Natsu glared at Zeref, frozen in fear of choosing incorrectly. Yes, he wanted to save Lucy, but to save Lucy, he had to kill Zeref, and if what Zeref told Natsu was true then Natsu would die. Lucy would be devastated. But if he doesn't save her then she would've died, and Natsu did NOT want that.

"Do you want to let her live? Or do you want her to die?"

Zeref pridefully asked. Gray and Juvia gritted their teeth, in the hopes that Natsu would choose-

"Let live."

Was all that Natsu said before charging at Zeref and punching him right in the gut, sending him flying into a boulder. Natsu walked up to the black cloud containing Lucy and put his forehead on the side.

"I promise. I'll get you out no matter the consequence. Okay? I promise."

Natsu promised as he backed away and then shifted his gaze to Gray and Juvia, who slowly nodded and walked over to the cloud.

"I. Will. KILL. YOU. You. Fucking. Fuckass."

Natsu slowly said, lowering his head and clenching his fists.

"Oh ho ho! Give me all ya got."

Zeref taunted, of course, with how mad Natsu already was, it worked and Natsu went charging at him with the intent to kill. Gray and Juvia stared with worry, as Lucy could only listen as the oxygen in the cloud slowly disappeared from the air.

"Natsu be careful."

Gray whispered to himself, however Juvia was clearly able to hear him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

"Juvia knows that Natsu won't lose. He WILL beat Zeref and save Lucy."

Juvia told him, Gray turning towards her and politely removed her hand, keeping her hand in his tight grip as he placed it on his chest, also looking towards the ground.

"But if he kills Zeref-"

"I said beat. Not kill."

Gray froze, remembering what she said. He knew what she had said, he just twisted the way she said it. Natsu flew at Zeref punching and kicking. Missing and missing. Every hit he missed would get him angrier and angrier. As Natsu got mad, Zeref got happier and his smirk stayed. Gray clenched his fists, Juvia narrowed her eyes and slightly tapped her foot.
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Lucy silently listened to the fight, not really being able to do anything else. She couldn't do anything to stop it. She had no way to change Natsu's mind. She knew he wouldn't change it, he was dead set on saving her. She couldn't stand it, not being able to help when it's needed most. She also knew that Gray and Juvia didn't want to stop him, they agreed with him, but also didn't. She knew that everything would go the way that Natsu wanted.
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Natsu panted, after throwing dozens and dozens of punches. Zeref hadn't broke a sweat, not yet at least.

"Just let Lucy go!"

Natsu yelled at him, trying to get him to give in. Zeref closed his eyes and shook his head.

"You have to understand-"

"Understand that you are a complete idiot."

The cloud surrounding Lucy then dispersed into many little squares of dust. Lucy fell to the ground and landed on her knees.

"What the-"

Zeref gulped as an intense magic power emerged from a man slowly walking towards them.

"Gildarts!"

Gray and Juvia cheered, running to Lucy to help her to her feet. She was taking deep breaths, there not being any oxygen inside the cloud. Gildarts glared at Zeref but then narrowed his eyes at Natsu.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Natsu?"

Gildarts asked, making Natsu cock his head to the side.

"You shouldn't have been throwing reckless punches and kicks at him. That won't get you anywhere!"

Gildarts yelled at Natsu, who gulped and took a step away from him. Lucy looked at Gildarts and smiled.

"Thank you Gildarts."

She thanked, standing up, with the help of Gray and Juvia. She had been through so much, it was quite surprising that she could even stand. Gray watched her carefully as she slowly walked over to Gildarts, who stood only a few feet away. Once she reached him, she collapsed but ignored the pain completely as she looked over to Natsu, who was occupied with Zeref. He wasn't throwing recklessly anymore, he was anticipating Zeref's next move and when to attack. He dodged each attack, thrown at him by Zeref, with only a couple steps, his eyes closed the ENTIRE time. Zeref had become more nervous, of Natsu, to be honest. He now knew that if you got Natsu mad enough, he could beat any enemy, and would do it, no matter the consequences. He also knew that Natsu wouldn't stop until Lucy and the others were COMPLETELY out of danger. So, the only choice Zeref had... was to go all out, which might lead to someone being killed. Nastu growled as if he knew what Zeref was thinking.

"Don't you dare! If you even lay a finger on EITHER one of them again... I WILL KILL YOU!"

Nastu threatened, making Zeref sigh and stop attacking, backed away and glared at Natsu. Lucy could tell that Natsu was getting tired, no he hadn't been using his magic but still, he looked completely exhausted from all the failed attempts.

'It's the only chance you have Natsu. You must let me in. You have to let me take control. If you don't, you and your friends will die and Zeref will live.'

The voice rang in Natsu's head as loud as a bell. He couldn't block him out, although he thought that he could beat Zeref by himself, the mysterious voice was right, he can't. Nastu stood there, dead silent. He then clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, confusing the other Mages. Gray froze, having a pretty good idea of what Natsu was about to say.

"I refuse to let him in! I don't need a demons help with this! I can do this on my own!"

Nastu yelled, at Zeref and mainly at his 'inner' self. Lucy raised an eyebrow- Natsu! Oh no! This is bad! If Nastu gets anymore mad then HE might take control. Lucy thought to herself, yes, she knew about END... she just refused to tell anyone about Natsu's secret. She also knew that Zeref was the one who told Natsu about END, as Lucy found out from her ancestor, Anna Heartfilia. Anna didn't come to her physically but did in Lucy's dreams. Lucy would have dreams of a dragon like demon. He had large and sharp fangs, scales covering almost his entire body, a long dragon-like tail, talons and claws, horns and huge red, flaming wings. At first Lucy couldn't see his face so she didn't know what he looked like, but once he turned towards her, she soon realized that Natsu was standing before her. He was the demon that she feared would kill her friends, her family.

'Hello girl, you have some explaining to do.'

He would tell her, right before she woke up, which happened every night she had that nightmare. Sooner or later she realized that she had to actually talk to him, through her dreams. So after about two weeks she ended up having a conversation with the demon, he would sit there and quietly listen to her, while she explained. He seemed very happy to listen, considering he was probably planning on killing her anyway. He sat crisis crossed, smiling at her and didn't yawn or anything, actually he seemed to be enjoying her company. Even though he was an evil demon, the more Lucy talked to him, the more attached to him she grew. She liked the way he smiled when she said something stupid, the way he got serious when she said something offensive or something.

'You must protect him, Lucy. Protect him from me, don't let me take control. I might even ask him to let me take control... but if that happens the only reason I would want that is to see you in person or I've changed my mind. I'm serious though, stop it from happening.'

END told her, she knew that he wasn't lying. She knew that he was being honest, she could plainly see that he didn't want to kill anyone. She realized that he wanted peace, of some sort. She tried so many times to have the same dream, it no longer showing up after the conversation. She tried and tried but failed. So she came to one conclusion, to save Natsu from the demon inside. She had to, had to help, it being the ONLY thing she could do. She didn't yet know how to save him but she would find out eventually. Natsu raced to Zeref and yelled-

"FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN!"

Nastu surrounded himself in fire and flew at Zeref, hitting him in the stomach, flying them both into the sky. Lucy watched as Natsu slowly fell to the ground. He hit the ground, a loud thud erupting from it. Zeref fell next to him and groaned in pain. Gray smiled and Juvia sighed in relief. A couple seconds later Erza ran to Gray and Juvia and asked questions. Gildarts stood still, watching as Zeref and Natsu stood up.

"Kusō. Now THAT hurt."

Zeref said, chuckling. Natsu smirked and wiped the blood from his mouth away... Wait... blood? Why is he bleeding? What happened to h- oh my gosh... No. END is fighting his way through. He lied to me. No he would never do that. END isn't the bad guy, Zeref is. Lucy thought as she stood up and joined Erza, Gray and Juvia, who were silently watching the fight. Erza had been filled in on all the events so far and now understood what was occurring before them. Did Gray tell her? Did he tell Juvia? I mean I wouldn't be surprised if he told Erza or Juvia but still... What if they start to hate- no Erza and Juvia wouldnt and can't hate Natsu. It's impossible. Unless he did something really BAD.

"Gray. How do you know that Natsu is END?"

Ezra asked Gray, who sighed and put a hand on his hip. Gray explained that he found out due to a guy he fought, that made him and Juvia fight to the death, which brought back bad and unwanted memories. Ezra nodded in understanding and looked over to Gildarts. He stood there, thinking of his next move or if he should even intervene. To be honest, Natsu was doing great, he was beating up Zeref, but getting low on magic power. Zeref, on the other hand, had more Magic power left and wasn't as tired as Natsu, but was getting beaten.

"I won't lose to you!"

Nastu yelled, causing Zeref to scoff and roll his eyes. Zeref figured that any time, END should awaken and fight him, trying to kill him for Natsu... But the only reason END would fight and try to kill Zeref was if Lucy told him. Something that Zeref DIDNT know about END was that he could experience feelings... Of love. Of hate. Sorrow. And happiness. The feelings and emotions that a HUMAN could feel. Even though he was a demon, he was created from Natsu. END knew that he could kill Zeref, but that could mean the end of his life as well, which would only cause sorrow and despair. He didn't wish that upon Lucy, not at all, he had grown too attached to her.

What will Lucy do to stop END from taking control? Will END awaken and try to kill Zeref?