Rated M.
M is for MATURE people.
If I can pretend to be, then you can too.

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! *sob* However sometimes I wonder if Mashima-sama used to follow me around and take character ideas from me and my friends.
At least let a girl dream!

Prologue
Dog eat Dog

Dear Mom,

It started like any other day. The treaty between Sabertooth and Fairytail was almost complete. You wouldn't believe the stipulations Sting was trying to slip into all that paperwork. I mean honestly! Good thing FairyTail sent their best and brightest here to hash out all the details! Between Levy and I, we were getting it worked out.

At least... that's what we thought anyway. Levy and I had taken a break from Sting's pompous attitude at the Mountainside Coffee shoppe when it all happened. Suddenly nothing we'd been working toward was worth anything when the barista we'd just given our order to returned and tackled me to the ground. Mom, I was so surprised that I was completely dumbstruck! I guess I still have a lot to learn. Natsu or Erza would have never gotten caught off guard like that. If I hadn't had Levy with me, I probably wouldn't be writing to you. Like a true friend, she'd pulled the guy off of me but he kept lunging for me like some crazy beast! His eyes... his eyes were glazed over. I screamed for Levy to let him go and get away.

Long story short—the whole town was like that! At first we started pulling citizens off of one another, but when one of the victims reached for Levy's skirt with those same dead eyes, we realized that victims soon turned into eaters. That's what they were doing... eating each other. Screams of the living didn't last long. I think their bites are venomous or something.

We raced for Sabertooth as fast as we could. Yukina met us outside the walls, tear stricken. She helped us scale the walls to reach safety within the guild. Every single wizard there looked riddled with fear. True, they were definitely scared of what was going on outside to their quiet mountain town, but at the moment—they were equally just as worried that they were leaderless.

Both Sting and Rogue had collapsed into a deep unconsciousness.

Someone's knocking Mom, I'll write to you again soon, don't worry, Levy and I will get through this.

~Lucy H.

o.o;;

Natsu, Gray, and Erza arrived back in Magnolia mid day.

"Oh man! I can't wait to see her!" Natsu grinned, "are you sure she'll like it? She told me to bring her back sumthin ya know."

"Wouldja take that off already? It makes you look like a girl," Gray drawled, "you may not care, but I don't want people to think I hang with some prissy flame—."

Erza cut him off before he could finish, "Lucy will love it, Natsu. I would not have suggested it if I thought she wouldn't."

Whatever fight Natsu was willing to engage Gray in was forgotten with Erza's words. That Icicle wasn't gonna bring him down today! He eyed the bracelet again. It was a simple wooden band that had been painted pink and purple and lacquered to shine. It had all twelve of the zodiac symbols engraved around it, the grooves of which were painted white. "Yea, Lucy's gonna love it."

Erza glanced at Gray and he just rolled his eyes. They continued on their way through Magnolia until Natsu heard a voice of challenge come from the sidewalk. Erza frowned at having to stop again, she wanted to get on her way to Fairyhills so her luggage would be secure.

"So you finally made it back eh, Salamander? Sure took you long enough."

Natsu growled at the iron dragon's greeting, "Ten times faster than you'd manage, Lug nut."

Gajeel marched right up to him and growled in his face, "What'd you call me?"

Returning his gaze with a sharp teethed mischievous grin, Natsu replied, "I called you a lug nut, Lug nut."

Suddenly a scream was heard further toward the guild hall. That scream was quickly echoed by more, and in a span of less than three seconds, those screams turned into wails of terror and pain.

"It's coming from the guild! Gray, Natsu, quickly we must—" The scarlet haired warrior gasped as she turned to face her comrades.

Gajeel and Natsu were out cold.

A flood of panicked citizens poured past their group as the realization that the two dragons were not going to get back up sunk into Erza and Gray.

"What the hell happened?" The ice-make wizard frowned.

"There's no time! Collect Natsu!" Erza lifted Gajeel up onto her shoulders and continued on, carrying the man that was much larger than her and dragging her luggage cart.

Soon, too soon, the wizards saw what had the city of Magnolia in such a tizzy. Terror threatened to consume the two of them as they froze on the scene. The people of Magnolia were... eating each other. The sight, the sounds, the smell, every sense they possessed felt overloaded. The scene even tricked the mind to leave a foul taste in the wizards' mouths. The sight was so gruesome that it tilted the very boundaries of reality.

"What the..." Gray muttered in disgust.

Cold, hard logic filled Erza's resolve. "We must get Gajeel and Natsu to the guild, then we will return to fix this."

Bloody, humanoid creatures with white, dead eyes turned at the sound of their voices. The guild wasn't far... just past a sea of undead Magnolians... not impossible right? "Umm, Erza? What's wrong with them?"

"I don't know," Her eyes narrowed, "but they are clearly the enemy now."

"Sword fighting and maker magic is going to be hard while lugging these two around." Gray frowned.

Erza walked behind her cart and hiked a foot onto the wagon's back, "Then we'll just have to get creative!" She pushed the cart down the street and ran close behind it, "COME ON GRAY!"

He didn't have to be told twice. With a remark on how fat Natsu was, Gray ran after her, the cart clearing the way as the sea of monsters quickly began to close back in. As they ran, the guild doors swung open, allowing the cart to crash into tables and closed behind the two wizards just as quickly as they were let in. Elfman held the doors closed and when banging threatened to push them open again, Max, Jet and Droy also ran up to help hold the door closed.

Mirajane raced up to Gray and Erza, "What happened? Are they okay?"

"We don't know." Gray adjusted the fire wizard he carried hunched over his shoulder. "They just passed out right when Hell started to break loose."

Mirajane frowned and bit her lip. "This can't be a coincidence..."

"What?" Erza frowned.

"Wendy collapsed right before the first screams as well." The platinum haired mage frowned worriedly. "Just, just take them up to the infirmary please? Maybe they'll... come to soon."

"One can only hope," Erza scowled and trailed Gray upstairs to lay the two dragonslayer magic users next to Wendy's sleeping form.

Cana stood upstairs watching outside from the window, "They're not letting up guys, what do we do?"

Lisanna shivered from where she stood behind the bar, "I wish Master were here!"

"Are they dead? Do to fight them?" Jet asked through gritted teeth while bracing against the door.

Erza's return had all eyes look to her. "I do not have any more information than you do. I can tell you though, it appears that no matter what those things are out there, they are most certainly dead." She paused, not wanting to be the one to speak these words, but knew that they must be said. "And we all know... once something is dead," she couldn't help but hesitate again, "they cannot be brought back to life."

It was a cold logic, but hardly disputable.

"We must protect whoever we can, scout out and search for survivors. If there is even one person left alive in this city, We will rescue them!" Her voice was calm as she simply stated the obvious course of action the guild would take.

Her words were met with determined nods and clenched fists. They had their work cut out for them.

o.o;;

Moonlight filled the room as a never ending chorus of moans clogged Natsu's ears. He attempted to lift up when he realized that his wrists were restrained. Panic filled him as he pulled to no avail. He glanced around and froze when he noticed a tiny girl on the bed next to him. She smelled familiar, really familiar.

"Psst!" Natsu stared at her form in the darkness, "Hey! PSSSST!"

She mumbled, and lifted her hand to rub her forehead.

She's not tied up like I am!

"Hey! Hey! Wake up, help me out!" He whispered. Whoever chained him up could be back any minute.

The girl turned her sleepy eyes to him. They began to widen as recognition came to her memory. "...Natsu?"

"Yea! Hey! Get up, get up! Untie me!"

"Huh?" The young girl mumbled, "where are we?"

"Ugh..." A low voice came from the other side of the little girl, "Wouldja keep it down?" A rattling of chains could be heard as the other captive tried to move. No doubt, he was chained to his bed as well. "What the fuck?"

"I'm not sure," Natsu whispered. "Can't be good though, do you hear that?"

Both the other occupants were quite as they listened to the moans coming from outside. As Natsu listened again, he couldn't help but think about burning whatever nuisance was out there to a crisp. As he thought about it, his hands burst into flame with out any further provocation. "Woah!" The entire room lit up as his sheets started to catch flame.

"Damnit Natsu!" Gajeel grunted as he shifted his hands into rods to slip from the cuffs. "Put that out!" He yell/whispered as he sat up.

Oh yea. I'm a fire dragon. ...I knew that.

Natsu's bed splintered and fell and he quickly fished the long cast iron cuffs out of the wreckage. He recognition filled his mind as he glanced at his two fellow prisoners. Gajeel and Wendy.

They're both use dragonslayer magic like me.

"Guys! Whoever chained us up are bound to have heard that." His eyes were wide. "We gotta go."

Gajeel nodded in agreement. "I don't know where we are, but I know you, gah, I think... I'm with you."

They both turned to Wendy, who looked very nervous. "I don't understand! What's going on! Everything smells so weird!"

A head of smiling teeth and pink hair lowered to Wendy's level. "I'm not sure, but we'll figure it out together." He held his hand out to the younger dragon girl, "for now—we gotta go. I don't wanna stick around and find out whoever was twisted enough to chain us to those beds."

As Wendy hesitantly took Natsu's hand, Gajeel slipped the iron handcuffs that had held him out from around the bottom of his bed and bit into it.

Natsu slung Wendy onto his back, nodded to Gajeel and opened the window. He hissed when he saw what was shuffling around on the ground. "Uh... it's a good thing it seems like we're on the second floor guys."

Wendy clung to him tightly, "I'm scared! What are those things! I don't sense a life force from them at all!"

"You can do that?" Natsu's eyebrows raised, "That's so cool!"

"Not now Salamander!" Gajeel growled.

"Right." Natsu swung out onto the roof and Gajeel followed. They froze as they viewed an entire city of walking dead.

"What the fuck..." Gajeel growled.

"Maybe we'd be safer kicking the ass of whoever chained us up?" Natsu queried.

Gajeel frowned, simply escaping didn't sound so appealing to him either. "Doubt it. If they were able to get all three of us in there... then I don't think it's anyone we're ready to take on without more information."

They did have this little girl to take care of. She was one of them, and she smelled so familiar—perhaps she was his sister? He didn't know. There was nothing from before he woke up. He knew Gajeel and Wendy, and for that he supposed he should feel lucky. Natsu also noticed they bore the same mark on them. A family crest maybe? It would explain why he still knew them and nothing else...

Gajeel was easing his way down the slope of the back of the building. The disease bags were in less quantity back there, "Come on you two! What are ya waiting for, a written invitation?"

"Hey wait Gajeel!" Natsu hissed, "I need you to chomp through these chains!"

"Shh!" Gajeel hissed right back, "not now, and if ya keep makin all that racket I'm gonna make sure you stay in them for a long time!"

A grimace overcame the fire wizard's face as he hiked Wendy up more comfortably on his back, rattling the long string of chains that connected his wrists as he did so. The small girl clung to him, shivering when he joined Gajeel on the ground. His heart went out to her, willing her to be strong. The creatures around them came at them with a hunger unlike anything they'd ever seen. Natsu kicked the closest one to him and Wendy away as Gajeel swept the others back with an extended iron arm. The crack of so many bodies being rammed made a sickeningly wet sound.

"Ugh... gross!" Natsu whined

"I hear ya, let's go ya big baby."

"What'd you call me? Hey!" Natsu started to go after him, but stopped when he noticed his sandal (and consequently, his foot) was suddenly wedged inside a putrid ribcage of some poor individual, "Holy shit! Ewww!"

"Geheh! Oh hell that's funny! Quit goofin around back there and let's go!"

Natsu disparately tried shaking it off before he ended up retching all over the place. It smelled so bad!

Wendy started to whimper and Natsu finally just stomped the unwanted baggage to pieces in the hopes that his little sister would stop crying. He jogged back up to Gajeel and frowned.

"Stay close wouldja?"

"Keep up wouldja?" Gajeel smirked, "If the little one is too much for ya, I can carry her."

Natsu growled, "I've got her, she's fine."

So the three dragons managed to escape whatever tortures surely waited them back in that odd building. It smelled weird, they were better off getting as far away from it as possible. Surely it belonged to some sort of freak with a bondage fetish. *Flash several silhouettes of different FairyTail girls*

What's a guy supposed to eat in a world filled with ravenous undead? Natsu's stomach wasn't the only one rumbling. Looks like there would be a lot to worry about in the near future. For now though, all he wanted to worry about was how to keep that cocky big brother, and innocent little sister of his from getting captured from those dragon hunters again.

o.o;;

That was two years ago.

The prologue is up and out to set the stage! If you found this interesting at ALL, I'm sure you are filled with questions! Mwahahaha! I love you all! Dun hate me just cuz I let loose a zombie apocalypse on the dear people of Earthland! I mean, what was the end of the world supposed to be filled with? ...Revelations? ...Millions of undead kitties to LICK you to death?

Eeeee heheheh, what a way to go!

Aaaaaanywhooooooo, reviews would be most welcome. I cannot wait to hear what your thoughts are.

Just for you my lovelies,
Seriphia
aka
Lick

*~.💫.~*

((again, thanx for the nickname Fanfic2014 (My Luv), it seems to raise the most delicious of questions! :D))