Lucy paled as she looked down at her Master.

"Alone?"

He nodded, "Just please come home safely and make sure that Nastu does as well."

Lucy gave Makarov a brilliant smile as she headed out.

"We will!"

She hurried down the stairs, looking for Natsu and finally spotting him at the bar, talking to Mira and Lisanna. She paused for a moment, watching them interact before finally interrupting them.

"Natsu!" She called, hurrying down the last few steps as his head shot up, turning to look at her.

"What's up, Lucy?" He asked, trying to sound casual and failing. Then tension in his voice was easily detected as he waited to hear what the Master had to say.

"We're going to find Zeref and bring him home," Lucy grinned.

"Right. I'll get Erza and Gray, you get-"

"Just us," Lucy cut him off. "Master wants it to be just us two."

Natsu nodded, paling slightly at the idea of just the two of them taking on the darkest wizard in history.

"Right, well then, let's go."

Zeref looked over at Levy before looking back at the machine, both of them wiping the sweat off their brows as they contemplated what they had created. He tried not to focus on the bluenette beside him and how easy it would be to test the machine on her. Thoughts like those, he knew, were what had caused him to become the dark wizard in the first place.

"Are you ready to try it?" Levy asked.

"Are you sure you should be here? What if things go wrong?"

Levy shook her head, "I'm not going anywhere."

Zeref sighed, knowing that she wouldn't budge but that he had to try to make her.

"Alright then."

Lucy looked around nervously as she followed Natsu down yet another deserted street.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Lucy asked.

Natsu had picked up Zeref's scent and the two had been following it for what felt, to Lucy, like forever, though in reality it had only been around a half hour. The scent had led them to the seedier side of Magnolia and Lucy gripped her keys anxiously as she waited for Natsu to decide which way they would be going next. Most people in Magnolia knew who were Fairy Tail mages and wouldn't mess with them, but there were always a few who thought they could prove how tough them were by taking on a few Fairies. More than once Natsu and Lucy had proven that they weren't to be messed with.

Natsu nodded, pausing before an abandoned building and looking at it quizzically.

"What is it, Nastu?" Lucy asked, taking a step closer to her friend.

"It's weird. Zeref is here, but so is Levy," Natsu said quietly.

"Why is Levy here?" Lucy wondered out loud.

Natsu shrugged, "Let's go find out."

"Right."

"Levy, run," Zeref said with wide eyes as the pressure built around him.

The two had easily turned on the machine, but instead of it working how it was supposed to, it seemed to be amplifying his death magic and he could fill it building inside of him. Levy's eyes widened in shock but she didn't argue as she took off, flinging open the door and racing away just as the magic exploded from Zeref. Once the aura had dissipated he turned slowly, almost afraid to look as he made his way to the door. His eyes widened in shock when he saw, not the dead figure he was expecting, but the bluenette still running.

As if she sensed him looking, Levy turned to see him standing there and her eyes widened just as much as his had at the fact that she was still alive. She slowed and then stopped, confusion mirroring his own as she took a step toward him. A sound made them both turn toward the blindly light at the end of the hall that slowly dimmed to reveal Lucy and Natsu, Lucy looking tired already.

"Lucy," Zeref whispered, shame filling him as he looked upon his girlfriend.

"Levy, go," Lucy said, not taking her eyes off of the man she loved. "I'll talk to you later."

Without a word the bluenette ran, leaving the three standing there in a silent deadlock.

"Zeref," Lucy finally broke the silence. "Stop what you're doing. Please."

He shook his head, "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I have to save you."

"That's strike one. Try again," Lucy said, annoyed by his instance that she needed saving.

"You're going to die."

"Strike two, and please stop. Come home with us. I must warn you that if you reach three strikes Natsu will have to intervene and I don't want that. We've been asked to stop you by any means necessary."

Zeref shrugged, "Then Natsu will have to kill me. I won't rest until I manage to save you."

"That's strike three," Lucy said as Natsu moved to attack.

He stopped as Lucy raised an arm, keeping him from attacking the dark mage.

"Please, Zeref. I can't let you die just as you could never stand to let me die," Lucy pleaded. "Please, just come home. We can talk about this still. Don't make Natsu hurt you."

Zeref smiled grimly, "I always knew it would come down to a battle between the two of us. The machine, though, should still save you."

"The machine isn't what you thought. You guys built it wrong or someone tricked you, because it's amplifying your magic," Lucy argued. "You'll kill half of Magnolia trying to get it to work right."

"I would kill all of Fiore to save you," Zeref yelled, his aura darkening as he realized what was about to happen. "If I could start wars and create demons to save my brother, do you think something as small as the death of everyone in the country is going to stop me from saving you. I love you, Lucy."

"And I love you," Lucy replied, tears standing in her eyes as her aura brightened to an almost blinding level. "But not like this."

Zeref's eyes widened as Natsu's aura darkened contrasting perfectly with the angelic aura that surrounded his partner. Flames flickered along the edges, and his eyes turned into red slits, glaring down at the dark haired mage.

Lucy's arm dropped.