These Blood-Soaked Pages (Fairy Tail) [Book 1 of Reaper's Scythe]

VI - The Secret

A few days later a small airship lands in a forest clearing. Leaves blow all over the place, and one gets caught in Zeref's hair.

The airship doors open and Invel steps out. He sees the unconscious dragonslayer next to Zeref and winces. "You weren't kidding when you said he was in a bad state, Your Majesty. Please don't worry yourself, it'll only take a few days to get to Alvarez with this. August will surely be able to treat him there."

The ice wizard carries Natsu into the airship, sitting him down on one of the seats. Zeref sits next to him, and Invel goes to the pilot's seat. A magic circle appears under the ship and they take off.

Natsu wakes up a few hours later, looking like he's about to vomit. "Where am I?" He asks once he stops looking quite so green.

"On an airship. You probably didn't realize how bad your condition was, did you?" Zeref sits Natsu back up when he starts to tilt over. "We're going to Alvarez, someone there can help you."

"I don't understand why I'm feeling so much worse than normal motion sickness..."

"Natsu, when that man hit you with devil-slaying magic it created an adverse reaction. You'll be fine once you get treated, OK?"

The dragonslayer looks up. "What? I don't get it..."

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Natsu falls over onto Zeref's lap and coughs up a bit of blood. It doesn't show very much against Zeref's robes. "Tell me."

"Okay, fine... You know about the fire demon I created, E.N.D.?"

"Yeah... but I don't see what this has to do with me..."

Zeref takes a deep breath. "Well... E.N.D. is different from the other demons I created. E.N.D. was originally human, my little brother in fact. His name was... Natsu Dragneel." The dark wizard bites his lip, waiting to see how Natsu will react.

The dragonslayer's eyes widen in shock. "Wait, what?! Does that mean..."

"I'm afraid so. When you were three years old, you and our parents were killed by a dragon. I tried everything to revive you... I created the R-System, the Eclipse Gate, and ultimately demons to bring you back to life. Eventually you were revived as the most powerful demon, E.N.D., or Etherious Natsu Dragneel. Since you're a demon with a human body, being hit with devil-slayer magic caused you to end up in this state."

"Really?! I'm E.N.D., and also your brother?!" Suddenly, Natsu grins. "That's kind of cool, actually. Except for one of my friends wanting to kill me..." He begins to cough again, continuing when the fit subsides. "Wait, does that mean I did all those horrible things?!"

Zeref shakes his head. "Stories are exaggerated over times. You, personally, didn't kill anyone, but I'm afraid some of the other demons did so when people spread rumors about you or to protect you. Mostly you just destroyed my stuff until I gave you to Igneel."

Natsu laughs weakly. "That does sound like me... This is one crazy story, but somehow I feel like I can trust you..." He begins to cough up blood again and eventually slips into unconsciousness.

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A few days later, the ship arrives at the palace in Vistarion. Natsu's condition steadily worsened over the trip, so Invel and Zeref immediately bring him to the wizard August to see if there is anything he can do to help.

"Your Majesty, I am glad to see you return safely. As for this man... Yes, I should be able to cure him, but I will need either Eileen's or Your Majesty's help." August runs his fingers through his beard.

"I'll help you. What must I do?" Zeref asks.

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About a week later

Natsu wakes up in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. He feels much better, although his mind is a bit hazy. Even in a daze, one scent clearly stands out to him.

"You're finally awake! How are you feeling?" A pale face framed by dark hair swims in the corner of Natsu's vision. He blinks so he can see clearly.

"Hey, Zeref. Where are we?" The last thing Natsu remembers is Zeref telling him about his being E.N.D.

"We're in the palace in Vistarion, capital of the Alvarez Empire. Are you feeling better?"

Natsu nods. "Yeah. I'm just hungry now. I could eat a horse!"

"Please don't."

The dragonslayer laughs. "Don't worry, I won't."

"Good. I'll wait outside the room, when you're ready we can get you something to eat." Zeref walks out, closing the door behind him.

Now that Zeref left, Natsu looks over the room. It's large and simply decorated, yet he can tell that the materials must be expensive. There are plenty of windows, a fireplace, a couch, and a few chairs in the main room. There are two doors to the back of the room that must lead to a closet and a bathroom.

"Good, you're ready!" Zeref smiles at Natsu when he walks out. "You woke up a bit late to eat breakfast with the Twelve, but that's fine. I asked Invel to make sure Brandish didn't eat everything." He leads Natsu down the hall, still grinning.

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Meanwhile in Fairy Tail

It's been almost two weeks since Natsu disappeared, and everyone is really worried. Happy and Wendy (and one time Romeo) burst out in tears whenever someone says they have no leads on Natsu's location. And although Lucy doesn't want to admit it, if this goes on much longer she might start crying too.

"Natshu's coming back, right? We just have to wait..." Wendy hugs the desolate Happy close to her.

"I hope so, Happy..."

This day is different from the rest, however, when Mest suddenly appears in the guild hall, asking to see Master Makarov. Erza leads him to the Master's office.

"I was undercover as a guard in the palace in Vistarion like you asked, and a few days ago I heard two people talking about Natsu. 'I see His Majesty finally found Natsu Dragneel,' one of them said. Then the other one said, 'Yes, but he's in bad shape. August asked me to help, but there was nothing more I could do to help.'"

Makarov scratches his chin. "Alvarez, huh? Something's fishy here... but no matter! We must rescue Natsu!"