Until the END (A Fairy Tail Fanfiction)

Chapter One

1) I do not own Fairy Tail and probably never will, although that'd be awesome!

2) Enjoy the chapter!

I was exhausted. It turned out that fighting Zeref's soldiers single handed with only a trickle of magic energy left was not a good idea. I was just sick of being the helpless one in the guild, the "damsel in distress" who always had to end up being saved. I hated not being able to fend for myself. Even Wendy was stronger than me physically, and she was 12! I felt useless, like a complete waste of space who only stuck around because I was desperate for money to pay the rent.

Suddenly, the image of Natsu's mischievous grin popped into my head, and I couldn't help but smile as I remembered the way he had grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me along to the place where my wildest dreams would come true - the Fairy Tail guild hall. Natsu had kicked everything off and caused a chain reaction of some of the craziest, most dangerous, but mainly most amazing adventures I had ever been on. I glanced down at my right hand in a state of nostalgia and admired my guild mark fondly: joining Fairy Tail had been my proudest moment and I wasn't going to let some suicidal maniac emotionlessly murder my friends. Clasping my hand into a fist I looked onwards into the grey fog, a newfound feeling of courage egging me on.

However, as soon as I took my first step towards what I wanted to be victory, the sky darkened with a mysterious black light, causing me to shield my eyes with my hand and look up towards where I thought it was coming from, but I couldn't make out the source. This did not look good.  Something told my legs to start moving, and I almost tripped as I began to run as fast as I could, shouting for my guild mates. There was no reply until an excruciatingly loud scream pierced the air, forcing me to cover my ears and wince in pain. I recognised the pitch immediately - Natsu. He was in trouble and I needed to get to him, fast. I pulled myself into a sprint and legged it towards the source of the scream, a look of pure determination on my face.

Stumbling through Magnolia for a good fifteen minutes with next to no magic energy seemed to drain me of energy even quicker than usual, so it was no surprise when I practically collapsed on the dusty ground. Panting maniacally yet unwilling to give up, I dragged myself to my feet, but I almost tripped again when I realised what was going on in the distance.

 About twenty metres in front of me, Natsu's motionless form was trapped inside a murky black orb floating off the ground. In front of the orb, however, stood somebody even more terrifying.  Natsu had come face to face with Zeref.

I know now that I should have waited for back up, but I was in such a state of panic that all of my usual tactical ideas had been thrown out of the window. Peeling myself from the ground, I swallowed hard and continued running, letting the scene get closer and closer. Unfortunately, Zeref managed to sense my presence before I could reach them, and all of a sudden my entire body slammed into an invisible wall.

"Leave now, or I will obliterate you." 

Zeref's voice and attire were not what I had been expecting. He was dressed in a white toga with what looked like a black bed sheet with gold trimming tied over his shoulder into somewhat of a sash. He was barefooted and had floppy black hair that almost covered his eyes, and spoke in a calm monotonous tone that seemed strangely calming until you compared it with the situation you were in and quickly re-labelled it as sinister. In fact, he barely even looked like an adult.

Zeref sighed, and I was snapped back to my senses. "You have come to rescue Natsu, have you not?"

"Let him go!" I screamed, clawing and pounding at the wall to try and reach him. Zeref simply smirked.

"Unfortunately, that will not be possible. Natsu-san must undergo some rather specific treatment before he is let loose," Zeref said as he brought his hand up,  his palm facing the orb. "I have changed my mind," he continued, turning to face me for the first time, his onyx eyes boring holes into mine, "you will be allowed to watch."

With that, Natsu's unconscious body started to convulse wildly and black marks emerged all over his skin. It was torturous to watch and my eyes widened in utter horror, tears pouring from them at the same time.

"STOP IT! STOP IT!" I screamed as a pair of black tattered wings erupted from Natsu's shoulder blades causing blood to stream down his back. Zeref smiled evilly at the mess he was creating inside the black ball.

"Are you enjoying this? I certainly am," the black wizard quizzed with a devilish smile.

"YOU MONSTER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?" I screamed back, hoping to eke out some sort of human emotion from Zeref to break his concentration and subsequently end Natsu's suffering, but it was no use.

"I am the monster? No, no you are quite mistaken. You see, Natsu is the monster. I simply have to add the finishing touches and END will be complete! I will finally be able to end my wretched life!" He completed the sentence with a sinister giggle, then proceeded to add two curled, pointed grey horns to Natsu's head, and I could see the blood mixing with his pinkish coloured hair. All I could think about was that it was a good job that he was unconscious - I couldn't possibly imagine the pain it would cause him if he was still awake.

I sank to the floor in a bawling heap. Natsu was becoming a demon in front of my very eyes, and I was powerless to stop it. He needed me and all I could do was sit behind the wall and cry. 

From behind the wall I heard a sudden thud, like the sound of a body hitting the ground. I looked around and realised that the orb was gone. Finally, a small victory! I stared at Natsu, squinting to see whether the wounds that Zeref had inflicted on him were shallow enough to heal. Natsu's body suddenly twitched and I felt my heart jump into my mouth as he pushed himself up off the ground to face Zeref. I smiled, Natsu was okay!

Then I realised something. Zeref didn't look annoyed or displeased. He looked impressed, like he was admiring his work. My worst fears were confirmed as Natsu's demon form turned once again, this time to face me. He wore an evil smirk, and a crack ran through his eye onto his cheek. There was some sort of blackish steam emanating from him and his body was covered in deep scars. I thought looking at him was terrifying, until I realised that he was walking towards me. My body froze in place and would not move, no matter how hard I tried to writhe free and run away. Zeref must've removed the wall, because eventually Natsu was standing over me, completely black eyes staring hungrily into my own, as if waiting to tear me to shreds.

"Well then brother," Zeref said, his words punctuated with a horrible grin, "why don't you try out your new play thing?"

Oooh, first chapter! I've recently edited this one because it seemed a bit short and haphazard so I would love to know what you think. Please comment and stuff as that'd make my day. Love y'all, see you in the next chapter!