Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, just this fanfic and my OCs.

It's been too long since I've updated on this fanfic. I've been working on my Yuri on Ice mainly so I guess I kind of left this one behind, but not to worry folks. I've made the entire plot outline for this story. I know everything that's going to happen in this story, it's just a matter of making it into actually readable chapters with dialogue and everything.

So yeah. Oh and thank you so much to Svane Vulfbad for your amazing review! Honestly, when I first started this fanfic, I was hoping for someone like that to comment! And after some time when nobody was really showing any interest, your review came up. You have no idea how inspired I felt after reading it!

It was like I had the power to finish this entire story in that moment. Thank you again, so much!

As usual, please favourite, follow, and review if you haven't already!

Ch. 4: LB and Dany

One week after splitting the group.

"Hey, kid! Don't go near that area, you'll get stuck in the mud!" The same blonde guy from last time called.

I obeyed and walked away from the area the man was referring to. It's been one week since we started traveling to the Safe-Zone, and so far, we've only lost two people to dragon ambushes.

Which is not too bad, considering the hell I've been through years ago.

A smaller boy that looked around my age suddenly ran up behind the blonde guy. He also had the same blonde hair as him, and I could see some resemblance. I wondered why as I watched the boy jump up onto the older guy's back, hitting him.

"What do you think you're doing, Kurt? Giving out orders like that? I know that there's no mud there! You just want to exercise your authority!" The boy yelled.

I walked in on their conversation since it was involving me as well.

"Was he really just bossing me around?" I asked.

The boy nodded at me, "Sorry. Kurt here is my older brother, along with Volt over there."

He pointed in the direction of another blonde guy at the front of the group, helping an older woman walk. I blinked in confusion,

They were brothers?

"But Kurt is the oldest out of the three of us. And he thinks that he can be the head of this little branch of our family! Don't let him get to you!" The boy laughed as he pulled Kurt's hair.

I laughed as Kurt fought back and threw his little brother down from his back. But he wasn't hurt, instead, he got right back up and tried to tackle Kurt down again. It was cute seeing them like that. But then Kurt held out his hand to stop it.

"Alright, alright, bro! That's enough. We're reaching some new territory up ahead, the chief's gonna need me again for directions," Kurt said before running up to the front.

The little boy sighed and walked with his hands resting behind his head. I smiled at him and he caught me in the act of it.

"I've seen you around for awhile back in the old group. You kind of stick out from the other kids our age. I mean—I didn't see anyone who seemed like your guardian," the boy admitted.

My face fell. I wished he didn't say that.

"I had guardians once. But that was long time ago by now…" I mumbled.

"Let me guess. The dragons got them," the boy answered in a sympathetic tone.

I sighed, "Can we not talk about this?"

"No. My brothers told me that if someone's hurting, it's better to talk about it with someone who feels the same," the boy said.

"And you think that you feel the same?" I questioned curiously.

The boy nodded slowly and a look of pain passed by on his young face.

"You're not the only who lost people, you know? All of us. We've all lost a lot. But we're still here, and we're going to support each other!"

I looked at his gleaming eyes. He was shining so bright...just like A…

Finally, I let up.

"Alright, I get it...but first. Can I ask you your name?"

One month later.

We made it to the edge of the dunes, which according to Kurt, should be the last stretch of territory before we hit the coast of the this continent.

And from there, we could finally start building a raft that would take us to the western continent.

I looked over at the boy, who calls me his "best friend" now. I have to admit, we did get considerably closer over the last month, though he did most of the closing in on our relationship than I did.

I was afraid, to be honest.

Afraid and hurt.

This boy...he's so similar to A...and I didn't want to lose him too. But the similarities was what caused me to allow him to make a mark on my life. It's only human to want to be close to another human.

But he was more than similar in personality with A. They both had the sweet, round, adorable face, and the warm smile. And they were both shorter than me!

But what struck me most of all was the fact that he didn't know his name...just like A.

One month ago, when I asked for his name. He couldn't tell me it, so I told him mine first.

Ever since then, I only called him "bro," like what his two older brothers call him. Kurt calls me "squirt," instead of "kid," but Volt calls me by my actual name.

I liked them, they were fun to be around and best of all, they knew how to survive.

"Our family is called 'Dreyar.' That's all I know about my name. My mother died when birthing me, and the rest of my family didn't want to give me a name out of respect for her. Anyways, our family is from the southern plains. Do you know that place?" my best friend asked me.

"No, I don't."

I hardly knew about any other place other than the places I've been to with my group.

"Well, it's well-known for its thunderstorms. But my ancestors managed to find a way to live underneath all of the rain, hail, and lightning. And because of that, we lived there for years. Until…"

"Dragons, right?" I finished.

"That's right. One dragon found a way to work its magic around the lightning and took over our homeland. The members who did survive made it out, but we eventually divided into our separate ways and many of us were killed. My brothers and I...we made it this far...but there are more of us out there…"

"Hey, um. I've been wanting to ask you for awhile. What's a 'brother'?" I was almost embarrassed to ask.

My mom told me back when I was little, that I had many half-brothers and half-sisters out in the world, but I never asked for what it those words specifically meant.

"A brother? Well, let's see. A brother is a boy or man that is related to you by blood. Which means that you share the same mom and dad. But there's also more to that. A brother can also be someone who's got this really strong bond with you, an unbreakable bond. No fight nor argument can destroy their friendship," he explained.

I was in awe. That's the first time I've heard what 'brother' meant. And I felt something stir within me. It was a new feeling.

What's a good term for describing it? Happiness? Ambition? Curiosity? Maybe a mix of all three.

"I think I understand now. So that's a brother...hey, so does that make you my brother?" I asked.

"Haha! What makes you say that?" My best friend laughed.

"Well, you did say that a brother can also be someone who's got this really strong bond with. And we have a strong bond, right?" I was sure of it. We've been through a lot over the past month.

Lack of food, water, and nights spent in vulnerable areas. But I managed to make it through all of it, and so did my best friend.

"Yeah. We do. To be honest, I think you're a brother to me too! Well, you do look a little older. Oh! I can't believe I haven't asked you this long time ago! How old are you?" He asked.

I quickly looked at the little book I've been keeping with me to count the days since I was born.

Its something all the survivors try and keep, the only thing that helps us keep track of how long this apocalypse has been going on for.

"I'm fourteen years old. How about you?"

"Mmm. So you really are older than me. I'm thirteen years old."

I smiled, knowing what to call my best friend now.

"So, you're my little brother?"

"Eh. Little brother is too much to say for a name. Just imagine calling me when we're playing hide-and-seek. LITTLE BROTHER! LITTLE BRROOTTHHEERR!" He doubled over with laughter.

"Ok, ok. How about LB? Stands for 'little brother,' is that better?" I suggested.

He nodded with joy, "LB it is! LB Dreyar! Hey, I like the sound of that! Let's go tell Kurt and Volt, I have a name!"

Two weeks later. West coast of Ishgar.

The last two weeks were slightly happier than the past several months we've been traveling for. Maybe it was because I finally gave my best friend a name. LB Dreyar...that's who he is now. Kurt and Volt liked the sound of that too!

It was during this time that I got to see a different side of LB. A much more serious side. LB was a big-hearted person, and that came with needs for vengeance.

"And one day...we'll make the dragons pay for what they've done!" LB cried in a serious voice.

That was the first time I've seen him out of his happy-go-lucky personality. I didn't know what to respond to that, so I just kept silent and smiled at him.

"They took away our homes, our food, our family...and we just keep saying, 'our next generation will be stronger than our last,' but to what extent!? We are the next generation! I'm not going to let this apocalypse continue on for another decade after my death! I'm going to do something about it. While I'm still living and breathing!" LB clenched his fist tightly, his eyes glowing like a spark of lightning.

That almost got me worked up. Almost. But reality washed back over me. There's no way we'd be able to fight back against the dragons in the state we are in right now. It'd be a one-sided annihilation, no wait...it already is! But I know one thing for sure.

I'm not about to let anyone else within my radar die in front of me again! Not LB! Not anybody! So I tried to talk some sense into him.

"If you want to that. You're going to have beat me in the height department first." I teased.

"Hey! I'm growing! My brothers said so! 'Sides, strength isn't the only thing you need in order to beat the dragons. Intellect is important too! And I'm proud to say, I've already learned how to add numbers up to 50!" LB exclaimed.

My jaw dropped to the ground. "Are you serious? Hey, that's not fair! You actually have teachers in that stuff!"

LB smiles victoriously. "Yes. And other than that—gasp! Omigosh, look!"

My eyes followed LB's little finger pointing up ahead of us. The entire group stopped walking too. LB and I ran up to the front where his brothers were with the chief. The afternoon sun shone brightly in the sky, making the entire scene look even more spectacular.

In front of us, was a large stretch of yellow ground that blended from the green grass on one side and leads to the large endless body of water on the other side. It was the biggest thing I've ever seen...that body of water.

"So these things really do exist…" I heard the chief whisper. "The ocean…"

"And on the other side of the ocean, is the Western continent," Kurt adds. "The Safe-Zone is there somewhere."

"Well then, let's start building the raft!" The chief hollers.

With that, everyone begins sprinting downhill towards the sandy yellow beach. We all wanted to feel how the ocean felt like. LB pushed me to the ground to get a heads start.

"Try and beat me, slowpoke!" He laughed.

"That was a nasty trick, LB!" I caught up to him easily.

And it was a good thing that I caught up to him easily. Because if I were a tiny bit later, I would've lost him. The fireball literally came a millisecond after I smelled it.

"LB!" I cried as I pushed him down to the ground with my body. The fireball crashed into the area behind us, exploding and pushing all of the nearby survivors away from its radius. That was only the droplet of the huge storm that came seconds later.

The sky that once looked hopeful, bright, and blue, changed to a dreary red and orange colour. More fireballs fell from the sky as I helped a shocked and wide-eyed LB back to his feet. The heat of the air around us was scorching.

"FIRE DRAGONS!" A nearby man cried right before he was reduced to ashes by an incoming fireball.

That was enough to make me and LB begin running. More fireballs came down around us like rain, the yells and screams of survivors from our group filled our ears, the only thing cooling was the wind from the flapping of the fire dragons' wings.

I could see two—no three of them—all fiery red and smirking. They weren't eating any of the people they've killed, no...they almost looked like...like they were just killing them for pleasure!

My hands shook with fear and hatred, and LB must've felt the same same, otherwise, he wouldn't have suddenly stopped running and turn around to glare at one of the dragons chasing after a few other survivors with those lightning-struck eyes.

I stopped running to, but only to get LB to start running again. I pulled him by the arms, but he won't budge. I turned him around to see his face. Despite all the heat, fire, smoke, and ashes, I could still make out the tear streaks that ran down his cheeks.

"LB, we have to run!" I shouted above the screams of the other survivors.

"I'm not leaving them behind! The Dreyars have lost everything but this hope! I'm not running away!"

"You'll never make it!" I practically screamed in his ear.

"LET GO OF ME! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! YOU DON'T HAVE ANY BROTHERS!" LB begins ripping my fingers off of his forearm.

But I was stronger than him. Both mentally and physically. "YES! I DO! AND I'M NOT LEAVING HIM BEHIND RIGHT NOW, WHETHER HE LIKES IT OR NOT! NOW COME ON!"

I brought up my other hand and performed a quick chop to LB's wrists, slightly disabling it for the time being. He cried in pain and stopped fighting back. That was my chance to pull him away from the horrible field of fire and death.

It was like a game of dodgeball. Except in this game. If you're hit, you're not 'out.' You're dead. I ran through the scorched ground and around the burnt corpses of many people who have already been outed.

Eventually, LB stopped being a difficult runner and began to pick up his pace as well. Fireballs continued to rain down around us, people continued to be burnt alive around us and their screams continued to fill the air.

A young woman appeared out of nowhere and bumped headfirst into me. The fire dragon that chasing her grabbed her by the hair and threw her away behind him, letting her fall to her death. I yanked LB away from the dragon right before he diverted his attention to us.

The fire dragon began chasing after the two of us, spewing out fireballs and setting the ground in front of us on fire to prevent us from running too far ahead.

"Not good, not good, not good!" I cried as my grip on LB's forearm tightened even more.

He and I swiveled our heads around in panic, trying to find a place—anyplace where we could probably hide. And suddenly it came to us.

A large open hole with a rocky entrance that seemed like some kind of small cave. I forced LB and myself to switch directions towards that little cave of hope. The fire dragon also saw our motive and increased the intensity of his chase.

I saw that the dragon was closing in on us a bit too much, so I let go of LB and shoved him in front of me, constantly pushing him ahead of me. The cave's entrance was really close by now...almost there…

The fire dragon opens his mouth to prepare to devour both me and LB, but we made it to the entrance of the cave. I pushed LB into the entrance first right before I followed from behind. A second after that, all the rocks and debris fell down from the top and blocked the light from outside.

LB and I tripped from our rushed entrance and fell face first to the hard ground at the bottom of the small cave. That impact rendered the both of us unconscious.

Hours later.

I opened eyes slightly to the darkness around me, pushing myself up, I looked around and remembered about what just happened.

"LB…LB!"

LB was unconscious on his side right next to me. I began shaking him gently because I was afraid if he was already injured. LB stirred around and also woke up.

He looked at me with weak eyes. "What happened?"

"Remember? The dragons attacked us out of nowhere and we ran away from them. We're safe for now, LB." I supported his weak body against mine.

LB smiled. "That's good...where's the rest of them...gasp. Kurt! Volt! They're still out there!"

He began squirming to get out of my grip and crawled towards the blocked exit of the small cave. "I—I have to go save them!"

I rushed next to LB and stopped him from pounding against the rocks and debris uselessly. "LB, stop! STOP IT!"

He began to cry. "It's all gone…"

I hugged him from behind and gently lead him away from the exit towards the very back of the small cave. We leaned against the rocky wall together and looked at the blocked exit with teary eyes.

"It's not all gone, LB, we're still here, right?" I squeezed him.

He curled up into a ball. "Yeah, I guess, but for how long? Will someone come for us?"

I thought hard. "Three days, we can live for that long without water. Someone'll come."

"I really hope so…"

Three days later.

LB and I were still trapped inside the small cave that once looked like a safe haven, now looked like our burial ground.

We have been trying for three days straight to get out of this cave, but our efforts proved to be futile. And with each passing day, we got weaker.

Until we literally can't even pick up a small rock. LB put his head on my shoulder as we snuggled next to each other for warmth. My vision was beginning to get hazy.

He coughed. "Are you still awake?"

I nodded. "How are you feeling?" I put my hand against his forehead, it felt cool.

"I'm really tired…" LB whispers.

It's been three days! And nobody came to find us yet! Why wouldn't they...wait a minute. Were there even any survivors left after that attack? Oh no...then at this rate, LB and I will…

LB Rome into a violent fit of coughs. I gently patted him on the back until he was gasping for air and wheezing. He wiped his mouth of any fluids that came out.

He snuggled closer to me. "Hey...if I die here…"

"Shut up. That's not happening."

"Well, if I do...can you promise me one thing? Just one thing…" LB croaked. "Promise me that you'll make the dragons pay for what they've done one day. All of them. They need to be gone. I don't care if there are good ones out there! There's no such thing as a 'good dragon.' All of them...gone...please."

I pulled him closer to me. "Ok. I'll do it. Even if it takes my life, even if I'll endanger others around me, even if I'll become a villain...I'll do it."

LB smiled. "That doesn't matter, because even if you do...you'll still be a hero to all of us today…" With that LB closed his eyes.

My strength began fading as well. Not good. I have to stay awake. I must...I have to...my eyelids began falling as well.

Crumble! Shove! Crumble!

The sound of debris and dirt falling and rocks being moved woke me up slightly. I turned my head upwards just as the single ray of sunlight stream in from a moved rock blocking the exit.

Standing right at the large opening, was a young girl that looked to be around LB's and my age. The sun shining brightly behind her, illuminating her bright red and messy hair that framed a shocked face, wide-eyed and jaw-dropped.

"Chief! I found some survivors!" She shouted right before leaping into the cave and running up to LB and me.

"Are you hurt? Hungry? Thirsty?" She asked while checking me for any major injuries. I shook my head in reply.

"What about him? Is he still alive?" She gestured to LB. I put two fingers under his neck for a pulse. My heart stopped racing when I felt one. I nodded to the girl.

She picked LB up and carried him on her back. "Can you walk? I can help you out of here, sort of. Here, just lean against me."

I did as I was told and slowly, bit by bit, we made it out of the cave. The area outside was bright and the air was fresh. The wind felt so amazing against my body. All the grass and trees were gone, thanks to the dragons, but nonetheless, the area still looked beautiful with their absence.

More people ran up to the red-haired girl, wrapping LB and me with warm blankets and carrying us towards the coast. Before we were carried away by those new people, I asked the girl for her name.

"Hey, what's your name…?"

She tightened the blanket wrapped around me and looked at me with fierce yet gentle eyes. "I'm Dainera Belserion. You're going to be fine."

I could barely get my tongue around her name. "Dine...er...a…? Dinera. Sorry."

"Dany. Call me Dany for short, 'kay? Tell that to your buddy over there too. I'll come running to your aid if you call me. Promise."

I nodded there's no way I'll ever forget about her. The one who rescued LB and me from the brink of death. Our savior and friend. "Dany...thank you for saving us...thank you…"

Thanks for reading guys! So yeah, there's my two OCs tying Acno back to the MCs of the Fairy Tail guild. Just a heads up, the majority of the story is heavily inspired by AoT, so credit goes to that for anything that used concepts from that anime/manga.

Please favourite, follow, and review! (I'm not sure when the next chapter will come, but I'll work on it. If I'm putting this on hiatus, I WILL leave an author's note.)