Growing up, my brother and I had dreams of conquering the world. We spent our Saturdays travelling to mystical lands through secret portals, hunting for treasure with our pirate crews and firing laser guns in an attempt to save the world. Growing up in a rural area, having a good imagination was the key to surviving the horrible event that was boredom.

But things were twice as fun if you were blessed with a sibling to share it with.

My brother, Natsu, is two years younger than I am. Even though I was still a toddler at that time, I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday, not eleven years ago. My dad brought me into the hospital room where my mum was cradling a new-born Natsu in her arms. I remember being lifted onto the bed so I could get a good view of my new little brother.

The day my brother was born was easily the best day of my life.

As he grew and so did I, we became closer and closer. We were definitely an odd pair to some people at school. I guess it was because we almost never fought. We were like twins. Inseparable. Joined at the hips. A set.

Our futures were bright. We were going to start a rock band. I would be the singer. He would be the drummer. We would create music that would make an impact on people's lives. That changed people's lives. That saved people's lives.

We would conquer the world.

And the best part was, we would do it together.

Things changed, however. The universe had other ideas. Not only for us, but for the rest of the world too.

It started on a dreary day in August. I remember it somewhat well. Creatures walked. It was like a great migration of the weary and confused. They tore people apart both physically and emotionally. An army of the living dead. More and more people joined their ranks. Not voluntarily, however. They were bitten, killed and brought back as a monster. The only thing they knew was how to eat people.

Unless you could destroy the brain before they turned.

Two little boys with big imaginations had always anticipated an event like this. Little did we know, it would ruin our lives forever. The monsters took away our shields, our swords, our only chance of surviving.

Our parents.

When it happened, I lost the will to carry on. A shadow was cast over me like a giant, persistent rain cloud. I walked like the undead, but thought like the living. I was close to joining the monsters myself. So very, very close.

It was Natsu who picked me back up. I remember his exact words so clearly.

"The world is ours to take back. We can cower or we can conquer. But whatever you choose, we do it together. What's it going to be?"

He was always such a wise kid. So strong-willed, so determined. I remember looking up at him with my tear-stained face and watery eyes, then pulling him into the tightest hug I could muster.

From that day forward, we fought with all our might. We were unstoppable. We met other people, living ones, trying to survive just like us. We could escape from any situation with our carefully devised master plans.

It seemed like our dream would finally come true. We would conquer the world.

That leads me to where we are now. Our dream never will come true now. The one thing I had left to hold onto was about to disappear.

I looked down at my baby brother now. His face was pale. His eyes were becoming vacant. His wrist was covered in bite marks.

He was lying in my arms, snuggled up against me. We were in a little run-down motel, hiding from the monsters. Natsu looked back up at me with a small smile on his face. I couldn't tell why he was smiling. Maybe he was trying to stay strong.

Oh Natsu. You didn't have to do that for me.

He was so brave.

Then there was me. His failure of a big brother.

The thought took me back to a promise I had made to myself the first time Natsu ever got bullied. A promise I had failed to keep.

Protect him. Whatever the cost.

Natsu grabbed my hand, bringing me out of my depressing train of thoughts. He spoke, his voice not much more than a croak.

"Just so you know, Zeref, you're not a failure," he said, "I couldn't have asked for a better older brother. Don't beat yourself up. Stay strong."

I mentally slapped myself. I forgot the kid knew me better than I did. I thanked him. Then, he spoke again.

"Hey, Zeref?"

"Hm?"

"Remember when we were younger and I had nightmares? You would sing me to sleep?"

I nodded.

"Would you…?"

Natsu trailed off, but I didn't need to hear anymore. I pulled him close and started to sing.

His breathing became weaker.

His eyes became vacant.

His face went grey.

My voice became desperate.

I finally got to the last line. His eyelids had almost closed.

"Sleep tight, baby brother. I love you with all my heart."

"I…love…you…too…"

Natsu's eyelids closed.

He was gone, but it wasn't over.

I took Natsu's gun from its holster. And I put it to his head. I had to stop him from turning.

I took a deep breath, looked away and-

BANG!

I dropped the gun and howled.

A flurry of emotions rushed over me.

Anger, sadness, frustration, regret, despair, fear, denial, emptiness-

Revenge.

I grabbed my dagger off the table, gripping it so tightly my knuckles went white. Then, I went back to Natsu.

"Forgive me for what I might become baby brother, but this is for you. We'll meet again one day. I promise."

I then looked out the window, and saw the monsters. Slouched, walking, groaning.

It's payback time.

A/N: Hey guys!

I wrote this for a competition a while back (which I don't know the results of yet) and for some reason decided to change the names and post it here XD So yeah, not my best work but I haven't updated anything in a while because writer's block takes great pleasure in cursing me, so I decided to post this. Let me know what you think :3

Also, one more thing. If any of you remember, I used to have a fic called Tales of Siblinghood. Well, I think I might do a rewrite of it because it was one of my favourites, but I want to know what you think. If people want, I'll bring it back. If you all insist that it's a horrible idea, I won't XD Let me know!

Until next time, ja ne!