So, this is a new idea that has recently come to my mind while I was brainstorming ideas for Continued Life of a Dragon Slayer. It'll start out in a near-future environment before shifting to a different environment. A little house-keeping before I begin:

"When text is displayed in bold, like this, it is speech from the radio and from other communication devices." This is similar to how I handle comms in The Agency but I removed the Italics since these aren't sub-vocal communications.

"Standard text is standard speech."

'Voiced thoughts would be shown with single quotation marks,' whereas passing thoughts and observations would be shown without.

This is a written monologue when used by itself, so for example, a diary entry.

Let's get into it.


"We're losing Sector Thirteen! Requesting Reinforcements!"

"Delta 1-1. Take your tanks and push through Phase Line Hera and assist Kilo company."

"Negative, Sir! We've got heavy hostiles between us and Sector Thirteen! It'll be a suicide run."

"We're being overrun! I repeat; Requesting Reinforcements in Sector Thirteen."

"Command; Sirius flight is inbound to assist Kilo company, ETA Two Mikes."

"Orion flight is attaching ourselves to that request. Delta 1-1; We'll clear your advance, be ready to move."

"Good effect on target! Delta 1-1 advancing! We're coming Kilo!"

"Duck and cover, Kilo. You have munitions incoming, Danger Close."

"Command to Kilo company; Status?"

"…"

"I repeat; Kilo company, what's your status?"

"…"

"Delta 1-1, pick up the pace and punch through to Kilo's position."

"Roger!"

"Kilo here! Hostiles are falling back, for now! Thanks for the assist, Sirius!"

"Bolster your defences and sit tight, Kilo, Delta is pushing to your position and should be there soon."

"Sounds like hell down there." A raven-haired man said. He lifted his gaze from the magazine he was loading and looked across the table to a red-haired woman.

"They're fighting tooth and nail to stop our advance through their capital." The woman replied, looking up from the holographic battle map projected from the table. "After marching all the way down through Ishgar, claiming nation after nation in their thirst for domination, I can't imagine it feels all that great to be pushed all the way back here."

"It was looking dicey there for a bit." The man chuckled softly as he placed the loaded mag into a holder on his armour and started on another. "They got all the way down to Fiore. Feels like it was just yesterday that we were on the other side of this situation; protecting Crocus from the invaders."

"Delta 1-1 to Kilo; We're approaching your location now, coming in hot from the West."

"Victor 1-1; Requesting CAS on Lased Targets in Sector Twenty-Eight!"

"Cetus flight copies. Performing CAS run on targets lased by Victor company."

"I heard they were weaponizing civilians?" A quiet voice drew the attention of the two veterans to a corner of the room. It was a young woman with her long blue hair tied neatly behind her head, she was looking up from the backpack in front of her which had a red cross over a white background on it. While the older soldiers were all in their late twenties, this woman was in her early twenties. "What happens if we come under fire by them?"

"I don't like it, but if we need to kill them then we will have to." The redhead replied. She gave the younger woman a reassuring smile. "We'll do our best to avoid harming civilians. If we engage them then our weapons would cause too much damage to survive."

The blunette gazed down at the rifle beside her pack, glumly. It was called an M7 battle rifle, a bullpup rifle with an 18-inch barrel. The ammo was a hybrid-cased munition measuring at 8.6x66mm. It was her main firearm, and that of the raven-haired man.

"Corvus flight to Cygnus flight; you have Bandits incoming from the south, proceeding to intercept."

"After what they did in Crocus, Erza, I don't really care about Pergrande's civilians. I won't hesitate to put a bullet through anyone who shoots at us."

"Gray…"

"They fucking massacred an entire quarter of the fucking capital, Erza! And that's not including their warpath to the capital!" Gray spat out, the vein in his temple throbbing visibly. He slotted the full mag that he had in his hands into his rifle and magnetically attached it to the back of his armour.

"To all hands; This is Captain Tsavo of the JNN All Under Heaven. We are twenty minutes from the Drop Zone. Ground units; form up in the landing bays and prepare to board the transports. Shock Troopers; assemble in your designated bays and prepare for drop. That is all."

Gray sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his anger deep down so he could focus on their mission. "Wendy, can you kick the lovebirds out of their nest."

The young woman crossed the sizable room and stopped by an exposed cross brace. Resting atop the brace were a man and woman, one with salmon-pink hair and the other blonde. She reached out a gloved hand and lightly shook the armoured man. "Sir, it's time to get up."

"Hmm?" The man blinked a few times before he turned his dark-green eyes onto the blunette. "Thanks for letting me know, Wendy." He gently shook the woman who was curled up on top of him. "Come on, Luce."

The blonde lifted her head from his chest and gazed into his eyes longingly for a brief moment before reluctantly climbing down from their perch. Across her left breast, like the others, was a stencil of her first initial and her last name; L. Dragneel. She reached down and touched the tips of her armoured boots before bringing her hands up above her head and pivoting at her hips, working the kinks out of her body as the thud of boots echoed from beside her. Once she was satisfied, she took her SR32 DMR from where it rested against a nearby pillar and placed it on her back. It was a bullpup rifle, larger than the M7 in both length and calibre, with a 26-inch barrel and firing hybrid-cased 10.4x83mm ammunition. She snatched up Natsu's SPSR-14.5 and handed it over to him with a bright smile. "Here you go, Darling."

"Thanks." Natsu returned the smile as he attached the large rifle to his armour's magnetic latches on his back. As the name suggests, this monstrous weapon fired massive 14.5x120mm hybrid-cased ammunition from its 38-inch barrel, nestled with the bullpup frame. Both the Special Purpose Sniper Rifle and the SR32 DMR were Semi-automatic Rifles capable of decimating soft targets. The three Shock Troopers assembled with the other two at the hologram and Natsu glanced between his two squad mates. "How's it looking down there?"

"Fubar," Erza replied quickly. She brought up a 3D map of Phanagoria, the capital of the Pergrande Kingdom. It was coloured in red and blue sectors, the front lines marked in a vivid yellow. "The fighting on the ground is vicious, and the war in the air isn't much better." She expanded the height of the display, revealing both manned and drone fighter craft dogfighting over the city. The display went higher, and soon showed large ships ranging from 200 metres to 800 metres engaging in combat within the Mesosphere; 50 to 80 kilometres above sea-level. "We're enroute to the city, not far out now."

"Does everyone have enough supplies? Rations, meds, ammo?" The salmon-haired man glanced between the other Troopers. "We don't know how long we'll be stuck down there. And I'm damn sure that we won't be getting much support where we're going."

"I've made sure we are packing a week's worth of supplies each." Erza replied once more. She was the squad's second in command, following Natsu. While she was just slightly older, and both of them were proficient in battle, the man's instincts and twice enhanced senses gave him the tactical advantage.

"I made sure to store more medical supplies than even that, Sir. In case we come across friendlies in need of medical assistance."

"Good thinking, Wendy." Natsu smiled at the young woman and placed a hand on her shoulder, praising her thoughtfulness.

They were Shock Troopers, special soldiers enhanced with various chemical serums that had changed their bodies. While they still looked exactly like any other human, even standing at their same heights pre-administration, they were far from normal. They could run faster and for longer, they healed quicker and their bodies were much more durable. Even their senses had been enhanced. But for the Dragon Slayers, they already had their natural enhancements from their Dragon Magic, so they went from a force to be reckoned with to forces of nature. And being a Hybrid being, Natsu stood above all others.

"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. This is the JNN Rising Crescendo, we've taken severe damage and are going down! Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. JNN Rising Crescendo is going down!"

"To all ships of the Joint Nation Navy's Third Fleet; This is Fleet Admiral Hunter. We're five minutes from entering the zone of combat. All combat personal to your stations. All ships bring your weapons online and be ready to fire on the hostile fleets on my command."

"Aye, aye!"

"Turn the chatter off." Natsu ordered, calmly. "We don't need the distraction right now." After Erza flicked off the radio, Natsu leaned in and zoomed the map back down to the city view. He highlighted their landing zone deep behind enemy lines. "Once we drop, I want to push to the northwest," He drew a line across to a red circle. "To here. Intel states that there are four MLRS trucks that are hassling our troops. Point defence systems are taking out the incoming rockets but it still hurts moral having high explosives and their shrapnel rain down on you." He glanced up at the faces of his squad, his eyes hardened from years of ruthless combat in hellish warzones. "From there we begin our push to the north; towards the airport. We don't need to secure it, just take out their defences so the fly-boys can come in and seize it."

Before he could continue, the ship shook for a moment and leached back slightly with an almighty boom. All eyes turned to the wall where beyond sat the front of the ship. From all around them, similar thunderous booms echoed in through the outside.

"Sounds like they are knocking on their doors." Gray said with a shrug and turning back to the map.

"Knocking? More like kicking them down." Lucy added, brightly. Her radiant smile seemed to brighten the sterile, utilitarian ready room a little. "Say, Darling, what are the chances of meeting heavy resistance?"

"It's always possible. We'll be in the heart of their Kingdom, they have nowhere else to go so they'll either fight to their last or surrender. With luck, we can end this tonight." Natsu gave his wife a small smile, his tough mask slipping slightly in the radiance of the beautiful blonde. After a quick, deep breath he refocused on the map and continued to draw a rough path through the city, highlighting various targets of opportunity. "We don't have to hit all of these, but the more we destroy, the easier our guys will have it. Remember; the end goal is to reach the Government Palace and capture the royal family and parliament. We can force them to surrender once we have them in our grasp."

An alarm blared within the room, tearing their attention from the map.

"All hands; this is Captain Tsavo. We have reached the AO, board your transports and prepare for combat. Goodluck and Godspeed."

"You heard the man." Natsu glanced around at his squad. He grabbed his helmet from the table and slid it over his head. It sealed around his neck and the visor self-polarised. "Grab whatever is left to grab and find your seat."

Erza hurried to the weapon bench and grabbed her MGL and her MG80 general purpose machine gun and locked them to her back. She double checked her ammo supplies, making sure she had enough 40mm smart grenades and 8.6x66mm ammo.

The pinkette watched each one of his squad mates load up into pods along the wall, once the last was in he took his spot in his own. A padded bar cam down and kept him safely pinned against the crash seat. The hatch lowered in front of him and sealed closed with the heavy clunks of the locking bolts signalling that it was fully locked in. He was pulled up and away from the room and the pod rotated to reveal a line of identical pods across a dark gap.

"Troopers, Sound Off!"

"Griffin squad ready!"

"Golem ready!"

"Werewolf squad ready and waiting!"

"Cyclops ready!"

"Phoenix squad ready!"

"Hellhound squad ready!" Natsu called out.

"Basilisk ready!"

"Banshee ready!"

One by one, each Shock Trooper squad leader relayed their status. In total, there were sixteen different squads of Shock Troopers carried aboard the JNN All Under Heaven with more squads contained within its sister ships in the formation.

"This is it! After years of holding back the scourge of humanity that is the Pergrande Kingdom, we have finally reclaimed the lands and nations taken by them and pushed them back to their capital! This fight won't be easy, we knew that from the very beginning. But we've got them by the balls and all we need to do is to give them a little squeeze and make them surrender!"

"Hoorah!"

"Now, most of your fellow soldiers will be leaving these ships in Sparrows. They'll ride to the surface in air-conditioned comfort, sipping on Midian wine, and nibbling on cheese. Not us, we're going to leave the All Under Heaven in a different method. Tell me, Troopers… how will we leave?"

"Feet First!"

"Damn straight! Remember, our job isn't to jump feet first into hell! It's to make sure it's crowded once we get down there! See you on the ground, Troopers!"

There was a sudden lurch and the pods rapidly dropped from the belly of the ship, firing off their rocket boosters with a roar. Tracers from 50mm autocannon streaked across the sky between large warships, accompanied by swarms of missiles. Bolts of light shot from the bows of the ships as their mass drivers hurled slugs into the hostile fleets.

Natsu looked up, above him and past the frigate All Under Heaven were stars that shined against the black void. It was the only peaceful thing that he could see.

"Darling?"

The man glanced down to the left screen in front of him; it was displaying a private channel that Lucy had opened up. "Yes, Luce?"

The helmet's visor de-polarised, revealing a loving smile and vibrant chocolate-brown eyes. "I love you."

Natsu de-polarised his own visor and returned the smile. "I love you too. Safe travels."

"You too, Darling."

The channel closed and Natsu darkened his visor once more. Clouds were rapidly closing in on them from below, depressingly dark and full of water, the occasional flash of light illuminated sections. He didn't know if it was from lightning or from explosions. Fighters blew past their pods, dogfighting in and above the clouds, dodging falling debris from the warships above while slinging 30mm cannon rounds and air-to-air missiles at hostile aircraft.

As they punched through the cloud layer, they were met with the familiar sight of a burning city. Out of control fires illuminated patches of rubble and buildings alike, not showing even a hint of becoming extinguished by the rain. Rockets raced across the rooftops and rained down all across the city as Close Air Support jets strafed and bombed targets called out by the ground forces. V-30 Sparrows zipped across the battlefield, providing transport or supplies for troops and using the 25mm rotary cannons to rip into hostiles, carried along by their thrusters mounted in the rotatable nacelles.

Natsu's pod jerked for the third time. The upper panels separated from the body of the drop pod, opening up in a drag-type chute and slowing his descent. Once he was only fifty metres from impact, the pod fired its retrorockets. The sudden shock was expected but it never failed to send his stomach through the floor. Seconds later, the pod crashed into the ground with an impact that shook his skeleton. Even with the crash chair, it was a hell of a ride.

Thuds reverberated from around his pod as the bar holding him to the seat raised up and the door's locking bolts released, allowing it to raise up. As the man stepped out, he was greeted with the sight of all four other members of his squad stepping out of their own drop pods and gathering in a circle.

"Hellhound One to Control; We have boots on the ground. Everyone's accounted for."

"Copy that, Hellhound One. Proceed to your objective and assist any troops you come across."

"Understood. Hellhound out." Natsu walked past his waiting squad and drew his sidearm; an M12 pistol, chambered in 10x28mm Super. Each member of Hellhound had one strapped to their thigh. "Let's get a move on. Staggered Line."

The squad formed a loose staggered line with Natsu at the lead. There was no power in the capital because the nuclear power plants had already been seized by the Joint Nation forces and they had stopped powering the city. They moved through the streets in near pitch darkness, the only illumination came from the nearby infernos and the missiles that streaked over their heads.

"You know, I was expecting a welcome party." Gray called out, casually, but he kept his head on a swivel. "I guess the Pergrandians don't know basic hospitality."

"I don't really expect them to be all that welcoming, Gray." Lucy chuckled. She spared the man a quick glance over her shoulder. "Were you expecting a warm meal and a kiss on the cheek?"

"Sounds better than the rations we get given."

"Anything's better than that. But a warm meal does sound good right about now. Homecooked. What do you think, Darling?"

"Your homecooking? Hell, I'd be happy even with Erza's."

"What's that supposed to mean, Natsu?" The redhead shot at the man, a very clear edge present in her voice.

"There's a reason that Luce and I cook every time we have downtime between the five of us." Natsu shot back, playfully. "Though, I suppose if I want a strawberry cake or a souffle then I know just the right woman to ask."

"Umm… I always find Erza's sweets just a little too sugary…"

"Not you too, Wendy…" Erza moaned quietly, her shoulders sagging for a moment.

"I'm sorry Erza, they're delicious, but I get hyper after one slice of cake,"

"Yeah, and we all know that a hyper Wendy is like me when I was younger." Natsu chuckled but it turned into laughter when he heard the irritated growl come from the younger Dragon Slayer. "We should push through the buildings; I can't sense anyone nearby and it's the quickest way to the MLRS site."

"And it means we can get out of this rain." Lucy added as she turned her head to the sky, causing rain to bounce off of her visor.

The squad hurried to the right side of the street and Natsu busted through a door with his shoulder. He didn't bother doing a room check as he couldn't sense anyone and his instincts were warning him of any immediate danger. As they pushed through the building and out the back door, they were met with an orchestra of missiles screaming over their heads like wailing banshees.

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Hellhound One to Control; we have eyes on the MLRS site in Sector Thirty-Eight. There are eight launchers with twice the amount in ammo carriers."

"Understood, Hellhound One. Eliminate however you see fit. We would provide air support for a strike, but an AA battery has popped up in that sector and out birds are having a hard time dealing with it."

"Roger that, Control. Will report back upon completion of objective." Natsu shifted his weight, adjusting his position within the rubble of a church's belltower. He was laid down among bricks and mortar with his rifle resting on its bipod. Next to him was Lucy, who had her DMR resting on its own bipod.

"How do you want to do this, Natsu?" Erza asked quietly. She was stationed on a rooftop on the left side of the church's courtyard. "I can lob some grenades down there?"

"Negative. I'm already cooking up a spicy little surprise for them." The pinkette detached his rifle's seven-round magazine and pulled back the bolt, ejecting the currently chambered round. He quickly snatched it back up and poured a little bit of power into the large bullet, causing it to start to glow yellow. Once he had primed each of the rounds, he manually reloaded the rifle and attached the full mag. "Once things kick off, however, I want everyone to open fire. Focus on the soft targets, drivers first if you can."

"""Roger."""

Natsu placed his finger on the trigger and started to control his breathing, steadying his heartrate. Beside him, he could hear Lucy fall into the same rhythm, preparing herself to engage with her DMR. The pinkette slowly squeezed down on the trigger and released a round from the long, suppressed barrel. The bullet cracked through the sky, leaving a faint yellow trail in its wake. It collided with the boxy launcher mounted to the back of one of the MLRS trucks and detonated within, triggering the explosives in the missiles.

An almighty boom ripped through the courtyard, followed quickly by a vicious buzzsaw-like series of cracks. The hail of bullets tore right through the midsection of one of the guards, bisecting him with a gruesome shower of flesh and organs. It continued on its path of destruction, blowing apart four more nearby hostiles before they could even react.

The world slowed down for Natsu as his mind went into overdrive. A steel and brass hybrid case floated across in front of his vision but he paid it no mind. His attention was drawn to one of the missile launchers which had caused alarm bells to ring in his mind, it was about to fire and as such it had become the priority target.

As a missile was leaving the launcher, it was greeted by an explosive 14.5mm bullet. The explosion ripped into the warhead and blew it apart, setting off a chain reaction within the launcher and reducing the truck to a crater in the ground.

From directly opposite the two Dragneels, Gray ducked out of cover and sent bursts of 8.6mm into the kill zone along with the occasional fragmentation grenade. He sent out waves of ice magic, blocking the exits. "I've locked down the area. There is no path of retreat."

It only took a few minutes for the squad of Shock Troopers to render the Pergrande Missile Battery a burning wreck. And only a few seconds more to turn all the soft targets into clumps of steaming giblets.

"We made short work of that objective, right Darling?" Lucy murmured as she rose to her feet, her helmet pivoting side to side as she slowly scanned the kill zone. "I don't see any more hostiles in the area."

"Yes." Natsu replied with a small nod. He glanced to the woman as he replaced the magazine in his rifle. "I can't sense any living beings in the courtyard between the five of us."

"How are you holding up?" The blonde asked quietly, turning it her husband and leaning in closely as she placed a hand over his armoured chest plate, over his heart. "It must be rough… All the negative emotions and energy floating around…"

"I'm hanging in there." Natsu replied in kind. He gave her a quick one-armed hug and locked his rifle to his back. "Hellhound to Control; we have destroyed the Missile Battery in Sector Thirty-Eight. Caught them by surprise so they didn't have any time to react."

"Good work, Hellhound. We're send a Sparrow over to pick you up and ferry you closer to the airport."

"Understood. Hellhound out." He reached into a pouch and withdrew a smoke flare. With a quick motion, he ripped the ignition cap from device. It quickly sputtered to life and began emitting thick blue smoke from a bright blue flame. "I hope some bastard doesn't try locking this with a heat-seeker…" Natsu remarked, casually, as he tossed the smoke emitting stick down to the courtyard and jumped down to the rooftop of the church. "Hellhound; form up on me."

"Man… I'm getting sick of this rain." Gray complained as he walked across the courtyard. He wiped a hand across his helmet's visor to try and combat the rain as he gazed up at the large building.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Smells awful too, be thankful you don't have a nose like Wendy and I." Natsu replied. He moved to the edge of the roof and leant over with a hand outstretched. When Gray leapt up, he caught his hand and pulled him onto solid ground.

"Do I want to ask?"

"Burning bodies, fuel, smoke from the various building fires with whatever the fuck is burning in those, gun powder, etcetera… It's not pleasant."

"It's making me feel a little sick… I think there is something poisonous mixed in too." Wendy added as she floated over on some wind currents and touched down as lightly as a butterfly. "It's noxious but not deadly, so maybe it's just a chemical reaction and not a chemical weapon."

The last squad member to regroup was Erza, who leapt across the wide gap between the roof of the nearby row of buildings and the church. She landed gracefully and joined the circle of Shock Troopers. "Well, if you need to consume the air for power, make sure you have enough leftover to purify it first. I don't want you to fall ill due to contaminated air."

"Hellhound, this is Sparrow Four-Oh-Five, callsign: Dawn Breaker. Your taxi has arrived."

"Welcome to the party, Dawn Breaker." Natsu replied as he turned his gaze toward a descending transport. The Sparrow's gimbled thrusters in the wing-mounted nacelles twisted and turned as the aircraft spun around and opened the rear hatch while drawing closer to the church. Once it was level with the roof, Hellhound stepped aboard and Natsu entered the cockpit. "How's it looking out there?"

The pilot, Dawn Breaker, glanced over her shoulder then leaned out of her chair to look through the open door. Seeing that everyone was inside, she hit the switch for the rear hatch and started to gain altitude. "It's pretty nasty, Sir. Civilians are throwing incendiary devices onto the IFVs and tanks. They are laying traps with IEDs, and some are even fighting alongside the military."

The pinkette sighed and watched the rooftops zip by. "Civilian casualties are never pleasant, but if they are leaving us no choice then we need to defend ourselves."

"We've taken a few shots to the belly from small arms fire. But none have penetrated the fuselage and our thrusters are still at a hundred percent." Dawn Breaker spared a glance at the Shock Trooper. Like the man, her head was enclosed within a full-face helmet, with hers linking to the Sparrow's computers to display various metrics on her visor. "Had to do a few medevacs, wasn't pretty. Those IEDs I mentioned, a lot of them have nails and ball bearings littered throughout them."

"Ouch…"

"Darling, would you like a drink?"

Natsu turned back to the cabin and came face-to-helmet with a gorgeous blonde woman who was offering him her canteen. "Ah, thanks." He smiled and pulled his helmet off and took a drink of the offered water, it had a faint lemony taste but that wasn't unusual as Lucy nearly always put a few slices of fresh lemon into her canteen for added flavour. She always said that she hated the taste of plain water.

Lucy leaned up and kissed the man's cheek while he helped himself to a drink. She slipped past him and looked out the cockpit's windows at the burning city. "I remember when Magnolia looked like this…"

"That was a hard month." Natsu sighed quietly and capped the bottle. He reached over and placed it back in its spot on the back of Lucy's belt. "So many familiar voices screaming for help, begging to be saved."

"Dragneel…" Dawn Breaker mumbled as her eyes locked onto the names of both the Troopers. She looked back to the pinkette and blinked slowly. "You're one of the Dragon Slayers, aren't you?" The pilot turned back to the skies ahead of her and let out a small noise from her throat. "I thought you sounded familiar."

"Yeah. They called me Salamander. A nickname for a fire breathing dragon."

"I don't envy you, Sir. With ears and a nose like yours, I'd have gone insane long ago."

"…You get used to it."

"Rough… You better get ready, Sir. We're reaching the minimum safest distance I can take you. Any closer and we'll be at risk of coming under fire from Triple-A."

"Understood. Drop us off on top of any rooftop." Natsu patted Lucy's shoulder and placed his helmet back on his head. The two Dragneels went back into the cabin where the rest of the squad stood waiting. "We're being dropped off any minute now. Once we're down, we make an immediate break for the airport and find a vantage point to assess the situation."

"Chances are that the entire place is littered with Anti-air pieces. How will we take them all out without giving out position away?" Erza asked.

"We'll work that out when we get there."

"From what I saw on the way down, they have CIWS dotted around the area. I could see tracers coming the airport, they were shooting down any missiles our guys shot at them." Lucy informed the squad as she joined the reformed circle. Her helmet pivoted on her shoulders as she gazed at each member of Hellhound squad. "Maybe I could use my Target Designator to paint the sites and we can call in strikes from our ships?"

"I'll have to consult with Control on that one, Luce. If they don't care about property damage, then by all means, we'll rain hell on them."

"Sounds quick and easy for me." Gray agreed with a nod of his head. "If we get a frigate to point its Fifties down here then we should be able to have some accurate fire support providing we can lase the targets."

The Sparrow slowed to a stop and the rear hatch opened. "Here's your stop, Hellhound! Happy hunting!"

"Thanks for the lift, Dawn!" Natsu called out as he and his squad jumped from the back of the transport, landing on the roof a few metres below.

"Another happy customer." Dawn Beaker quipped as she wrangled the Sparrow around and flew off to the south towards safety.

Hellhound squad turned to the north, where fountains of tracer fire sprayed through the night at incoming threats. The five Shock Troopers took off, rapidly accelerating to a sustainable sprint and leaping from rooftop to rooftop at just over 60kph – fast enough to be clocked on a suburban speed camera. They could have moved faster but it risked damaging the buildings underfoot and it wasn't sustainable.

"Hellhound to Control; Interrogative."

"Go ahead, Hellhound One."

"Hellhound Four wants to know that if she lases the defences at the Airport, can we get one of the warships to point their guns down here?"

"One moment, Hellhound One. I'll check on that and get back to you. In the meantime, set up in a viable position in case it comes back green."

"Understood. Hellhound out." Natsu scanned the buildings ahead of them, searching for an optimal position that overlooks the target. "Chances are that we'll need to be mobile, we probably won't be able to strike all the air defence systems from the one position."

"Darling, how about Erza and I group up and stay mobile, you find a good position for overwatch."

"Sounds good to me. Gray, Wendy, you two pair up and go with them but keep your distance. The second we engage; they'll fire up their thermals and start scanning the surroundings. Suffice to say, I'll look like a fucking violent Christmas tree."

"Natsu, there's a water tower to the northwest of the target." Wendy informed the man as she moved up to his side. She pointed out the dark mass which was infrequently illuminated by cannon and missile fire. "That would be a good position for you, and it should defuse your heat signature into the tank of water."

"Hmm, alright. You guys break right and move along the eastern side of the target, I'll move along the western side. That should allow us to take as many sites out as possible."

The squad split into three groups with Erza and Lucy taking the lead position to the east and Gray and Wendy lagging one to two hundred metres behind. Natsu dropped down to street level and put more force into his legs, shattering the asphalt road as he launched into a full sprint. The buildings around him became blurs racing past as he streaked down the road.

Alarm bells blared in the man's head as he sprinted, knife and pistol in hand. His mind went into overdrive once more, slowing his perceived time and accelerating his reflexes as he surged around a bend and came face-to-face with a platoon's worth of hostile soldiers.

He was on them before the Pergrandian soldiers could raise their rifles. Effortlessly sliding the knife through the neck of one while drilling a 10mm bullet between the eyes of another. Natsu kicked off a third's chest, caving in their ribcage and sending bone fragments through their chest cavity while he whipped an armoured leg through the air and turned the fourth's head into a fine pink mist. It seemed that they weren't mages, not that a mage could survive long against him anyway without proper training and armour, but these soldiers fell apart like literal toy soldiers.

Five, six, seven… ten… sixteen… the hostiles were quickly overwhelmed by the lone Shock Trooper. He moved faster than they could train their guns, appearing as a blur that cut through the pouring rain. A deadly spectre that harvested the souls of the damned. In no time at all he cut the platoon down by thirty, and he showed no sign of slowing.

When he finally skidded to a stop, forty-eight bodies were strewn about the street. Some were on the asphalt, others on the concrete sidewalk or lawn. One had been skewered on a flag pole after ricocheting off a parked car; launched by a heavy kick to the abdomen.

"Squad; be on alert for patrols, I just came across a platoon-sized force and had to eliminate them." Natsu flicked the blood from his knife and slid it back into the sheath on his left thigh. He quickly checked his pistol's mag and grimaced slightly, he didn't like putting partially empty mags back into his holders so he placed the mag-less pistol into the holster and started summoning individual rounds from his Requip's pocket dimension to refill the current mag while he moved out.

"Lucy and I haven't come across anyone just yet, Natsu. But we'll keep an eye out and avoid conflict."

"Chances are that they'll know something is up with the troops I took out. Hopefully it will draw their attention my way and keep you four in the clear."

"We'll be careful, Sir."

Natsu slipped the mag back into his pistol and picked up the pace once again. He was getting near the water tower so he leapt up onto a nearby building and began to run along the rooftops. There was a gap between the last building on the street and the tower, it was sitting in the centre of a roundabout. At the last possible step, he leaned in deeply and pushed off hard, causing him to launch across the fifty-metre gap and grab a hold of the railing on the tall structure. Once he was on the catwalk that ran around the tank, he circled around to the ladder and climbed to the very top where he grabbed his rifle and laid prone with his weapon on the bipod.

"Hellhound, this is Control. We've heard back from the fleet; they're happy to provide some assistance but your window is going to be short. We're linking your Target Designator to the Fire Control Systems, whatever you ping will cease to be."

"Hellhound copies. Light 'em up, Lucy."

Moments after he gave the order, the first barrage of 50mm shells rained down upon one of the CIWS sites. Fired from the turreted rotary cannons of the frigates on the edge of space with perfect precision, all the rounds hammered a twenty-metre diameter circle centred on the CIWS turret; destroying it and the supporting structures.

While all hell rained down from above, Natsu loaded more of his specially enchanted high explosive incendiary rounds into his SPSR-14.5. His goal was to eliminate any SAMs and Triple-A that he could see from his position in hopes of softening the target enough for them to call in CAS strikes to clean up the rest. "Fuck this rain…"

An alarm rang throughout the militarised airport as Natsu lined his scope up with one of the Anti-Air Artillery vehicles. The world slowed as he dialled in his focus and – as fast as his rifle could cycle – he began taking out one weapon system after the next. Each one erupted in a gratuitous conflagration, their ammo detonating like fire crackers.

"Darling, we're repositioning to get a better lock on the CIWS."

"Understood, Luce." Natsu replied. He shifted his body and prepared another batch of HEI ammo from his tungsten-carbide-cored AP ammo.

Hellhound made quick work of the defences, opening up enough of the airspace for their air-to-ground aircraft to make runs on the remaining air defences using HARMs now that they will no longer be intercepted by the Close-In-Weapon-Systems.

"We're all set here, Darling. No more active CIWS."

"Hellhound to Control; reporting the destruction of Point Defence assets in the airport."

"Copy that, Hellhound. We have a new objective for your squad."

"Understood, send it through."

"The ground forces are nearing the Palace but the strike force coming from the south-east have been falling behind. We need your squad to close off the encirclement and ensure that no one escapes the area."

"Hellhound copies, Control. We'll regroup and push up through the streets so we can cut off any potential fleeing HVTs." Natsu leapt off the water tower and pushed fire out of his soles, slowing his descent until he reached the ground. While he waited for his squad to reach his position, he leaned against a building's façade and kept out of the rain. It didn't really do much since he was already soaked to the bone but it gave him a chance to dry off as much as he could with his higher body temperature.

After some time, footsteps lightly splashed their way toward the water tower. When Natsu glanced over, he saw the loose formation of his squad coming down the street, split into two groups on either side. He stepped out from under cover and hurried over. "Let's go wrap this war up."

"I wish she could've been here to see it end…" Gray mumbled. A hand landed on his shoulder and the raven-haired man looked up to see Natsu on the other end of it.

"She will be remembered, Gray." He said, softly. "We miss her too."

"Yeah, even with all of her quirks. She was still one of my best friends." Lucy added, solemnly. She took a deep breath and leant against her husband. "The world is going to be different without them…"

"All we can do now is finish this fight and live for those we lost." Erza brought both of her childhood friends into her arms for a reassuring hug, a loving smile hidden behind her darkened visor but visible in her warmth.

Wendy stumbled forward and buried herself into the pile of bodies, stuck between Gray, Natsu, and Erza as she hiccupped quietly. "I-I miss Carla… and Happy."

It felt like someone punched him in the gut at the mention of his adopted son and Natsu's breath got caught in his throat. "So do I, Wendy… So do I." He murmured as he rubbed his and on top of her head and while the helmet made a barrier between them, the gesture was no less meaningful. "I hate to do this, but we need to save the mourning until we are done. Then we'll have all the time in the world."

"Yes, let's finish this." Gray detached himself from the group and took the lead.

"Staggered column. I'll take the rear." Natsu ordered as he stepped back and drew his SPSR-14.5 from his back. He side-stepped and allowed each person to pass, first Wendy, then Erza, and finally Lucy. They moved through the city at a jog, moving up the path of assault to the Government Palace and keeping an eye in each direction for hostiles trying to extract their leaders.

"Sir?" Wendy called out, turning around to skilfully jog backwards. "Something feels off, do you sense anything?"

"Just the usual hostility that I've been feeling from the Palace ever since we got down here. Though, now it seems to be swinging more into panic and despair." Natsu shrugged his shoulders and gaze up at the large building that drew ever nearer. "They are most likely feeling the noose slowly tighten around their necks as we encircle them."

"The air feels different somehow, I'm not sure what is causing it."

"I haven't heard anything from Control, and well, there are a lot of things blowing up higher up in the atmosphere and mixing with the water. Could it just be that?"

"I don't know, Sir…"

"I'll keep an eye on things, Wendy. So, if shit hits the fan, then I'll tell everyone it's happening."

Once they reached their position, they leapt to the rooftops. They split into two groups with Gray and Wendy taking one side of the road and Natsu, Lucy, and Erza perched upon the other. Both Dragneels got into a prone position with their sights trained on the large palatial building while Erza rested her machine gun on a brick chimney and scanned the surrounding gardens.

"Hellhound to Control; We're in position. How's the push coming along?"

"They're not far off now, Hellhound. The forces in their way retreated and they were able to proceed to the objective. ETA five mikes."

"Understood. We'll hold position until they arrive." Natsu slowly moved his scope from one window to the next, checking for any hostiles unlucky enough to pop out and try and shoot their forces. He snarled slightly and gazed about; something was off. "Wendy, do you still have that feeling?"

"Yeah." The blunette called out across the gap. She shifted her position and moved behind a chimney to face them. "It has been getting worse too. Something feels off about the air."

"What's wrong, Darling?"

"I can sense an extremely malicious intent coming from within the palace." Natsu slowly rose to his knees as his gaze burned into the large building. "It just spiked higher…"

"What could they be thinking, I wonder…" Erza mumbled to herself. She checked their surrounds and glanced up at the sky, seeing nothing just yet. "If I remember right, the Pergrande Kingdom has a lot of missile silos, correct?"

"They do." Gray replied. "They have the most missile silos in all of Ishgar, each one with the capability of launching various ballistic missiles with ranges from one-fifty kilometres to over five-thousand kilometres."

"Gray's right. And that's not including mobile ballistic missile launchers." Natsu confirmed quickly. He reached over to Lucy and rummaged in her hard-case backpack. He pulled out a data pad and skimmed through its intel. His attention was distracted briefly by a subtle playful wiggle of his wife's hips and he shook his head lightly. "There are no notifications from command just yet. I'm more afraid of what Alakitasia will do if Pergrande uses any of its nuclear weapons."

The rumbling of engines reached the Dragon Slayers' ears, causing them both to glance back down the road and see that they armoured column has finally caught up. The tanks and IFVs pushed into the courtyard at the end of the road and started to spread out, with the troops unloading from the Infantry Fighting Vehicles.

"You think that we'll have a M.A.D situation on our hands?" Erza rose from her position with her machine gun and moved to the edge, she gave a quick wave to the new troops.

"Gods I hope not…" Natsu muttered before slipping the data pad back into Lucy's bag and grabbing his rifle, he then joined Erza on the edge of the building. "Let's get down there and regroup with the friendlies."

"So, umm… What exactly would we be looking at if Pergrande did launch their nukes?" Lucy asked quietly as each member of Hellhound dropped down off the buildings and started moving to the company commander's location.

"Thermonuclear bombs." Natsu replied, gravely. "And in the very worst case; salted thermonuclear bombs."

"Salted?"

"It means they are laced with Cobalt, which when exposed to a fusion reaction goes from cobalt-59 to the radioactive isotope cobalt-60. Very, very fucking dangerous." Natsu informed the blonde, keeping his voice calm and level to not startle her. "They put out a radioactive dosage of ten sieverts per hour. And only five sieverts is needed to kill a human within an hour. On top of that, cobalt-60 has a half-life of just over five years. So, only after five years will someone be able to last an hour inside the radioactive exclusion zone."

"'A human'? Does that mean that you and Wendy will last longer?"

"We're part dragon due to the mutations caused by our magic. She can last longer and remove radiation from herself and others. And I'm immune to the intense heat and blast pressure caused by the bomb going off."

"I'm also descended from a gen zero dragon slayer, so I can take more punishment, though I'm not sure how well that will translate to radiation poisoning." Erza informed the blonde. "And you already know that Natsu's a demon, so he has a lot more resistances than he admits."

"Demon, dragon, doesn't matter to me." Lucy giggled cutely and wrapped her arms around the pinkette. "I love everything about Natsu."

Natsu smiled softly behind his visor and rested an arm across her shoulders. "I can also project my aura; it can protect those within a few metres of me from fire and blast damage but won't do anything for radiation or shrapnel. Kinda pointless in the vast majority of situations, though if they hit us with Thermobaric weapons then I can easily nullify it."

"Commander Dragneel!"

The pinkette lifted his head and glanced over his shoulder. A gruff-looking middle aged man was hurrying over to the squad of Shock Troopers. "Major Donovan, what's the matter?"

The older man came to a stop by the troopers and gave a quick salute. "I just wanted to thank you for holding our position until we arrived. We hit an ambush on our path to the palace and had to take care of wounded."

"You don't have to thank us, Major. We were doing our job." Erza quickly replied in Natsu's stead. "How are the wounded?"

"Stable, Lieutenant Commander Scarlet. We had a Sparrow evac them to the frigate Divine Absolution and are being treated as we speak."

"Major Donovan, do you have any new orders or are we all just going to encircle the Government palace?"

"I haven't heard anything new just yet, Commander." The man shook his head lightly. He turned to the palace as he took off his military cap and ran a hand through his short hair. "What's the bet they bit the bullet?"

Natsu glanced over to their target and shrugged lightly. "If they did then that saves us ammo, however I can still feel people inside there." He directed his attention to some infantry making a sandbag wall and an idea popped into his mind. "Gray, can you go about and make some low walls to get the grunts some cover. Make it thick ice, wouldn't want them to catch a high-calibre round."

"Alright."

As the raven-haired man walked over to the troops building the defences, a faint rumbling blast drew the attention of the two dragon slayers to the skies above them. "Control, is everything alright?" The only response Natsu got was a sharp burst of static. "Come in, Control. Is everything alright?"

"I don't like this feeling." Wendy muttered fearfully and instinctually moved closer to the more powerful dragon slayer, seeking protection. "The air is starting to feel polluted."

"Command, are you there?"

"Com…d…r Dr…ne…l, we h…r …u. T… Pergr…de K…m h…s l…nched n…l…er m…les! …peat; … nucle… mi…s!"

"Command, the channel is full of static, you're cutting in and out! Did you say something about nuclear missiles?!"

"Af…ative! N…ear missiles … the air! Seek …ver … Repeat; S… … Immediately!"

A hole appeared in the clouds above them, forcibly parted by an intense shockwave. The blast revealed carnage freefalling to the earth, the entire Third fleet along with the remnants of the First and Fifth Fleets as well as the hostile fleets had been obliterated by a large blast. Through the hole, tens of missile trails could be seen high in the sky with potentially hundreds more remaining unseen, but even more problematic was the large missile bearing down upon the capital.

"Major, looks like they pull the trigger on themselves after all! EVERYBODY GET TO COVER!" Natsu roared as he channelled his demonic power and produced a maroon field extending a few metres from his body. It ensured the safety of most of his squad, but there was still one who wasn't within his barrier. "Gray! Get your ass back here!"

The raven-haired man turned and started sprinting back towards Hellhound squad but a bright light caught his gaze halfway back. It seemed that his time has finally come to an end. He reached up and took off his helmet and closed his eyes. "I'm coming, Juvia…"

""GRAY!"" Both Erza and Natsu shouted at the top of their lungs. Even if they had put everything they had into crossing the distance, they wouldn't have made it in time and the barrier needed to be actively powered.

An intense heat washed over the encircled palace, accompanied by a powerful shockwave, combined it rendered everything directly under the explosion a mass of ash, molten twisted metal, and pulverised brick and concrete. Those unprotected from the explosion became black shadows burnt into the ground, extending out in relation to their angle to the weapon.

As Gray's magical signature faded his requip spell broke, scattering his ammunition, grenades, and explosive devices, all of which rapidly combusted. Natsu wrapped his arms around the girls and forced them down to the ground, minimising their chances of being struck by shrapnel. He kept them held to the ground as more missiles rained down from the heavens. "We need to stay low and move to cover. Wait out the bombing."

The ground shook violently, from both the massive explosions and the various ships crashing to the earth in chunks that ranged from only fifty metres up to four-hundred metres. The four members of Hellhound squad crawled through the falling ash and between debris, scrambling for a ruin of a building, a metro station, something that could offer them shelter from the hellish storm.

"Sir… Natsu… Th-there's radiation everywhere…" Wendy mumbled sadly, crawling into a ball once they reached the burnt and crumbled remains of a store. "Did we just get nuked?"

"It seems…" Natsu sighed and removed his helmet, sending it away to his pocket dimension with a flash of light. There was no need for head protection anymore, he doubted anyone would be in the mood for shooting each other anymore. "It seems that our worst fears have come to fruition."

The three women each removed their helmets, they didn't have any in-built filters so they wouldn't be much help in their current situation. If anything, they felt claustrophobic confined within the tight-fitting headpiece.

"Wendy, monitor Lucy and Erza." Natsu ordered quietly but calmly. "Treat them periodically for radiation poisoning."

"D-darling…" Lucy whispered quietly. She followed the man to the entrance of their shelter and gazed up at the flame-filled sky. The blonde slipped her hand into Natsu's timidly and moved she moved closer when his fingers interlinked with hers. "Are we in hell?"

"No…" He replied, simply. "I'd more call this purgatory. Our death is certain now, the war is over but the battle has just begun."

"I'm… I'm scared, Natsu…" Lucy rested a hand over her stomach. She had a secret she had been saving for the war's end, something that had only happened recently but she knew wouldn't be in danger… but now, now it seemed their family would be dead before it had even had even be able to grow past two. "Natsu… I'm…"

"Pregnant." Natsu finished her sentence in a whisper.

"You knew?" Lucy glanced up at him but shook her head moments later with a sad smile. "Who am I kidding, of course you would know."

"Your scent changed when it happened. I can tell when your body goes through various changes by the scents it gives off, it's only something dragon slayers can do."

"Does Wendy know?"

"Yeah… She asked me about it, I told her it had happened. She was planning on being there for you throughout the pregnancy, and after too."

Lucy took a deep breath through her nose and released it from her mouth. "So… how bad is it?"

"It seems they had some cobalt bombs after all. Only one has hit here though, the rest were thermonuclear and nuclear bombs." Natsu turned to his wife and brought her head to his chest. "The radiation is pretty strong. I can't guarantee that you'll survive beyond an hour…"

"Did you… want to give it a name?"

"Ah… yeah. Should it be a girl?"

Lucy giggled and nuzzled her face against his armoured chest, even through the heavy ballistic armour she could feel his warmth. "I had always wanted to have a cute little girl who I could teach Celestial magic to."

"Maybe we could throw some names into the pool?" Erza chimed in softly as she and Wendy joined the couple. "I vote for Grace."

"For that frosty bastard?" Natsu barked out a laugh and shook his head. "Maybe for his own girl with Juvia, not ours."

"What about Anya? You know, like Aunt Anna." Wendy suggested, she sounded a little more cheerful since her mind was taken off their current situation. "And it fits with Lucy's mother. Anna and Layla."

"I like that one." Lucy giggled brightly.

"Chinatsu sounds good, I reckon." Natsu pitched in. "It's based on my name, which means Summer. Hers would mean Thousand Summers."

"If she's as warm as you are, then that's very fitting." The blonde continued to giggle, and she hugged the man tighter. "I guess it's my turn… how about Henrietta?"

"Now that's a mouthful." The pinkette laughed, earning a pout from his wife who glared up at him with puffed out cheeks. He led her by the hand back inside the ruin and sat down on a chunk of concrete that had been thrown through the wall into the storefront. "Speaking of which, if these are to be our last moments, might as well have something to eat."

As they formed a seated circle with a small fire in the centre, fuelled by scraps and wooden beams, they brought out their ration packs and started rummaged in them. The first thing they pulled out was the bars of chocolate that was issued with every pack, no matter the variant. A gentle, refreshing breeze started to circulate in and around the group, it had a faint blue glow to it. Wendy had created an active purification zone to fight off the radiation building up in their systems.

"It tastes better than it usually does." Lucy murmured in surprise, glancing at the can she was now eating from. It was beef stew that she had heated over the fire.

"There is something to say about last meals but it's not really appropriate…" Natsu replied softly, his gaze not moving from the half-eaten can in his hands. He had mentioned it before, but the current situation made it even more apparent. Lucy was starting to seem more and more sickly the more time passed by, her skin was becoming paler and her eyes were becoming bloodshot. Erza was fairing better, but not by much. What's more was that he could feel people slipping away all around them, dying in whatever grave they had found for themselves. He didn't bring this morbid truth to the circle though; their moral was pretty low as it was. So, he resigned himself to eating his own 'last meal'.

Once Lucy had finished her food, she moved to Natsu's lap and snuggled into his warmth. She was looking even paler than before. She looked up at her husband and leaned up to plant a kiss on his lips. "I love you, Natsu."

"I love you too." Natsu whispered into her ear as he brought up a hand and carefully placed it against her head, holding the woman close. She was smiling as she closed her eyes, and that smile didn't falter, not once, as she faded away in his arms, taking a part of him with her. "Lucy…?" He felt water well up in his eyes as the woman became slack on his lap and he felt the last vestiges of her soul vanish from their world. Her magic faded away and what she had hidden away with Requip started to appear around them. Most of it was ammo, but there were a few personal artefacts among it. A photobook and a diary chief among them. "She's gone…"

"I'm sorry, Natsu." Erza whispered as she took a seat next to the man and hugged him. "It's ok to show it now…"

The man was silent as he rose to his feet with the woman he loves in his arms. He carried her a short distance away and laid her down on an empty stretch of floor. The water in his eyes finally slipped out and tears soundlessly ran down his cheeks. Natsu reached under her armour and removed her dogtags. Like his own, her wedding ring was placed on the chain for safe keeping. He placed her tags and ring around his own neck and began carrying bits of rubble to her body, creating a small burial mound for her. Once he had collected up everything that she had been carrying with her, he sat back down by the fire, feeling like half the man he had been earlier that night. He had lost his best friend, and now he had lost the love of his life, soon he'll lose his other childhood friend, and then his little sister.

"It seems to have quietened down out there." Erza murmured quietly as she gazed out the hole in the wall. Ash was falling like snow, and many buildings were ablaze.

"They would have died out within half an hour." Natsu replied, hollowly. He sighed and glanced at the redhead. "That Cobalt bomb puts out enough radiation to kill someone in half an hour, Lucy lasted a little over forty minutes thanks to Wendy's efforts."

"I'm sorry I couldn't have done more…" Wendy said in a small voice. She was holding her head in her hands and crying into them. "I'm so sorry, Natsu."

"Don't be, Wendy. You gave me more time with her, that's more than I could have asked of you, and far more than what I could have done for her…"

Erza moved closer to the man and leaned against his side, resting her head against his shoulder. "I wish Gray didn't go that way… but it would have been painless."

"Yeah… he's with Juvia now too."

"We've lost so many people… and now, so, so many more."

"Can you… feel them, Natsu?" Wendy mumbled into her hands, her head lifting slightly and revealing her puffy red eyes.

"Yeah…" Natsu nodded his head very lightly and put an arm around Erza.

"Wendy…" Erza softly addressed the young woman, a kind but sad smile adorning the mature beauty. "Save your strength, don't worry about me."

"But, but…" The blunette's head shot up in shock and she stared wide-eyed at the woman.

"I'm going to die either way. There is no point prolonging the inevitable."

Wendy lowered her head slowly, burying it her hands once more as the gentle breeze faded away. She had stopped using her magic, both for herself and for Erza. The shop was silent bar for the crackle of the fire and Wendy's quiet sobs. And without Wendy's magic to slow down the radiation eating away at her, Erza drifted away silently with a sad but pleasant smile.

Natsu picked up the woman and took her over to where he had place Lucy. He left her uncovered as he decided to dig proper graves for his family. Once he had collected her scattered gear and weapons, he returned to his spot opposite Wendy. "I'm sorry…"

"I don't want to die, Natsu…" Wendy whimpered. Her body shook as she softly sobbed. "There were so many things I had wanted to do after the war… Places to see, things to eat, people to meet… and now they are all dead and irradiated."

"I know." Natsu replied quietly. "I can feel everyone and everything slowly slipping away."

"What… what will you do once I'm gone?"

"Proper graves." Natsu sighed quietly and lowered his head, solemnly. "I'll dig one for all of us."

"Do you plan on… taking your own life?"

"No. I have too much pride for that, I'd never throw the life my brother gave me away so selfishly, and if I did that then Lucy would be pissed beyond belief when I see her. I'll wander for as long as I can last. I don't know how long that'll be. But I'll try and make it back here to be with everyone."

"And for Gray?"

"I'll make him a marker since there is nothing left to bury."

"Do you hate yourself? That you'll be the last one?"

"A little." He whispered. A small hand came to rest upon his cheek and it lifted his head slowly. He gazed into the young woman's teary eyes; she was afraid but seemed to be finally coming to terms with her imminent end. "It's going to be quiet…"

Wendy rose to her feet and tried to move closer to the other dragon slayer but she struggled and stumbled forward, having to be caught by the man so she would suffer any more harm. "I'm sorry, Natsu. If I could have been able… to stick with you a little longer… I would have."

"Don't worry about it… and don't fight it, Wendy… I can't imagine how painful it must be." Natsu murmured as he brought the woman into his arms and rested one hand on her head and the other around her waist. "I'll do my best to make due until my time comes. And then I'll be reunited with you all."

"It has been… an honour… serving with you, my King." Wendy murmured faintly, her body progressively becoming more and more slack with each pause until she let out her last breath, snuggled up in Natsu's comfortable warmth.

He was alone now… his friends, his family, they were all gone. He couldn't hear anyone; he couldn't sense anyone's presence. It was a city of the dead, and most likely not the only one of its kind either. Wendy's equipment scattered around him, he gazed around at it with hollow eyes, it felt like he had been robbed of every last bit of warmth his possessed. Him, a fire dragon slayer and a fire demon, the one who was feared as E.N.D, one of Zeref's most powerful and dangerous demons felt powerless and cold.

He laid Wendy down next to Erza and folded her hands over her stomach before uncovering Lucy and moving her to the other women. The wind was howling through the ruins as he collected up Wendy's gear and stored it in his own Requip dimension, choosing to switch his weapon and ammo for the blunette's Battle Rifle, though there wasn't really any point to it anymore. He placed it on his back and went out into the desolate world to search for a proper gravesite.

Natsu didn't have to travel far, while he wanted to bury them back in Fiore, more specifically back in Magnolia, he doubted that it would even be possible to make that trek in time before their bodies… deteriorated. So, he made due and blew a hold in the concrete in the Government Palace's gardens, creating a break roughly two metres long and ten wide; enough for five respectable graves. He grabbed an Entrenching Tool from a nearby IFV and used it to dig four holes.

By the time he was done, the sun was directly above him. He tossed the tool away and brought Wendy, Erza, and Lucy to their final resting place, carefully putting them six feet under and covering them over with dirt. He dragged over a large rock and collected up some wooden beams, fashioning them into crosses and carving their names into the face of it; Wendy Marvell, Erza Scarlet, and Lucy Dragneel, along with Lest We Forget. He glanced over at the undug grave which was meant for Gray and the man's final words flittered through his mind, 'I'm coming, Juvia'. Even though the rain woman had been buried in Magnoila, Natsu decided to put them both on the same marker and carved Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Fullbuster into the wood before sharpening each marker and stabbing them into the ground at the head of their respective grave.

"I better eat and get some rest before I go and scavenge supplies." He murmured quietly to himself before wandering over to some shady ruins and helping himself to some more rations. He kept his meal light, wanting to conserve his supplies while he only had what was in their rations. He'd have to search for more food and water inside the crashed ships, if anything remains inside of them. But for now, he shifted into a more comfortable position and closed his eyes so he could regain his strength.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Day 30,
I've gotten used to the quiet. But it is still unnerving.
I've found the wreckage of the All Under Heaven,
it's just ghosts and skeletons now. Well, soon to be skeletons.
There were working Geiger counters in the armoury and med-bay,
so I grabbed one to keep track of the radiation.

The food in the mess hall had gone off by the time I reached it,
there is no point in trying to eat it, radiation might not be able to kill me,
but mouldy food would definitely put me through the ringer.

I also stocked up on ammo and medical supplies, just in case I need them.
Happy used to play games where nuclear radiation caused the wildlife
to mutate, and strange anomalies to form. So far, I haven't come across
either of those, maybe it's possible, maybe it's not…

You know how they said that roaches would survive a
nuclear holocaust? Turns out to be true… they are everywhere.
Some animals seem to have survived; some are badly burnt with
bits rotting. I've been putting them down as I come across them.

There was another plus to rooting around the giant corpses of ships,
I've found an acoustic guitar! The strings weren't in the best condition
but I came across a music store in the city, so I grabbed a new set,
I even grabbed some picks while I was there. It's not much, but
even a little bit of music helps fill the void.

I never knew just how many photos Lucy had kept of us all…
her photobook had photos of her and I, our squad. Everyone from
before the war… I can tell when some of the group photos are taken
by who is no longer in them and what is in the background.
So many faces that are now just dust and ashes, or buried six-feet
under. I can't help but smile at the photos as I slowly work my way
through them, but every time I stop, I always feel hollow…

I think that'll do for today, I need to get moving. There are still
places I need to investigate.

Natsu looked up from Lucy's diary that he had made his own, he had carefully marked where her recordings had ended and his began. He slipped the velvet string attached to the spine between the pages he had been writing on and slipped the pen into the spine. A noise had drawn his attention to the outside of the wreckage he had been resting in. He sent the book away and Requiped his armour and M7 Battle Rifle, slowly walking out of the crashed Sparrow and towards the light humming and footsteps with the muzzle aimed at the source.

"Ah, here you are." Came the voice of a woman. It was soft and gentle, but something was off about her. She had perfect alabaster skin with no blemishes at all. Her hair was as white as fresh snow, and her eyes glittered like white opals. Around her slim womanly body was a luxurious off-the-shoulder white dress which spiralled around her, not a speck of dust, dirt, or ash anywhere on it, nor on the open-toe heels she wore. Adorning her arms, neck, and top of her head were gold ornaments. She was perfect, far too perfect to be a product of this world.

"Who are you?" Natsu asked cautiously, he kept the rifle trained on the woman but she didn't seem concerned in the very least.

"My name is Ceres. And yours?"

"Natsu… Commander Natsu Dragneel." He replied slowly, his eyes roamed the woman's body and she held her arms out to the side to show she had no weapons on her. It put him at ease a little and so he lowered his rifle a little, but he couldn't sense her presence by any other means except for sight and the subtle sweet scent which he couldn't identify. "I thought there was no one else left on the planet…"

"And you would be correct in saying that, Natsu." Ceres smiled sadly as she turned her gaze to the sky. "Ten-billion, one-hundred-and-sixty-five-million, four-hundred-and-thirty-nine-thousand, eight-hundred and fifty-one people perished in what amounts to as an instant. The total population of this world was that, plus one."

"Ah…"

"I suppose this solved the issue of overpopulation, though it brought out a new issue… I can't repopulate the world with just one man. We'll, maybe I could but I think it would be best to write this world off."

"You're a goddess, I'm guessing?" Natsu asked quietly. He lowered his rifle completely and slowly approached her, coming to a stop a metre from her.

"Correct!" Ceres cheered, smiling brightly at the man as she held her hands behind her back. "I'm the Goddess Ceres, a lesser deity tasked with overseeing a selection of universes."

"Plural?"

"Yes. While some are similar, others are set in different eras, with different themes, and some have completely different things going on." The white-haired goddess held up a finger in front of her like a teacher educating children would. "On the matter of mass extinction, there are some worlds that are consumed by a viral outbreak that turn the population into the living dead, others get hit with an asteroid but some of those manage to prevent that calamity." She folded her arms under her bust and gave the man a serious look. "I've come with an offer; you either wither away and die here among the dust and echoes, or I mark your soul and you come with me to my realm where I'll find you a new place to live?"

"Could you give me a little bit of time?" Natsu asked as he looked towards the Government Palace. "I'll go, she'd want me to keep living if I had the option to. But… I want to at least have the chance to say good-bye to them."

"Gather your things first, if you don't already have them stored within your magical core. It means we wouldn't have to travel back."

"We?"

"Yes. I'm coming with you."

"The city is heavily irradiated." Natsu warned the pure-white woman.

"I'm a goddess, such things will not affect me."

Natsu sighed softly and went back into the wrecked Sparrow. He collected up the things he had gathered in his travels and re-joined the goddess outside but he passed by her without a second glance. "Let's get going."


That's the first chapter of my new story finished, I decided to make this a longer one to start out with. This was due to wanting to set the scene and show Natsu's descent from being a loving husband, soon-to-be father and a Commander in a Special Task Group of chemically enhanced commandoes dropped from high-atmosphere, to a broken man with nothing left but a handful of mementos, his armour, and his squad's weapons. I want to thank thehappy for going back and forth with me to polish my initial ideas, this was a spur of the moment idea which I mentioned to him pretty much minutes after it came to my mind. Great bloke as usual, so big thanks for the help. I hope you have liked this chapter, don't forget to give it a follow or favourite so you can keep up to date with it. I'll see you all next time.