Hey everyone, to those who follow my other stories, I know; I should focus on updating those. I had this story in mind for quite some time, I actually wanted to upload this for quite a while, but I didn't feel like I wrote it to the style that I wanted it to be. Plus, It was mostly really filled with fluff and some smut here and there. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.

Lands once bountiful in green, rivers that ran with water as cool and crisp as the touch of snow, wheat fields in which many would go to slumber while feeling the soft breeze brush against their skin, kingdoms erected from stones of the bosom of the earth itself; all of it is now but a distant memory. Soil as black as night, what little water that still flowed ran red. Bones, burning flesh and rotting carcasses littered the ground. Scents of sweet lavender and jasmine are replaced with the stench of decomposing, lifeless vessels. There is little sound save the passing winds and dimming flames. The end of days came, Ishgar lies in ruins, the continent has burned for over seven days and nights, there was no warning. Few survived the beginning, even fewer still draw breath. The end came as many would've predicted, at the hands of the creature known simply as: Acnologia. The beast spared none, left no plot of land unspoiled, it pitied nothing. Amongst the ruins of the once proud kingdom of Fiore, one mage continues their fight against Acnologia, severely wounded and with little time left.

The salmon-haired mage stood amongst the ashen ground, his blood dripped on the dead soil whilst the beast which caused this end hovers above him.

"Why do you continue when all else is gone? Why deny your defeat?" The creature landed in front of the tired mage, its jaw formed what seemed to be a crooked grin. "Go now, to those who you failed." Acnologia collected an excessive amount of power, overkill, for a pest that long overstayed its welcome. All the while, he who remained, last of his kind, perhaps not the sole survivor of his race, is unable to continue. He waits, with a heavy heart, salted rivers streaming down his cheeks, dried blood mixed with fresh, and with a smile; he awaits the end. As he hears the beast cast its spell, he feels the end approach, and with a final exalted breath, he awaits the welcoming silence of the void. The spell is casted; his eyes close as the world is muted.

For a moment, there is silence. But, the mage dared not open his eyes. Was he dead? Was their some form of salvation? Hope has long since been lost; there was no form of optimism left, not in this world. And so, to retain what little was left, if any at all, he kept his eyes shut.

"How long do you plan to keep your eyes shut?"

A voice calls to him. Was he truly dead, did he pass on?

"Open your eyes,"

He hesitates, unwilling to face the faces of those he had failed. However, the voice that calls him is not one of familiarity. Curiosity kept at bay, he keeps his eyes shut.

"I'm not going to tell you again, Natsu." The mage in question, hesitantly, opens his right eye. Once his vision returns, both his eyes open, his pupils dilate as colors once thought lost forever flooded his sight. While night time, the boy could see green. Trees, grass, and even the sounds of nocturnal beasts flooded his senses. But, this was not new to him; he was no stranger to this clearing. He rubbed his eyes thoroughly, to assure that this was no illusion. He dropped to the ground; his hands pressed against the soft grass and hardened soil. The feeling of these long forgotten pleasures, if only for a second, brought a faint smile to the mage's face.

"That's better." The same voice again, glancing around, his eyes caught sight of a nodded figure sitting atop a tree branch, smiling down at him. It waved to him before jumping down to his level. "So it seems the spell worked." It commented, walking ever so casually to the mage.

'Spell?' The salmon-haired mage scanned his surroundings once more, his nose catches scents of jasmine, thyme, and...a familiar odor. His eyes caught sight of what he least expected to see in his after life; a rotting corpse, though, the sight of said corpse was something else entirely. He approached, slowly, the small corpse now taken by the woodland realm. His right palm was placed against his mouth to keep the scent from further bombarding his senses.

"A shame isn't it?" the hooded figure remarked whilst taking their place at the mage's side. "Poor thing never had a chance, regardless." The more it talked, the more their voice began to sound familiar the dragon slayer. Still, his confusion was more focused on the landscape around him. Where one second he stood amongst the ruins of Ishgar, here he stood in the exact spot where his former guild master discovered him. "But that doesn't matter anymore. The Age of the first Dragneel is over. You failed to defend your world, and now it lies dead, lost to us forevermore." Almost instantly, Natsu's head snapped towards the hooded figure, whose voice was now shifting towards that of a female. Aside from her overly pessimistic comments, he swore her voice was familiar, and yet, he couldn't piece it together. Adding to it, he couldn't identify her by scent with the excess aroma of lavender she emitted. It was then that the words she used 'lost to us' gained his attention. Upon glancing to his dumbfounded face, the unknown chuckled lightly to herself. "Oh, forgive me; it seems I got ahead of myself." She took a few steps ahead of him before turning back to face him.
"Before you ask, no; you're not dead. Not yet at least, depending on how you decide to treat this second chance." Whilst attempting to not give too much information, the unknown could see the confusion in this mage's eyes before further clarifying. "Putting it as simple as I can; using my magic, I attempted to send us back to an earlier period, before the end of days came; with the hopes of delaying the state of the world we left behind. But it would appear that I might've done a bit more than that." The tone in her voice almost shifted to a somewhat joyful level, almost as if she had accomplished something of great marvel. Though, the prospect of going back in time to prevent the ending was something that sparked great interest in the mage.

"You sent us back…in time?" he asked, the feeling of hope rising. The idea of seeing his old friends again, alive and well, nearly brought tears to his eyes. But that left the question; how was that even possible? The only person he could think of that could actually manipulate time was presumed dead. Wasn't she?

The hooded woman clarified. "Yes and no. Granted, we are in the intended timeline, but not the one we belong to." Again, seeing the confusion on his face, she smirked and continued. "I'm afraid that is all I can say at the moment." The woman reached into her cloak and retrieved an item for her confused mage. While unable to see the upper half of her face, her grin was more than uncomfortable for the salmon-haired mage. She handed him what seemed to be a lacrima in the shape of a scale. Hesitantly, Natsu accepted the scale, the emblem being the feature that most caught his eye. Upon seeing the emblem, he was also caught by surprise to see his reflection; he had not changed from his appearance prior to ending up in this situation, with the exception of his wounds healed mind you. His clothing was still partially scorched and torn. His hair was long, almost as unruly as it was when short, only using his scarf as a bandana. He wore a black and gold vest with no shirt, allowing any to gaze upon the collection of scars on his body. Particularly, the most noticeable being the scar reaching from his left eye and along the left side of his neck. White cargo shorts and sandals, perhaps not the best combat attire, but it went with his way of doing things. He'd grown since he'd began to train alone, his height reaching something similar, if not taller than an Iron Dragon Slayer he remembered. His eyes returned to the hooded woman for answers, for more than what she given him.

"I must leave you for now." She turned to the forest, Natsu reached out to keep the woman from leaving, however, was unable to grasp her cloak as she had disappeared almost instantly. "Keep that lacrima, you'll need it soon enough." While out of sight, her voice lingered, clear as day. Without giving him any chance to speak or ask questions, the Dragon Slayer was left alone in the woods. Confused and alone, almost the same as the first time he was left in this forest. What remained in his head was what she said to him; using time magic to send them both to a time before the world's ending. Having no intention of staying put, waiting for the woman to return, Natsu placed the lacrima scale in his pocket and began treading where the moon would set, opposite to where the sun would rise; west.

-3 Days Later-

Following his three days of being sent back in time, the salmon-haired mage had walked continuously, taking in the sights of his kingdom. The urge to run to Fairy Tail and see his guild mates was overwhelming, but there also remained the issue of what point in time he was sent to. At first, it all seemed farfetched; being sent back in time to fix mistakes and errors felt more like works of fiction. Although, considering the circumstances he faced with a certain time mage, it didn't exactly seem so wild of a possibility. However, it was proven quite possible upon his encounter with a few merchants on his first day. After obtaining the exact date from them, he continued his tread, his thoughts focused on his guild. It was July 10th, x777, three days after he and the other Dragon Slayers arrived via the Eclipse Gate. Though, the sight he witnessed the upon his arrival made him fear the worst, considering it wasn't one he was treated to when he was a child arriving in the future.

Stopping only once he had reached the shore, Natsu set camp near a village. By that, meant he had nested himself comfortably against a tree, atop one of its branches. The view from his position allowed him to see the shoreline, and thanks to his enhanced senses, the sounds of the crashing waves would've lulled him to slumber had it not been for a familiar scent on a branch next to his. While he initially intended to not give his guest the time of day, having the scent of lavender accompany his lullaby was a bit nauseating. Yet, he still wanted answers, and this woman was his only way to gain said answers.

"What do you want?" He asked, keeping his tone as far from hostile while maintaining a sense of intimidation.

"Oh, have I angered the Fire Dragon King?" she cooed playfully, slightly irritating the mage.

"You claim to bring me to a specific moment in the past, and then without telling me much; you decide to leave me. I walked for three days, waiting for you. How exactly am I supposed to act?"

"fufufu, patience young king, I merely needed to assure that my assumptions were correct." The sudden rise in temperature forced the woman to refocus her attention from the ocean to the slightly irritated mage. The expression on his face was neutral, though the sudden spike in his release of magic said otherwise. "I presume it is answers you seek?"

"What do you think?" He snarled.

Though his tone did little to intimidate his guest "Oh my, there is no need for violence, I'll tell you whatever is necessary."

"Necessary?" he growled at her amusement of their situation.

"Yes, whatever is necessary for this second chance to receive a better outcome." She returned her gaze to the ocean, while unable to enjoy it the way the Dragon Slayer next to her could, still enjoyed the sight of a body of water not dyed red. "From the start, we were destined to fail against Acnologia; an upfront assault was never going to receive a favorable outcome, regardless if it succeeded. The world was meant to end, we were only meant to delay the inevitable for as long as we could. If that dragon did not do so, then the world would've fallen to E.N.D." Her tone shifted, Natsu clenched his fists, unwilling to accept her pessimism, particularly referring to him as a cause for the world to end, even if he knew the truth in her words. He knew what resided in him, what would occur should he lose control. "It's hard to believe, I understand, but there is hope, young king."

"…and what might that be?" He asked, crossing his arms and refocusing his eyes back to the ocean.

"As I've said before; the Age of the first Dragneel has ended. The time has come for the torch to pass, so to speak." Smirking with a prideful demeanor, she glanced to the mage beside her, only to see a confused expression that slightly irritated her. She pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head gently. "I keep forgetting; subtlety isn't the best approach when speaking to you. Do you still have the lacrima I gave you?"

Without the need for words to be exchanged, Natsu retrieved the scale and displayed it to the hooded woman.

Her smile returned. "That particular lacrima was indeed a difficult one to forge, more so given from who it was forged from." She explained cryptically, again further confusing the salmon-haired mage. "And now, the king must pass on his legacy, as his father once did." She giggled lightly whilst imagining what she had planned for it this Dragon Slayer.

Surprisingly, the expression on the salmon-haired mage's gave the impression that gears where actually clicking; as if he knew what she meant. Though, to further the events, she gestured to the scale in Natsu's hand. "In this world, the title of Fire Dragon King belongs solely to you, but whether or not it is enough to ensure a brighter future depends on your decision to use that lacrima."

"What do you mean 'this world'?" He asked, increasingly confused by her words.

Having further explored the world and testing her theory, the hooded woman grinned as she explained away. "In my haste to return us to the moment you arrived in Fiore, x777, I chanted my spells quickly, lest Acnologia kill us both before having a chance to escape. I made an error, however, and just as I had wanted; we returned in time, but that is not all that occurred."

"Is that why you left?" He asked, surprisingly keeping up with the information thrown at him, though, he appeared to be close to having a mental breaking point.

"Yes, I needed to assure my assumptions were correct; however, I still haven't collected all of the information I need to give you a complete and honest debrief. I need more time to formulate a proper conclusion. For that, I will need you to trust me, young king." The hooded woman glanced back towards him, from where he sat; he could finally see her eyes. Gears finally clicked in place; the identity of this woman was clear, however, what bugged him the most was the reason behind her helping him of all people.

"Why did you choose me?" he asked, wondering why she didn't go for others she could've chosen to enlist in her mission. What began to bother him, ever so slightly, was her referring to him as 'king', despite the fact that she never used it to address him before.

"You'll find out soon enough." Unwilling to accept her answer, Natsu rose from his spot to give her a piece of his mind now that he was certain who she was. That was his intention when the sound of a girl screaming further in the woods caught his attention. His senses allowed him to almost instantly deduce the direction of the sound. As he readied to dive straight towards the ground and sprint towards the sound, the hooded woman retrieved, from somewhere in her cloak, a staff to keep the mage from sprinting into action.

"What are you doing, someone is in trouble?!" he snarled, another scream followed suit. His expression shifted upon catching a whiff of the scent of blood. Without further hesitation, Natsu dove down and sprinted straight towards the sound. All the while the hooded woman watched with a faint grin.

'Always charging without thinking things through? I wonder how this world will treat our arrival. Especially them.'

Sprinting as fast as she could, a young girl ran through the forest. Chain cuffs weighed down her legs as she continued to run aimlessly into the forest. Blood trickled down the right side of her face as her breathing increased. The sounds of footsteps behind her pressed the little one to run, no matter to where or for how long, so long as she escaped. But fate was none to kind to this one. In her haste, she failed to notice the rocks on the terrain. She tripped, falling roughly against the hardened ground. The pain was excruciating, though, she was quick to rise up and make another run had a hand not caught a firm grasp on a bundle of her hair. The unknown shook her violently, and then slammed her down on the ground in frustration.

"Oi, don't damage her too much, those sages won't pay us if we sell them damaged goods." Another unknown shouted as he and another soon caught up to their comrade. The three huddled around the crying child as the man pinning the girl down unsheathed a dagger. "What did I just say?!"

The girl sobbed as she could feel the man continuously apply pressure on her head, dust and bits of grass stained her sobbing face. "SHUT UP!" The small child, almost instantly stopped, though, her sniffling continued. The tip of the man's dagger pressed against her neck silenced any further sobs. "That's three times you've escaped, the first time; the whip, the second time we broke your legs, but now I'm just too fed up to care about what those sages want with her. How many jewels are we making on this trade?"

"From the rest of the cargo? More than a couple hundred alone." The third slaver answered, to which the first smiled widely.

"Then what does it matter if we rid ourselves of this trouble?" He pressed his dagger against the small one's neck, drawing blood. Blood also flowed from the first slaver's mouth, his attention, although, was focused more on the child that gave him his wound. "Hell, we can auction her off to a higher buyer in Bosco. I'm sure someone from those ports will treat her nice-like."

Although night, the temperature began rising to exponentially suffocating levels. The slavers scanned the area for the source. Though, upon laying eyes on the Fire Dragon Slayer, the sight of said mage frightened the slavers. Not for the mere sudden appearance of a mage, but for the manner in which they were treated to first seeing him. The mage was engulfed in flames, and yet unaffected by them. His sclera were as black as night, pupils a bright shade of amber, and blackened scales forming on both his arms, legs, and face; almost as if giving off the appearance of a hybrid between a race of reptilian origin and a human. Yet, the beast before them gave an immense amount of magic that began to suffocate those around him. As an animal would to beasts invading its territory, the Dragon Slayer positioned himself, as if ready to attack whatever be it in front of him. Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long to send the slavers running, the moment Natsu gave the impression that he would attack; the slavers took off running the direction from which they came.

While having the intention to chase after them, the injured child in front of him was of greater importance. Upon calming himself down and kneeling down to the girl's level, she backed away. It was through the light of the moon that he noticed a few key features the child had; crimson hair and eyes, her hair reached only to her shoulders. She wore rags, torn and weathered. Cuts and bruises were common on her exposes skin; one could only fear what more she carried beneath her rags. Most noticeably was an 'X' burn mark on her left shoulder.

"Hey, are you alright?" Given the state she was in, 'alright' was stretching it just a bit, though, he still had to ask. The young one made no attempt to respond, her focus was solely on the beast that suddenly appeared before her and his sudden shift in attitude. As his hand reached for her, she flinched, backing away further.

Natsu then noticed the bleeding wound on her head. Remembering what little he learned from healing magic, and combining it with his own, he engulfed his hand in a white fire. Slowly, as to not further startle the child, he reached for the wounded area. But, she backed away, almost, if not, quicker than before. Her whimpers and rattling chain cuffs grew louder as she made every attempt to keep distance between her and him. "Hey, there's nothing to be scared of, I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise." His words did nothing to persuade the girl as she continued to back away from him. As she was about to get up and run again, she began to sway, her eye lids fighting to stay awake after the adrenaline in her system had died down. Without warning, her body fell backwards; Natsu reacted quickly as he caught the small one before she hit the ground. Using his limited knowledge, he engulfed his free palm in flames and placed it gently against her wound. Taking only a moment, he removed his palm to reveal a closed wound, still stained with dry blood. Having a closer look at the small one, an image from his past flashed before his eyes, almost as if he had seen this child before.

Considering this was the past, or so the hooded woman told him, and taking into account the year, their existed an actually probability that he knew this child, or rather; her future self. But, what were the odds that he'd run into a familiar face so quickly, and if he already met her; who was she?

-1 Hour later-

Lying carefully beside a small fire, an injured girl finds herself awakened by the smell of an appeasing odor that caused her to snap up instantly. Her eyes glanced to the open fire, widening at the sight of the beast that, while saved her from the slavers, still frightened her to a great degree. Though, her fears were almost instantly shadowed by what was placed over the fire; it appeared to be a small animal of some sorts, cooking over the fire. As she attempted to stand, she noticed the beast was lacking his vest. Much to her surprise, glancing downwards; said vest was used as a blanket to keep her body warm. Another thing she noticed were the lack of metal cuffs on her legs or wrists. Her wounds had been tended to; bits and pieces of black and gold clothing were used as bandages, though there was one issue that remained. Before addressing it, the skewered animal that was being cooked over the fire was now being handed to her, fully cooked. She glanced, firstly to the unknown man, then to the piece of food being offered to her. Confused, she remained frozen in position until a grumbling sound broke the awkward silence. The growling startled the older mage, but almost as quickly, his expression shifted. He was now smiling at her while further insisting she take the food in his hand. Feeling embarrassed, but hungry nonetheless, she accepted the slab of food and slowly took small bites. Upon eating the first few bits, she then found herself biting off larger chunks. She continued taking faster and larger bites until she coughed from nearly choking on a larger chunk of meat. She felt a hand patting her gently on her back while the owner of said hand gave her a reassuring smile.

"Relax, eat slowly. No one is going to take it away from you." Without realizing it sooner, the girl finally noticed that the beast was sitting next to her. And yet, she felt no fear, but rather, she felt safe beside him. For some reason, she no longer felt as if she needed to place distance between them. Still, she was not used to this; having someone treat her as kindly as this. As long as she could remember ; her life was and always seemed to be revolving around her limbs bound by steel, and the fear of whether there would be some, if any, food given to her. As she took another bite into her meal, small rivers began to roll down her cheeks. A hand gently wiped away her falling tears while protectively watching over her.

Natsu nearly let went full rage when he heard that slaver go on about what he intended to do to this girl. While initially enraged, he managed to merely scare them off and rescue the girl before anything else transpired. But, there was still something so familiar about her that kept bugging him. Up to the point that he finally asked "If you don't mind me asking; what's your name?"

The girl remained silent for just a few seconds before answering him in a whisper-like voice. "…Flare…" Almost instantly, Natsu's eyes widened; here sitting before him was the child version of a once powerful mage that brought pain to his fellow guild members. But, as it was clear to see, she was not that woman; not yet at least. Regaining his composure, the salmon-haired mage noticed the small one staring at him with small amounts of fear in her eyes; almost as if she felt she had done something wrong. He smiled again and hoped to keep her from feeling down. "That's a beautiful name, it suits you." he remarked with a toothy grin, to which a small tint of pink shone over her unusually pale skin. "My name is Natsu Dragneel. How old are you, Flare?" he asked. The young red-head lowered her head and, for what could be her only way of communicating, whispered her response.

"I don't know…" Fortunately, the mage beside could easily hear her regardless. She then felt a hand pat her head, ruffling her hair ever so gently.

"You too, huh?"

Flare was, for lack of a better word, surprised. What did this stranger mean by 'you too'? Did he honestly not know how old he was? Was he, by chance, similar to her? Or was he simply trying to trick her into trusting him? She didn't know how to feel, though, as she pondered, the mage reached over towards the fire, and stuck his arm into the flames.

"ah..!" the young child was about to scream out but was silenced when she watched the salmon-haired mage remove a chunk of the flame and consume it, his hand unscathed. From where she sat, it was something she would've compared to demonic had she not seen mages manipulate fire before, although, she had never seen a mage consume any sort of flames. It was amazing, though, after remembering seeing him engulfed in flames, she began to wonder if he really was some form of demon. Even so, he wasn't what she expected of a demon, considering the stories she was told. She looked to the mage with curious and small admiration in her eyes. Compared to all the stories she had been told, it would seem that the demon appeared to be more compassionate than her own people.

"Mr. Demon…" Natsu almost flinched with being given that particular title, although, considering how he chose to drive the slavers off, it wouldn't surprise him if rumors would begin to surface of a demon roaming the forests. Although, whereas he expected the little one to refer to him with that title in a fearful state, it was not simply fear in her tone that he could now detect. She averted her gaze, her hands gripping the stick which held small remnants of meat. "T-thank you…for saving me." She whispered again. Feeling his palm atop her head, she glanced to the mage, her eyes directly looking at his.

"I'm glad you're safe, but please don't call me Mr. Demon." His tone wasn't intimidating, rather, it seemed almost friend-like to Flare. "You can call me Natsu, ok?" She nodded, gaining a wider smile from this mage.

Staring from afar, the hooded woman kept a distance while watching the salmon-haired mage interact with the young child he rushed to save. While initially frightening the small one, it seemed that King managed to ease the girl's fears. The woman chuckled to herself upon hearing the girl call the mage a demon in what she probably believed was a respectful manner. It was reassuring to see the little one not openly detest or show hostility towards what she believed to be a demon. The hooded woman dared not approach, for having a shrouded unknown suddenly show itself would probably have the child feeling even more uneasy than she felt at the moment. But, to see Natsu interact with a child, to see him smile was something that was nearly lost in their time, when he had to witness his guild eventually falling; one body at a time. More than before, the hooded woman felt justified in her decision to bring him with her. Especially now that she was made certain; there was no manner in which they could return to their future, to their world. This was their home now, and from the look of it, Natsu seemed to be taking advantage of this opportunity. At least, it seemed that way to the hooded woman. The mage was dense, to a certain degree, but even he would know that this is an opportunity to take advantage of; more time to prepare, and with his level of power, perhaps even enough time to maintain longer control over his other self.

It appeared that, at this moment, rather than allow those he knew as enemies to progress into a hindrance, he began implanting himself into the life of this child as an ally. Though, that left an unnerving thought within her mind. 'How exactly would this change the timeline? And what else was this mage to change in his possible pursuit to succeed where he, and many others before him, failed.

Aside from those pessimistic thoughts, from what she could see; it seemed like the two were engaging in more conversation every passing minute. Or rather, Natsu spoke and the little one listened closely. From the manner in which he moved his arms and the semi-excited expression on the girl's face, it would seem as if he was telling her stories of his past adventures. In a rather amusing twist, his past stories were now, more or less, events of the future. It was amusing to watch, almost an hour ago the child appeared petrified from just looking at him, and now it seemed as if they were progressively bonding. And in an odd moment, it almost looked like the child laughed to one of his stories, though, she kept her palms to her mouth, making difficult to tell. Still, she appeared to smile more, so that amounted to something.

As night progressed, Flare found it hard to keep her eyes open. Noticing the little one drifting off, Natsu removed his scarf, folded it, and placed it down for Flare to use as a pillow. Feeling somewhat embarrassed that he was going out of his way for her; the little one laid her head on the right side of the scarf. Then, shyly, she patted the spot next to her. Chuckling lightly, Natsu used his vest to cover her, and, lay beside her. Much to his surprise, she didn't avert her eyes from him. Rather, it appeared as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the strength to speak up.

"You ok?" he asked, wondering why she suddenly went from drowsy to high alert.

"When I wake up…will you still be here?" Her words pierced the mage deeply. Instinctively, he held her tightly, resting his chin on her head. While initially shocked by the sudden embrace, it wasn't unwelcomed.

"I'll be here for as long as you need me. I won't go anywhere." He reassured. To which she held out her hand.

"Promise?" She asked with hopeful eyes.

Natsu smiled and held her hand. "I promise, Flare." The young red-head, for what seemed like the first time in her life, albeit faintly, smiled. She pressed her head against his chest, unaffected by his scars, and listening to his rhythmic heartbeats. His body expelled an unusual amount of heat, even when having little clothing. The warmth helped put her to ease as she fell slowly to slumber, holding unto his hand.

For a moment, the salmon-haired mage gazed to the sky. He knew by befriending Flare, the timeline he knew was lost to him. Meaning now; anything was possible. This timeline, as it is progressing now, perhaps will have events similar to what occurred in his past. But at this moment, he is wiser; knowing full well that every choice he makes from here on out will determine whether or not he and his hooded friend would be able to prevent the world's ending. But, if this meant that he could fight alongside his old guild mates and save them, he'd happily start all over if it meant a better outcome.

Watching the stars, a memory came to him, or rather, something he made to honor his guild mates, and to help him continue moving forward. In truth, he never enjoyed doing it and he never expected to ever participate in such activities. But to cope with countless losses, he found comfort in words and their mixture in a sorrowful melody. A lament, he'd written for his fallen kin. Out of character if might've felt, considering he was always the one people knew as to never back down or accept defeat. But what many failed to realize was that he was human, and even he had his moments where he did things he normally wouldn't to cope. The melody, the tune, even the words had stuck with him. He had even written them down to assure he would never forget. Rest assured, to him it was another way of honoring his guild's memory. In fact, to those who still drew breath with him during the earlier days of the end, the lament was sung in honor of their family. It was a memory, painful as it was, but still a piece of his family that he dared not part with. Assuring the small one was asleep, he closed his eyes, humming softly to himself; he sang his lament.

"Oh mighty eye of my dragon's hold

Keep careful watch of my family's souls

And should these skies fill with fire and smoke

Keep watching over my hatchling's soul

Harken here, my fallen brothers

Guide us ever onward

And if this world burns, my child

Cover not your eyes

Lift your head to the sky

Lest in vain, our brothers die

If our world is to end in fire

I will stand by my brothers

The battlefield, our pyre

On our grave blooms the heathers

And if we should die tonight

Let us die with a smile

Leave not with shoulders

Heavy with sorrow"

And with that, the first chapter comes to an end.

Before anyone asks, I don't have any set pairings in mind, considering I plan to focus more on the story. There'll be a bit of flirting here and there, but it won't be the focus of the story. And even if I do make a pairing, I'll either make it subtle or I'll dedicate some (little) time to it…or at least I'll try. (Probably)

If this story feels confusing, I ask that you bear with me and wait for more answers to be sprinkled here and there…or all at once, I honestly just want to continue writing this.

If you like this story, I'm glad it catches your interest. If you don't, that's fine; there are thousands of other Fairy Tail stories for you to read besides this one. Regardless, I thank you readers for, at the very least, deciding to read my story. I can't promise when the next chapter will be out, but I do plan to make the story interesting.

P.S. If anyone couldn't tell, the lament I wrote for Natsu is a bit of a reworded version of "I See Fire"… Alright, more than a bit, but in my defense; I wanted it to sound like it actually came from Fairy Tail. So, thanks for reading, stay tuned.