~*****~

We ran down the streets, panting excessively. I hear the others cry out in pain, causing me to turn on my heel, peering at the others in confusion. They looked as if they were in horrible agony. "What the hell-" I murmur, peering around wildly. My right eye snaps onto the body in the sky, and I recognize him to be August. "He's going to destroy the entire continent!" I exclaim. August disipates in they sky, staring at something in the street. "What the hell just happened?" I murmur softly. The others let out a gasp of relief. "Uh, what was going on?"

"You could've helped us, too, ya know!" Lucy cried out with a harsh bonk against my head.

I cry out in pain. "Seriously, you have that fancy eye that cancels spells, yet you only use it for yourself," Gray complained.

"Whatever, let's go!" I whine. We round a corner and see Mavis staring into the sky. "First Master!" I call out. "We're here!"

"Are you alone?" Lucy asks.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Mavis gasps as she turns to us. "I'm so glad you found me!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy chirped.

"D'you know why the air turned scary, First Master?" Ballad asked curiously.

Mavis shook her head. "All I know is that the threat has passed for the time being. As for our allies, their fighting to the south of here. But the enemy force is largely decimated."

"First Master, will you tell us why you had us come out to meet you?" Gray asked.

Mavis pulls out a familiar book. "It's this. Earlier, I was Zeref's prisoner. When I escaped, I took this with me."

I stare down at the book as if it's insulted me. "The book of E.N.D." Lucy murmured.

"It's Natsu's," I retort bitterly.

"I wasn't sure you knew about his origin." Mavis expresses as she sets the book in my hands. "I'm positive he can win this fight. When he does, I'll eliminate Zeref. At that point, Natsu's only hope... is all of you. The strength of your bond." I stare down at the book, hands gripping it tightly. "I ask this of you: Please don't let anyone near the guild hall, not until all of this is over."

~*****~

I can't seem to tear my gaze off of the book of E.N.D. Just the sight of it makes my stomach churn. One wrong move, and Natsu's life would be ended just by damaging the book. I hated the thought of Natsu's life being confined to a stupid book. The pages of his life were much larger than this little thing.

"You okay, miss?" Ballad murmured as she tugged at my pants.

I nod gingerly. "Just pissed off." I comment dryly. "What kinda effect will this have on Natsu... it'd make anyone wanna rip out their hearts just knowing a stupid book could end their lives." I murmur.

"Aria-"

"KEEP YOUR GRUBBY PAWS OFF THE BOOK!" I bark at Gray, violently recoiling over it.

"I wasn't! Sheesh! I didn't know it was Natsu's, but since I do now, I ain't touchin' it." Gray retorted irritably.

I grimace and turn my gaze back onto the book. "Aria? Have you tried opening it?" Happy asked. I peer at him, brow furrowed in annoyance. "It's just... I think I get what First Master said before. When she gave the book to you."

"I'm more worried about that thing with Zeref," Gray hums.

"What did he say?" I ask urgently.

Gray shook his head. "Crack it open."

"I'll be right here to help you read," Lucy expresses.

I stare at her for a long moment before nodding gingerly. I flip the book into my hands, staring at the dingy papers in between. I thumb at the pages, wincing when I feel the slight sting of a paper cut. A splotch of blood appears on the pages, and I gingerly open the book. A bright light escapes into the air, thousands of ancient text flowing out.

"That's crazy!" Gray gasps.

"The letters are doing the thing that happens when Aria tries to read!" Ballad chirps.

"What do they mean? Is it all about Natsu?" Gray asks.

"This is... demonic script. One I'd been taught, I suspect, for this very reason." I murmur. I snap the book shut and shove Gray and Lucy's heads down, ducking everyone underneath as a bright, powerful wave of energy nearly destroyed us.

"Aw man. That wave, what was it?" Gray complained as he rubbed at his head.

I peered up and in the direction of the guild hall. "Somethin' must've went down at the guild hall," Ballad murmured.

"Aye," Happy whined.

"Hey, you two okay?" Gray asked as I helped Lucy sit up.

"Yeah," Lucy groaned. "You gotta stop savin' me all the time."

I don't respond. My eyes are still trained in the direction of the guild hall. "Hang on," Happy whimpered. "Aria! Where's all that writing that flew out?"

I snap my gaze down, my eyes fluttering as if I'd been drawn out of a trance. "It went back in," I hum.

Gray grunted irritably. "I don't understand what's goin' on."

I peer at the book. "I think Natsu's connected to this book by an advanced body link spell. Whatever happens to the book, happens to Natsu." I explain. "I saw it when Natsu went after Zeref the first time." I start tapping my thumb against the cover, barely scraping the hole in it's center. "If I nullify any effects it might give, can you rewrite it?" I ask Lucy.

"But... won't it hurt you?" Lucy asked worriedly.

I palm at my real eye gingerly. "I think it's why Everest chose me. My eye can nullify curse magic, at the cost of it's own integrity. But... If it's for Natsu, I'll take the consequences."

"That sounds crazy!" Gray snaps at us. "Are you serious? There was a massive amount of stuff on a single page. That was only a fraction of the book. Who knows how much there is!"

"We don't have to touch every page," I snap back. "Only the part where it states his life being tied to Zeref. It should only be one page." I take the book back and set it down. I turn the text towards Lucy, eyes trained on her. "Let's get started." I express. "We can do this, if we put our powers together." Lucy stares for a moment, a small bead of sweat dripping down her temple. With a nod, Lucy scoots forward, her knees brushing against my own. Once again, the sky is filled with text. "Follow my lead, okay?"

"Right," Lucy nods.

~*****~

Both of my eyes feel as if they're going to blow out of my head. With Natsu's body in trouble, I recite the characters Lucy needs to write down loudly, eyes flickering wildly between each character. Each one that starts to disappear, Lucy is quick to rewrite it. Of course, such an action is sure to cause damage to the writer. But thanks to my Seer magic, I can redirect it to me. Curse magic flows through my body, and it's agonizing. "Aria!" Gray called out, snapping me from a stupor.

"Keep writing!" I order loudly, ignoring the bright red vines crawling along my body.

"What is this?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Curse magic," Ballad cried out. "It must've been what Aria was talkin' about! It's burning her from the inside out!"

"Just keep writing!" I plead. "It's a clue, Lucy! Do you understand? You follow this trail, and you rewrite Natsu being a demon!" I express.

"But what'll that to do you?" Happy stammered.

"I've ingested Natsu's fire, Altus' hell fire, and hell, some super-hot peppers before-" I try to joke. "I can take it, it's nothin'! I promise! So keep going!" I nearly lurch forward as I feel Gray tear my cloak off and brace himself over my back. A violent chill washes over me, causing me to turn my gaze up to Gray.

"We'll all save Natsu. Together." Gray expresses.

I nod after a moment. "Just no one tell Juvia about this," I murmur as a joke. We all snort delicately before Lucy gets back to work. It feels as if I've got a fever with how much heat is coursing through me, thanks to Gray's ice magic coursing over me. My fake eye snaps shut when I feel a gush of blood burst out, but I force it open, though bleary, I continue to absorb the curse magic. I'm vaguely aware of the words I'm spitting out when Lucy gets stuck on a translation, but soon enough, she's able to translate for herself. It astounds me. What took me years to learn, took her mere seconds. She never stops improving herself in any way she can in times of need.

Lucy gasped, drawing my bloodied gaze back to her. "What's happening?" Happy murmured.

"Something changed," Gray hummed. The script in the air began flowing back into the book before it snapped shut.

"Whoa, it's like a slinky!" Ballad chirped in amazement.

"That's all I can do," Lucy expressed. "I hope it was enough."

"Should be-" I murmur, eyes fluttering at the curse stopping its trek.

"I wrote down our memories. What we've shared with him. We know... who Natsu truly is." Lucy said softly.

"He's not some demon," Happy nodded.

"Anyone got a tissue?" I ask deliriously. "My eyes feel like they're liquified."

Gray pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and rubbed at my cheeks. "You're seriously way too tough. You took on the effects of a demon book." Gray murmured. "You took that risk to ensure someone could change it. Now it's my turn. I'll use my demon-slaying powers to clear it out of you." Gray grasps at my arms and I feel his magic surging through me.

I moan. "Thanks, Gray. Feels nice." I murmur as I shut my eyes. The energy is slowly being cleansed, and in the next moment, I feel a hundred times better.

"Better?" Gray asks.

I nod as I grab at my head. "Yeah, thanks to you."

"All those scary markings are gone," Ballad hummed as she pawed at my leg.

"Don't push yourself too much," Happy urged.

"Hey, look!" Lucy gasped.

We all snapped our gazes onto the book. It was enveloped in a green flame that slowly ate at it. "The books disappearing." Gray hummed.

"So, he took him down?" I ask gingerly.

Gray huffs. "Yeah. We beat Zeref."

I peer at Happy as he starts to sniffle. I simply grabbed him and pulled him into a comforting hug. Ballad leapt up and squished herself in besides Happy. I can feel their tears against my shirt, but I couldn't find it in me to cry. He'd want me to be strong for Happy. A familiar smell burst across my nose, causing me to snap my gaze up, eyes wide as tears begin to bubble. Lucy starts to sob, her palm covering her mouth. Gray just stares in awe.

Natsu raises his good arm in a wave. "Hey, guys!" Natsu chirps tiredly.

"Natsu?" Happy whimpered. He then launched forward, tears of happiness splashing down his face. "Natsu!"

Ballad stared after the duo, sobbing wildly still as Happy greeted his friend. Natsu turned his gaze up and smiled at us. "The wars over," He mentioned softly.

"Yeah," Gray nods.

"Excellent work, Natsu," Lucy giggles as she wipes at her tears.

Happy continues to wail. "Oh, you're alive!" Happy cried.

"Don't be gross-" Natsu laughed. "You're gettin' snot all over me!"

"It's not snot, Natsu!" Happy sobbed. "It's emotion juice, it's fine!"

Lucy palms at my still tense back, bringing me back to reality. I forced my face downwards, ignoring the need to leap forward as Happy did. "No, it's gross!"

"We won-" Happy sobbed.

"We did," Natsu sighs. "But I think, the First Master passed away."

My gaze snaps up in shock. "That's awful," Lucy sniffles.

"You know, somethin' tells me we shouldn't be sad." Natsu comments. "I just have this feeling, like things have ended for the way that she wanted to."

I heave a sigh. "She's been alive too long, I'd want death, too." I comment dryly. "Although, the whole situation still freaks me out." 

"You got that right," Natsu laughs. "So, let's go to the guild with smiles on our faces!" Natsu chirps.

"Aye!" Happy cheers immediately.

"Yeah!" Gray nods.

"Right!" Lucy chirps.

I sputter as Natsu grins at me with a happy glint in his eye. "I'm going elsewhere!" I snap irritably. "I want a shower and a new change of clothes- not to mention, I nearly got my eyes melted saving your butt! You're lucky Lucy is literate, otherwise I'd have rewritten you had a big ass nose to deal with!" I snap at him.

The others fall to the ground at my outburst. Ballad raises her paw. "Aria's a bit emotional, and her current way to deal with it is irrational anger." Ballad reassures everyone.