I still do not own Fairy Tail.Before we get into the chapter, I want to address something. Firstly, to that one reviewer who wanted me to warn them about any incoming yaoi, you may as well leave now. I don't view a homosexual couple any differently than I do a heterosexual couple, so I'm not going to draw any special attention to it other than this acknowledgement. And for your information, I updated the story's listing to show that Natsu and Serena are together five minutes before the chapter went live, so there!Secondly, I want to say that I personally don't care at all about what gender two people in a relationship are. That may be blase, but I don't really care. As such, while I can understand that some people are not comfortable with the pairing I have chosen, I don't feel that at all. If you no longer wish to continue reading this story because of the pairing, I promise you I harbour you no ill will for making that choice. It is yours, and you are entitled to it. I never expect anything from my stories, as crappy as they are, and so to know that people were reading it in the first place is gratifying enough for me. If male same sex relationships don't do it for you, then I wish you well, and no hard feelings. That's all 3Finally, I'd like to address the review from PyruxDeltax. Thanks for querying, but it's quite a lot simpler than you seem to have misunderstood. In canon, it is never technically revealed whether or not Gildarts informed the Magic Council of his encounter with Acnologia. However, the Magic Council is at least somewhat familiar with the King of Dragons already, as Mest (then deep undercover as Doranbolt) expressed shock and horror at the mention of the creatures name when Zeref muttered it under his breath on Tenrou Island. We also don't actually learn what Gildarts' Century quest even was! In this story, Natsu and Serena have been passed a mandate directly by the Council to take Acnologia out, and it has been guised as a Century quest. I would also remind you that this series is completely AU and has already greatly reshaped canon.

ERA

RUNE Knight Captain Erza Scarlet had quickly become feared among the Magic Council's employees. Even the actual Council members were frequently scolded and 'invited' quite firmly to train, lest they suffer the displeasure of their greatest non-Wizard Saint fighter. Not that the idea to promote Erza to that position hadn't been entertained.

In just one week, Erza Scarlet had taken her regulation battalion of 100 Rune Knights from what the two highest ranked Wizard Saints frequently called "pathetic wastes of money and time" to some of the most feared people in the kingdom. Nevermind that they all feared their commander far more than they could ever be feared themselves. After being worked for literally all but two hours out of every day on their magic and strength, they had begun to flourish. Most still passed out an hour or two before Erza sent them to rest but the fact that a quarter of them could keep up with her own workout scheme was incredible. Erza herself hadn't been slacking off either, she worked alongside her men and it showed in the way they respected her. They saw her not as some snobby, rich, overpaid bastard who thought they were above people like the Rune Knights, they saw her as something akin to an older sister. They were all close to her and as much as she would push them (and punish anyone who failed to fulfill their orders), she would also sit with them, laugh with them, listen to their stories and fears and respond with her own. They especially grew to love the stories she had about her attempts to keep Gray from fighting with people in the Fairy Tail guild hall.

In one month, Erza took her battalion on their first sanctioned operation. Rumours to the north were spreading about the Oracion Seis, a dark guild of the Balam Alliance, that had been poking around in ancient temples and the like. It took less than five hours for the hundred Knights and their commander to take all of the Seis down and imprison them. The Council was so pleased with their performance that they were granted jurisdiction to train other battalions of Rune Knights once a fortnight, and given a very welcome pay rise. Erza refused the increased pay and demanded it be instead used on other Rune Knights who had also been working hard but not receiving the recognition they were. In the end her bonus went to Lahar, perhaps the most studious Rune Knight of the bunch, and the Council's go-to paperwork workhorse.

Erza was currently sitting in the mess hall, next to Adrian and Gus, two of the Lieutenants in her battalion. Adrian was roaring with laughter as Gus told them the story of how he'd caught his daughter in the barn with the blacksmith's boy.

"And I look at him, and I say to him in the best impression of the Captain I've done, "You do anything to my daughter again and I'll have you flogged through the streets, strung up for a week then drawn and quartered and sold to the tavern to put into the soup!" The little scoundrel about shat himself and ran sobbing from the room. I know I should feel a little bad for him but that was my daughter he had his hands on!"

Erza snorted and clapped Gus on the back. Somehow she didn't doubt that an impression of her 'angry' voice was effective in scaring the boy away.

"How is little Becca anyway, Gus? Haven't seen her since we got back from the north."

It was Adrian's turn to snort. He might be best friends with Gus but that didn't mean he was going to let him get away without some teasing. To that end, he jumped into the conversation before Gus had a chance to reply.

"If she's got time to be messing around in the barn, I'd say she's either perfectly fine or Gus's going soft on us."

He dodged the swift kick aimed at his shins and laughed at the glowering face his friend was making.

"For your information, she's much too young for that sort of thing, Adrian, or do I need to remind you of what y- mmf aa!" Gus was suddenly cut off when Adrian latched a hand over his mouth.

Erza chuckled at her two friends. This was nice. It was like being back with her family in Fairy Tail. The only thing missing was a certain Ice mage with a stripping habit.

"Good morning, Erza!" came a cheerful call from behind her. 'Wrong Ice mage' she thought wryly. Turning to face the Council member she both loved and hated the most, she prepared for either something entirely pointless or entirely too serious for this time of the morning.

"Good morning, Councilwoman Ultear!" The woman in question frowned slightly at the formal greeting but made no mention of it. There were bigger fish to fry. The greeting was echoed by the Lieutenants and then the rest of the rather noisy mess hall, before they turned back to their breakfast and left the two women to talk. Whatever the higher-ups wanted, it wasn't their business anyway.

"Erza, would you mind coming with me for a few moments? There's a visitor for you, and a message." Ultear smiled brightly down at her and offered a hand to pull the Captain to her feet. Erza, somewhat reluctantly, accepted the gesture and followed her from the room.

They walked together through the halls of the training complex, then across the parade grounds, then through the main Council building corridors, and then out into the front courtyard, where two people were waiting. Before she left Erza to speak with them, Ultear told her that she would be waiting inside with the message.

Erza walked with deliberation towards the two for a moment, before giving up all pretense of maintaining a soldiers dignity and flying into the waiting arms of her brother in all but blood. Gray's gentle arms around her were warm and she felt like she was truly home now. When she finally released him, she turned to the other person, and dropped to her knees to embrace her former Master.

"It's lovely to see you Master! Why did you come out here?"

Makarov chuckled as Erza stood back up. "Can't an old man visit his children? Gray was coming to see you and I already had business with the Council that would have needed to be sorted sooner or later, so I tagged along. How have you been my dear?"

Erza practically glowed with happiness and pride as she started speaking.

"I've been wonderful, Mas- Makarov. I was made a Rune Knight Captain by Ultear, as you probably know, and I've been training with them almost non-stop! We're the strongest fighters after the Wizard Saints in the Council now. We got back a week and a half ago from Operation Blackpoint, and successfully captured the Oracion Seis with no fatalities. I couldn't be prouder of my men! They worked and fought so hard, I don't think even Fairy Tail could have done a better job! Well, minus Natsu or Gildarts."

Makarov watched her talk and then turn to answer Gray's questions excitedly. This... this was what he had wanted from her all along. He had hoped that Fairy Tail could have been her home in the way that he clearly saw the Council had become. He had wanted her to forget the tragic events of the past, but it seemed that perhaps he'd overlooked something. Looking at her now though, his heart swelled. She was so relaxed and so proud and so obviously enjoying her life, seemingly not weighed down by the troubles she'd been burdened with before. How Ultear had managed to work this miracle was beyond him, but he was ever so grateful she had. In a suitable pause in the conversation, one in which he noticed Erza and Gray were now holding hands, he interjected.

"I couldn't be prouder of you Erza. You've done what most people find impossible, and many quite difficult. You've faced down your problems and decided to keep going and become a better person for the trials you've faced. You have built yourself a new life and you have done so quite magnificently. Erza Scarlet, I'm proud to know you and love you as I do."

Erza blushed as brilliantly red as her hair at Makarov's words. She knew he was eloquent when he wanted to be but she'd never expected to hear something so personal and heartfelt from him. She felt Gray's hand squeeze hers, and she turned her head to see him smiling and nodding.

"He's right, you know. I thought I might have lost you when you disappeared from Magnolia. You were supposed to stay with me, remember? But then I hear about the Red Captain and her exploits with the strongest Rune Knights in the kingdom and realised that I hadn't lost anything. You were just letting yourself be you and do what you love to do for the first time. I've never seen you smile so much as in the last hour, Erza. It's really nice to see you smile again."

If she could have turned any redder, she probably would have. Gray really thought he'd lost her? Never! She silently proclaimed. Leaning in towards him, she rested her head gently on his shoulder and mumbled a quiet "Thank you".

He smirked and out of her sight, winked at Makarov, who returned a sly wink of his own. They'd come expecting to have to cheer her up but it appeared as if that was not necessary in the slightest.

The trio talked for a while longer before Gray reminded Makarov that he had a meeting to attend to. The old man exclaimed "Oh crap!" and ran off into the Council building, muttering about the Wizard Saints and respect.

Erza smiled as she watched him leave, then turned to Gray again. "What will you do now, Gray? I have to see Ultear, she said something about a message."

He smiled, and finally released her hand. "Go on, I'll be waiting outside. I've been trying this meditation stuff to increase my magic power, and it's working pretty well. I can visualise my Ice-Make magic much more strongly too, I don't even need to call out the spells most of the time any more! Next time something happens..." His face suddenly became clouded with fury. Erza startled at the sheer hatred pouring off of him. "No one will stop me from protecting my family. I'll protect them all..."

She embraced him once again in a crushing hug, and although she couldn't see it, his face softened. "Of course you will, Gray, and I'll be right behind you."

With that, and a tear still in her eye, she ran back towards the Council building, waving over her shoulder.

Inside sat Ultear, on a chair Erza was sure hadn't been there before. Rather than question it however, she simply got straight to business. Standing at attention before the Councilwoman, Erza put on her best respectful voice and asked "May I receive the message now, Councilwoman Ultear?"

The woman in question giggled with one hand delicately over her mouth. "You know, Erza, we're friends, you don't need to act so stiff and formal around me. Anyway, the message is from an old friend of yours. He came by the Council last week, but I've been tied up. He says "Remember the boats". Do you know what he meant by that?"

Ultear wore her best confused face, while inwardly watching Erza's reaction attentively. First the Knight stiffened, then slowly the blood drained from her face. Finally, her eyes widened almost comically and the Red Captain toppled to the floor, motionless. A brief glance and a flare of her magic told her no-one was watching, so Ultear indulged in a little decadence.

"Let the games begin! Soon, Zeref... soon you'll be awakened."

THE NORTHERN WASTELANDS

NATSU Had not slept well the past two nights. He and Serena had both felt the powerful Dragon magic from the north and both of them had known what it meant. Acnologia knew they were coming, and he was not happy. Serena had taken on the attitude of "I can't see him yet, so I'm not worried about it" but Natsu was more than worried. He was terrified.

It wasn't necessarily for himself or for Serena, but for Wendy and Carla that he feared. He wasn't sure that anything he could do would actually protect them from the beast... even if they won. He couldn't honestly fool himself into thinking that they could beat Acnologia without using underhanded means... and he'd never actually gone all out with his Demon abilities before. As much as Dragon magic effected the user's personality, it had nothing on a Demon's Curse. Using only half of his curse's potential caused a week of mood swings and unnecessary aggression. Thankfully, he was pretty good at controlling those impulses now. On the other hand, the one time he'd used 80% of his potential it had destroyed an entire archipelago when he tripped... but he didn't really talk about that.

The point of his worry was that he was still not strong enough. All of his vast power meant less than nothing to him if it wasn't enough to protect the people he cared about. Grumbling to himself, he finally decided that he wouldn't be sleeping tonight either and woke Serena with a pinch.

"What is it, are there more mages?"

Serena was alert very quickly, looking around, before his eyes settled on Natsu's troubled face. It wasn't his 'business' face, so there weren't enemies nearby, and his nose quickly confirmed that nothing smelled out of place. Then it clicked a moment later.

"Can't sleep? Worried?"

A silent nod was his answer.

"Hm. You need to train?"

Another nod.

The First Wizard Saint sighed heavily. He rose to his feet without another word and gently roused Wendy and Carla. The females were slower to wake than he had been and looked around groggily.

"What's the matter? Why did you wake me up?"

Natsu slowly rose to stand next to Serena. "I'm sorry Wendy, but Serena and I need to do some real training, and you wouldn't have been able to sleep through it anyway."

Wendy looked at her father, confused and worried at his tired and yet determined voice. "I thought you said that we shouldn't train to much out here? Because it would attract people, or something..."

She started to second-guess herself even as she spoke, but Natsu smiled.

"You're absolutely right, Wendy, but this time it's more important that we train properly than that we go unnoticed. At this point, we're maybe a week's travel from our destination anyway. Hiding is pretty pointless now. Now, please stand back, you don't want to be anywhere near this, trust me."

She began to step back, then actually turned and ran as she felt the enormous pressure rise off of the two men. The magic was suffocating, and there was something... else. She slipped unconsciously into her Dragon Force in her hurry to move to a safe distance, and found herself flying, fast.

Natsu, meanwhile, was bringing forth every drop of curse he could access slowly but surely. Serena was also accumulating his power, ready to try to contain whatever Natsu was going to do.

The power rose up higher and higher in the Fire Dragon Slayer's body, burning like nothing else ever could. He held it in control tightly for now, Serena needed to reach his Thereotical state before he could hope to contend with that form.

"With the elements of four Dragon's blessings on my left, and the elements of four Dragon's blessings on my right, I reach out and crush them together. I, who command magic like no other! I am not a Dragon Slayer... I am Thereotical. I am The Hybrid Theory!" With a final scream, Serena smashed eight orbs of highly dense magic together, creating what was essentially as close to pure magic as one could get. He then proceeded to ram that orb into his chest, and his body entered his Ascendant Dragon Force state. This was the full Dragon Force of all eight elements, simultaneously. In this state, it became clear why he was the First Wizard Saint. Gravity itself lensed around him, the amount of power he radiated was so great. He was now as pure white as the brighest of all lights and in fact he was impossible to see, unless you happened to be a Dragon. Or a Demon...

His partner finally ready, Natsu released the final vestiges of his control over his curse. The parts of his body that had been reconstructed as a Demon immediately took a new form, black scales and intense black-red flames spouting from his skin. His internal organs underwent much the same treatment. Those few parts of him that were still wholly human were suddenly flooded with all of his magic, and became fully Draconic. Finally, his powers merged completely, his E.N.D. abilities taking the reigns. Horns that were twisted and covered in nasty runes curled out of his temples, and a muscular tail with an arrowed tip snaked from his back. His clothes had long since burned away. Large, tattered, bat-like wings snapped out from his back. His hands grew to an unnatural size, and his feet too. His fingers turned clawed. His jaw changed shape, the hinge becoming looser and the jaw itself wider. His teeth sharpened, not into the thick, jagged Dragon's teeth Serena currently sported, but into needle-like points.

As soon as this tranformation began, the world became hell. The night sky, which had been clear and black, save for the moon, was now blood red and brighter than day. Flames danced across the ground, roaring and waving through the small patches of vegetation. Wendy watched aghast from over a kilometre away as wall after wall of fire echoed out from her father's position.

It was time.

Natsu lifted his right hand, grunting slightly, then slammed his open palm against the ground.

"Underworld!" He yelled.

A set of cracks, bursting with demonic fire, spread out from his hand. They raced through the earth, fire spouting up and rock splitting apart. It travelled over three hundred metres, by Serena's guess, before the fire collectively began to rise, dragging up forty metres of rock with it. The earth had literally been ripped up, and was being held aloft by a net of fire.

Lifting his hand off of the ground, he called out "Hell's Rain!" and thrust his right fist forward. Instantly the rock in the air broke into chunks, the fire, no longer controlled, turning the projectiles into molten lava. For two minutes, the sky rained molten fire.

When the sky was clear of debris, Natsu pulled back his fist, summoning up a huge burst of Demonic power. A ball of fire grew out of his fist, roughly four times his size. He swung it forward underarm, yelling "Scythe!" As he did so, the flames jumped forth as a solid construct of his curse, and carved out eight kilometres of rock in a straight line. It would have been even more, if Serena had not blasted the attack with a huge breath attack of his own to diminish it's effects. Finally, Natsu decided to try his own breath attack.

"Flame Demon King's Sin of RAGE!" His scream was accompanied by a huge blast of fire. The torrent of flame sent many a helpless animal to their death, and unknowingly destroyed an entire group of mages who'd been lying in wait for some hapless traveller to pass by. It was so bright that it actually blinded Serena, and far away, atop his mountaion once more, Acnologia winced at the light.

It took the pair of Wizard Saints several hours to fully bring their powers back under control after they finished training. When they were finally safe to be around, they embraced before racing off to find and check on Wendy.

SACRED MOUNT ZONIA

ACNOLOGIA Chuckled darkly to himself. The endgame had truly begun. Whether this display of power he'd felt and seen was a direct response to his own or not, it had certainly gotten his excitement to peak. It had been so long since he'd killed a worthy opponent.

Something nagged at the back of his mind however. The power he'd felt had had tinges of Dragon magic, true, but there had been something far darker, for more deadly to it. It had felt like... but no... he'd been sealed away for four hundred years!

"You know, it's not healthy to dwell on the past."

The King of Dragons raised his head slightly to acknowledge the intruder. They were well known to each other, and though they were mortal enemies, they could not harm each other. This lead to an uneasy truce as they both accepted the futility of attempting to kill the other.

"I hardly think you're one to be lecturing me on dwelling on the past, brother-lover."

A sad smile and a shrug was the first answer he recieved. The second was a question.

"Are you scared of them?"

A snort escaped his nostrils. "Not scared. Never. Excited though... definitely. Especially if I can destroy him once and for all this time."

The intruder's eyes hardened. "You will not be killing him. I need him. After his task is completed, then you c-"

"Leave me, you spineless coward. I know what happens when his task is fulfilled. I am not as uneducated in the workings of magic as you believe me to be. I know your curse, and I know why you have it. Get out before I decide to eat you."

The intruder smiled again, this time rather maliciously. "We will have to see who is eating who by the time he is through with you, won't we... oh brother mine?"

Acnologia screamed his rage at the intruder and swatted his paw through the air as fast as he could, but the troublesome, meddling bastard was already gone. How dare he... Once he had consumed the last Dragon's on this world, he would consume all the rest of the magic and then... Then he would see just how powerful Zeref really was.

THE ROAD TO MAGNOLIA

MAKAROV Watched Gray carefully as they trod the long trail back to Magnolia. The boy had seemed incredibly pensieve after their visit with Erza, and he was worried that Gray would miss her too much, especially now that he knew Erza was doing so well. He was also juggling the decision of whether or not to inform Gray that he'd already decided Gray would be an S-Class mage, regardless of the outcome of the trial. A trial that he'd postponed after Erza's disappearance.

Sighing with whimsy, he reached out (and subtly enlarged) his hand to rest on Gray's shoulder for a moment.

"Ya know, brat, this will be the first day of the rest of your life. What do you think about heading into that future with a shiny new position attached?"

Gray raised a questioning eyebrow and glanced sidelong at his Master.

"What are you saying Gramps? Is this about that trial you didn't host?"

His grin turned snarky towards the end, and Makarov flinched slightly. Understandably, a lot of people had been upset and disappointed when he'd announced that he'd forgotten to actually create a trial and begged more time.

"I'm going to promote you to S-Class, Gray. You've shown incredible maturity and you've gotten very powerful in the last few weeks. I need your help, and so does the guild, but this decision isn't a business necessity, my boy. You've more than earned the promotion."

Gray stopped in his tracks. He was being... offered? told? that he was going to be S-Class! This was incredible! He'd wanted this ever since Natsu had made the position after only a year in the guild. However...

"Gramps, I'm really honoured... but I don't think I can just yet. I need to prove myself, to myself, you know? I don't know if I can handle the responsibility."

The gentle smile Makarov had been wearing dropped into a scowl, and Gray almost laughed aloud at the familiar expression.

"You'll take the promotion and you'll be damn grateful about it, you brat! I had to pull a lot of strings to get the license from the Council to promote you immediately, and it took a few long-standing favours to get it done."

Gray really did laugh at the gruff tone his Master used, then slapped his hand down onto his Master's shoulder.

"Alright, alright Gramps, I'll do it. No need to get your panties in a twist."

With that, the two men set off once more for Fairy Tail, jesting and complaining in equal measure, with their spirits soaring ever higher than before.

AND THAT IS A WRAP.

Well, it's that time again folks, time to say goodbye, until another chapter. This one was a little difficult to write and I'm still not entirely happy with it, so I may rewrite and re-upload this one at a later date. Thank you all very much for your continued support, please review if you noticed any mistakes or had any thoughts you'd like to share, yada yada yada.

Bye!