Gratsu one-shots/drabbles

Innocence and a Death Wish

Prompt:You can't die. Please don't die.

(Warning: The emotion train can't pick a track to stay on. Be cautious of possible derailment.)

This was it. This was the end of everything that had happened. He felt his magic build up along side Natsu's. He felt the fire and ice intertwine as it headed straight for the famed Black wizard. The powerful slaying magic spells ripped through him like a hot knife through butter, and every trace of his magic began to dissipate. They walked over to his fallen body as seals appeared across him. They dissolved themselves off of him, peaking the curiosity of the ice mage.

After searching his memories, he recognized several of the runes that made up the seals, and Zeref began to speak. It wasn't the deep voice full of hatred he'd heard all the other times, but instead, a calm, almost childish voice, "Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" There were tears streaming down the dark mage's face, "I spent so long, so long, under Ankhseram's control. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. " Several others had made their way over to listen, shocked at the revelation of Zeref's... innocence?

"You were... being controlled." Gray muttered. He couldn't believe it. The person he and most of the world had villainized their entire lives was the victim, not the enemy. Natsu grasped his arm, sensing Gray's discomfort immediately. The ice mage shot him a grateful glance.

"I'm not the only person Ankhseram wanted, though. That's why I built Eclipse." Zeref said quietly, "I sent them into the future to keep them safe, but it didn't work quite as well as I wanted it to. One of them was captured by another group of people, but now that I'm free it shouldn't be any trouble getting him out of there."

"The dragon slayers came from four hundred years ago." Gray realized. He turned to Natsu, but the pinkette looked just as shocked as he was.

"I had to seal away all of their memories as well," If it were possible, Zeref looked even more upset, "Hell, we were all so little. He tilted his head towards Wendy, and the people standing around her instinctively got closer, "You were just two." His turned his head back to the sky and glared at it, "Ankhseram is such a bitch."

By this point, the enormous hole in his chest had healed, and he sat up weakly. "If you want me to, I can re-purpose all of the Etherous I created to help us, or I can shut them down. Either is fine by me." Everyone continued to stare, shocked by the amount of humanity behind the darkest mage in history.

"I'm sorry." The words had come from Erza, and while they were sincere, there was also bubbling rage along side it, " But I cannot forgive someone who created something like the Tower or Heaven." She pointed one of her many swords directly at him, shooting it forward with her magic, but Zeref caught the blade between his palms like a child would a ball.

"I never used the Tower of Heaven," He said honestly. "I scrapped the idea as soon as I realized it would require more people to die. As a matter of fact, the instructions I left attached to it were incomplete in a way that would harm the person doing the spell and no one else." The sword stopped trying to move forward as his words began to reach the redhead. "Not to mention I was only five at the time, and I had a reason for want to build something with the ability to bring back the dead. If you want me to, I'll tell you the entire story, but I must warn you that it isn't very pleasant."

The entire area had gone quiet, and master Makarov decided it was time for him to take the initiative, " I believe we'd all benefit from hearing the truth." Zeref nodded, and they all gathered in what was left of the Fairy Tail guild hall.