The sun rose slowly that morning.

The clouds that streaked the sky turned golden against the pink sky. A swift wind flew across the rocky island bringing a chill to the day that dug deeper than the skin. The rocks cracked under the feet of the nine dragon slayers that walked up to a cliff to overlook the rest of the island. They stood in the wind, feeling the elements around them. 

"This ends today," Acnologia stated.

The eight behind him gave a stern nod.

"Stick to the plan," Serena instructed them seriously. Erik fixed his collar and looked over the island expectantly. Laxus took a deep breath and gazed at the horizon, waiting for the battle. Natsu was smiling but there was a seriousness to his gaze. Sting stood up straight and mentally prepared himself for the trials to come. Gajeel chuckled a 'Gihee' and crossed his arms as he looked over the soon-to-be battlefield. Rogue looked calm, even his red eyes seemed at peace with the situation as they scanned what may be his final resting place. Wendy glared at the horizon with newfound determination.

This was where the dragon slayers would make their final stand. This would be the moment that decided the fate of the world. Behind them, the rest of their comrades awaited the coming of their enemy.

Acnologia took a step forward and readied his lungs. He stood firm as he roared a challenge to the rising sun; a challenge to the dragon that he had so long wanted to fight.

"TYREGENIUM!" Acnologia roared in a voice not fit for a human. As soon as he roared it his head exploded in fear.

'THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!!' one voice panicked. Acnologia ended his roar and looked over the landscape, nothing stirred.

'Perhaps he did not hear us,' another voice said with hope.

'Oh no,' another voice disagreed and Acnologia felt the change in the air.

"He's coming," Acnologia stated. The dragon slayers got into a fighting stance, their comrades behind them followed their example.

The sun rose higher and for a moment everyone closed their eyes to block the sun... and then suddenly they were there. Fear crept up on the dragon slayers and the others as they gazed at their opponents.

Thousands of dragons were in the sky, circling, hovering, gliding silently waiting for a command. Millions of fourth-generation dragon slayers stood mindlessly as the robots they were, awaiting the call of their master, and thousands of fifth-generation dragon slayers roared in anticipation at their enemy.

Then, a dragon rose from the ranks. The mages hated themselves for thinking it, but as the beast flew into the sky they couldn't help but think of how beautiful it was. The grand beast dwarfed other dragons, his powerful black body cast a powerful silhouette on the sun and he flew higher showing his great silver wingspan. Glorious silver horns topped his head forming a crown around his face, silver spikes of equal glory went down his back all the way to the tip of his silver-tipped tail that gleamed like a dagger in the morning light.

"So this is your army my apprentice? A few terrified mages and your ill-prepared protegees? Surely you considered leaving them at home for their own sake?" Tyregenium roared in triumph, his moment of victory was in front of him, and only Acnologia and his allies stood in his way.

"This is where it ends Tyregenium," Acnologia snarled walking to the edge of the cliff. 

"If this is where it ends, then I assure you that it shall end with blood... CHILDREN!" Tyregenium roared, the dragons and dragon slayers stiffened at the command and looked to the mages.

"Ready yourselves!" Mavis cried.

"Damn... didn't think there'd be so many," Wakaba sighed.

"Yeah..." Macao nodded.

"Come on you guys!" Romeo scolded them, he looked back to them a fire of determination burning in his eyes, "We've faced thousands of problems but we've always been able to handle it and that was because Acnologia was there. We owe it to him, to Natsu, to Wendy, to all of them. Yeah... there's a whole hell of a lot of them but we can't be afraid!" Other mages looked to Romeo's direction as the young mage looked forward and gritted his teeth, "Acnologia was going to fight all of these guys single-handedly just to keep us safe! We can do this! We have to do this!"

"YEAH!" other mages agreed.

Tyregenium smiled as the allies of Acnologia slowly dispelled their fears, stood up straighter and screamed their challenges to their opponents. Such foolishly brave humans.

Across the battlefield, Acnologia smiled with pride as the children behind him roared their challenges at the dragons and dragon slayers.  Such a wonderful family.

"KILL!" Tyregenium roared and his army surged forward like a tidal wave.

"For Ishgar," Acnologia growled as everyone behind him tensed and waited for the flood to reach them, "For Alvarez, for our guilds, our homes, our friends, Or family... THIS IS FOR US! DON'T YOU FORGET THAT!" Acnologia roared, with that, he jumped off the cliff and transformed soaring upwards towards the clouds.

The dragon slayers jumped off after him and landed on the ground rushing the wave of fifth and fourth generation dragon slayers who drew ever closer.

Acnologia knocked aside multiple dragons his eyes set on Tyregenium,

"Wait for it!" Serena ordered.

The dragon slayers ran each one preparing themselves for the fight. When the dragon slayers were mere feet apart from each other, the plan was set into action.

"WENDY!" Gajeel yelled.

"Right!" Wendy nodded as she and Serena forced wind downwards propelling the eight dragon slayers into the sky.

"FIRE!" Mavis ordered. 

Thousands of long-range spells, including a Jupiter cannon that was brought along slammed into the enemy dragon slayer ranks. The eight dragon slayers meanwhile slammed into the dragons in the sky drawing their attention away from Acnologia. Acnologia forced himself to forget all of the kids that fought around him, and he flew through the air, he ignored the dragons that flew past him knowing that they were heading for his dragon slayers and instead set his sights on the one that he should have killed all those years ago. 

Natsu disintegrated two small dragons and used his flames and lightning to stay in the sky, he was dancing through the sky and throwing up sparks and smoke. Sting jumped dragon to dragon as a white fireball attacking the exposed areas; snout, eyes, wings, neck and was able to fell many before long. Gajeel broke spines and stabbed dragons, before going into his shadow form and sneak attacking another enemy dragon. Wendy flew through the air majestically attacking dragons with pure speed and poison attacks that left many dragons falling out of the sky too weakened to fight. Laxus danced threw the dragons in lightning form landing powerful attacks on dragons before jumping to others around him. Erik leaped through the air stabbing dragons with his metal claws and infecting their wounds with his magic leaving all dragons in his vicinity choking on his poison. Serena was a force of absolute power, he brought dozens of dragons down in a mere moment. The bodies of the fallen dragons crashed to the earth and threw up dirt around their own fellow dragon slayers who were being bombarded by long-range attacks

At first, it was hard, slaughtering dragons who had no control over what they did, but soon that empathy melted away as it became apparent that the dragons had no issue murdering them. It was a mere fact of "them or us."

Acnologia dodged many dragons saving his strength for his enemy that flew only a few kilometers away.

"TYREGENIUM" Acnologia roared rushing towards him. The great black dragon came to meet him ad the two clashed. Claw in claw, snout to snout, both snarling with hatred as they wrestled in the sky. Tyregenium went to claw Acnologia's chest but Acnologia gave a burst of speed and crashed into his opponent's chest knocking the wind out of the great dragon. Tyregenium's tail whipped up and slashed Acnologia's jaw. It was a light graze but the mere fact that Tyregenium had drawn first blood made Acnologia double his efforts.

The enemy dragon slayers continued to push forward and once they had crossed a certain line Zeref raised his hand.

"FORWARD!" 

The long-range attacks began to aim at the dragons while mages streamed forward to fight the slayers. The most powerful among them being Brandish, the general of Alvarez, the Wizard Saints, Mavis, and Zeref. They led the charge while the guilds followed quickly behind them, led by Fairy Tail, Sabertooth, and Crime Sorciere. The mages clashed with the dragon slayers fighting as ruthlessly as their opponents did. 

Laxus flew through the clouds in his lightning body and landed on the back of a dragon. The dragon (which was some form of a metal dragon) roared in anger and tried to shake the dragon slayer off. A large lightning bolt jutted from the sky and struck the dragon making it roar in anger.

"Lightning Dragons Jaw!" he yelled bring his fists down on the dragon's back. The dragon roared in pain as it's spine cracked and it fell to the ground, Laxus moved on to the next.

A dragon landed on the ground trying to stop the mages that were running towards the fifth-generation dragon slayers. The earth under it split open as Serena burst through. hitting the dragon under the jaw. The dragon flipped backward by the force of the blow.

"Cavern Dragon Shatter!" Serena cried as he fell back to the earth, the earth below the dragon shattered plunging the dragon into a pit, "Cavern Dragon's tomb!" rock flew down on the dragon in a barrage of stones killing it and burying it. 

Far off to the left, a large white dragon with a bird-like beak and large talons for back legs tried to flank the long-range mages. It roared at the mages and lunged for a large group. A few put up rune shields while the others attacked it, with a single peck the dragon had broken through the shields and a few mages lay dead. A sphere of poison flew into the dragon making it recoil and back away. Erik ran to the thing, jumped, and quickly cast poison dragon twin fang. The dragon screamed in agony and writhed as the poison began to kill it. Erik looked to the group of dragons approaching him and prepared another attack.

Sting flew through the fray meeting a great many dragons, he blinded all the dragon's around him, and then using Holy Dragon's Ray to hit as many as he could.

A fire dragon flew for sting but was quickly stopped by a flaming fireball Natsu. "Outta my way!" Natsu yelled inhaling, "Fire Dragon Roar!" the fire dragon fell to the ground a charred crisp.

Wendy was moving at an impossible speed and when she spotted a dragon heading towards her at an equal speed she did not relent. She met the dragon at full speed punching its snout and sending it tumbling through the air. She came down on it with a talon attack and sent the beast crashing into the ground her standing over it. She looked up at the sky her pupils turning into slits and her skin growing cool as scales began to form. She did not notice how the blood of the dragon she had slain stuck to her skin or how her body began to absorb it.

It happened across the battlefield, the dragon slayers murdered dragons and they began to change. Their teeth grew sharper, their eyes turned to slits, their skin cooled becoming more reptilian. They roared challenges and protected each other.

They were a nest and they were willing to die for each other. Above them their alpha clashed with Tyregenium, he was willing to die for them and they were willing to die for him. Death was no longer an enemy, but a friend. They knew that if they died, they would die together... and what more could the brood of Acnologia want then to end together.