Welcome back! Still plenty of angst but thinks are a bit more chill compared to the roller coaster of that was the last chapter.

Hope y'all enjoy!

KEEPING SECRETS CHAPTER 21: TORN

Upon returning to his room, Natsu collapsed on his bed face down, silently letting tears flow off his face and into the fabric. He had spent eight months away from Vistarion, five of which he had been fighting the worst battle of his life... he thought he and Zeref would get a chance to relax and catch their breath before they'd inevitably set off for Ishgar.

So much for that.

"Reality is often unkind" he could all but hear Zeref saying to him.

Sighing, he sat up and looked around his room. Natsu wasn't one to mope around, even with how awful he felt. He needed something to get his mind off of the tribulations that lay ahead... for now, at least.

His eyes caught something as his vision drifted towards his desk… sitting on it was a box, with several envelopes on top, that hadn't been there when he left. Curious, he made his way over the desk and inspected the little stack. There was a note on top of the envelopes-

Prince Natsu,

Here is the material you requested. I made sure to acquire all the issues up to the most recent one that your friend had written in. Just a heads up, there are some indecent photos in some of the issues, which I've marked for your convenience. I also included a report on your guild you might find interesting.

My men also took the liberty of bringing some pictures off your wall from your home outside Magnolia. They thought you'd like to have them for your room here. If you'd like them put back, just let me know.

Also, the leak in your roof has been fixed.

Jacob

Gratitude for the kindness of Jacob and his men growing, Natsu tore open the envelope to find a handful of pictures from his adventures with his guildmates. There was one of him and Happy drawing on Macao and Wakaba's faces after the two had fallen asleep after an intense night of celebration. Then there was one of Happy, Lucy, and him fishing. There were several more, but his favorite was one of his whole team in front of the guildhall shortly before they left for the x791 Grand Magic Games.

Picking up the next envelope, he noticed that it was dated 12/1/791. Remembering that was the last day before he and Zeref set out from the capital, he wondered if these were pictures someone had taken from his and the Twelve's outing at the bar. To his delight, it was- there was a picture of him, Zeref, and August laughing at the bar- one of Natsu looking very happy with his customized action figure from Wall- there were several more, but the best one, in Natsu's opinion, was a picture of him and his brother during their 'unforgettable' karaoke duet, Natsu looking very confident and like he was having the time of his life, while Zeref looked... well, the opposite. Smiling at the happy memories, Natsu set the pictures off to the side on his desk, deciding to find a place to put them on his wall later.

Tearing open the box, he found several papers stapled together labeled ' Report on Fairy Tail Guild: 7/16/792'. Looking through the report, Natsu discovered the guild had indeed reformed... spearheaded by none other than Lucy, Happy, Wendy, and Carla. Seems his old teammates had reunited at the 792 Grand Magic Games, with Lucy doing an article for Sorcerer Weekly on the games, and the other three just attending to watch, as Lamia Scale was not competing that year.

Turns out, all of them found the games boring, at least compared to the eventful tournament the previous year. This inevitably led to talks about reforming Fairy Tail, which had begun when Lucy resigned from Sorcerer Weekly and the other three had left Lamia Scale, and, then, using a map Lucy had pieced together over the past year chronicling the whereabouts of their wayward guildmates- all but Makarov Dreyar and Natsu Dragneel, which the report explained- that Makarov Dreyar was going through legal channels with the Fiorian government and Immigration Bureau to travel to the Alvarez Empire, and Natsu was, well, clearly in the Alvarez Empire as their prince.

Natsu read about his friends taking down Avatar, the dark guild Gray had joined- and to his relief, Gray had indeed been a double agent, working with Erza and the Magic Council no less. The cult had gone so far as to summon a god- which his old teammates were able to take down with a combined attack from all of them at once. Reading about it made Natsu proud of his friends.

The last part of the report noted that upon the guild finally reuniting in Magnolia, Mest came forward with the knowledge of Makarov's location in Alvarez, and convinced Natsu's old team to tag along with him to ensure Master Makarov's safety… the rest, Natsu knew more or less.

How ironic- he and his old team had been converging on Vistarion from opposite directions at the same time. He couldn't help but think how things could have gone if he had beat Zeref back to Vistarion. Would he have been able to get Makarov to agree to peace, once it became evident Zeref was the emperor? He couldn't imagine Gray being too thrilled about any of it, and wondered if his old rival would have just attacked them all then and there.

Sighing, he laid the report aside. While part of him was happy the guild hadn't stayed apart, another part was disappointed the reunion hadn't been led by him and Zeref like he originally planned.

Reaching back into the box, he pulled out a stack of Sorcerer Weekly magazines. He looked through the different copies, excited to read what Lucy had written. He frowned though, as one magazine in particular he picked up had a note that said, 'WARNING- INDECENT' on the front of it. Rolling his eyes at Jacob's note, he opened the magazine.

To a full spread picture of Lucy in a bikini.

He immediately flipped the magazine shut again.

He peeked at the inside and looked at the spread again. What gives? I've seen Lucy naked plenty of times. Why am I getting flustered over a stupid bathing suit picture? Looking at it again, his mood soured when he realized everyone in Fiore that bought this issue had this same picture of Lucy in their possession, to look at whenever they wanted…

Why am I getting so worked up over this?! That same stupid sinking feeling in his chest that arose whenever Lucy had come up in conversation this past year was back. Ugggghhhh! This was supposed to make me feel better!

He pushed himself up from the desk, and went over to his bed, and flopped down in it. Guess I really do have some stuff to talk to Luce about whenever I see her again… whenever that will be.

Natsu didn't leave his room the rest of the night.

And the only reason he left it the next morning was to meet Zeref in the training room to start learning this teleportation spell. His brother barely looked at him whenever Natsu came into the room. Or during the first hour or so of their session. He spoke slowly, his voice low and seemingly devoid of emotion. His movements were slow and lethargic. Natsu hoped Zeref would quit his pouting sooner or later, but he eventually lost his temper and told Zeref to knock it off.

When he did, the dam holding his brother' brother's emotions broke, and tears rolled down Zeref's face as he sank to his knees. "I'm sorry, Natsu,". He said, voice starting to crack. "You had such great plans for us… and I ruined them all. Now this war- either you'll be against me, or you'll be against your guild… and it's all my fault."

He stood up and wiped his eyes. "I know you told me to stop thinking about it… but… I couldn't. I thought more about what would happen if I was successful with Fairy Heart and went back in time… and I think you're right. It wouldn't be the same. I wouldn't be the same. ... as much as I know I'd want to put the past, or previous timeline, or whatever, behind me… if I'm being brutally honest with myself, I know I'd never be free from it. All the lives my curse took, and then the rest Neo-Eclipse would have taken… I'd never shake the weight of them. And I'd never stop missing Mavis, despite everything that's happened. And I know you wouldn't be the same either. And Mom and Dad… we'd only be able to hide it for so long, then they'd be so confused, they wouldn't understand."

Sighing deeply, Zeref said, "I don't know why I thought it was such a good idea… maybe because it was the one I had my heart set on for so long? But now that it's out in the open and hearing the consequences of what it would cause from someone else... I don't know what to do now. I want to die, so very badly… I know you won't let me, but I don't know how I can make it up this time."

Natsu listened, frown deepening at times when Zeref spoke. When he finished, Natsu sighed, and said, "Well moping and wishing you were dead definitely ain't gonna make up for it, so cut that shit out right now." Natsu smiled a little bit at Zeref's startled expression. "Realizing you've screwed up is the first step… and you've done that, and then you've apologized… and now, you started teaching me this teleportation stuff, so you're making progress! Just don't give up. Keep going!"

Zeref smiled a bit at Natsu's enthusiasm, but it didn't take long for his face to fall again. "I… I just can't figure out what to do from here. Hell, I thought about going to your guildhall, finding Makarov, with you this time, and seeing if he would listen… but no way that ends well. Either he turns on you too, or… even if he likes what we say or offer, no doubt the Council knows about my identity as Emperor Spriggan now… if Makarov suddenly said he made peace with the empire, he would basically be saying he made peace with the 'dreaded black wizard Zeref'. And that could put the rest of your guild at risk.

"What if he found a way to support us, like, secretly?" Natsu hopefully asked.

To his dismay, Zeref shook his head. "If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't. The Magic Council likes to keep a tight leash around the legal guilds in Ishgar… if he did anything that would look friendly with Alvarez, it could be seen as an endorsement of me and then Fairy Tail would be branded a dark guild in a heartbeat."

Natsu frowned and folded his arms. "This sucks. I don't know what we can do!"

Zeref sighed. "Maybe we should just keep working on teaching you to teleport for now. We can't control everything going on with Fairy Tail and Ishgar at this point, but we can control this."

Natsu grinned a little. "Alright." His grin grew as he said, "But you have to quit being so mopey… we don't know what the future holds, but we're here together now, right?"

Zeref smiled a little in response. "Right."

As they went on with their training, Natsu noticed that Zeref did attempt to smile and not sound so lethargic, but also that his smiles didn't quite meet his eyes and lighter tone sounded forced at times.

Throughout the week, Natsu tried to talk to some of his friends around the palace about his predicament. While most of them offered their sympathies and shared in his frustration, no one seemed to be able to offer him a solution.

Yajeel had begged him for forgiveness (that he didn't need, Natsu insisted), saying the only reason he didn't tell Natsu about Makarov right away was due to him and His Majesty being busy with the rebellion in Devereaux and he didn't want to put further stress on them. He explained his original plan was to discreetly take Natsu to Makarov when he returned to Vistarion, and let the two catch up and casually discuss things as Natsu simultaneously worked out a way to tell Makarov about Zeref, and then come up with a peace offer together.

On the plus side, even with what Makarov had seen of the palace and Vistarion, Yajeel had managed to keep his guild master from finding out about Natsu's presence in the empire… which would have been even better if Zeref could have kept his big mouth shut about 'raising Natsu' to Makarov during their unfortunate encounter.

Natsu asked Invel if they could just not invade, and hoped the issue would just go away in time and then offer to negotiate for peace. Invel said if His Majesty's identity hadn't been discovered, that possibly could have worked, but since it had, he couldn't see anywhere in Ishgar accepting a peace offering without some show of force… he explained if the empire did nothing, the Magic Council would take the time to build up their forces, perhaps even revamping the Face weapon or the Etherion Cannon- two of the biggest reasons Alvarez had avoided conflict with Ishgar before. All the while, they would no doubt fill the general population's minds with fear of what the dreaded black wizard Zeref was planning with his evil empire across the seas. Panic would increase, calls for war would become more popular- the armies of Ishgar would grow and, especially if they rebuilt their magic superweapons, they would likely try and strike the empire first… and while there was a high probability the empire could win a war on their own turf, magical superweapons or no… the cost of life, on both sides, would be high.

The Magic Council had already been attempting to subvert the empire from the shadows- the rebellion in Devereaux showcased that much. Now that the information about the emperor's identity was public knowledge, it would be no time at all before they could find another figurehead like Ashford to prop up- and perhaps even directly support.

The situation was beyond distressing for Natsu. So much so that the others, especially those who worked closely with the prince, such as members of the Twelve, had noticed how his normally bright personality had deflated and was replaced with something not unlike his brother's. He had even turned Wall down about seeing the completed motion sickness free airship, telling the macias he didn't want to get excited over something he might have to destroy.

It was sad to watch, but try as they might, no one could come up with an answer that would rectify things for their divided prince.

Jackal had thrown a fit over the idea of Natsu going back to Ishgar and leaving him behind, recalling how Natsu had said he didn't want Jackal going back to Fairy Tail with him. However, when Natsu told Jackal that was before he considered him his friend, the etherious burst into tears, hugged him, and told him he was the best boss ever… while Natsu imagined how awkward it would be strolling back into the guildhall with Jackal in tow.

Natsu had hoped he could talk to August about his thoughts on the matter, given his origins in Ishgar and his high opinion of Fairy Tail, but the leader of the Twelve had been impossible to track down after the confrontation with Zeref at the rooftop gardens. Even Zeref hadn't had much interaction with August, something his brother indeed noted was strange for the Twelve's leader. Zeref really was only able to find him due to his ability to teleport, and even then, August would barely look at him. He'd stretch his hands out, purify the scarf, mutter if that was all, to which Zeref would confirm, and then August said he would be going. Zeref said he never would have thought his words would have had the effect they did on his oldest ally, as he knew how Zeref's curse worked better than anyone, due to the amount of time they had spent together, but Zeref supposed the man had grown more attached to him than he had initially thought over the years.

In a fit of desperation, Natsu had even sought out the advice of the only other person he knew with connections to Ishgar- his 'devoted servant', God Serena. The eight element dragon slayer had welcomed Natsu into his suite in the palace, which was a bizarre experience- the walls were covered with full body mirrors, paintings of God Serena himself, and a large painting of Natsu in the center of the room's largest wall (where had he even got that thing?!). Even God Serena for all his daft personality, must have noticed Natsu's uncomfortable demeanor upon seeing it, and he tried to assure the prince he simply wanted to remind himself to 'stay humble' by remembering he pledged his service to the prince… which made Natsu wonder where his painting of Zeref, the emperor of the empire he claimed to serve, was, but he decided he didn't want to press the issue any more than it had been already.

When Natsu explained why he was visiting, God Serena offered his apologies and sympathies for Natsu's predicament in typical God Serena fashion- so in other words, in a pose filled monologue about how 'magnificent the prince's devotion to his loved ones was!'

However, when Natsu asked how God Serena felt about the conflict and how it affected his relationships and connections back in Ishgar, he was almost visibly shocked at the former number one wizard's saint serious response.

His goofy smile practically melting off his face, God Serena said, free of posing or ridiculous inflection, "To be completely honest, Your Highness… I have no one left in Ishgar that I care for or have any type of bond with. I do not have one qualm about going back over there and waging war against them… especially those on the Council."

Natsu looked a little surprised. "You have a bad history with the Council too?"

God Serena nodded, and said, "It is a sad story… and one I do not care to share, but… I would prefer not to at this moment, if that is alright. I understand how distressed you are over this situation, and I do think sharing my past would help rectify things at the moment…"

His goofy smile returned, and he said in his usual flamboyant tone, "But fear not, Your Highness! If you ask, I will set my own feelings aside and follow you back to Ishgar! If that is what you choose." He brought his poses back as he said this as well and finished his declaration with an overdramatic bow.

Natsu smiled uncomfortably. "Thanks God Serena! I appreciate your support…" That'd be something… for one I don't think Zeref would appreciate me stealing members from the Twelve… and secondly, how on Earthland would I explain strolling back to the guildhall with Jackal AND God Serena by my side?

As God Serena went into another pose filled monologue about how magnificent it was to serve him, Natsu internally lamented he was no closer to a solution.

Four days after they started training, Natsu made his first jump with the teleportation magic- to a balcony on one of the upper floors, at the other end of the palace. As he smiled, basking in the success of his first time teleporting, he suddenly realized he felt someone's eyes on him. Turning from the view of the city, he found Brandish, clearly sunbathing, staring at him, looking very surprised.

Natsu felt his face heat up. He hadn't seen Brandish since he had been back, making when she had given him the unexpected kiss at the palace gates the last time he had seen her. He wasn't prepared to face the music as far as that went, so he awkwardly said, "Uh… sorry, didn't know you were up here… gimme a second and I'll try and teleport back to the training room…"

At that, Brandish's surprised expression faded back into her usual apathetic one. "Wow. A kiss goodbye, don't hear from you for eight months, and then when you do come back, you avoid me like the plague. Really know how to leave a girl hanging."

Natsu's eyes widened, and he laughed nervously. "We'll… uh, you see-"

Brandish chuckled at his reaction. "Oh relax, I'm just playing with you." She smiled a little before her face fell and said, "I heard you had quite the surprise waiting for you when you got back. I figured you wouldn't take it well…" She paused for a moment and said, "Wanna take a break with me up here? I'll have my lousy excuse for a lieutenant bring you one of these…". She gestured at a delicious looking ice cream sundae on the end table next to her.

Natsu thought about it for a second and nodded. He shot Zeref a quick message on his communication lacrima and then sat next to Brandish in the other open lounge chair. He sighed, "Look, I really wasn't trying to avoid you… It's just that with what happened with Zeref and Gramps- Master Makarov that is- when I finally got back, I've… not really felt like myself."

He sighed. "As much as I've been racking my brain for a solution… I haven't been able to find one. It's looking more and more like I'm gonna have to pick a side… and I don't want to! I still feel loyal to my guild… but I also feel loyal to the empire now. Either way, I have to fight people who I care about… just thinking about it makes me nauseous."

Brandish took a bite of her ice cream and nodded. "I figured it was something like that… I don't envy you in the slightest. Sounds like a real hassle."

Natsu snorted. "Yeah, that's one way of putting it."

After a moment of silence between them, Natsu continued, "I don't wanna… I don't know how to say it…". His face was turning red. "Ignore your feelings either? It's just… I'm not good at stuff like that, and it was really unexpected… and now I'm confused, cuz I didn't think I cared about stuff like that, but I'm wondering if I've had feelings like that all along, and just not realized it."

Brandish hesitated a moment, before she quietly asked, "You talking about Heartfilia?"

Natsu clenched his eyes shut for a moment, knowing now about Brandish's own troubled feelings involving Lucy. He quietly replied, "Yes."

Neither said anything for a moment, but then Brandish laughed. "I knew it. Seriously, I've only met her like, once, and she's already proving to be the biggest hassle I've ever had to deal with."

Natsu furrowed his brow. "I thought you had never met Lucy?"

Brandish's eyes widened. "Oh, I guess you don't know… I ran into your friends on Caracole Island shortly before you came back."

That caught Natsu's attention. "Wait, really?! You sure it was them?"

Brandish nodded. "Hard to miss Lucy's face when I had a vendetta against her for so long. Or those flying cats they had with them. Let's see… then there was the one chick that looked like Lady Irene, a little girl with dark blue hair, and two guys, who vaguely looked alike? One couldn't keep his shirt on though…"

Natsu laughed. "Yep, that'd be my team alright. Plus Mest… he was the guy that kept his clothes on. How'd you end up meeting them anyway?"

"Well, I got bored, there hadn't been any interesting missions for me in a hot minute, so I decided to take a mini vacation to Caracole, cuz apparently they had this really yummy dessert called Star Mango Gelato, so I was gonna go try it, but right before I left we got intel saying there was a spy from Ishgar there, so I thought, 'why not, I'll kill two birds with one stone.' So, I get on a ship, sail all the way there… only to find once I actually get off the boat, my idiot lieutenant has not only destroyed the Star Mango Gelato seller's entire business, but taken two women he was fighting to his 'relaxation dimension'- don't ask me what it is, I don't wanna know. He tried to blame them, but I told him to bring the girls back- and low and behold, he pulled out Lucy and Lady Irene's look-alike. I was thoroughly annoyed by that point, so I may have shrunk the island to the size of a stepping stone after that…. Then I told them Makarov was alive but to just go home, and that Ishgar didn't stand a chance against us… yeah maybe not the friendliest introduction, but I tried to be nice for your sake…"

"Well, thanks Brandish, I appreciate you not hurting them."

Brandish nodded. "Sure. Turns out the whole spat started because of two soldiers that wanted to be massive dicks and threaten a kid… your friends stepped in to defend said kid. Don't worry, those two have already been dishonorably discharged. Would have liked to do the same to Lieutenant Hallow, but I gotta admit, his magic is handy, so I'm giving him a chance to make up for it…"

"Something I am eternally grateful for, Lady Brandish! This is why you are an A plus plus!"

Natsu turned his head and saw a new man, evidently Lieutenant Hallow, had come onto the balcony from the palace, holding what he assumed was the ice cream Brandish ordered for him . He had medium length black spiky hair and had on a purple jacket and pants plus a white shirt underneath his jacket. On his head was a headband and sunglasses.

Brandish sighed and said, "I don't know how many times I have to tell you, Marin, you ranking me that is not helping your case." She turned back to Natsu. "Anyway Natsu, this is my lieutenant, Marin Hallow. Marin, meet Prince Natsu."

Marin's eyes focused on Natsu, and they widened as the man kneeled on one knee while keeping the sundae perfectly balanced. "Prince Natsu, I am honored… let me say, I don't usually rank other men, but you are easily an A plus!" He held the ice cream out to where Natsu could reach it.

Natsu made a confused face as he took the ice cream and said, "Uh, thanks… I think."

Brandish scowled. "I was telling the prince how you kidnapped some of his friends…"

Marin's face paled and he seemed extremely nervous as he said, "Well, ah, you see, Prince Natsu, it was an HONEST misunderstanding… I thought they were the foreign agents we had been tracking, and two rotten soldiers picked a fight with them, and not knowing, I intervened, and things just got carried away from there… but let me say this! Your guild is blessed to have such beautiful A plus women in it!"

Natsu narrowed his eyes, not really liking the way he was describing Erza and Lucy. "Uhh… thanks." He deadpanned.

"One of those 'A pluses' is the love of his life, Marin."

Marin's eyes widened again, and he bowed. "Respectfully, of course, Your Highness!"

Natsu's face turned red. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean-"

Brandish nonchalantly waved a hand. "Oh, come on, it was more or less a joke… I figured there was something between you and Lucy from how you talked… I mean, the only reason I did what I did before you and His Majesty left on your little trip was to try and one up her. Bet she hadn't tried anything like that before, huh?" Brandish looked quite sure of herself.

Natsu brought a hand to his chin. "Well, we were babysitting once, and the kid we were watching asked if we could kiss…I was gonna do it, but when I went in for it, she got all red in the face… and she blocked her face with Happy, so I kissed my exceed friend instead."

"Pffffft." Brandish chuckled. "Coward."

"Hahaha, if that's your biggest competition, your victory is assured, Lady Brandish!"

Brandish looked back over her shoulder at Marin. "Why are you still here?"

"Eeep! I, uh, sorry, I'll be leaving now!" Marin stuttered.

Marin turned to leave, but Natsu just thought for fun, he'd ask, "Hey Marin! I know you said you didn't rank guys, but if you had to, what would you rank the two you met from my guild?"

"Oh, he did rank them, I believe." Brandish said, still glaring at Marin. "Why don't you tell him, Marin? And be honest. I'll know if you're lying."

Marin cleared his throat, and he very nervously said, "I-I told them they were F minuses, Your Highness."

Natsu looked at him in surprise for a moment, before he began hysterically laughing. "Okay Brandish, you made a good call giving this guy another chance. He's got potential."

Marin slowly joined Natsu's laughter, but Brandish just looked at him, clearly confused. "Is this an inside joke you have with your guild I don't know about?"

"Well, more like a rivalry I have with the stripping guy, Gray… I'll be sure to tell him I got an A plus ranking next-". Natsu was interrupted by his communication lacrima ringing. He rolled his eyes and answered, "What? Invel? Alright, let me finish my ice cream real quick and I'll be back." Hanging up the call with his brother, Natsu downed the ice cream quickly, before he stood up, and said, "Good meeting you, Marin. See ya later, Brandish! Thanks for the ice cream… and for listening!"

Marin bowed, and Brandish said, "Sure." Before he teleported, she said, "Hey Natsu… good luck with everything." She smiled, a bit sadly, as she said, "And no hard feelings, if you pick your guild instead of us."

While the last part of her statement made him sad, he smiled all the same. "Thanks Brandish, I appreciate it." He took a deep breath, focusing on the mental image of the training room and the magic in the air flowing there, as Zeref had described it to him- and initiated the spell, disappearing from the balcony.

Seconds later, he appeared back in the training room, where Invel had joined his brother.

"Nice to see your training is coming along nicely, Your Highness." Invel said.

"Thanks!" Natsu replied, smiling. "So, what did you need to see me for?"

While Invel's stoic face didn't change, the light in his eyes seemed to dim as he said, "I wanted to let you know, Your Highness. I understand you are quite distressed over our current situation… but in truth, we need to know your decision either way, because we need to begin strategizing for the upcoming war…"

"And you need to know if you can count on me or will be fighting me. I get it." Natsu's enthusiasm he had regained with Brandish died on his tongue.

Invel bowed his head. "I am in no position to be giving you orders… but I hope you understand, this situation is far from normal."

"I understand." Natsu sighed. "Can I have til the end of the week?"

Invel bowed. "Of course."

"Thanks, Invel."

Invel nodded and then bowed again, saying, "That was all then. I'll be taking my leave." He promptly walked out of the training room, leaving only Natsu and Zeref once again.

After a few moments of silence, Zeref sighed and said, "Natsu, you don't need to draw this out any longer… you should go back to your guild. I understand, really. You don't need to feel like you have to stay just because we're brothers… I understand Fairy Tail is your family too." He smiled sadly at Natsu.

Who shook his head. "You're such a moron, Zeref. That's exactly why I'm having trouble deciding… Fairy Tail is my family… but so are you. And the Twelve too, now. Either side I pick… I have to fight people I care about. Either way… I lose."

"I shouldn't have…

"If you're about to say anything along the lines of 'you shouldn't have let me stay here to begin with' I will punch you across this room- again!"

Zeref held up his hands in surrender. "It's just… this isn't fair for you, Natsu. That's the only reason I'd think something like that. I haven't lied that I've been ecstatic to have you back in my life… selfishly, I don't want to go, but… things just keep pointing that direction."

Natsu cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean by that?"

Sighing again, Zeref unraveled Natsu's scarf from around his neck and held it up for his brother to inspect. "I noticed it this morning…"

Natsu's eyes widened as he looked at the fraying fabric in the center of the scarf, where several of Igneel's scales had fallen off… and more looked like they were going to come undone soon. "No… but…"

"Invel was right, the other day when he said it was at its limit… he just didn't know to this extent." Zeref paused for a moment. "You should take it back… it's a sign-"

"Don't give me that bs! You're saying 'it's a sign' to mask your idea that I just need to abandon you here!" As he inspected the scarf again, he said, "Maybe Irene can help fix it…"

Zeref shook his head. "If she does by some miracle agree, it's only prolonging the inevitable Natsu."

Natsu scowled. "It was never supposed to be the permanent solution, Zeref. It just shows… we need to…"

His brother smiled sadly again, and said, quietly, "Thank you Natsu… but I think we are out of time."

Natsu's nostrils flared. "NO! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT!" He yelled, startling Zeref. "I don't care which side I choose- it doesn't mean I'm giving up on you! I'm gonna look for the cure regardless! And when this stupid war is over, curing you takes precedence over everything! Got it?!"

Zeref shook his head. "That's very kind and noble of you, Natsu… but I wouldn't know how that could work, if we're fighting on opposing sides."

"We'll figure it out." Natsu growled. He turned to storm off but stopped suddenly, before he reached the door. "Zeref… how long til I can teleport long distances… like really far away?"

"Hypothetically, you can now, but it will likely leave you extremely drained… why? Where do you want to go?"

Natsu turned back around, a serious look in his eyes. "Ishgar… I wanna go back to our old village. I'm gonna try to collect my thoughts there."

Zeref insisted on another day of training to ensure Natsu had indeed got the hang of teleporting, by having him teleport to various places in the palace and around Vistarion and then back to the training room. When he proved he was able to do that, he teleported back to Ashford's hideout in Devereaux and then after a few hours of rest, back to the palace again. Zeref also taught Natsu how to use requip magic to store the Book of E.N.D. as he had promised many months ago.

The next night, before he made his first intercontinental jump, Zeref told Natsu to cover his Alvarez tattoo. Natsu didn't know who would see it, seeing he was going back to a ruined village nobody had frequented in centuries, but he obliged nonetheless.

Bidding his brother goodbye, Natsu pictured his childhood home, thousands of miles away… and after several minutes concentration, Natsu cast the teleportation spell, and found himself back in the village that had been his and Zeref's world so many years ago.

This wasn't the first time he'd been back to the village since his initial confrontation with Zeref, however- during his recovery from his match with Larcade, Zeref had snuck him away from the watchful eyes of Invel and Dr. Williams for a few minutes to show him a surprise- that Zeref had a headstone made for Igneel and placed it next to their parents' under the old oak tree.

Approaching all three of his parents' graves, Natsu sighed as he read all of them again. After a moment of silence, he said, "I wish all of you- or Hell, at least one of you was here right now." Thinking of his conversation with Igneel in his soul months prior, he sighed, and said, "I guess you're here, technically, Igneel, but I wish you could talk to me."

He felt his eyes water and tears start to flow down his face. Voice cracking, he continued, "Cuz I really don't know what to do. Either way, I'm fighting against people I love… whichever side I pick, I feel like I'm betraying my loved ones on the other." He was quiet for a moment, and then looked to the skies and yelled, "THIS ISN'T FAIR! WHY DID MY BROTHER HAVE TO BE THE ONE CURSED? WHY DOES MY GUILD HAVE TO BE HIS ENEMY? WHY ARE ALL OF YOU GONE, AND WHY AM I STILL HERE? I DON'T KNOW THE RIGHT WAY TO GO!"

He received nothing in reply but of the leaves of the trees rustling around him, and the sound of his own crying.

Exhaustion from the long-range teleportation spell overtaking him, Natsu sat, and eventually laid against the ground. Sleep began to overtake him, but not before he had one final thought on the matter.

If anyone up there is listening… you know I don't ask for much, but…

Could you please show me a sign for what I should do?

Curious to hear everyone's predictions on what route Natsu's going to take. We'll find out next chapter! Along with some other BIG revelations...

Thanks for reading everyone! See you next week!