A/N: Yo! Wasup Fanfic readers?!

Kjblau here with another exciting Fairy Tail Fanfiction story for you all to enjoy!

Story founder: Percy Zoe and Artemis fan

Detailing: Kjblau

Now, before you all flood me with questions, this author came to me and asked if I could give their idea a shot for a fanfiction. Thinking back, when I started with 'A Slayer's Pride', it was just a small idea that I thought up and decided to form it into a small story. To be frank, I didn't expect it to get so big, but right now, it is gradually and surely rising in popularity and praised as one of the top NaZa fics, (though I haven't even incorporated the romance yet, but I will, very soon).

Also, before some of you start flaming me, yes, I have been keeping up with the magna, and yes, I have read chapter 436. But this is Fanfiction, people come up with crazy, and/or fantastic ideas all the time that really don't seem to match up with canon at all, and hey, that's why we love Fanfiction.

Anyway, I urge you guys to review, fav, and/or follow. If you have any questions or pointers, feel free to message me, or Percy Zoe and Artemis fan. I will always do my best to respond as soon as I can.

Now let's get fired up!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Fairy Tail… It all belongs to Mashima. The plot, however, belongs to Percy Zoe and Artemis Fan as well as any OCs that are included. Explicit permission for any use of OC or non-canon magic, moves, etc. are to be permitted by Percy Zoe and Artemis Fan.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"SPELLS!"

"Colossal speech"

The Will of Brothers

Chapter 1: Hey Bro!

July 2nd, X777

"AGAIN, NATSU!"

Roared the gigantic dragon, Igneel. He stood dominantly with his body covered in dark, red scales. His lower body consisted of a beige color that spread over his belly, the inner portions of his long tail, and legs. He also had noticeable scars on his stomach and neck, the largest, being X-shaped, was located around the center of his body. Numerous black spikes littered his back and reached down to the end of his tail. His triangular head consisted of horns, round eyes with yellow sclera, and a sharp horn pointing upwards just above his nose. Igneel also sports very sharp canine teeth, and has claws with long, sharp, red nails. Igneel's large bony wings resemble a bat's, with rippled tips.

In a large clearing he stood as he looked down and watched his pupil's progress.

"FIRE DRAGON'S…. ROAR!"

Said pupil was a short, pink-haired boy. His attire consisted of a crimson red shirt and beige-colored shorts, topped off by a scale-patterned scarf wrapped around his neck.

After being commanded, Natsu had exhaled a large stream of flames that shot for an idle rock that was just a few feet away. Upon impact, the rock was engulfed by the flames and slowly, but surely, broke away under the pressure of the fire. It then dispersed apart into small charred fragments of rock and flew off in multiple directions.

Igneel took a moment to study the result of Natsu's attack. With what seemed of a softening of expression from the large dragon, he turned his attention back to the small Dragonslayer.

"That will suffice for today, Natsu. Well done."

Natsu, who had been panting after a long training session with his father, flashed a weary grin at the sound of praise.

"Hehe…. It was… Nothin'…" He stated in between deep breaths.

With a deep chuckle, the hulking dragon took a step forward. Lowering his head, he became level to the exhausted boy he had raised.

"Really?" he asked. It took Natsu a moment as he was catching his breath, but he looked the dragon straight in the eye, flashed him a smirk, and nodded. "Then tomorrow, we shall increase the strain on your training by double. Now, how does that sound?"

Natsu's eyes then lit up with a slight glint as he grinned widely. With a large inhale he stood straight, hefted his chest up and bumped his fist against it. "Yosh! That's what I'm talking about! I'm all fired up now!" He exclaimed as most of his fatigue seemed to wash away and was now replaced with excitement. Then with the lighting of his fists, he smirked smugly at Igneel. "In fact, why wait? Let's go right now!"

Another chuckle escaped the fire dragon's throat. "Calm yourself, Natsu. You will need all your strength in order to train." Igneel turned so he was facing away from Natsu until he leaned his head to the side so one of his eyes was looking at the young Dragonslayer. "Now, come. It is time to rest." And with that, the large dragon made his way out of the clearing and into the woods.

Natsu, who had worked himself up for another round of intense training, dropped his shoulders in defeat. "But I'm not even tired…" The slayer lied in a disappointed tone. But he relented as he knew his foster father would always stand by his own decisions. With a dash, Natsu ran to catch up to Igneel.

When he managed to reach his father, he was still trekking to their destination. As he ran, Natsu came up to under the dragon's large, swinging tail. With a heft, Natsu jumped and grabbed around to grapple onto the tail. Using what strength he had left, Natsu did his best to maneuver on Igneel's large body, making his way to top of the dragon's head. Once there, he let out a yawn and collapsed.

"What have I told you about lying, Natsu?" Igneel scolded as he continued to trod through the foliage.

Natsu ruffled his head back in forth while it sat on Igneel's scaly head, "But I'm… *yawn*… fine…" was all he could get out before his eyes slammed shut on him and his breathing steadied as he drifted off into slumber.

Igneel let out a disgruntled growl as he continued through the forest with a sleeping Natsu on his head. After a short while, the dragon emerged in another clearing in the forest. Making his way to the middle, he dropped down onto his belly. With a turn of his head, he, carefully, slid the snoozing Natsu on the ground. As soon as he did, it seemed Natsu was upset at this, as he wiggled around trying to find the warmth of his dragon parent. Finally getting a pat on his scales, the small pink-haired boy quickly snuggled up against Igneel's belly.

Amused by the scene, Igneel wrapped his tail around in front of his body and laid his head to a rest next to Natsu. He was about to shut his large eyes until he was called upon.

"Igneel…" He could hear the small Dragonslayer speak out. He turned his gaze to Natsu, only to spot him with his eyes shut and cradled up against his belly.

"Yes, Natsu?"

"When do I get to see him?"

Igneel seemed to be surprised by the sudden question as his eyes shot open. But he quickly collect himself and let out a small grunt.

"Soon, Natsu… Soon…"

Natsu seemed to accept the answer given to him as a smile spread on his face and he snuggled back into his previous position and finally succumbed to sleep.

Igneel, however, let out another grunt as he went into thought. 'It is coming very soon to that time.' His gaze then shifted to the peacefully, sleeping Natsu. His expression softened a bit. 'I'm sorry I won't be there, Natsu. But, at best… you will not be alone.' His eyes then strayed to the sky.

'Hyozanryu… your boy better be ready. I know mine is.'

*MEANWHILE*

"DO NOT STOP!"

Farther north, in a large region of mountains, there lie a cavern. Inside said cave, there could be found diamonds, scattered all over, whether on the ground or spread across the walls, calmly sitting in their individual deposits. The room shook to the response of a deep and powerful voice echoing throughout.

Laying idle in the middle of the cavern, was the mighty dragon, Hyozanryu. Though as large as the great Igneel, this reptile's appearance was completely and utterly different. The scales that littered most of his body were blue and smooth-like. The nails on the dragon's claws were sharp, but they seemed to be crystalline as well. Just above each of his legs, large diamonds protruded out. Jagged spikes of diamond ran up along his back and continued down to the end of his tail, where a large jagged mace-like diamond rested. His head was rectangular-shaped with round crystalline horns slightly spiraled around his face. His wings were completely slick, with no rips or tears on them, whereas the joints consisted of jagged diamonds.

The large beast leered down at the other end of the cavern, intently watching a certain student of his.

"DIAMOND DRAGON'S SPIKING FIST!"

Said student was busy attacking the idle deposits of diamonds across the room. He was around five feet tall, with short dark pink. His green eyes were wide open as he flew himself at his targets. His skin, however, could not be seen, as it was encased in what looked like crystalline scales. His attire consisted a grey pants topped with a ragged, red, cut-off t-shirt. His hands were wrapped up in greenish-black gloves.

After roaring out his spell, the boy's fist and forearm were both encased by jagged diamonds. With a dash, he thrust his arm at the diamond casings ahead of him. Upon impact, the deposits shattered, and chunks of diamond flew in all directions.

"YOU'RE NOT FINISHED! KEEP GOING, BOY!" The dragon demanded of him.

As soon as the powerful beast finished, the boy grabbed a chunk of diamond out of the air. "Sure thing." He stated before bringing the crystalline material up to his mouth. With a large chomp, he scarfed the diamond down. After ingesting the mineral, the boy seemed to spike up with energy as he looked up with renewed vigor.

Reaching down to his side, the boy's hand wrapped around the handle of something strapped to his hip. Crouching down, his eyes narrowed as he fixated on new targets for his onslaught. With a dash and a heft of his arm, the boy unsheathed a slightly jagged katana from its scabbard. Rushing on, he slashed at all the deposits that he passed by, sending diamonds into the air. After cutting past all the deposits, he planted his foot to stop himself. Turning, he began to build up magic in his katana.

"DIAMOND DRAGON'S LANCE!"

After shouting out his spell, he swung his blade across horizontally, sending out a white wave of crystalline shards. Coming into contact with the large chunks, the diamonds instantly broke apart and blew into the gust caused by the wave. Said wave continued flying through the cavern until it impacted on a farther wall. Upon impact, it shook the entire room, causing some diamonds to shake loose and falling.

Upon witnessing that display of strength, the large dragon let out a grunt.

"That is enough for today, Silas."

Silas turned to face his foster father with a stern face. "But I'm not spent. We can keep going."

The dragon, however, shook his head in disagreement. "No. You have done enough training for now. You cannot solely rely on the energy renewal from the diamonds. It was rare enough to find a cavern such as this. In your future travels, the mineral will be difficult to come by on its own."

Silas did not seem to like this answer as he shrewdly turned his back to the dragon. "Whatever, Hyo." He was about to take a step, until something his father said caught his attention. Turning, he looked up at the dragon with a concerned look. "You mean our future travels, right?" He inquired.

Hyozanryu seemed to be caught off guard by the question as he hesitated a few moments while eyeing Silas. With a grunt he answered. "Of course, forgive my phrasing."

Silas, however, was hesitant as well as he felt indifference of the answer he was given. But he decided to just let it go. "It's alright. I was just confused for a second." He stated as he rubbed the back of his head with a grin. Walking over, Silas slumped down by Hyozanryu's large belly. Leaning back, he tried to make himself comfortable by unclipping his katana from his hip and setting it to the side.

But before he decided to sleep he turned his attention to his father. "Hey, Hyo?"

The dragon brought his gaze down to his adopted son. "What is it, boy?"

"You said I'll be able to see him soon… But how long will that be?"

Hyozanryu let out small exasperated growl. "I can't say when, Silas. But, I do know that you two will reunite quite soon." He finished by laying his head down near where Silas was lying, so he was looking him in the eye.

After hearing this, Silas let out a deep exhale before smirking a bit. "I can never get a straight answer out of you, huh?"

Hyozanryu chuckled a bit. "Patience is always rewarded, Silas. Remember that."

Silas just lightly waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. Being patient will always pay off." Placing his hands behind his head, he finally, completely, leaned back on Hyozanryu's belly. "Well, I guess I'm just getting a bit excited to see him." With that, he shut his eyes and let out another sigh. "Night, Hyo."

The dragon's expression seemed to soften a bit.

"Sleep well, Silas."

Hyozanryu then shifted his gaze to be looking at the entrance of the cavern.

'Igneel… It is nearing time. They need to be ready.'

July 7th, X777

Natsu's eyes started to slowly open as he awoke. With a yawn, he stretched one arm while using the other to rub his eyes.

"Hmm, mornin' Igneel." He muttered as he reached out his arm to pat his father's large belly. But instead, his palm fell down onto the large grass. Natsu's eye shot open as he grasped the grass. Taking a look around, all his sight was visited with was the trees and grass surrounding the clearing he laid in.

"Igneel?" he asked out. He stood up on his feet. "Igneel!" he shouted out to the sky with his hands cupping around his mouth to emphasize the sound of his voice. But once again he was left with nothing but the response of the wind brushing by his ears. "Igneel!" he tried shouting out at the top of his lungs, with no response in return.

'Where is he?' he asked himself internally. He was beginning to panic. Then an idea formed in his head that brought a grin to his face. 'Oh, we got to be playing hide and seek.' He thought to himself before his expression turned quizzical. 'Huh, that's weird, Igneel never really plays. But, it looks like he wants to be fun. First time for everything.' He finished with a large grin.

With a burst, he started to sprint toward the nearest tree. Crawling up it he mounted on a branch. As he balanced himself out on the branch, he faced a small hole in the hollow part of the tree. He then grew a wicked grin before his expression turned into fake cluelessness. "Oh, it looks like I can't find Igneel anywhere…" he trailed off as a sly grin reappeared on his face. With a thrust, he stuck his head in the hole. "Got'cha!"

But he then he quickly retracted it, screaming as he was being assaulted by two small squirrels. They scratched and cut at his face angrily as he had invaded their home. Natsu screamed and flailed his arms around as he was being assaulted by the tiny fuzz balls from Hell.

In loss of control, Natsu summoned up his fire that covered up his limbs which continued to be thrown around. With a burst of flames from his mouth, he was pushed backwards off of the branch. Falling down he hit the ground on his back. As soon as he did the squirrels flew off and ran off in different directions.

With a groan Natsu sat up, only to be met with a flame engulfed tree. He then started to panic once again. "No, no, no, no! How do I stop it?! I can't eat my own fire!" he shouted to himself as he scrambled back and forth around the burning tree. Then, to his horror, a branch from another tree caught on fire. Without thinking, Natsu pounced on the other tree and quickly ripped off the branch. As the fire continued to spread, Natsu started to beat the burning limb against the ground. Within a few seconds of savagely bludgeoning the poor piece of wood against the ground, the flames died down. Natsu's face lit up with a triumphant grin.

But when he turned his head, his eyes widened immensely and whitened out, as well as his jaw dropping ajar. Unbeknownst to him, while he was wildly messing with one stick, the source of said stick was caught entirely in flames and was spreading to the other trees around it.

"GAAHH! Oh, come on!" he shouted out. A moment later he grabbed his hair and then started to rub it around vigorously. "Come on, Natsu! Think!" he shouted as his mind was running rampant on ideas that were either impossible, or just downright crazy. After a few seconds, he popped up his head with a confident grin and a prop of his figure in resolution.

"I've got it!"

Just after he finished, a large wave of white passed right in front of him and engulfed the burning trees. As the wave went by, each tree was extinguished of its flames. But what really caught Natsu's eyes was what was left on the blackened, crisped branches. Dazzling, clear diamonds sat on the limbs. This confused the Dragonslayer. "…What the…?"

"Shiny, aren't they?"

Natsu turned to be met by the sight of young man who was slightly taller than him with short pink hair, green eyes, and a sheathed katana strapped to his side. He continued to walk toward him with, what looked like, a saddened smirk on his face. He stopped and gave Natsu a small stare, as the latter watched him, confusingly.

"You're a lot more… spontaneous, than I thought you would be." He told Natsu.

Natsu just continued to stare off at him dully. "Uhh…"

The boy proceeded to roll his eyes. "It means you're nutty."

Natsu's eyes lit up in realization, "Oh…" but then his eyes narrowed. "Hey!"

"Calm down." The boy told him nonchalantly.

"Make me!" the Dragonslayer shouted as he lit his hand up in flames and clenched it. He lunged at the boy before pulling back his fist.

"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON F—!" He was interrupted, as right before his fist made contact with the boy's cheek, he felt something bluntly strike him in the gut. Next thing he knew, he was sent flying back, then hit one of the trees he a started aflame. After he did, the diamonds that sat on the branches shook and fell. Some of them went tumbling onto the young Dragonslayer's head. He then grabbed the top of his head and rubbed it gingerly.

"Oww…"

"I told you to calm down." Natsu then looked up. He saw the boy standing idly as he was, but he was retracting his right arm back to his side. Natsu's eyes widened as he saw white-colored scales fading away into the boy's skin.

"Whoa…" was all Natsu could say. "Were those…?"

"Dragon scales…" the boy said before flashing a prideful smirk. "Yeah."

"Are you…?"

"A Dragon slayer…" he replied as he walked to Natsu and crouched down in front of him while continuing to smirk. "Yeah."

The cogs in Natsu's head then started to really turn. "Does that make you…?"

"Your brother?" the boy asked as he raised his eyebrow to which Natsu nodded. The boy then shrugged. "From what I've seen… that's debatable."

Natsu's expression once again returned to confused. The boy's eyes took another roll in their sockets, before he stood up straight.

"Yes, numbskull." He told him exasperatedly.

After finally getting a register of the boy's words. Natsu grin grew to drastic sizes at that moment. Before the older Dragonslayer knew it, he was shot in the gut from the quickness of Natsu wrapping around him in a hug. He looked down to see a mop of pink-hair before Natsu looked up at him with a large grin and tears breaking through his shut eyes.

"Really?! You're really him?" he asked.

The boy sighed, then chuckled a bit as he looked fondly down into Natsu's while patting his head.

"Yep. How've you been little bro?"

Natsu then started to laugh madly as he tightened his grip around his brother's waist. Then the next moment, he broke up from the hug and stared admirably up at the older Dragonslayer.

"So, uhh… What's your name?" he asked excitedly.

The boy let out a stifled a small chuckled from his brother's sudden change of subject. "Silas."

Natsu's eyes lit up. "Silas… that names so cool!" he shouted. "My names Natsu!"

Silas chuckled. "I kn-!" he started, but was interrupted as he felt Natsu snooping around his person.

"Hey! What are you-?"

"So who was your dragon?"

"Hyozanryu. What are-?"

"What this?"

"That's my kata—hey!"

"What kind of Dragonslayer are you?"

"Diamond—Whoa, stop!"

"What's up with your-!"

Natsu was stopped by his brother firmly grasping his hair and pulling him up.

"Owowow! That hurts!" he shouted out. He then felt something cold press against his throat. Looking down, his eyes widened as he saw the tip of a katana setting mere centimeters from his throat. He looked up, only to wish he didn't. Staring straight at his brother's face, he was met with a deadly glaring Silas with his face partly darkened and his expression very cold.

"Natsu…"

The fire Dragonslayer gulped, which let his adam's apple graze the tip of Silas' katana. "Y-yeah…"

"You need…" Silas' katana then glowed before revealing itself in clear diamond. "To calm down…" he said as he gradually brought the blade closer to his brother's neck. "Are we clear?"

Natsu was dropping pools of sweat at this point. "C-crystal."

As soon as he finished he fell to the ground panting lightly. "Not quite." Natsu looked up to see Silas sheathe his sword. "But, I'll take it."

Natsu stood up and grabbed his throat. "What the hell was that for?!" he demanded angrily.

"Oh, get over it." Silas told him, before shooting him a scowl. "Or, do you want to repeat it."

Natsu then panicked before unrelentingly waving his hands in front of him. "No, no, no, no! We're good!" he exclaimed before scratching the back of his head while laughing nervously. Then he moved his arm down, only to grasp air. His eyes widened, before he looked down and both of his hands grabbed around his neck rapidly.

"Looking for this." Natsu looked up to his brother to see that he was holding onto his scarf while studying it.

Natsu quickly turned from surprise to panic. "Hey! Give that back!" He shouted as he ran at Silas. With a pounce, he went for his scarf, only for it to be yanked above him as he flew by.

"Ole," Silas uttered as he waved the scarf around while Natsu landed face first in the dirt. The latter threw himself up in a fit.

"Give it back! Igneel gave that to me!" Natsu exclaimed in desperation.

Silas rose an eyebrow as he examined the material in his hands. "Igneel?" he questioned. But as soon as he finished, the scarf disappeared in a pink blur.

"Mine!" Silas heard as he turned to face his brother possessively gripping the gift that his late foster father gave him. The younger Dragonslayer then turned to him with a deadly glare. Silas rose his hands in defeat.

"Ook, it's all yours." He said sarcastically, before folding his arms. "So, Igneel… That your dad?"

Natsu, finishing wrapping his scarf around his neck, turned his sight to his brother. "Yeah, he has taken care of me for as long as I can think." He answered before looking to the sky. "He should be getting back at some time now…"

After hearing this, Silas' eyes widened a bit. 'He… doesn't know yet?' His hair then shadowed over his eyes.

"Natsu…"

"It'll be awesome when you meet him! Igneel's the greatest!"

"…Natsu…"

"I mean, he can be a little mean sometimes… But he always means good!"

Natsu then continued to laugh impishly with a large grin on his face. Silas, however, remained quite as he started to walk toward his brother. Natsu stopped laughing as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he was met with the saddened expression that belonged to his brother. His grin slowly turned to a frown.

"What's wrong, Silas?" he asked.

"Natsu… I need to tell you something."

Natsu rose an eyebrow at this. He then slightly leaned to the right to look past the older Dragonslayer.

"Wait… where's your dragon dad?"

"Natsu, you need to listen." This time, he rested both his hands on his brother's shoulders as well as crouching so he was eye level with him.

"What?" Natsu was now wearing an expression of complete confusion as he and Silas locked eyes.

After a few seconds, the diamond Dragonslayer let out a deep exhale before staring deeply into his brother's eyes.

"Natsu… has Igneel ever been gone like this? I mean, for some time? Without letting you know?"

Natsu took a moment, as he registered Silas' words. Bringing his hand to his chin, he went into thought. After a minute or so he looked back to Silas, who was looking down at him, with the same saddened face.

"No… This is actually the longest he's been gone…" Natsu stated glumly. He then brought up a nervous smile. "B-but he'll be back soon, I know it!"

"…Natsu, I don't…" Silas trailed off as he came up at a loss for words. He had finally met his brother, finally gotten to see what he was like, finally able to know he wasn't alone beside his father, Hyozanryu. But, now he realized that meeting him had come at a price, not only for him, but also for the family he had been so anxious to find. "… I don't think… he's coming back."

Natsu's tumbling expression, finally faltered after hearing this. "W-what?" he started to panic more internally. "W-why would you say that?" His panic quickly formed into slight rage. "Of course he'll be back! He would never leave me! Igneel would never do that!" he exclaimed as he stomped his foot in rage while gripping onto one of his brother's wrists tightly. He glared at Silas, whose hair was covering his eyes, as he continued his rant. "What do you know?!"

"I know!" Silas shot his head. And when he did, Natsu's eyes widened in shock. Silas's face consisted of a clenched jaw, soaked eyes, and wet tears were threating to break through. "I know, because when I woke this morning my father was gone! Disappeared! Vanished! Wasn't there anymore!" Natsu's eyes stayed wide as he watched his brother shout out the reason for his sadness. "I looked and looked, but he was still gone! I couldn't find him!" Silas' tear stricken eyes bore deep into Natsu's as he finished. His grip around the younger's shoulders tightened as well.

Natsu was near the breaking point. Tears threatened to rush down past his cheeks. His teeth were smashed together in a hard grit. His throat was doing its best to hold back his croaks. His thoughts were all dead set on one thing.

With a jerk, he threw Silas's hands from his shoulders. In less than a second, he was turned the other way and almost burst into a sprint. But he could only get a few strides before he felt a strong tug. He pulled and jerked to no avail.

"Let me go! Let me go!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "I have to find him! I have to find Igneel!" He screeched as he kicked and squirmed trying to break the gasp he was in. Tears had broken through and were now making their way down his face in a frenzy. In between pants, were sharp and short cries from his throat as he wept.

"Natsu…" Silas softly spoke out, despite dealing with the hostile behavior his brother was dishing out. Though he was calm on the outside, his insides were burning. Searing with the horrible pain of having to see Natsu the way he was. "He's… gone."

"No! NO! He's somewhere out there! He just needs me to find him!" he croaked as he continued to fight against his brother's pull. But after a few seconds of constant jerking, his knees finally gave in. Falling on them, he sucked cries as his face pointed to the ground. "Why…" he muttered lightly. Then his head shot up to the sky, with his eyes wide and grief spread all over his face. "Why Igneel?! Why did you go away?!" And with that he gave one last pull, only to fall on all fours as Silas had finally let go. After landing, he finally let it all out. His cries loud and erratic, his tears endlessly falling from his face.

Silas sat and looked the other way. He understood his brother's pain, and he knew, that though it was cruel, he had to force his brother in the realization. It was something, he knew, he would most likely never forgive himself for.

Taking to his feet, Silas walked over to his brother. Once he was by him, he crouched down, only for Natsu to quickly latch onto him. Silas was not surprised by this as he looked down to see the younger Dragonslayer continuing to cry as he hugged his brother.

Silas then brought his arms up to return the hug. With one arm he wrapped Natsu, and with the other he ruffled the young boy's hair in a soothing manner. Bringing his mouth down to Natsu's ear, he spoke softly to him.

"It's alright…" he whispered. "He may be gone now… But you know what? That just means we have to go out and find him…" All of a sudden, Natsu's cries had come to a halt. Letting up on his hold, Silas leaned back a bit. After doing so, his eyes met with Natsu's wide and water stricken ones. Silas stared deeply, as he tried to get through to his young sibling. "…together."

And with that Silas let go of Natsu. Bringing himself to his feet, he continued to lock his brother's gaze with his own. Flashing a smirk, he extended a hand down, offering Natsu some help.

Natsu waited a moment, before accepting his brother's hand and having himself pulled up to his feet. Looking up to Silas, he questioned. "Really?"

Continuing to smirk, Silas placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder. "Of course. We are brothers, after all." He finished with a chuckle.

Natsu took a second to register, before breaking into a maddening grin that forced his eyes shut. He felt relieved, he felt happy, and he felt completely overjoyed. Despite dealing with the news he was given, what he was just told, seemed to dwarf that as it shown on his face.

"Aye, we are!" he exclaimed while jumping in the air excitedly. With a quick shift of his body, he turned to be facing the foliage beyond the clearing. "What are we waiting for then?! Let's get going!" And with that, Natsu sprinted off into the woods.

Silas' sweat dropped as he watched his brother dramatically change attitudes. He expected Natsu to take a little longer to get cheered up. But he had to admit, neither of them were normal.

"Whoa! Wait up!" he shouted out ahead, as he started to run after the now jittery Natsu. As he ran past a few trees, he saw that the pink-haired boy had stopped a little farther ahead and was waving to him.

"C'mon, Silas! Try to keep up!"

Silas smiled as he went into thought while running.

'Natsu… I promise, if finding Igneel makes you happy, then we'll turn Earthland inside and out searching. I'll do whatever it takes so you don't have to be sad again.'

A/N: Oh… My… God… I finally finished. Well… go me.

Anyway, I completely owe every single one of you an apology, especially Percy Zoe and Artemis Fan. I took WWAAAAAAAAAYYY too long to write this up. But I was going through the most dreaded thing and author can go through…

WRITER'S BLOCK! DUH, DUH, DUUUHHH!

No, but seriously, it was bad. I couldn't even think up a single scene to write for weeks. It was like my creativity had suddenly switched off. And, not only that, but my damn computer had to make a bunch of ridiculous restarts, which kept putting me back. Then recently we had friggin Windows 10 come out, so that was fun getting that updated for God knows how many hours. But that's no excuse for you great and wonderful people. The one thing that leaves me with the most remorse, is when I've felt I've left someone down. So I completely and utterly apologize for my laziness.

Now, my partner (the founder of this wonderful plot) wants this to be a legitimate. If you're curious about the romance, don't ask me. I just write up whatever Percy zoe and artemis fan thinks is best.

So here is the list on the harem:

Natsu x -

Lisanna

Mirajane

Erza

Ultear

Sorano (Angel)

Cana

Yukino

Kagura

Minerva (?)

Sayla (or Seliah, whatever you prefer)

Silas x -

Edo Mirajane

Meredy (older)

Gray x -

Juvia

Lucy

Those are the pairing he wants to strive for in this story. Any questions about it, go ahead and PM 'Percy zoe and artemis fan'

And, to all you 'A Slayer's Pride' fans, I'm still doing my best to make this next chapter extremely juicy, as a lot of things had happened in the last, and we need to make some leeway for the Phantom Lord arc that's coming up very shortly.

Finally, I urge you guys to review, fav, and/or follow. If you have any questions or pointers, feel free to message me, or Percy Zoe and Artemis fan. I will always do my best to respond as soon as I can.

And with that, I AM OUTTA HERE!

Next time on 'The Will of Brothers – Chapter 2: A Place to Call Home!