Grass snapped beneath Natsu's feet, so dry that it crackled as he walked through a forest he didn't recognize, to a destination he didn't know, by the light of a moon that wasn't truly Earthland's. The trees all around were twisted and dead things, their limbs arthritic, knotty and uncooperative. They grabbed his clothes, pulled through his longer than ever hair, scratched his skin. The sensations were so very real. He told himself he was dreaming; how could that be so when his skin broke and blood leaked out, hot and wet? Every step taken meant the cold in his hand grew. As did the scales, so they weren't just restricted to his palm, but moved to his knuckles, and his wrist. The pressure he felt from beneath his skin was also very, very tangible. Something was trying to scratch its way out of his body. Something that grew more agitated with every step he took. Something that found its origins inside the fissure Zeref had torn into his heart when they gathered outside of the old guild hall.

Like the world's darkest flower, the nighttime forest opened to a meadow choked with rushing grass. Pushed together by the breeze, the long reeds were forced to sing a haunting melody, one that clung to his mind. The path he walked forced him toward a winding river. Looking at the rippling surface, Natsu thought maybe this was familiar. A dream within a dream visited his lethargic mind. Sitting on a blanket with Zeref, hearing the quiet water trickle by. The grape juice that made his lips sticky. The way it slid down his throat. And came back up. The beginning of the sickness that stole his life away and put these events in motion. It's not the truth. His protests were thinner than ever.

A huge crooked oak came into view, bark corked and whirled and crisped at the up-curved edges. It too was barren of life, its branches long since sterilized by an unforgiving force. Against the monstrous carcass, Zeref leaned. On the ground, his back against the tree, a loose fitting toga on his body, he stared at the black sky as if it would reveal a (secret) star. It didn't look as though it was in the business of telling tales, secret or not.

"Sit with me, Natsu." Zeref didn't even look at him.

Natsu made a fist and said the right words, even if he didn't feel them. "No. Get up and fight me. We'll settle this now, and you'll stop invading my dreams."

Zeref's dark lashes came to rest against his cheek. "Not here."

"Not here? What the hell does it matter where we are?"

Zeref maintained his stance. "This place wasn't meant for fighting. Come on. There will be plenty of time for that later. Sit with me. Let me pretend to be the brother you need."

Natsu felt his dreaming self falter. Brother. His heart hurt, missing something he didn't ever remember having.

Zeref said, "I've missed you, too. Sit, Natsu."

Natsu's legs did all the moving for him, bringing him in to the meadow the rest of the way, coming to the empty spot at Zeref's side. Yet, Natsu's knees remained locked, keeping him upright. He looked at the dark mage, at his brother, and wasn't quite sure what he was doing. What either of them were doing, honestly. He wasn't sure of a lot of things. What to believe. His chest still hurt from Zeref's demonstration. Any rendezvous with Lucy wasn't going to totally mitigate that. "Answer me honestly, no bullshit, is it true?"

Zeref cracked an eye. "Is what, exactly?"

"Everything you showed me. Is it true?" Natsu didn't know why he was asking. Everything in his head was telling him Zeref was a liar. His heart… well, that was another matter. He fingered the scales on his palm absently.

"I haven't lied to you," Zeref said, "Unless you count the visions I showed you in an attempt to break your façade, but those weren't lies exactly, they were more so an inevitability, if you didn't realize who you truly were. Everything else was undisputed fact. You are my little brother, Natsu Dragneel. You died when you were young from an incurable disease. At great cost to us both, I resurrected you. It was both the best decision of my life and the worst. I spend every day regretting it, yet thanking the gods that we had the time we did."

Natsu struggled to find cracks in Zeref's story. "Why did Igneel raise me then?"

"I asked him to, Natsu."

That wasn't good enough. "Why would he ever do that?"

Zeref's dark brow went up. "The dragon and I met while I was collecting herbs for my research. We became friends. After your illness… your mind was a blank slate; everything was gone. Even things like morality were lost on you. Igneel saw I was struggling to teach you everything you needed to know. One day he offered his wisdom and patience. Because I could do nothing but torment myself… I left you with him, thinking you'd be better off. And I was right. He treated you like a son, even after he learned what I was… what you were."

Natsu's chest ached. For Igneel. For Zeref.

This time, when Zeref rolled his head on his shoulder and said, "Sit," Natsu did, lowering himself down against the trunk of the oak. Steps ahead, the river trickled by. Eternal. Persevering. Everything Natsu felt like he was not.

Zeref tugged at dead grass. "Mother used to get angry with me if I took you out here and stayed past sundown."

"Did it happen often?" Natsu clamped his mouth closed, not sure why he asked.

Zeref's smile was sad with reminiscence. "Every day that it was warm enough, when I wasn't busy in school or... visiting with Valentina." He got quiet. "It's been years, but it still pains me bitterly." Silence, then: "Long after she passed, there was another. You think I would have learned, but the heart... it does what it wants. It was even worse with her... I knew what was coming as I held her, but I just couldn't stop falling in love."

"She died?"

Zeref sighed. "In a way, yes."

Natsu didn't know if he should say 'sorry' or not. How long had it been? Did he love this other as much as he did Valentina? Did it matter exactly how much a person loved, as long as they loved at all?

Zeref saved him from his circular thoughts. "I think we were always doomed, Natsu. The Dragneels, I mean. Tragedy has followed us. Even before you got sick and I tampered with the laws of nature."

It was weird hearing his name like that, like he was part of a family. Fairy Tail is the only family you need. Yet he couldn't deny that he liked the way Zeref said that. He pushed the thought aside. "Why do you say that?"

The other man shrugged. "Just… things, one after the other. Recessions that left us hungry. Father seemed to always have to work, but we were never any further ahead. And then there was the accident at the mill. That's why mother insisted I became a scholar. She didn't want me to have to work so hard like Father did. She didn't want me to get hurt. And then you got sick. Mother used to say we were cursed from the moment the gods lay eyes on us. Sometimes, at night, she'd whisper it was because they were jealous. Maybe they were? Who am I to say? Before he died, Father would tell her it was that hubris that brought their wrath and made us all so unlucky. I'm more inclined to believe him. Men are not gods, Natsu, nor are we in their envy." He waved to himself. "And this is what happens when we forget that. Eternal misery. I just want it to end."

While Natsu tried to think of something to say, Zeref shifted so their shoulders just barely touched. Natsu stiffened, wondering if he should move, but the contact seemed to relax Zeref and it was a catching state. You're enemies. Don't forget.

In the waking world, he rebutted. In here... no one knows any different.

Zeref said, "You have a great deal of heartache in front of you, Natsu, and for that I'm sorry. I wish things could be different."

Natsu looked at Zeref from out of the corner of his eye. The man was eyeing the river, a faraway look on his face. "What do you mean?"

Zeref's shoulders fell. "You're going to lose an awful lot before this is done."

"I will?"

"Yes. The people you love will hurt."

Lucy. "No. I won't let anything happen to them."

Zeref puffed out his cheeks. "The only way to stop it is to remember who you are. As we speak, those loyal to me are doing everything in their power to draw out END. They want to kill the rest of your guild mates. I… I even made that order, told them they had free reign, if it came down to it. Even though I knew it would hurt you."

Natsu got cold, thinking not only of Fairy Tail being picked apart one-by-one, but also the artificial memory of Lucy getting mauled and violated by the pink haired demon. It was like ice in his veins. There was the rage he was looking for. "Tell them to stop."

"I cannot."

"Why the hell not? They're yours, aren't they? They obey you?"

Zeref shook his head. "It's not so easy. The humans would, but my demons... they're trapped executing my will. Even if I said the right words, they'd know my heart's desire and they would never stop until my wishes were fulfilled. That's what it means to be a demon of the Book of Zeref. Free will is an illusion. Even you, Natsu, will experience that loss as soon as you become END."

Natsu was singular in what he heard, blurring out the end of Zeref's words. "Sounds to me like you just don't want it to stop." Of course not. The relaxation and brotherly affection that had been building went up in a cloud of smoke.

"I guess not, no, not deep down inside. I'm tired of this existence. I'm tired of the mistake I made. I'm tired of having everything I love die. Can you begrudge me?"

Yes. Because no one was more selfish than Zeref. No. Because everything deserved the mercy of death. "This is bullshit."

Zeref didn't deny. "As we stand now, on our current course of action... everyone you love will perish. Your Master Makarov was the first to pay the price."

The world slowed. "Master?"

Zeref nodded. "He passed early yesterday morning. His body was returned to Magnolia. To his guild." Then the dark mage did the improbable, turning and gathering Natsu in a tight hug. "I'm sorry."

With his chin resting on Zeref's shoulder, Natsu only blinked torpidly, not sure of what to do. His first response was to stand; his legs were jelly. The next course of action was to push Zeref away. His arms wouldn't cooperate, either. At a loss and mostly paralyzed, he fell back on denial. It would always carry him; until it became too weak. "You're lying. The old man would never let you kill him."

"Let? No. He caused a great deal of damage before he met his end. Half of my castle was destroyed, and the majority of my marching force. He was formidable. But absorbed. He didn't think about protecting himself, Dimaria tells me. He was focused on protecting his family. Selflessness and the means to die… I envy him."

Natsu didn't know when through Zeref's spiel he believed the dark mage, but the knot in his throat was undeniable. Apparently, denial was an unreliable friend. "It can't be."

Zeref's arms tightened. "His body is being burned at the guild hall as we speak, a show of respect for your fallen. I'm sorry. It hurt me to learn that."

Natsu still couldn't pull away from Zeref. He was stapled in place in horror.

Zeref continued. "After Makarov... who knows who will be next? Lucy Heartfilia seems like a logical choice to keep the body count low. You're deeply attached to her. I'm not the only one that thinks her death will push you over the edge."

"Don't touch her." Natsu's voice wasn't nearly as strong as he would have liked. That thing living in his chest was pushing that fissure wider and wider, inviting a paralyzing coldness to seep up from the depths and envelop his body. Soon it would crawl out, and it would never want to return.

Zeref fisted his hand in Natsu's shirt. "Then remember who you are. I only want one thing, Natsu. I want to die, and you're the only one that can grant me that wish."

Natsu stared out at the pitch black night, numb beneath the surface pain. "You said I'd die, too."

"Yes."

I don't want to die. He did want this to end, though. He wanted everyone he loved to be safe. "Stop attacking Fairy Tail and I'll gladly give you what you want." Really? Yeah. Really. His lungs felt small with fear. Dying doesn't have to be scary. He already got what most people didn't: the knowledge of how it was going to happen. Whenever he felt brave enough to do it.

Zeref's responding sigh could be felt through Natsu's shirt. "I appreciate the sentiment, but you have no way of waking END. This is the best way I know how."

"Killing everyone I care about?" The anger was coming back, sneaking in through the numbness. "No."

"I don't want to, but you're not strong enough as you are."

Not. Not at all. He knew what Zeref said was true. Just like he knew it the year before when they'd met on the battlefield. Nothing's changed. "We'll figure out a different way to do it."

Zeref finally pulled away. As soon as he was free of the dark mage's grasp, Natsu felt like he could move again. He stood. Zeref joined him and said, "Spend time with the ones you care about, Natsu. Tell them you love them and think of all the ways they're important to you. Each time one of them draws their last breath, your resolve will be bolstered. Your fury is what will take us from this world." He started to fade then, enveloped by shadow.

"Zeref!" Natsu reached with a fire coated fist and met only air. "Zeref!" He was gone. As was the dream. Natsu was staring up at the ceiling in Briar's Lock, the cobwebs and spiders illuminated by the light of his still flaming hand. Beside him, Lucy had sat up and fallen out of bed. With her back against the wall, her long golden hair caressed her bare skin, glowing in the firelight. Her eyes were wide with too much white showing. She clutched her hand to her bare chest and breathed erratically.

"Natsu—crap. You scared me." Sounded like, too.

Natsu doused the fire, throwing them into darkness. The sheets smelled well-seared. "Sorry. Are you okay?"

She rubbed her hand. "I'm fine." Just a little singed, but who was checking? "What the hell?"

Yeah. What the hell? "Just… a dream."

She sat up straighter beneath the weight of her concern. "Another dream? About Zeref?"

He thought about telling her everything. His throat wouldn't work. It can't be true anyway. That was a lie that was a little more believable now that he wasn't staring at dream-Zeref, listening to his words. "It doesn't matter. Come here." He held out his scaled hand by force of habit. Lucy looked at it warily. With such little light, she was unable to see the changes Natsu could feel, but was frightened nonetheless. The feeling passed. She got up and came to him, curling beneath his arm. He pulled her close and tucked his nose into her hair. Say goodbye to the people you love. To keep them safe. If it was true… could you do it? Kill Zeref and end his own life, too? Leave behind his family for real this time? No. But how could he not?

They lay like that for a long time. Lucy's breath turned even. Natsu started to relax. His eyes became unfocused. Dream was reaching for him again. Before it could drag him under, a flicker of light caught his attention. A burning on the horizon. Where the guild hall is. A sinking feeling started in his chest and only expanded. His balls shrank up into his body.

Close your eyes. Don't look. Like that would make it any less real. It's not what you think. It's just kids or something.

It wasn't. He knew it wasn't. Sitting up disturbed Lucy. "What is it?"

"We have to go to the guild hall. Something bad is happening."


Laxus' legs felt like two concrete pillars stapled into the earth centuries ago. Every step he took was done slowly, stiffly, prolonging his ignorance. Who needed truth, anyway? Not me. And yet, he just kept on moving, unable to stop.

The smell of smoke was thick on the air, as was the sound of roaring fire. It blurred the rioting Thorn and Thistle, and masked the footsteps of those that approached him and Bickslow. Laxus hardly flinched when Evergreen and Freed came to his side, the former standing close enough that her shoulder rubbed his elbow. Beside her, Freed was chewing his cheek furiously, hand itching around his sword. There was something malevolent in the air. There was no denying that. The Briar's door opened again and the Strauss' came out.

"What's going on?" Mira called.

"Someone is burning the old guild," Bickslow replied when Laxus did not.

Behind Mira and her siblings came Erza and Levy, and behind them was Natsu and Lucy. Everyone was in various stages of undress, most crawling straight from bed, brought out by some force that was difficult to name.

Lucy's voice permeated the night, and Levy's. Mira's joined them. Beyond recognizing they speculated on the cause of the fire, Laxus was unhearing.

One step. Two. Three. He counted them; it helped him to keep moving.

The noise fell away so now the crunch of footsteps followed his noisily. No one spoke; the tension was suddenly too thick for that. Dodging cracks in the road became spotty when the street lamps totally failed. Laxus' boot caught in a deep fissure. His ankle twisted and panged. He didn't cuss, afraid of breaking the silent spell that brought him so far.

The road curved up a steep hill. At the peak was the skeleton of the guild hall. The fire got brighter. Walking got harder, so Laxus walked faster. Closer now, in the sunset-red of the fire's glow, he made out a small group of people, five in total. Three were in guard uniforms, extinguisher lacrima in hand, the other two he didn't recognize, a tall woman with scarlet hair and a blonde. He dismissed them just as quickly, snagged instead on the cross shaped pyre. There was something at the core of all those flames. Something man-shaped.

Please no.

"Do we know what it is?" a guard asked.

"It's a person, obviously," said his partner.

The third guard said, "You don't know that. We have to get those flames out to be sure."

"I can't, though. I told you, the lacrima is fully charged… but it won't touch that fire."

Natsu spoke, reminding Laxus that he wasn't alone. "Those aren't regular flames."

The guard took a step toward their group. "Hey, you shouldn't be here."

Natsu ignored them. "…I'll put them out." He stepped forward, reaching for the fire.

Laxus' mouth moved without his permission. "Wait."

Natsu didn't, though. He never waited for anything. The flames came to him when he asked, swirling around his hand and then blinking out. What was left in its wake wasn't much. Yet it was more than enough. Laxus couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. The flames had only really chewed through the hem of the man's pants, everything else went untouched. No, they weren't regular flames. His face was familiar even in death. He'd been sliced a new, head nearly taken from his shoulders. At least he didn't suffer. Someone gasped. Someone cried. Someone swore. Someone gagged. Laxus stared numbly. Natsu reignited the funeral pyre.


As the fire faded, Laxus stared at the horizon, watching it turn dark blue. Natsu and Lucy left. After speaking with the guards, Erza and Levy went, too. Lisanna and Elfman as well. Now only Mirajane, Bickslow, Evergreen and Freed stood at his side. He wished he was alone. No luck. Evergreen tried to hold his hand. He kept shaking her off. Bickslow just kept shooting him glances, trying to find the right social protocols for this kind of situation, Freed… he looked like he was at a loss, struggling to find the perfect thing to say, the correct amount of consoling.

None, in Laxus' opinion. He looked to the guards, needing to put voice to his frustrations, needing something to distract from the aching he felt so deep in his bones. "You see who came up here?" Finding Gramps' killer wouldn't bring him back, but the closure it could offer...

"No. We just had a report of a fire from some pedestrian on their way home from the Thistle," one guard, a man in his late fifties, responded. "We came out to see what the deal was and… well… you know. The lacrima wouldn't work, so the only thing to do was watch it burn."

Laxus' eyes were drawn again to the cross where his grandfather had been strung up. Who would do this? When he found them…

Well, he wasn't sure what he was going to do. But it was going to be fucking satisfying. If he could ever get over this crippling shock. If he could ever stop seeing Gramps hung up like a piece of meat. If he could ever stop the chasm of hurt opening in his chest. His eyes were damp. He turned away from the fire so no one could see. The loss of visual contact was all he needed to get his feet moving again. There wasn't anything to see, anyway.

"What should we do with the body?" the older guard asked just as Laxus was almost out of vocal range.

"…I'll come back and bury it when the sun rises," Laxus said.

"We'll keep watch," Evergreen said at his back. Laxus assumed she meant her and the rest of their team. He didn't respond, trusting her to do just that.

Ashamedly, it took him a full five minutes of fast walking back to the Briar's Lock to discover that he wasn't alone; Mira wasn't keeping pace exactly, her legs were too short to keep up, but she was damn well trying. A good distance behind, her breath burst from her lungs, her dress whooshed around her legs.

Laxus didn't bother to slow. Nor did he hold the door for her as he entered the lobby. He ignored the exhausted clerk at the front desk and took the stairs three at a time, legs stretching to make the assent.

Mira scrabbled up behind him, still fighting to keep pace. The upper level of motel smelled pungently like drugs. Laxus was inadvertently thrown into a bitter-sweet memory. Trying to sneak behind Gramps' back when he was a teenager, smoking in his bedroom, stealing liquor from the guild hall. Smoking drugs inside, like Gramps had no idea what it smelled like. The old man was never a fool, though. He knew every time. Sometimes he punished Laxus. Sometimes he'd let it slide. It depended on his mood, mostly.

It was an unconventional memory to make Laxus' heart pang, yet there was no stopping it. At his door, he came to an abrupt halt and poured his energy into getting inside. It was unlocked, meaning he didn't have to stand there for very long, fucking with his key, giving Mira a chance to catch up. He threw open the door and knocked it closed again using his elbow, all in one fluid motion. There was still no time to lock it before Mira slipped through, unperturbed about benign things like privacy.

Laxus had a look of disgust primed, yet he couldn't bring himself to turn around and look at her, afraid everything would fall apart if he did. So he went to his bag and dug out a bottle of whisky and drank a good portion all in one go. Mira appeared before him, ghostly in the pre-dawn light. He wished he could see her less without any lights on.

"Get out, Mira."

"No." Her fingers closed around the bottle. There was an instant where they were in a stalemate, Mira pulling it away, Laxus holding it firmly. Determined, she grabbed his wrist. He released the bottle just so he didn't have to touch her anymore.

Mira didn't put the alcohol aside like he thought. "To Master Makarov." She mimicked his actions, taking a deep gulp, shivering as it slid down into her belly. She pressed the back of her hand against her mouth and closed her eyes, probably against tears, Laxus thought. Mira could cry a river. And if she started…

The choking feeling was back, his throat constricting. "Take the whisky if you want, but leave." It tasted like shit anyway.

Mira was as fucking stubborn as ever, coming to the bed and sitting like she was hunkering down for the long-haul. "When the sun rises, I'm getting up and I'm starting the reconstruction of Fairy Tail's guild hall. You can join me, Laxus, I'll be happy for your help, but if not, I understand. Take time to mourn. By the time you're finished, Fairy Tail will be new again."

That was such a Mira way of dealing with things. "Mourning and rebuilding a broken guild isn't going to make things right." He was so angry. He'd never been angrier. He reached for the bottle again, tearing it from Mira's hands. She gave it up without much of a fight.

"I know it won't, Laxus, but I'm sure Master would want us to stand together beneath the Fairy Tail banner."

"I don't want to stand beneath a banner, Mira, I want to find who did this and I want to gut them. I want revenge."

"Laxus…" Mira started. She didn't seem to know how to continue, so she just stopped. That was alright, Laxus didn't know, either. They sat in strained silence until Mira said, "I'll help you hunt down his killer."

The dragon slayer closed his eyes, not quite ready to think about that yet. "Get out."

"No."

"I need some time, Mira. I need to process this or something." Or erase the cross shaped pyre from his mind.

"You shouldn't be alone, Laxus."

And that's where she was wrong. "Come on." He grabbed her elbow and stood, tugging her toward the exit. "Leave."

"But—"

Seeing she wasn't going to do it on her own, he bullied her all the way to the door and unceremoniously pushed her out, despite her protests, her wall-grabbing and her cussing. He closed the door in her face just as swiftly.

Then he just stared at the barrier, an unnatural quiet filling the air. Suddenly, he wished Mira was back in the room, even if she was spouting supportive feel-good crap because now all he had was his thoughts, and they weren't doing him any good.

He lifted the bottle of whisky and looked at it with disgust. That wasn't doing him any good either. It rocked, threatening to spill to the floor when he dropped it clumsily on his nightstand. Laxus didn't bother trying to catch it. He went to his washroom and closed the door, then just stood there in the dark. No amount of blindness would take the image from his mind. Gramps. He cranked on the rusty taps and splashed cold water on his face, startling his body. He was just blindly reaching for a towel when he noticed light seeping into the washroom from beneath the door. Mira. Back from her hallway banishment, he'd bet. Annoyance came fast and hard.

Wearing an expression that had made countless wither, Laxus tore open the door and came out into the main room again. The effect of his scowl was slightly diminished with the light-blindness he experienced. And then his eyes adjusted. In the lamplight, Mira's hair shone like spun silver, her skin like ivory. Against the bed, she was brighter than anything he'd ever seen, and sadder, too, her nose as red as a cherry, her eyes still damp.

Gaze locked on his, Mira stood without a word and came to him, getting in close enough that her body brushed his. Her fingers skimmed over his lips, and then she was kissing him. She tasted like tears and whisky. For an instant, Laxus' mind went blank. In that blankness was reprieve. Hesitation fell to the wayside. He kissed her deeper and struggled to recreate that feeling.


Natsu sat on the floor while Lucy took up most of the bed and watched her shoulders shake. As she cried, he rubbed his arm absently, reaching beneath the overlarge sweater he wore to feel the scales that were slowly taking over his arm. So far, the night hid the change, but soon enough, morning would come and bring with it the hard questions. The questions Natsu didn't know the answer to.

"Who could do that to Master Makarov?" Lucy's voice was barely audible, pressed out through a throat that was much, much too small.

"I don't know," Natsu said dazedly. Tears had abandoned him. The ache was too deep, even for violence. END. Igneel, now Master Makarov. And Zeref was going to take more. Until you remember. He'd give anything for the power needed to destroy the dark mage.

"First Wendy. And that—that demon that attacked me. And master." Lucy hiccoughed. "Why is this happening?"

Natsu didn't respond. He looked at Lucy and imagined her mouth moving, asking, 'What if I was that thread?' Then he imagined her dead. The crack in his chest grew, the coldness inching over him. Another few scales burst through his skin, making their home on his body. It's—

Not true?

Not happening?

Too late to do anything but let things take their course? What are you saying? Let Lucy die so you can get the fucking balls to kill Zeref?

No. She would not die, thank you very much.

"Natsu… Do you think this was Zeref?"

He couldn't get out of answering that. "Yes."

"What do you think he wants? Why hasn't he shown himself? Why does he just keep… picking us off?" Her lips were as red as her nose in the low light, wet and swollen because she kept chewing them. It was a nervous habit, and a new one at that. She never used to do it, he didn't think. The last year had been hard.

"He's trying to scare us." And it was working.

"Why, though? Why won't he just leave us alone?" She gripped the blankets hard around her body, a tremor moving through her. "When Tartarus attacked, we had an enemy to fight. Now though…" They didn't know where the attack was coming from, or when they would strike. Or even who they were supposed to consider enemies.

Natsu got up off the floor and went to the bed. His foot was numb, gone to sleep from his sitting on it; his arm was colder than a block of ice. Both sensations took a back seat when he lay down and brought Lucy along with him. She curled beneath his body and shuddered. With a thought, Natsu made his skin warmer, trying to take away her chills. They weren't the kind that could be satiated with heat.

"I'm going to make sure nothing happens, Lucy. Master Makarov was the last person Zeref hurt." His dreams didn't seem so farfetched now. They were definitely more than what they seemed, and no amount of stubborn denial could make that less true. It had taken a long time, but Natsu accepted the truth. Zeref was his brother. END wasn't just some made up tale. He was rushing toward a destiny he couldn't avoid. You just need to remember…

"I'm scared for everyone, Natsu." Lucy clutched his shirt, holding him to her body. Natsu trailed his fingers down her arm. They were rough on her skin, the newly formed scales lacking sensation so he wasn't as gentle as he'd like. Lucy took his hand and held it, allowing her fingers to reveal the secret the night hid. "I'm scared for you."

He kissed her, wondering how much longer he'd be able to do that for.


Gray's fingers brushed over a filthy floor. Bits of grit stuck to his skin, some bit in, nicking his fingers—broken glass—others just rolled over. The ground beneath his shoulders was hard and unyielding. Why am I on the ground? Then he thought it was because Juvia was on the bed.

But no. They hadn't gotten that far.

The fight. Then he thought it was because he was still on the ground outside the Thorn and Thistle. That wasn't right either, though, the place he lay smelled distinctly like mildew and wasn't exposed to the elements. Why? Where am I?

His eyes were heavy. He made them open anyway and saw by the light of a stubby candle burning in the corner that he was in a small room. It looked as though it had survived in a warzone. Bits of drywall had flaked off the ceiling and the walls below it, the crumbs littering the water stained floor. The places that weren't damaged were painted some gentle colour, like light blue or lilac. Several books, swollen with humidity and torn up by mice, were strewn about, kicked to the edges of the room. A desk missing a leg leaned up against the wall, on its surface a sharp looking knife that glinted in the light.

Something else glinted, too. Hair as pink as a cherry tree's blossom. The girl it belonged to was tucked beneath a huge cowl, preventing her face from being viewed. With a great amount of effort, Gray propped himself up on his elbow. His face hurt, so did his ribs. And his nuts, but who was counting? He squinted at the girl, trying to see beneath her hood. She took pity on him, lifting slender hands and pushing the garment back to reveal a familiar face. She shouldn't be there, though.

"Merdy?"

"Hi, Gray. How are you feeling?"

Like fuck. Like he'd been kicked by a donkey. Like he could throw up at her feet and keep going. Like he could cut his balls off and they'd feel better. "I'm alright."

She shook her head, a small wry smile on her mouth. "I picked you up out of the alley behind the Thorn and Thistle after a bar fight. You didn't look fine then, and you still don't now."

Yeah. "Did you see Juvia?"

She shook her head. "Only you."

Gray ran his tongue over his mulched lip. He didn't remember getting punched there, but he must have. "Fuck."

"Not so loud," Merdy scolded in a harsh whisper.

In a lowered voice, Gray asked, "Why?"

"Because… Jellal doesn't want our presence here known."

Sure, but, "What are you doing here?"

Merdy looked uncertain. "Do you promise not to say anything?"

"Yeah." And why not? With the way his brain felt then, dizzy and dry and inebriated, he couldn't even see himself remembering.

"Erza asked us to get Cheria to Wendy after she was injured."

"Erza?" Of course Jellal would be there for her; Gray didn't even know why he was surprised.

"Yes. They've been… seeing more of each other recently. But, we were supposed to refill our supplies and get out in a few days without anyone knowing. If he finds out I picked you out of the alley and brought you here, he'll probably be pissed."

Gray got it; Jellal did his best to skirt the limelight. "Where is here?"

"You're in Magnolia's old school. Detention room," she explained. "The rest of Crime Sorciere is here, too. We're staying on the other side of the building."

"If you were afraid of Jellal finding out you dragged me out here, why did you bring me to the place you were staying?" Gray demanded.

Merdy wrung her hands together. "I didn't know where else to take you. Nowhere else seems safe."

"What do you mean?"

Worry befell her. "Sawyer went missing."

"What?"

She explained, "Earlier tonight. Like the rest of us, he was watching Briar Lock's perimeter while Jellal took Cheria inside. Then Jellal took off with Erza for awhile. We waited, just keeping watch, you know? When Jellal returned and we started heading back here, Sawyer didn't show up at his rendezvous point. I was looking for him when I found you."

Gray sat up a little straighter. "There are demons in Magnolia. They're Zeref's, I'm sure of it. Racer—" He'd never be anything else to the ice mage— "might have run into some trouble."

Merdy's eyes met the ground. "Richard died. On the way here. He was attacked, too."

Gray didn't know how close the two were, but they were in the same guild. "I'm sorry, Merdy."

"It's fine. We all knew the risks." Her eyes glistened by the candle light, yet no tears fell. She was too stubborn for that. "It's just… every day it feels more and more like our guild is just on some kind of suicide mission. Die to redeem your sins. Ultear. Richard. Sawyer."

She was afraid.

"I don't want to die without redemption."

Gray didn't know how to comfort her.

Merdy shook off her fear in the face of something more important. "As we were walking here, I saw the members of your guild gathering around the Fairy Tail guild hall. It was on fire."

"Fairy Tail was?"

Merdy nodded her confirmation.

"Natsu?" Though why he'd set fire to the guild was beyond Gray. It was the kind of stupid thing he'd do, though.

"He was with the rest of the group and seemed just as confused as everyone else," Merdy said.

Gray brought himself up further so he was almost standing, teetering on one knee. Sort of vertical, he realized that he was drunker than he previously thought. Not so much time had passed. "I need to get out of here and find Juvia. Then… I should probably see what's going on. But you and me, we should stay in touch."

Near-hysteria took her. "I can't. If Jellal finds out…"

"Then what?" It was easy imagining Jellal being cruel, but that was only because Gray knew the man from his Tower of Heaven days. Things were different now.

"I don't know," she said honestly. Her fear was real, however unfounded.

"Well… do you have a communication lacrima or something? Some way I could contact you if I need to?"

"For what?" Merdy asked.

"Like I said, there are demons around, Merdy." As much as he'd like to think that the one in the alley was a one-off, his father's panging mark told him differently. "Fairy Tail might need Crime Sorciere."

She shook her head, pink curls catching the firelight. "I don't have a lacrima, they leave traces." A considering look befell her. "There might be a way, though."

"What?"

"A sensory link. If we create one, you'll be able to sense if we need you and likewise." She flushed. "You'll be able to sense everything else, too, though."

Gray looked down at his blackened arm. "Yeah. About that… Things haven't been real great for me lately."

"I know about the devil slayer's mark," Merdy said. "Sort of. There isn't a lot of information on it, but Jellal made us research it anyway."

Gray screwed up his face. "Why?"

"…Just in case."

Just in case they needed to stop you, is what she means, Gray thought. The realization was a cold splash of water.

Merdy chewed her lip. "I can try to make the connection weak, but it runs the risk of breaking."

Gray said, "The weaker the better, I think." No one wanted to feel the cold rage he walked with. No one wanted the turmoil he was trudging through. "Do it. I'll try to keep the feels to a minimum." Good luck if he found Juvia. Or came across some other demon.

"I'll show you how to recreate the link if it fails and I can't reinitiate it," she said.

"Be quick," Gray said. His head was really starting to ache and his skin felt like it was on fire. He needed to get out of there and find Juvia. And then the rest of Fairy Tail. And then he needed to sleep off what was shaping up to be a bad hangover. Maybe in between that he could get Juvia to crawl into bed with him, too. Tomorrow would look a lot better if she was sleeping beside him.

Merdy got to work.