~E.N.D~

Song; Monster

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Despair was making her blind.

"L-Lu..."

Someone was calling her name.

"Lucy!"

Go away...Leave us alone...

"Lucy! Get up! We have to go!"

Lucy fixed dead eyes upon Gray and slowly shook her head.
"I'll...I need to stay..."

"Lucy! You're not thinking straight. Come with me!" He went to grab her hand but she slapped his away. "Don't touch me!" She hissed, turning back to Natsu.

"Natsu will be lonely if I leave...don't worry, Gray..." Lucy looked up at him with dull brown eyes full of tears. "H-He'll wake up soon...Natsu will...he will..." Lucy looked back down at her Dragon. "He's just sleeping...That's all..."

Gray gritted his teeth as he kneeled down beside Lucy. "Lucy..." He muttered, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He's not coming back." Gray had to close his eyes so the sadness there wouldn't escape. "Natsu's...not going to wake up."

Gray could feel Lucy's shoulders tense up and suddenly she whirled around. She got in his face with wild eyes and bared her teeth. "Why would you say that?!" She cried out in horror and disbelief. "How could you...?" Lucy turned back to Natsu and brushed a stray lock of hair away from his face. "You just have to wait....until he opens up his eyes..." She turned back to Gray with those same eyes devoid of sanity.

"Then we will both go with you."

Gray was at a loss for words as Lucy turned back to Natsu, then paused. Something had caught her eye. She turned her head and searched the ground to the left of them. And there, laying in the dirt a few feet away, was an ancient book with the initials E.N.D.

Open the book...

A smooth, soothing voice drifted into Lucy's mind.

Open the book...

Lucy's lips parted as she slowly got up.

That's right...

Lucy's mind shut off as something as dark as a demon's soul and as wicked as a killer's mind took over her body.

Come closer...

Gray calling out to her fell upon deaf ears as Lucy headed toward the book that was softly calling out to her.

You wish to wake him up, do you not?

Lucy passed the fallen form of Mard Geer who watched her go with a smile.

Yes, I do.

Good, that's good, now...

Lucy bent down and brushed her fingers against the book that gave off an ominous aura.

Open the book.

Lucy's fingers trailed down the book's title and came to rest against the edge of the cover.

"Lucy!" Gray yelled, scrambling to his feet, and racing towards her. "Don't open that book!"

Open the book...

"Don't open the book of E.N.D!"

And you shall have what you desire...

"Lucy!"

"I have to open the book." Lucy whispered as she turned the cover over. "I want Natsu back."

Yes!

The voice boomed in her head, making her wince. The pages in the book flipped rapidly from page to page until the ink within started to glow a fiery red. Lucy was knocked back by the force of the wind and power that the book possessed.

A inky black hand decked with talons exploded out of the book's glowing pages. It clawed at the book until it could pull itself up. Those deadly talons sank into the dirt inches away from Lucy, who scrambled back, horrified. Gray skidded to a stop in front of Lucy, his Ice Magic already dancing around him.

An eerie laugh echoed from within the book as a swirling mass of shadows shot upward and out of the book. The shadows swirled through the night air, chilling it. Lucy watched in a frozen state as the shadows began to twist and morph into something else.

Arms, feet, hands, and a face all made from shadows appeared. Horns erupted out of the shadow's head and the creature threw back its head and let out a low, throaty laugh.

"Yasss," the shadow hissed, a red glow beginning to show where it's eyes were supposed to be. "Finally, I've been freed from that wretched book!"

"Not for long!" Gray snarled, pounding his fist into the palm of his hand. Mist twirled around his hands as he got ready to unleash an attack. "Ice Make-" he never got to finish.
Gray went sailing through the air and hit his head hard on the ground, drawing blood.

Lucy was shaking with fear as she turned back to face the shadow. Her heart stopped its pounding beating and she froze.
The shadow was inches away from her face.
It smiled, showing off a set of razor sharp teeth. Lucy sucked in a gasp as it reached for her. A whimper escaped from her trembling lips as the shadow with surprising carefulness, cupped her cheek with one taloned hand.

Lucy flinched when the creature touched her. It's touch was as cold as ice and as hot as fire. It's hissy voice filled her ears once more.
"I shall grant you what you want most in this world."
The creature titled its horned head at her and withdrew to hover in the air above her.

"W-who are you?" Lucy stammered.

"Me?" The creature seemed to smile.
"Why, I'm E.N.D."

The shadowy creature shot forward through the night sky and halted above Natsu's body. Lucy's eyes widened as she pushed herself up off the ground. "Stay away from him!" Lucy screamed, slashing her hand through the air to ward the creature away. The shadow's pulsing red eyes flashed as he looked at her.

Then the creature disappeared inside of Natsu.

Lucy limped over to the fallen Dragon Slayer and fell to her knees beside him. She wrapped her arms around his too cold body and held him close to her. She whispered sweet nothings in his ear as she rocked them back and forth. Lucy did not know what she was waiting for. She did not know if anything would even happen.

Lucy Heartfilia had no idea what she had awakened.

"Lucy."

She looked over her shoulder to find Gray standing there. Blood trickled down his face in small trails. "You need to get away from that thing."

Lucy's jaw clenched and her eyes, not dulled in the slightest, flashed dangerously. "I think it is you who needs to step back." Her voice was cool and smooth once more. Lucy was steadily coming back with her sanity firmly with her.

"Lucy," Gray warned lowly. "Don't do this. Don't force me to make you move."

Lucy curled her lips back from her teeth. "Oh? And what were you planning on doing once you moved me aside?"

Gray lowered his eyes then snapped them up to look Lucy dead in the eye.

"He has to die once again."

There was no hesitation within his voice. His eyes had become hard and closed off as he faced Lucy with an emotionless face.

The shock and betrayal that slammed into Lucy and flooded her insides was enough to silence her. Instinctively she tightened her hold on Natsu.

"No." Lucy hissed. She moved her body in front of Natsu's to block him from the Ice Mage's cold eyes. "I forbid you from harming Natsu Dragneel." The Princess of Fiore ordered.

Gray was silent for moment. It seemed that he was struggling with himself. Struggling to find an answer. A solution.

Lucy knew when he found one.

Gray's shoulders tensed and he balled his hands into shaking fists. His sharp eyes looked into Lucy's without flinching. His voice was colder than his Magic as he said-no-ordered her. "Move, Lucy."

The Princess' eyes hardened.
"You have chosen your path." Lucy snarled, standing up with her head held high. "A very unwise choice."
Her hand flashed to her whip where it lay wrapped around her belt. Her fingers glided across her remaining throwing knives. "I will give you one last warning, my friend." Lucy said lowly. "Back. Down. Now."

A muscle in Gray's jaw jumped.
"If you won't move...Then you give me no choice," he said, his dark hair shadowing his eyes.

One word flashed through Lucy's mind.

Protect.

Lucy unleashed her whip and cracked it in the air. "Very well then."
Lucy never thought she would be about to do this. Fight a friend she had known for years and had trusted with her life multiple times. But she had done a lot of things she thought she would never do.
Like;
Poison someone.
Marry a Demon.
Be happy once again.
Go on adventures.
Fall in love with a Dragon.

It had been one crazy, amazing year. Lucy did not want to see it come to a sorrowful end. Lucy wanted to have more adventures with Natsu.

Gray would not stand in her way of that.

Lucy was just about to let her whip fly when a low moan spilt the air. She spun around and set her eyes upon Natsu who's face was twisted in pain.
Who's...face...
"Natsu!" Lucy called out with hopefulness in her voice and tears in her eyes. She had just taken a step toward him when his back suddenly arched in the air. His head was thrown back as a deafening roar erupted from his mouth.

Lucy sucked in a sharp breath as her eyes got impossible wide. Natsu let out a bellowing scream of agony. His body began to shake like he was suffering from a violent seizure. Just as quick as the attack had come it stopped and all was silent once more.
Natsu lay as still as the dead.

"It shall begin soon..." Mard Geer said with a crazed smile full of glee. "Darkness will pour forth from the doors of Hell...a darkness that will swallow all the world's light." The Underworld King told them grandly, his eyes wide, a crooked smirk on his face. "My Master E.N.D shall rise and praise Mard Geer!"

Gray quickly spun around and smashed his heel into the Demon's head. Blood erupted out of his nose as he reeled back with a choked grunt. "Shut the hell up, bastard!" The Ice Mage growled. The name E.N.D echoed through his mind and his father's voice joined in.

You must kill E.N.D.

Natsu Dragneel sat bolt upright.

He stared blankly ahead for a bit...then turned his dull emerald green eyes to Lucy. The Princess stared back at her Dragon in total shock. Her mind had seemed to stop working as well as her ability to function.

However, she was capable of saying a name. The only name that mattered at that moment. "Natsu...?"

Natsu cocked his head to the side and with slow movements he touched his gaping chest. With jerky actions he picked up his scarf from where it lay on his chest and threw it around his neck. Not even bothering to wrap it around himself properly before he stood up.

Lucy's throat dried and her tongue had turned to dust as she watched Natsu stumble to her without a sound. Her lips curled up into a small smile as he neared her. She reached for him, palm facing up so he could place his hand in her own.

Natsu brushed right passed her without even glancing at her.

Lucy's expression dropped and her eyes filled with confusion and hurt. She turned around just in time to see Natsu walk past the silent Gray. Who was also watching him with weariness swimming in the blue depths of his eyes.

Natsu suddenly stopped, bent down, and picked something up off the ground. When he turned around, the book of E.N.D was in his grasp. Lucy's lips moved but no sound came out. Gray was the only one who took action.

The Fairy Tail Mage stepped forward, his mouth opening but he was just too slow.
Natsu opened the book of E.N.D. Once again the inked words began to glow a bright red and this time it was the words that came alive. They floated out of the book and danced around Natsu who stared at them blankly.

Then they attacked him in swarms.
The inked words latched onto his skin and faded into his tanned skin in seconds. Where the words touched inky black cracks began to appear on Natsu's skin. A large crack appeared on his right temple and rocketed downward. It went right across his eye and branched off into two separate trails down his cheek.

Cracks of the same color appeared on his arms, legs, stomach, and even what was left of his chest. At last the cracks stopped and the last of the words from the book ceased to appear. All was quiet as Lucy along with Gray and Mard Geer stared at the Dragon Slayer.

Natsu suddenly lifted his head and his once blank eyes could be seen. Lucy's hands flashed to her mouth. Those were not Natsu's eyes. They had gone completely white with no pupils or color to be seen. Lucy exhaled her fear and inhaled her courage. She would bring that shine back to Natsu's eyes.

Natsu stood as still as a statue as Lucy limped over to him. Gray tried to stop her by grabbing her wrist but she shook his hand off. She tried her best to stand as tall as she could but with her mauled leg that task proved difficult. Lucy stopped inches away from the emotionless Natsu.

"Natsu...?" She whispered. "Can you hear me?" He remained silent. She licked her lips and tried again. "Natsu? It's me. It's Lucy." She slowly raised her hand and laid it down on his cheek that had been marked by the pulsing black cracks.

That was when Lucy made her mistake.

Natsu reared back as if her touch had burned him. He hissed and bared his fangs at her. Lucy was so surprised that she did not even see Natsu raise his taloned hand. He swung his hand down towards her but his hand was knocked away by the sudden appearance of Gray.

The Ice Mage grabbed Lucy and shoved her behind him as he sent his ice covered fist into Natsu's throat. The Dragon Slayer choked and let loose a bone chilling growl. Gray recoiled but Lucy remained where she was. She grabbed onto Gray's arm and held on.

"Stop!" She shrieked. "Don't hurt him!" Gray wrenched his arm away from her. "Enough Lucy!" He barked, "That is not Natsu! That is a Demon that I am meant to slay!"

"How could you say that?" Lucy murmured. "How could you call Natsu such an ugly word." Lucy glanced at Gray, unimpressed by his words, and instead looked back to Natsu. Her eyes instantly softened and her voice became low and soothing. "Natsu?" She called much to Gray's distaste. "Don't call that thing over here!" He told her harshly.

Lucy ignored him and was about to call out again when Natsu suddenly stumbled back like he had been shot. His eyes were wild as they darted back and forth. It was oh so very faint...but a golden glow had come alive within Natsu's bottomless white eyes.

Natsu gasped and clutched at his head. He hissed and growled as he scratched and held his head between his hands. It pained Lucy that she could not do anything to stop this pain he was going through. But...it almost looked like he was...

"Fighting it..." Lucy breathed.
Before Gray could stop her Lucy hurriedly limped around him, her eyes locked upon Natsu who was having a battle inside of his own head. Lucy's heart swelled with hope.

"Fight it Natsu!" Lucy screamed, balling her hands into fists at her side.
"I'm right here with you! You are not alone!" She yelled as Natsu moaned in pain. "Fight it!" Natsu shook his head hard and lifted his head to glare at her with glowing white and gold eyes. "Don't you dare stop!" Lucy kept on even as Natsu got right up in her face with a snarl.

"Fight! Don't stop! I'm right here!" Lucy lifted her head and screamed so loudly that the stars seemed to shake from the force. "I'm right here with you Natsu!"

Natsu slammed his hands over his cracking face with a low inhuman moan. He stumbled back away from her and rapidly shook his head. Lucy's eyes widened when she saw black veins pushing against the skin on his hands. His nails lengthened and turned obsidian black.

With a roar Natsu swayed on his feet and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. His head dropped down but he remained standing. Her ragged breathing was the only thing that Lucy could hear in her thrumming ears. So many seasons could have passed by and Lucy wouldn't even have noticed.
All of her focus was on the Dragon.

Natsu twitched.

Lucy took a timid step forward. Her eyes searching for a sign. "Natsu...?" Lucy whispered, unsure of who she was calling out to. She reached a hand towards him. Only to be stopped by a breathy laugh. Her hand froze in mid air as the laughter grew in volume.

Natsu slowly raised up his head and let his hands drop away from his face.
A smile was playing across his lips. His eyes shot open. The white of his eyes had been completely taken over by blackness and red lines darted across his eyes rapidly. They pulsed like veins getting ready to burst.

Not Natsu.

There was a Demon living inside of the Dragon.

The two words clashed inside Lucy's mind like a whirling hurricane.
Not Natsu...
Lucy took an unsteady step backwards. "What's wrong?" The creature used Natsu's voice to say this. His voice was low and held a husky undertone that Lucy had never heard from Natsu before. Black cracks broke apart the skin on his arm in a spider web type design.

"You do not favor the new me?" The thing that had taken over Natsu's body hummed. The cracks shot across his shoulder and ate away at the fiery red Fairy Tail Guild Mark that Natsu was so proud of. Instead the inky tendrils twisted and swirled until they had made a new design in place of the Fairy Tail symbol.

The Tartaros symbol.

The thing smiled Natsu's smile. "Luce?"

Pain flared up across Lucy's cheek and her head snapped to the side from the force of the hit she never saw coming. Her body was sent tumbling back, her skin getting sliced by the rocks that dug into her flesh. She whimpered when a rock hit her bad leg.

When Lucy finally stopped rolling, she lay there, stunned. Lucy's hand shook when she placed her fingers tenderly to her shredded cheek. Numbly she heard Gray yell her name and then the sound of ice being created. The sound was abruptly cut off.

Gray's body landed inches away from Lucy's face.

Lucy's eyes went wide as she shakily pushed herself up onto her side. "G-Gray...?" She mumbled, hovering a hand over his still face. A shout of denial spilt the air and suddenly Juvia was there cradling the Ice Mage against her shaking body.

"What the hell?" Gajeel grunted, coming up behind Lucy with Levy supporting some of his weight. The Iron Dragon Slayer's eyes were wide and full of disbelief as he stared at the creature possessing his Nest Mate's body. "Is that...Salamander?"

Levy began to cry and she put a hand to her quivering mouth. "Oh, Lu-chan." She sobbed quietly, digging her fingers into what was left of Gajeel's shirt.

The sound of a sword cutting into wet dirt made Lucy turn her head to the side. Captain Scarlet was steadily coming towards them, leaning heavily against her katana blade. Her injured looking pink eyes were locked upon Natsu as well. "That cannot be...Natsu?"

MiraJane landed awkwardly on the opposite side of Erza. One of her wings had been severely damaged in the battle against Sayla. When she saw Natsu, her blue eyes filled with tears, and she clamped a hand over her mouth. Motherly concern was etched across her pretty face.

The last standing Fairy Tail members grouped together in front of Lucy like a protective shield. "What has happened to Natsu?" Captain Scarlet demanded, fixing her eyes on Lucy who had not yet spoken a word.
"That's not Natsu...my Natsu..." Lucy mumbled. "He calls himself E.N.D."

If the creature noticed the sudden increase of enemies he did not react to it. Instead his attention was seized by the scarf draped around his neck.
E.N.D's clawed hand went to his throat, and he scoffed. Without any care, he ripped off Natsu's scarf.

"I will never understand how he could possibly stand wearing this confounded, raggedy thing." E.N.D sneered down at the scarf gifted to Natsu by his father. Distress surged up inside of Lucy like a raging storm. For Natsu's treasured scarf started to turn black. The milky white scales that coated the scarf fell victim to the blackness that was eating away at it.

E.N.D removed his fingers from the fabric and allowed the wind to steal it away from his clawed hand. Lucy watched Natsu's tainted treasure being snatched away by the greedy wind. Drifting further and further away from its owner who adored it.

E.N.D turned his attention to Mard Geer who was looking at his Lord like he held all the answers to every question left unanswered.

"Ah, my Lord, you have at last found your way back to Mard Geer and Tartaros." The Underworld King bowed down before his Master.
E.N.D looked at Mard Geer with bored eyes. "Ah, I specifically recall that you, Mard Geer, faithful servant to the Great Demon Lord E.N.D, shot me down," he clicked his tongue. "No?"

A flash of fear swept across Mard Geer's face before he bowed even deeper. "That was a displeasing action that needed to occur."

E.N.D blinked slowly. "I also do remember that my less pleasing self said once, that if anyone laid so much as a finger on his partner, he would burn them into ash..." E.N.D raised a taloned finger. "This is me caring out his wish."

Mard Geer's eyes widened, horror twisting his features. With a flash of purple smoke Mard Geer was no more. Now, only a book lay on the ground where the Underworld King once stood. E.N.D grinned savagely as he sent a flash of fire onto the book.

The book that trapped the Underworld King within burst into flames and swiftly turned to ash.

"Now that that has been taken care of," E.N.D drawled, turning to gaze lazily at the shocked faces of the Fairy Tail Members. The Great Demon Lord E.N.D grinned, baring his canines, raised his arm, and allowed hellish flames to consume him.

"Who's next?" E.N.D purred.

A battle is about to begin.
A battle between E.N.D and
Fairy Tail.
Who will conquer all?
And who will lose all?

This Chapter is for

RoyalTKingdom223

Let the Adventure Continue!