"Natsu…" Erza trailed off as she looked at the Dragon Slayer with wide eyes. Natsu was similarly caught off-guard, as he'd spaced out and hadn't been able to 'save' the scarlet knight from this mess…

'Damn it… Mira, you're pushing things too far!' Natsu raged internally, but kept a calm composure on the outside… Well. Tried to. His shoulders might've been a bit stiff, and his jaw clenched ever so slightly while his eyes conveyed the panic he was feeling.

On Erza's end, her mind was working to puzzle this all out. Jellal had approached her in regards to some training. He recommended she bring her Flame Empress Armor along with some of her more durable sets; he'd said that he had some new Fire Magic to try out beyond those Flames of Rebuke, but reflecting on it… That'd been suspicious of him. Fire Magic wasn't really Jellal's specialty.

Alas… like the weak-willed woman she thought she was, the scarlet knight hadn't questioned the blue-haired Heavenly Body mage, and had instead allowed her mind to wander… To what, you ask? Well… Of course she ruminated on the Pyro she'd been avoiding. Dusting off the Flame Empress Armor simply had that effect on her psyche. Fire or anything related to it would at least spring his visage to mind when he wasn't around.

And now here they were. Funny how a little misdirection from her boyfriend resulted in the situation she'd been doing her utmost to avoid. She was just… frozen. Stuck. Unable to tear her eyes from Natsu or even move her lips to say… anything beyond his name.

'Some Guild Master…' Erza thought despondently to herself. She hated being so weak that she couldn't get over her own fears and anxieties.

Of course Natsu was the first to recover from the initial shock. Erza mentally kicked herself for forcing Natsu to do everything himself… It wasn't ri…

"Erza…" Natsu sighed tiredly as he observed the same panic in her that was in him. Damn it all, they just weren't ready yet. Why did Mira have to go forcing the issue? That was never a good approach. This wasn't one of those cheesy romance novels that she occasionally read. They weren't… Well, okay, Erza didn't love him. Not like that. And Natsu was trying to get over those feelings anyway. If anything, it was the opposite of a romance novel… whatever that was called. He shook his head sluggishly. "… I'm sorry, Erza. This is my fault. If I hadn't zoned out… Hell. If hadn't bought Mira's lie, you wouldn't be stuck in here with me, and I could get Freed to let you go… It's my fault."

Erza's eyes widened further as Natsu predictably took the blame for this. It was so like him to do that. That wasn't what she thought at all! Sure, it was uncomfortable to be facing this now, but…

"N-Nat… su…!" Erza mentally cursed herself as her mouth failed her again. Damn it! Why wouldn't the words just flow from her lips?! There was so much that needed to be said!

But nothing came, and Natsu just went on talking. His shoulders slumped in defeat and resignation.

"… You don't have to say anything." Natsu tried to reassure the redhead as he averted his gaze from hers. He wanted with all his heart to reconcile with Erza, but not if it made her uncomfortable. He turned to walk away from the Rune wall keeping them in on this side; if they were boxed in, he could at least make Erza's stay bearable and go to the opposite end. "Let's just wait Mira and Freed out. They can't keep us here forever."

This said, Natsu dejectedly walked off. Erza tried to call out to him, move to follow him, but her body just wasn't responding, and she hated it. She really was a terrible person for not being able to comfort Natsu of all people.

"D-Damn it…" Erza cursed under her breath as she took a shuddering breath and raised a clenched fist to her chest. She couldn't bring herself to follow him… not yet. And it made her loathe herself all the more.

Mira narrowed her eyes as she watched Natsu break off from Erza. The scarlet knight remained rooted in place, and it was pissing her off.

"Go after him…" Mira seethed, but of course Erza didn't hear her. She was too wrapped up in her own doubts, and she and the others watching weren't close enough for the Guild Master to hear them. There were about five of them watching this… Mira didn't even know if she could describe this scene with one word. 'Crap' might be a good start, but it didn't adequately cover all of her frustrations at seeing this. She growled furiously. "Erza, you're a fucking coward."

Freed sighed breezily at the silver-haired barmaid's blatant anger.

"I understand your frustration, but you are forcing the issue here… I wasn't expecting results to begin with when you approached me with this request."

Mira scowled as she continued to watch. Of course she was aware this wasn't the best method for going about reconciliation between the two, but she was fed up with Erza standing idly by. It was so stupid. Scarlet had really become a shell of her former self.

"I have a feeling Erza will come through." Jellal spoke up calmly, which garnered a huff from the Takeover mage.

"She had better, or she won't like the consequences." Mira muttered acidly. Jellal could only smile wryly at the Takeover mage's clear threat; he was all for helping these two friends get over their issues, but he didn't much care for Mira's hostility toward Erza. It should be enough that Erza feels contrite. As a courtesy, they should be patient with her; it wasn't that long ago that Jellal used to think he would never be able to atone for his past. Sometimes he still wondered if ridding the world of Zeref and Acnologia had been enough 'atonement'. That was why Jellal could cut Erza some slack.

However… Just as Jellal was defensive of Erza, the azure-haired mage could understand Mira's position as well. Natsu was dear to her heart, and seeing him in pain was not something she could accept. Jellal was much the same when it came to Erza. If the roles were reversed, and it was Natsu who brought Erza such grief, Jellal had little doubt he would be breathing down Natsu's neck. The Heavenly Body Magic user's smile turned genuine at this thought. It was too ludicrous to even entertain a reversal in roles; despite their differences, he and the Dragon Slayer both loved the scarlet knight too much to willingly bring her heartache. And that was just one reason to encourage Erza to reconcile with the man that had done so much for them both.

Jellal was jolted out of his thoughts by Erik, who sounded none too thrilled.

"I can hear it. It's making a lot more noise than it usually does…" Cobra regarded Mira and Freed with a warning glance. "You should really undo the Enchantment. I can guarantee you're not going to like where this is headed."

"Is it really that bad…?" Meredy asked nervously as she looked between the skeptical Mirajane and the grim-faced Erik. Cobra shrugged neutrally, though Mira seemed less concerned than the pinkette.

"You won't even tell us what has you so troubled!" The silver-haired barmaid pointed out. She didn't miss how his eye drifted over to Jellal for the briefest of moments.

"… I have my reasons." Cobra muttered with a bit of frustration mixed in his tone. Truth be told, Cobra knew for a fact that Jellal at least had his suspicions; what he didn't want is to confirm said man's suspicions. Jellal was a tangled mess of 'unresolved issues'. Zeref and his empire was taken down, but Jellal wasn't the one to do it. Now, admittedly, Jellal had gotten over that. Natsu was the guy to finish off the Black Wizard; that had put the Heavenly Body Magic user at ease. Nevertheless, the azure-haired mage was still feeling guilt gnawing at him. He'd done so many terrible things, and he hadn't even been able to make a meaningful contribution to the fight against Zeref. Neinhart, August, Jellal hadn't been able to defeat any of their major opponents. He'd desperately wanted to – it was one step on his road to redemption – but he came up short. He had to leave it to Fairy Tail.

Well, there was one more 'enemy' that was unaccounted for, even after the war wrapped up. The strongest Demon that Zeref had ever created. Very few people were in the know about END's identity, Cobra included because of his impressive Sound Magic picking up that tidbit of information. Team Natsu had politely requested Cobra keep it under wraps, if only for Natsu's sake. They didn't assume their Fairy Tail family would reject the Pyro for having a dark secret about him; Gray might have reacted violently to the revelation, but that was because he was struggling with… issues at the time. No, they feared of too many people knowing about END and letting the news circulate outside the Guild. Who knew what kind of self-righteous psychos would try to put a hit on Salamander (END to them) just 'cause he was alive and kicking? It was really best to minimize how many people knew about that part of Natsu's identity.

Of course, sweeping that secret under the rug had the unfortunate side effect of most people not knowing where END was, or if he was even alive. Under most circumstances, that was alright; most people didn't care to go on 'one last Demon hunt' to finish the job. One exception was… Jellal. Consider it his self-proclaimed last opportunity to make amends for the sins of his past. He couldn't do anything against Zeref's empire, but if he could find this 'Demon', Zeref's purportedly greatest creation…

… You can see why Cobra was less than thrilled to be having this conversation right now. The Poison Dragon Slayer could hear the voices in Natsu's head; END might've been part of his being, but it by no means made up the whole. END is not Natsu Dragneel, but Natsu Dragneel is END. And, boy, does that sound as confusing as hell. Main point to take away from all this… It was going to be a train wreck. Cobra opened up to Meredy as a small consolation to himself, but he knew he was going to have to restrain the Heavenly Body Magic user if worse came to worst. Cobra hoped Jellal would see reason, but if END attacked Erza...

It just didn't paint a pretty picture.

"Well, she's moving in the direction of Natsu, at least." Freed muttered, drawing everyone's attention as there was finally movement on the scarlet knight's part. And out of all the reactions to this, Cobra's was the most troubled.

"Here we go…" The Dragon Slayer grimaced.

When Erza located Natsu again, the Dragon Slayer was lying on his back on the grass at what was presumably the opposite side of their… prison. She'd Requipped out of her Heart Kreuz Armor so that she could be more comfortable, though understandably she still felt quite nervous and anxious. The pink-head's eyes seemed to be focused on the clear blue skies above, but the redhead was able to catch a flicker of his eyes that panned over to her for the briefest of moments. He didn't say anything to rebuff her, so Erza took it as at least a reluctant acceptance for her to approach him.

Sitting on the grass a few feet away from him, in a kneeling position, Erza took one more moment to gather her thoughts. Then, she closed her eyes; and when she reopened them she began to speak as calmly as possible.

"I meant what I said before, back in my office before you went off on that Quest… We really do need to talk, Natsu." Erza sighed somewhat sadly as the pink-head maintained his silence. He was listening, that much she could tell, but… He wasn't going to initiate this. She had to be the one to do it, and that was fair. "I… Procrastinating has gotten us… me nowhere. I appreciate you trying to spare my feelings, but I can't watch you continue to hurt yourself anymore… Natsu, I'm… sorry for distancing myself from you. I don't know how I got so complacent. I really can't apologize enough for hurting you like that. I want to go back to the way things were, back when we were just Guildmates. Family. It's taken me this long to realize there's been a void in my heart without your usual upbeat self, and I'm ashamed to have not noticed it sooner.

Erza took a deep breath before tacking a plea onto the end. It was all she could think to say, in the here and now.

"I would… I would like to start over as friends. I don't deserve it, but I'd be happy if you at least considered it…" The scarlet knight froze as Natsu sat up slowly. For some reason, a shiver traveled up her spine, and only when his eyes panned over to her again did she realize why. His eyes were pinpricks, and with that crooked, toothy grin he now bore, Erza could tell his teeth were sharper. Not to mention his hair angled up at the tips now, and there were black markings that went from his biceps down to his fists.

Erza hadn't seen Natsu like this, except for… that one time… when he had been fighting Gray…

"That was a touching speech, Titania! … One problem. The idiot didn't hear a lick of it." Natsu's twisted grin became downright malicious as he stood up and towered over Erza, though he made no move to get closer to the scarlet knight.

Erza narrowed her eyes at the change in Natsu's persona. This definitely wasn't the Natsu she'd battled alongside, the Natsu she grew up with. Whatever had taken him over, it felt far more dark than Natsu could muster. She knew what that had to mean, but… How?

"Are you END?" Erza asked suspiciously. She received a simple nod in return.

"So you do remember. Funny how you remember little old me, but you forget the idiot's existence beyond mission reports and all that official nonsense." Natsu's malicious grin dropped into an irritated scowl before the Demon shook his head agitatedly. "It doesn't matter anymore, I suppose. You made your bed, now you gotta lie in it."

As Natsu – or rather, END – began to turn around and pace, he whipped back around and shot a tiny black fireball just inches from Erza's position, having detected a Magic buildup for a Requip.

"Uh-uh." END wagged his index finger chidingly at the scarlet knight. "We'll get to that in a bit, but first we gotta have that talk you wanted so bad. You had your turn, now it's mine."

Clasping his hands behind his back, the Demon began to pace back and forth. Eventually, he came to a stop and turned on his heel to face Erza again.

"Do you know… the pain this idiot has gone through because of you?" As Erza opened her mouth, END flicked a black fireball a few inches to her right again. "Shhh. You spoke, now you listen. The idiot might have put up with you pushing him around, but not me. It's your turn to heel. As I was saying… I don't think you understand the gravity of your betrayal."

END gave a twisted smirk again as he chuckled darkly at the face she made at his word choice.

"Heeeh… Of course you wouldn't understand. Why would you? You got everything you wanted. Despite everything that idiot did to secure your life and happiness, you always went back to the guy that took both those things away from you in the first place! You had to 'reform' him! Even after everything he did – slaughtered your fellow slaves, turned your friends against you, and killed the one that never stopped believing in you!" END did not falter in his intense stare even as Erza sprang up and move in to slap him. He caught Erza's wrist and leaned in tauntingly, pinning her other hand to her side so that she wouldn't get any 'ideas'. "Does the truth hurt? I can promise you it has nothing on the sort of pain that idiot's gone through on your behalf. Like I said, though… you just don't understand. Ohhh, but you will. Freed made sure of that, didn't he?"

Sensing the scarlet knight attempting to attack with her legs, END stopped her kick's momentum and kicked her in the ribs for good measure. Only when she was hunched over did he release her hands and back away with a taunting smirk on his lips.

"To think that idiot was gonna just 'forgive' you and move on! You try and attack us for stating the simplest of facts. He hasn't learned a thing after all these years!" END shook his head ruefully and started pacing again. When he stopped again, he tapped his temple. "But now that I'm gaining ground again due to that delicious explosion we gorged on, we're gonna do things my way. No more silently suffering. No running away with the tail between our legs. We've run into a rut because of shitty decisions like that! I'm just gonna come out and say it, 'cause that idiot would take this info to his grave otherwise… We've always hated Jellal Fernandes. Not just me, but that idiot you grew up with. 'I' might have known him less than the idiot did, but you have to admit that it's ironic that the first time I began to stir in the back of that idiot's mind was the first time he encountered and battled Jellal."

END chuckled as Erza frowned and her brow furrowed.

"Goes against everything you assumed, doesn't it? You thought the idiot had come to accept Jellal – not just as an ally, or a Guildmate, but as a friend. I bet you never stopped to think the only reason he tolerated the blue-haired bastard was because of you. He wanted to respect your wishes of reforming the guy, he wanted to accept him as an ally. But deep down he just couldn't. Oh, he tried to interact with the bastard as little as possible, but in the end… it all comes back to you." END strode forward and leaned into Erza's face mockingly. "You kept getting close to the bastard. Even while we played nice, your one-track mind was hung-up on that blue-haired emo, and surprise-surprise, he dragged you down into his depression. You're both stuck in the past, even now, and that's precisely what the idiot wanted to help you avoid."

END straightened back up and shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly. He gestured at himself.

"But what do we know about love, right? Clearly you and Jellal have more history. He must need you a helluva lot more than Natsu does, too." As he expressed this sarcastically, END shook his head again and pointed accusingly at the scarlet knight. "I will repeat myself one more time: You do not understand what you put that idiot through. You think he wants a do-over? Fuck that! That's the last thing he wanted! That year of distancing yourself really must've screwed with your head, 'cause you have really lost your bond if you seriously believe that crap. You cannot give that idiot what he wants. You literally cannot. I'd leave you to puzzle it out, but you'd only twist the knife in some more, so I'll spell it out."

The Demon strode forward again until he was standing a little to Erza's left. When he spoke again, it was scarcely above a whisper, and the four words rendered the scarlet knight speechless.

"Natsu Dragneel loves you."

Author's Note: Another cliffhanger, I know. I wanted to get into it more than I did, but… I dunno why the angst is hitting a roadblock. Sure, part of it is that I can't go lengthy periods writing really angsty stuff like this, but I had the gist of this scene mapped out in my head a month ago. Writing it was the hard part. Uuugh…

Good news? The scene concludes next time with a fight. Well. It won't be much of one, but you'll see what I mean. I hope to focus more on some Natsu x Mira next chapter, 'cause Natsu is simply going to need the comfort. This kinda thing is like tearing off a bandaid and finding that the wound still needs time to heal. It's not gonna be fixed instantly with END's callous way of 'revealing the truth' to Erza. On top of which, we'll have some added tension with Jellal, so… yeah…

At least Cobra and Meldy are in Natsu's corner, ne? About the only one missing in that corner is Erza, but she's going to be reeling for a bit… I suppose in part, END's rant here is also my mouthpiece so-to-speak in regards to the Jerza pairing. I've spoken out against it at length on Tumblr and with various authors on this site here, and I just get this dreadful feeling we'll be seeing that Blueberry rise back up to protect Erza-chan and Wendy against Acnologia. If my intuition is wrong this time, I'll pleasantly be surprised. … Best to brace myself, though. ^^;

Rest assured, the plan's still to pair Jellal up with Meldy at the end of it all. Even if I give him a hard time in the next few chaps, I'm still against the pairing and not necessarily the character. Might not be my fav character… hell. He might as well be close to the level of Danzo from the Naruto series in my book – and that's low on the totem pole. Still not gonna bash him, though. I have my standards.

Last note for now – I will consider at least bringing Ultear back through some means. She doesn't have a huge significance in the plot of this story from my POV as the author, but I suppose that doesn't mean I can't at least resolve her. I'm letting Jellal still find peace in the end, so I don't see why Ultear can't experience the same as well. Far more worthy of the 'redemption' in the canon plotline, in my opinion, but ahhh, Mashima does love his Blueberry. :P