The Gate of E.N.D.

Chapter 8: An Explanation

"Lucy? Lucy!" A voice said worriedly. 

Lucy cracked open her eyes. Everything was blurry. "H-Happy? Is that you?"

The blue Exceed jumped onto her chest. "Lucy! You're okay!"

"What happened?" She grumbled.

"Natsu. That's what happened." Gray muttered from the bed next to her. "You're in the infirmary, by the way."

"Lucy! You're awake! How are you feeling?" Mirajane asked as she laid her hand on Lucy's forehead. "Hmm. You still have a fever. I gave you some medicine so hopefully you'll feel better." She squeezed Lucy's hand and left the room.

"Thanks." Lucy called after her.

"Are you two okay?" Erza asked as she barged into the room. Wendy and Carla trailed behind her.

"I'm okay. My head just hurts. I'm gonna kill him." Gray mumbled quietly.

"I don't really know. I have a fever and feel really weak." Lucy closed her eyes and yawned. "And I'm really tired."

"What happened?" Wendy asked.

"Natsu slammed Gray into the wall and I used almost all of my magic to close his gate." She rubbed her head tenderly. "Huh, I guess that explains why I feel so bad." Lucy made a face.

"Lucy," Erza said gently. "Natsu's dead."

"No, he's not." Gray said. "He's back. But he's a spirit thing."

"He's a demon." Lucy corrected. "The Gate of E.N.D. is Natsu."

Erza and Wendy's jaws dropped. "HUH?!"

"For some reason, Zeref gave me his key. But Natsu's only goal is to kill Zeref. He also has this thing where he can briefly become his human self. He even acts like Natsu. But the second that's over, he turns into a murderous demon." Lucy explained.

"Whoa! He's a demon?!" Happy cried as he snuggled in Natsu's scarf. 

"Wait, so did he try to kill you?" Erza asked.

"I think so. But when I tried to talked to him, I saw his eyes flicker back to normal for a second. I don't think the demon is in complete control." Lucy said.

"Interesting..." Erza murmured.

"I can't believe that." Wendy's eyes were wide. "That doesn't sound like Natsu at all."

Gray nodded. "Yeah, it's weird. And for some reason, I have an uncontrollable  urge to kill him when he transforms into a demon."

"Probably because of your devil-slaying abilities." Carla pointed out. 

Gray nodded. "Oh, right."

"Summon him." Erza commanded.

Lucy's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Erza, are you crazy?!" Gray barked.

She glared at him. "We need to get an explanation from him."

"But Lucy already explained it." Wendy pointed out.

"Well, I want to talk to him then." Erza crossed her arms.

"I think we should figure out if we can help him." Carla said.

"Like help him come back?" Happy asked.

"No, help him control the demon form." Carla explained.

"That's a horrible idea. He's actually dead, remember?!" Lucy yelled. 

"Maybe he can come back!" Wendy smiled. "It'll be like he never died!"

"That is so weird..." Gray shuddered.

"Is his body...still here?" Lucy asked.

Erza shrugged. "I'm not certain. The only way we could check is if we dug up his casket."

"Oh..." Lucy held the key in her hand. "Okay, but if he does go crazy, you guys have to stop him. I'm low on magic power."

Everyone nodded. Lucy groaned as she summoned him. "Open...Gate of E.N.D.!" 

The group watched as Natsu appeared from the spirit world. "Yo!"

"Eh?!" They all yelled.

"I don't like this..." Wendy made a face.

Natsu frowned. "What are all you doing here?"

"We're here to talk to you." Erza said. 

"About what?"

"Just tell them what you told me!" Lucy demanded.

Natsu arched an eyebrow. "Why are you so angry?"

"Uh, maybe because you tried to kill both of us!" Gray rolled his eyes.

Natsu held up his hands. "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean to. I have very little control of myself as E.N.D. I would never intentionally harm you guys! You're my best friends!"

"Hmph." Gray looked away.

"I guess I forgive you." Lucy sighed.

Natsu flung his arms around Lucy. "Yay! Thank you!"

"Get off of me." She grumbled as she pushed him away. "I'm still kinda mad at you."

"Fine." Natsu pouted. "Anyways, so when I died, Zeref saved me and made me into E.N.D., a demon. My only goal is to kill Zeref, so I can't help you guys, sorry. I have a brief form where I become human. In that form, I can remember everything. Cool, right?" 

"Yeah. So how long can you stay human?" Happy asked.

"I don't know, about 7 minutes or less." Natsu shrugged. "It varies. As soon as I start turning back, Lucy, close my gate." Lucy nodded.

"So what's new in Fairy Tail?" He grinned.

"We has a funeral for you..." Wendy awkwardly said.

"Eh? My body is still here?" Natsu scratched his head.

"I don't know. Your casket is six feet under." Erza said as she crossed her arms.

"Ew. I don't like that." He grumbled.

"Shut up, Pyro. Just be thankful we gave you a funeral." Gray huffed.

"Ooh Gray's being all mean!" Happy stuck out his tongue. "What happened to crybaby Gray?" 

"What the hell are you talking about you stupid cat!" Gray growled.

"When you thought Natsu died, you were crying like a baby!"

Natsu smirked. "Is that so?"

"I wasn't crying!" Gray said defensively.

"Don't worry, Gray." Wendy put a hand on his shoulder. "We all were."

"This is so embarrassing...." Gray sighed.

"Back to the topic." Erza cleared her throat. "Can we find a way to bring you back here? In your human form?"

Natsu shrugged. "I'm not sure." Suddenly, he clutched his chest. "Oh no. We'll talk again soon! I promise! Lucy, hurry and close my gate!"

Lucy swiftly shut it. "So bossy."

"Wait, do you think I could devil-slay the demon out of him?" Gray suddenly suggested.

"Wouldn't that kill him? It's the only way he's alive." Erza looked puzzled. He sighed in dejection.

"Should we tell Master about this?" Wendy asked.

Erza shook her head. "No. Try to avoid him so he doesn't ask questions. Remember, Natsu is dead to everyone else. So we need to act sad, like we don't know the truth about E.N.D. Lots of crying, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." Everyone responded.

"We'll contact Natsu later." She said. Everyone except for the two injured people slowly made their way out of the room.