I looked around in confusion as I fought off the grogginess associated with not enough sleep and looked up at my Dad, unable to comprehend the situation in my half awake haze. "Wha's goin' on?" I mumbled more than spoke as I was ushered out of my bed insistently. "Too early fo' cookin' Dad." Dad shook his head and looked at me more sternly than I'd ever remembered him looking in my life.

"The village is under attack Helio, I need you to pack your absolute essentials and get out of Sun's Valley understand?" He asked sternly. I shook the cobwebs out of my head and nodded slowly, walking over to my wardrobe and simply requipping the entire thing as I became more alert.

"What about you and Mom then?" I asked as I hurriedly grabbed my shoes and a pair of socks from my chest of drawers before requipping it as well. My stomach was dropping as soon as I saw the look on his face and I felt my heart leap into my throat as soon as he looked at me with what I could only describe as sad acceptance.

"Your Mom and I are two of the only mages in town, we're going to join the defense." He said grimly. I felt tears come to my eyes as I took in the look on his face. My Dad knew he and Mom were possibly going to die, but he was going anyways, I went to speak up, but Dad grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me into a hug before I could say anything. "Son, I need you to get out of here, they came from the western end of town, so I'll need you to warn the Temple on your way out, okay?" He asked seriously, I nodded against his shoulder, planning how to help already as he abruptly stood and ushered me out of my bedroom and down the stairs, where Mom was already waiting at the door with bags of food held out to me, as soon as I requipped them, she hugged me tighter than she ever had before, and I realized she knew she was probably going to die here as well.

I felt so damn dirty.

I had lived and died a life before this one, it had been a short one, but it had still been a life, and here I was, ten more years than anyone else ever got, and I'm the one being told to run and live another day.

"Helio, I need you to be strong okay?" Mom said tearfully as she peppered my face with kisses, I nodded miserably, "I know you're shaping up to be a powerful mage, but your father and I need to know you'll be okay, so you have to leave town for us. We'll meet you by you and your father's camping spot okay?" She stated more than asked, "If you hear anybody coming that isn't us, or if we're not there in two hours, you've got to keep heading east until you reach a guild called Blue Pegasus, got it?" I stood silently, tears running down my cheeks as I felt like the ten year old I was. No degree of future knowledge had prepared me for this moment, I might have been mature for my age thanks to my first life's memories, but right now, I was a child that just wanted his Mommy and Daddy to run away with him. To leave the town and get to safety, and damn the consequences.

But they were mages, and they had a duty to use their magic to save the townspeople, and I couldn't make them run away from that, so I nodded through my tears and gave what I was sure would be my final hug and kiss to my parents, forcing myself to not break down all the while.

"I- I l-love you, Mom, Dad." I said through a sob, the two of them smiled at me proudly and hugged me together before an explosion nearby ruined the moment.

"Helio, you need to go now!" Dad said, pushing me out the door, opposite the way of the explosion. "Remember, warn Abbot Flare, then get to our spot. If we don't show up soon, keep walking until you reach Blue Pegasus!" I nodded, "We love you Helio! Make us proud son!" And with that, they disappeared into the smoke.

I forced my emotions away as they threatened to overcome me and ran towards the temple, Master Flare was powerful, he could help, and hopefully he could beat the invaders back.

As I ran, I frantically thought who the hell our attackers were, Dark Guilds, Zeref cultists, the list went on and on, but I didn't come any closer to the answer until I literally ran into it as I scrambled around the remains of the butcher's shop.

The person looked down at me, their face hidden by a white mask with a guild emblem on it that I vaguely recognized as one of the most powerful, their body shrouded in a black and purple robe that concealed their figure, and a wicked looking spear in their hand.

"Sorry kid, Master Hades' orders." A masculine voice, distorted by the mask he wore, said. He raised the spear over his head, and that was enough incentive to snap out of my shock and scramble away from him, my magic begging to be released.

Without even thinking about it, I attacked him, my hand lighting up in a spell even before I called it out, "Flare!" The ball of compressed sunlight struck true, burning through his cloak and leaving an angry red mark on his chest, surrounded by blackened skin. He backed up and one of his hands left his spear to cradle his wound, and without thinking, I ran towards him while he was distracted, my fist lighting up once again, "Flare Punch!" I slammed my fist into his exposed chin and sent him falling to the scorched ground unconscious.

I didn't take the time to admire my handiwork though, I just kept running towards the temple, the few words the man had spoken echoing in my mind.

"Sorry kid, Master Hades' orders."

"Master Hades"

I gritted my teeth in anger, even without the Seven Kin of Purgatory, Grimoire Heart was able to pull this sort of stuff off?! I pushed that thought to the back of my head, but kept what I now knew in mind.

Because now, I had someone to blame.

'Hades, you and your Guild are gonna pay!'

I pushed my anger down for now, rushing through destroyed streets and buildings, running into a few more grunts that had my magic container close to empty by the time I reached the temple and was panting heavily, both for air and the ethernano in it. I looked up in shock as I finally managed to take in what used to be the Temple of the Sun.

Death surrounded me, whether it was members of Grimoire Heart or the monks I'd seen everyday for three years, corpses laid from the ground to the top of the ruined steps, and I couldn't help but let myself cry at the sight.

"Yuan, Li, Zhao, Song, Hikari, Ren…" I said frantically, checking each of them, rolling their bodies over only to see the mortal wounds that had killed them. Burn marks from fire magic, water pouring out of their mouths from being drowned, stab wounds from swords and spears, it didn't matter, their bodies were cold by the time I'd gotten there. I fell to my knees, eyes unseeing as I stared at the corpses of the monks who had been my friends and teachers ever since I first stepped foot in this temple.

Yuan, the stoic but well meaning man who taught me almost as much about physical fighting as Master Flare.

Song, the woman who wasn't really one of the monks, and her husband Li, the two of them helped keep the place clean and made sure we didn't starve ourselves in meditation.

Hikari was the worst though, her face was permanently stuck in an expression of surprised alarm, her body was at the top of the steps, but her head had rolled down them, stopping when it ran into Zhao.

"Why…."I muttered to myself, "Why?!" I shouted at the sky, glaring at the stars as if they'd give me an answer.

"Easy kid, because Master Hades demanded it." Said a malevolent voice behind me, I turned towards it with a glare, uncaring of how low my magic was, at the moment all I cared about was killing the bastards that had killed my friends.

The man in front of me was clearly still a grunt, dressed in robes and wearing a mask that I now recognized had Grimoire Heart's guild mark stamped on the front of it, but he was a lot bigger than the other grunts I'd seen, his muscles had muscles, he looked like he could crush my head like a grape.

"I normally don't kill kids, but well, what Master Hades wants, Master Hades gets." He cocked his head to the side in an exaggerated show of emotion, "Nothing personal kid, just orders, I'm sure you understand." He pulled a massive war hammer from his back and twirled it like I would twirl a stick.

Then the head of the hammer caught on fire.

I sighed in a mix of exasperation and exhaustion, but I powered through it under the nuclear force of my own rage as I dodged under his first swing and punched him in the gut, not using any magic to save my reserves for when I might need it, only to have to dodge away as I cradled my hand in pain. The man laughed at my expression as he ripped open part of his robe covering his stomach, revealing hardened leather armor that had me gritting my teeth in irritation.

"Sorry kid, but I'm a step above the trash you've fought your way through to get here." He twirled his hammer again, "Now at least give me a bit of a challenge!" I growled as I had to dodge out of the way of another strike and pushed any thoughts of magic exhaustion out of my mind as I dug into my reserves and began my assault.

"Flare Punch!" I roared, my fist glowing with solar energy as I slammed it home into his chest, the intense heat and force sending him sliding back as his armor shrunk and curled around the impact point. I smiled ferally as I pushed his weakness, slamming home a Flare Punch from inside his guard and feeling sick satisfaction as the armor gave under my assault and my opponent bent over around my fist.

He coughed and wheezed for a moment before suddenly kicking me in the stomach, sending me flying back a few feet, barely catching myself as I felt exhaustion creep up on me. I pushed through it, shaking my head and focusing on my pain and rage to carry me through the wave of exhaustion. "Good job kid, been a while since I faced someone who could punch through my armor, but it's time to quit playing around, and finish you off." He raised the hammer above his head and charged me, his near supernatural speed almost making me lose my head before I could roll out of the way, ignoring the way my body protested the action.

"Don't… count me out yet…" I said quietly, "I won't lose to you!" I dodged his next swing and got into his guard again, exploiting my small size as much as I could, punching the inside of his knee and unbalancing him before putting a Flare Punch into his unprotected chin, sending him sprawling on his back, soaking himself in the blood of his fallen comrades and my dead friends.

Not willing to believe that finished him, I ran towards him, both hands encased in solar energy as I jumped onto his stomach, kicking down into the hole I'd made, making him cough before kicking him once more in the chin and preparing my final attacks.

"Flare Punch!" I slammed it into his mask, cracking it open like a nut and sending shards of it into his face, making him hoarsely shout, I brought my other fist up, and with a shout Flare Punched him into oblivion, caving his face in and adding a worrying amount of blood to the already thick pool around us.

' Oh God….' I turned to the side and vomited into the puddle around me, the shock of taking a man's life enough to finally hit home through the adrenaline and rage. I wanted to just sit there and cry over my lost innocence, but an explosion from the village knocked me out of my funk.

I jumped off of him, exhaustion rolling over me as I panted tiredly, my muscles felt like they were on fire and my eyelids were getting heavy, I knew I couldn't stop here, but sleep sounded so very good right now that I almost didn't care.

I heard fighting coming from the inside of the temple, and that was enough to shock me into moving, forcing my eyes back open and gritting my teeth through the pain, I followed the sounds of combat.

The inside of the temple was burning and covered in blood, small fires were slowly growing larger as they licked at the screens and wooden walls; it was a far cry from the usually clean and peaceful temple I had grown used to. Finally reaching the dojo, the sounds were at their loudest, I ducked through the hole in the wall, ready to fight by the side of whoever was still alive, hopeless though it may be.

What I found gave me at least some hope, surrounded on all sides by the corpses of Grimoire Heart wizards, and silently staring down the one he was currently fighting, was Master Flare, his magical presence heating the room and peeling the wallpaper, rice paper screens igniting under the sheer power of his fury.

His robes, normally immaculate and spotless were now tattered, blood staining bits of it as he glared at his opponent, but they clearly weren't enough to stop my teacher. He didn't even spare me a glance as his opponent flashed forward, a silent Flare Punch sending his opponent backwards.

His opponent who looked like an oddly human goat and was wearing red samurai armor, wielding a katana.

"Helio." Master Flare said, holding out a hand towards me as the only book of Sun Magic in existence appeared with a flash. "Take it Helio, and leave this village, else our legacy will die with you." He said seriously, never even looking at me as his opponent dug himself out of the debris he'd landed in.

"Damn you, monk!" The goat man said angrily, "I'm going to enjoy killing you." A malicious smirk formed on his face, "When you reach the afterlife, tell them Yomazu sent you there." Master Flare's face stayed stoic as he attacked, and I suddenly found myself ignored by both parties as I stood shocked.

"Helio!" Master Flare shouted as he parried Yomazu's blade with his bare fist, slicing open his palm, if it hurt, he didn't let it show. "He has an entire squad of accomplices, and a partner that will return soon, you must leave now, my pupil!" He kicked the goat man away, "Run and don't look back Helio! Know that I will always be watching you!" I felt tears fill my eyes and nodded at him, running away once again.

"Solar Beam!" I heard behind me as I sprinted out of the temple, my Master's voice supernaturally loud as a beam of pure yellow shot through the side of the temple, I saw a shadow flying at the front of it, but before he could slam into the nearest tree, he was grabbed by what I could only call an anthropomorphic chicken.

"You're letting him beat you? Bok bok!" The… chicken man? Said malevolently, Yomazu simply stood, holding his blade ready as Master Flare jumped from the building.

"Shut up, Kawazu!" Yomazu said angrily, "I was toying with him while I waited for you to finish killing the villagers!" If I hadn't taken too many shocks today, I probably would have been shocked once more, but now I was just feeling numb as they casually talked about killing my family and the rest of the village. "Now that you're here, we can finish this!" He flashed his blade towards Master Flare, "Slice!" A Kanji formed in front of him, and a compressed wave of magic shot towards him, slamming into him and sending him flying into the temple.

'I don't stand a chance here…' I thought miserably, 'I've got to leave or I'll only distract them with worry!' So, as I heard what surely was my Master's last stand, I turned on my heel towards the east, and did as I was told.

I ran.

Abbot Sheen Flare wasn't a fighter.

Traditionally, users of Sun Magic used it in their worship of the sun itself, the fighting techniques simply a way of expressing the sun's power to those who didn't understand its might.

But now, surrounded by his fellow monk's corpses, his blood draining from the massive wound in his side, Sheen Flare wished he was.

'Please Helio, get away from here.' He thought to himself, his final thoughts focused on his pupil, and if he were to be honest with himself, the boy he thought of as his own son. 'Don't let this be the end of you, my pupil, else our legacy ends with you.'

"What a disappointing fight," The monster who'd slaughtered his temple said as he sheathed his blade, "I would have thought the master of a lost magic such as yourself would have been a worthy opponent." He clicked his tongue as his equally monstrous partner clucked beside. "Let's go Kawazu." He turned his back on him with a huff, "At least we are now one step closer to a key to one of Zeref's seals." He stopped for a moment before looking at Kawazu once again, "There was a child who got away during my fight with the monk, we should get rid of him as well."

The giant chicken nodded in agreement as the two of them walked out of the temple where a wall used to be.

Sheen Flare weakly laid his head back, looking up at the night sky through the destroyed roof, gathering his final wisps of magic power and then pulling harder on his own reserve, pulling his own life force out with it.

"O' Apollo lend me your strength,

Grant me the power of the dying sun,

Let if fall from the heavens and show the world its might,

SUPERNOVA!"

As the miniature sun formed in the skies above the burning remnants of Sun's Valley, Master Flare couldn't help but smile as he let his eyes close as his magic's most powerful technique plummeted towards their destroyed village.

'If I cannot defeat you and live, then I shall simply take you with me. Let not vengeance consume you, my pupil. I shall take it on my shoulders for you. I will be watching over you Helio, always.'

Then the world went white, and Master Sheen Flare left this world with a smile on his face.

The explosion went off just as I began to run through the trees, hoping to throw anyone pursuing off my trail, if they were slaughtering the whole village, there's no way they wouldn't send at least somebody to chase after me. 'Although,' I thought to myself as I used a tree to shield me from any shrapnel, 'I don't think anybody will be chasing me after that.'

I turned back towards the village in morbid curiosity, and was rewarded with the sight of a massive fire ball and a mushroom cloud rising into the sky.

'Master Flare….' I thought miserably, a dismayed expression crossed my face as I realized he had to have killed himself pulling that out, either through using his own life to force the last bit of the spell, or from being at ground zero of his attack.

Sun Magic users aren't Dragon Slayers, we can be damaged by our element, even if we are preternaturally resistant to it, if he were a little further away, then he could have survived provided he didn't use life force to cast it, as the radiation was negligible, and the heat would have been little more than an annoyance.

I shook my head, Master Flare had told me that he wasn't powerful enough to cast that spell, and I believed him. Master Flare may have been a harsh slavedriver, but he never lied to me, which meant he had to be dead.

I numbly felt the tears roll down my cheek as I began walking through the forest, using the trees to hide me from Grimoire Heart's airship if they came looking for me, but staying close enough to the road to be able to not get lost. I had a map of Fiore in my requip space, but I didn't want to risk someone sensing my magic use until I was sure that Grimoire Heart was gone from the area.

A few hours later, as I set up camp, I couldn't help but wonder when it would hit me.

Turns out the answer to that question was as soon as I woke up almost eight hours later as the sun was nearing its zenith. My wounds and magical exhaustion must have kept me down long enough to replenish my magic.

I had a short groggy moment where I failed to stand due to the fact I wasn't in my bed at home, and was instead in my tiny tent I kept in requip space for emergencies, and then once I realized that no, that wasn't a fever dream, I felt all the emotions that had been numbed when I fell asleep suddenly hit me over the head like the staffs the monks I sparred against used.

It felt as if my heart had shattered into a million pieces, ripped asunder and left bleeding as I collapsed into my sleeping bag with a cry of anguish I didn't know my ten year old body could make. I laid there sobbing, the looks on the faces of my parents and Master as they each sent me away, and I couldn't help but feel like scum.

I had an entire previous life in my head, I'd gotten ten more years than anyone else had ever gotten, why the hell was I the one being protected?! Why couldn't I have just fought alongside them? I cursed myself as two answers made it in my head at once.

'I would have died with them, and they didn't want that, no parent wants their child to die, and Master Flare told me why he needed me to run, our magic would have been truly lost.'

'I was almost out of magic after just fighting ten of those guys plus that lead grunt, I wasn't strong enough to fight with them.'

I cursed my small body then and there, I'd only just gotten old enough to not worry about Magical Overload anymore, Master Flare was going to step up my training to take advantage of it, he'd told me yesterday my training was about to become even harder, and I'd been so excited to pick it up!

I knew it wasn't my fault, I knew I shouldn't blame myself and that Mom, Dad, and Master Flare wouldn't have wanted that, so I didn't. I let my tears run dry, and waited until I calmed down before I packed up camp, got out my map, and plotted my journey to Blue Pegasus, the nearest guild where I could rest up, tell them what happened, then begin my the next leg of my journey.

It seems the Universe decided it was time for me to make my way to Fairy Tail, and in a few years, I would be repaying Grimoire Heart tenfold for their crimes.

A/N: Not as long as I had hoped to make it honestly, just 3,922 words, but I couldn't make it much longer without detailing Helio fighting a few grunts that went down with two punches or adding more blood and gore than was really necessary. This is Fairy Tail, not Gears of War, Fate, or Hellsing, vast amounts of blood and gore isn't something I'll really write in this story.

Fun fact, the original version of this I wrote over a year ago the Grimoire Heart mages were Zeref cultists from the Tower of Heaven, and Helio went back to his destroyed village to cremate his extremely disfigured parents' corpses, but I decided I wanted Helio to know most of his magic's limited basic attacks and had to step it up, because let's be honest here, the Zeref cultists were a bunch of goddamn wimps.

I mean, Erza managed to defeat every last one of them with one attack immediately after unlocking her magic. Ten year old Helio Dart, trained in his magic for three years with some decent attacks under his belt, plus Master Flare and his B-Class parents could have held off a bunch of complete idiots like that.

In this version, Helio can't do that for obvious reasons.

That, and I decided to leave it vague whether his parents really died or not. Supernova was centered over the temple, on the outskirts of town, and his parents were on the other side. They could still be alive, who knows?

Me. I do.

Kawazu and Yomazu are of course canon characters that were just a step or two below the Seven Kin of Purgatory when they worked together, so I decided since the Seven Kin were too young, or in Zoldeo's case, not necessarily a member of Grimoire Heart yet, to have them be the leaders of Sun's Valley's destruction.

Join me next time when we begin to run into more canon characters and Helio gets one step closer to the Fairy Tail Guild.

EDIT 1/17/2022: Fixed some grammar issues, and removed inconsistencies with later plot points. Oops. Sorry about this guys!