Time was running out. The dragons are going to be among the living again. With the skeletal remains of dragons coming to life underneath the city, there might not be much time left. With the skeletons attacking the city, Nova and Gale called upon their own dragons to hold them back.

"Iron Dragon Club!" Gale smashed one club against the skull of one skeleton. Metmara helped out as he crunched against the skeleton and thrashed it around until it broke apart. "They're certainly a tough bunch."

"Just the way we like it." Metmara claimed as he managed to find some enjoyment out of this.

"Gale!" Gale looked up and saw Simon and Sasha as they landed down.

"Hey! You guys made it!" Gale said.

"Where's Sapphron?!" Sasha said.

"Nashi's doing everything she can to beat that bastard." Gale said. "Meanwhile, we're stuck dealing with the walking dragon dead. Nova's attacking from the sky." He pointed up and they spotted Nova riding Raijina as Raijina had lightning strike down and attacked the skeletal dragons.

"We need to protect the innocent." Sasha said as she jumped down and aided anyway she could against this threat.

"We can fight as much as we can, but it might not make much difference once that spell is complete." Metmara said.

"Metmara's right. I'm starting to worry we won't make it in time. Should we start gathering the people on our dragons and get outside of Fiore? The spell can only go that far." Gale said.

"No way we would make it in time. Even if we could, only a tiny amount of people in all of Fiore would survive." Simon said. Gale didn't like the sound of that. It was starting to seem like it was pointless. "Don't be discouraged, Gale! If we do fall with the rest of Fiore, we'll go down with a fight like always!" Simon claimed as he pulled out a sword and charged like a brave knight. Gale agreed with what Simon was saying and went on the attack. Everyone in Fairy Tail felt that way as they all did their best, but only one member has what it takes to stop all of this.

...

Nashi

Nashi and Amata fought against Sapphron together. It was certainly going better against him than it did before. Nashi flew right at him, but he moved out of the way. When he did that, Amata swung her claw at him, but he avoided that as well.

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Nashi was able to get back at Sapphron and smashed a raging fire against Sapphron. Nashi was beginning to overpower Sapphron, but it won't do much if she can't actually beat him before the spell.

"Hurry, Nashi! We're running out of time!" Amata called.

"I know, but he just won't go down!" Nashi complained.

"That's because I won't!" Sapphron shouted as he his blue flames came around his own fist. He flew at Nashi and landed his own strike against her. Amata tried attacking him again, but he flew up and came back down as he stomped on her head. "I have suffered for centuries! I have endured so much! All of it has only made me stronger!" Sapphron took all his determination to keep fighting. He went at Nashi again and landed another strike against her with all that determination behind it. "With all that I had to go through, I refuse to be defeated until my goals are reached!"

"I know... You keep saying the same thing over and over again." Nashi complained. Fed up with her, Sapphron landed another strike against her and sent her plummeting down.

"Just fall to defeat already!" Sapphron said. It looked like Nashi was about to crash, but she was able to pull herself together. She did crash into the ground, but Nashi flew straight back up like a rocket and smashed her fist against him. Still, Sapphron was able to endure that hit. "Why won't YOU go down?"

"It's because I'm fighting for something myself!" Nashi said. "You're fighting for the past, but I'm fighting for the future!" She gave him a strong uppercut and sent him flying straight up. Before Sapphron even had a chance to recover, Amata attacked again. She opened her mouth and chomped down on him. "Did that finish it?" She hoped so, but it looked like Amata was in pain. She was force to open her mouth and allowed him out. Sapphron flew straight out and took deep breaths. It looked like he was nearing his limit. That's good, but Nashi was having a hard time herself. 'It looks like I'm getting to him, but what more can I do?' She wondered as she looked down at her hands and saw they were getting worn-out. 'Those scales that coat his body are some really tough stuff. All I can do is keep hammering away until I break them, but I don't have the time.'

"I've had enough of all of this. This ends now!" Sapphron shouted as his flames burned through the sky. He launched a barraged of blue flames down at them. Amata was too big to dodge and ended up getting pummeled by them. Nashi was smaller and did her best to avoid all of them, but Sapphron wasn't going to let her escape. He flew straight down at her again and smashed against her with all his might. "I will not be stopped! They will come back!" Sapphron is so determined to go through this. It makes one wonder why in the first place.

...

Flashback

Long ago, there were some dragons that chose to live peacefully among humans in a kingdom called Dragnof. That is also where Sapphron lived when he was a child. Dragnof was like a paradise for dragons and humans.

"Sapphron. Where are you?" A blue dragon was looking around for him. He searched around the streets until he heard a pot move around. "I know you're there, Sapphron. I can smell you."

"Aw... You found me again." A small child came out of hiding and it was actually Sapphron from when he was a kid. "You're good, Azural."

"You can't hide from a dragon so easily." Azural said as he lowered his head to Sapphron. "Climb on. Let's go for a flight." Sapphron didn't hesitate as he climbed on Azural's head and was pretty excited. Azural started walking until it was safe enough for him to fly. When he took to the sky, Sapphron couldn't stop laughing like any kid could on an exciting ride. "Hold on tight!" The two of them flew around and enjoyed the air with other dragons flying around them. Azural and Sapphron felt like they had the time of their lives together. Sapphron also enjoyed being around the other dragons. He felt closer to the dragons than he felt towards people.

"Azural, this is all amazing." Sapphron said. "I hope we can stay like this."

"Sapphron, I've taken care of you for many years. You had no family until we found each other." Azural said. "We're going to be together for a long, long time." That's what they both wanted like any father would want with their son, but that could not last.

...

Years Later

"The dragons are at war?" Sapphron asked as he and Azural were talking about the war that is known as the Dragon King Festival.

"I'm afraid so." Azual said. "Some dragons see you humans as inferior creatures that we should feed on. I am going to join in the fight and other humans wish to help."

"How?" Sapphron asked.

"Queen Irene and Lord Belserion have found a way for humans to fight dragons with a new kind of magic." Azural said. "Those being given this power are called Dragon Slayers. I am going to join in the battle so that we can continue living together."

"So will I!" Sapphron said as he wasn't afraid to fight the bad dragons. "Azural, we said be together forever. If you're going into battle, so will I."

"Are you sure? It will be dangerous." Azural said.

"I'm certain. We'll go into this battle together and come out together." Sapphron said. That's what he wanted, but it could not be. They went into battle together, but only one of them was able to make it out. With the rain going with his misery, Sapphron saw the corpse of Azural and Azural was no longer part of this world.

...

Years Later

The trouble did not end with Sapphron. Word of Acnologia at the time spread with the dragons going extinct. Those who were given the power to slay dragons were being hunted down when they first showed signs of transforming. Fearing that it would be just like Acnologia, they were all hunted down.

"Any sign of him?"

"Not yet." Soldiers searched around as Sapphron stayed hidden in the shadows. The dragons were gone and his terror was only starting. He removed his arm from his cloak and saw how his arm became all scaly. Being hunted down and seen like some sort of monster made living difficult for him. He just couldn't understand how it all turned out like this.

"There he is!" Fear rushed through him as soldiers spotted him and went after him. Not wanting to hurt them, Sapphron tried running away. He tried to get as far from them as he could, but one soldier was able to get ahead of him and smashed a club against him and knocked him to the floor.

"Hold him down so he doesn't escape!" The soldiers ruthlessly attacked him as they all ganged up on him.

"Stop..." Sapphron mumbled as he tried defending himself, but they wouldn't ease up on him. They no longer saw him as a fellow human. They no longer considered dragons their friends. His life went from a joyful one to one of terror. "Go away!" He shouted as he didn't hold his power back anymore and became a dragon for the first time, just as others feared he would be.

...

Sapphron

Sapphron was able to escape and took cover in the wilderness. However, he was now stuck in his dragon form for he didn't know how to take his human appearance. All he did was look at his reflection in a lake and wondered why this all happened.

'Why?' Sapphron wondered. 'Why did this happen? Why did those dragons see us humans as lesser beings? None of this would have happened if they saw it differently. Azural and the others never would have lost their lives. Now they all see dragons as beasts. Do the times we had with the dragons really mean nothing? None of this should have happened. The dragons don't deserve any of this.' Sapphron always felt connected to the dragons, but now that connection is gone just like the one he saw as his father. He gained these powers to help fight, but now it ended up being for nothing to him. "Azural, I wish you were here." Even as a dragon, tears still flowed from his eyes.

End of Flashback

...

That was all the beginning. That is what brought him to this moment. He endured from feeling isolated from the rest of the world, hiding from Acnologia and those who could kill him, and finding those who have suffered this curse like him. He will see to it that all that suffering was worth it.

'Azural... I will see you again!' Sapphron thought as he blasted Nashi all the way to the ground. He went at her again, but Nashi rolled out of the way of his attack. "There were dragons that wanted to live alongside us humans! They didn't deserve to die, but that injustice will soon be corrected!"

"You don't even know if those dragons will be the ones brought back!" Nashi said.

"They will be! I'll make sure this world is one for the dragons to live with humans again!" Sapphron declared as he unleashed a blaze of blue fire at her, but Nashi took off to the air and tried to avoid it. However, Sapphron flew after her as he got behind her and held her in what is called the Nelson hold. "Take a look! The spell is about to be complete!" Nashi looked with terror at Crocus. The skeletal dragons were glowing brighter with the people in the city dropping like flies.

"No!" Nashi shouted.

"Any minute now, they'll be back! Sadly, you won't be around to see it." Sapphron said as he ignited the both of them in blue flames and tried to burn through Nashi. Nashi did her best to resist, but it looks like she's out of time. "It's over! I'm about to win!"

"No...you...won't..." Nashi said as she tried countering with own flames, but it wasn't working so well. It seemed like this was the end.

"There's nothing anyone can..." He didn't finish that as he saw something strange. Some sort of claw came at them, but it passed right through them. When that happened, Nashi felt herself growing even stronger. Her flames burned more and actually burned through Sapphron's flames. She was filled with so much power that she broke free from his hold and he was being consumed by her own flames. "What is this?!"

"This ends now!" Nashi shouted as her flames burned hotter and brighter than any dragon's ever has. She gathered it all in her fist and smashed it right into Sapphron's gut. All that power was too much even for the likes of him to handle. It broke through his scales and her flames blasted right through him. That blast of power is what helped end this just before the spell finished. Sapphron was blown away and there was no way he could recover from that. Nashi managed to beat Sapphron and stopped the spell just seconds before it finished. When Nashi realized what she just did, she felt something was off. "Hold on. It felt like I got a major boost in power. Where did it come from?" She didn't quite understand where all that power came from. She looked around until she saw something unreal. It looked like a ghost of a red dragon. Nashi has never seen that dragon before, but she felt a comforting sensation from him. When the dragon looked at her, all he did was smile. Somehow, Nashi just had a feeling she knew who that dragon was. "Grandpa Igneel?" The spirit of the dragon didn't say a word. He just smiled at her before he vanished. Nashi finally got see her grandfather. The battle appears to be over. Fairy Tail has won.