Ok this story has been long overdue an update and well a heads up for any of my other stories that remotely follow the canonical plot and storyline of fairy tail yeah I'm scrapping that plan, since the first fight with Zeref the manga has become progressively worse and full of bullshit friendship power ups. In some of my stories I may not even introduce characters that came into play like they did in the manga I just gonna do my own thing loosely based on the timeline events buts actually follow them. On another note, I've decided on a few stories that with the way they were going I can finish them in a few chapters so I'll stick to them for now.

"ZEREF!"

In a blinding fit of rage Natsu charged forward causing Zeref to smirk before he took the full force of a flaming punch to the face sending flying back a considerable distance. "Hmm so the final seal still hasn't been released, although I can't say I'm surprised" Zeref said under his breath as he looked back over to the only other person left in this world he could truly call family and here he was trying to push him away.

"Lisanna, I'm not gonna let it end like this, I won't loose you again" Natsu said as he held Lisanna in his arms before biting into the side of her neck injecting a small amount of his curse power into her seemingly lifeless body. "Mard, take her and put her in a healing pod" Natsu said, the tone of which used told Mard Geer it was more an order than anything. "As you wish right away" the Etherious demon said before taking hold of Lisanna and flying off towards the cube at mach spped.

"I suppose this was inevitable" Sayla mused in her thoughts as she shifted into her etherious form which had changed considerably from its initial state, now she had crimson flame pattern tattoos that went the length of her arms and continued onto her shoulder blades. Her pale gold horns now didn't curl instead they continued straight back past her head. Her skin very much remained the same as did her attire, the only other noticeable difference was her eyes, she still had the yellow sclera but instead of a black rounded pupils they were diamond or slit like more reptilian in appearance. Why was this inevitable one might think, well simply put Sayla knew from the way Natsu would talk about Lisanna and the way he looked at her that he definitely still had strong feelings for her.

"Natsu I'll back you up" Sayla said as she stared Zeref down defiantly making the dark mage smirk at how loyal Sayla was, making him think it was almost laughable for anyone to think she was once obsessed with returning to him as her ultimate goal. "No, this is something i'll have to do myself Sayla" Natsu replied Surprising Sayla slightly, but she almost knew from the start he was going to say something like that.

"So Natsu what do you intend to do now, will you still try and save me after I killed someone you've held so dear for so long or will you lash out?" Zeref said in a Neutral tone as the etherious dragonslayer walked towards him. "She won't be dead for long, in fact I took a little inspiration from you and turned her into an etherious" Natsu said with a smirk. "Who knows maybe the gods will afflict me with your very curse as well, or perhaps because I was dead to begin with I lie outside the realm of life and death" Natsu added on making his brother smirk.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't impressed, to think you had this much grasp and variance of your powers capabilities, you've truly come a long way brother." Zeref said fondly with a smile gracing his face. "On a more serious note, I sensed you and Acnologia crossed paths is that true?" Zeref asked making Natsu remember something important.

"Yeah, we did he said there was something you hadn't told me yet, wanna tell me what that's about" Natsu replied but upon doing so he noticed Zeref tensing up. "You're not gonna tell me unless I beat it out of you right?" the dragonslayer asked with a sigh as his curse power and magic power started to flare throughout his body and intertwine.

"Well what did you expect, we're enemies after all" Zeref said smugly as his own black magic began to radiate. "Well that works out for me, now I've got two reasons to beat the ever-living crap out of you!" Natsu replied before his form was engulfed in an explosion of crimson and black fire the heat of which instantly evaporated any snow and ice within the immediate vicinity and caused the soil beneath his feet to boil and bubble.

"Sayla go aid the other guilds in their battles I'll handle this" Natsu said suddenly switching to a serious tone making Sayla nod instinctively as she flew off towards some of the nearby battles but not before taking one last look behind her, "Be careful" the demon shouted before doing as she was told. "If Lisanna was here, then Mirajane must be close by" the slayer thought to himself in a worried tone which didn't go unnoticed by Zeref. "if Lisanna is here then Mirajane must be close by, is what you're thinking right little brother?" Zeref said in a rhetorical manner making the dragonslayer grit his teeth.

"While I did come here myself Natsu I wonder how the she devil would do against one of the Spriggan twelve that were here before myself?" the dark mage said curiously making Natsu's eyes widen in fear. "Just to let you know there are three in total here in the north and one of them just so happens to have the possibility to defeat Acnologia himself" Zeref revealed causing Natsu's worries to increase. What sort of monster could that Spriggan twelve be if he could defeat Acnologia.

"I'll take care of you first then I'll worry about your Spriggans!" Natsu shouted before he charged towards Zeref once more making the black wizard sigh. "Even as a kid you always were hot headed and never were one to listen, oh well guess we'll do this the hard way" Zeref said in a mildly amused tone before his eyes turned a solid shade of crimson with the pupil rimmed with a thin black circle.

"Flame Dragon King Mode!"

Once again the aura around Natsu exploded with fierce heat as he threw a punch forward resulting in an explosion when he connected the blow. However, much to his surprise Zeref hadn't budged an inch, in fact he looked completely fine. "I'm warning you now brother I won't be holding back so you better come at with everything you have as both a dragon and a demon!" Zeref said in a sinister voice making Natsu jump back to gain some distance. Little good it did as Zeref was right up in his face again with a deranged look on his face.

"Dark Repulson!" with an outstretched palm placed against the Dragonslayer's chest a shockwave followed by an explosion of dark magic rippled through Natsu's body as he was sent into a nearby rock-face. "Sorry Natsu guess I should have been more specific, it won't be me that won't be holding back but Ankehenseram" Zeref said greatly confusing the dragonslayer. "While I still am in possession of my mind he has absolute power and control over my body and powers, that is the power of the god who resides over life and death" Zeref explained as once again he felt his body move on his own.

Now Natsu was starting to get a better grasp of the situation Zeref had, "Every time he found himself caring about life once again that bastard of a god took control of his body and made him commit those countless acts" Natsu thought in anger as he got up and spat out a little blood. "I've been his only hope from the start, he's so desperate to be released from this pain that he's pushing me away, trying to make me hate him in order to free himself from his eternal pain" the dragonslayer continued to think as he lit his hands aflame.

Meanwhile in Zeref's Mindscape

"I must say so far this has been a truly enjoyable experience for me" a feminine voice said within a void of nothingness. The woman had an air of royalty about her, in terms of attire she donned a complete set of gold plated armour from the leg guards to the chest plate which was doing an admirable job of containing her more than impressive bust. She was tall with long platinum blonde hair and a set of red eyes.

But this woman wasn't alone, with her was none other than the black wizard himself "I suppose you would find my suffering and that of my family amusing…Ankehenseram" Zeref said with a bit of Venom causing the newly identified Ankehenseram to smile viscously. "Oh come now Zeref after these last four-hundred years you'd think you'd be used to the slaughter seeing as you're so good at it even when I'm not in control" the goddess said in an almost teasing manner but every word sounded like poison to Zeref as he watched the battle between himself and his brother unfold from within his own mind.

"I could never get used to it, besides the only reason I did it was because had I not you would have taken control and killed ten times as many innocents, so in a way I was doing my part to save as many as I could at the cost of my soul and humanity" the black wizard said causing an amused smile to appear on the goddesses' face before she burst into fits of laughter. "Oh please you, humanity let alone a soul that's the best thing I've heard from you in centuries, we both what know happened to your soul when you practiced the forbidden magic" Ankehenseram quipped with a smirk a she saw Zeref place his hand over his heart.

"Does he even know, that if he kills you he'll be taking his own life as well for that is the cost of sharing a soul is it not black wizard?" she continued to question the dark wizard. Silence was the only response the goddess got from the wizard, "Fine be that way but answer me this, why did you kill the girl? Surely not just to antagonise the boy?" Ankehenseram asked curiously but almost regretted asking when she seen the smug look on Zeref's face.

"Partly, but Natsu has gained a power curtesy of one of the only beings of which you can never hold any power over, a power that I believe when used could destroy either myself or Acnologia guess I might be being a little selfish trying to force Natsu to use it up on me" Zeref revealed shocking the goddess. There was only one race of creatures with the exception of celestial spirits that didn't fall under her domain of life and death, the dragon kings. "You mean to say the boy has acquired the powers of a true dragon king, ha preposterous Acnologia killed all of the dragons" Ankehenseram said in disbelief shooting down the notion without a second thought making Zeref smile.

"True they are all dead now but what about a power left behind from beyond the grave, a true burning tenacity to see one's mission to the very end?" Zeref questioned with a smirk before turning his attention back to battle back in the real world between himself and Natsu and due to Ankehenseram getting caught up in her worry it allowed for the dragonslayer to gain back some ground in the fight.

Real world

"What's the matter you've suddenly gone all quiet on me" Natsu huffed out as he wiped the blood from his lower lip. "I guess you could say my mind was in a different place, at any rate I do believe the real fight begins here does it not?" Zeref said sarcastically knowing full well that would have got on a certain goddess's nerves. "Yeah guess I can't afford to pull my punches any more so I guess I'll just have to remove 'that' then" Natsu said with a grin peaking Zeref's curiosity.

"While I haven't figured out the final seal of my book I was able to reconfigure the second last one into two parts so that I only got the appearance it offered and not the power up, but that power up might just be what I need right now" the dragonslayer revealed making Zeref smirk internally and Ankehenseram grit her teeth in frustration.

"Full Release, Gate of Chaos!"

Just like that an explosion of power shook the area, "Alright then, lets how long you can keep the tough guy act up Natsu, you're obviously not used to the form" Zeref taunted his brother, but he was right. This was the furthest Natsu had ever pushed his etherious powers, the first time he unlocked it while training he almost died trying to maintain the form for more than five minutes. Even after numerous attempts at trying to get used to it the strain proved too much for his body at that current time hence why he created his own seal for the form.

"Maybe you're right but it's all I have left at the moment" Natsu said with a wicked grin bearing his fangs. "I see, well for whatever time you have left in that form I suggest you go all out if you wish to defeat me" Zeref responded as he focused his black magic into a ball in his left hand.

"Death Ball!"

"Cruel Blaze"

Both wizards launched magic blasts of their retrospective magics but much to Zeref's amazement Natsu ball of molten black and red fire burned through his death magic before proceeding forward to strike the black wizard resulting in a colossal explosion that caught the attention of any who were near.

"Shit maybe I still don't have that much control in this" Natsu cursed worried that he might had accidently killed Zeref with such an attack. "I Have to admit that was a truly impressive attack Natsu, if I had of deployed my condensed magic barrier but a moment later I would have taken some mortal damage; still to think your attack was capable of actually breaching the barrier colour me impressed" Zeref complimented as he stepped out of the smoke revealing a half burnt off face as well as the majority of his upper body which immediately began healing once more.

"Don't worry there's still plenty of flashy moves left up my sleeve!" Natsu shouted before disappearing in a blur. "Dragon Demon Demolition Fist!" faster than Zeref could react he found himself being burned and hurdled by an amazing force that tore up the land around and beneath him until he came to a sliding stop before collapsing down onto one knee coughing up blood and finding no air in his lungs. Instead it felt like he was breathing actually fire, "I can actually feel my lungs and my internal tissue burning up, it's like the fire entered my body and he's manipulating its flow" Zeref thought in a puzzled manner.

"I can see you're a bit slower on the uptake than usual, had that been a regular dragon king's demolition fist I doubt you'd be in anywhere near such a state" Natsu began explaining as he looked at the shaken frame of his brother. "You told me to come at you with all I had as both a dragon and a demon and that's what I'm doing, I infused my demonic curse powers with my dragonslayer magic; it was a gamble I wasn't even sure it would work" Natsu revealed making Zeref smirk.

"But it looks like I may have found a chink in your immortality!" the dragonslayer yelled before he once again charged at Zeref determined to deliver a powerful blazing kick to his chest. Luckily or not in Zeref's case using a blast of black magic he managed to dodge causing Natsu's momentum to carry him on and crash into the ground resulting in fiery explosion.

While the dusk kicked up from the explosion provided some cover Ankehenseram was trying to figure why Zeref's curse was taking so long to heal him which again made the black wizard smirk sensing how distressed the goddess was. "Looks like you got lucky there but let's see you try to avoid this!" Natsu said from within the smokescreen before an inhaling sound could be heard alerting both Zeref and Ankehenseram to an incoming roar.

"DRAGON DEMON'S BLAZING BELLOW!"

A roar stronger than either could anticipate followed, the shockwave of which was enough to push Natsu himself back several feet but the blazing flames of which the attack comprised of tore through and obliterated all in its path before it collided with Zeref causing said mage to roar in pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!"

The black mage could feel the attack scorching his very bones and charring his flesh as it continued to push him back, fighters from the surrounds area stopped there fights upon hearing the dragon like roar echo throughout the landscape just in time to witness the attack collide with Zeref.

"Ha….ha…ha…" finally the roar subsided when Natsu needed to take a breath showing a shaking and weary etherious dragonslayer. He'd never used that much power in this form and he was beginning to think maybe the roar was a bad idea as he was struggling to maintain the form. "If that doesn't keep him down I'll have no choice but you that" Natsu thought to himself as flapped his weary scaled wings and began flying to his downed brother's location.

Meanwhile with Zeref, he lay in a crater in the ground chuckling to himself as well as…crying? Why someone may ask well the one thing he thought impossible was just made possible. No longer could he sense or hear the voice of Ankehenseram within his mind. He heard her yelling at him telling him to get up and cursing when she couldn't make his body do so herself; hell, he could even feel the effects of his ever-present curse.

"I can't believe you actually did it" Zeref spoke upon hearing Natsu land near him, "If I could move this broken body of mine at all I'd finally embrace you truly as my brother" Zeref choked out confusing Natsu, "What are you talking about you'll heal?" Natsu questioned. With whatever movement his body still possessed Zeref shook his head in disagreement.

"Not this time, Ankehenseram was unable to make my body do as she wanted after those last to attacks hit, she left my body but as a cruel twist she took the one thing that could have saved me right now, the curse of contradiction" Zeref said with a slight smile making Natsu eyes widen. "Then you mean you're dying?" Natsu asked in a fearful tone as he stiffened up which didn't go unnoticed by Zeref.

"Even after ever you're still the same compassionate little brother I remember from all that time ago, you really shouldn't waste it after all the problems I've caused everyone, especially you and Mavis" at the mention of the former Master of Fairy tail Zeref's smile turned to frown. "I do wish I could've seen her one more time, just to make things right" the dark mage said in a sorrowful tone as the tears started flowing more freely and Natsu sat down beside him as he changed back to his regular self.

"You know I don't think the first blames you all that much for what happened and if anyone is to blame it's that damn god" Natsu argued but his brother still didn't see it that way. "Besides if you want to make things right with the first then you better damn well live on and tell her yourself" he then added on gaining Zeref's attention.

"I told you without the curse I can't heal" Zeref said in a frustrated tone as he tried to move his body but to no avail. "I might not be able to completely heal your body but I can still keep you alive long enough for me to get you to Wendy" Natsu said before he stood up. "You might not think you deserve a second chance but I do, I owe you my life; because of you I got to meet all the friends I have today, I got to have all the memories and adventures I had and because of you I met Igneel" Natsu reminisced with a smile before turning his attention to his brother once more.

"In a way everyone I've helped and saved is a by-product of what you did for me, if you hadn't done what you had well I don't know how much of a shithole this world would have been" the dragonslayer said as he lifted his brother up. "Even still how do you plan on helping the other Strauss when your hoisting me around like this?" Zeref reminded Natsu who cursed under his breath.

Placing two fingers to his head Natsu began concentrating, "Mard Geer how far are you from my position?" Natsu telepathically communicated with the former leader of tartaros. "Inbound 5 minutes" was the etherious' swift reply. "Good Mard will be here shortly then I can…what the hell is that magic I've never felt anything like it before" Natsu had started before he was interrupted by a surge of magic the type of which he had never felt. A bright golden light in the distance caught everyone's eye

"Irene no what are you doing?"

Chapter End

Ok long time update needed and I have no excuses and some of you mightn't have expected the this chapter went but after seeing how dreadful the last 80 or so chapters of Fairy tail have been I needed a new directions in order to stay away from that sort of ending altogether. Some of you might have thought the ending was great but I now quite a few fairy tail fanfic writers have quit writing fairy tail fics because they too thought the ending was that bad and they had some really good stories which is a shame but I understand why the chose to quit. Anyway rant aside hope you enjoy this chapter, if you have issues about the chapter let me know in the reviews, constructive criticism is always welcome.