Chapter 43: Harmony

Zeref was silent as he did a progress check on the battle and Natsu himself. Acnologia had been weakened badly by Marde Guille and his entourage of demons. He had to give the King of Hell credit- he'd done well coming up with such a plan to cripple Acnologia. Despite losing Torafusa, Tempesta, and Keith, this was the best shot they had at defeating the dreaded Black Dragon in his four hundred year reign of terror. Igneel was down too, but he'd played his part well enough.

His concern was Natsu. His power wasn't stabilizing as quickly as he'd hoped it would. If he couldn't maintain control and just threw it randomly at Acnologia, the chances were the Dragon King would overwhelm him with his greater experience.

"…Larcade," Zeref said at last, slipping another book from his robes. The demon in question turned to him immediately. "Go help Natsu and Marde Guille. I don't want to take any chances. I'll be sending Bloodman with you as well."

Larcade hesitated. "You will not require a guard?"

"I will be enough," Zeref told him. He smiled somewhat bitterly. "Besides, if Acnologia should defeat all of you, there is nothing that can protect us."

The demon who had been E.N.D's prototype nodded shortly. "Understood."

Zeref opened his last book- this was truly the last demon he had that was of any relevance in this fight. From within the book, dark characters in the language of demons materialized to form a ghastly figure. A cloaked man with the steel mask of a monster. His teeth were sharp and what little was visible of his body appeared to be a writhing dark mass.

Zeref fixed a stern expression on Bloodman and Larcade. "Return from this fight to me, or do not return at all, or there shall be no world to live in."

The two demons bowed momentarily to their creator before rushing off towards the site of the battle.

Before Zeref could think of their next move, he felt another, familiar mind touch his with a tentative kindness. Zeref?

Unbidden, a smile formed upon his lips. Mavis.

Natsu felt himself slipping in and out of consciousness as he ran towards the battle. It was an odd feeling; it didn't feel like he was about to pass out, but he kept getting flashes where it seemed as though he was no longer the one controlling his body. Like something was tugging him out of his own mind.

He couldn't gauge how far he'd gone, but all at once he suddenly blacked out. It was just for a split second and yet when he opened his eyes, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The land around him was ablaze and molten, a volcanic terrain with black ash clouds blotting out the sky. The only light keeping the place from descending into total darkness was the glowing rivers of lava and fire. Natsu froze where he stood.

"What in the hell?" He managed. "How did I get here? Where even-?"

"Still working that out?" Natsu spun around at the voice, which was familiar and strange all at once. His eyes widened when he realized the one who had spoken was him- or rather, someone who looked very similar to him.

The new Natsu- if in fact it really was another Natsu- looked far more demonic than he did. His body was covered in black tattoos that looked like flames, and nearly all of it was bare, for this Natsu wore only a pair of ragged black pants. A pair of jet-black, forward facing horns sprouted from the top of his head and his arms and legs had grown into vicious claws. At his back, a pair of dragon-like wings stretched lazily from his shoulder blades.

His eyes weren't the same onyx shade either- no, they were a fierce red and the sclera of his eyes were black.

The demon Natsu looked annoyed. "You ditch me for four hundred years and now our body is struggling to process everything. At least put a welcome mat down, dammit."

It clicked in Natsu's head almost as soon as those words came out of his mouth. "You're E.N.D?"

"No, you're E.N.D!" The demon exclaimed. "Seriously, did you actually forget what I am? I'm you, you idiot! I'm the Etherias abilities that got split from you way back when!"

"That…what?" Natsu tilted his head, confused.

The demon scowled and jabbed his finger at the tallest volcano, that being the one right behind them. "How the hell do you totally forget me and still know about that thing camping out in here?"

Natsu followed his gaze and nearly yelped as a massive object crashed into the ground behind the demon, snarling with anger. When the dust cleared, he realized he was staring at a dragon.

It looked like Igneel, but it's scales were black where Igneel's were white and the horns atop its head resembled the demon's more than the Flame Dragon King's. The tip of it's tail ended in an arrowhead shape and along its neck and wings were black marks in fire patterns.

The demon jerked his thumb at the dragon casually. "You HAVE to remember what this is, right?"

Natsu really had no idea what he was supposed to remember, but he hazarded a guess. "You're what comes out when my Dragon Slayer instincts go wild, aren't you?"

"Obviously," the Dragon Natsu drawled. "If I don't take over, how would we be able to save our mate when it matters?"

Natsu scowled. "I can protect Lisanna just fine! And she's not 'ours' she's mine!"

"Right there! That's the problem!" Demon Natsu snapped, baring his teeth angrily. "We're you, you idiot! Stop talking about us like we're separate people and accept us already! You're so scared of letting us 'take over' that you've gone and made your own powers into monsters that are out to get you!"

"Well, won't you?" Natsu demanded. "I didn't even remember what happened last time I lost control to my Dragon Slayer instincts! I wasn't the one fighting, that's for sure!"

The Dragon Natsu dropped his head straight into the rock below them with enough force to crack it. "You imbecile! It's always you! It's never 'us' it's always 'you'! You're just scared of what you're capable of! How can you fight if you can't trust your own strength? I've let you ignore this problem all this time since Igneel was in charge here, but no more! You'll lose your life if you don't accept us!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Demon Natsu crossed his arms. "You've got to accept that we're all the same person. This whole struggle for control thing is all in your head because you're scared of your own strength. You're scared of what happens if your dragon abilities get out of control. You're scared of what will happen if your demon abilities go berserk. It's so simple, but you're blocking yourself out because you're terrified of what you might do. The more you fight it, the worse it gets."

"So what, I'm supposed to just let go or something? Lose control?" Natsu growled.

Demon Natsu sighed and jabbed a finger at him. "Who are you?"

"Natsu, dumbass," he retorted.

"Top marks, you little shit," Demon Natsu shot back. "Who am I?"

"Not me."

"No, that's wrong," Demon Natsu growled. "I am you. He is you. We want what you want because we are you. We think what you think because we are you. The only reason we even exist is because you're scared of yourself."

"The same is true for the other Dragon Slayers," Dragon Natsu rumbled, his tail swishing behind him. "Although they don't have the Etherias within them, they all have a 'Dragon Seed' sewn in their bodies from learning Dragon Slayer magic, though the dragons have themselves negated these seeds into harmless sources of power. They probably all have similar 'bodies' like myself in their minds somewhere if they're frightened of their own strength and reject it. Gajeel, for example."

Natsu blinked. That was right, Gajeel had lost control of his Dragon Slayers abilities on that mission to find the Iron Evanescent…

"It's starting to click," Demon Natsu nodded. "We don't want to take over you because we're you. When you get scared of your own powers, we run wild because we're just running on your instincts. You shut down and retreat away from those powers because you lost control just once and now you react to them negatively."

"You mean back when I got sent to Edolas," Natsu replied slowly. "When Reyos tried to kill Lisanna and me."

"Correct," Dragon Natsu growled. "Unfortunately, you nearly dying after using that power to fight Reyos caused your mind to unconsciously reject it. Your Etherias powers have been missing for so long that your body just doesn't know what to do with them. Those two sources of power are now fully unleashed with Igneel gone and the Book of E.N.D opened and your body is in a panic because of that. It's desperately trying to seek harmony and the only way for that to happen is if you accept them as a part of you."

"It's your power, y'know?" Demon Natsu told him.

For some reason, that last sentence clicked for him more than anything else. Something about it made his body still and calm, as though he'd approached a problem from a different point of view and turned it into something that made sense to him.

"Ah-" Demon Natsu's sudden exclamation jerked him out of his momentary stupor. His body was slowly fading into particles of flame, which flowed towards Natsu and settled into him. "There you go. You get it now."

Dragon Natsu was fading as well, letting out a breath of flame as he growled. "About time."

Natsu lifted one of his hands to stare at it. He could feel their power- no, his power welling up beneath his flesh. It was almost overwhelming, but he calmed knowing that it was his and that it would not betray him.

"We're all me," he said at last. "Etherias."

Demon Natsu grinned and vanished completely.

"Dragneel."

Dragon Natsu roared triumphantly and followed his demonic counterpart.

"And Natsu," he finished. "That's me. My name is Natsu. I'm an Etherias, the brother of Zeref, and a Dragneel, the son of Igneel. E.N.D. That's who and what I am. Each and every aspect that I am is one."

Above him, the blackened sky cleared and the ash clouds settled gently. Natsu covered his eyes as the sun peeked out, momentarily blinding him. The sight reminded him of those words he'd heard before running off to battle Acnologia.

No matter what happens, we'll always be together. Whether we live or die today, I will always be with you.

He knew that she'd meant those words. If he died here, she'd follow him soon enough. He didn't want that. He couldn't bear the idea of her dying to be with him.

The fight against Acnologia wasn't just to save the world anymore. It was to save his world. His family, his friends…and her. As long as Acnologia was alive, her life would always be hanging on the precipice with his.

Natsu clenched his fists and let his newfound power swell up from within him.

The Dragon King was a dead man.

Marde Guille and Kyouka watched as Acnologia landed roughly on the ground, spittle flying from his jaws as he panted for air amidst the pain burning through his blood. The Dragon King was weakened, but he was not fatally harmed yet. It would take more than poison to finish him off.

Kyouka readied herself for another bout with the terrible beast. "What is our next move?"

"Observe him for now," Marde ordered. "We cannot engage him with just the two of us. Such a move is suicidal at best. We observe and await Master E.N.D's arrival."

The pair of demons tensed as Acnologia roared towards the sky, but to their shock, his body began to shrink at a rapid pace. The wings and tail receded, his head shortened, the scales melted into flesh…

Before them stood Acnologia, a human.

The man who replaced the black dragon was still menacing. His skin was dark, with blue tattoos like the scales of his dragon form covering his body. He donned a ragged black cloak, but bore no shirt beneath it, exposing a built torso that rippled with muscle. His black pants were ragged as well, tied around his waist by a white sash, and he wore no footwear. His blue hair was long and spiky, and his slanted red eyes were dark and intense. Around his neck was a string of dragon's teeth.

Acnologia the man glared at the two surviving demons, who watched him warily. His teeth were bared tightly to endure his pain, but his lips curled up in a twisted smile. "Zeref's demons are as irritating as I'd expected. It's been a while since I felt such agony, but you aren't capable of killing me, even with the Flame Dragon King working alongside you."

"We'll see about that," Marde replied with a smirk of his own. The source of his confidence appeared off to his right a few moments later, atop a hill of rubble. "I cannot kill you on my own, but with this collection of Zeref's books here, I think we stand a good chance."

Acnologia and Kyouka followed the Demon King's eyes as Natsu appeared on the hill, his body alight in flames.

Natsu had undergone a change as well. His demonic features remained from when he regained his powers from the Book of E.N.D, but he had draconic traits now, too. A long red tail had sprouted from the base of his spine and draconic scales covered nearly every inch of his body.

Acnologia's mouth curled into a snarl. "E.N.D. So you woke up."

"I've been awake for a while now, old-timer," Natsu growled. "But it's about time I put you to bed for good."

"Is that right," the Dragon King sneered. "All on your own?"

"Perhaps not."

Acnologia's eyes narrowed as the figures of Larcade and Bloodman took up positions beside Natsu, staring at him with malice. Larcade observed Acnologia's pained form with a smug expression "Fighting you one on one just isn't wise. Although this lineup is rather makeshift…I'm betting it's enough to kill you."

Kyouka felt a shiver run through every cell in her body, as though terror itself was crawling within her. Each of the demons were emanating a horrifying amount of power from her perspective. Together, they very nearly rivaled Acnologia's own terrible presence. The very air around them is suffocating…I have no place here. None but death!

"Kyouka, retreat to Lord Zeref," Marde Guille ordered her. His body began to take on more demonic features as he assumed his Etherious Form. He wouldn't be able to engage Acnologia as effectively without it at this point. "You are no longer of use here. Guard the Library."

She couldn't form the words to reply and instead fled as fast as she could. Kyouka, despite being the strongest of the Nine Demon Gates, had no desire to remain anywhere near the five monsters about to slaughter each other.

Acnologia grinned viciously. "Are you sure you want to do this? Even if you by some miracle manage to beat me, if you kill Zeref afterwards you'll all die with him. None of you can exist without his presence. Eventually, he will wage a war to destroy his own immortal self."

"I'll punch him out later if he does something that stupid," Natsu snapped. "But you're gonna bite the dust first!"

"Against we beasts of hell, even thou, the Dragon King, cannot best us," Bloodman declared.

"No," Natsu held out one arm to prevent him from advancing. "I'll fight him on my own."

Larcade raised an eyebrow. "Unacceptable. Father gave us specific orders-"

"-I've about had it with Zeref's ideas," he snapped back. "But more importantly, I don't have enough of a grasp on my own strength yet to keep myself from killing any of you by accident with the backlash. Let me give the bastard everything I've got and if there's anything left of him but ashes afterwards, you guys can clean him up."

Without waiting for a reply, Natsu lunged at the Dragon King with a burst of flame from his feet and a snarl on his face. He slashed at him with blazing claws, which Acnologia met with a ferocious punch. Acnologia sneered. "You think you can defeat me alone? Just try and entertain me, E.N.D!"

But then, to his shock, Natsu unleashed an immense blast of flame which vaporized the ground around them and sent the Dragon King skidding towards the ocean, a look of absolute surprise on his face.

"What?!" Acnologia gasped, unable to believe that he'd been overpowered.

Natsu continued to advance on him, every footstep melting the earth beneath him. He glared at Acnologia with death in his gaze. "Did you think I'd come after you without knowing I could win? I came here to kill you, you bastard!"

Acnologia grinned with wild murder. "Well said! Come here and let me devour you! I'll bear witness to your might, E.N.D! I, the Dragon King! I, Acnologia!"

The two rushed each other in a blur of motion, colliding with a force violent enough to blow away everything for a quarter mile. The three demons that had intended to assist Natsu had to protect themselves from the shockwaves created by the pair of savage beasts battling one another.

Natsu landed a vicious right cross on Acnologia's jaw, splitting his lip and sending blood into the air. The Dragon King in turn drove his knee into Natsu's gut, then smashed him into the ground with his fist. As Acnologia tried to follow up with a blast of magic from his right hand, Natsu made the very earth explode in an eruption of cursed fire, repelling Acnologia into the air.

This time the force of the blast made Acnologia fly over the ocean. The Dragon King's face was twisted into a feral smile as he inhaled deeply. "Magic Dragon's…"

Natsu sucked in a breath to reply with. "Devil Dragon's…"

"ROAR!"

The twin beams of ethernano and cursed fire collided with enough force to vaporize both the ground and water they touched, literally converting tons of matter into nothingness. Where the devastation ended, molten earth remained. The gaping hole in the earth was quickly reclaimed by the water with a deep rush, but the burned scar was still fresh enough to make the liquid steam.

Acnologia laughed in the air, as the blast had propelled him higher still. "You're strong! Your strength is great, E.N.D! It makes me want to kill you even more! I'll make a sloppy mess of you, Natsu Dragneel!"