09x311 - Natsu's Mind

[bunniefuu]

[LARCADE]

I love that look on your face.

It's rare to see someone

caught between

defiance and resignation.

[yells]

[LARCADE]

Fear not.

For eventually this pain will

give way to ultimate pleasure.

You were fierce earlier.

And you referred to the

magic I wield as "vulgar."

I concede that may be

true to a certain degree.

But if you look, you'll

find there's love in it.

It allows you to die

without feeling any pain.

[LARCADE]

May your spirit of pure white

into the heavens take flight.

Kagura, no!

Enjoy it for now.

Your pleasure will

become so intense

you'll be begging

for it to stop.

[gasps]

No!

And now, your death will

be filled with pure bliss.

These two have serious injuries,

but they should pull through.

Luckily, I was able to

shrink their wounds.

That's great. Thanks a lot.

[PORLYUSICA]

And if it weren't for Wendy,

we could've lost Juvia.

The main concern is with Natsu.

Poor guy.

Earlier, I could shrink

the mass inside of him,

but my magic seems to've

lost its effect on it.

Whatever that is,

I'm not powerful enough

to counteract it.

That's quite alarming.

Considering we've seen you

shrink an entire island

down to the size of a pebble.

I wonder what could

possibly be that resistant.

It boggles the mind.

He was immune to the

time-stopping spell.

And flew into a violent

rage when it was cast.

I hate to admit it, but I'm

completely at a loss.

[DIMARIA]

He's a demon.

That's the only way

to truly describe him.

[HAPPY]

A demon. E.N.D.

You're wrong about

Natsu! That's a lie!

And you believe you know him

to his very core, do you?

I know him way better

than you ever will,

I can guarantee you that.

How naive. You can never

truly know a person.

Even so-called "friends"

have things

they keep hidden away

from each other.

Right, Randi?

I mean, Natsu...

he has outbursts,

and he's kinda hard to

work with sometimes,

but I have no doubt

that he's been honest

about who he really

is deep down.

She's totally fallen for him.

Seems like it.

Oh, grow up, would ya?

He's practically the

reason I was able

to join Fairy Tail

in the first place.

I'm grateful.

[gasps]

What's happening?

I've never seen someone

just give off smoke.

Natsu, no!

I'm afraid it might be related

to that strange mass

growing inside of him.

Wake up, Natsu!

[LUCY]

He's cold!

[LUCY]

Natsu, come on! Say something!

[HAPPY]

Please!

[EVERGREEN]

Natsu!

[CARLA]

Open your eyes!

[LUCY]

He's not responding!

Natsu! Natsu!

Where the hell am I?

Wait, is somebody there?

It's just me, Natsu.

What do you want?

Calm down, please.

All of this is taking place

inside your subconscious.

I don't have to listen

to this crap! Whoa!

[ZEREF] My point is,

I'm not really here with you.

Wait, so this is like

a dream or somethin'?

In a way.

While we're here,

I'd like to ask a favor.

Do you think you could please

call me big brother now?

[NATSU]

Hell no!

It's the end for you.

You will die at any moment.

But before it's completely over,

I wanted the chance to fill in

some of the blanks

in your memory.

Say what?

[ZEREF] There's quite a bit to

go over before the year ,

when you awoke.

I was living with Igneel.

[ZEREF]

Before even that time.

[ZEREF] We had a quiet, peaceful

family life in a small village.

[ZEREF] Our mother and father

were kind and loving.

[ZEREF] But that idyllic life

was shattered in an instant

when dragons destroyed our home.

Our mother and

father were k*lled,

and you perished right

alongside them.

[gasps]

[ZEREF]

I vowed to bring you back.

And after many years of

research and hard work,

that became a reality.

You were reincarnated as

E.N.D., the ultimate demon.

I realize I've shared that story

with you before to some degree.

You refused to learn

to talk or read.

I was at my wit's end, so I

consulted my friend Igneel.

I left you in his care.

He'd teach you many things,

but most importantly,

you'd learn Dragon Slayer magic

so you could one day

defeat Acnologia.

For that same purpose,

Metalicana raised Gajeel,

Weisslogia raised Sting,

Skiadrum raised Rogue,

and Grandeeney raised

little Wendy Marvel.

But it seems your memories

of this period are a bit fuzzy.

Perhaps the Dragon Soul

technique is to blame.

Do you recall when you

first met Gajeel?

You were always quarreling

over something.

And countless times,

Wendy would erupt in tears

as she begged you to get along.

[GRANDEENEY]

She has such a caring soul.

I'm sure when the

others join them,

they'll all become

great friends.

[ZEREF] Sting and Rogue were

about the same age as Wendy.

They looked up to you and

Gajeel like big brothers.

[STING] Our dragon parents

would get together

a few times every year.

Luckily, they'd always let

us tag along with them

and have some fun.

[NATSU]

Sting!

To be honest, I don't

remember a thing.

Not from around

that time, at least.

Wait a sec. What the hell

are you doing here?

Shouldn't you be fighting?

[STING]

I'm not actually Sting.

I'm more like an illusion of

him that your mind created,

or something like that.

Just a familiar face to guide

you through your memories.

Seriously?

Yep.

In the real world, I'm out there

fighting the Alvarez Army.

Where did Zeref go?

[STING] Well, don't forget

we're inside your mind, Natsu.

I imagine you subconsciously

replaced him with me.

You're not makin'

any sense, man.

[STING]

That's all right. Follow me.

We can find the answer together.

To what?

Don't you wanna know

what that thing

growing inside you actually is?

Well, thanks to Fried's help,

I was able to get this far.

I'm going to search for Laxus.

Good luck.

Where's Rogue and Lector?

I hope they're okay.

Wait, that smell!

Don't give up. Please.

Try to hang in there.

[FROSCH groans]

[YUKINO] I can hardly

even think right now.

Sting, you gotta help us.

I know you're out

there! We need you!

[ALL gasp]

Sorry I'm late, you guys!

Oh, you made it!

I knew you'd come

for us, buddy!

[FROSCH]

Yay!

What's goin' on here?

Looks to me like you've

been givin' my guild members

a hard time!

What a surprise.

Seems yet another fool

has decided to join us.

If you truly want to

hurt me, then try harder.

Be careful, Sting!

Don't let that touch you!

[STING]

What is this?

It tastes kinda funky,

but it feels good,

in some weird way.

[laughs]

[STING]

White magic has no effect on me.

After all, I am the

White Dragon Slayer.

What's your deal?

Something pisses me off.

To make it worse,

you smell like Natsu.

Just who in the hell

are you, anyway?

Why do you and Natsu

have the same scent?

Well, according to him,

his last name is Dragneel,

just like Natsu.

He's told us a lot of things,

but I'm not sure we can

believe a single word of it.

He said that he's Zeref's son

and Natsu is Zeref's

younger brother.

Huh? That doesn't

make any sense to me.

I'm having a hard time

following it, too.

Hold on. It doesn't add up

with the way this guy smells.

If that's true, he and Natsu

having the same scent is weird.

[STING] I mean, I could sorta

see if he smelled like Zeref,

but Nastu and Zeref don't

really give off the same odor.

Everyone's got their own scent.

It's not genetic or anything.

But not this guy. He smells

exactly like Natsu.

Things are not so simple.

One could say Natsu is

Zeref's child like me.

What did I tell you?

Light magic and white magic

aren't gonna work on me!

[STING]

Holy Ray!

Holy Nova!

You're a more capable

foe than I'd realized.

But still...

[LARCADE]

Famished Soul!

[stomach growls]

Huh?

What's wrong, Sting?

The hunger you feel will

be impossible to endure.

[stomach growling]

[STING] Ugh. Oh, man.

I'm starving all of a sudden.

[chuckles]

[STING yells]

Stay strong, buddy!

I'm tryin'.

You can b*at this guy.

Just hang in there!

You got this!

Come on, Sting!

You look so freakin' tasty!

[LECTOR]

Whoa! What? Sting, it's me!

[YUKINO] Master Sting!

What's come over you?

[KAGURA] Hey! Don't you dare

look at me like that!

Yes. Go and eat your fill.

[LECTOR]

Ow! Sting! Cut it out!

It's Lector! I'm your

friend, not your food!

[STING] I need meat!

My belly is crying!

Come to your senses!

Yukino?

So hungry. I can't

take it anymore.

I feel like I'm gonna

starve to death.

Oh, please. Save me some.

[chuckles]

Hey, Rogue. Are you

still able to move?

I can get around somewhat.

I think I've taken

too much damage

to do anything beyond that.

[MINERVA]

I feel the same.

It's like my resources are gone.

This battle has taken nearly all

the strength I had left in me.

And we can probably

assume the others

have had their powers

drained as well.

Which means Sting and

Yukino are in trouble.

Whoever cast that spell

is quite powerful, indeed.

M'lady, are you able to

determine their location?

I can definitely sense

their power from here.

Seems to be coming

from that way.

Wouldn't be very much of

a journey to reach them.

You shouldn't go alone,

I can come with you.

Please stay. I believe

you should remain here.

I can go!

You've taken quite a bit more

damage than I have today.

In the event that

something happens to me,

it'd be better for our side

you if were to stay behind

and avoid the fight.

[LARCADE] The world of man

is filled with desires.

May you devour each other

and meet your ruin.

Everybody is super

hungry and I am, too.

But I think I'm gonna

wait a little bit

for Rogue to come back

so we can eat together.

I know you're dying of

starvation, ol' pal...

...so if this is the only

thing that'll save you...

I gotta do what I gotta do!

[STING] Sorry, ladies. I don't

have any other choice!

[YUKINO, KAGURA grunt]

[STING]

Sorry, Frosch!

[FROSCH groans]

[STING] This is the

only way I can think of

to fight my appetite!

That so?

But how do you plan to stave off

those crippling hunger pangs?

I'm just gonna have to eat you!

Have you forgotten how weak

this hunger has made you?

How could I forget? But still--!

There's no point in trying.

I'm Sabertooth's Master.

I gotta save my guild!

[LARCADE]

Hm. Never heard of them before.

Why would you bother getting

involved in such a fight

if you're not a member

of Fairy Tail?

Because their guild

needs our help right now

and that's what allies

do for each other!

[STING] Because they helped

us change for the better!

And because I owe it to Natsu!

Don't agonize over owing him.

His spirit will be

free from concern,

once he's been released

from this world.

I have taken on the

responsibility of k*lling him

with my own hands.

What the--?

M'lady's Territory spell!

Territory. That's

space-swapping magic.

Yukino!

Oh. I didn't see you before.

What are you doing?

Cut that out this instant!

I just can't help myself.

You look so yummy.

What the hell is wrong with you?

I'm not some sort

of dinner entrée!

Please, stop!

Wondered where you were.

I don't have enough strength

left to fight alongside you.

But M'lady sent me for

delivery, so eat me!

Say what? You mean--

[ROGUE]

You're hungry, aren't you?

So I want you to consume

the rest of my magic power!

But I can't eat a

different type of magic;

it's not gonna work.

Might as well try

since I'm starving!

There are three primary

desires that drive humans.

First one is sex.

Then there's food.

They're all eventually

followed by sleep.

[LARCADE] That is the final

desire I shall grant you.

The gift of sleep.

To be more precise, what I

offer is eternal slumber.

I've heard about

enough of your crap!

And I hate the way you smell!

It's burning up the

hair in my nostrils!

The fact that a weak,

insignificant person

has the gall to challenge me

makes me want to vomit.

Hey, Rogue!

Thanks for the power!

Now go, White Shadow Dragon.

I've got a fire in my belly.

On to the next desire.

One you will not

be able to resist.

This spell is known

as "Rest In Peace."

Call it whatever you want,

but you're still gonna lose.

Once I've ended your life,

Natsu Dragneel will be

the next one to perish.

[STING] Are you tryin'

to get me more fired up?

'Cause whether you like it or

not, that's what's happening!

Natsu, come on, just

open your eyes. Natsu!

Natsu.

This is bad.

His temperature is

continuing to drop.

If this keeps up...

No.

Wake up!

[LUCY]

Natsu!

[LUCY]

Sting absorbs Rogue's power

and overwhelms Larcade with

a powerful combination

of White and Shadow magic.

But the enemy still unleashes

his Rest In Peace spell

in an attempt to lull

Sting into a slumber

from which he can never awake.

Can the Master of Sabertooth

find a way to combat

the irresistible waves of

desire washing over him?

Next Time: "Sting,

the White Shadow Dragon."

The combined powers form

an unbendable iron will.