Chapter 14

Mavis bent over and picked up a fruit off the ground. She wiped mud and water off its surface, and watched her reflection on its shiny skin. She looked… tired. Spent. Exhausted. But a lack of sleep or overworking wasn't the reason. The reason was… something else.

She had searched near and far on that lonely island, but she couldn't find an Etheria tree anywhere. The island had been full of them. It was as if they had all vanished. Vanished after what happened a few months back.

She sat down by the river, and watched the clear stream of water flow by her. Some fish passed in that stream, colourful and vivid. They would swim by in groups and pairs, but she was all alone.

Alone since Natsu had left her. Just like the Etheria trees, he had also vanished. He was one with the winds now. He was in the skies, in the clouds, in the rain, in the trees and the beautiful flowers that grew on that island. In every animal, big or little, that called the forest their home. He was with the forest spirits now. He was everywhere, but with her.

She clenched her fists, and shut her eyes. A few drops of tears leaked from the sides of her shut eyes and rolled down her pale soft skin. When Natsu left, he took away a part of her heart that she hadn't been able to replace yet. She wondered if she would ever be whole again. And everytime she asked herself this question, an ugly ember of the flames of grief burning within her would reply with a clear and concise "No".

She frowned as the urge to cry took over her. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

"Natsu… where are you…? How do I find you again? Where do I find you again? Please… answer me… I… I can't live without you like this… everyday is painful without you… you… you shouldn't have ever come into my life if you wanted to leave me like this…"

She sniffled. An ugly feeling was breaking out of her. Caressing against her insides, puncturing every organ within her, fueling the forest within her. She cried out loudly in the lone and empty forest, with no one to hear her. Each sob that left her throat was painful and grieved. Each sob poisoned her, taking away a piece of her from herself. At that time, she wanted Natsu to comfort her. No one else would do. She wanted his sweet voice calling her name. His gentle and small arms wrapping around her neck, his sweet fragrance and his silky soft hair engulfing her. That's all she wanted. That's all she wished and hoped for. Desperately.

She had been mourning and mourning day and night, hoping to every god that somehow Natsu returned to her. But this wasn't a fairy tale. He was long gone. And she had lost a part of herself that could never rejoin with her. The only other person that could heal her at this moment was… him.

She looked up from her hands and turned around. The fishing hut was in the distance, its doors locked just like she had left them. Zeref hadn't returned yet.

Zeref… had changed. He wasn't the same man she used to know once. Never once she had seen him shed a single tear in mourning. Never once he repeated his lost brother's name, like she had. Maybe he was mourning in his own way? But… What was that? Why had he changed so much?

Mavis knew for a fact that Zeref was probably the only one in the world that loved Natsu more than she did. And being forever separated from Natsu had broken his mind somehow. Sometimes, at night, she would hear him whisper to himself. Sometimes he would laugh and cackle to himself. Sometimes, he would leave the hut in the middle of the night and wander out into the forest, gone for days on end. She wasn't sure where he would go. Was he nearing insanity? Just like his mother? Or… was his extremely strange and concerning behaviour expected given the circumstances? Why couldn't he mourn his brother like she was doing? Why couldn't he sit next to her and wrap his strong and caring arms around her and let her cry into his chest for an eternity? She had thought that Zeref loved her.

What was more frightening was his… obsession. Zeref had wrapped Natsu's remains in white clothes and put his body over his bed. Mavis didn't really like to look at it much. She could sometimes smell it rotting and festering when she passed by it, but she tried her hardest to not glance at it. She had wanted Zeref to bury Natsu and try to move on, together with her. That was their best course of action. But he had taken a different route. A route that she didn't understand. A route that she didn't comprehend. A route that frightened her. What did Zeref plan on accomplishing with Natsu's body? Was it just something as simple as him not wanting to part with his brother yet? Or… was he planning something sinister?

Mavis wasn't sure if she herself was okay in the head anymore. Sometimes, at night, when Zeref was gone, she would look out the window and see glowing human silhouettes standing amongst the trees, beckoning to her to meet them. Sometimes she would hear the voices of her parents from deep in the forest. This was all made much more concerning when she regarded the fact that her and Zeref were alone on that island now.

The island had become a focus of a strange dark energy. It had become slanted and convoluted. The animals of the forests didn't reveal themselves as much, the birds had stopped chirping, and the winds were cold and rough. The forest had grown weary and silent. Mavis was still of the idea that leaving it all behind was the best course of action for the both of them. That they gathered whatever shambles of their lives they had left and tried to plant it somewhere far away from there. But Zeref had other plans.

She heard the door to the fishing hut creak open, and quickly stood up. She turned around. Zeref had returned. She had a lot to say to him, mostly berating him for leaving her behind and acting the strange way that he did.

She quickly walked towards the hut and entered it. It was lonely and dark inside, with no sign of Zeref. She looked around, taking care not to linger too long around Zeref's bed… and the contents on it.

As she passed by the table, she found something peculiar atop it. It was a rectangular bundle of clothes that she hadn't seen before. The clothes were dirty and dusty, torn and worn. But they looked like they held something within them. Something heavy. Was it a book? She slowly approached the table and picked up a flap of the cloth, and let it drop by the table leg. Soon, she did so with the other flaps and what was revealed was a slab of stone. It looked withered and ancient, old and worn out, but Mavis could clearly make out the runes and cravings on it.

It was a jumble of illegible and incomprehensible mesh of words and letters in an unknown writing that she had never seen before. Just looking at it, she could tell that it was an ancient relic, forgotten and forsaken. Where did Zeref find it? What… What on earth was he upto? Is this stone tablet what he had been searching for this whole time?

Something about that stone tablet didn't feel right. As if it wasn't supposed to be there. As if Mavis wasn't supposed to look at it. As if it was out of place being in their simple yet tragic life. It felt… magical. She had always despised those that had despised Natsu for his magic. And she for one, tried to keep an open mind towards magic. But this stone tablet… it was a part of an ancient dark forgotten magic that even she felt uncomfortable around.

She hesitated for a while, before slowly approaching her trembling and fearful hand towards it. As soon as she laid hands on even the dust covering the surface of that stone… her mind went blank.

She was lost in a deep dark world. Suffocation and restlessness filled her to the very core, sucking almost even her life out.

She stood frozen in place, in both the real world and the dark world. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, and she couldn't even feel her heartbeats. As if she was dead. As if she was facing reckoning. Was she in the world of the dead now? Where… where was Natsu then? Could she see him again?

Something happened. Not long before she had visited that dark place, she was back in the real world. The dark world contracted before her eyes, and soon merged with a window of the fishing hut that she stood staring at. She was back at the fishing hut, breathless, shaken and quivering. She felt nauseous, and a migraine coursed across her face.

She looked at her hand that had been touching the stone slab, and found that Zeref had held it and lifted it off the stone slab. Was that why she was back in the real world? But… What was that dark world she was in? Was she in a separate dimension? Where time didn't flow and the sun didn't shine?

She gasped and took a few steps backwards, almost tumbling on her feet that felt like they had lost the strength to carry her. She would have fallen were it not for the wall behind her which she stood against, supporting her almost limp body. Her face was covered in sweat, and she breathed deep and hard. It took her a while to get her bearings back and look at Zeref.

She saw him covering the stone slab with the cloth again that she had uncovered.

Zeref sighed and then stood facing the window, his hands planted atop the table, only his back visible to Mavis. The sunlight from the window that he stood hiding rolled around his dark silhouette and painted his tall and thin figures as almost a beast in Mavis's eyes. She could only stare. What was happening to Zeref? Was he still the same Zeref she knew him to be? Why had he changed so? She knew she had changed herself. Anyone would after what happened on that island. But… Zeref had changed differently.

"Zeref… what… What are you planning? I deserve to know." Mavis breathed.

Zeref stood silent. As if not even having heard her. Or if he did, her question probably got lost in the throes of dissociated thoughts and weird ideas in his head. It was like firing an arrow at a wall. No matter how sharp it was, it would break and fall against the wall.

Mavis clenched her fists in frustration. She had never expected that Zeref Dragneel could make her this uncomfortable and frightened… but here she was.

She approached his back and grabbed his shoulders, and gave him a firm shake. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PLANNING? WHAT IS THAT?!"

She didn't exactly know where this deep rooted anger was coming from. She knew she was supposed to be patient with Zeref. He had lost a lot in the past few months. He had gone through nightmares and worse. But… she had lost those same things too. She wasn't acting stupid like he was. She was… rather all alone. No one to look after her. No one to care for her. No one to ask her if she was okay after what she had been through. She knew she still cared for Zeref. She still loved him like she used to. That was one thing that hadn't changed. But… Did he still love her back?

She slowly sent her weakened and frail arms around Zeref's waist from behind, and invariably hugged him. She didn't want to. She rather wanted to tightly slap him across his face for behaving the way he was. But… this was inevitable. She wanted his care. She wanted his attention. She wanted him to give a damn about her. Just like she did every and each second that she lived. He was all that she had left now in that big wide world.

She buried her face against his back and sobbed dearly. Natsu's memories were a few of the things that resurfaced in her mind that caused her that emotional storm. One of the Dragneel brothers was already far away from her. Never to be seen again. And now… the second was going down that same route.

"Zeref…" Mavis sobbed. "Please… stop what you're doing. I… I hate it. Please… for me. I know you have been through a lot. I don't think we will ever be the same… but… please stop this. This madness will make it only worse. I… I still love you. That hasn't changed, Zeref, and it never will. Let me help you. Let me heal you. I will… I will try my hardest. I don't know if I can completely make it all alright… but please let me try… listen to me…"

Zeref felt her body shake with each and every sob. He felt her tears wet the back of his vest. But… his mind was broken. Mavis's behaviour that would have melted and swayed him a few months back… did little to nothing now. His goal was clear now. He didn't want to be healed. He didn't want peace. He didn't want Mavis's soft words.

All he wanted was…

He turned around and faced Mavis. Once the love of his life. The woman he had sworn he would always protect and go any distance for. But now… who was she?

He placed his forehead against Mavis's, and wiped her tears away. Mavis eyed him curiously, and the tears that he had wiped away quickly were replaced as she realised how close she was standing to Zeref. This is all she had ever wanted. But… something was still missing.

"Don't worry…" Zeref muttered breathily. His voice was deeper than before. It didn't sound like he was doing it on purpose. It sounded like… his voice was corrupted now?

"I have everything planned out. What will happen now… will be glorious. I have a way out of this predicament that we are in. I promise you… it will all work out perfectly."

Mavis didn't understand a single word he was uttering.

"What… What is that stone slab, Zeref?" She asked, unsure if she even wanted to know the answer.

Zeref smiled proudly and sinisterly. "It's… it's a Babaq relic. I searched the entire island for it. I have finally found one. I got it from the ancient and lost Babaq ruins to the northeast of the island."

Mavis's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Babaq… Zeref… ruins… that stone slab…

She quickly stepped back away from Zeref, no matter how much doing that hurt her.

"B-Babaq ruins? Why… Why would you go there? You… you know that those ruins are off limits to us? They have always been. It… it is said that millenia before we started living on this island, a dark civilization once practised their dark and unfathomable magic here. They… they used to bring back the dead to life. They specialised in necromancy, and that was the cause of their downfall in the first place. Each stone and animal living in those ruins is corrupted by a dark power… why would you even go there? And why the hell did you bring this slab back—"

Zeref placed his finger over her lips. "Shh. I have everything under control. What I am planning will be… spectacular."

It was nighttime in the forest. Mavis sat atop her bed frightened, reacting to every little sound as if it was something alarming. Owls hooted outside in the lonely dark forest, a moth clattered against the wall and a burning lamp, and the winds howled and flowed breezily against the old wooden doors of the fishing hut.

Mavis hugged her legs close to her chest and widened her eyes open, alert and reactive to every little sound around her. The whole ordeal with Zeref having brought back a cursed artefact back home was really brushing against her heart unpleasantly. It was an action that she would have never expected him to take. Why was he endangering himself and her with things beyond his understanding and humanity? What did he plan on accomplishing with that stone slab? Was he merely intrigued by it? Or… was he somehow planning on exploiting the magic within it?

She had come across a dreary and dark idea. Zeref was playing with Babaq relics as if they were toys, knowing full well that they consist of necromancy magic. And… he had also mummified Natsu's body over his bed.

Was Zeref by any chance, even in the slightest, even being of the least possibility, trying to bring Natsu back?

Not to mention how strange, twisted, convoluted and insane it sounded, it would never work in the first place. Zeref didn't know how to use magic. No way he would be able to cast those spells onto Natsu's body and bring a spirit back into it. Second… if he was somehow successful, which was impossible… would Natsu be the same ever again if brought back that way? Would he still be the cheery and sweet kid that Mavis remembered him to be? Or would he be corrupted by the Babaq magic beyond belief and recognition? Mavis wasn't sure.

She had tried her hardest to get Zeref to move on. To forget, or at least try to forget everything that had happened on this accursed island and move on. She knew it would be tough. Natsu wasn't just anything that he or her could entirely forget about. He was a special part of their lives. Their hearts. But they could at least try. To try and mourn him like people normally did. Not the path that Zeref was walking down. Mavis didn't exactly still know what he was planning, but she knew well that nothing good could come of it.

She heard a knock at the window. She quickly looked at it, and found only darkness hanging outside. She had experienced this before. Noises… voices… whispers... She had experienced all of it before. The island wasn't the peaceful and bright bounty of nature that it once used to be. It was corrupted with a dark and strange twisted magic. Maybe this was all a part of that magic slowly driving her and Zeref insane. She still believed that leaving this fateful island behind was in their best interests.

She slowly got off her bed and walked to the window. She stared at it, finding her own reflection looking back at her against the stark darkness on the other side of the glass. She looked exhausted… scared… frightened… grieved. Dark circles had manifested under her baggy eyes, and her skin looked pale and disease stricken. Her hair was dishevelled and wild. But she saw nothing outside the window.

Suddenly, a face jumped against it, cracking the glass in the process. Mavis quickly stepped back and tripped on her own feet and fell back onto the floor. She scurried away from the window, still staring at the disfigured face resting against the glass. The breath from that face turned into fog that crept up over the glass. Mavis's heart beat out of her chest and couldn't be contained.

Then she looked closer at the face. She… remembered that face. No matter how horribly misshapen it was, no matter how badly burnt it was… she recognised that man.

"F-Father…?" She muttered.

The face opened its eyes and smiled wide… wider than humanly possible.

"Run…" it said.

She slowly stood up and walked closer to the window. That was… her father. The man she had thought had perished in the forest at the village after that dragon burnt everything down. Why… Why was he here?

"Run…" it said again in a hoarse voice, before disappearing.

Mavis narrowed her teary eyes and blinked once or twice, only to see the empty window again. The darkness outside… her frightened face reflected back at the window…

The crack on the window pane was gone too. Was she again imagining things? What was this godforsaken island doing to her? Why did her father ask her to run? Run from who? She shook her head and decided to pay no mind to what she had just seen. It was just the island playing tricks on her mind. She had seen this all before, and as long as she stayed there, she would continue seeing all this in the future too.

She heard footsteps outside her room. She knew it was Zeref, as his room was just next to hers. What was he upto? Was he again leaving the house in search of a Babaq relic? She needed to stop him. Something was twisted about the forest outside. She needed to get Zeref to stay indoors right now. The forest was dangerous.

She slowly walked closer to the door and slid against the wall. She started to hear Zeref whisper… something. Who was he talking to? Was he talking to himself again? She had heard him doing that before.

But this time… she felt something strange. A strange presence in the air. A ugly contorted feeling hung heavy against her chest. It was as if a wall had been constructed tightly around her chest, restricting her breathing.

Someone else was with Zeref.

She quickly opened the door to Zeref's room, but she found only darkness. An ugly darkness in the air. There was a pungent and horribly disgusting smell suspended in his room. It smelled of death and disease. It smelled of demons. It smelled of rot and desecration.

She looked around in the darkness, narrowing her eyes, and saw Zeref standing in the distance, against a dark wall, looking at her. Or was he looking at her? She wasn't sure in the darkness.

"Zeref?" She whispered.

Zeref cackled loudly. A maniacal laugh that reminded Mavis of Natsu's mother before she… did the deed. Before she snatched one of her most important people away from her. Before she killed Natsu.

Hearing that laughter, Mavis slowly slid against the wall behind her, frightened and on edge. Something was horribly wrong. Something was awry. Something… was not the way it was supposed to be.

Zeref's voice was heard from the darkness.

"Behold, Mavis… my first and finest creation."

Zeref slowly slid away from the corner he was standing in, letting Mavis see what was behind him. Mavis's eyes automatically darted to the object behind him.

The person behind him.

She couldn't make out the finer details of that person in the darkness. He was tall. As tall as Zeref. Taller than Mavis. The person had pink hair. Dark ugly shades of pink all originated from his misshapen ugly head.

Pink hair… Mavis's breath stuck in her chest.

"Zeref… what… What have you done? Tell me that isn't… that that isn't Natsu—"

She choked. She couldn't even finish saying his name. Who was supposed to be buried away and remembered only in sweet and innocent memories was walking the earth again. Zeref had finally done it. He had finally lost it. What she had asked and implored him not to, he had done it. How did he manage that? She had thought that he couldn't use magic. Had he found a way around that obstacle? How?

Mavis looked away from… Natsu. Or whoever that was. Her brain was not working properly. It was foggy and obstinate. As if the island had finally gotten to her as well. She had wanted to see Natsu again. But… not like this.

She slowly looked at Zeref. "You… you have done it. I… I can't believe it. Why? Why would you do this? Why have you corrupted your own brother? Do… Do you even know the consequences of what you're doing?"

Zeref stopped smiling. "Yes… the consequences. I won't be the one facing them. The world will. For everything it has taken from me. For all that it has done. It will face my wrath. It will learn what pain is. Just as I have."

Mavis couldn't believe her ears. What was Zeref saying? Was this even Zeref anymore?

She slowly approached him, but stood a distance away. At this point, she didn't want to be near him. He was now a stranger to her. But she tried one last time.

"No… No Zeref. You… you haven't lost everything. Please, don't do this. You… you still have me. I know I am not much. And I can never completely be enough. You have lost a lot, yes. But not everything. There is still time. Please stop this. Leave this island with me. I know this isn't you speaking. This island is getting to us. Come with me. I… I will care for you."

Zeref stared at her in the darkness. His eyes almost seemed to glow red. "No. It's too late. What I have lost can never be recovered. The only way for me to get through my pain is to… ravage this world. I need to even things out. If I have faced pain and grief, the world shall too."

He turned around, and faced Natsu. "You are free to leave, Mavis. I have no need for you anymore. I know how to raise an army now. I don't want to drag you into something you're unwilling to do. But… know well that you cannot change my mind. This is my path now. And I have to walk it. With you, or by myself."

Mavis stared back at him. Even in the darkness, even when he was turned away, she could read him well. He hadn't changed as much as he thought he had. She could also read the fact that he had made up his mind, and there was no swaying him now. His tone when he was resolute and undeterred was still the same. Some things… just never changed.

But, that didn't mean that she was done. She had a plan of her own. She lowered her head, and wiped her tears away. She clenched her fists. Resolve and determination burnt hot in her.

If she couldn't sway Zeref with her words… She had other ways of doing so. Zeref was beyond help… she knew that. He had turned into a dark force that wouldn't stop before he buried the world. If he could resurrect his dead brother into a monster, he was capable of anything now. She couldn't save him. But… she could still save the world.

"Fine. I will leave. After what you've done to Natsu, there is no way you won't fulfil the rest of your desires now. A few months back, I would have laughed at your face had I heard you saying what you're saying now. Now, I know better. You have made up your mind. But so have I."

She looked up at him, straight and fierce. "I will raise an army of magicians to counter your darkness. Beyond the seas… on a different island… on a separate continent. I may not be able to help you now. But I can help save the world from your madness. Heed my words well. Your darkness will be countered every step of the way by me. I will walk my own path, but that path will be right beside yours. Our fates have always been intertwined, but I had never thought that they would be connected in this way. We will clash one day. Prepare yourself for it."

Mavis left the hut. Rain and fierce lightning welcomed her outside. Her tears merged with the raindrops, and she walked barefoot through the wet forest floor. She walked across a river, a swamp, rocky terrains, and finally reached the shores.

Sea winds caressed her face. Her wet robes fluttered in the darkness, but she could see the light too. A light that will help the world when the time comes. A great evil was brewing behind her on that island. She had to leave it behind. But she would return one day. With warriors and magicians. And she would flush this evil out and reclaim this island. That would be the first step.

She steeled herself for the times ahead.

Natsu's backstory is done. Starting next chapter, we will go back to the present time. :)