The dragon moved clunkily to Natsu, even though its gait was even and well-balanced. Its deep red scales complemented its tan lower jaw and stomach, diamond shapes on its horns with small scars on its right side. The dragon was massive. The cocky grin that the lizard wore proudly reminded Natsu so much of the beast that destroyed his family, his home, his chance of living a normal life. It reminded him of the pain that he was in. The searing anguish of the fire that lapped his small body for what seemed like hours. The crushing weight of the beam nearly left him paralyzed. How he witnessed his mamma and dad get crushed to death by a dragon. The near complete lack of eyesight in his left eye, the pain. The purple dragon, at least that's what Natsu thought he saw, still hunted him and now he was faced with two of the same creatures that destroyed his and Zeref's life. Oh gods Zeref. Did Zeref know that these children interacted with these monsters? Natsu looked at Zeref who was just smiling and greeting the white dragon, as if there wasn't any issue. His smile was soft and comforting, in a way that Natsu had only seen when it came to himself. He slowly began to back away from the beast, sweat soaked through the black sash he adorned over his left side. His inwardly pointed legs were shaking despite being in a wheelchair.

"You don' need to be so scared, y'know. I'm not gonna eat ya," the huge monster bellowed. He lowered his head to meet Natsu's face and inspected it. Natsu's forest green eyes looked muddled and hazy, his wild salmon pink hair stuck to his forehead his garments were tan and were modified from the normal persons that he had seen, but most surprisingly were the wooden splints on the outside of Natsu's legs that helped him somewhat stand up. Natsu tried to back away from the dragon, almost climbing out of his chair despite his legs refusing to cooperate. He decided quickly to just stay in his wheelchair, and reverse away and try his best to get to Zeref and get them away from the dragons. But he was met with something blocking his escape from the dragon. A tail.

"That doesn't feel good y'know," the dragon boomed, "anyways, call me Igneel. You're Natsu Dragneel, correct?" Natsu paused at the name. Igneel was the great flame dragon that his city practically worshiped, the guardian of Heliopolis. Natsu realized that the other children around him and his brother were now staring at him. Natsu realized he had not yet answered the dragon's, Igneel, answer; he gave a short nod. Natsu looked at his brother, hoping he'd get the message to come over and help him. The pink-haired boy had never wanted to punch his older brother before, but now he can't help but want to punch him in the face.

"Natsu, really try not to be so scared. I understand why you are, but Igneel is not here to hurt you or anyone else here. I have asked him to teach you how to use magic. Igneel loves humans, after all." Zeref said with a kind smile on his face. Natsu looked at his brother in response, eyes blank. He then pointed to Igneel.

"So he's not gonna eat me?"

"No, he's not."

"Ok."

"IT WAS THAT EASY?!" Sting, Rouge, and Gajeel all shout in unison, and Wendy just laughs.

"Boy," the white dragon says, "do you have issues regarding your legs?"

"Yes, his legs were destroyed when a dragon attacked our home, along with the left side of his body, he has little sight in his left eye as well, Grandeeney," Zeref explained in place of Natsu.

"I see, thank you, Zeref. With my healing magic, I can heal his legs but his burns and eye I cannot, they are too extreme even for me." Grandeeney explained kindly.

"Really?! You can do that?!" Natsu yelled, "I'll be able to walk and run again?"

"Yes, young one, I can do that. I possess some of the strongest healing magic in the world, but as I said, I cannot heal your burns or eye." Natsu didn't even look like that was the issue, all that mattered to him was that he could walk. The burns, while annoying and hurt, could be covered, but his blatant inability to walk couldn't. Fat tears fell upon Natsu's face as a wet smile graced his lips.

xXx

"This might be painful, Natsu. Let me help you if need be, I'm your older brother so please." Zeref said quietly.

"Big brother, I might be able to walk again, and I mean properly! I don't trust these dragons all that much, but I want to do this once. I'm willing to push away my fear of this! Then I can do what I want to!" Natsu explained excitedly, a huge grin spreading across his small face.

"Natsu, if this works, I wanna train you in Fire Dragon Slayer. I wish to show you that not all dragons are as awful as what you experienced in Heliopolis. You, from what I'm told, have fantastic potential physically." Igneel said, no malice in his voice at all. "Not to mention, I like your spunk, hahaha!"

"I want to become stronger so that I can protect my friends and family, but I don't know if I can fully trust you. It feels like just yesterday my mama and dad died- sorry Zeref- but I want to be good enough for myself, for the Dragneel line. Dad always told me that the Dragneel family was proud and strong. I want to continue that, so I can make Dad proud." Natsu explained solemnly.

"I appreciate your upfrontness, Natsu," Igneel said rather softly, "I like you even more."

"I recommend that we get started then," Grandeeney stated plainly, "I wish for you to know how this will go. I will use your magic in conjunction with mine to heal your hips, legs, and feet. This will likely be painful, as your bones are going to be rebroken and reforged. If it gets too much, we will stop and begin again another day. Wendy, I wish for you to watch, as I will be training you in similar skills."

"Yes ma'am!" Wendy responded cutely. Zeref pushed Natsu in his wheelchair to Grandeeney who gave him a sweet smile in response. Zeref settled Natsu before the dragon and with a peck on his head, stepped out of the way, holding the pink-haired brother's stabilizers. Grandeeney beckoned Wendy next to her, telling her to keep tabs on Natsu. Suddenly, the magic started. Light enveloped Natsu as he was slowly lifted from the chair. It was warm around him, and the wind pushed his hair wildly. Then the hot, searing pain started. He could feel something digging into his very essence, extracting his will from his body. He could feel his bones snap, some new shards even piercing his thin, burnt skin. He began to weep softly, but his determination was not deterred. He felt his bones shift around, slipping into each other cleanly. He felt them mending in his body, as soft green light enveloped him. He could faintly hear the yells of his beloved older brother, his essence. If this worked, Natsu could fully embrace his big brother again, and to the seven-year-old Natsu, nothing felt better. Natsu slowly slipped into the familiar lul of sleep as the world went dark around him.

xXx

Zeref seeing Natsu's legs being straight again gave him more relief than he would like to admit. The first time Zeref had seen these dragons after following Gajeel had a similar reaction as Natsu did. However, after talking to Igneel, Grandeeney, Metalicana, Weisslogia, and Skiadrum, his worries had dissipated. He told many stories about his seven-year-old brother, ranging from how physically capable he is, to how idiotic he can be. Igneel had taken quite a liking to his brother, even wanting to train the child, but Igneel also loved all humans so he didn't know how much of it was for that reason. When Grandeeney told Natsu that she could heal his bones, a wave of relief washed over him like a tsunami. Natsu was a boy who had to be moving, much like their father and the brief time he had known his grandfather, as he had passed away before Natsu was even born.

Zeref would be remiss if he did have great fear upon seeing Natsu after his treatment, but one look at his legs told him that it had worked. Zeref took his baby brother into his arms, cradling his head in the crook of his neck. Natsu was sweating profusely, his soft hair clinging to his damp forehead in mass. His legs were somewhat healed, they were straight and not horribly bent inwards, but they were still burnt as Grandeeney said they would be.

"Thank you… thank you… thank you!" Zeref wept, small tears sliding down his face.

"You're welcome, Zeref. I recommend telling his human doctor about the events that have just transpired. He'll likely use therapy and I can still assume that he will have bone and joint issues in the future, but it will be an improvement." Grandeeney explained in kind. Her soft blue eyes tracked Zeref and Natsu, watching for when the latter would start to stir.

"Zeref," Igneel called.

"Yes, sir?" Zeref asked through soft tears.

"Does Natsu know how to read and write?"

"Sort of. He's not very academically inclined."

"Hahaha! I'll help him along, then!" Zeref started crying anew from that.

"Sir, thank you! All the dragons have been nothing but kind to me and my brother, I thank you! A-allow me to return the favor in some way!"

"No need," a strong metallic voice said, a voice Zeref recognized as Metalicana, "I want to see how strong the brat can get. Coming from the famed Dragneel line, while just being a last name, produces promising gladiators and that's just fun. I also want to see if Igneel's new brat or my brat is stronger." Gajeel was riding on Metalicana, his messy black hair and black eyes matched well with his dragon's appearance.

"There is something we need," Weisslogia said, approaching from behind Metallicanna.

xXx

When Natsu came to the first thing he noticed was the lack of pain in his legs and hip. He was also lying on something with hard scales, but it was warm, making the young child not want to move. He had not felt a lack of pain in nearly a year and a half, nor this safe. When his brain finally caught up with the scales, he quickly shuffled away. He pumped his legs as fast as he could away from the beast. Thoughts of that night plagued his head, crashing in like a tidal wave.

"Oh good, you're awake," a young soft female voice rang behind him. Wendy, Natsu realized. She approached him with a soft smile on her lips, noticing the boy's distress. "You're safe here, so please calm down. Zeref left a bit ago to go talk to your doctor, at Grandeeney's request. We left you to rest with Igneel, as you are probably pretty drained, we used a lot of your magic power." Natsu processed all of what was said, also noticing how far he got away from Igneel. At least two yards. He used his legs. He could use his legs! It was like a weight was lifted off of Natsu's shoulders and he began to cry. Natsu was not one to cry often, he did, but it was rare even for a seven-year-old. He didn't even cry when he was nearly killed by that dragon. Wendy came over and hugged the young boy, her short blueish-purple bob resting on Natsu's shoulders as he wept. Igneel put the two children into his warm embrace, comforting heat enveloped the boys, wonder replacing anxiety.

xXx

About two months later, Natsu was almost completely without the use of crutches and his wheelchair. He still needed them for times that he had bad joint pain or body aches or his burns were giving him issues, but other than that it was almost back to normal. The other children and their dragons had separated a bit after a month and a half after Natsu's treatment. At that time Igneel started teaching Natsu how to read and write. Natsu also met this nice lady named Anna Heartfellia, she wore a simple cloak and had very beautiful blonde hair that was for the most part kept out of her face. She also had warm brown eyes that reminded him of his mama, despite his mama's eyes being a cool shade of black, like Zeref's. They both had that motherly warmth to them.

"Natsu, come here," Igneel called, "we are going to start your fire dragon slayer magic training." Natsu's eye turned to a star as he became excited. He would learn magic! Old Man Ojii had helped him somewhat get over his fear of fire, helping him realize that while it can be destructive, it can be used for protection too. Igneel brought the young child to the side of a cliff and did what he said was a 'roar of the fire dragon.' The fireball was massive, the heat near unbearable. Natsu could feel his burns tighten underneath his clothes. He was wearing a simple red long-sleeved shirt with tan pants that were at a three-quarter length and simple boots that Zeref had gifted him. "When you do this, focus your magic towards your mouth then expel it in a burst of flames. Go on, try it." The child felt his magic travel around his body, selecting a portion to focus on his mouth, and out came a small ball of flame, maybe a third of the size of the dragon.

Days turned into months turned into years with Natsu training and learning like this. He was now 11 and only sometimes had to do treatments with Grandeeney. Right now, Zeref was with Natsu and his now father, and while Natsu looked and aged like normal, Zeref still appeared 11, despite being 16 at the time. He was also much more detached from Natsu, only saying a few words. The young child thought it was odd, but chose not to comment on it, as Zeref still could have been dealing with the loss of their birth parents and he did not wish to pry more.

"Zeref, let me show you somethin'!" Natsu explains, joyfully. "Roar of the Fire Dragon!" A huge ball of fire released from the 11-year-olds mouth, s the size of the one Igneel produces. The pre-teen looked at his older brother with overwhelming pride, a huge smile covering the visible portion of his face. Zeref quietly congratulated the young dragon slayer, a soft smile adorning his solemn face.

"Natsu, you and the other dragon slayers are going on a trip together in three days," Zeref said solemnly, "me and Miss. Heartfilia will be chaperoning the five of you." As Natsu celebrated the news, Zeref looked sadly at Igneel who's eyes were soft with grief for the child he thought of as a son.