your blankets thing". They wouldn't realize they were gone until the next morning. Natsu, feeling his heart race, was ready to put that stuffy jail cell behind him. he honestly didn't know how Zeref had lived in it so long. They followed the map taking the correct turns. "Here it is." Zeref said his eyes on the door.
"Shouldn't it say exit?" Zeref snorted.
"Why should it?" Natsu wasn't sure. So, he shrugged off the odd nagging in the back of his head that something was off and pushed the door open. The lights were bright, and it took Natsu several seconds to register that they were not outside but in another room. Not only that, but the room was full of guards. Natsu started to immediately panic. Had they taken a wrong turn? Natsu glanced at Zeref his heart beating so fast Natsu thought it might burst out of his chest. But Zeref still had that serene smile on his face. That was not what Natsu had been expecting. He'd expected Zeref to look terrified and panicked as he did. Natsu frowned slightly. The guards all turned to them. It took them a few seconds to register, but once they did they had their guns raised.
"ON YOUR KNEES!" one of them shouted. Natsu just stood there like a deer caught in headlights. Zeref laughed as he took out a gun. Natsu's eyes widened further. Where had Zeref gotten such a thing? He aimed it with that smirk on his face. "DROP THE GUN AND GET ON YOUR KNEES!" the same man shouted.
"My companion and I are trying to escape." Zeref said coolly. Natsu's head hurt, he didn't understand. "Now," Zeref shot one of the men in the head. "Let us go." Natsu heard the click of the gun even from across the room. The guard was going to shoot them! He turned frantically to Zeref. But Zeref's expression hadn't changed. Instead he looked at Natsu. Upon meeting his gaze Zeref's expression turned slightly sorrowful and he said, "Death is unavoidable." Then Natsu felt searing pain all over his body. He gasped and fell over, curling into himself, screaming. Everything hurt, everything seemed far away. Natsu's vision blurred.
"Why? I thought… you wanted… the world." He gasped. He turned his head slightly and his eyes contacted Zeref's. Zeref's eyes were duller than they'd ever have been. Blood covered him. Natsu felt so betrayed. Zeref had known. He had purposely led them this way because he knew that they were going to die! Zeref wanted to die. That was the only reasonable explanation. There was not any other reason as to why Zeref would be so unaffected by all the events that had happened. Natsu felt tears gather in his eyes. Why had he trusted Zeref? How could he have trusted someone who murdered his own family?
"This is the world. Death. Now I have it." Natsu gasped painfully. His vision was going black, but he had to try one more thing. One more thing to help Zeref see that what he did was wrong.
"You… promised… we'd escape." He whispered his hand going limp. This time Zeref gave him a small smile.
"We did."
A/N Here we are, another chapter that's not a holiday special! This one made me tear up a little, the last lines get to me. Anyway, for this story I had pretty much always planned for it to end badly, but it originally it wasn't supposed to happen like this. At the very beginning I had one scenario where they escaped and lived happily-ever-after... yeah, that wasn't doing it for me. So, I decided next, that one of them escaped. Zeref, obviously, because Natsu's adorably gullible. Zeref betrayed Natsu and used him merely to escape, leaving Natsu to the police to either die, or get sent back to prison. But, in the end, they both died and I didn't like it, but I kept it because it tugged at my heart-strings. Anyway, I hope you like this and next time I update I'll have a holiday special for you! I think I'll do two because the one I'm updating literally has like, no plot, and is just for laughs and ridiculousness. So, I'll see you guys soon, as always, reviews/favorites/follows are always appreciated. Thank you guys who have read or supported this story, or both! Thank you so much. Bye!