Prologue:

The last stitch in place, he bit the thread, neatly severing it. Inspecting his ruined arm, the forearm only attached to the rest of him by the thread he had used to stitch them together, he grunted in satisfaction. He may have taken my arm, but as long as the sky children still live, I will have it back before long. There is no fix for being dead.

Discarding the needle he had used, he heaved himself upright, heading for the town he could just see over the treetops. All night he had flown to reach the town, following a half-remembered scent of the sky children, and then he had to complete the gruesome task of reattaching his arm, which had thankfully transitioned back to his human form when he did. Feeling his head spin slightly from the blood loss, he staggered towards the town gates. As much as he resented it, he had a duty, and he would not be an oathbreaker on top of all of his other sins.

Murderer, the voices from his past whispered. Kinslayer.

Her death lies not on my hands, he reminded himself as he stumbled through the gates. And at long last she may sleep in peace among the stars.

One death matters little to the many upon your hands, the voices hissed. He shook his head, casting them out of his head. The motion caused him to trip, and he had to concentrate in order to not fall on his face in the streets. As it was, he ended up kneeling in the middle of the streets.

"Are you okay sir?" a matronly looking woman asked, kneeling beside him.

Use this to my advantage. "An animal," he rasped, letting his voice waver with the pain radiating from his arm. "It ripped off my arm when I was travelling." Close enough to the truth. I did not arrive on that battlefield for Igneel, who was indeed an animal for all he proclaimed to be above that.

"Someone send for the Lamia Scale girl," the woman called to the gathering crowd. "Tell her to come to my place."

Acnologia felt hands on him, and fought the urge to throw them off, instead pretending to sag weakly in the arms supporting him as they guided him off the streets and into someone's home, laying him in a clean bed.

Keeping his eyes half closed, as if in too much pain to remain fully conscious, he let his enhanced senses monitor the room. The sky child arrived at a run, along with one who reminded him of Fairy Tail's pet ice mage. Careful to remain still, to not give any signs of his true nature, he let the girl poke and prod, asking questions which he gave vague, slightly misleading answers to. Eventually she started healing him, the cool touch of sky magic relieving the pain that had been coursing through him since Igneel ripped his arm off. Letting the waves of magic sweep over him, Acnologia let his mind wander. No normal person would still be conscious at this point anyway.

Centuries of waiting, and it took so little time for vengeance to be done. Four hundred years ago he had faced Igneel and his Dragon Council, his sister's body heavy in his arms, and sworn that he would see them pay for her loss. In the space of a single afternoon, they were gone; Igneel by his hands, and time dealing with the others. How did they manage to stay hidden for so long?

Turning from that problem, he thought about his newest task: fulfilling the oath he swore when he had first sought to become a dragon slayer. Of all people, why does it have to be her? There was a Celestial mage in Sabertooth, according to rumor, and that Zentopian Cardinal had bound a great number in his plans to protect the Infinity Clock…until she had to unbind them, trading their magic for their freedom.

Heartfilia. That line had been a thorn in his side ever since before his training as a dragon slayer. They had to be the last of the Celestial Mages, didn't they? Numerous even then, after what happened to the rest of us…

I, Acnologia Draconis, do pledge this oath that if a Celestial Mage appears that is capable of summoning His Majesty, I will take the burden of their education upon myself, teaching them what otherwise would have been lost to time… The text of his oath repeated in his head, and he almost snorted at the memory of how proud he had been to bear such an important burden. If he had known what a mockery his life would have turned into, he would have remained as he was, never seeking to become a dragon slayer.

A silent snarl, that he hoped could be disguised as pain from his still healing limb, crossed his features. Even now, his oath forced him forward, reminding him that he had a duty to the blonde fairy. Just by feeling the gateway open, he had moved instinctively, in the air and heading towards the site of the summoning before he knew it. As bone regrew, joining his arm with his body as muscles knitted around it, he could see her unconscious form in his mind, sprawled among the wreckage of Zeref's damn guild. He had known that the demons were stirring, but if he had known that they would force a situation which required His Majesty to deal with it… he would have slaughtered them without a second thought.

When I attacked seven years ago, I should have made sure she was dead. Seeing her there on the beach, with the four dragon slayer brats around her had only enraged him more. Zeref's magic had called to him like a beacon, but upon arriving, he found himself too late. Scenting the mages, he had almost lost his mind with rage as he saw her on the beach, she who looked so much like Anna…

Two days later, he gave the kindly woman the slip, feeling his arm was completely back to normal. Setting out towards Magnolia on foot, he cursed his oath with every step he took. He had hoped that it would never be activated, or at least if it was, it would be well after he had finished avenging his sister and had time to adjust to the new reality where Igneel and the others responsible were dead and he was free from that burden.

On the sixth day since he had killed Igneel, he shifted and took to the air. Something inside him was pushing him forward, towards the girl he had no desire to see again. Cursing his oath, he landed outside Magnolia in the last darkness before dawn.

Walking the rest of the way in, he was surprised to see a familiar blonde figure crumpled on the path in front of him. Approaching warily, he extended all of his senses. Nobody was close to them; there was no blood. Old salt: dried tears. A faint trace of Igneel's son. As he crouched next to her, he saw the paper in her hands. Carefully prying it out of her grasp, he scanned it quickly. So the brat's left, has he? Good. That would make his task easier. Turning her over, he located her key ring, rummaging through the keys to see which ones she had. Virgo or Leo should do the trick.

Clasping the key in his left hand, he let the edge break the skin, allowing a slight amount of blood to come in contact with the key. "As Draconis, I call thee forth, Leo the Lion."

A flash of gold light, a sight he hadn't seen in a century, and Leo stood before him. Different clothing, but the spirit was the same.

"Draconis," Leo said, bowing deeply. "You are here to fulfill your oath?"

"Pack whatever she needs for several months. Clothes and necessities only. You know your master best." Hopefully. "Which key was it?"

"Aquarius," Leo said, rising from his bow. "You should know that they had a very deep bond…"

"Unimportant." He wasn't here to be her friend, he was here to fulfill his oath. "You or Virgo, whichever one can do it, pack her things. She'll summon you when we get to where I live."

"No furniture?" At the question, Acnologia fought the instinct to rip the lion into two.

"Clothes and necessities only," he repeated slowly. "Now, close your gate and do as I said."

"If Draco were here…" the lion began, but he disappeared as Acnologia growled in warning. Looking at the blonde on the ground, he returned Leo's key to her keyring and lifted her in his arms.

Why the hell is she so light? Rolling his eyes at the proclivities of modern women, he started off towards the clearing where he had landed, making sure to cover his scent. Igneel's brat, or one of the others, might go looking for her, and there was no point in leaving them a trail to follow, or clues as to where she went. His plan was to teach her, and then leave here where she could find her own way back to the guild, not to have children chasing him because they thought she was in danger.

Time to go home. He shifted into the dragon he had become, and clutched the girl carefully in his talons. Lifting off the ground, he winged his way towards the mountains he had settled in after long years of wandering.

***I am AcnoLu trash. For anyone who has problems with this ship, I understand. But I think it's fun, and this plot bunny would not go away. Beta would probably smack me if she was within arm's reach. But anyway, welcome to my trash ship. This will be slow burning romance, spoilers for those who don't read the manga, and a hefty dose of making it up as I go from yours truly.

So, the details. I'll try and update every other Wednesday from here on out. I doubt it will be as long as Still Standing ended up being, but that was also not supposed to be as long as it ended up. It's set immediately after manga chapter 416, and will span the gap year, and maybe a bit beyond that.

Acnologia lives in a cave. So he has to make/gather/hunt most of what he needs to survive. I have never done...99% of what he does. So Google is my friend, but even so, there will be inaccuracies. Whoops. I'm sorry. But he also has magic, so there are things I figure he can manage to replicate. Good thing this is fiction right?

Anyway, hope you enjoy.***