Hey everyone, thanks for checking this out. This is the first thing I've written that I've shared in many years. So hopefully it doesn't suck. The beta readers seemed to like it at least.
As the tag says this was inspired by another story I read many moons ago called True Brothers, Dragneel Brothers by dragonslayer111. I found the premise captivating and this story follows its same basic premise. It is sadly unfinished, but I still would say it is worth reading!
I never liked how Natsu and Zeref's relationship was handled in cannon so this my attempt at coping.
Anyways, hope you enjoy.
KEEPING SECRETS, CHP. 1- A Past And Future Secret
Makarov stared in horror at the man in front of him. He had disbanded the guild, spent months trying to get to Alakitasia, spent more months waiting on the emperor, only to find himself face to face with a living nightmare: that "Emperor Spriggan" was none other than the black wizard Zeref himself. He had followed him to a balcony of the massive Imperial palace in the Alvarez Empire's capital of Vistarion. Zeref already knew about Fairy Heart, somehow. No country could stand up the mages he'd recruited, let alone the sheer size of his army. "So, there's no room for negotiation?"
The look on Zeref's face made him wonder why he even said it. Smirking, the black mage said, "I'm afraid not. You see, Makarov, the true dragon king festival is about to begin- myself, the black wizard, the self-proclaimed dragon king, and the people of this world- I wonder. Who will live and who will die?" His smirk morphed into a sinister grin.
Makarov felt his blood boil. He hadn't come all this way for nothing, and he wasn't going to just lie down and die for the whims of a madman. He spread his feet and clenched his fists, readying himself for an attack. " I refuse to let you start this war! I refuse to let you have our first master!"
Zeref smiled at his passionate declarations. "I'm afraid you misunderstand, Master Makarov. This will be no war." Zeref reached out his hand and Makarov was surrounded by a malevolent purple glow. He attempted to break free but felt the black mage's magic pressing down on him like a boulder. "This will be a one-sided annihilation." As more pressure bore down on him, Makarov let out a scream in pain. Zeref continued to watch, the same infuriating smirk still on his face. "That said, it would be wrong of me not to offer you my gratitude before I see you off. Sincerely, Makarov, thank you. Thank you for raising Natsu for me." His smile softened a bit.
What the Hell? Makarov's face, already distorted in rage, shifted more in confusion. What does Natsu have to do with any of this? I swear he makes no sense! What am I missing?
As quickly as it softened, the sniveling smirk returned. "For that I will end your life quickly and painlessly. I'll even deliver your body to Natsu. Heh, he'll be so furious. He might even kill me," he said in that same, frustratingly calm tone he'd spoken with the whole time. Sighing and laughing to himself, arms still reaching out to control his death spell," Can I deliver a message to him for you? Any last words or such?"
He's insane! He's not even human- he's a monster! "You... you hideous soul! You demon!" Makarov snarled.
Zeref chuckled. "Close old man. But actually, my name 'Spriggan' is much closer to hideous fairy."
Before Makarov could fire off one last retort or Zeref could finish crushing him with the spell, Makarov disappeared. Surprised, Zeref looked up, and watched Makarov and another man reappear a few stories above him, before both of them vanished. "Oh well," he said apathetically as he watched Makarov and his savior teleport away. "See you at the slaughter, Makarov."
Zeref's mind didn't have time to start drifting as he heard the balcony's double doors slam open followed by laboring breathing. And then, a furious "WHAT. THE. HELL. WAS THAT?!"
Zeref sighed. I should have known better than to think I could just sweep this under the rug like it never happened. He smiled nervously and turned to address the furious voice. "Now, now, there's a perfectly logical explanation for all this."
"OH REALLY? 'CAUSE IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE YOU JUST TRIED TO KILL GRAMPS!"
Zeref let out another defeated sigh, smile slipping as he addressed the furious dragon slayer in front of him. "Tell me, Natsu, how did you expect this to play out? Conflict with Fairy Tail is inevitable. I must have Fairy Heart."
Natsu held his breathing in check, but knew he couldn't quench the fury in his eyes. "Somehow I get the feeling you want it for some other reason than a cure and to take down Acnologia."
Zeref grinned, wide and wild. "I'll cure myself alright. And I'll kill Acnologia. He'll be long gone. In fact," Zeref spread his arms wide and his voice turned manic. "It'll be like he never existed! You and I, Natsu, will destroy him. I will use Fairy Heart to cast neo-Eclipse, and we can go back and live our lives as we were meant to. I won't be cursed, there won't be any more black wizard. Everyone who died will live again! Mom and Dad will be alive again! And Acnologia will never come to be! Don't you see Natsu? This is the best way!"
Natsu's scowl deepened, and he raised his voice. "That's your plan? A hard reset? What about all the people alive now? You'll just be killing them."
Zeref's voice softened but the manic tone remained. "No, Natsu. They will have never been. All of this will just be a bad dream."
"Bullshit. I know you Zeref. You say that cause that damn curse has got its claws in you right now. But once it's outta your head, you'll see. You won't have the curse but you'll have the guilt. But this time-" Natsu pointed straight at Zeref. "All these lives," he gestured around him at the palace, and at the city below them. "They'll be on YOUR hands Zeref. And this isn't like people dying from a curse you can't control. It'll be like you walked up and slit the throat of every single one of them. Every single person alive other than you and me. You're telling me you could live with that guilt? The old you? The same eight-year-old who would cry to Mom every time I threw mud at you? BULLSHIT ZEREF!"
It was Zeref's turn to look enraged. "No, no, no you're wrong. It won't be- I won't be- no you're right I'll- no- no I don't know!" Zeref's face had slipped from rage to confusion to despair, and now he buried it in his hands. "Oh God no- I can't- I must- I can't take this anymore! NATSU! PLEASE! KILL ME!" The black cloud of death that followed him like a Biblical plague since that day at the academy hundreds of years ago exploded out from around him.
Meanwhile, Natsu's eyes went from enraged to sorrowful. "Two days. Two days and months of what we've talked about mean nothing. Two days and you're on this 'kill me' crap again" Natsu crouched and launched himself straight into the death cloud with his flames.
Zeref's eyes widened in horror. "No, Natsu, stay away! You'll-" Zeref's plea was cut off mid sentence as Natsu's head slammed into his. The mighty black mage fell hard against the stone of the balcony, out cold.
Natsu coughed and attempted to fan the death magic away to no avail as it dissipated. Once he was sure it was finally gone, he brought his scarf down from over his mouth and nose and took a deep breath. He groaned, feeling the knot on his forehead. Looking down at Zeref he sighed and slid the scarf off and wrapped it around the k-o'd emperor's neck. "God I'm not looking forward to hearing you whine about your head when you wake up." Rubbing his own, he muttered, "I forget your head's almost as hard as mine." He plopped on the ground next to Zeref, catching his breath as he leaned against the balcony's stone railing. "Honestly, you can be so much damn trouble, big brother."
9 MONTHS EARLIER
In the southeast of Fiore, far from its beautiful cities and villages, a lone mage stood in a forest facing the base of a large mountain. He was covered in dirt, his clothes were torn to shreds, he probably needed a shave and a haircut, and he didn't even wanna think about how he smelled. All that mattered was the mountain in front of him. He looks down at his bandaged right arm, in which the final power of his foster father, Igneel, the fire dragon king, had granted to him before his untimely demise at the hands, or rather claws, of the black dragon of the apocalypse, Acnologia.
While the power he received from Igneel was limited, he discovered something- passed down with the last of his energy, Igneel had bestowed upon him a new power, a new transformation that can handle the immense power of the fire dragon king. As an added bonus it seems, there was no limit to the number of times this fire dragon king mode, he was calling it, could be used- provided his magical energy could sustain it.
So today, he stood staring down the mountain, ready to put himself to the test. "Fire dragon king mode," he yelled, his body growing hotter, so much so that the grass and leaves around him began to smolder. Summoning his flames, he molded them into a sphere around them, yelling once more the name of his newly christened move, "Purgatory!" His flames shot to the heavens, surrounding him, before rapidly expanding, consuming everything in their path.
As the dust cleared, Natsu Dragneel took in the handiwork of his destruction. The flames leveled the forest for at least 25 yards in all directions but had stopped short of his goal- obliterating the mountain. Exhausted and feeling slightly defeated, Natsu fell back onto the ash covered ground. "Not enough." he muttered aloud to himself. The fire dragon king mode was a serious boost to Natsu's strength, but it left his magical energy reserves nearly depleted after just one attack. Sure, he had Igneel's latent power in him he could use, but that was a "one and done" deal. He needed to have the skill completely mastered if he wanted to stand a chance against Zeref and Acnologia.
Sitting up, Natsu clenched his fists. "You just wait, I'll master this power, Dad! I won't let you down again! Right, Happy?!"
His reply was the silence of the forest- or what was left of it. Sighing, Natsu thought about his Exceed friend. Mere days ago, Happy had told Natsu that he was homesick. He said he really didn't want to leave Natsu, but he was missing everyone. "Especially Carla?" Natsu said with a devious smirk. "I know you loooooove her."
"Heh, well, yeah. I guess I do." Happy had replied, blushing.
Natsu looked at his little blue friend, shocked. However, it didn't take him long to flash Happy with his tooth filled smile. "Then you should go to her buddy! Don't worry, I'll be fine!"
Looking at his friend with concern, Happy asked, "Are you sure Natsu?"
Natsu gave his friend a thumbs up. "Absolutely! Go get her bud!"
Happy jumped up in excitement, spreading his wings, and taking off in flight. "Aye sir!" However, he turned around after flying only a few feet away. "Hey Natsu! Thanks!"
"No problem, buddy! Remember to bring her a big fish!"
"Will do!" he said, flying further away.
Turning to go the other way, Natsu suddenly turned back and yelled at his friend, "Hey Happy!" Seeing his friend stop his flight to turn back to look at him, Natsu yelled, "Tell the guild I'll be home soon! And I'll be tougher than ever!" Pausing, he added, "And tell Gray I'll kick his ass!"
He saw Happy salute and say one more enthusiastic "Aye sir!" before disappearing over the tree line. Natsu sighed, looking around the forest around him. It reminded him of when Igneel first vanished, the days before Gildarts found him and took him to Fairy Tail. All alone. It was fine. He would miss everyone, but when he returned, he'd be strong enough to make sure none of his loved ones would be taken from him ever again.
Back in the present Natsu thought how proud of his friend he was, for going after Carla like that. His thoughts drifted to Lucy, wondering if leaving her that letter was really the best way to say goodbye. Course it was! She might be a weirdo but she's a nice weirdo. She'll understand I just needed time after Igneel died... wait why am I trying to convince myself of this? Natsu furrowed his brow, not liking the sinking feeling in his chest. Do I loooooove Lucy?
He was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud thunderclap. Looking up, he saw a storm had rolled in, with sinister-looking black clouds having filled the sky. Another flash of lightning and clap of thunder and as if on cue, rain began to pour from the sky. Thoroughly drenched, Natsu sighed. Guess I was done for the day anyway. I'll give training another go after a good night's sleep. Turning the opposite direction from which he came, Natsu made his way through the parts of the forest he hadn't burned down.
The storm continued to worsen as Natsu walked past the old, twisted trees. Some of the weaker limbs snapped and fell, one hitting him right on top of the head. Angrily, he smashed the limb under his foot. He usually didn't mind storms, but he didn't feel like getting beaten and bruised by every loose tree limb in the forest. "That does it, I'm finding somewhere I can get out of this damn storm." At that he took off, running this time.
It wasn't long before he came to a break in the trees. Looking around, Natsu was surprised to find the clearing to be fairly large and contained several small stone structures. "I didn't think there were any villages around here..." Natsu said aloud. His keen sense of smell had taken careful note of the drafts the wind blew his way, and he hadn't smelled any other people coming from this direction. Sniffing again, he still didn't smell any. As a lighting strike on the nearby mountain lit the clearing, Natsu could see why. The place was abandoned. The structures were little more than rubble, only a few still relatively intact. Grass and weeds had grown up all around, showing no one had set foot here in years.
Then why did it seem so familiar?
Sniffing again, Natsu realized the scent of the place smelled... nostalgic? Warm? He wasn't sure what the right words were. It reminded him of the guildhall or Lucy's apartment or his cabin outside Magnolia on a warm summer night. "Have I been here before?"
His thoughts were interrupted by hail pounding against his skull. "Oh, come on!" he yelled at the sky, quite annoyed. Groaning, he made for a semi-intact building. The door had long rotted off, its remains crunching under Natsu's feet as he stepped through the doorway.
Looking around, there wasn't much to take in. The roof had collapsed in one spot, rain pouring through the hole like a waterfall onto a pile of stone and a burnt rafter that had once held said stone up. It wasn't a large dwelling, with the hole and ruins of the roof being in what Natsu assumed was a living room. Directly past the caved-in fireplace was another doorway, leading to a short hallway that held what he guessed were the bedrooms. On the back wall was a large window looking out on the mature forest, probably once a nice view of the mountains in the distance. In front of said window sat a few pieces of what might have been a dining room table. Immediately to its right was the kitchen, if the remains of the old stone stove was anything to go by.
It was just a ruined old house, so why did Natsu suddenly feel so... emotional? Looking at the place felt like someone was ripping a hole in his heart, like all the times some enemy had destroyed the guildhall. Sighing, Natsu found a dry part of the floor and sat down. Staring at the ceiling and walls he could see faint scorch marks on the stone, knowing the place had been set on fire. Sighing, Natsu lit a small fire in his hands, drying himself off.
He figured the bedrooms might be in better condition, and the one in the front of the hallway was, the room mostly intact save the collapsed wooden bed frames. Natsu laid on the floor, ready to fall asleep. I just feel out of whack because I'm exhausted. I'll have a good night's sleep and feel better in the morning. As he was about to close his eyes, another flash of lightning lit the house, and his eyes caught a glare for a moment of something under one of the collapsed bed frames. Curiosity getting the better of him, Natsu stood up and snapped some of the pieces of the broken bed frame away, until he found what had caught his eye- a simple silver locket with a metal chain.
"Hmmm." Natsu grasped the chain, holding the locket up to his eyes. Despite everything in the ruined house looking dilapidated and broken, the locket was surprisingly in good condition. Looking closer, Natsu wasn't sure it had any type of defect, telling him the old trinket was made from high quality material. Curious, he flipped the locket open, wondering if it would give him a clue to the type of people who had lived here.
He never expected to see his own eyes staring back at him.
Eyes widening, Natsu studied the photograph inside. He was very young in the photo- perhaps as young as when he met Igneel. The clothes his childhood self was wearing were strange, reminding him of Lucy's bedsheets. But it was definitely Natsu, his onyx eyes and spiky salmon hair looking almost identical from past to present.
Natsu frowned in confusion, as if a locket containing a picture of him, he didn't remember wasn't puzzling enough, there was another little boy standing next to him. He was older and taller than Natsu, but not by much. He had dark eyes and dark hair with a strange cowlick in the back, causing it to stand up in one spot, and one of his arms was wrapped around Natsu's shoulder. The other held a book. Something about the other boy unsettled him. Like he had seen him, and recently... and then it clicked.
He had. Three months ago, the day Igneel died. "If you can survive this ordeal, I will bring you even more despair, Natsu." he had said. The other boy was the black wizard, Zeref. Natsu clenched his teeth and began to shake. What the Hell was I doing being so buddy buddy with Zeref?! What could I have possibly-
He sighed and shook off his shivers. What was he getting so worked up for? Zeref was his brother, after all. Natsu relaxed his body and sighed. He was being ridiculous.
...
WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING?! ZEREF CAN'T BE MY BROTHER! WAIT, OF COURSE HE'S MY BROTHER! GHHHHH...
Natsu's head pounded as his thoughts continued to contradict themselves. It felt like something in his mind was snapping. Pain filled his head like a flood, as years of sealed memories came rushing back to him.
Hope you enjoyed! I am currently a few chapters ahead and I hope to post weekly (no promises). Your comments, both positive and critical, are welcome.