The last memory Igneel had was he and the other dragons sealing themselves into their children, and awaiting for Zeref and Anna to send them to the future. The moment he regained consciousness, he expected to find himself in a volcanic region filled with large enough caves to sleep him, as the inner world he designed for the Soul Seal would be. Instead, he found himself lying in a forest floor surrounded by trees, not too dissimilar to the one he and Natsu lived in,

'What's going on?' he thought. But that was when the Salamander realized something was terribly wrong. The trees, which normally only reached up to his shoulders, now towered over him like mountains.

Igneel pushed himself off of his back, only to notice that balance was a lot easier. Especially when he realized he couldn't feel his tail. He looked around before facing down, only to gasp as he realized that instead of sharp talons, he found fleshy, soft feet.

"No, no, no…" he muttered as he examined himself, finding only pink skin where red scales used to be. He realized the reason that he couldn't feel his tail was because he didn't have one. Igneel rushed to a nearby lake and hoped that if his theory was true, he would see the reflection of a red-haired man.

Of course, his only response was seeing the pink-hair, white scarf, and black eyes that belonged to his son.

"I'm Natsu now?!"

If there was any silver lining, it was that the Eclipse project worked. At the first village Igneel visit, he learned that the date was July 7th, X777.

Which only brought more questions. Where were Anna and Zeref, who were supposed to watch the kids while the dragons regain their strength? Where were the other dragon slayers? Did the same thing happen to the other dragons?

(He did not want to be the only one to mess up the sealing ceremony).

And where was Natsu in all this? Was he now trapped in the inner world Igneel created? Sure, now that he was most likely a dragon now he wouldn't be harmed by the lava. But isolation was ten times more painful than any real-world danger.

Igneel grimaced. When designed, the seal prevented communication between himself and Natsu, to keep his son from revealing both of them to Acnologia. But at least if things went as planned, Natsu would have hopefully found other humans to bond with. Now, Natsu would spend years alone in the body of a dragon, not knowing where was his father or why was he left in a desolate place with no way out.

'Or maybe not,' Igneel thought as he walked down an alleyway. All he had to do was reactivate the seal and reverse the effect, putting both of them in their proper bodies. But that plan was quickly shot down when he realized how impossible it was in his current situation. Sure, Igneel was a centuries-old dragon. But that meant nothing in a body just barely a decade old.

"Well, well," Igneel turned around and saw three bandits behind him. It was a bit amusing that society, whether by humans or dragons, did not change. "What's a little boy like you doing on her own?"

Igneel turned around and did his best to mimic the "innocent" smile Natsu made when caught committing a failed prank. "Hi, mister! I'm just trying to find the nearest food shop!"

The lead bandit, a poncho-wearing man with a scar on his right cheek, cackled. "Why don't I help you out with that?"

Hey, like Igneel would fall for that. "Sorry, I was told not to talk to strangers."

"You're talking to us right now!"

"Oh yeah. Well, bye." Igneel turned away from the thugs, but couldn't take a step when he was lifted from the ground by his scarf.

"Are you mocking me, Pinky?"

"Nooo…" Igneel drawled.

"That it's!" The thug threw the dragon-boy to the ground while holding onto his scarf. "You ain't worth the hassle of smuggling," he and his cronies then smirked. "At least this old snotrag might pay us a bargain."

"Don't you dare do that," Igneel seethed as he got onto his fours, yet still radiating an aura of intimidation. "Don't you dare take it from me!"

That scarf was made from all the scales Igneel shed when raising Natsu. He had Anna sow them together into a scarf so that Natsu would always have a reminder of him. And like hell, he would let some punks take it away.

While his subordinates backed away, the lead thug had a wry grin. "What are you two waiting for? Kill the brat!"

"K-kill?" One of them, a fat man wearing a turtleneck T-Shirt (why in the middle of Summer), asked as the two stared at him in shock

"Yeah, you heard me. K-" he couldn't finish as he was knocked out by a flame coated fist.

"Boss!" Both men exclaimed as Igneel retrieved the white scarf. "Damn you!" The turtle-neck pulled out a baseball bat with nails from his side while the other, a bald-head man wearing a tank-top raised his fists. "You're dead-" Both were quickly knocked out by a single, wrinkly fist held by an extended arm, which stretched back to an old man no taller than Natsu.

"That was quite close, wasn't it?" the old man said. He wore a small, round plum hat on his balding head and had a mustache under his nose. "It's alright," he raised his hands in peace. "I'm not here to hurt you. Why don't we turn these men in and get something to eat."

Igneel took notice of two things about the man. The first was the amount of magic present in him, greater than most humans from his era. And the second was the sincerity of the man's word.

That day, the dragon-turned-boy Igneel and the short old-man Makarov sat at a cafe. Makarov dined on a single sandwich while Igneel was eating five.

(What? He's in the body of a growing boy. He has to make sure Natsu would return to a fit and healthy body.)

"So you're a wizard as well," Makarov said. "What was that magic?"

"Fire Dragon Slayer Magic," Igneel answered.

Makarov raised an eyebrow. "Dragon Slayer Magic, huh? That hasn't been seen in centuries. Which might not be a surprise coming from you."

"What do you mean?"

Makarov gave a cheeky grin. "You might look like a kid, but I doubt you are really any younger than thirty. The manner you carry yourself might seem strange, but it still matches those with years under his belt."

Igneel sighed. "Guess I owe you the truth. My real name is Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons of Ishgar."

And with that, Igneel explained everything. About Natsu, about the Eclipse Project, and about the 400-year plan. He withheld about Zeref, not knowing what Natsu's brother's reputation will be after creating all of his Etheriouses.

The old man's eyes widened. "So all of this to defeat Acnologia."

Igneel nodded. "That's right."

"And in sealing yourself, you unknowingly switched bodies with your child, Natsu." This was certainly was one of the strangest things he heard. He couldn't imagine what his brats would go through if he switched bodies with them.

"Is there anyone you can talk to?"

Igneel placed a finger to his chin. "Well, I know that a member of the Heartfillia clan was meant to open the gates on this side of the world. And I know the Eclipse Gate was being protected by a noble family named Fiore. Either group should know where Anna is."

"That family is not just noble. You're living in the Kingdom of Fiore," Makarov said, surprising Igneel.

"Well, that makes things more interesting. I hope this king can believe me."

"From what I heard he's a good-hearted man that loves wizards. I might be able to get a word to him."

"Thank you," Igneel nodded. "Hopefully with his help, the next step will be finding the other dragon slayers. If I'm lucky, the other sealing cases went well and we don't have 400 plus-year-old dragons using the bodies of children." He then grimaced. "Of course, that'll leave me as the only screw-up."

He could already see it. Metalicana laughing at him for failing with his gruff cackle. Grandine reprimanded him for his failure and putting Natsu in danger. Weisslogia, the oldest of them, looking at him in disappointment like a frustrated grandfather. And Skiadrum, well, he would be indifferent to what happened. But the matter still stands.

"And then what?" Makarov asked. "You still need to prepare your body to use the magic to reverse this mix-up. And you have to wait until your dragon bodies are strong enough to fight Acnologia."

"True, but where can I go?"

"Tell me, Igneel. Did they have guilds four-hundred years ago?"

"Ow!" Gray rubbed his head as he sat on the floor. "What was that for, Erza?!"

"How many times I must tell you?" the red-haired girl reprimanded. "Always keep your clothes on."

"I try, but it just happens."

"Just leave him alone, Erza," Laxus grumbled as he listened to his headphones. "If Fullbuster wants to be an exhibitionist, then let him."

"Oh, screw you Lax- Ow!"

"No swearing," Erza then glared at the older teen. "And at least act more responsible, Laxus."

'Hn."

"Guys!" The three turned and saw Cana running towards them. "Master's back! And he brought some kid with him."

"Really?" Gray asked. "Who?"

The front door to the Guildhall opened, and in came Makarov and a pink-haired boy with a red-shirt, yellow pants, and a white scarf.

"Everyone, I have a new guildmate for us," Makarov announced as he gestured to the boy. "This is Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons."

"...What?!" Every wizard in the building shouted at their master's comment.

Igneel raised a pink-eyebrow at the man. "Didn't you say that would find it hard to believe?"

"I did," Makarov grinned. "But I really wanted to see the look on their faces when I said that.

Yeah, fun, wasn't it? It could go anyway if the same switch-up occurred for the other dragon/dragon slayer pairs.