A/N: The last chapter for The story. I'm actually kind of relieved. These songs really helped me out. Nero Promises, Two Birds Regina spektor 7 Years - Lukas Graham. Sorry it took long I've just been going through things. Please leave a review on what you liked and/or disliked. Thanks for reading.
Natsu didn't' know what else to do but just stare at his hand. It had spread to both of his hands and he just didn't' understand what he was going though. This was too fast. He didn't even want Zeref to die so this was scary to him. "Mavis what do I do?"
"I'm not sure…" She began to stutter and the others surrounded Natsu as his skin turned transparent. "This… Zeref told me what to do if this happened but I just…" She ran off towards the back and Natsu took a deep breath.
"Guys," He let out a shaking breath letting his eyes water. "I'm gonna die aren't I?"
"Don't be idiot," Gray shakingly said "Of course you're not you just gotta hold on for a bit longer."
"Yeah you're going to be fine." HAppy was crying but he let his breath out with easiness.
"We'll be here for you," Erza stated "You're not gonna die,"
"You're gonna be fine," Lucy stated as she sat next to him. "We'll be fine together. We're gonna stick and we're gonna get through this."
"Hey Guy's?" Natsu stared down at his hand and let Lucy hover over him. "I'm so grateful to have you in my life. The days that we spent together were the happiest days of my life. And I'm sorry that I didn't let you guys know this but I still, and always will, treasure those memories… Forever." His whole arm was consumed in those ashes and it was only spreading the longer he spent talking.
"You'll be…" Happy was gonna finish that statement but instead burst into tears as he flew to Natsu's chest. "You can't leave me! You're my best friend and I don't want you to leave yet!"
"I'm sorry Happy but it seems we won't be able to hang out together anymore." Natsu patted the back of his head and let him sob into his chest without complaining. "Thanks for always being there for me guys and thanks for always believing in me even when you found out the truth. It really helped me through everything. Thank you for everything Lucy. I'm so glad we became friend Happy. I'm so glad all of you came into my life. I'll never regret the day that we all met. And as for team Natsu… I'm gonna miss you… for sure. That's certain." His whole body consumed himself in the other couldn't do anything but cry and watch as the ashes disappeared above. Natsu looked at them with a sad smile and tears in his eyes. "I'll never forget you guys again so please… Don't forget about me, Okay? I love Fairy Tail and I always will." He weakly held up his finger to the sky and closed his eyes. The other did the same and the ash completely made his hand disappear consuming his body along the way.
They all saw how the ash circled around the ceiling before crashing together once again. Natsu's body fell roughly on the ground and the other's just stared at the now lifeless body that was on the ground. Natsu's eyes were closed, his body was limp, and his breath had stopped.
The others stood around both Zeref and Natsu crying their eyes out and not wanting to get near either. Until Mavis finally came back. She grabbed onto a couple other members and dragged them closer to Natsu's body. "Hurry up we have to go before he truly does die."
"What do you mean?" Happy sniffled "Is he not dead yet."
"I… I don't know but I might know a way of helping him." Mavis held a small book in her hands and tried to control her already shaking hands. As they picked Natsu up she looked over at Zeref's body still lying on the table with a horribly sad face. "Gray could you please freeze him?"
Gray stared at her with a sad face but let his ice cover Zeref's body. Mavis ran ahead with a signal for them to follow her. They did while carrying Natsu's body along. All of them followed even the ones that didn't know what was going on with Natsu. Mavis made it to an opening as she went to her knees she knocked on the ground. "Erza can you break through this?"
"Leave it to me." With no hesitation Erza circled her swords around the area making it weak enough to kick open and they all hopped in after Mavis.
"Now what?" Lucy asked looking around with her puffy eyes.
"Set Natsu down over on that desk." Mavis directed as she flipped through the book. As she read through it the other members looked around or at her in a nervous way. They didn't know if this would work and they sure hoped it did but even though they wished that, they didn't bring their hopes up. They didn't want to be disappointed if this didn't work out.
The place they were in was unexpectedly warm and the sunlight beamed through the hole they had made lighting up the walls. It wasn't really anything much . Just a desk with books piling up over the edges and pens with ink now dripping from the table to the floor. The walls were lined with roots that lead to a green amber like substance that had seemingly melted. It glowed under the fickle light and the members shivered being here. They almost seemed like they were trespassing somewhere they were never supposed to know existed.
Brushing their thoughts aside they all focused on Mavis as she rummaged through the books and began to talk. "Okay everyone. I need all the space I can get in order for this to work." They scooted behind her and watched as mavis began to read from the two books in front of her. She gave them a sad look as if she didn't' want them here but just shook her head and set a small, brown, leather journal on Natsu's chest.
She breathed in a sharp intake of air and clamped her arms together. Letting her magic surround her she shook a bit under the weight of this spell. The others stared at her in amazement as she looked at the book that was holding every spell. Her breath started becoming faster and tears ran down her face. She shook there for a little before slamming her fists down on the table. "It's not working," The others were once again on the verge of tears. They all ran next to him and began to at least try to help.
"Natsu! Come one you can't just leave you idiot!" Gray screamed.
"Natsu! Please come back!" Happy screamed and Lucy hugged them, both crying as the others screamed his name.
It was really dark. That's all Natsu could really focus on. Nothing to see, nothing to feel, nothing to hear. Just lying in pit of darkness. Why was it so dark? As if to break him from his thoughts he heard a beating. It was so clear and loud. He reached up to his chest but tightened his fist when he felt nothing. It must be coming from somewhere else. He slowly got up not seeing anything but a horribly bright light. The beating was coming from there but what would happen once he made it to that light? He began to walk not knowing what else to do but each time he took a step closer the light would dim a bit as if he never took a step to begin with. That repeated until Natsu had unconsciously ran forward the light completely separating from him and the darkness once again taking over.
He felt the floor wobble a bit and he looked down quickly but not fast enough to react as it caved in on him. His head only echoed the heartbeast and he felt like he really needed to find what that was. He landed hardly on something else. His hair bouncing in front of his face as he picked himself up. He looked up and the light seemingly looked like the moon on a dark night. He began to walk around still looking at the light only to crash into something. He rubbed his head where it was hit and saw he was surrounded by them. It was a path mabe? Natsu continued to walk though. The road was diverged so he just chose a random one only to be stopped by a dead end. Natsu nearly cursed in realisation. He was in a maze but why. His head was throbbing. He didn't really understand this he was supposed to be dead but this felt exactly like a dream. He went back and continued to walk. He felt like he was being watched somehow. It was unnerving and he saw someone moving around him frantically.
His magic didn't work so he just kept walking. He felt something ran in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak only for nothing to be come out in time. The scent was faint but it was still extremely familiar. It felt like burning flesh. Not as strong as during the battle field but still disgustingly clear. He quickly turned around trying to get away for something to crash into him. He looked over at it for his nose only to be relieved from the horrible scent he hated. "... Hey."
Natsu was caught staring at a small kid with cuts all over him. He looked at him almost mesmerized at what he saw. "Hey…" he said in a quiet voice. The boy, he looked like him. Of course a much younger version, and Natsu didn't really know what to do.
"Have you seen my big brother?" He seemed frantic and scared but at the same time he seemed excited.
"Your brother?" Natsu stepped back a bit. "No you're the only other person I have seen."
"Interesting...," This kid began to drift off in thought again. "It's been awhile since we have seen each other but I can feel he's here." he grabbed Natsu's hand and seemingly without a problem lead him through the maze.
"Hey kid do you not realize that you're…" Natsu didn't really understand why they were both here. I mean he did bring him back to life but was this Zeref's true brother?
"I'm not dead." he stated with a smile. "I was never even alive. I just really need to find Zeref."
"Zeref… why him of all people?"
"Unfinished business," The kids hand tightened around Natsu's own. "Sit down. He'll find us eventually,"
Natsu, without reason, sat down next to him. It was surprisingly relaxing here. He jumped up a bit hearing slow footprints echoing in the darkness. The kid dropped his head behind him and smiled. "Hey Fairy," He said that so meaningful and Natsu jumped up in surprise at the kid's face. "Where do you think you're going?" he pulled Natsu's shirt which made him fall back down.
"Zeref…" Natsu looked at him as he walked over to them and stopped a few inches away. His eyes darted between each of them until finally landing on the kid.
"Let him go," Zeref's voice was cold and Natsu really didn't understand what was going on. The kid only seemed to tighten his grip on his clothes. "I said 'Let go," Now!"
"Awe what's wrong? Don't like my form?" The kid smiled.
"It's cute, I'll give you that, but you don't scare me,"
"Not even a flinch," The kid smiled but still didn't loosen his grip around Natsu's clothes. "Come on you have to loosen up a little. Let your heart take control and stop relying on your brain."
Zeref smiled as well. "Natsu didn't do anything so let him go,"
"Hey Zeref I don't think this is a very good-"
"What do you know?" The kid hissed out at Zeref. "You're the one that screwed up our schedule. You were meant to live horribly for a little while longer and he was supposed to die a long time ago."
"To love something, do you know how that feels?" The kid seemed to retract a bit seemingly curious at where Zeref was going with this. "It's more complicated than you make it out to be. For him to die it was devastating and I'm not going to quit until I hear his beating heart."
"Zeref…"
"This has gotten interesting," The kid let go of Natsu and stood up. "I'll see how this plays out for a little while longer." It turned into a bright light that floated above and disappeared like a firework.
"Zeref what was that?"
"One of Ankhseram's followers," Zeref looked over at Natsu. "He wants you to die and go with him."
"What?!" Natsu stepped back a bit. "Does that mean I'm really going to die?"
"No I won't let them take you. You still have a chance at getting back to the living."
"What about you?" Natsu looked at him as tears fell out his eyes.
Zeref gave a sad smile and wiped his tears. "I'll never be able to return. I'm stuck here."
"No Zeref if I can make it back so can you. You just have to… have to-" Natsu looked around the darkened room as if that would give him an answer but only shock under the nightmare of black.
"Natsu!" Zeref placed both hands on his cheek and stared at his watered down eyes with his own blurry vision. "It's okay. You're okay."
"No I don't want you hurt. You wouldn't let me help you! It's all my fault. You could still be alive if it wasn't for me."
"No Natsu listen to me everything's okay."
"No it's not!"
"But it's okay for you to feel this way." he pulled him into a hug almost wanting to stay like that forever. "It's not your fault it was never your fault! There was nothing you could have done to stop the unavoidable."
"I feel horrible. It's going to hurt so much!"
"That's fine too. That's just the process of moving on. I know you'll make it through this. You can't just leave the world for someone like me. It's going to hurt I know it is and I'm sorry but you'll get past the pain I know you will."
"I don't want to feel like this,"
"You have to in order to move on. It's going to be okay. Just hold on to that pain and it will help you."
"Zeref I'm so sorry. I want to help you but-"
"It's alright. There is nothing we can do but listen to me," He grabbed NAtsu's cheeks again and stared at him. "Ankhseram is still after you. You have to go and stay strong. Promise me you'll live Natsu."
"I… I promise," Natsu weeped and the rain fell down on his face. "But what's going to happen to you. Ankhseram still want you after all."
"I don't know. I might turn into a mindless puppet or I might be stuck here forever but trust me when I say that you still have a life to live. One that doesn't need you to worry about me."
"And what will help me leave… What will even happen once I do leave?"
"I'm sorry to say this but you'll forget."
"Wait what?! I can't do that. Not anymore!"
"Calm down, Calm down," Zeref laughed but once again wiped Natsu's tears. "You'll be able to keep every memory you made in you entire life but in the situation you're in it's not really you life. You're almost dead after all so you'll forget the conversation we're having right now."
"But Zeref I can't…"
"You'll be okay I promise."
"That's not what I'm worried about. I don't know if anybody has ever asked you this but are you okay?"
Zeref seemed a bit shocked at the question tears rolled down his face and he awkwardly laughed as he wiped his tears. "You're right. I haven't heard that question in a long time and in all honesty I don't think I am."
"Why not? Are all the things you did and said finally getting to you?"
"I guess so," Zeref sighed "I'm just scared that I'm really about to lose you. And I don't know If this is how I'll finally fall apart."
"It's okay and I know you won't be able to fall apart," Natsu smiled as well as he playfully punched Zeref's arm. "You are my brother after all."
Zeref smiled. "You're right," Suddenly a horribly bright light hit the both of them. "I guess they finally made the magic work."
"Magic?"
"That's how they're going to bring you back to life. It's something I put together. It's the only way I could bring back a human at the lowest possible payment."
"And what's this payment exactly."
"Fairy Heart and most, if not all, of Mavis's magic. "
"All of it?" Zeref looked away from him for a while.
"I'm sorry it's the only way I could bring someone back other then giving them Ankhseram's curse. All we have to do is assemble the light." Natsu looked up at the light wondering who had cast it. "Do you hear that Natsu?"
Zeref looked up as well and Natsu focused on sounds. "Yeah my name. Who's calling it?"
"Fairy Tail. I lost my voice while doing the same once." Natsu looked over at him with so much pain and sadness that he once again began to cry. "Natsu I'm sorry for all of this but you have to follow those voices. You'll be able to join the others."
"But you won't be there!"
"I'm sorry but I want you to go. You were an amazing brother and I love you so much," He pulled him into himself and pushed his ear onto his chest. He sighed in relief. "It's faint but it's back. Your heartbeat. Just that little bit can keep me moving. So this is goodbye."
"Don't say that," Natsu hugged him too. "This isn't goodbye. We'll meet again but just later. I promise you that."
"Mhm," Zeref pulled away and gently pushed their foreheads together. "I promise too. I love you Natsu,"
His vision was going white and this suddenly began to feel like a blurry dream. "I love you too." HIs knees finally gave up and Zeref pulled him closer until his little brother's body once again turned to ash. He watched them reach the light and he cried in the darkness. ONce again alone.
Natsu's eyes suddenly opened and he quickly got up. Looking around he found himself in a place sort of familiar. He saw everyone surrounding him and he rubbed his head. "What's going on?"
"Natsu…" Lucy was the first to run towards him and hug him close. "Thank god you're okay."
"Wasn't I dead?" NAtsu rubbed his head. He really couldn't remember a lot of things. The last thing he remembered was Zeref dying and him following shortly after.
"Natsu I'm so glad you're okay!" Happy hugged him and Natsu laughed
"Hey idiot why are you crying?" Grey looked over at him.
Natsu reached his hand up towards his cheeks and sure enough there were tears streaming down his face. He laughed a bit as he wiped his tears away. "I'm not sure. I guess Zeref really put a toll on me."
"Hey listen we're all going to miss Zeref but we can't bring both of you to life." Mavis struggled to say those words.
"Hey are you okay?" Mavis looked absolutely terrible.
"Yeah I guess I just used too much magic."
"Don't push yourself." Natsu whispered. He looked around at all the other and smiled. "I guess I'm back," They all rushed towards him and hugged with so much force that Natsu's muscles became sore but he just laughed it off.
"We're glad you're back!"
They spent a while there talking about everything until they noticed how late it was getting. They decided to leave and Natsu was the last to get out. He looked at the room and saw a rather large journal on the floor. As he flipped through the journal he noticed it was completely blank. He reached the middle of it before finding something to his interest. It was a letter and it was addressed to him. He stared at it for a while. "Hey Natsu come on!" He jumped a bit and tossed the journal away, stuffing the letter in his shirt before running off with a huge smile.
Natsu put off reading it however out of fear of what it might say. They had Zeref's funeral and Natsu lingered a bit when the others left. Lucy and Happy right next to him. Instead of a tombstone they had buried him with a seed. That was it would grow into a beautiful tree and it will bring life out of a death. "Natsu are you going to be okay?" Happy asked.
Natsu's eyes were glassy but tears still hadn't fallen. "Yeah I'll be fine." he wiped his tears and hugged his knees. "You guys go ahead I'll stick around,"
"You sure?" Lucy looked at him with a concerned face.
"Yeah I just need sometime to clear my head."
THey both gave him a skeptical look but complied to his wish. Once they were gone he pulled out the letter and read it thoroughly. Making sure to not skip a single word.
"Well if anybody but Natsu' is reading this please give it to him because I assure you you will not understand it. Natsu I really hope you're not reading this. Simply because it either means you found my research or I'm dead. If you find my research please destroy it before someone else turns out like me. If I did die burn my body. I don't know what others might do if they found out about this. I should just get over it. I know I should. Why am I not moving on? I'm sorry Natsu. I promised that I would keep you safe and never hurt you but I went back on those and I'm sorry. I couldn't help you. It was my fault everything bad happened in your life. I should have protected you in the past. Then we wouldn't be going through this. I'm your big brother but I couldn't even do that. I make believe it doesn't hurt so I don't feel pain anymore. It's a bad strategy I don't recommend it. I wrote this in order to show you this pain before I completely crumble into insanity. I went through all this pain in order to protect you and see you one last time. And I'll make it rain with my tears. I can't seem to see who is the real me the one who actually fought against being turned insane. All these little things are suddenly so important. I feel like I'm going to lose myself. So before I completely go under I write to you to make you remember your true brother. I'm sorry for leaving you. I found another way to kill myself. And it involves the very thing I hate. My curse. If I live I'll want to die but that would be painful. To live wanting to die or to die wanting to live. It was a decision that was extremely heartbreaking but I chose to want to live. Even if it was just for aa short while I wanted to feel it again. I choose to try and live beside you for as long as possible. It wouldn't hurt as much. If I died like that sure I'll be sad but only for a little and if I live wanting to die the pain is eternal so I'm sorry I caused you that pain. I wanted to be a good brother but I can't do this anymore. This horrible pain I feel despite being with you and Mavis is horrible. I still regret every word, those day, I never said. I never got the chance to tell you I love you and now I never will. I couldn't find my inspiration to keep going but once I brought you back I was so happy. I hope you keep smiling and keep hoping that your clock never stops ticking. I hope you stay with Fairy Tail and keep your sense of wonder. Don't' take one single break for granted. I know Lucy loves you. You looks at you that was, that's the way I look at Mavis. Promise me you'll give others a fighting chance just like me. And if you ever get the chance to sit it out or laugh. I hope you laugh the same laugh you used before I came. Don't fear those mountains in the distance and never settle for the easy path. Living means taking chances but, take it from me, they're worth taking. Time is wheel in constant motion. Don't think it'll stop just because you have motion sickness. Conquer everything and roll with time. Because I don't want you to look back on your life and wonder where the years went. So if you get the chance just laugh. The promises you made for my sake still feel wasted on me. I'm so sorry for the pain and I know you can't forgive me for somethings but I'll always be your big brother. Even if you hate me in the end, I'll always love you. Make sure to love as much as possible and live as gently as you can. It difficult but I know you can do it. And if the time comes gracefully let go of the things not meant for you. Those are three things you have to keep in mind. I didn't intend to be here but I'm glad I came here because I feel like it was supposed to be like that. Thank you so much for reading this and I love you very much Natsu. Thanks for being a great little brother. I loved you very much. I'm sorry for everything. Goodbye,"
As Natsu read the last word his body shook. HIs tears fell onto the paper and he cried horrible sobs that were swept away by the wind. He let his flames curl around him and sink into the ground to burn his body. He got up and caught his own body before wiping his face. He walked over to the place where he had found the letter. Peeking inside he noticed nothing was misplaced. He sat down in front of the entrance and closed his eyes to concentrate. He once again let his flames curl around him before crashing them into the ground. He bernt everything he saw and let the flames feed on everything down there. He looked over the letter once more and hugged it for comfort. He sighed and tossed it in with the rest. He saw as the paper curled around and turned black before turning to ash and disappearing in the flames.
Yeah he needed to let go. Even though it hurt so much and even though he felt like his heart was going to explode he knew he would cope with that feeling. So he took a breath in, regained his thoughts, and headed back to Fairy Tail. He wasn't going to tell them that he destroyed all of this because that would only lead to more questions. He would get through this but he need his family, he needed to get home. Before he knew it he was sprinting to the guild. Hoping that his only family wasn't gone.
"Hey Natsu you feeling better?" Erza greeted.
"Much better, thanks." Happy landed on his head as Lucy and gray both leaned on his shoulders. Gray leaning his own elbow down and Lucy gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before leaning her chin down. NAtsu gave a happy smile and wiped the tears that seemingly popped out of nowhere. "I'm home!"