A/N: Sup guys! wiErD here... I got another chapter for you in this new fic so let's get started.

First of all, everyone is thinking about how will I put Natsu to learn his dragonslayer magic. Of course, I have a plan for that and also for the appearance of the other dragonslayers who were transported to the future. Acnologia will also play a big part in this story also so rest assured, I'll have them all placed here in order but right now, we'll just have to expand the story through their years.

And for the last time, I'm afraid I cannot bring in any present day FT characters in this fic except for those people who were really present in the past because it's already irrelevant to do so.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail nor its characters... All goes to Hiro Mashima.


- The Will to Live On -

The sky above was simply dyed in crimson red as the two boys made their way through the forest and into the village. Their eyes saw nothing but fire and destruction as people ran away in fear from the lingering dragon descending from the skies and began feeding on other people who were unfortunate to be near it. Natsu and Zeref trembled in fear as they watched the dragon trample down their huts like it was nothing and released a large wave of fire around that burned everything that touches it.

Despite this, Zeref kept unto his will and pulled along his quivering brother in his hand and slowly scooted over to the destroyed buildings to hide away from the massive dragon before them. The older one peered over to the woods in order to look for his home and find their parents and get out of there as soon as they can.

Even with the arrival of the Order from the Central Kingdom, it will be late for them to flee from this monster if they stayed around here a bit longer. With the town evacuating from the area, he needed to reunite with their parents in order to escape but both of them were seemingly nowhere to be found.

"Zeref-nii... I-I wanna go home... I don't like this..." Natsu cried from his eyes as he tried to close his eyes and cover his ears from the large explosions coming from the dragon breath itself. His teddy bear is held on one of his hands while trying to protect it from catching on fire from the flames around them.

"We will go home... We just need to find mother and father and get out of here, okay? I promise you..." Zeref swore as he tried to comfort him as possible as he could before looking back again to scan the area.

"Let's go, Natsu! Don't stop!" He ordered before sprinting towards the field while holding him in his hand.

"Y-Yes!" Natsu managed to reply despite his tears and followed his brother through the bushes and hide away from the wandering dragon. They slowly watched the dragon continue to wander around as it tried to descend its snout and grab people to satisfy its thirst. Their eyes soon caught wind with multiple people being grabbed by its claws before putting them towards its mouth and slowly closed them, causing Zeref to shield his little brother's eyes away from the horrendous sight.

"Don't look!" He quickly spoke before motioning him close to his chest until Natsu made another wave of silent cries due to the horrible screams of their villagers being eaten alive.

Soon afterwards, the dragon loomed over to the other places in which Zeref immediately noticed before urging Natsu to move out once again.

It was not long before they finally reached to their houses just at the edge of the forest. They were expecting it to be still intact since it was locate at the far corner of the village but they saw it crumbled down in ruins with no one in sight.

"N-No way... I-It can't be..." Zeref knelt in despair as he saw their house burning. It was not saved from the onslaught of the dragon. Everything is just a pile of debris everywhere. What's even more worse is Natsu being able to witness all this kind of things. He was just too young to see this horrible scenes together with him.

"M-Mom! Where are you?!" Natsu tried to scream for their mother but there was no response.

"Natsu..." Zeref muttered.

"Mom!" The pinkette tried shouting again but silence and the sound of burning buildings can only be heard within their vicinity.

..

..

All seems lost for the two until a faint sound came from under the pile of debris as a familiar voice came underneath it, prompting the boys to stop for a moment to hear until they started running towards it with Zeref in the lead.

"Z-Zeref... N-Natsu..." It faintly spoke though it seems like it was seriously injured. It was too easy for them to finally realize the voice before they began digging up all the small debris away from it to locate her.

"Mom?! Mom!" Natsu cried out in relief after hearing his mother's voice.

"Help me with this, Natsu... Hurry!" Zeref pleaded before grabbing a large wooden debris with Natsu on the other side as the two brothers slowly lifted the debris away and eventually saw their mother in a battered state after being buried with huge chunks of debris above her. It was a miracle for them that she was able to survive from it but they soon widen their eyes in disbelief as they saw a small pool of blood coming out from her sides which caused Natsu to slightly back away while Zeref contain his composure before moving closer to her to check her wound.

"Your wound..." He slowly muttered until Sofia manages to reach out a hand towards his cheek with a relieved smile before looking also to Natsu.

"... T-Thank goodness... Y-You two are safe..." She weakly muttered in reassurance, seeing both of her sons safe from the onslaught.

"Nevermind that... We'll get you out of here... Come on, help me Natsu!" Zeref shouted which jolted the pinkette into attention before moving over towards the other side and grabbed his mother's arm to help her up. She wasn't unable to walk as her feet was seemingly broken due to the heavy debris that fell on top of her earlier so they had to carry her all the way towards the forest to hide from the dragon.

As the two was able to position themselves in place, they started to carry her away from from the burning house and tried to move towards the bushes. Blood still slowly gushed out from her wounds, creating a small path of blood as they paced further.

However, their presence was somehow finally noticed by the dragon as it stopped for a moment from its direction before slowly glancing over to the three with its red glowing eyes before letting out a steaming growl from its mouth and slowly redirecting his way towards them. The rumbling sound of its feet simply terrified the two of them but they still kept forward and tried to help their mother without looking back.

All they cared about is getting out alive together.

"Hurry, Natsu! Faster!" Zeref shouted.

"I'm trying!" Natsu tried to give it all with tears pouring out from his eyes as the dragon neared towards them.

But just as they continue to drag their mother towards the forest, Sofia suddenly pushed her hands out of their shoulders, thus crashing back to the ground with a faint grunt, shocking the two of them.

"I-It's no use... In this rate, it's going to catch up... " Sofia quivered in her voice before looking back towards the black-haired boy. "Zeref... Take Natsu and get out of here... It will be safer for the two of you to get to the Central Kingdom."

Hearing her proposal instantly made Zeref to snap in anger.

"What are you talking about?! We're not leaving you here! We're all going to the Central Kingdom together!"

"T-There's no time, Zeref... Please, just go and leave me here... I can't go further with this wound either... I'll be only dragging you two down!"

"I don't want to leave you here, mother!" It was then Natsu cried out in tears as he went in to hug her in which she slowly accepted before tears went out from her eyes also and began to tear.

"I-I know... I know you won't... B-But I can't come with you... not this time, Natsu."

"I don't want to... I wanna stay with you forever!" He protested but Sofia could only smile softly towards him before planting a kiss on his head before looking back to Zeref who was left standing in shock.

"Z-Zeref... Please, take Natsu with you and flee."

"B-B-But... I-" He stuttered until Sofia interrupted him with another soft reply.

"I'm leaving Natsu to you... Zeref, look after him for me, please?" Zeref hesitated for a moment until he gritted his teeth in frustration as tears went through his eyes before suddenly grabbing Natsu by the hand and began to drag him away from her mother's grasp, shocking the pinkette in the process.

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE! LET ME GO, ZEREF-NII!" Natsu struggled to break free from his brother's hold but Zeref kept going and didn't look back as Sofia was simply left crawling on the ground while casting one last glance towards them with a faint smile before shouting from afar.

"Natsu! Zeref! Live on!" She screamed which soon heard by the two before finally disappearing from the woods, causing the wounded woman to tear up from her eyes as she covered her mouth while still looking over to the direction where her two sons disappeared into.

It was then the dragon finally approached her as it slowly growled behind her before opening its mouth as a ball of fire soon formed inside it. Sofia simply laid down on the ground with her face gazing straight to the forest with a content sad smile.

'I love you, Natsu, Zeref. I will always be...' Was the last thought she kept inside her heart before being engulfed in a sea of fire that soon erupted through the distance and into the forest where Natsu and Zeref went, causing the two of them stumble forward before looking back to the direction where the fire originated. It was then, both of them saw it, the forest behind them was simply burned in flames along with their village and their loved ones.

Without even giving the time to lament over to their loss, Zeref grabbed the silent but traumatized pinkette by the hand and continued straight towards the town with nothing to say.

There were no words exchanged in that night... There's only tears and sadness within the eyes of the two brothers who lost their family that they so preciously treasured in their whole lives.

..

..


Central Kingdom (Astarlein.)

The human kingdom of Astarlein is quite different from other kingdoms established all over Ishgar as it was the biggest known city to have been ever existed. Towers and tall obelisks reached through the skies with a series of small floating islands that hover in each of them around it. Below was the wide area of residential homes and other buildings for the inhabitants who lived in there.

Apparently, the kingdom is divided into two sections, the Upper City which consisted of the towering obelisks and floating islands that also served as a residential place for people with high profiles while the Lower City is mostly consisted of residential homes and shops below the Upper City. Folks and refugees from the dragon attacks mostly reside there which also gives a prominent gap between the people living in above and to the people living in below.

In addition, the unfair treatment of the rich towards the poor isn't uncommon since this was never even taken to great importance. After all, there are much more bigger threats than solving the kingdom's society issues.

Dragon attacks and invasions are the more dangerous type of threats that happens to most of the other kingdoms since humans were partially at war with them. The history came about that mankind never really volunteered to take part in it. Rather, they were dragged along with it since the dragons were engaging an all-out civil war amongst them with one side wishing for the coexistence with the humans with the other opposing its notion.

While there are some dragons siding with the humans, the numbers of the opposing dragons are far more bigger than the ones who wished for coexistence. As a result, both mankind and their dragon pacifiers were on the brink of losing the battle if not for the secret experiment that soon gave humans the capability of fighting alongside with their dragon masters.

Yes, the birth of the dragonslayers...

The Central Kingdom is protected by these ancient warriors who pledged themselves in the teachings of the dragons and were taught anti-dragon magic. With the new human warriors ready to fight, the war has finally shifted once again and the intensity between two sides gradually became larger as both sides suffered many casualties, especially to the opposing side.

However, in this current time, the war is far from over and the threats of dragon attacks on rural human settlements were often witnessed by many people. It was a tactic devised by the opposing dragons to lower the human morale along with its people.

Despite the advantage of the humans over them, the level of casualties are insanely high and the number of refugees feeling to the kingdoms have also increased.

Multiple carriages that were sent to evacuate the survivors of the town together with the escort of the remaining knights soon made their way towards the castle gates. It took only a moment for the guards to finally let them through as they saw many civilians in the carts heavily injured and some having some serious burns from the fire. Behind the convoy was the army that was sent to defeat the dragon together with several unnamed dragonslayers who were tasked to bring it down once they get there.

Unfortunately, the dragon already fled from the battle before they could even arrive and was left to guide the surviving people back to the kingdom for refuge.

Zeref and Natsu simply sat together in one of the carts as the latter had seemingly slept during the journey either by sleepiness and his painful experience for witnessing their mother's death. Zeref was the only one awake for him and could somehow understand what his little brother is feeling right now. However, he was in no point of reaching a hand for him since they both lost their parents that night.

The pinkette faintly drifted in his sleep with his head simply leaned over to his shoulder with an innocent face which for some reason earned the black-haired boy to slightly smile at him before returning his sad frown as he looked over his surroundings and saw a couple of people beside them wearing a rather despaired look on their faces, seeing that they were just as shocked as them.

Soon afterwards, the carriages stopped as the army soon took over the scene and guided the refugees to an open area where healing mages were located and started healing the wounded ones first. Zeref urged his little brother awake, prompting him to open his eyes for a moment before slowly realizing the situation.

"Alright, step out from the carriages, if there's anyone who suffered with serious wounds, please guide them first to the medical mages as soon as possible. Relief goods will be distributed from the other healthy people so come forward and will set you all straight up...!" One of the captain of the knights shouted in his horse in which everyone silently obeyed as Zeref and Natsu walked amongst the crowd and started lining up to get their goods.

Zeref simply waited alongside with the pinkette who on the other hand, shook his head with a dull expression plastered on his face. Zeref wanted to help him clear everything out but even he could not have the strength nor the courage to do so since it might probably make it even worse for the two of them.

Putting his hand beside his shoulder, Zeref crouched down to match his height while giving him a faint reassuring look.

"Are you alright, Natsu?"

At first, there was no reply since Natsu never even bothered to move his head just after being asked by him. Moments later, he slowly lifted his head while retaining his sullen expression.

"Yeah..." He sounded very lost but Zeref insisted on continuing their conversation.

"Are you hurt by any chance?"

A light disapproving nod son followed.

"I see..." Zeref doesn't have anything to come up with another topic to keep his conversation with him going any further.

Just as about they're about to finish, a forceful shove was felt by the pinkette as he instantly staggered sideways away from the line and crashed into a dirt pile, shocking Zeref in the process before looking up towards a group of males smirking right underneath their breaths.

"Hey, what is your problem?!" Zeref asked in anger despite being little against the males before him.

"Watch it, kid! You have to fall in line if you want your relief goods claimed." One of them reasoned while trying to hold off a laugh that might soon broke after.

"WE were falling in line! You just shoved my brother!" He protested.

"Oh, I'm sorry... I thought you two were just loitering so we thought that you were not part of the refugees..." One of them made a teasing yet irritating remark towards the black-haired kid who in turn, simply gritted his teeth in anger, seeing the people in front of him are just cheating to get in line first.

"... Where are your parents? Don't tell they were eaten by that dragon a few days ago, didn't it?" It was then Zeref finally snapped. Without any warning, he simply lunged himself towards the man with anger before trying to give him punch towards the stomach.

"WHY YOU-" Unfortunately, he was easily stopped by the other males beside him who grabbed both his hands and lifted him while being laughed upon by the others.

"Whoa, you got some nerve trying to punch an older guy, ain't you? Did your mother taught you good manners?" One of the males mocked.

"You bastard!"

"Ho! He even swears... Looks like you were raised horribly... Well, I guess we should teach him a thing or two on how to respect on their elders." The one isn't holding the boy in the arms simply balled up his fist before thrusting it towards his stomach, causing him to rattle from the inside as a searing pain went through his body before spewing out saliva due to uncontrolled spasms.

Falling down on his knees, Zeref clutched his stomach in pain with hands as he coughed continuously from taking a heavy blow from it. Despite being a kid, he was still able to recompose himself while slowly looking up towards the three males with anger before one of them kicked him hard towards the face, causing him to fly and crash straight towards a dirt pile near Natsu.

"If you want to fall in line, do it properly, rascal!" Another group of chuckles went on the three as they continued their turn in getting their goods, leaving the two battered kids alone in the dirt.

Natsu was the first one to be able to stand up after that shove and simply looked towards his down brother with a worried look. His face was slightly bloodied on the right side with a small tear threatening to come out from his bruised right eye.

"Z-Zeref-nii..." Natsu muttered silently in worry.

"D-Don't worry... ... I won't cry... I will not cry. After all, I made a promise to our mother... I will look after you." He tried to force a faint smile despite his injuries until he was being helped by the pinkette as he suddenly grabbed his right hand and placed it on his shoulder before helping him walk again back to the starting line.

"Okay... But don't just put the pain all to yourself... Shoulder me half it... After all, we're brothers." It was the first time he'd ever smile since that day. Zeref could only widen his eyes in realization before slowly tearing up and went alongside with him as they resumed their journey together.

"Yeah..."

..

..

A couple of hours has passed and the distribution of relief goods was finally handed out to the last refugee as the army simply returned back to the capital before leaving a handful of guards to supervise the refugees who were still having their own problem at hand aside from food. Natsu and Zeref silently ate in the corner as they watched all the other refugees wander back and forth, worrying about their own families and problems.

It pretty quite out of place for them since they were the only remaining family members with no one to rely into but themselves.

Soon afterwards, one of the knights began to call attention towards the refugees as he was being accompanied by a couple of mages behind before stopping above a platform that soon caught the attention of the refugees.

"My fellow humans... The kingdom would like to give their deepest condolences and apologies towards the ones who suffered greatly in the dragon attack on Hallmoon... We were caught by surprise at the appearance of a dragon in your land since we were holding all of them back towards the front lines. And I know that the circle of retaliation against them would be imminent soon."

"... However, it won't be too long until another dragon tries to repeat the same tragedy as this. The kingdom will provide you shelter and safety in these times of need but will you let yourself live in fear against these abominations or try to fight against them in order to save humanity from annihilation?" A couple of murmurs swept through the crowd as the knight paused his speech before continuing.

"... On the other hand, if you're not willing to join the army, the kingdom will still let you into the kingdom and work for them. However, due to the overpopulation of the Lower City, we will be choosing people to be settled outside the kingdom, especially to the ones who refused to join the army."

As soon as he said that, multiple uproars erupted from the crowd as people shouted out in anger at the decisions laid out to them.

"What the hell is that?!"

"Are you trying to get us all killed by those things again?!"

"These people are just as evil as those dragons! They don't care about us normal folks!"

Just as the commotion was about to rise, a couple of complaining refugees were blown out through the air as one of the mages simply lifted one of his hands and caused a water geyser below them which caused everyone to panic, including Natsu and Zeref who were hiding amongst the crowd. It was not until all of them became finally silent as the knights stood firm from their positions together with the mages who took measures in quelling the uproar.

"Don't mistake us... We will still safeguard you all in the established settlements outside the kingdom but I guess one of my subordinates have shown you all the power the will be the weapon against the dragons... In the army, there's the Order which consisted of special warriors that are gifted with the power to slay the dragons... And that is, Dragonslaying Magic."

A couple of gasp went through the group as Natsu and Zeref quirked into attention about the said weapon against the dragons.

"Of course, these gifts are handed to those who excel above the normal ranks of the army. If you joined and somehow managed to get a name for yourself, you will be given one of these powers and gain the opportunity in joining the Order as well... That is all that I can say to you all for the moment. If your answer is neither on joining the ranks then that is your choice, you'll be sent to the Lower City and work for your own living there..." And with that the knight finished before being escorted by the dragonslayer mages beside him and disappeared into distance.

Natsu and Zeref simply went quiet as the group began to converse to each other about the proposal given to them.

"Are you... joining the army, Zeref-nii?" It was then Natsu asked beside him with a slight worry, seeing that his brother is still pondering about it for quite some time now.

Glancing back to the pinkette, Zeref simply smiled towards him before placing a small pat onto his head.

"I won't... If I join the army, I won't be able to look after you... That's the one thing I will put first before anything else."

"But... if you go then you would be even more stronger and protect not just me but everyone..." He reasoned.

"Why would you insist me to go? Don't you want me by your side?"

"I want to but... I just think that it would be best for you to go rather than me since I'm weak..." Before Natsu could even finish, he was held firmly by his shoulders as Zeref placed his hands unto it and looked at him dead in the eye.

"You're not weak, Natsu... Don't say that! Didn't you say you want to become a mage someday... That you would protect everyone?"

"But I have nothing... I'm just me..." His voice cracked as tears are starting to well up from his eyes once more.

"You're more than that, Natsu... I believe in you! Even mother and father believed in you and so will I. Even without any magic power, you still got your heart. Your courage and your strength will the ones who will guide you and make you stronger, I promise you that, okay? So I don't want to hear anything that would say bad things about you, understand?" He clarified.

"O-Okay..." Natsu nodded and not long before Zeref softened his gaze before patting his head once more.

"Don't worry... No matter what happens, I'll be right beside you..." He spoke as they both hugged each other until he whispered something into his ear.

"... Right now, let's try to live on like what mother said, okay?"

"Yeah!"


A/N: And that's a wrap... Chapter 2 is done. Hope ya like it! It seems like Zeref and Natsu aren't exactly joining just yet, considering their current age. Well, you can't expect two little boys to join in the armies just like that. I mean, it's complicated so I'll just have to pin them to work in the Lower City in which they would eventually grow in time.

Here's some slight wikis on the story itself,

1. Astarlein - Known as the Central Kingdom. It's the biggest known kingdoms established in Ishgar by the humans together with the allegiance of the dragon pacifiers. It was divided into two sections; the Upper City and the Lower City. The Upper City is consisted of the tall obelisks and towers that reached through the skies while being surrounded by masses of floating islands which serves as both the residence of the people living there. Rich people, knights, dragonslayers, nobles and the King reside there. The Lower City consisted of buildings below the obelisks where it was mostly inhabited by poor people, normal folks and refugees that fled from their homes from the dragon attacks.

2. Sofia - mother of Natsu and Zeref. She was also gentle and kind-hearted mother who values over her sons the most. Married to Zeke which soon gave birth to the two brothers who became close together. Died on the night whereas the dragon mysteriously appeared from their lands and started killing everything.

3. Zeke - father of Natsu and Zeref. A hardy farmer with a full blown energetic behavior that soon married to Sofia that gave birth to his two sons. Died on the night whereas the dragon myteriously appeared from their lands and started killing everything.

4. The Order - a special division from the army that consisted of chosen people from the army and gifted with Dragonslaying magic. Apparently, they are the ones sent out from the Central Kingdoms to protect other settlements from the dragon attacks.

5. Hallmoon - a small town situated near Natsu and Zeref's village. It was attacked by a dragon and left it in ruins which soon caused the two brothers along with the other survivors to flee into the Central Kingdom for refuge.

That's all for now in the chapter, see you all again next time.

- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out... ... ...