Is It The END?

Prologue

Natsu sat in a chair in the center of a brightly lit room, surrounded by nothing but dusty floors, stone walls shrouded in cracks and cobwebs, and a floating camera lacrama above his head. Yet, for some reason, Natsu had not been able to escape the room. He was not bound by restraints, nor was there any defensive script magic set to trap the Dragon Slayer inside.

He simply could not leave. He wouldn't let himself. Staring at the ground Natsu began to mutter to himself. It was the first time he had spoken in two days. "Ya know, you don't have to stay here. You could leave this room and burn them all to ashes in an instant if you just moved. If you just wanted to."

His words were quiet, yet menacing and sadistic enough to send chills down the spine of just about anyone that could have heard the discourse. "NO! They're my friends; my family! I wouldn't do that." Natsu said firmly, placing his hands on the sides of his head, grasping at his own hair, roughly.

"But you know you don't wanna stay here! It's so bright and plain. Sitting here by yourself is like watching paint dry! I'm so boooored~." The pinkette groaned, lazily slipping his hands from his messy locks and propping himself up with his fist, elbow rested on the arm of the wooden chair.

"I don't care!" Natsu cried out into the air, gripping his hair again, "I'm not leaving this room! I'll die of boredom if I have to! Just get out of my head!"

Natsu threw himself out of the chair and began cackling like a madman, "AHAHAHAHAHA! Do you really think that you can stop me from getting outta here?!" The teen turned himself over onto his stomach and began to claw his way to the door, almost as though he was being hindered by some invisible force.

He pulled his hands to his hair again and curled up into a ball, on his side, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, "Get out of my head, you monster..." the lachrymose fire mage whimpered, "I'm not gonna let you hurt my friends, you can forget it! I'm not gonna let some demon of my brother's creation hurt my real family."

Monster... Family.

"Haven't you learned, you hopeless fool!" Natsu shouted, flipping onto his back, "You're the creation! I'm the original Natsu Dragneel! I'm stronger than you'll ever be, because I'm E.N.D! I'm the embodiment of power in this world! You're nothing! Just die and leave me be already, you pathetic human!"

Natsu's face contorted in pain as he threw his hands to his hair, gripping more roughly than before, tearing at his scalp in an attempt to get rid of the evil in his mind. "Get... Get out!" Sakura colored hairs fell to the ground as Natsu brought his hands to his head, once again, preparing to tear out more pink locks of hair.

"Get out.. Get outta my head... Get out.. Get out. Getoutgetout... GET OUT!!!" Natsu continued to claw at his scalp, thrashing about and screaming the same words over and over again. Unbeknownst to him that a particular red head witch and blond man had been trying to hold him still by his shoulders.

"Laxus! Hold him down!" Erza called over the screaming Dragon Slayer below them. "It's happening again! We have to get him to calm down before he hurts himself, or worse!"

Laxus's eyes grew wide as he began to understand the seriousness of the situation. He slipped his arms under Natsu's armpits and wrapped his legs around the teen from behind, bracing for some severe damage. "GAHHHHHH!"

Natsu's screaming became more and more pain ridden, but his thrashing stopped as his eyes shot wide open. Flames engulfed the young dragon slayer's body for a moment before Erza's ferocious fist plummeted into his stomach, knocking the boy out cold.

Laxus relaxed his hold on Natsu, pulling himself out from under the fire breather, picking the teen up and putting him back into his chair. "How many more times do you think this is gonna happen?" Laxus said, fists clenched at his sides. "Hearing him scream like that; watching him fight himself, literally, like... like some sort of lunatic!"

Laxus had turned around swiftly, waiting for the red-head to respond. "I don't know." Was all Titania had said, tightly shutting her eyes, gritting her teeth, facing the unconscious pinkette that was now sprawled on the chair, head tilted down to his chest, hands dangling from the arms.

"Well, I'm getting real sick of it.." a familiar voice intruded, "Ever since his fight with Zeref... and Igneel's death, he's been acting like a psychopath."

Erza looked over her shoulder, to the owner of the voice. Gray Fullbuster stood, leaning against the stone doorway, shirtless with his arms crossed over his chest. "He's been fighting so hard against the demon within. We shouldn't desecrate his pride so arbitrarily." The woman proclaimed. "He is still a Fairy Tail wizard, afterall."

Laxus and Gray both scoffed at this, knowing that their comments were in no way random. However, their rage soon subsided at the realization that none of this was Natsu's fault. The guy wasn't actually crazy and he really was fighting with everything he had to stay sane, let alone protect the members of Fairy Tail.

"You're right, Erza. I'm just..." Gray started, looking down to the ground solemnly. "I'm worried... What if E.N.D. wins? Will we ever see our Natsu again?"

Erza whipped around, fiercely, marching her way toward the negative-nancy before her. Raising her hand and bringing it down to the ice wizard's face, "How dare you even think such a thing?!" The requip mage cried out to the wide eyed raven, tears in her eyes. "This is Natsu we're talking about."

"I-I know... Erza.." Gray said, voice hushed, "You think I don't know that?!" Gray held his hand over his Fairy Tail symbol, "But can you blame me for having doubts?! There are men that Natsu was never able to defeat. How can I expect him to win against a demon created by Zeref when it's literally inside of him?!"

Both stood there, tears in their eyes, Laxus not far from being in the same predicament. All of the wizards gazes fell to the ground... "I-I'll be.." another voice wheezed. Everyone turned to face Natsu again. "I'll be fine."

The teary eyed mages gawked at the Dragon Slayer as the teen smirked to them, head only inches from the spot on his chest that it was before. "Go on... Get outta here." The pinkette flinched, clutching his head, "Go and wait for Freed or Levy to recover. Until-"

The boy tugged at his hair again, with one hand this time, at the front of his head. "Natsu-" Gray started but was immediately cut off by a much louder Natsu.

"GET OUT!" Gray, Erza and Laxus stared at Natsu, shocked, still not used to the boy's profoundly, genuinely shorter temper. The three of them sauntered out of the room and slumped around the door, listening to the Dragon Slayer scream at himself, once again.

Natsu... if you can't do this... I just... I don't know if I'll be prepared enough for the consequences...