Welcome back everybody. I'm glad everyone seemed to like chapter 7 since I was really afraid no one would like it. This chapter has a similar vibe, so I hope you enjoy it as well.

KEEPING SECRETS CHP. 8- TIES THAT BIND

Zeref sat in an old, comfortable armchair in his study, mind deep in a book on the theory of ice and fire magic coexisting in a single user's body, as he heard a knock on the door and then heard the door open. "Hey Zeref, you still here?"

Zeref smiled as he heard his brother's voice, thinking to himself, I still can't believe Natsu's here with me. It's like a dream... He felt the death predation magic start to build up in him, so he quickly put the happy thoughts out of his head. "Yeah, over here, Natsu."

Zeref's study was more or less a maze of bookshelves with some chairs and a desk thrown in, as well as a display case for some interesting things he'd found in his travels. Natsu, from the sound of his grumbling, was having trouble navigating said maze. Eventually he rounded the corner of one of the bookshelves in front of Zeref. "There you are," he said, smiling. "Your scent's pretty similar to these old musty books, but you also got, like, a nice, homey rustic fireplace smell going for you, at least when your curse isn't active. So that's how I was able to find you. I was about to start blowing through these bookshelves."

Zeref laughed and smiled nervously, "Yeah, I guess that's a good thing... Please don't destroy my study. I actually do like what I have here very much..." He noticed Natsu was looking at him with a disappointed look on his face. "What is it? Everything alright?" Zeref cocked his head slightly to the side, looking at Natsu with concern.

Natsu sighed. "You're back in the dress."

Zeref rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead as he let out a sigh. "Did you have a real reason for finding me or did you come just to insult my clothing choices yet again?"

"Oh yeah, that's right. There was something I was gonna ask. Dimaria mentioned it while we were out."

Zeref smiled again. "Did you have fun with Dimaria and Ajeel?"

Natsu smiled wide. "Yeah, I sure did! They're cool. I thought Ajeel was gonna be annoying at first, like Gray or Gajeel, but turns out he just likes a good fight, like me." Natsu's grin faded a bit before he continued, "I was telling them how the Twelve almost reminded me of a guild... and then Dimaria asked me the same thing that Jacob guy did the other day. What would I do if Fairy Tail and Alvarez had to fight each other." Zeref frowned as Natsu said this. "They didn't tell me much, just that they thought you wanted something from Fairy Tail... and that you had some 'personal ties' to the guild other than me, whatever that means?"

Zeref let out a deep sigh. I really didn't want to talk about this, but I guess it's better we get it over with now rather than later. "It's... a long story. You should sit down, Natsu."

Natsu looked at him curiously but nodded and sat down in the nearest chair. Taking a deep breath, Zeref began, "Many years ago... about a century now, if I'm not mistaken, I was wandering in the wilderness, as I often do. I drifted near the outskirts of Magnolia, and I met Fairy Tail's first master, Mavis Vermillion, and her friends, who were hiding outside of the city. Apparently, a dark guild had taken control of the city, and they wanted to save it. However, they were all novices in magic... so Mavis begged me to teach them. And for some reason... I did. Maybe I was trying to make myself feel better, having unwillingly caused so much destruction and death in the world, and thought that this time I could help these traveling mages in their quest to save the city." Zeref smiled sadly.

Natsu looked at Zeref in shock. "Wait, you know Master Mavis? And old goofy tree man Warrod?"

Zeref nodded. "I did." He furrowed his brow for a second. "You say that like you know them. I guess Warrod makes sense since he's a Wizard saint, but Mavis has been dead for nearly a century."

"Well, yeah, but her ghost had been hanging around with us since after she saved us from Acnologia on Tenrou Island."

Zeref looked genuinely surprised for a moment. "I had a gut feeling Mavis had something to do with your survival. But her ghost? Ghosts aren't- never mind. Let me get back to my story and then I'll tell you what I think about her 'ghost'. With Mavis and Warrod were Yuri Dreyar, your latest guild master, Makarov's father, and a brilliant young man named Precht Gaebolg... who you probably know better as Hades, former master of Grimoire Heart." His tone became embittered upon mentioning Precht.

Natsu nodded. "Oh yeah, that old geezer. I almost forgot he said he was master of Fairy Tail before Gramps."

Zeref nodded. "It is unfortunate what became of Precht. He was a promising student..." Zeref fiddled with his fingers before he continued, "But not as unfortunate as what became of Mavis." Zeref looked at Natsu intently. "Every person is born with a natural magic- an element their bodies are attuned to more than others. For you and I, it was fire. Your guild master Makarov's family seems to have an affinity for lightning." He sighed, his eyes full of sorrow. "For Mavis, it was illusion magic. And she was a prodigy. Her illusion spells, despite her being so inexperienced, were so far advanced you would have thought she was a master. I would have loved to see what she could have accomplished with them had she..." Zeref grasped his head with his hands and shook it slowly. "I'm getting distracted. The point is, Mavis wasn't content in just knowing illusion magic. She wanted something... offensive she could use in a desperate situation. Seeing she didn't have time to learn a whole new element or school of magic, I decided to teach her a single spell- a very old, very powerful spell. Older than the living magic I used to create the etherious, maybe. A spell that would target only enemies and leave allies and bystanders unharmed- Law."

Natsu shook his head quickly in disbelief. "Wait, you mean Law like Fairy Law? You created Fairy Law!?"

"I taught her the original spell. From what I understand, Fairy Law is Mavis's altered, improved version of the original. I didn't think she'd actually use it. Mavis was a bright girl- she didn't get the name 'Fairy Tactician' for nothing. With the power Yuri, Precht, and Warrod had gained, plus Mavis's high level illusion magic and incredible tact, they should have easily wiped the floor with those dark mages." Zeref's eyes flashed red as he clenched his fists. "But as you know, Natsu, reality is often unkind."

Natsu looked at Zeref, bewildered. "Well, what happened?"

Zeref's eyes looked empty as he continued. "I wasn't there, but from what I understand... Yuri Dreyar's life was in danger from a dangerous artifact the dark guild possessed. Mavis cast an incomplete version of Law and succeeded in saving his life... but at great cost. I didn't see Mavis for almost a decade after their battle in Magnolia... but when I did, she hadn't aged a day from the last time I had seen her. It was then I realized, her, an inexperienced mage, casting an incomplete form of Law- I don't understand or know why, but that spell shouldn't have worked- Yuri Dreyar should have died that day. Mavis using that spell to save him angered Ankhseram, the god of life and death, same as I did when I tried to bring you back... she had been cursed with the curse of contradiction, like me."

Zeref looked down, and he fiddled with his hands again. "I tried to warn her, but she didn't listen. Many months later, I found her in the wilderness... suffering alone, with the guilt that her curse had taken the life of someone she cared for. By then, she knew who I was... I had told her before, and she didn't reject me then... and as the only two people to share this awful curse we... did the unthinkable. We fell in love." Zeref smiled genuinely for a moment before he continued, "We committed the ultimate taboo... two people, who if they cared for others, would take life...it should have been impossible to do what we did. I should have known better. Mavis, she... died. I thought my curse had overpowered hers' and killed her like it's killed so many others. So, I took her body back to her guild. I told Precht who I was, gave him her body, and left. Now though… I suppose she wasn't truly dead, but more or less in a comatose state. I'm guessing her 'ghost' is actually her thought projection… it would be just like Mavis to somehow regain enough consciousness to use one. I thought I had sensed her watching me on one of my travels not long ago… I suppose that explains it."

"You and the first master… fell in love? Wow. Can't say I saw that one coming." Natsu's brow furrowed for a moment before his features lightened again. "Pretty cool you could sense her thought projection though. I thought only people in the guild could see her."

"I see, so that's how it works." Zeref's eyes seemed distant, but he smiled. "Very clever, Mavis." He then looked back at Natsu. "But there's much more to the story than her just being able to use thought projections. Several years ago, I learned something... our two curses, at war in her dead, yet not dead body, combined with the numerous resurrection spells Precht cast trying to save her... it created something incredible. A source of magic that will never run out... an infinite source of magic power, called Fairy Heart."

"Wait, infinite magic? The guild has something like that? But how come I haven't heard of it?"

"For good reason, it seems there are few who do know about it. Probably just Master Makarov and maybe a few of your upper ranked members... in fact, the only reason Alvarez learned about it in the first place is because Makarov's son Ivan knew of it, and he wanted it for himself. He came here to Alvarez some time ago, while I was away, and tried to convince the Twelve to help him wage war against Fairy Tail and steal it. I've been told he was laughed out of the palace because he and his 'elite anti-Fairy Tail mages' were so unbelievably weak, something I believe after what you've told us about Raven Tail's poor showing at last year's Grand Magic Games. However, I found the idea of Fairy Heart plausible, so I had our intelligence look into it. They confirmed a massive abnormal source of magic power existing under your guildhall. So, I'd wager it is hidden somewhere in your guild's basement."

Zeref stared at Natsu, a serious look on his face. "I wish to have the power of Fairy Heart for myself. I will use it to destroy my curse, as well as Acnologia. And this will undoubtedly put Alvarez on a collision course with Fairy Tail, once your guild inevitably reforms."

Natsu stared at Zeref, eyes wide. "But hang on a second though... You trained the founders of Fairy Tail? That basically means you're one of the guild's founders too!" His face lit up in a wide smile.

Zeref smiled back slightly, hand on his chin. "I've never claimed as such... but I suppose you have a point. To me, Fairy Tail was always Mavis's creation... a wonderful guild, full of wonderful people, untouched by darkness." He looked over towards Natsu again, still smiling. "I had no idea you had joined her guild after you came through the Eclipse Gate. Not until we met on Tenrou Island. I... I was happy you got to be part of something so good."

"That I have you to thank for, it seems." Natsu said, which made Zeref give him a surprised look. "Not only did you literally give me my life back, but by helping Mavis... you ended up giving me a new family too. Thank you, brother." Natsu smiled wide.

"Natsu, everything I do is out of selfishness. I told you, I wanted to feel better after-"

"Yeah, yeah, blahblahblah, you've said that all a million times before. I guess I can believe you this time, kinda, since you and Mavis loooooooved each other." Natsu said playfully, reminiscent of his friend Happy. "Let me guess, you and Mavis shared a big kiss?" Natsu made a silly face and puckered his lips.

To Natsu's surprise, Zeref's face turned bright red. "Well... actually... we did a bit more than kiss..."

Natsu's eyes widened at this revelation. "Ewww! Alright, I get it, you don't need to say anything else." Natsu waved his hands in front of him, not wanting to imagine anything else about the first master and his brother. "Still, you really did do a good thing helping Mavis and her friends. Fairy Tail has been a force for good in the world, despite what the Magic Council will tell you. We've even cleaned up a lot of your messes, like Deliora, Lullaby, Tartaros... and more than that, you helped more than just me- there were a lot more kids that didn't have anywhere else to go, like Erza and Gray, and Fairy Tail became their family too."

"Yet at the end of the day, all three of you have me to blame for being alone in the first place."

"Pfffft. I wouldn't say that."

"Well I would!" Zeref raised his voice as he became defensive. "I abandoned you, hoping you would hate and destroy me. As for your friends, I know their stories. I could have stopped Deliora, but I let him run around unchecked... and Gray lost both of his parents and the woman who took him in after to that demon. Erza was kidnapped and enslaved by a cult committing atrocities in my name, who wasted so many lives constructing the r system to serve as nothing more than a distraction for the Magic Council." Zeref's eyes flashed red several times during his rant, and Natsu could smell the death magic building up in his brother.

Natsu sighed and unwrapped his scarf from around his neck and then offered it to Zeref. "Well, I would say that cult was full of awful people whether your name was involved or not. If you never became the black wizard, they'd probably still done a bunch of bad stuff in some other bad guy's name. As for me and Gray, well... that's all your curse's fault. Just like you wouldn't have killed all those people without the curse, you wouldn't have abandoned me or let Deloria run around unchecked."

Zeref took the scarf and wrapped it around his own neck. "Perhaps, but you shouldn't be so quick to justify my sins..."

"I'm not justifying them; I'm merely pointing out you're a victim too. And now, I'm wondering, why does Ankhseram only punish people like you and Mavis, who were trying to save lives, and not people like Hades or Brian, er Master Zero, whatever you wanna call him, from the Oracion Seis, who only wanted to hurt or destroy others?"

Zeref furrowed his brow. "Well, I'm not sure. I would suppose that would be because the spells Mavis and I were using messed with the natural order of the world."

"Yeah, I don't buy that. You're gonna sit there and tell me Brain using Nirvana to alter everyone in the world's personalities or Hades trying to create his 'ultimate magic world' or whatever he called it- You're telling me that's not messing with the natural order of things? Nah. The real villain here in Ankhseram. He's only cursing people with good intentions." Zeref stared at Natsu wide eyed, as his brother clenched his fists, smirked, and boldly declared, "So I'm gonna go back to Igneel and me's original plan- I'm gonna kill that damn god!"

"Natsu, don't say things like that! You could end up cursed yourself, and even if you somehow could find and kill him, you could turn the world on its head!" Zeref said frantically, trying to stop his brother from doing something reckless yet again.

Natsu was undeterred, however. "Well let him curse me! In fact, I dare him! Whatever he's planning for me, call it destiny or fate or whatever, I'll burn it to ashes! Besides, I ain't heard about that loser in years- since before I went through the Eclipse Gate. I don't know how gods or any of that stuff works, but I doubt he's got any followers left. He's gotta be super weak by now! The world should get along just fine without him." Natsu's enthusiasm seemed to fade a bit as he looked back at Zeref. "But I guess we can work on a plan to get rid of him later. Back to Fairy Heart. I'll admit, I can't wrap my mind around a source of unending magic… but how will that cure your curse?"

Natsu didn't miss that Zeref avoided looking at him as he answered, "I... just know. I'll find a way with it."

Natsu huffed and shook his head. "Oh, so you already have a plan, you just don't wanna tell me. And you know what that does tell me? Your plan sucks." Zeref frowned and looked like he was going to protest, but Natsu held up a hand. "So that just means we'll find a better way together. A way where we don't have to fight my guild." Natsu smiled at his brother.

Zeref smiled back. "Alright, Natsu. You've shown me, if nothing else, your ability to remain optimistic even in the bleakest of circumstances. So if you can find another way, I'll gladly hear you out."

Natsu smiled. "I won't let you down, big bro!" He let out a big yawn. "But it looks like I'm more tired than I thought. I'm gonna go turn in for the night. Another early morning tomorrow I'm guessing? Same time, same place?"

"Indeed. We still have a long way to go. But here," Zeref went to unwrap the scarf from around his neck, but Natsu waved him off.

"Nah, you hold onto it tonight. I can tell that talking about all that wasn't easy for you... but I can also tell since it wasn't easy, you were telling the truth. So thanks, Zeref. After all that, if it lets you process things better, I don't mind letting you hold onto it for one night. I trust you." Natsu grinned wide.

To his shock, Zeref's grin upon hearing Natsu's words mirrored his own. "Thanks, Natsu! You don't know how much that means to me!"

"Given how fast my scarf is darkening, I got a pretty good idea." Natsu said, chuckling. "Well, I'm off. Good night, Zeref."

"Good night, Natsu. Love you, little brother."

"Love you too." Natsu made his way back out of Zeref's study. Thankfully, it was much easier to get out of the room than it was getting in. The walk back to his room wasn't long, with the study just being a corridor away from where Natsu and Zeref's bedrooms were. However, Natsu's thoughts were consumed with the topics he and Zeref had just discussed on his short walk. Fairy Heart huh... the last thing I wanna do is fight my guild. Guess I'll have to come up with something different, so I won't have to clean up another of Zeref's messes. Still... I honestly forgot he could smile like that. I haven't seen him do that since we were kids... so what, about 500 years give or take? Heh. Well don't worry, big brother. I'll make it so you can smile like that all the time again.

Fortunately, it looked like Zeref had someone bring him an alarm lacrima during the day. Not wanting another morning of leaving Zeref to his machinations of waking him up, Natsu set the alarm for 5:45, 15 minutes before Zeref had shown up that morning. Waking up from the annoying (but not as annoying as an air horn or bucket of cold water being dumped on him) beeping of the alarm, Natsu pleasantly found it easy to get out of bed, excited for another day to grow stronger.

It certainly surprised Zeref, who, sure enough, showed up at six' o'clock sharp, this time with a bucket of steaming water. Natsu had tried to steal it from him and dump it on his head, but unfortunately for Natsu, Zeref sent the morning's torture instrument away, almost like Erza did with her swords. Zeref explained the requip spell was an easy way to store things safely, so he would be teaching it to Natsu eventually, which would allow Natsu to safely hide and summon his book when needed with ease.

This morning, the two walked to the training room, with Zeref showing Natsu several different sections of the palace and different rooms he could use along the way. As he stated the previous day, part of the reason that the palace was so massive was that it contained all the government offices in the capital. Natsu really couldn't care less about all the different government branches, but he did find some of the other rooms more interesting, such as the all you could eat cafeteria and massive gym complex.

They drew close to the training chamber after walking for what seemed like an eternity, Natsu recognizing the hallway where they had run into Dimaria and Ajeel yesterday. Realizing he had yet to tease his brother today, he said, "So I see you're not wearing the tracksuit. You really sure you can make it through the day without me putting a scratch on you?"

Surprisingly, Zeref didn't get all mopey like he usually did. Instead, he just smirked at Natsu's jest. "Well, I am, considering you'll be fighting someone other than me today."

Natsu raised his eyebrows, surprised. "Is it August?"

Zeref laughed. "Sorry Natsu, you've still got a ways to go before you're ready to face August. No, your opponent today will be a familiar face..."

Zeref used requip magic again, pulling a book out of the portal. Natsu cocked his head as Zeref did this, but his eyes widened as Zeref held up the book, Natsu now able to clearly view and read the one word on the cover- JACKAL.

"OH, HELL NO! Not that asshole! Nope, nuh-uh. NO." Natsu turned his back to Zeref before immediately turning back around. "Wait a second, we killed that idiot!"

Zeref had donned a lighthearted smile to Natsu's reaction. "Well, all of the etherious, excluding you, have bodies that are magic constructs given form. So as long as their books are intact, they can be revived infinitely. The only etherious who actually died that day were Mard Geer, whose book I burned, and Seliah... whose book I still have, but it's surprisingly blank now... which means her soul was absorbed. How, I don't know." Zeref looked deep in thought as he pondered Seliah's whereabouts, but his lighthearted smile returned as he continued, "But I'm surprised you would react that way. I always thought you and Jackal would get along well because you're so similar."

Natsu realized Zeref was just trying to get a rise out of him at this point. "Pffft. I am nothing like that moron." They had stepped into the training room now, where August waited for them. He handed Natsu his scarf back, now purified of Zeref's curse. Natsu offered August a quiet "thank you" as he slid the scarf back around his neck.

"Well, your curses are similar at least. But, if you're that against it, I can summon one of the other leftover demons from Tartaros…"

Natsu's mind ran through all of the other etherious he had encountered during Fairy Tail's battle with Tartaros, before he groaned loudly again. "God, you had to make them all so awful! Fine, give me Jackal, I guess."

"Very well." Zeref's amused smile faded, and he opened Jackal's book. Magic infused words in a language Natsu didn't know seemed to come alive, flying off the pages, coming together to form different shapes until they took on a humanoid form. There was a flash of light, and Jackal was standing in front of Zeref.

"Uh..I.." Jackal, clearly unfamiliar with his surroundings, looked around with a confused look on his face until his eyes landed on Zeref. He gasped and went down on one knee in reverence. "Lord Zeref, thank you for reviving me. I promise, I won't let those damn fairies stop us agai-"

"Enough, Jackal." Zeref's voice was stern and authoritative, all hints of light heartedness he had with Natsu gone. "Mard Geer's failings are no longer a concern to me. He is dead, Tartaros and the cube are destroyed... but, I have a new task for you."

"Name it, my lord."

"I want you to spar with my brother. He needs a partner that he can effectively utilize his curse power with."

"Your brother...? Oh, you mean Master E.N.D.! Your wish is my command, Lord Zeref." Jackal turned and kneeled before Natsu, clearly not having looked up at him before he stated, "Master E.N.D., I promise, I will not disappoint you!"

"Yeah, I highly doubt that."

Jackal furrowed his brow in confusion, and his jaw dropped as he looked up at his 'real master'.

A devious smirk was on Natsu's face as he peered down at Jackal. "Heya. Remember me?"

Jackal recovered from his momentary shock, hopped back on his feet, and began readying his curse for battle. "YOU! I won't let you get in our way again!" He turned to Zeref. "Lord Zeref, this guy-"

"Is my younger brother, Etherious Natsu Dragneel, or E.N.D." Zeref finished. "I had your memories of him sealed away, as I did all the other etherious, to keep all of you from seeking him out after he passed through the Eclipse Gate." Zeref sent a small blast of magic energy through Jackal's book, unsealing Jackal's old memories of Natsu. Jackal's eyes widened in realization as he looked at Natsu again.

"Here, let me help jog your memory." Natsu said as he sent a blast of fire at Jackal's head, catching his hair on fire just like he had done as a kid. Jackal screamed and rolled around on the floor until the fire went out. He looked up at Natsu with tears and anger in his eyes, as Natsu continued to smirk down at him. "I'd say it's nice to see you again, but..." Natsu chuckled.

"Master E.N.D…? But… this isn't what Mard Geer promised us!" Jackal pounded his fists against the floor like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

Natsu laughed at Jackal's ridiculous behavior before he said, "Well, Mard Geer was a lying sack of shit. Time to get over it. Now how about you make yourself useful and help me figure out this curse power stuff?"

"As if I would ever help you!" Jackal snarled at Natsu.

"Jackal." Zeref's authoritative tone cut through the room again. "You will assist Natsu, or you will join what's left of Mard Geer in my fireplace. Your choice."

Jackal fumed to himself for a moment before looking up at Natsu, scowling furiously. "Fine. Don't bore me, pinky."

Natsu's response was to light Jackal's hair on fire again. As Natsu laughed at Jackal's screams, Zeref pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is going to be a long day."

Eventually Natsu had quit tormenting Jackal and started sparring with the etherious, attempting to rely more on his curse power today. Zeref and August again helped him unseal some more locks, but today's goal was getting used to using the power using some basic battle moves. Natsu had to admit, Jackal wasn't an awful sparring partner, once he finally shut up. He listened to Zeref's, August's, and Natsu's commands, executing the attacks they desired without question or hesitation.

The day passed far more quickly than Natsu could have hoped. He still didn't like Jackal though, and he and the other etherious scowled furiously at each other as Zeref declared they were done for the day. "Alright, great. Thanks, I guess. Now, bye bye. Back in your book you go!" Natsu waved at Jackal nonchalantly and shooed the etherious, hoping he'd go back into his tome.

Jackal's scowl was suddenly replaced with an out of character worried look. "Hey, hey, there's no need for that is there? I mean… uh, we're practically brothers! We etherious gotta stick together, ya know!" He smiled and laughed nervously at a confused Natsu.

Natsu' confused face quickly took on a look of rage. "I think there's every need for it! I can't stand looking at your ugly- ass face for another second! Brothers? Give me a break! Zeref is my only brother! Plus, you hurt innocent people and laughed about it like it was nothing! You almost killed Happy and Lucy! And I ain't like you- I might have etherious magic in my soul or whatever but I'm human!" He stormed over to Jackal as he shouted and grabbed him by his shirt. "And I thought you told me you were gonna kill all humans."

Jackal looked at Natsu with legitimate fear in his eyes. "I take it all back! Everyone in Tartaros thought we were working for you, that's the only reason I did that stuff! Mard Geer lied to me! I'm a victim here!" Natsu's scowl deepened, and Jackal yelped in panic, so he tried a different approach. "Hey, since you're my real master, I'll do whatever you want! I'll even join Fairy Tail! Hell just say the word and I'll be the best damn Fairy Tail mage-"

"Hell no! Like I'd ever want YOU in Fairy Tail. I want you to-"

"Natsu." Zeref's voice cut off Natsu's yelling. "Sending an etherious back to their book is tantamount to killing them. I understand your anger towards him, but why don't we consider another option?"

Natsu had released and turned away from a cowering Jackal and looked at his brother as he spoke. Clearly annoyed, Natsu sighed and then asked, "What did you have in mind?"

Zeref smiled. "Well, how about making him your new chief of security?"

"WHAT?! No! I don't need-"

Zeref held up a hand. "Hear me out, Natsu. As prince, you will need a staff to help you. I know your mentality is you don't need protection, but there are certain protocols we do have to follow as the royal family- unless you'd like to argue with Invel about it?" Natsu's scowl deepened as he looked away.

Zeref laughed before continuing, "Like I told you before, it is much easier to accomplish things with help from people you trust." Natsu looked like he was about to blow up with that comment, but Zeref just smiled again and continued before Natsu could say anything, "And as my brother, you hold the same sway over the other etherious as I do. Any order you give Jackal will be absolute. He cannot deny it, no matter how badly he may want to. He could be… useful to you." Zeref's smile faded and he shrugged, "Or, you could hire a complete stranger and have the uncertainty if they could truly be trusted or not until a life-or-death situation, and we'd probably have to discard Jackal…"

"Alright, alright, fine, I get it!" Natsu interrupted. "If I can't get out of it, fine, I guess I don't have any better options." He put his hand on his chin, and a wicked grin came across Natsu's face. "He'll do ANYTHING I order?"

Zeref nodded. "I didn't want to tell you before, because I didn't want to give you an unfair advantage while fighting him, but yes, tapping into your curse power you can order any of my etherious to do anything you'd like them to. I'd say something about not using it in your battle against Larcade, but I know you enjoy a challenge too much to do that. But go ahead, try it out."

"What? Lord Zeref, you don't really mean-" Jackal said to Zeref nervously before Natsu cut him off.

"Jackal" he said, accessing his curse power. Jackal stiffened. Natsu's wicked grin remained. "Go give Zeref a big kiss."

"WHAT!? You can't be serious-" Jackal started to protest but found himself walking toward Zeref, puckering his lips.

Zeref rolled his eyes, pulling Jackal's book back out and channeling his magic through it. "Okay, point made, you can stop, Jackal."

Jackal stopped, and bent over, sighing in relief before looking angrily at Natsu. "Why the Hell would you order me to do that?"

Natsu shrugged. "Sounded funny." His smirk faded as he looked intently back at Jackal. "Well, whatever, if you'll really do anything I ask, you can stay, I guess."

Jackal's face lit up, as he quickly closed the distance between Natsu, kneeling before him again. "Thank you, master! I promise I won't let you down this time!" Natsu rolled his eyes, thinking between the look on his face, his ears, and his tail, Jackal resembled an excited puppy more than a fearsome etherious he had sparred with today.

"August, could you take Jackal to Invel? He'll gather all the necessary documentation and give him a place to stay. Also, get his Tartaros guild mark removed and replaced with the Alvarez crest."

"At once, Your Majesty." August bowed before he left the room, Jackal in tow.

"Guess we should head out too," Natsu said. Zeref nodded. The two walked out of the room and started down the hall. "When can I get an Alvarez tattoo?"

Zeref smiled at Natsu's question, happy his brother was taking a liking to the empire so quickly. "I'll speak to Invel first thing tomorrow, we can have it done at some point as a break from your training in the morning, I'm sure."

Natsu beamed. "Great! So, what are you gonna do the rest of the night?"

"I'll go back to my study and see what documents Invel's left for me to look over. Once I've taken care of those, I'll find a book to read for the rest of the night."

Natsu rolled his eyes. "You and your books." He ignored Zeref trying to argue, instead cutting him off with a, "Hey! How about we-"

"Hey! Your Majesty! Natsu!" A familiar voice came from down the hall, and Ajeel and Dimaria approached them, same as yesterday. "We're heading back to the bar again, you guys wanna-"

"Ajeel, I wanted to go with just you tonight!" Dimaria interrupted, glaring daggers into the other spriggan.

Ajeel gave Dimaria a confused look. "Huh? Why? The more the merri-"

"I think you two should go by yourselves tonight." Now Zeref cut Ajeel off, and he smiled at the two. "I'm sure Natsu and I will join you another night."

"Huh? How co-"

"Thanks, Your Majesty! Come on Ajeel, let's GOOO." Dimaria looked extremely happy as she thanked Zeref and promptly dragged a slightly bewildered Ajeel away.

"How come you didn't want us to go with them?" Natsu looked at Zeref, obviously puzzled.

Zeref closed his eyes and smiled. "I suppose it went over your head as well, Natsu, but it seemed Dimaria wanted Ajeel to take her on a date."

Natsu scratched his head. "Well why didn't she just ask him?"

Zeref laughed as the two continued to walk. "Well, Natsu, some girls like the idea of the guy taking the lead. It shows that they're interested. And sometimes people can be shy about their true feelings. Despite how it may seem, it seems Dimaria actually has a meek side to her."

"Well, it would have been easier for her to just say so, though. That way he could have known for sure, and they could have been happy and do whatever lovey-dovey couples do." Natsu said, seemingly annoyed at the idea of being anything less than completely straight forward.

"Are you speaking from your own experiences?" Zeref asked Natsu, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe… someone who YOU feel a certain way about? But you're not sure how they feel?"

Natsu's face started to turn red. "Well, I mean, I don't know… well there's Lucy, she's my best friend for sure, other than Happy, but she can be really weird. She gets really mad whenever I ask any questions about other peoples' lovey dovey stuff or if I get too close or get in her bed with her while she's asleep or…"

"It sounds to me like Miss Heartfilia reciprocates your feelings, little brother." Zeref said, chuckling as he imagined Natsu's antics, the last one throwing him off guard. He gets in bed with her while she's asleep? I feel like I need to apologize on his behalf to Anna's descendant… Zeref's face turned slightly red from secondhand embarrassment.

"What? I don't, I mean, I…" Natsu fumbled his words before scowling. "I'm not talking about this anymore. It's stupid."

Zeref laughed again and said, "Tell me how you really feel…"

Natsu rolled his eyes, knowing Zeref was attempting to get under his skin again. "Anyways, I was gonna ask, how about we watch a movie?

Zeref looked genuinely surprised. "Really? You wanna have a movie night?"

Natsu grinned. "Well why not? Not like it was something we could do back when we were kids, and we don't have anything better to do!"

Zeref looked deep in thought. "I don't know if that would be the best idea…" Zeref looked up as Natsu held his scarf in front of Zeref's face.

"Oh, come on, you don't have to think about how much you LOOOOOVE me while we're just sitting there watching a movie." He paused for a second, before smiling, an idea having come to him. "You said keeping me around and happy was how we'd end up finding the cure for your curse together, right? Well, just consider watching a movie with me as part of that!"

Zeref sighed. "Very well, Natsu. We'll give it a try, at the very least." He took the scarf and wrapped it around his neck as Natsu got visibly excited, plotting which movie to watch with his brother.

Zeref used this as a chance to take Natsu to the palace's massive library, which, in addition to the largest collection of books on the continent (something Zeref was VERY proud of), contained a large catalog of movies as well. Natsu seemed hellbent on finding something action oriented, and after rejecting a couple of the cornier looking ones, Zeref picked a science fiction themed one where the main character realized he was trapped in a computer program.

As they watched the movie together, the deeper, more philosophical themes in the film captured Zeref's attention. Said themes went over Natsu's head, but the dragon slayer was captivated by the insanely choreographed fight scenes. The two brothers munched on food they had brought to Natsu's room (room service being one of the palace's many benefits Natsu found himself enjoying) as their eyes were glued to the screen. When the credits rolled, Natsu smiled at Zeref. "This is the first time since we were kids that we've gotten to do something really fun and laid back like this together."

Zeref, who was smiling as well, nodded. "You're right… and it was nice. Thank you, Natsu. We should probably both head to bed so we can get enough rest for tomorrow." Zeref stood up and walked towards the door.

Natsu nodded and yawned, stretching as he did. "Yeah, you're probably right. But you know, I think we need to do this more often. Once a week at least!"

Opening the door but turning around before he stepped out of the room, Zeref hummed in affirmation. "I'd like that." He waved as he went to leave. "Good night, Natsu. Love you brother."

"Night bro! Love you too!" Natsu waved as well. After Zeref closed the door behind him, Natsu walked over to his bed and lay down. As he fell asleep, he thought about the challenges ahead but also how it was fun to just relax with his brother for once. One day we'll be able to do stuff like this without worrying about enemies to fight, curses, or evil gods out to get us. I swear, big brother.

So I just finished chapter ten and it absolutely kicked my ass. It just kept getting wilder and wilder and longer and longer... so, since it came out to be 8000+ words, chapter ten is now chapter 10 and 11. On the plus side, I am now three chapters ahead instead of two.

As always, curious to hear everyone's thoughts on the chapter. I initially didn't think I'd be bringing back anyone from Tartaros but the idea of them realizing just who their 'real master' was grew increasingly funny to me, so enter Jackal. Hopefully it came across as funny. I don't trust my sense of humor.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and see you next week for the start of Natsu's battles!