Previously: Another presence beside him. Who? He turned his head, the tears obscuring his vision, but he could make out a blonde blob. Lucy. His Lucy. He felt her warm hand pick up his colder one, and heard her soft voice. Another bolt of pain tore through him, and this time, unlike the other five, he screamed. He screamed so loudly, that the whole guild heard, Jet racing off to get Porlyusica and Wendy sprinting up the stars towards the infirmary.

      "Gray? Lucy? Juvia? Can I come in?"

      "No! Stay away!"

     "GRAY! Calm down..... we can trust her. Gray, please. She might be able to help you." Wendy didn't actually mean to hear the last bit, but she was curious. The usually cool ice wizard sounded.... well, like he was facing Erza shortly after that time he and Natsu ate a whole cake reserved for the unpredictable requip Mage. He sounded scared.

      Wendy jumped back suddenly, as thick ice began to creep out from underneath the door of the infirmary. Okay, Gray was definitely scared, or hurt. Both? Wendy heard Lucy comforting Gray, something about trusting her and Wendy? Wendy shouted an apology to the three wizards in the infirmary, before blasting the frozen over door in and dashing in. Ice instantly froze over the doorway, blocking the way in and frosting over so no one could see in. Whether this was a conscious effort or not, Wendy didn't know, but when she saw Gray, she understood.

    The ice Mage had been using his magic to obscure the truth, that was clear enough to the smallest of the Dragon Slayers, but the pain written all over the older Mage made her heart cry out in sympathy, even though she had a feeling she would never understand just how bad this was for him. The Sky Dragon sighed. It wasn't like this was any of her business, so she wouldn't pry, even though Natsu and Lucy's scent smothered the ice Wizard's scent almost completely.

     Placing her hands over Gray's lower stomach, a teal blue glow appeared, as the young Slayer focused on her task. Just one look at Gray had stirred something in her memory, an instinct perhaps, but the little girl knew what she had to do. Gray's pained cries died down slowly to a weak whimper as Wendy's magic did it's job. Eventually the pain subsided, and Gray fell asleep, exhausted both physically and emotionally. Wendy turned to Lucy and smiled sadly at her.

    "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone, Lucy. And I'm not going to ask why Juvia is here when I can't smell her on Gray either. But can you tell Gray that he's actually much further along than he thinks? Being a Demon Slayer with a part Demon body speeds things up. No, I don't know how I know it. Maybe Grandeeney taught me that? Tell him next time he has to let nature decide, ok? Also, keep Happy nearby, so he can come and get me if you need me. I'll leave you three now, you should probably get him home before someone notices what's wrong." Wendy stated, before leaving the infirmary and smiling softly to herself. It was.... a shock, certainly, but she was happy for her three friends.

     When Porlyusica and Jet arrived, Wendy smiled, apologised and took the old healer to the side to explain....

....................

   (Back at Mistral's place, inside the thorny barrier Mistral put up.)

        "Heh, heh, heh, that was harder than I thought...." Natsu panted, his Etherious wings folded neatly behind him as he sat on the floor, unable to stand properly. His tail was lashing from side to side in annoyance. The two female dark wizards were tied up and immobilised by thick, fireproof branches, but the boss, the guy Natsu recognised as the man who killed... killed Gildarts, had gotten away. Sagittarius, Gemini, Loke, Ares, Capricorn and Virgo stood in front of Natsu, waiting for the fire Mage to recover.

      "Natsu? Where's Lucy?" Ares bleated, surprising the other five spirits. Oh, that's right, Natsu hadn't summoned her yet. He smiled at the pink haired ram, eyes softening as he saw her nervousness.

      "Lucy's my mate. Which means I can use her magic. But it takes a lot outta me." He grinned, struggling to his feet using his wings and tail to balance. Hell, He hated having useless legs. He could stand on them, if he had help getting up, but they still wouldn't obey him. He couldn't fight properly. Ares nodded.

    "So Lucy's ok? She's safe?" Ares asked, just to confirm it. When Natsu had summoned her, she'd freaked out a bit, knowing it wasn't Lucy to summon her. But why hadn't her contract been changed? Had Lucy died? Why was Natsu of all people summoning her? Loke put a gentle hand on her shoulder, smiling over to Natsu as he explained to the ram why their contracts hadn't been changed. Once the explanations were over, Loke turned to Natsu and offered him a hand. Natsu shook his head.

      "Go back and rest. I know you, Virgo and Gemini summoned yourselves, but I can't keep your gates open forever. How Luce does it, I'll never understand." Natsu mumbles, feeling less drained once Sagittarius, Ares and Capricorn closed their own gates. Gemini returned to the spirit world moments later, leaving Loke and Virgo to assist the exhausted Dragon Slayer. Virgo offered a hand to the elderly woman, gently helping the ancient Dragon Slayer to her feet.

      "Child. You need to go." Mistral whispered urgently, as a faint crunch of feet on gravel met her ears. "The local custody enforcement unit are on their way. You're a famous wizard, aren't you? If they see you like that child..... GO! Haiyaku..." she released her control over the briars suddenly, the thick walls crumbling to green glittering dust.

     Virgo and Loke dissolved into golden light, leaving the weakened Demon to flee alone. He spread his wings and beat them furiously, trying to get into the air as fast as possible. Using his fire curses, he propelled himself into the air, catching the hot updraft and becoming airborne. A scream from the old lady made him chuckle. He could see the custody enforcement unit staring in shock as they saw him. He chuckled. From that distance, he looked more dragon than demon, and he knew it. Letting loose a jet of flame from his mouth at them (missing on purpose) he beat his strong wings and flew off, following his instincts and heading straight towards home.

     "No! Don't hurt him!" Mistral shrieked, as the wizard took aim at the dragon-like demon. The man gave her a funny look.

     "He saved her." A calm, deeply masculine yet soft voice murmured in the wizards ear. The man jumped violently and turned to see a middle aged man smiling fondly at the seemingly distraught old lady. How had he approached so silently?

    "Care to explain? That thing looks like a red dragon, and we have orders from ERA to capture anything that looks like a red dragon." The man shot back angrily. The dragon thing was on the top ten list of monsters to be apprehended. Alive. It was rumoured to be one of Zeref's creations...

     "That creature wasn't a dragon. It was a man." Kody explained softly, successfully hiding a grin as Mistral continued with her 'distraught senile old bat' routine. The wizard tilted his head in confusion, a deep frown plastered on his face.

    "That thing was a man. He was a dragon slayer or something, and he changed. Into that. Poor guy was being chased by dark wizards, and those wizards attacked us. He came out of nowhere and defended us. Then he just... left. Now can someone please get my grandmother to calm down? She's giving me a headache." Kody replied to them, not really lying, but it wasn't the truth either. He wasn't even sure what that dragon slayer was. Was it normal for dragon slayers to turn into dragons like that?

.........................

       (Back at the guild hall.)

       Happy returned to the guild, exhausted from an entire day of search for Natsu, to no avail. Lucy and Gray didn't seem too worried that morning, and Happy didn't understand. Of all the guild members, only him and Wendy knew about the celestial wizard and the two slayers, so how those two could remain so calm with Natsu missing, he couldn't understand. Sure, Natsu had left in his Etherious form, but the little blue exceed was still worried.

Gray was sat quietly in one of the guild booths, next to Lucy and opposite Wendy and Juvia. Everyone was keeping their distance, and even happy could tell that, because there was a large bare patch of guild around them. Usually, the clearing around a booth only happened when Erza was eating Strawberry cake. Either Juvia, Lucy or Gray were seriously PO'd to the point of scaring everyone, including the thunder legion.

Happy fluttered exhaustedly over to Lucy, but fell into Gray's arms as his aera magic failed. That's when Happy realised why everyone was avoiding this booth. It wasn't obvious from a distance, but he could feel the cold radiating from Gray, despite the high temperature of his flushed skin. Gray looked almost sick. Was he actually sick? Happy frowned and nudged Gray slightly, not wanting to talk; he was far too tired; he just wanted to know that Natsu's Mate was ok.

"I'm ok Happy. Just tired." The little exceed caught the worried tone in the Ice Wizard's words, and nuzzled him worriedly. Seriously, where was Natsu? It wasn't like him to just vanish. Usually there was a clear trail of destruction and traumatised people behind the Dragon Slayer that made him easy to track.

"Wendy!" Carla suddenly shrieked from the other side of the Guild-hall. Happy was almost asleep in gray's arms (Mira was secretly thinking how fatherly Gray looked with the exceed in his arms) but the little blue exceed's head shot up at the white exceed's shout.

Wendy got up from her seat next to Juvia and opposite Lucy and ran over to the white exceed, picking up the distraught cat and holding her gently. Carla was trembling with fear, tears streaming from her eyes. It took Wendy ten minutes to calm the exceed down, and even then, the cat refused to say what she'd seen...

... somewhere between magnolia and Mistral's home, huddling inside a natural cave, was a monstrous looking bat. Or at least, that's what it looked like to the young man who'd happened upon it. Huge ruby red wings folded around the beast, hiding the animal in a thin layer so the young man could not see just what the creature was.

He left the cave for a moment, only to return with a long stick ripped from a tree. He cautiously poked at the wing, hoping the creature would unfurl its wings so he could get a good look at it. The young man's hair glinted in the morning light. He'd never seen a winged beast as big as this; that's if you didn't count the dragons he'd seen back in the whole eclipse thing.

Natsu felt the stick poking into his wing, and he didn't like it one bit. He felt weak, tired and hungry, magnolia was at least another day's flight away, two day away if he took into account how weak he felt right now. The person kept poking the stick incessantly, driving the demonic dragon slayer crazy. It wasn't an aggressive, painful jab, but a soft, curious poke. He began to growl, in his soft, angry, reptilian way. The annoying stick fell to the ground, and he heard the person's voice. Wait a minute....

"There's only one thing that growls like that. But... impossible.... they're extinct." oh Mavis! Natsu knew that voice. The young Dragon Slayer unfurled his wings and beat them outward in a sudden movement, knocking the other man off balance momentarily. Regaining his balance, the young man took a good look at the winged animal, only to cry out at the same time as the creature.

"You! But... but...." for once, This particular young man was speechless. So was Natsu. Natsu couldn't help but stare. The man was slightly older than him, with emerald hair covering his right eye. But that wasn't what he was staring at. The other person had a long green furry tail, and two elegant ears where the little lightning cowlicks usually were. If Natsu didn't know better, he would have sworn this man was a Neko...

      For Freed, it really was a shock to see END again. He'd only seen a glimpse of the demon back in the whole Alvarez thing, so to actually get a good look at the Monster's face was a surprise. For starters, he though Natsu, Gray, Erza and Lucy had killed it. Then there was the human like body and sad expression, and to top it all off, the demon had green narrow eyes that could easily have been Natsu's. But... that was not possible. Natsu could not be END. Gray, Lucy and Erza, even Happy, had all agreed that Natsu had dealt the finishing blow and had been seen fighting END.

      Natsu heard the footsteps only shortly before Freed. He recognised them, and really didnt want to face this particular wizard right now. It made sense though, Freed was never far from Laxus after all. He almost completely panicked when he heard the lightning dragon slayer call out to Freed.

    "Freed? You ok? Man, I can't believe Bickslow undid your concealment enchantment!" Freed noticed the demon's frightened face, and called out, hoping to keep Laxus out of the cave. This demon wasn't evil like people thought obviously. And were those tear stains on it's face? Was this terrifying monster as scared as he should be of it?

"Y.. yes I'm fine Laxus. Did they... see me?" Freed asked, hoping Laxus wouldn't try and enter the cave. He looked at the demon, hoping it might give some sort of explanation as to how it was still alive, but how? From what he'd gathered, END couldn't talk.

"Don't worry Freed. They didn't see you. They were too busy fighting me off. I'm going to go back to camp. Make sure they don't try and follow you. Can you redo the enchantment?" Freed answered with an affirmative before looking back to the demon. He had no idea if this monster could even understand him, but he was curious.

"You.... are END. Aren't you? I have no idea if you can even understand me, but... you look almost human, if you don't count the wings and horns." Freed rambled, watching the demon cautiously. Wait... what was that flicking behind the creature. Hang on.... was that a tail? The runes Mage continued to talk, noting that his voice seemed to calm the dragon like demon somewhat.

"So... you have a tail, like me? Does that help with flying?" Fred could have sworn he saw the demon blink slowly in agreement. "You look so human, with those sad eyes and gentle face. Have you been crying? Do you even feel like we do? Damnit, why am I even talking to you? It's not like you can talk or anything." Freed continued to ramble, not actually sure why he was talking to this monster. He almost fell over in shock a few seconds later, as he heard a sound both terrifying and comforting at the same time.

"I.... feel." A deep grating voice, like rocks grating over other rocks. It sounded both terrifying and comforting at the same time. Woah, wait. Had END... had it spoken? "I.... feel. Like you." It repeated.

"Did you just..." Freed asked. END nodded.

"Please. Don't tell. You... you're a fairy tail wizard?" Freed nodded, reaching for his sword in case this sad monster wanted to attack. "You.... not human, you're Neko, aren't you? I... can trust you. Right?" The voice was careful and slow, hesitant. It reminded Freed of a rusty gate crossed with a pair of grinding stones. Freed smiled and confirmed he wouldn't say a word.

"Promise? We keep our word. Right? I won't tell.... if you don't." Fred frowned. Who could the most powerful demon in the world tell anyway? And did he just say we? "You don't... have a clue. Do you? Natsu was fighting me. But not how you think. We didn't lie." With that, a very confused Freed watched as the demon's wings shrank back into the monster's body and the horns receded too, along with the tail. The red hair that was almost black faded as if someone had poured white paint over it into a bright pin.... sorry salmon colour.

"Please Freed, don't tell anyone. I mean it. Only my team knows. Ow, damnit!" Natsu begged, crying out at the end as his weakened legs gave out on him. He could stand for a bit now, but walking was still out of the question. Freed just stood there, open mouthed, staring. How could he not have seen it? Natsu had been fighting END. But no one had said anything about throwing punches. So.... who had won? Natsu? Or END?

"Don't worry Freed. END isn't some terrifying monster." Natsu chuckled. "It's just my initials." Freed raise his eyebrow in question. If END was merely Natsu's initials, then that meant his first name was not Natsu. Right? "Also, I promise not to tell anyone about these." Natsu reassured, mimicking ears by wiggling his hand on the top of his head with his typical fanged grin. Natsu's face fell suddenly, as something told him to move. Fast. It was the same instinct feeling from back when he was battling with Gildarts by his side.

      "Move!" Natsu roared, flipping into Etherious form fluidly, almost second nature now. The demon barrelled into Freed, grabbing him and dragging him out of the way just in time. A low rumble followed the cave in, as somewhere deeper in the cave more rubble fell. Freed couldn't help but shout in fright as what had been a fellow guild-mate moments before turned into a winged monster and rushed at him.

     Laxus, who had been glaring at Bickslow for the past five minutes, heard Freed's fright and leapt up, causing both Bickslow and Evergreen to leap backwards. (It wouldn't be the first time Laxus had glared at one or other of them and then leap up to zap them with his lightning.) instead of the expected shock of electricity, Laxus bolted, literally, into the trees. Bickslow and Evergreen hadn't heard Freed, their ears were simply not as good as Laxus'.

       "Freed?" Laxus called out, sniffing for any scent of the runes Mage. The lightning Dragon Slayer followed the scent trail to the cave where he'd last seen Freed not ten minutes ago, only to see something that made his blood boil.

     Natsu looked up, his ruby red eyes glaring at the lightning dragon slayer as he struggled off of Freed. Natsu knew how it would look to Laxus, which was why he was trying to move away as quickly as possible. His legs flailed and arms thrashed as he managed to leap of off Freed using his enormous wings as leverage. Of course, even in peak condition, Natsu had a hard time dodging his rival dragon slayer's attacks, so it was understandable that he wasn't fast enough to dodge the bolt of lightning in his current condition.

"Get away from him, you monster!" Laxus yelled, unknowingly drawing the attention of Bickslow and Evergreen Back at their camp. Another attack hit Natsu, making him cry out. Freed lashed his tail from side to side. A deep, feline growl rumbled in the very back of his throat. Laxus had misunderstood. He had to protect END's secret. Would Natsu change back if he was badly hurt? Or was he able to retain whatever form he was in no matter what?

        "Laxus! Leave him alone. There was a cave in, he saved me!" Freed scolded, his cat-like tail lashing from side to side, showing just how annoyed he was. Seriously. Had Laxus not outgrown his impulsive stage yet?

     "Just because that thing saved you, doesn't mean it's innocent. If that's what I think it is, we have to kill it." Laxus growled, glaring daggers at the demon, who just cowered back nervously.

      "I.... didn't.... take him...." Natsu rasped out, his demon voice grating and rough. Laxus' jaw dropped. Had that monster really just spoken? He must be dreaming. Yeah, Bickslow exposing Freed's true appearance and a talking demon was all just part of one of those ridiculous dreams he kept having.

     "I... would never..... hurt my...... friends...... and.... and.... I... want to repay... Salamander." END told the lightning dragon slayer cautiously. "He... saved me. His... mate... rewrote my... book. So I could.... live. I hate... being bad.... Zeref... created me so I could.... kill... but... I'm not like... that." The demon paused, huge sad ruby eyes begging for Laxus to believe him.

    "He's right Laxus. I heard a rumour back in the Alvarez incident. Erza and Lucy wanted to save END, because they saw him protect someone from an attack or something. Can you imagine living with the knowledge that the only reason you were created was to kill and maim your creator? What would that do to someone? I know he's not human, but still, can you even begin to fathom his pain? Just because he's a monster... no offense... doesn't mean he can't feel like us." Freed glanced between END and his mate. The tension between the two was almost palpable.

        "Just.... want to be.... alone. Took.... Salamander.... coz he wanted.... to save.... his mate. He called me....." Natsu's red eyes stared forlornly at Laxus and Freed. Neither spoke. Laxus was curious as to what this monster would say. He felt the demon was just trying to wriggle out of trouble. Freed was also curious. He knew from Bickslow (who left one of his creepy little 'babies' behind at the guild) that Natsu had gone missing, and he was desperate to know just how the fire Mage had left the guild without his wheelchair and without being seen.

        "Helped him.... fight... protect mate. I.... hurt.... fell from the sky.... when I wake.... he's gone, nice old lady... look after me.... until I was.... strong..... enough to fly." END flinched suddenly, his injured legs crumpling and his wings wilting. Freed watched in fascination as the demon's wings and tail started to waver.... it was like they were conflicted between shrinking and growing. He looked terrified.

"Neko? I.... I can't.... hold it..... low on....on....." Freed frowned. It took a few seconds for it to sink in. Natsu was saying that if he was hurt badly, he reverted back to normal. He didn't retain his Etherious form. What was causing him so much pain? Freed grabbed Laxus by the arm and forcefully dragged the larger man away, sending a worried look END's way before disappearing into the trees.

       Freed and Laxus hadn't got far, they weren't even in Ever's and Bickslow's earshot yet, when an elderly white haired lady blocked their way. Golden eyes glared at the two fairies, as she growled a deep reptilian rumble.

"Where is he?" She snarled, golden eyes practically glowing with rage. The two men just glared back, Freed because there was no way in hell he was betraying Natsu, and Laxus because he was mildly amused that such an old hag dared snarl at him, especially as she only reached his waist, she was so short.

      "Where's who?" Freed asked politely, confused. Was this woman looking for END, or was she looking for someone else? Laxus just continued to glare angrily at the old woman. How dare she growl at Freed.

"The demon-boy. I have something of his." Mistral growled, clicking her fingers to make the healing book appear before clicking them again and making the book vanish once more. Freed was about to deny any knowledge of END, when a pained, animalistic roar rang out through the trees. The white haired woman shot a withering look at the two young men, before leaping, cat-like, over their heads in a graceful arc, in a way that did not fit her ageing frame.