When my eyes fluttered open I was met with star-struck ocean blue eyes staring back. "Nashi!" Storm exclaimed with a smile. Without saying a word I sat up, grabbed his head, and pulled him into a kiss like I missed him. When my lips crashed into his, I felt fireworks in my heart. Being near him felt like home and made me wish for nothing except to never leave his side. 

When I released him, he wore a flushed expression and a bright red face. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," I said solemnly. Storm was too flustered to respond, he stuttered something and pointed to his left. I turned right and saw Reiki and Gale sitting on the ground with faces like they had just witnessed Gray in his underwear for the first time. Their mouths were hanging open and their eyes were blank white queue balls. 

"What just happened?" Gale squeaked. Reiki said nothing, just stared at Storm and me with the same expression.

I started to blush at first, but then realized, "Who cares?" I shrugged. "We're dead," I grabbed Storm by the coat and planted another short kiss on his lips. When I let go of his collar, he fell flat on the ground with a dizzy expression. 

"Um Nashi," Reiki coughed. 

"WE'RE NOT DEAD!!!" Gale smacked me upside the head with a steaming anger that left a burn mark. 

"but Storm looks so pale!" I exclaimed. 

"He's always that pale!" Gale argued. 

"What do you mean we're not dead?"

"We're alive ya numskull! Heart beating and breathing kind of alive,"

I stared at my friends with relief and awe. "We made it out alive?"

Gale and Reiki smiled softly. "We made a promise didn't we," 

My lungs released a laugh at the predicament. Of course we're alive, it takes a lot more than that to kill these dorks. I stood and embraced my friends. It was silly to assume that my friends couldn't protect themselves. Fairy Tail is filled with the toughest wizards in the world. 

I pulled away and stared at my friends who were smiling at me with support. "So you and Storm?" Gale inquired deviously. My face turned bright red at that comment. I had been so confident in my feelings for Storm when I thought we were all dead. Now that I knew we were alive, it felt strange being public with our feelings for each other. 

"Uh," I rubbed the back of my head as I searched for the right words. Just then there was an enormous explosion. Our stone surroundings shook, forcing stray rubble to fall from the ceiling as another explosion rocked the earth. "What was that?" I exclaimed. I rushed to the broken window in hopes of catching a glimpse of a fight. Not too far in the distance, I saw Acnologia shooting off attacks at another dragon with crimson scales.

"That dragon came out of nowhere as soon as Acnologia arrived," Reiki explained. "We're not sure where it came from, but it appears to be on our side,"

"That's not just any dragon, that's Igneel!" I cheered. 

"How can you be sure?" 

"He looks just like I imagined he would. Come on Kali we gotta get a closer look at that fight," I turned around and realized that my exceed wasn't with us. "Where's Kali?"

"After your meltdown," Gale explained. "Natsu told us to take you and get somewhere away from the fight. Kali took him back to Tartaros to get the book of END from Mard Geer. She was supposed to drop him off and come right back,"

"How long has it been since she left?"

"Half an hour," Reiki answered.

My mouth hung open and realization dawned on me. "She stayed to help fight," I blurted. My mood suddenly shifted to that of a child. "That's not fair! Why does she get to participate in the big fights and I don't?" There was a loud roar that echoed across the land as Igneel and Acnologia clashed. I turned back to the window just as the dragons hit the ground with a force that shook the ground. "Igneel," I whispered. 

Reiki seemed to sense the urgency in my voice. "What is it?"

"If Igneel is alive here in the year X791, how come we've never met him in our time?" I revealed. "I remember all the stories my dad used to tell me about him. He said that Igneel died a long time ago, but that they fought together against Acnologia and the demons. But Igneel is the only one fighting Acnologia right now. Why isn't he mentioned in the history of when Fairy Tail defeated him?"

"Because Natsu defeated Acnologia," Gale answered.

"That implies that Igneel didn't defeat him," I explained. "Guys, Igneel doesn't win this fight," There was a roar of anguish that drew my attention back to the dragons. "Grandpa," I didn't bother to wait for the rest of my team as I jumped out the window and hit the ground running.

"Nashi wait!" Reiki yelled, he was in the middle of climbing out of the window when another explosion knocked him back into Gale and Storm. I ignored their shouts telling me to return to where it was safe. I ran toward the center of the cube's crash site, praying that there was something I could do.

Against my better judgement, I ran toward the dragons. As I got to the top of a hill, I saw a huge dust cloud in the valley below. A black and blue tail whipped around and I froze as Acnologia rose from the dust. The second dragon to ascend from the dust was red and yellow and it smelled a lot like my father's scarf.

"Igneel," I concluded. The dragon must have heard me because he glanced down at me and I swear he looked worried.

"Both of you stay back!" The dragon's voice boomed. I did as I was told and watched helplessly when Acnologia roared and charged at Igneel.

"Grandpa look out!" I cried. The two dragons collided, both striking a deadly blow. Igneel managed to rip off Acnologia's left arm, but Acnologia got Igneel's left arm... and half of the dragon's chest.

I couldn't look away, I was frozen in horror as the fire dragon fell from the sky. Before he could even hit the ground, Acnologia sent his final and most deadly attack. I squinted my eyes at the blinding white explosion rocking the earth and engulfing the scarlet dragon.

When the light faded, the sun was rising... and tears were falling.

- - - - - - - - -

The dust only cleared when the sun had risen, shedding it's forsaken light onto the lifeless body of the fire dragon king. I clenched my fists as tears dripped down my face. I had never actually watched someone die before... 

I never even knew Igneel. I only knew him from the stories my father used to tell me. But even in my training with my dad, I pretended that Grandpa Igneel was there with me - teaching and training me to be a dragon slayer. He was a hero to me.

I watched a hero die...

Then, Igneel's body glowed with a red light and began to fade away. "Nashi," I heard a gruff voice in my head. 

"Grandpa?" I choked. I swear I could hear the ancient dragon smile when he spoke his next words. 

"You are just like your father - brave, headstrong, and kind. I only wish I could have been your grandfather longer. You have a potential that goes beyond what I ever could have imagined," The ancient dragon chuckled. "My Natsu and Antareus trained you well. Even though we only have these fleeting moments together, I will always watch over you. Grow strong young Nashi, grow and know that you are loved,"

"I promise," I sniffed. Within seconds, the king of the fire dragons faded from this world.  My long pink hair whipped around in the wind and I caught whiff of a familiar scent. On the other side of the valley, another devastated dragon slayer was staring at the sky in grief as he watched his father fade from this world. When he looked away from the sky, his tear-filled eyes locked onto mine. Even though he was a hundred feet away from me, I could see the look of relief on his face. 

I smiled softly in hopes that I could make him feel just a little bit better. He smiled back and waved his hand. When I waved back, I wasn't standing alone on the hill anymore. Standing on my left was Storm Fullbuster. He didn't say anything, just smirked and took my hand in his. When I looked to my right I saw Gale and Reiki standing beside me. 

A shadow passed over my head and I looked up to see a ball of orange flying in. "Kali," I sighed with relief as she flew into my arms in a tight hug. She was covered in dirt and scratches, but she seemed physically alright. 

"You missed out on a pretty awesome fight," She bragged with a content smile. 

"Whatever," I laughed, wiping the tears and snot off my face. I smiled and stared at the beautiful sky in front of us. "It's over right?"

"It will never be over," Reiki answered. "This was just one enemy in an ongoing war that Fairy Tail fights," 

I looked forward at my distant father who merely watched. "Then we'll be there," I decided. "For every fight, every enemy, and every war, we'll be there to fight alongside our guild," 

Just then my feet felt like they were glued to the ground. When I looked down, I saw the magic circle I hadn't seen in a long while. "I guess it's time to go," Gale surmised. She didn't sound upset by the notion, in fact she seemed at peace with the situation. They all looked to be at peace with it.

I looked back up at Natsu whose smile had disappeared. "I'll see you next time, Dad," I said. I know he heard me because he wiped the tears off his cheeks and gave me the famous Dragneel smile. 

"Take care of yourself," He whispered. 

"I will,"