Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail :)

Warnings: Language, Violence, Mentions of Suicidal Thoughts and Character Death, Angst

He hid in the comfort of the foliage as the mid-afternoon sun shone upon the town of Magnolia. He knew that Gajeel would probably be pissed at him if he knew what he was doing right now; not that he could bring himself to care. Natsu Dragneel rested lazily against the bark covered trunk as he lounged on the somewhat sturdy branch of the old oak tree. His tanned arms were folded behind his head as peered through the dense leaves that surrounded him in an attempt to look through the window of the building that was in front of him.

Sting liked to tease him about being a stalker and no matter how much he denied it to the blonde's face, even he had to admit that he had some stalker-like tendencies. Like now for example, when he was hiding in a tree spying on his mate who didn't even remember him…God, that sounded horrible. He huffed through his nose in exasperation; it's not like he had a choice or anything. If he wanted to be near Gray, he had to be willing to take the risk…even if that risk involved in Gray not knowing of his existence under any circumstances.

After Ur sacrificed herself in order to place 'Ice Shell' on Gray's memories, he was explicitly told by the heads of the Alliance that he was not to go anywhere near the raven. There was the slight chance that his mere presence, even as a stranger, in Gray's life could result in the seal shattering and Zeref learning of Gray's survival; that was something that could not happen, no matter how much it hurt him to stay away from the raven.

He grimaced at how painful the first five years were for him. He still felt guilty for all the problems he caused his brothers during that period of his life. Luckily the years seemed to pass a little quicker due to the fact that they were all immortal, but it was still messy for all of them. Not only did they all have to acknowledge the fact that their parents might never return, but they also had to deal with their leader being depressed and suicidal the majority of the time. His family tried so hard to help him through the separation…

Wendy tried to heal him with her magic; she was still young at the time and didn't understand mating quite yet…

Sting tried to rile him up and make him laugh; even if the young dragonling wasn't that funny…

Rogue tried to help him with his calm presence; though it was hard to keep calm when Sting was endlessly annoying him…

Laxus tried to beat the snot out of him to try and ignite his fighting spirit; all that did was distract him for a few minutes before remembering the circumstances they were in…

Gajeel did the same as Laxus and also yelled at him a lot; he was about as effective as Laxus was…

The younger dragonlings of the tribe tried to make him feel better as well, but there wasn't much they could do to bring him out of his slump. After five years of wallowing in pain and despair, he had finally decided that he was going to end it all. He wasn't sure if his brothers and sisters knew this or not, but it came very damn close. He had flown away from their camp without any true direction in sight. His goal was to go somewhere where fire could be extinguished so anywhere with water would do perfectly fine. He also needed to be somewhere far enough away that his siblings wouldn't be able to find him.

He remembered flying for a very long time before a large body of water appeared in the distance. From the salty smell that entered his nose, he was able to tell that it was the ocean; he knew that without a doubt that would be the best place to go. The monsters that lurked in those dark depths would be able to deal with his body once he passed so that his draconic body wouldn't accidently be found by the Nulls who didn't understand their world.

He lowered himself closer and closer to the ocean as wings grew ever fatigued from stress and strain. As he was about to take the plunge into the water, the smell of mint and forest pine engulfed his nostrils. He vaguely remembered his instincts taking over at the moment; instead of falling towards the ocean, he was rocketing towards the beach, his heart beating heavily in his chest as he drew closer and closer to the scent that stopped him from ending his life. Somewhere in his mind, he knew that he shouldn't give his hopes up…that maybe it could be someone else; but his draconic side shut down those fears immediately, for only one person could have that particular scent…

Gray…

He had all but crashed onto the sandy shore in his hasty landing; the sand upturning as his heavy body collided with the Earth. Without another thought, he willed his body to take the shape of his human form. He felt the heat envelop his body as he ran across the sand mid-transformation; the minty scent still brushing against his senses as he ran as fast as he could. He found himself running through the forest with the thick branches scratching his tanned skin harmlessly as he ran; the foliage simply bouncing off his scales as he ran to his mate.

He was about to burst through the other side of the trees when he heard voices. He immediately skidded to a stop and remained hidden in the tall grass and trees. His heart raced as he recognized two of the voices. He narrowed his eyes through the shielding branches to see three young teenagers; two ravens (a boy and a girl) and a silverette. The female raven and the silverette seemed to be bantering as the raven haired boy seemed to be trying not to laugh at the other two.

A tear fell from the corner of his eye as his eyes honed in on the laughing raven; a bright smile was spread across his pale face. He had clutched his hand over his heart as a familiar heat took residence in his heart once more; he knew without a doubt that the young teenager standing in front of him was Gray. He was no longer the broken shell of an eight year old boy that he had left behind in Brago five years ago; he was a thirteen year old boy who was able to laugh and enjoy himself in ways that he hadn't been able to after Silver and Mika were killed before his eyes.

He wanted nothing more than to come crashing through the trees and grass that kept him separated from his mate…but he knew he couldn't. After seeing Gray as happy as he was, he couldn't bring himself to risk the chance of breaking the seal that kept his terrible memories at bay. He didn't want to be the reason that Gray would lose his smile; he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he did. So instead of doing what he wanted to…instead of doing what his instincts told him to do…he turned his back on his mate and made his way back towards the other side of the beach.

It was then that he decided that he couldn't wallow in grief anymore. He couldn't hurt his family any more than he already has; he had to remain strong in case the day came when Gray would need him by his side once more. It was then that he decided that he would only check on his mate enough so that he could retain his sanity as well as protect him should the need arise…

At least, that was the original plan.

He frowned as he remembered the position he was in at the present time; spying on Gray as the raven attended his University classes. At the beginning he really did stick to the plan…he only came in timed intervals to watch over his mate. He usually watched over the male when he could feel Gray's stress or if he was worried about something, but as the raven got closer and closer to reaching nineteen years of age the pinkette just couldn't stay away.

As much as Gajeel and Laxus teased him about his 'stupidity', he did in fact know a few things. The only reason why his 'stalker-like tendencies' (as Sting affectionately called it) started getting worse was because if it was under normal circumstances, he and Gray would be solidifying their bond. Right now, there bond was at its minimal strength; they could feel each other's presence (at least Gray would've been able to if the seal wasn't in place) and perhaps strong emotions from each other. Once the bond was completed, it would be as if they were sharing a part of each other's souls.

In all honesty it was rather complicated, and that was only made worse by the fact that Gray had no idea that he existed.

However, as Gray's birthday drew closer and closer the pull for the bond to be complete was driving Natsu up the wall. And now that today was finally Gray's birthday, his draconic side was practically going on a rampage in his psyche. He'd been trying to fight it all day, but he knew that he was going to lose to it sooner or later and he was more than a little concerned about how Gray would react if he saw some weird scale-covered stranger come running towards him with hunger in his eyes.

It probably wouldn't go very well.

He knocked his head against the trunk in frustration only for an acorn to topple from somewhere above him and land straight in his eye. He cursed loudly and jumped from the pain that the acorn caused prompting him to fall rather ungracefully from his perch. He shouted as his back smacked the ground and cursed loudly once more; today really wasn't his day. He was about to push himself back to his feet when a very distinguishable guffaw reached his sensitive ears. He sat up so that he was no longer lying on the ground and crossed his legs in front of him; his hands squeezing his knees as his cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

"Shut up," He muttered, "It's not that funny metal head."

Natsu raised his head to look at the iron dragon demon who still had the same teasing smirk on his lips,

"Ge he, yeah it most definitely was; that's what you get for being a creep flame head."

If it was possible, Natsu's cheeks seemed to redden even more. He was pretty sure that his face was an even darker red than his hair, which of course only made Gajeel laugh even harder.

"I'm not a creep," He denied vehemently, "I'm just checking up on him."

The older raven rolled his red eyes,

"Checking up on someone means showing up every few months or so, you on the other hand have been following him around every day for the past two weeks."

Everything within the pinkette wanted to deny what his older brother said, but he knew that he couldn't. Out of all his siblings, he was pretty sure that Gajeel watched over him the most; which was odd considering they fought more often than the others. He figured it had something to do with the fact that the metal dragon demon was the closest to him in age; Laxus was a couple years old and Sting, Rogue and Wendy were a few years younger, so after…what happened…Gajeel was the only one he could turn to.

"It's not like I'm doing it on purpose," Natsu huffed, "My instincts just refuse to accept the fact that it's better for Gray if we stay as far away from him as possible."

Gajeel was silent for a moment as he looked at Natsu calculatedly. The pinkette really hated when the metal head did this; it was as if the elder thought that he had to be careful with what he wanted to say around him and it really pissed him off. He opened his mouth to tell the asshole to spit it out when the smell of mint reached his nose. His heart began to thud heavily in his chest as he glanced around him wildly. Just as the heat started to gather in his chest, Natsu grabbed onto Gajeel's forearm and managed to pull him into one of the nearby bushes that rested close to the oak tree they were standing beside.

"Bastard!" Gajeel huffed in annoyance, "What the hell was that for?!"

Natsu ignored the iron dragon demon's grumbling as he found himself peering through the leaves once more. His amber-flecked green eyes immediately landed on Gray who was being pulled out of the building by a girl with long brown hair. The pinkette recognized her from the other times he'd been spying on Gray, but for some reason he felt as if he remembered her from somewhere else; he just couldn't put his finger on where.

He watched silently as his mate was dragged towards the parking lot (like he was every day), when Gray suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Natsu frowned at the action; it didn't feel like the raven was in distress or anything, so why was he stopping? His eyebrows furrowed in confusion when Gray suddenly clutched his hand to his chest and started to look around him; what the…

Natsu felt his heart drop into his stomach…

There was no way…

He was so careful…

There was absolutely no way…

He was brought out of his inherent stupor when something hard collided with the crown of his head. He hissed under his breath and rubbed the spot rhythmically as he glared harshly at his brother who evidently hit him over the head with his metal club of a hand. He shifted his gaze to look at Gray once more only to see that he was moving again as if nothing had happened…

Maybe he just imagined it…yeah, that had to be it.

"Hey dumbass," Gajeel growled as he pulled the both of them out of the bushes, "What just happened?"

Natsu took a deep, cleansing breath and shook his head,

"It was nothing…"

The raven haired demon clenched the front of Natsu's shirt and pulled him upwards,

"Don't you dare to lie to me! You may be the Dragon Demon prince Natsu Dragneel, but that doesn't mean you can hide shit from your family; it was as if he felt your presence just now!"

The pinkette's eyes narrowed dangerously,

"Gajeel…"

"No," The raven hissed, "Answer me right now Natsu, did you interact with him in the past two weeks?!"

Natsu glared darkly at the iron dragon demon and pushed him away so roughly that his grip was ripped away from his shirt,

"Do you honestly think I'm that stupid! Of course I didn't; that would ruin his chance at a normal life! No matter how much I want him by my side, I would never wrench him away from a place where he could be happy!"

The immortal nineteen year olds watched each other sharply as if waiting for each other to start a fight. A few tense moments passed between them before Gajeel relaxed his stance slightly and crossed his arms over his chest. Natsu exhaled sharply before relaxing as well; that could have gotten out of hand fairly quickly.

"He still felt you," Gajeel stated, "Despite the fact that you haven't interacted with him he felt you."

Natsu shook his head adamantly,

"No, it was merely a coincidence."

The raven frowned darkly,

"In our world there is no such thing as coincidences; you know that Natsu. The Exceeds prophesized that the two of you would unite and defeat Zeref…it would only make sense for it to happen on Gray's birthday."

The pinkette clenched his teeth tightly; the fire in his veins roaring at Gajeel's implications,

"I'm not going to let his life be ruined again and if that means never being with…"

"You think I don't want the squirt to be happy too?" The iron dragon demon interrupted him, "No matter how stupid I thought this decision was, I stayed by your side and watched this boy grow without the threat of his destiny pressing down upon him. I was there with you before Brago was destroyed as well and if I had to choose between this Gray and the mute child that never smiled, I'd chose this Gray any day."

Natsu felt his heart warm once more as his brother's words echoed in his mind. He knew that losing Gray was not only hard for him, but for the other dragon demons as well. They had all become so accustomed to the younger raven's inquisitive presence and positive demeanor that Gray had a permanent place in all their hearts; he was the baby brother that they all wanted to protect…even the young dragonlings who didn't understand his importance wanted to protect him. Gajeel was especially attached to Gray though he would forever deny it; the young raven was the only one who saw through Gajeel's gruff appearance and saw him for what he truly was… a great big softy.

After the destruction Isvan, Gray never smiled again…of course, after witnessing the murder of your parents and your entire village at the hands of a rampaging monster would do that to anyone; especially a six year old boy. Natsu and the rest of the Dragon Clan never truly forgave themselves either. After all, it was one of their brothers that betrayed the Ice Demon Slayer to Zeref; if it wasn't for Erik…

He couldn't think about that right now; he just might blow something up.

"Natsu," Gajeel's voice pulled him out of his thoughts once more, "If the squirt is remembering you and the prophecy is being set in motion, we have to rally the Clan; the war is finally here and we have to be able to protect the humans this time."

The corner of the pinkette's lip pulled into a frown,

"It doesn't hurt to be ready I guess. We should tell Laxus to contact his friends from inside the Alliance; whether we get along or not, we're going to need their help to stop Zeref so we need to reinstate the treaty."

Gajeel grimaced at the thought,

"I have a good feeling that that won't go over too well; we'll have to be prepared for their refusal."

"No," Natsu denied confidently, "They'll overlook their hatred for us just this once…they'll do it because like us, they want to save this world and they want to protect Gray."

After a few silent moments, Gajeel smirked at him once more. Natsu felt his lips twitch into a smile as the fire started to burn in his belly; there was a chance that they could finally end the suffering of the world. The Exceeds' home of Extalia was destroyed as was the demon world of Edolas…it was only a matter of time before Earthland met the same fate seeing as Zeref had been conquering parts of the human plane for the past thirteen years.

Even if their homes were gone, even if the Exceeds' homes were gone, Natsu and the rest of the Dragon Clan were going to protect the only home that they had left. He refused to let Zeref win this time; this time, everyone was going to make it out of this war alive…he won't be burying his comrades, not ever again.

"I'm going to go tell the others what the plan of action is," Gajeel looked at him pointedly, "I take it that you're going to stay here and stalk the squirt some more?"

The pinkette felt his cheeks heat up again,

"You asshole! It's not stalking damnit!"

The older raven guffawed loudly,

"Whatever helps you sleep at night princess; send a signal if you need us."

"Yeah," Natsu scoffed and glanced to the side petulantly, "Like anything is going to happen…"

"Oi dumbass," Gajeel smacked the back of the pinkette's head, "I'm serious; if something goes down, you let us know, got that?"

Natsu massaged the back of his head as he nodded in understanding. The iron dragon demon seemed to stare at him for a few more seconds before finally nodding and allowing a dark silver haze to shroud his body. The pinkette's nose wrinkled from the abundant smell of iron and watched as his older brother took off into the air as fast as lightning (even if lightning was more Laxus' signature). The pinkette watched the large form disappear into the horizon before turning on his heel and leaving the University campus; he needed to track down Gray's scent again.

He sighed; he really was an obsessive stalker.

FTFTFTFT

Sting Eucliffe was lying in the tall grass watching the clouds go by.

This wasn't very strange for him; in fact, it was something that he always did, even when he was in a bad mood. There was just something about the way the clouds moved across the bright blue sky without any true purpose that grabbed his interest; especially on days like today when he woke up feeling like the entire world was about to go to hell in a hand basket. He was hoping that Natsu-nii was going to be around when he woke up that morning, but he wasn't all too surprised to see that he wasn't.

Like King Igneel, Natsu-nii was often up before the sun's fingers latched onto the horizon; even more so these days. Everyone could tell that the prince was getting more restless as the days dragged on and everyone knew that that reason was none other than the Ice Demon Slayer Gray Fullbuster. It was no secret that the Day of Reckoning was today; today was supposed to be the day that the young slayer became officially bonded to Natsu-nii. With the way in which the years blur together for them, there was only one reason why they all knew that today was the slayer's nineteenth birthday.

That reason was because Rogue and his coming of age ceremony happened on the last Full Moon and all though dragon demons aged slower than humans, they were about three in human years when Gray had first come into their lives on the day of Natsu-nii's coming of age ceremony. He had only admitted this to himself, and perhaps maybe Rogue when they were young, but he had always been jealous of Gray.

There was nothing that Sting strived for more than Natsu-nii's attention and that was all but destroyed the moment the slayer came into their midst. From the very moment that their skin had touched, Natsu-nii's entire life was in the hands of a three year old boy who could barely string more than three sentences together. For a long time, he had only seen Gray as a hindrance to their leader; of course, that was mostly because he didn't understand what mating entailed.

It wasn't until Natsu-nii was forced away from the slayer that he realized just how important Gray was to him. In human years he was eight when Natsu-nii first started to collapse into himself. His big brother refused to eat, he couldn't sleep and sometimes when he thought no one was around he would fold in on himself and roar into the night sky. The broken sound that used to tear out of Natsu-nii's throat still gave him nightmares; there's nothing worse than watching someone you care about fall apart from the inside out.

He had to sit back and watch Natsu-nii suffer like that for five years; he never thought time could pass by so slow. Everyone was worried about him; even Gajeel and Laxus were and those two liked to pretend that they couldn't stand the mere presence of the prince. It was early one morning when Sting woke up to the sound of wings beating through the air harshly. He remembered running out of his hut only to see Natsu-nii's draconic form flying into the horizon. Something inside him told him that something bad would happen if he didn't follow him and boy was he glad that he did.

Initially, he was surprised when Natsu-nii didn't notice his presence following him; he could usually tell if Sting was nearby, but as the salty smell of the ocean reached his nostrils he knew why Natsu-nii was so distracted. He watched in horror as the prince shot towards the ocean like a flaming arrow; a roar was about to be torn from his throat, afraid that his hero and brother was going to die, when suddenly the faintly familiar smell of mint and forest pine reached his nose.

His mind all but skidded to a halt when the scent reached him; he knew exactly who it was and apparently so did Natsu-nii for he immediately pulled out of his dive and headed straight for the beach. Sting remained in the air and watched him as the prince transformed into his human form and took off into the woods. He wanted to follow him and stop him from doing something stupid, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He had to trust that Natsu-nii would make the right decision and return home safely; so instead of following him, Sting had turned around and returned home.

Even till this day, Sting wondered what Natsu-nii saw when he found Gray that day. Whatever it was, it pulled the prince out of the slump he was in and little by little he returned to the way he was before he was forcibly separated from Gray. There will always be a part of him that would hate the Hunter's Alliance simply for the pain they caused Natsu-nii; he wasn't sure if he would even be able to work alongside them when the time came.

"Sting."

The blonde sighed through his nose as he was pulled out of his musings. He turned his head away from the clouds and found himself looking into the burning eyes of his brother, and partner in crime, Rogue. The raven was standing in front of him, his shoulder length hair pulled up into a small ponytail at the top of his head; though his long bangs still hung in his eyes. A small frown was on the paler dragon demon's face as he stared down at him with his arms crossed; Rogue could really act like his mother sometimes.

"What's up Rogue?" He raised an eyebrow at the raven before turning his attention to the sky once more, "Something going on?"

The shadow dragon demon scoffed,

"What isn't going on? Everyone's all frazzled because Natsu didn't come back with Gajeel a few minutes ago."

Sting shot upright and stared at his partner incredulously,

"Seriously?! Natsu-nii didn't come back?!"

Rogue nodded his head,

"But that's not even the important part; Gajeel says we need to prepare for battle and he's pretty pissed that you weren't in the village."

The white dragon demon rolled his eyes at the raven's response but got to his feet anyway. He brushed off his pants quickly before stretching his arms over his head. He was distinctly aware of Rogue watching him with something akin to exasperation, but he couldn't find it within himself to care. If he lived for gaining Natsu-nii's attention, the other thing he lived for was pissing Gajeel off. He may have a death wish for liking to do so, but he thought it was worth it.

"Are the Exceeds coming?" Sting glanced at Rogue out of the corner of his eye as they walked away from the clearing, "It's been forever since I've seen Lector and I miss him."

The raven shrugged his shoulders noncommittally,

"I assume that they're going to be informed, but I don't know if they'll make an appearance or not. You're right though, it would be good to see Frosch again; it feels like it's been forever since we've seen them."

Sting grunted as the village started to come into view. The last time they had seen Lector and Frosch was when they spent a day in town just to spend some time together; man did that turn into an adventure. Not only was it sweltering hot that day and full of Nulls, but Frosch had managed to get separated from them when Lector had gotten distracted by a clothing maker who was selling vests out of her cart. Rogue had approximately 100 meltdowns that day trying to find the young Exceed; they ended up spending the rest of the day trying to find him.

As the pair got closer to village, Sting's instincts only seemed to skyrocket. For the first time in forever, all the members of their family were present…well, everyone except for Natsu-nii of course. Hell, even Laxus was there and the blonde preferred to act as a nomad more than stick around the village too often. Natsu-nii likes to say it's because Laxus has a stick up his ass and is too full of pride to want to be with them and as much as Sting looks up to Natsu-nii even he could see that was a lie. He had a feeling that it had to do with rumor going around the village about Laxus wanted to spend more time with a 'secret lover' that he has.

"Oi Sting," Gajeel's annoyed voice called out to him, "I told you not wander off today; I had a feeling something important was going to happen."

The blonde rolled his eyes and rested his arms lazily behind his head,

"I didn't go far; Rogue was able to find me, wasn't he?"

The older raven glared at him so darkly he thought that he was going to be incinerated. Just by looking at the vein throbbing in his temple, Sting could tell that he was in for a whole world of hurt; it didn't have to be right now either, Gajeel was the type of demon to get back at someone when they least expected it. He glanced at Rogue out of the corner of his eye and smiled slightly; at least he had his partner in crime to help him if he needed it.

"Don't look at me like that," Rogue smirked, "You're on your own this time."

Sting's mouth fell open like an unhinged door; not only had his best friend read his mind, but he refused to bail him out! The blonde dragon demon's shoulders slumped as a metaphorical dark cloud descended upon his body. So much for loyalty; next time he won't be there to help Rogue out either! That ought to teach the bastard for betraying him!

Oh, who was he kidding? Rogue never got in trouble; the jerk and his shadow powers.

"Stop pouting brat!" Laxus drawled lazily as they joined the circle, "It only makes you look like the child you are."

Sting's face burned from anger and embarrassment,

"I'm not a brat!"

The older demon scoffed under his breath and rolled his eyes which only made Sting even angrier. Laxus could be such an ass; was it everyone against Sting today or something? His purple eyes wandered over to Wendy who was staring at him with a look of pity; even the younger dragonlings were looking down on him.

He wished he was still in the meadow.

"As I was saying," Gajeel grunted, "The older members of the clan need to be prepared to go into battle; despite what Natsu wants to believe, the prophecy is starting to come true."

"Gajeel-nii," Wendy whispered curiously, "If Natsu-nii thinks that the prophecy isn't coming true, why would you go against him?"

Other members of the clan seemed to make noises of agreement; even part of Sting wanted to agree with them, but he knew better. He turned his attention back to Gajeel and looked at the older dragon demon evenly.

"Something's changed in the slayer, right?"

Gajeel nodded his head imperceptibly,

"He's starting to feel Natsu's presence and the dumbass swore to me that he hasn't had enough interaction with Gray for the seal to be cracking because of him."

Murmurs swept through the gathered clansmen; the day had finally come…the time was drawing ever closer; it was almost time to end Zeref's reign of terror. Sting frowned at the thought of that…of course he wanted both Zeref and Acnologia to be defeated, but what would the cost be? He was too young to remember the full effects of the last war with Zeref thirteen years ago, but he does know that so many lives were lost that day; he couldn't help but wonder if all this was worth it sometimes. But, as he looked at the determined faces of his fellow dragon demons, he knew that it was time for them to make a stand; Zeref's tyranny had to end, no matter the cost.

"What are we going to do?" Rogue asked stoically, "Do you have some sort of plan?"

Gajeel looked up at the sky thoughtfully for a moment,

"Flame head and I talked about it before I left. We decided that it was time for us to rekindle our treaty with the Hunter's Alliance."

Sting's eyes widened dramatically,

"You can't be serious; they detest our very existence…there's no way in hell that they'd be willing to work with us again."

"We have to try," Gajeel argued, "The prophecy can't be completed without our cooperation; even if they're blinded by hatred, they should be able to see that."

"I don't know about that," Sting muttered, "After what Erik did…"

The iron dragon demon's eyes narrowed dangerously,

"Don't bring him into this."

"But Gajeel," Rogue continued; his red eyes burning, "Sting has a point, Erik broke the treaty and because of that their entire village was slaughtered."

Laxus growled impatiently,

"If they want to protect Gray Fullbuster, they'll work with us willingly; especially since Ultear Milkovich and Lyon Bastia are part of the Alliance's council members."

Sting's eyebrows furrowed,

"What do they have to do with the slayer? Why would their opinion be so important to the council?"

The older blonde stared at him down his nose,

"That doesn't matter; just trust me when I say that they'll join us."

The white dragon demon stared at the lightning dragon demon and frowned. Laxus really annoyed him when he treated him like a child all the time. He was about to tell the older demon as such when Laxus turned his attention to Gajeel and nodded at the iron dragon demon before wandering off. Sting growled under his breath and was about to follow Laxus so that he could give him a piece of his mind only for Rogue to grab the back of his vest and stop him from going anywhere.

"Don't even think about it Sting."

The blonde scowled,

"And why the hell not?! The bastard deserves it!"

The shadow dragon demon rolled his eyes,

"Because, all it would get you is a nice, comfy bed six feet under. Natsu is the only one who can handle him and even that's just barely; sometimes Gajeel even has to help him."

Sting folded his arms across his chest and pouted,

"That's only because he's like half hunter or something; if he wasn't a half-blood I could probably take him no problem."

"Sure," Rogue patted his shoulder, "Keep telling yourself that and you better hope that he didn't hear you; you know he hates when demons bring that up."

"Yeah, whatever."

He shrugged Rogue's hand off his shoulder and started to head towards his meadow again when Rogue grabbed onto his elbow to stop him from going too far. The blonde's purple eyes narrowed at the raven in annoyance, but it didn't seem to faze the shadow dragon demon at all. The white dragon demon muttered incoherently under his breath before yanking his arm out of Rogue's grip and glared childishly at the ground.

"Don't make that face Sting," Rogue clicked his tongue, "We have to stay in the village in case something comes up."

"It's not like I'm going to go too far," He argued, "It's not like anything can happen anyway since Laxus still has to contact his 'source', right?"

The raven huffed in exasperation,

"That's not the point and you know it."

Sting rolled his eyes; of course he knew it, it didn't mean he liked it very much though. It's not that he hated the village or anything; in fact that was far from it. If anything, he just wanted out so that he could stretch his wings a little bit. Things around the village had been getting tense lately and rapid approach of the unknown wasn't helping anyone any either. It was like everyone was waiting for the world to end and it was making his skin crawl; it didn't help that Rogue was being his somewhat pessimistic-self either.

"Look," Rogue placed his hand on his shoulder, "I know that you're getting restless, we all are, but now isn't the time for you to be running off."

Sting sighed loudly and placed his hands on his hips,

"You really have to stop mothering me; it's getting annoying."

The shadow dragon demon smirked,

"It's not my fault; you need me to mother you. If it wasn't for me, Gajeel would've beat the snot out of you a long time ago."

The blonde grimaced and turned away from the raven; he might've been telling the truth there…like hell he was going to admit it though. He was about to bring Rogue to his level of morale only for a loud roar shred through the once quiet camp. His attention instantaneously moved from Rogue to circle around the camp; praying that the roar of panic did not come from who he thought it did. However, that hope fled from his mind when he noticed that Gajeel had a look of trepidation on his normally gruff visage.

"Natsu-nii?" He whispered in confusion.

Another bloodcurdling roar tore through the air insistently and he immediately froze as a chill swept down his spine and white, almost fluorescent, scales spread across his arms, legs, and face; their Prince was calling them to battle. He whipped around to face Rogue to see his red eyes wide and dark scales covering his extremities as well. He glanced up at the sky as another insistent roar shook through the camp.

"We need to move out now!" Gajeel shouted as the smell of iron filled the air, "Sting, Rogue and Wendy you're coming with me; the rest of you stay here!"

"What about Laxus?!" Sting demanded in annoyance.

"He'll meet us there; just move your ass and stop complaining or are you chicken?!"

Sting swallowed back his retort and simply allowed his essence surround him; he hoped that the others remembered to cover their eyes this time. When the light disappeared he stretched his large white wings and shot off into the sky; he knew from instinct that Rogue and Wendy weren't too far behind him. He kept his eyes trained on Gajeel's rapidly retreating figure and picked up speed; what had Natsu-nii gotten himself into now?

FTFTFTFT

Natsu sniffed the air around him in an attempt of find Gray's scent. Usually it wouldn't have been a problem, but of course today would have to be the day were everyone in Magnolia wanted to spend the day outside. Gray's scent of mint and pine trees was extremely unique for this town, particularly because of its temperate climate, but sometimes his scent managed to get shrouded from him by some weird cleanly smell and it really annoyed him; especially since the smell burned his sensitive nose.

His nose twitched slightly at the thought before he shook it out of his head; now wasn't the time to be distracted. He focused on walking down the streets of Magnolia once more…it couldn't be hard to find a single person after all; he could always ask around too if he was really desperate. He sighed under his breath loudly and rolled his eyes at himself; he really sucked at being a stalker sometimes.

Not that he was a stalker of course.

As he pushed through the crowd of people, a warm wind brushed over him and ruffled his hair playfully. A small smile spread across his face when the smell of mint finally reached his senses. He moved his way as quickly as he could through the crowd; he had to have been close even if the wind carried Gray's scent to him. More like a dog than the dragon demon he was, Natsu made his way towards the source of the smell like his life depended on it. Just as his impatience was about to get the better of him, a large building loomed in front of him.

In the back of his mind he could recognize the bar; it was the one that Gray and that girl he was always with frequented on the weekends. Even if he did not know much about Gray's friend (despite the fact that she was vaguely familiar), he did know that she was a bit of an alcoholic; she reeked of the stuff more often than not. A part of him couldn't understand how her liver was still functioning from all the alcohol that she puts in her system. He shook away the tangent thought and pushed on the large wooden doors so that he could enter the bar.

As soon as the doors swung open, his ear drums nearly exploded from the loud music and noise that erupted from inside. He tilted his head to the side; how was it that he couldn't hear the music when he was outside? With his ears as sensitive as they were, he should've been able to hear music this loud no problem; after all, he could hear conversations from people three blocks away from him. He frowned to himself as he walked deeper into the young adult cesspool; something just did not feel right to him at all.

The hairs on the back of his neck and arms seemed to rise at the apprehension he felt. He was about to go back outside and guard the entire building from a safe distance when Gray's unique smell wafted towards him once again. He lifted his head towards the smell and followed it like he was in a trance; every cell in his body wanted him to find Gray right now… especially since he was feeling so uneasy with the situation he was in.

He manoeuvered his way through the swarm of people smelling of alcohol and sweat as he made his way towards the succulent smell of his mate; there was nothing else important to him at that moment other than that. As the scent got sweeter and sweeter, Natsu could feel his skin tingling as the telltale scales started to cover his arms and face. He grimaced to himself slightly before moving away from the crowd of people and stuck himself into the shadows of the bar. He slunk along the wall wordlessly as he slowly approached the open bar.

His body immediately froze as Gray Fullbuster finally reached his sight; he really hadn't been able to watch him properly until now. Sure he was hiding in the tree earlier, but Gajeel was distracting him too much. Natsu stared longingly at the now nineteen year old Gray as he leaned against the open bar with his red cup on the table. His pale cheeks were slightly tinted pink from the alcohol he was drinking and his raven hair was as messy as always; but even if it was messy, the raven locks suited him.

What warmed Natsu's heart the most was the small smile that had commandeered Gray's usually scowling face. Even though Gray smiled more than he did when he was child and had his dark memories, he did spend most of his teenage life frowning. He had a feeling it was due to the tumultuous relationship that he shared with the Milkovich siblings after what happened in Brago all those years ago, but he couldn't be positive. All that mattered was that for the first time in almost thirteen years, Gray was smiling on his birthday and Natsu couldn't be happier.

Just like he told Gajeel, all he wanted was for Gray to be happy. If all he had to look forward to with Gray was to forever watch him from a distance, he could be happy knowing that his mate was happy; even if his draconic side didn't particularly agree with him in regards to the forced distance. He was immediately wrenched from his thoughts as a familiar burning sensation started to explode in his chest. His amber-flecked green eyes widened and he focused on Gray and noticed that the raven was staring in his general direction.

He forcibly pulled his eyes off his mate and made his body turn towards the entrance once more; his heart pounding furiously in his chest as he pulled farther and farther from his mate. He burst through the front doors and heaved a sigh of relief. However, that was short lived for the burning in his chest didn't seem to dissipate; in fact, it only seemed to get more and more intense. He clenched his fists tightly as he realized that Gray was heading towards the front door as well.

He looked around himself hastily before running around the side of the building and started scaling the wall as fast as he could; he had to get somewhere where he could transform and fly away before Gray noticed his presence any more than he already did. His heart was stuck in his throat as he finally reached the slanted shingles of the roof. He gathered his magic around himself and jumped off the roof in dragon form just as Gray came bursting out of the bar.

Natsu exhaled through his large nostrils as the wind caught his large wings; that was a little too close for comfort. But at the same time, it only meant one thing; Gajeel was absolutely right. Gray was able to sense his presence which could only mean that the prophecy was coming fruition no matter how much he wanted to stop it. He was about to turn his direction towards the Dragon Demon village when a putrid smell entered his extremely heightened senses; the smell was so strong that it had almost knocked him right out of the air…

What was worse was that it was familiar.

Dread built up like a wall in his gut that stirred him to fly to the source of the stench. Deep down, he knew that poisonous smell; he knew without a doubt in his heart that it belonged to Erik. He didn't want to believe it…even after all these years, he didn't want to believe that Erik had gone to Zeref's side. But there was no other explanation for it; it was because of Erik that the Hunter village of Isvan was destroyed. It was because of Erik that the balance between Extalia, Edolas and Earthland was irrevocably erased.

He may have been his brother at one point, but he wasn't anymore.

After the fall of Isvan and Erik's betrayal, Natsu wanted to save Erik from the path that he had taken; as Prince and acting King of the Dragon Demon clan he felt that he needed to save his brother from the darkness. It was Gajeel and Laxus who stopped him from doing so; after all, sometimes there were demons that just could not be saved and it so happened that Erik was one of those demons…or Cobra was one of those demons.

The only way he would be able to fight Erik on even ground was if he could remember that the Erik he grew up with no longer existed; all that was left was a dragon demon named Cobra. He flapped his mighty wings swiftly as he got closer and closer to the source of the smell. However, what he saw in the distance wasn't something he was expecting…

He was expecting to see Cobra and maybe an army of Zeref's finest demons; what he was not expecting was to see Deliora the Demon of Destruction moving towards the unsuspecting town of Magnolia. He all but stopped moving his wings in disbelief as he stared down the monster that Gray and Ur had sacrificed so much in order to seal away; that monster should not be moving…he watched it fall with his own eyes on that night eleven years ago in Brago.

"Dragon Demon Prince Natsu Dragneel," A condescending voice called out to him from the shoulder of Deliora, "I should have expected that you'd try and stand in my way; I was foolish to think that you wouldn't remain near the Demon Slayer even if he didn't remember you."

Natsu growled furiously,

"Erik…"

"Funny," The poison dragon demon smirked darkly, "I thought I told you that my name was Cobra on the night that Isvan was reduced to ash on the snow. But of course, if I lost as badly as you did to me, I would repress that memory too; after all, it was because of your weakness that baby Gray lost his family and home, was it not?"

Amber-flecked green eyes narrowed dangerously,

"Shut the hell up! You betrayed us, your family; how could you do that?!"

"We've already been through this Dragneel," Cobra said lazily, "I'd rather finish what I failed to do thirteen years ago."

"Oh yeah," Natsu snarled, "And what's that? Kill me? You'd never be strong enough to do that; you wouldn't be able to come even close."

The russet haired dragon demon laughed loudly,

"Who said anything about killing you? There's a reason why Deliora has been revived and is on the march for that town up there and it is because of one human being; it's my job to make sure that the final thorn in Zeref's side is ultimately destroyed."

Natsu roared furiously and dove at Cobra like a flaming arrow,

"Like hell I'm going to let that happen; I'm not letting you or this monster anywhere near Gray!"

Cobra smiled darkly as he jumped off the massive shoulder of Deliora and into the blistering sky. The scent of dense poison engulfed Natsu's senses before a fairly large burgundy coloured dragon burst from the smoke and attacked the fire dragon head on sending them both tumbling towards the forest covered ground. Natsu raised his claw and swiped at the poison dragon causing Cobra to let go of him before they reached the forest floor.

He glared at the poison dragon demon as he inhaled through his mouth and felt the lava-like heat churn in his belly. Just as Cobra righted himself in midair, Natsu exhaled a large breath of fire that managed to skim the tops of the evergreen trees as it rocketed towards the slightly off balance Cobra. However, just as the fire was about to reach the poison dragon demon, Cobra flew to the side and immediately avoided the wrath of Natsu's fire.

"You still think you can beat me Natsu," Cobra laughed mockingly, "You of all people should know that I hear every move before you make it; there's no way you'll be able to beat me!"

Natsu opened his mouth to retort only for Cobra to fly at him without hesitation. He moved to avoid his adversary only for the poison dragon demon to move with him and clamp onto his large wings to prevent Natsu from moving anywhere; the only reason why he was still airborne was because Cobra was holding him up there.

"I told you, I hear everything!" He smiled viciously, "Poison Dragon's Roar!"

The fire dragon demon roared in pain as poison shot from Cobra's mouth and struck the back of his neck; the poisonous sludge rolling down the scales of his upper neck to the small of his back. In the back of his mind, he could feel the other members of the Dragon Demon clan stirring in worry, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. As Natsu felt Cobra's claws releasing his grip on his wings, he quickly latched his own claws into Cobra's burgundy scales.

"It's true that you hear everything," Natsu growled, "But, that is also your curse!"

Summoning all the strength and pain within him, Natsu pointed his head towards the sky and let loose a bloodcurdling roar that even threatened to crack the very world in two. What was more important was the sound of immense pain that had erupted from Cobra who was still holding onto him. He flinched at the harsh sound coming from his once brother, but ignored it and instead tightened his grip on the scaly arms he was holding and flipped Cobra over his head and into the trees below.

He barely paid any attention to where the poison dragon demon fell before he turned his attention towards the demon that was heading in the direction of the town of Magnolia. His eyes widened in fear as he realized just how close to the town Deliora had gotten in just that small amount of time; it was practically sitting on top of the city. He could feel Gajeel and the others transforming and heading towards him to figure out what happened, but that wasn't important; he had to save that town…he had to save Gray.

He flapped his large wings in an attempt to head back to the town once more only for him to hiss loudly in pain; his wings and back burning from the poison that Cobra had drenched his skin in. He watched worriedly as Deliora let loose a sky tearing roar; it was happening all over again. Deliora was attacking the one he was meant to protect and once again Cobra's poison was preventing him from doing his life's duty…

NO! Never again, that was not going to happen again! Too much has been sacrificed for that to happen! He wasn't going to lose Gray ever again!

Natsu forced back the pain and flapped his wings forcefully as he shot towards the town at full speed. As he got closer and closer to the town, the citizen's screams of terror started to echo through his mind like an orchestra of never ending pain. He flinched as the sound of Deliora's destruction joined the symphony like a resounding drum. He flew over the rampaging demon's shoulder as a flash of green light shot from its mouth. He was about to ignore the random blast and search for Gray among the chaos only to hear…

"GRAY LOOK OUT!"

He felt his very world come to an end as he focused on the supposedly random green flash of light only to see that it was rocketing like a missile at the one he wanted to give everything to protect. The worst part was all he could do was watch; he wouldn't be fast enough. His chest burned as Gray stared at the incoming magic that would end his life, when suddenly his mate was pushed out of the way. Natsu stared, frozen, as the magic struck the girl that Gray had always hung out with.

Natsu's heartbeat quickened as he descended to Gray once more; even if his new hope was ignited in the face of death and despair. He blocked out all outside distractions as he flew towards his mate; turning back into human form when he was still five meters or so from the ground. He knees almost gave out on him from the strain of his landing, but he had to keep going…he had to keep running…the situation was too similar to how it was back then. It would only be a matter of time now that the seal would break and everything would come rushing back.

That girl died like Gray's mother.

That girl died like Gray's father.

That girl died like Ur.

The air smelt like pure ice.

He cursed loudly as an icy, bitter wind pushed against his burning flesh and ruffled his pink hair threateningly. He blanketed his fire around his body as the comforting burn that used to appear when he was near Gray began to freeze over; he was losing him. His eyes narrowed as Gray coveted the entirety of his vision. One second, Gray was staring lifelessly at the girl in his arms with another male standing behind him screaming at the top of his lungs and then the next second, an intense blue light exploded outwards from the raven's body causing him to shield his eyes instinctively.

When he opened them, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Surrounding Gray and the body of the girl was an insurmountable amount of ice blade coiled around their bodies like a massive tail or spring. The demon of Destruction roared from somewhere behind Natsu's flaming body which told him that the demon had noticed his challenger.

He had to get to Gray NOW!

"GRAY!"

Time seemed to freeze all together as Gray seemed to jump at the sound of his name. Almost as if he were in slow motion, the raven's head turned to face the pinkette; dark black markings covering the left side of Gray's face…it was like back then. He felt his scales sprout along his body as his fear and despair started to awaken. He was too late… his slayer magic had already started to consume him…

"'Tsu?"

Natsu felt his heart lift at the sound of the familiar nickname tumbling off the exhausted raven's lips. He pushed his fire into his heels just as Gray's coil of ice blades erupted from their stagnant position and shot simultaneously at the unguarded Deliora. The demon of Destruction let out a roar of pain that rivaled Natsu's when he was fighting Cobra; it was enough to nearly shatter Natsu's ear drums, but that didn't matter. What did matter was Gray collapsing lifelessly into the ash covered snow.

The pinkette slid across the ice covered ground on his knees; his fire melting the snow in his path as he stopped in front of Gray and pulled the ashen boy into his arms. He adjusted the raven so that he was resting in his lap and used the back of his hand to push Gray's dark hair out of his face. A small sigh of relief left his lips when he realized the dark marks that appeared with the opening of the seal had disappeared completely.

"It's you…"

He jumped at the accusatory voice and turned to face the man kneeling to his left. Natsu took in the man's raven hair which was pulled into a tight bun and his red eyes were glaring at him darkly; though they were rimmed in tears. Pulled against his chest was the body of Gray's friend; her life's blood staining the man's purple jacket.

"It was you," The man growled, "It's because of Dragon Demon spawn like you that Deliora managed to be reborn!"

"No," Natsu denied adamantly, "You have it all wrong! We would never…wait, how…"

"Isn't it obvious," He spat, "As the prince of your filthy clan, you should know who I am."

The pinkette's eyes widened in disbelief; not a single part of him wanting to believe what the man in front of him is insinuating. His eyes immediately wandered to the dead girl lying in the man's arms and it was only then that the familiarity he felt towards her made sense. Although he could not remember her name, he recognized her from the times he would visit Gray in Isvan. She was the daughter of the great hunter Gildarts, one of the hunters that he respected the most, and one of Gray's closest childhood friends.

"Step away from Gray," The man slowly laid the girl on the ground, "Or things will get bloody very quickly."

Natsu's hands tightened around the unconscious raven,

"No, you have to understand…we never meant for this to happen!"

The man laughed darkly,

"Why don't you tell that to Cana? Oh wait you can't, because you monsters just killed her!"

The pinkette flinched guiltily,

"No…"

Both of the men froze as a familiar roar tore through the air once more; awakening them from their reprieve and thrusting them back into a never ending nightmare. Natsu stared up at Deliora; demon slaying ice continuously growing from his extremities, but the monster still moving as if its life was not being sucked out of him bit by bit.

"I don't understand," The man stared up at the demon fearfully, "That was slaying magic…Gray's magic should have been able to destroy it."

"Don't ask me," Natsu muttered as he covered Gray protectively, "And even if you did, you probably wouldn't listen to me anyway."

"You bastard…"

Another loud roar echoed through the air; only this time it was followed by another and then another. Natsu smiled brightly as his brothers and sister appeared in the sky all of them roaring their respective elements towards the unsuspecting demon. Deliora roared in excruciating pain as beams of light, shadow, iron, lightning and wind attacked the places where Gray's slaying magic had struck. The pinkette watched wide eyed as the demon started to turn to dust before his eyes; only he could tell that the demon was still managing to hold on…

Two Clans must Unite as One

Natsu smirked to himself as weakening Deliora turned to face him once more. The pinkette tugged on the coat of the man standing beside him forcing the man to one knee. The man glared at him distrustfully until Natsu passed Gray to him carefully. He ran his warm hand along Gray's cheek one more time before nodding at the surprised hunter before getting to his feet and stalking towards the crumbling demon predatorily.

"After thirteen years," Natsu growled as an intense fire consumed his body, "your reign of terror will end!"

Almost as if responding to his challenge, the demon roared and swung a fist towards the pinkette. The fire dragon demon merely smirked as he sent all his fire power into his fist and swung at the demon that was more than three time his human size. A large explosion encompassed the area as the two demons connected, only for the result to be Deliora's hand, arm, shoulder, chest, torso, leg, other leg, other arm, other hand, and finally head to dissolve into dust.

Natsu stared down at the pile of dust that used to be the monster that destroyed two villages in one night and half a town in a matter of hours. The nightmare that was Deliora, the Demon of Destruction, was finally over. He was so immersed in what now lay before him that he didn't even notice when his brothers and sister transformed into their human forms and landed beside him; or he didn't notice until someone smacked him over the back of the head.

"Ouch!" Natsu hissed under his breath and turned to glare at Gajeel, "What the hell was that for metal head?!"

"You know exactly what that was for dumbass!" Gajeel roared in his face, "What did I tell you about calling us for help?!"

"I did…"

"Like hell you did Natsu-nii," Sting scolded the pinkette furiously, "Don't lie to us!"

"Sting…"

"Seriously Natsu," Rogue shook his head disapprovingly, "That was very low of you."

"But Rogue…"

"Tch, and you're supposed to be our king," Laxus growled, "How the hell are you going to do that if you're dead idiot?!"

"I don't want to hear that coming from you!" The pinkette poked the older blonde in the chest, "I know you answered my call late!"

"He does have a point Natsu-nii," Wendy nodded sagely, "You were being reckless today…"

"Ah Wendy!" Natsu pouted at the sky dragon demon, "Not you too!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

Natsu tore his attention away from his family squabble and looked towards the man he left in charge of Gray. He immediately sobered and walked to the clearly shaking man; his family walking supportively behind him. He didn't say anything as he knelt in front of the man and attempted to take Gray back into his hold only for the man to move slightly out of his reach. He heard Gajeel and Laxus growl dangerously from behind him, but he motioned for them to shut up.

"We didn't bring Deliora," The pinkette told the man calmly, "We would never bring harm to Gray or your clan, and you have to believe that."

"Like hell I do," The man stated defensively, "I know one of your kind betrayed us the night Isvan was destroyed; when there's one rotten egg there's always more."

Natsu clenched his fist tightly,

"That's not true! We want…"

The pinkette paused when he felt Wendy pull on the back of his white scarf. He shifted his gaze to her and found that her brown eyes had fallen upon the body of Cana lying on the ground. He opened his mouth to tell her who she was only for her to look at him with intense need burning in her eyes.

"Natsu-nii," She whispered, "Let me heal that girl."

Natsu frowned sadly,

"Wendy, you can't; she's already died."

"No," She shook her head adamantly, "I can still feel her life force; Natsu-nii, that girl is still most definitely alive."

The pinkette's eyes widened,

"Are you absolutely positive Wendy? You have to be absolutely sure."

"She is alive Natsu-nii, please let me help her!"

He glanced at the fallen girl once more for a brief moment before nodding his head. Wendy went straight for the girl as Natsu gave his first nod only for the man to try and stop her from going anywhere near the body.

"I won't let you anywhere near her!"

"Please hunter-san," Wendy bowed to the devastated man, "Please let me help your friend; I can help her!"

"No!"

Sting shoved his way through the group and passed Natsu to grab the front of the man's jacket; though he was careful not to jostle Gray too much.

"Listen here," The blonde spat, "I'm not a fan of your kind either, but now isn't the time for war. Wendy can save your friend, so let her unless you want her to die; that is if she hasn't already while we've been having this pointless conversation."

"Sting," Natsu grabbed the dragonling's wrist, "That's enough."

"But Natsu-nii…"

"Fine."

The pinkette faced the red eyed hunter in front of him,

"What?"

"Okay," The hunter bowed his head towards Wendy; tears pattering softly onto the snow, "Please help Cana…please, if there's a way…please help her."

The blue haired dragonling nodded her head seriously before running past the hunter and kneeling next to Cana with her familiar blue sky magic pulsating around her hand. Natsu released Sting's wrist and tilted his head towards Wendy; signaling for him to go watch her so that she doesn't exhaust herself. The blonde nodded his head silently before wandering to the sky dragonling's side watching her closely.

"We're your enemies," The hunter's voice whispered, "Why would you want to help us?"

Natsu sighed and tilted his head to the sky,

"Because even though you saw us as your enemies, we never truly saw you as ours. Sure, some of our kind does not want to trust you, but the fact is we're going to have to if we all want to survive this war."

The hunter hummed slightly,

"That's true, but will you be able to trust us enough to see this all the way through?"

The pinkette felt his brothers shift slightly behind him, but he kept his gaze focused solely on the slumbering slayer in the hunter's arms.

"Even if we argue and don't get along, one thing will always remain the same for me," Natsu smiled, "I'll always believe in Gray."

"At least that's something we can both agree on," A stern female voice cut through the tension, "Dragon Demon Prince Natsu Dragneel."

The pinkette felt his family tense once more at the unexpected voice, but he really couldn't be surprised; it was a matter of time after all. Natsu turned away from the hunter and Gray to face the source of the voice with a small smile on his face. A woman with waist length raven hair stood five meters to his left with her hands crossed over her chest. Her brown eyes were narrowed at him defensively and he was sure that her hands were clasped securely around her concealed weapons. His eyes lingered briefly on the team of hunters congregated behind her; he was probably looking at the Council of the Hunter's Alliance.

"It's nice to see you again," He smiled faintly, "Ultear Milkovich."

TBC

The long awaited chapter four! Yes minna, it's an actual chapter and not an update; aren't you proud of me?! This is one monster of a chapter; like the longest one that I have ever written! O.o I know that it's really descriptively dense and the flow isn't perfect, but I tried! :( I'm so sorry if it wasn't to your expectations, but I hope you can find something to enjoy out of it!

I also want to thank everyone who favourited, followed and reviewed for all the chapters previous and for the update! I'll start writing responses to reviews again in the next chapter! I'd seriously need to make another ten page document to respond to everyone who commented on my very long absence XD So thank you everyone for the continuous support! You guys are amazing!

I'm waiting on your awesome reviews! :)

-sktrgrl

PS. MANGA: *Died*

Mashima honestly killed me the last few chapters with all the bombs that he's dropping on me! What does he think he's doing to my beloved Gray?! Yeah sure the situation opens up a ton of NatRay/GraTsu shipping moments (for that I am grateful), but did he seriously have to do that?! Not only was Natsu vs. Gray inevitable before the 1 year time skip, but now it's even more so and the roles are flipped! I want to believe Gray is gathering info like Silver did while he was in Tartaros, but I doubt it :( Especially since it's revealed that Gray was the one who killed Frosch…

Our baby has gone dark side and now Natsu has to bring him back! I believe in you Natsu and I hope you continue to believe in Gray, even if you can't right now! He needs you, so don't give up!