Happy Friday everyone.

Another long chapter ahead, and this one is 90% flashback, after this, chapters will be a mix of the new mission and flashbacks so we get to see the rest of the team in action as well!

There were a few questions about how this time travel stuff will work, on opposite ends of the spectrum:
1. If they were in the past, doesn't that mean they lost time in the present just like the rest of the Tenrou Team?

2. Could they have potentially spent much more time in the past without losing time in the present? (If they travelled home to the same day the left).

This shall be answered in the next chapter or two, I can't quite remember which! :D

~Onward!

36

A quick scan around the booth found mostly stunned silent faces on his comrades, the corner of Natsu's mouth quirked upward into a half smile despite himself, meeting Haru's gaze with the shrug of a shoulder. It's not like either of them had expected their friends to take the news that they'd taken a jaunt 400 years into the past in any small strides, but for even Mira's jaw to be working for words that wouldn't come, was impressive. Gajeel looked less bored now, but no less impatient than he had moments ago.

Then the dam broke and with the pause in the story, the rest of the team all broke out in a cascade of questions, talking over one another in a hurried fashion, seeking answers to a host of varied thoughts that flew through their minds.

"There's an Eclipse Gate in Earthland?!"

"You two know the princess?!"

"Did you get any insight on Acnologia?!"

"You actually travelled into the past? How is that even possible?!"

"Is it true there were a lot of dragons in that age? –Did you talk to any?!"

Gajeel was the only one to remain silent, though his eyes did flash with interest when Wendy asked about the dragons, he was never one to admit it, but he looked for Metalicana as actively as the rest of them.

Natsu's eyes slid over them one by one as the jumbled inquiries were rapid fired with little consideration and barely understandable, the team often not even taking a moment to see if he or Haru would answer before jumping to the next question that popped into their heads. There was no way he could possibly fault them for their curiosity and astonishment, interruptions or not, Natsu would have reacted the same way in their position, more than likely. Haru shifted his weight lazily, leaning onto his elbow, making himself more comfortable as he gave a prompting gesture for the fire mage to continue and Natsu stared back derisively. Being far more concise with his words, Haru would have made more sense to be effectively summarizing the story, Natsu was more likely to get caught up in the less important details or let slip details he wasn't ready to share yet. But a look at his partner told him that he'd been volunteered to play storyteller, he pursed his lips in a subtle show of irritation but continued anyway.

Still standing at the front of the booth, Natsu slapped the flat of his hand down on the tabletop a couple times to get their attention back and halt the interrogation slowly turning to complaints at having their questions remain unanswered. "If you'd let me continue, most of your questions would be answered… aside from the dumb ones, Gray—" he cut off to emphasize the ice mage's name, "obviously we know the Princess… I just said she is part of the Eclip—"

"Will we get to meet her?"

Natsu's eye twitched at the sequential interruption and he spat a small ball of fire across the table at the ice mage, just as Erza, who sat next to him rapped a metal clad fist off the top of his head. Gray yelped before rubbing at his skull and soothing the bit of scorched skin with an iced hand simultaneously, Natsu grumbled under his breath before continuing.

- Flash Back -

Year X376

Pure white surrounded them, monotonous in its' essence and seemingly absent of light, sound and air. Like a white version of Midnight's nightmare void, but it didn't feed into any sense of panic, nor serenity, it was just a strange state of suspension. It felt as though time stretched out for years and yet they were emerging from the space in an instant, an ice-cold sensation slid over Natsu as the void came to an abrupt end, disappearing in on itself to leave them standing in the center of a colossal hall. Arched windows carved into the sleek stone that lined each side of the long hall that rose up into towering, vaulted ceilings, and beneath their feet, pristine white marble floors polished to a shine. Natsu's eyes shifted over tens of thousands of small red and gold fragments of crystal and glass inlaid into the floor in a finely detailed mosaic depicting a dragon. The tip of its' nose to the tip of its' tail spanning nearly the length of the hall itself, he swallowed a lump forming in his throat, the artwork reminded him of Igneel so sharply it physically hurt.

His free hand rose subconsciously to clench at the fabric of his scarf, only just realizing that he was still gripping Haru's hand from earlier, which he released quickly. His partner's eyes were on him now, noticing the unease in his demeanor, "you okay man?" he asked.

With a physical effort, Natsu made himself let go of his scarf, arm dropping to hang limply at his side again and tore his eyes off the mosaic to look at Haru. He gave a curt nod, prompting the other to give him a tug on the wrist to start him moving forward and the Twin Dragons began to move cautiously down the vacant hall. They couldn't be entirely sure where the Gate was located in this time period, so they couldn't know if they were going to be walking into a dangerous situation right off the get go or not. The castle was so deadly quiet it irked on both their nerves a bit, you'd think in place as richly designed as this, there would be servants and guards milling about, but there was nothing to be seen or heard, and Natsu couldn't catch the scent of any lingering smells either.

"Do you think this is Dragnof?" Haru asked telepathically to maintain their silence.

"It seems like the best guess, given the…" Natsu's eyes flickered down for a moment to the red shards glittering in the sunlight that fell through the windows. "uh, and Hisui said Dragnof is one of the lost Kingdoms of Ishgar, it seems likely that would make it one of the epicenters of the war, right?"

Haru nodded thoughtfully, "and that would make Dragnof the most likely to have developed the Eclipse Gate… though I still can't begin to fathom for what purpose."

Hisui had holed up the royal library of Mercurius, self-appointing as the team's researcher to try to provide Natsu and Haru with the most thorough information possible to aid their success. But after weeks of scouring the oldest and rarest tomes of Ishgar's history in their collection, they didn't know much more about what had happened in the past than they had prior. The little they did learn included occasional bits on the Kingdom of Dragnof that obviously hadn't persevered through the centuries, given that none of them had ever even heard of it. They also read a few obscure chapters hypothesizing that there had been a war between dragonkind that had wiped Dragnof from history and dragonkind from existence. Though Natsu and Haru had both scoffed defensively at that, obviously there were still dragons out there, they'd countered, even if their great numbers had dwindled dangerously low. No one brought up dragon-extinction theories around the Twin Dragons after that. The princess shifted her focus instead to Anna, but she hadn't been able to turn up anything much on the Heartfilia lineage either, and details on Zeref or Acnologia were equally scarce. The lack of available intelligence had been the biggest reason why Aquarius had never really been convinced to throw her full support behind the mission.

They had resolved to essentially going in blind.

"Intruders in the Kingdom walls!"

"With me men, no man nor rogue dragon will breach this Castle while we draw breath!"

Natsu and Haru both sucked in a breath of surprise at the sudden commotion and dissolved into their respective elements, skipping across the width of the hall, and leapt up to hide in the arches of the large stone windows.

"What the hell? Do you think they're looking for us? How could they possibly know?" Haru's voice still sounded completely calm for the situation, though a notable urgency tainted his tone.

"Dunno," Natsu replied, carefully leaning away from the stone wall just enough to peer around the corner, a squad of knights were running by at the end of the hall, their movements perfectly synchronized in reflection of disciplined military training. Retreating back behind the cover of the wall, Natsu let out the breath he was holding as the rhythmic tapping of boots faded into the distance. He eased himself out to get another look and found Haru doing the same, they exchanged a quick glance and dropped back down to the floor before running the rest of the distance to the hall's end and scanned back and forth down the forked hall.

"I say we move away from the guardsmen looking for intruders," Haru suggested, already moving in the opposite direction the knights had gone, before Natsu even spoke. They hugged the walls a little closer as they moved now, not that it would help them, there were no pillars or arched windows to take cover in, in this hall. The dragon slayers managed to move unopposed for quite a while through twisting corridors and passages before one ended into a grand open-air courtyard. The duo both flinched back slightly, lips parting in quiet awe. Above them, unmarred blue skies shone, and the sun's warmth fell on their skin, the high position of the sun marked the day near noon, giving the guys some of their bearings back, however small. The courtyard itself wound around a large stone fountain with multiple levels of intricate arches of water dancing into various levels of pools and carefully manicured garden beds broke up the outer rim of the courtyard offering vibrant colours and shady patches to relax in. Though not necessarily busy, there was a group of women, dressed in elaborate dresses that likely marked them as nobles, chatting and giggling, and the odd person wandering across to another destination within the castle walls. But what had both Natsu and Haru anchored to their spots with wide eyes was the sand-grey dragon across the yard talking casually with a man dressed in a soft green tunic.

No one seemed to pay their arrival any mind at first, until one of the women noticed their obviously odd behaviour of gaping at the dragon.

"Excuse me, I do not believe I have seen either of you around before," a woman spoke up from a few paces away, she was watching them with suspicion, as were her two companions. Haru tore his eyes off the dragon, and jabbed a subtle elbow into Natsu's ribs, physically pulling his attention to the women as well. "Are you visiting for some purpose? What house are you?"

Brain melting from the presence of a dragon not ten meters in front of him, Natsu instinctually blurted without thinking, "I'm Natsu Dragneel, this is my partner Haru—"

"Dragneel? Of course, of course!" The woman turned back to her friends and they all leaned in close to whisper excitedly amongst themselves, when she turned back, she wore a distinct pink on her cheeks and half lidded flirtatious eyes. Natsu blinked, confused at the sudden hairpin turn in her demeanor, he glanced at Haru out of the corner of his eye to gage his reaction when the water mage spoke to him through their link.

"Did she just recognize your name?"

"Man, I already feel like I've been hit over the head with the flat of Taurus' axe, can we not go there?"

"How long are you visiting us Lord Dragneel?"

"LORD?" Haru's voice rang with bewilderment tinged with amusement in his head, at the same time that Natsu scoffed the word out loud, "LORD?!" with undisguised confusion.

The woman giggled as she and her friends approached and proceeded to fawn over both Natsu and Haru, looping their arms around them to offer unsolicited, teasing touches, "you wish us to not use titles? My, that is quite the bold request—"

Natsu gasped, eyes widening, when one of them got too handsy, he snagged the offending hand before his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Hands off," he growled low at the woman.

His irritation spiked higher when she was unphased by his warning and the trio fell into another fit of giggles and chattered excitedly amongst themselves as though he and Haru weren't even there. "He completely disregards customs and polite conduct," she cooed breathlessly, "—and putting his hands on me like that!" The woman continued to gush, much to Natsu's growing distain, her eyes, a strange purple hue, turned back up to his and a coy smile graced her face, "I've been wanting a change from the dull, stuffy etiquette, the usual courting practices. I fancy a little danger," she purred.

Flickers of flames licked along the lines of Natsu's shoulders and around his fists that were clenching tighter by the second into a white knuckled grip at his sides, patience dipping into already dwindling reserves. "DON'T. Whatever you're thinking, reign it in. I doubt we'd be able to talk our way out of putting our hands on noblewomen, regardless of the circumstances, we're outsiders—" Haru reminded frantically at the surge of Natsu's magic, but before anything else could happen the dragon had crossed the room in a matter of steps, rumbling in disapproval.

"Why don't you three stop making fools of yourselves and unhand our guests? You, at the very least, Lady Amelia, should conduct yourself in a dignified manner more befitting to the status of your house, wouldn't you agree?"

The Lady Amelia's head whipped up to defiantly meet the gaze of the dragon now towering over them, but she did not release her hold on Natsu yet, sniffing irritably at the dragon's admonishment. Her friends had let go of Haru almost immediately and stood stock still, watching the standoff tensely. The dragon bared rows of pearl white teeth, in a grin or a threat, Natsu wasn't sure, "did you not hear the notice alerting us to intruders in the Kingdom? You should be in your quarters, run along. Now." Finally, if reluctantly, the Lady and her companions stalked off across the courtyard and disappeared through one of the many arches on the adjacent side, whining childishly as they went.

Natsu sighed in relief, "thank you, uh—"

"Shaurahn," the dragon supplied, "fourth seat of the Dragon Council of the Kingdom of Dragnof."

"We appreciate you intervening," Haru told him with a slight bow of his head.

The dragon didn't accept their gratitude with any words or gestures, and Natsu was getting the feeling they weren't out of trouble just yet, "did I hear you say you are of the house Dragneel? I was not informed the Lord Dragneel would be accompanied by any kin."

Haru cut in, thinking quickly, "we aren't in name, we are simple guardsmen of the house Dragneel."

"Rather ineffective guardsmen if you are here with me, and not with your Lord, no?"

Haru snapped his jaw closed with a click and the Twin Dragons fell silent, waiting for the dragon's next move, speaking seemed to be digging them into a hole they might not get out of. "We should flash step outa here while we still can," Natsu impressed.

"And have our descriptions plastered on every wall in the Kingdom by the end of the day? We wouldn't be able to move around without being hunted like rabbits. We don't have a choice but to see what Shaurahn decides to do with us."

Shaurahn tilted his head, considering them, "You two are quite an oddity. Can you explain to me, why I sense dragon but see two who are barely yet men?" Natsu had to clamp down on the prideful reflex to declare themselves as dragon slayers, realizing he wasn't sure if mages of this time had developed the magic that would be lost to the world right along with the dragons themselves, in the future. If the ability for humans to wield the power of dragons did not yet exist, then proclaiming himself a dragon slayer to a dragon, would likely not go over well. They both remained silent still, and the dragon's maw split in a wide grin, presenting rows of gleaming teeth again, "nothing doing then, I shall take you before the Queen. I do not believe you two to be enemies. No, I do not get that sense, but you are not of our Kingdom either and these are untrusting times, you understand."

. . .

Shaurhan led them to another chamber deeper into the palace, large enough to accommodate human and dragon alike, the room was bright and airy due to towering windows that decorating three of the four walls. To one side the wall pushed out in a curved alcove, its' windows presenting views of sprawling countryside beyond, dotted only by the occasional farmhouse. A heavy stone table with the continent of Ishgar carved directly into the stone top in relief to depict the topography stood centered to the curved wall, a row of finely crafted chairs lined one edge where the adjacent side remained vacant of furnishings. The dais at the head of the room, framed by three large windows and a pair of deep red banners presenting the Kingdom's emblems, held one ornately designed and unoccupied throne.

Leaving Natsu and Haru standing in the center of the hall a generous distance back from the only other group in the chamber, the dragon moved to stand by another with shimmery white scales, a feathery mane flowing around its' head and pure gold eyes. They tucked their heads down breaking into the whatever the white dragon and the people had been previously discussing. Natsu strained to listen in, and was surprised when he could not make out even the slightest muffled word, some sort of magic barrier? He shifted uneasily, and then the group parted slightly, and a woman stepped forward, a hand clutching a staff taller than she was and an air of authority despite her seemingly young age.

She was the spitting image of Erza, mute brown eyes watched them curiously, scarlet red hair bound in a braid as thick as her neck was pulled over her shoulder, wrapped elaborately with strips of leather, delicate gold chains and gems. Her presence could likely command any room she was in effortlessly, not unlike their own scarlet haired friend, but she did not hold Natsu's attention for long. His eyes fell on a second woman who came to stand just behind her to whisper something in council, Anna, Natsu's lips parted slightly as he worked saliva back into a suddenly dry mouth. He tried to catch her eyes, but her attention remained solely on the scarlet woman.

"Haru, that's Anna Heartfilia."

Haru's eyes flicked over to his incredibly briefly before landing back on the people before them, the group moved into position around the dais, the dragons to one side and the humans on the other as the redhead lowered herself gracefully onto the throne. She leaned carelessly into an elbow, her other arm outstretched over the side of the throne, fingers absently drumming along the shaft of her staff.

"Allow me to present, Queen of the Kingdom of Dragnof, Irene Belserion," Anna called over the chamber for their benefit alone, seeing as no one else aside from the small group assembled prior to their arrival had since entered. Haru hinged into a low bow and Natsu scrambled to copy the movement, not wanting to offend the Queen who currently held their fates. Straightening slowly, Natsu tried to catch Anna's eyes again, but when her eyes shifted over him, he didn't find any recognition on her face.

"What brings two foreigners with the air of dragon about them, and whom I have heard nothing about, to our Kingdom?"

"Well, that coulda gone better," Natsu droned bitterly, sitting cross legged on the stone floor, each hand wrapped around a cool metal bar and glaring out into the dully lit corridor that led out of the Castle's dungeon.

Haru hummed in response behind him, he sat leaning against the back wall of their cell, his arms resting on bent knees, "why do you think Anna didn't acknowledge your presence here?"

Without turning to look away from the tease of freedom just passed the bars, Natsu shrugged a shoulder, "not sure, but what if she actually just doesn't know me?" That thought had been eating away at his calm ever since receiving the blank stare on her face, not a hint of recognition, even in a passing glimpse. They needed a celestial mage and the twelve gate keys if they were going to return to their own time, which meant they needed Anna Heartfilia's cooperation for more than just reconnaissance on Acnologia. But what if this Anna really didn't know him? She certainly hadn't seemed to. Haru didn't respond, but Natsu could almost feel his partner's eyes boring into his back from behind, "I mean, back in Edolas, Anna never said that shetravelled from this period, we got that information from Lucy's spirit… What if Anna is actually in our time and we got it all wrong? Maybe she travelled there when the Dragon Wars ended to try to thwart Acnologia in the future because there was nothing left here to protect?"

Natsu fell silent and dropped his head into his palms, irritably scratching at his skull a moment after, if that happened to be the case, they'd somehow have to get this Anna alone and make her listen to their story… and that meant busting out of their prison… possibly kidnapping a member of the royal council… and hoping, after all of that, that she actually believed them and didn't just toss their asses right back into the dungeon. What a fucking mess.

With those reflections hanging over them, the boys dissolved into debating the pros and cons to breaking themselves out of the cell, the Queen had said they would just be held only as a precaution until the intruders had been captured to confirm that they had nothing to do with the small-scale invasion. She had even seemed apologetic when she informed them of her declaration. Apparently, the fact that Shaurhan sensed dragon in them had uneased the Council members enough to sway the Queen's decision to air on the side of caution. Though Natsu thought the white dragon had seemed perturbed by their arrest, even if it was supposedly temporary, he seemed caught between remaining silent and—well, something.

The boys understood that anything unexplainable involving dragon magic was unnerving, as a large population of the dragons from neighbouring countries had declared war upon humankind… if the one-sided massacres that followed could even be called war. A very small group of dragons within the Kingdom of Dragnof and other small bands of dragonkind around the continent had either remained neutral or flat out declared their opposition. But outside the dragons directly aligned with them, humans were suspicious of anything baring connection to the dragons. Unfortunately, that was the most information the guys were able to glean from their short interaction with the council.

As such, there was no guarantee that even if they cooperated, that they would be released, so Haru's earlier concern of having the Kingdom searching for them as aggressors was rendered moot. Over the past year they'd managed to travel all over Ishgar without being identified and they could do it here as well, if need be.

Just before they'd fully committed to busting themselves out of the cell, a large explosion rumbled through the castle walls, sounding a little close for comfort. Natsu and Haru made eye contact, and the fire mage grinned wildly, "sounds like our cue!"

The cell they'd been placed in had some sort of dragon magic-sealing enchantment placed on it, but lucky for them, Natsu held the solution. Moving to the bars again, the pinkette held an arm extended out between the bars, turning the golden key in the same fashion he'd seen Lucy do a thousand times prior and recited, "open, gate of the lion: Leo!"

Shaking out his mane of wild spiked hair as his eyes landed on the Twin Dragons behind bars, Leo cocked his head to the side with a mocking smile, a hand dropping onto his hip. "Didn't expect to be pulling your asses out of trouble so soon, you two are lost without Lucy…"

Natsu narrowed his eyes indignantly, and crossed his arms, "oh shut up and just get us outa here, damn mangey lion."

The spirit spun and lodged a fist into the chin of the guard that darted toward them to check the source of the bright light that had preceded Leo's arrival. "Now that doesn't sound like any way to talk to your savior Natsu, you might hold my key and a temporary contract, but you still aren't my master…" he reminded with a sly look, though he was still taking on an offensive stance as the orange glow of his magic encompassed his fist. "Regulas Impact!" Leo slammed his fist into the bars, easily obliterating the iron rungs that caged his comrades and returned the dangerous smiles worn by both dragon slayers as they stepped over the ruined metal.

Without further discussion the trio pivoted down the corridor toward the stone staircase at the end, the pleas of other prisoners following them up. They burst out into a chaotic scene, squadrons of guardsmen running down the hall toward ribbons of smoke that filtered down the hall running perpendicular, a few men parted from the group when they spotted the mages emerging from the dungeon.

"Halt, explain yourselves," one asked with his hands twitching at the hilt of a long sword, three more flanking him eyed them as well with weapons drawn and pointed at them. Trying to keep injuries to the people of Dragnof minimal, Haru jumped into the middle of the group and thrust his arms out to his sides, unleashing a tidal wave in each direction to push back men now closing in on either side to pin them down. Without hesitating further, Haru dashed down the hall with Natsu, and Leo close behind, in the opposite direction to the smoke and leapt over the group of drenched men piled in a knot of limbs. They navigated through the halls guided by views through lines of windows aiming to escape the castle, but it wasn't long before they found themselves surrounded once again by a multitude of the Kingdom's knights in a wide hall similar to the one the boys had first entered in.

"Well shit," Natsu bit out under his breath, slowly pressing back-to-back with his comrades, his eyes trailing over the knights surrounding them appraisingly. Though confident the three of them could knock these guys back fairly easily, none of them wanted to get themselves distinctly labeled as enemies of the Kingdom, but pinned down as they were, Natsu couldn't see much more of a choice but to fight them off. Fire sparked up around him, and he could feel Haru's and Leo's magic pressures increasing behind him in tandem. "Let us pass, we do not want to hurt you, we aren't your enemies," Natsu attempted, hoping that the display of the magics whipping around them would deter the men barring their escape. But the captain announced an advance anyway and the first wave of guards bolted toward them, gritting his teeth Natsu widened his stance as flames wrapped around his fists, preparing to meet the assault with an underpowered iron fist.

"SEIZE THIS!" A voice demanded, and everyone froze where they stood, weapons and spells still held at the ready, Natsu's eyes snapped over to the stoic blonde striding forward with a presence that left no room for the guards to argue. She stopped in the center of the hall, hands on her hips, in front of the captain, "these men are under the Queen's protection until she decides what their fates will be."

"All due respect, Lady Anna, they—"

She didn't say a word, and Natsu couldn't see her properly with her back to him, but whatever look she'd turned on the Captain shut him down in an instant. Anna glanced back at them over her shoulder, the look on her face as cold and unrecognizing as ever, and Natsu let his flames extinguish and straightened himself cautiously. "Restrain them," she instructed then, voice still flat in her commands.

The three all instinctually dropped back defensively again, eyes hard on the guards who apprehensively approached before freezing in their tracks when Natsu's eyes flashed, and red scales flaked over his skin. He held up the flat of a palm, flames licking at his fingertips and down his forearm, "not a step closer," he stated lowly, "I told you, we aren't enemies, but if you try to restrain us again, we could be."

Anna regarded them with a cool gaze, unphased by the show of power, she appeared more intrigued by his drive state than anything else. She moved toward him, ignoring the frantic shouts from the guards around her pressing her to consider her safety. Haru and Leo had turned to face her at this point as well, and her eyes flickered away from Natsu's momentarily, "Leo," she greeted with a flat tone and an unreadable expression.

Natsu internally reprimanded himself, how could he have forgotten that Anna would recognize the lion spirit. He didn't think it would be possible for two Leos to exist simultaneously with only one spirit realm independent from the effects of time, so what would have happened if she'd also tried to summon him? Natsu heard Leo greet her back by name as well. Then the blonde abruptly tore her attention away from them and fixed the guards with a pointed look, "return to your previous duties of subduing the real threat." Some of the men opened their mouths to protest but quickly cut off after one look, "go, or the Queen will hear of your petulance." They flinched and turned as a singular unit to dart down the hall in pursuit of other enemies, boots finding that rhythmic tapping again after a moment to recover from their shock over the bizarre situation.

Natsu's group remained quiet and weary, watching the last of the knights vanish around a corner, and then Anna rounded on them, "IDIOTS," she scolded suddenly. "Leo, return to the spirit realm or I will force close your gate myself," she threatened, and he blinked back dumbly, caught between obeying his mage 400 years in the past, or upholding his commitment to Lucy and Natsu. Anna sighed, likely catching his reluctance and relinquished, her eyes softening as she met the lion's, "I promise I will see Natsu and Haru safely out of the castle."

. . .

Mere seconds after the lion spirit's departure, after a quick permissive nod from Natsu, Anna had led them to a hidden passageway that found them in a maze of narrow corridors with ceilings so low they forced Natsu and Haru to stoop a little as they walked, even Anna's head nearly brushed the stone above them. It did nothing to slow her travels, the blonde moved fast, and she didn't often check to see if they were keeping up, she also ignored their whispered questions and remained focused on the task at hand. Occasionally the passages would widen into larger common rooms, and groups of people dressed in worker's clothing would watch the trio glide through the spaces without slowing their pace. They seemed curious, but not overly surprised to see people moving rapidly through the rooms, Natsu had to assume they were using the servant's quarters to move unseen by guardsmen and council members that might be about the Castle. Anna ducked into another hidden hall that led into some sort of storage and supply room, shelves of various linens lined one wall and the stellar mage quickly approached to grab three bundles of fabric. Spinning she thrust one into each of the guy's hands, before unfurling the third and slinging the purple-hued fabric around her shoulders, pulling up the deep hood a moment later to hide her face in shadow. Anna had clearly done this before, Natsu thought idly. He watched as she moved to another set of shelves and snagged a small bag hidden behind some baskets before turning to look at them expectantly. They'd both been rooted to the spot and staring at her dumbly, minds still attempting to catch up with the rapid turn of events.

"—uh right," Haru said with a start, quickly tugging on the cloak she'd handed to him as Natsu did the same.

Anna tilted her head as she observed both of them for the first time since racing off through the castle with nothing more than a sharp demand to keep up. Now the slightest smile pulled at her lips, "even as men you still require directions for everything… nothing has changed," she mumbled under her breath as she pulled a small bag off another shelf.

Natsu stopped fussing with the rough material of the cloak and eyed her, having barely caught her words, "so you do know me?" Her words dawned on him further and his eyes widened more, "—US?" he glanced toward Haru who met his glance with equal surprise.

Once again, Anna ignored the question, "get your hood up Natsu, that pink hair of yours' is a little too distinguishing a feature…" she trailed off. Another explosion above them rumbled through the castle walls again, disturbing dust and loose gravel to fall around them. Anna looked up at the ceiling as though she thought she'd be able to see the continuing conflicts through the stone and chewed her lip absently, she turned away, "we have to keep moving, there will be time for questions later when you are safe, just stay close."

Falling silent again, the guys fell back in line behind Anna as she marched out into another narrow series of halls, they navigated a few more twisting passages before it appeared, they'd reached a dead end. Anna moved right to the wall and pressed into stone, grunting softly with the effort, until a hidden gateway swung open with a slow grind. An orange light poured in to cast the hall in a filter of twilight, alerting them to the approaching evening beyond. The small doorway forced them each to hinge low to exit the castle and left them standing in a deserted alley that wasn't wide enough for two of them to stand abreast. Single file they moved toward the bustling activity of the connecting streets, various smells and noise already overwhelming them. People moved about bartering and haggling for an array of products and services, seemingly completely unfazed by the conflicts within the castle walls. Natsu glanced back over his shoulder to find a couple columns of smoke rising into the sky, proving the ongoing battle should be apparent to the Kingdom citizens. It made him wonder if the Dragon Wars had been raging long enough to make the common folk numb to anything that wasn't violence directly confronting them. He continued to scan the surroundings with a sense of mild fascination as Anna wordlessly guided them to whatever safety she had in mind, which turned out, was not far off from the castle itself.

. . .

Anna approached a small building, worn, though appearing to be in better shape than some of the others framing the street, a small sign affixed to the door marked it as an orphanage. She pressed the door open, and they were immediately greeted by a trio of energetic boys racing toward them, Anna stooped to their level ruffling their hair affectionately and offering cheery remarks before handing the middle boy the bag she'd procured from the storage room. He opened it, and all three peered inside before turning wide smiles on her and darting off to play with an assortment of toys she'd gifted them. Haru watched them go with apparent curiosity and didn't seem to notice when Anna had gestured for them to follow her into the next room, Natsu tapped him on the shoulder and his partner gave a small start as his attention snapped back to him.

"You alright man?" Natsu asked, brows pinched together with concern.

"Ah, yeah, I'm fine," he confirmed, passing Natsu to enter the room their guide disappeared into a moment ago. Natsu pursed his lips considering his fellow slayer before following after him. Anna had led them into what appeared to be a shabby classroom, a few round tables with small chairs and a dusty chalk board on the far wall behind a larger desk. Eyeing the small furnishings with distain, Natsu opted to just lean his weight against a low bookshelf and crossed his arms, he assumed this was his chance to ask all the questions rattling around in his brain, but now that he was presented with the chance, he couldn't figure out where to begin.

"Those kids…" Haru trailed off, and the words pulled the pinkette's attention back to the other slayer's face, Haru's eyes looked distant as though he were looking right through Anna.

The blonde gave a small smile that Natsu thought seemed misplaced, appearing almost apologetic? "So, you did notice then," she said, "yes, that's right, those boys are Sting, Rogue and you, Haru."

Haru dropped his eyes to the floor for a moment, "I thought so," he breathed, seeming to confirm it more to himself than Anna. Natsu had his entire attention back on the water mage, he felt like his brain would short circuit as he desperately tried to make sense of the conversation.

"How is that possible?" he finally asked, when he noticed Haru was busy processing whatever conclusions he was coming to.

Anna dropped into the chair behind the desk, dropped her elbows onto the tabletop and prodded at her lip considering how to best explain all the gaps in their knowledge. "The Dragon Wars started gradually, with conflicts amongst dragonkind alone. Normally unified under one dragon King, they rarely experienced any discourse, but growing rumblings from some that saw humanity as a petulance on their world, constantly in greedy pursuits and destroying resources, began to create and widen a division. Over time, dragonkind was fractured into two distinct groups, those that looked to humanity with a sense of comradery and those that would see our elimination, the first followed the true King and a false King rose to lead the defectors.

"The actual hunting of humans started fairly slowly, but as the aggressor group grew in number and influence, the scale of attacks grew with them. Eventually, only certain walled Kingdoms, like Dragnof remained completely unscathed. Our walls would not stop their advance of course, but the dragons that dwelled within Dragnof's walled city deterred them for the time being. Those of us on the council knew that couldn't last though, and slowly the monarchs of neighbouring Kingdoms began sending high level officials and strategists to Dragnof as the stronghold against the building anarchy, for deliberations on how to ensure humanity's survival. Among them, the black wizard, Zeref."

Natsu tensed and caught the same visceral reaction in Haru as the two exchanged a glance but remained silent. Anna didn't pause for long, just observed the dragon slayers as she took a long sip of water before continuing.

"Zeref won't earn the infamy of 'black wizard,' for many years still, but his research already discomforts many, Queen Irene and most of our council included. Dabbling with living magic and working to harness demonic power, Zeref was convinced that a force of demons, dubbed the Etherious, would have the power necessary to turn the tide of the war in our favour. However, volunteers or not, our Queen refused to endorse any research that experimented on people and with the black arts that we still can't begin to guess the potential ramifications of.

"But while Zeref's plans were rejected, the idea of enhancing humans with outside power struck a cord with some of the dragons aligned with us, and a plan was hatched to begin training those in our military to utilize dragon magic. The early, and entirely unstable, stages of what would become known as Dragon Slayer Magic, the hope had been that human armies wielding the spells of dragons would help put us on more even ground in the wars. Humans with a powerful affinity for magic are pretty rare in this time, nothing like the untapped magic potential of your time, the levels of ethernano that came to peak concentrations in the world 400 years in the future may have been a consequence of these wars. But I digress…

"In a turn of events the Pacifist Dragons never saw coming, the humans they taught dragon magic to, turned that power indiscriminately on all dragonkind and devastated our Kingdom not one year ago. That legion was eventually exiled from Dragnof and we aren't honestly aware of where their faction is set up now, though we know they continue to hunt aggressor and pacifist dragons alike. Fortunately, the threat they now pose, afforded us with invaluable information. Though it took a multitude of men to vanquish a single dragon, we'd proven that men could be capable of fighting back, and so a new idea was raised. Though it presented with even greater risks." Anna paused and met both of the boy's eyes in turn, apparently gaging their reactions to the impromptu history lesson.

"One dragon eventually suggested children be raised, with the sole purpose of being trained to wield the full power of dragons, by way of the Dragon Soul ritual, there by granting the children the potential to reach dragon force with proper guidance. Not all the dragons agreed, as it would require sacrificing a portion of their own power to these children, which would weaken their resistance against the rebel dragons should the plan fail. Or worse, the children grow up to follow the same pattern as their weaker predecessors. Still, the plan progressed and those that did agree, each adopted a child to train and quite literally bestow a portion of their power onto."

Natsu finally slumped back against the bookshelf he'd been resting against and slid down to the floor, folding his arms over his knees in front of him as his mind reeled to catch up with all the information. If the true, dragon-taught slayers all hailed from this time, did that mean the dragons truly were extinct in their time? That all their searching had been pointless because the dragons had never been there to begin with? Hell, they weren't meant to be there to begin with. Anna sighed at the despondent looks on both of the mage's faces, before letting them know that she was going to prepare them all some stew for supper and give them some space to process their own pasts. However, when she turned to leave the room, Natsu stopped her.

"Wait, what—" he cut off abruptly, already back on his feet as he reached for her, but the words came out with a choked sound as she turned her attention back to him. He desperately wanted to ask what had happened to Igneel and the other dragons, if they'd died in the wars, or if they were still out there somehow. Back in Edolas, Anna had told him that he'd see Igneel again soon, but it wasn't likely she thought he'd show up in her time so what did that really mean given all her recent revelations. The words died on his tongue and a long moment of silence passed before he slowly became aware that she and Haru were both watching him intently. "Was it you that warned me about Acnologia" he asked instead.

"In Edolas—"

"No, on Tenrou Island, Acnologia attacked us, our whole guild vanished in his attack."

Anna looked at him sullenly, and Natsu bit back the wrenching of his gut that the look provoked, "no…" she started slowly, looking like she'd rather be having any other conversation. "Natsu, it might have been my voice you heard, but it would have been your mind's own manifestation, probably seeking familiarity in a confusing situation."

Natsu stared at her without really seeing as her words washed over him, grappling for the slightest understanding. In the moments of quiet and solitude in the months following their guildmate's disappearance, he still found himself dwelling on how he'd known the chaos dragon was approaching and how he might have better used the information to get them all to safety. The shame of failure still burned in him with an unrelenting intensity. He swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly going dry, and a strange pain sparked behind his eyes, blurring his vision slightly.

"You and Acnologia are irreversibly connected, Natsu," the blonde tried to say gently, but there was no real way to drop that bit of information with tact, especially after all the previous blows she'd dealt the pair. "The true King and the false King are two sides of the same coin, one of the purifying flame, light, and the other of the chaotic abyss, dark… they oppose each other naturally, are connected naturally, sense each other naturally, and you are the son of the true King."

"Igneel…" Natsu breathed as his vision blacked at the edges, he swayed on his feet and collapsed.

A/N. Okidoke! So that's the main flash back chapter, we'll get the rest of it in bits and pieces over this arc so that we get to see the rest of the team in action too. Next chapter will reveal what the mission the boys are proposing actually is, and a little more on my twists to the dragon slayer origins and what not.

Hint: the dragons aren't randomly hanging out in the bodies of the dragon slayers to regain strength only to fade into oblivion right after being released...

Hopefully you all are enjoying the bigger strays from canon for a change! Any predictions yet? :P Tell me what you're thinking/hoping to see!

This week's undying appreciations to Goku 275, Valerioux, SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta, Joker D. Zero, EternalFlame and a guest!

'Till next week,

R&R

xx. Loka Muse