AN: This story has been on my mind for a while now. And just to note this will be a Nali fic, however there wont be much romance until later on; but I will add a hint here and there but not much, so just bare that in mind.

Also an important note, this is an AU but I am going to try and keep everyone in character with the exception of the three dragon slayers, reasons will be revealed soon enough.

Now then, remember to review and tell me what you think

One millennium has passed since he was crowned Dragon King, and through his reign the dragons ruled the world, however with a swift of fate a dragon decided to oppose his rule and make peace with the humans; conflict broke out between the dragons and so came the day of their civil war. Four hundred years since he took the blood of his fellow dragons; but because of the foolishness of the dragons on the human side, they created the destruction that brought the end to his kind; lingering alone he lived in hiding his hatred for humans building up as years come and go; until he met a little girl cast away by her fellow people. She had an unusual personality that he couldn't understand, no matter how much she was shunned, she continued to love the human race and through her influence she diminish his rage; he taught her magic and she taught him how to love. Eighteen years has passed since he lost all his powers. And now, he stands tall, filled with confidence as a Fairy Tail guild member, his name was Natsu Dragneel.

It was finally that time of the year; the S-class mage advancement exam. The Fairy Tail guild was in an uproar of excitement. Everyone gathered by the stage waiting in anticipation for the Master to announce the candidates for the exam. Natsu was looking around as if scouting out his potential competitors. Master Makarov stepped forward, the guild fell to silence,

"In accordance with Fairy Tail's oldest traditions, from here on out, I will announce the S-class mage advancement examinees!" screams and shouts of glee and excitement filled the guild, "This year's testing ground is Tenrou Island; it's our guilds holy ground!" sounds of awe filled the guild, "Your powers, hearts, spirits; I've been observing them for the past year" Makarov continued as the hall quieted down, "the eight participants will be…. Natsu Dragneel"

"Alright!" Natsu called out,

"Gray Fullbuster"

"Finally this day has come" he responded with big grin,

"Juvia Loxar"

"eh? Juvia?" surprised by the masters nomination, Juvia looked towards her beloved Gray with worried eyes,

"Elfman"

"Those that are men become S-Class!" he shouted out, a big smile plastered on his face,

"Cana Alberona" the girl remained silent looking depressed upon hearing her nomination,

"Fried Justine"

"The one who will succeed Laxus will be…" he trailed of but a look of confidence overwhelmed his facial features,

"Levy Macgarden"

"I finally made it" she whispered to herself, proud of herself to be able to be nominated for such an important event,

"And Mest Glider" while the man remained silent, whispers and calls echoed at the mention of his name,

"This year there will only be one winner" Makarov said as the crowed quieted once more, "the exam will be in one week. Everyone, be in the best condition that you can be in". All the contestants looked at each other smiling and smirking at one another, "since there are newcomers, I will explain the rules. The chosen eight will choose a partner within the week of preparation" Erza stepped forward next to the Master,

"there are two rules in choosing a partner. One is that they must be a Fairy Tail member; and the second is that they cannot be an S-Class mage" she finished off.

"Yes, and the selected eight and their partners will meet at the Hargeon harbor in one week's time; that is all" Makarov concluded.

There was one last cheer before everyone was dismissed. Some guild members were disappointed that they weren't nominated while others were excited about this year's nominees, some even making bets at who would become an S-Class mage.
Natsu and Co sat around a table discussing their plans for the exams. Natsu in particular was literally jumping up and down from his seat in excitement; Lisanna was by his side trying to calm him down. Elfman sat by his little sister looking completely dejected; after all looking at the competition as well as the hinted possibility that he would be facing S-Class wizards only made him more and more nervous,

"speaking of which have any of you decided who your partner is going to be?" Lucy asked the group,

"Happy is my partner of course" Natsu replied,

"aye!" was the cats response as he stood next to Natsu,

"eh? What about me Natsu" Natsu whipped his head over to Lisanna who stared at him with a cute pout, "did you forget about me?"

"Lisanna? Well… you see… I…." at lost with words Natsu flung his arms around panicked, face completely red; Lisanna could only giggle at his reaction,

"I'm only kidding" she responded with a laugh, "you are too cute when you panic like that" Natsu looked away embarrassed; everyone could only laugh at his reaction,

"Juvia wants to decline her nomination" the water girl said in a gloomy voice, Wendy who sat beside her looked surprised,

"why?" she asked her, blushing Juvia gazed towards Gray who merely sat looking completely oblivious,

"Juvia wants…" she began mumbling, Lucy merely grinned before moving in closer to Gray,

"she wants to be in your team" she whispered to him, Juvia jumped up and pointed an accusing finger towards Lucy,

"see I knew you were after him!" she called out; Lucy merely sweat dropped, Gray however remained passive,

"sorry but I've already decided on my partner" he announced, seconds later Loki approaches from behind. There were many reactions to his sudden appearance; as many shouted out in cries of surprise, Natsu slipped away and out of the guild; as he walked away his heart began to burn up, clenching his chest it became difficult for him to breath,

"it's almost time" he mumbled to himself, memories flooded his mind, the horrible images of his own kin slaughtering one another, the smell of corpse burning filled his nostrils; suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder he quickly turned around,

"Lisanna" he muttered to himself, he's always wondered if his life would be different if he had never met her, would he have been able to open up to the rest of Fairy Tail? Or would he have continued to live in isolation, a small smile formed on his lips, over he was glad that things are the way they are,

"What's with that smile?" she asked, Natsu turned away and began walking back to his house,

"no reason" he called out giving her his signature grin,

"hey wait!" Lisanna chased after him, "come on, you can tell me" they happily walked along side one another, not a care for the world, only that everything was going to be okay; for now.

On the day of the exam everyone had gathered at the port, the candidates were all excited and determined. Natsu however looked incredibly terrified; he eyed the ship that would take them to their destination and just by imagining the movements made him sick to the stomach. He watched as everyone began boarding, he looked back at the remaining guild members and spotted Romeo giving him a look of pity. Taking a deep breath he stepped onto the boat and prepared for the worst, and to his surprise it was alright; he didn't feel sick at all. Smiling and shouting out in victory he ran around the deck to take in the strong breeze of air, everything was alright. Then the ship set sail and Natsu immediately collapsed to the ground in agony. Happy stood next to his body and began poking him with a stick,

"you alright Natsu?" the cat asked, he was responded with nothing but the sounds of groaning, Lisanna and Lucy approached them,

"looks like he needs to rest for the trip, otherwise he's going to be lagging behind the rest of us" Lisanna responded while poking Natsu's cheek,

"how long has he had motion sickness?" Lucy asked, Lisanna looked up and pondered,

"for as long as I've known him he's been like this" Lucy looked back,

"you sure it's just Natsu?" Lisanna peaked behind her and saw the other two dragon slayers collapsed under the influence of the moving boat; Lucy was surprised, this was the first time she has seen Wendy like this, Carla was standing by her fanning her with cool air. Gajeel leaned over the railing with Levy grabbing onto his shirt so he wouldn't fall overboard.

The rest of the group sat peacefully under the sun, taking this opportunity to relax, some were making plans on how they should tackle the exam; others were comparing their abilities and discussing tactics.

Hours have passed and the ship was approaching its destination. The island was in sight, it gave of a magnificent aura that captivated everyone onboard. The ship stopped, and almost immediately the three Dragon Slayers jumped up, standing tall and strong,

"Alright!" Natsu called out, "let's do this", Makarov stood up swinging a fan across his face,

"listen up, before we begin, I will explain to you the details of the first exam" he shouted out, everyone gathered around him paying close attention to his words,

"you see smoke rising from that beach right?" he said pointing out towards the island, everyone turned to search for where what the Master was speaking of, and there it was a trail of smoke coming from the distance, "first head in that direction, there are eight paths, only one group can enter each path" a board appeared behind the Master, "and here is what waits for you behind each path" a map of eight paths branching off, appeared on the board, many questions were being asked as they saw the contents,

"Only the teams that clear this will be able to progress to the next exam" Makarov explained, "in the battle routes two teams will meet up and only the winning team will be able to proceed; the Hard battle routes you will have to defeat a S-rank mage in order to proceed. And the quiet route is where you can proceed without having to fight anyone" looking back down at the teams Makarov gave them all a stern look, "the goal in the first part of the exam is power and luck!" everyone was surprised by the declaration, especially considering the fact that they may have to encounter Erza or Gildarts.

"Now, Let's Begin! Let the Exam start!" Almost immediately, Gray and Loke jumped into action ready to jump over the ledge of the ship, but only to come into impact of an invisible barrier,

"What!" Gray shouted, everyone stood surprised as they looked up at Fried and Bixlow flying towards the island at high speeds,

"Don't worry the runes will disappear after five minutes" Fried shouted out, however to everyone's surprise Natsu and Happy were flying side by side with the Rune Master.

"too bad you weren't fast enough" Natsu said with wide grin, "we'll meet you guys on the island!" he called out to them before speeding off.

The two landed safely on the beach, Natsu felt a strong magical energy lingering in the air, one all too familiar, he smiled inwardly,

"it has been a long time hasn't it" he said quietly to himself, and there it was, a light tremor in the air echoed around him, responding to his words. Natsu's smile grew wider,

"then I hope we can meet soon" he looked up at the eight paths opened out for them, A to H; Natsu's grin widened with mischief and pointed at one specific path,

"That one Happy" he exclaimed to his partner, "E! that one must be E for Erza"

"why would you want to face Erza!" Happy shouted in horror,

"because I want to beat her of course" Natsu responded as if he was pointing out the obvious, he started running towards the cave,

"Wait for me Erza!" he shouted as he charged in, the entrance behind him sealing off. Unknowing to Natsu that history would soon repeat itself.