Fiore Kingdom. Magnolia. Y x793

Nashi took the train to Hargeon and tried her best to stay away from Jellal. He could see her at all times, but she was far enough to hide how bad she felt. However, when the next step was a ship to Alvarez, he tried to stop her.

"You're not seriously thinking of going by yourself to the enemy country, are you?"

"Didn't you guys call for a peace treaty after the war?" Nashi inquired and the blue haired man hesitated, "besides, we'll be fine."

"You sound way too confident for someone recovering from terrible wounds," he commented while they boarded the ship, and Nashi immediately sat down and hid her face between her arms, "what, are you hurt?"

"Not hurt," she said through gritted teeth, "I'm fine."

Jellal picked her up and took her inside into a more comfortable room, visibly worried about her injuries. Nashi didn't resist, although she found the kind act rather odd, and let him check her wounds.

"Your injuries seem superficial by now," he said, looking at her.

"I told you," she said, lying down and closing her eyes, "Wendy, the old lady and Lyra did a great job, I'm just still low on energy and magic, that's all."

"And that gets worse while on the ship-" he started, then reality seemed to dawn on him and he looked suspicious at her, "what did you say your magic was?"

She gave him a half smile.

"I didn't," she shrugged, "but you hit the jackpot. I'm not injured, I have motion sickness. I'm a Dragon Slayer."

The rest of the trip went by in silence. Jellal clearly had questions, but he respected that she wasn't doing good with transportation and just waited until they hit dry land. Once that happened, however, she was fully prepared for a bunch of questions.

They didn't take long to begin.

"I thought Dragon Slayers would be extinct," he spoke, "how did you learn that magic in a future with no dragons?"

"We had dragons," she didn't look him in the eyes and her hands traveled to a blue key in her waist. It looked broken, "this way," she motioned towards a trail that seemed to lead to the desert.

"How do you know where to go?"

"I've been to Alvarez in my time, I know my way around it," she shrugged, "it should take us half a day to get there."

"We could have rented a vehicle back-" he started, but then realized what he was saying and stopped, frustrated. Dragon Slayers were certainly strong, but they were also a pain to deal with sometimes.

That girl was thrice as frustrating given her temperament and manners.

They walked until they reached a rocky formation and, within it, a cave. Jellal looked curious at the whole region, taking in the architecture, until the contents inside the cave caught his full attention.

Stuck in two different lacrimas were Mavis and Zeref's bodies.

"So you had to go through with the plan", the havenly magic mage prepared to fight when a woman came from behind one of the lacrimas and spoke to Nashi, "long time no see, little slayer. I knew you would have enough magic to pull this off," she smirked confidently.

"I did it on my own," Nashi said, and Jellal noticed that her voice was colder and sharper than ever. He couldn't see it, but there was a quick flash of pain within her eyes, and Dimaria caught it and her face changed to a somber one. "Did you pull through?"

Dimaria nodded and motioned for them to follow her within the cave. Deeper beyond some rock formations, Jellal froze in shock. Peacefully sleeping were both Zeref and Mavis, each locked in a different lachrima.

"How…" he started, when Nashi moved towards Zeref's prison and touched it. To his surprise, the item seemed to melt under her touch, and she soon did the same for Mavis.

"Oi, maybe leave him-" Jellal started, realizing what the girl had just done. It was too late, and he was breaking free.

Nashi then turned to Jellal, her face more serious.

"I need to tell him the entire truth or I can't convince him to help us," she said to his confusion. Now she cared about what he thought? "Which means you'll hear stuff that you can't tell anyone else. I can't risk having Fairy Tail Distracted by the real story."

He frowned, and then felt a mixt of fear and anger.

"You lied?"

"Not about the war or Ankhseram," she turned towards Zeref then, who seemed to understand where he was and what happened. "Hello there," Nashi said calmly, as if she wasn't talking to the darkest mage of all times.

"What is the meaning of this?" His question was directed to Dimaria.

"I was following orders," Dimaria said.

"I'm your emperor-" he started.

"Not where I come from," Nashi interrupted him and he finally seemed to acknowledge her. "The dead can't rule."

It took a while for her words to register.

"A time traveler," he spoke, raising an eyebrow, "interesting. And Mavis' plan to kill me would have worked then?"

She nodded and he immediately attacked Mavis' lachrima. Before he could try a second attack, however, Nashi held his arm.

Jellal blinked. The speed at which she moved had been unreal.

"I'm sorry," she said, and while he used a dark spell to send her back, it did nothing, "but I need both of you alive, Zeref," she flicked her arm and pushed him slightly away from the lachryma. "I need your help."

As she said that, she touched Mavis' lacryma and it glowed.

Jellal figured she was naive. Mavis and Zeref would just off each other then and there. The first master's feet touched the ground and she looked confused at the pink haired girl.

"Your death kickstarted the end of the world," Nashi said, and Mavis' eyes widened. "So I need you not to kill him and hear me out," she added to the blond.

"Or we can just get rid of you and die. The future doesn't concern the dead," Zeref spoke, but Mavis stepped farther away.

"I know you don't care about life, but I also know she cares about Fairy Tail. And I'm hoping you care about your family - did you or did you not start this whole thing because of your brother?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"So me being a Dragneel is a known fact in the future."

"Not really," Nashi shrugged, and Jellal frowned. "But being Natsu's daughter, I learned about our bloodline from him."

At that, Zeref looked shocked for the first time - and he wasn't the only one.

"You said you're from a hundred years in the future," Jellal said accusingly.

"I lied. I don't think everyone would react well if I told them that they should die in about 10 years and leave their young children to fend for themselves in a dark world. Do you?"

As her words sunk, he felt despair at the idea of Erza dying, and of Meredy, and his other friends too.

"Anyone could claim to be Natsu's daughter," Zeref spoke, but before he finished, she snapped her fingers and a small flame flew towards him.

And burned his hand.

"Unlike my father, who feared and denied his demonic side, I learned to control mine," she spoke, while both Zeref and Mavis looked shocked at the burn mark, "I am the true END, the demon you meant to create and the one who can kill you. I have your science and your blood genetically and biologically imbued into my DNA. As well as full control over Tartaros," she opened one hand and one book appeared: Jellal read the word Deliora. "So my offer to you is this, help us find a solution to save the future. If things go well, it should free both of you from your curses. And if all else fails, I promise you that ten years from now I will kill you."

Jellal stepped back and powered up, tense. Until now, he'd regarded her as a powerful person, at least enough to pull off time travel, but also as someone who had lost a lot of magic and, as such, he could take if need be.

The truth about her lineage and her DNA, however, changed things drastically. She wasn't just a powerful girl, she was as dangerous as one could be.

"So I'm supposed to listen to someone who owes half of her DNA to my creation?" Zeref asked, and Nashi sighed.

"Listen to me because I am telling you that, if you two die, there won't be a world left in the future. And even if you don't care, because I know you can't care, I know you do," at that she turned to Mavis, who still seemed confused, "and I'm hoping that that's enough for you to stand down and help me. Help us."

"H-help you how? I…"

"You are one of the brightest minds the world has ever seen. According to my mom, you two are the smartest people who ever lived," at that, she turned around to face Zeref again, "I have raw power. Me, my friends, we're fighters, and we can handle as many battles as need be, but we can't outlast an endless war lead by an immortal. I need you two to help us figure out a way to defeat the enemy. If you can do it, if you can make it so I can take him down, then I'll do it."

"That's a lot of confidence for someone who needed to come back in time to save herself," Jellal commented, a bit incredulous.

She ignored him.

"What enemy? How is it that our deaths can release some immortal enemy?" Zeref questioned, and she knew she'd reached his thirst for knowledge.

"Because you two are the ones binding it," she revealed, "you both know him as Ankhseram."