It's been twelve years since Acnologia's sacrifice, and it's a glorious day in the land: Dragon Day

Dragons fill the sky with their songs, humans throw parades and great celebrations. The streets are full of lanterns, streamers, and decorations with pictures of dragons on them. Children run down the streets with paper dragon kites in tow. Sometimes a young drake, the size of a horse will come running through the streets, human children cheering on it's back. Food stands cook all sorts of food filling the air with thousands of smells. Adult dragons, to large for the small streets, lay in parks and on the city edge, often with bits of meat, some bits raw, some charred from their firey breath. The dragons share their meals with one another while they gossip, a few humans sit among them relaying stories and laughing. Mages perform in the street, guilds open their doors and party, it's a wonderful day.

The joy spreads all over the world, Ishgar, Alvarez, all the way to Enca, Bellum, and countries beyond that. 

And why shouldn't they celebrate - it's the day when the dragons returned to the land, when the great royal bloodline emerged, and when the greatest Dragon King sacrificed himself to save the entire world. Everyone celebrates.

However, on this day, a great group of people disappears from the festivities; the rulers of Dragons. The royal bloodline does celebrate this day, but they don't do it with streamers or lanterns or carnivals. It's a remembrance day.

Far away from the towns, on a great island that's hidden in a cloud of mist, the training ground where the Dragon Kings and Queen once trained with their master, a great statue sits. It's of a glorious dragon, wings out and jaw open - as if roaring. It's a statue of Acnologia of all his fearsome majesty. The statue looks over hills of grass that sway in the wind.

Acnologia was never forgotten, and never will be.

***

The wind blew softly rustling the knee-high grass that swayed in response. The stone statue sat unmoving as the grass sang around it. The statue looked out over the peaceful green hills. And then, running up the hill, there was a head of long salmon hair.

Nashi Dragneel, a young girl of ten - almost eleven - ran up that hill, a large smile lighting up her face. Her long hair was held back in a ponytail wrapped by a blue ribbon. Her teeth had pronounced canines and her pupils were thinner then a human's should be. She wore a light red shirt over deep blue shorts and she ran barefoot with her sandals in hand.

She reached the top of the hill stopped, looked back, and then stuck her tongue out and grinned.

"BEAT YOU!" she teased.

Far below her, an eleven-year-old boy walked up the hill.

"Oh, the agony," he answered sarcastically.  He had spiked light blue hair and deep brown eyes. He too had pronounced canines and slit pupils. Lance Redfox sauntered up the hill none to quickly and smirked at the pinkette.

"It was a competition," Nashi objected.

"To you," Lance laughed. Nashi shoved him playfully.

"Meanie," she pouted.

"Naaashiiii!" someone challenged.

They all turned as a young boy with golden hair ran up to them. He was five and still had that sort of run where he wobbled a bit. His wild golden hair stuck up on his head and his large brown eyes were challenging his elder sister.

"I'll beat you next time!" Igneel cheered to his older sister. He jumped up and down, "How about I race you back to mum and dad!"

"Bet you can't beat me!" another voice challenged. A girl stood above the three of them, planting herself on the hill victoriously. "I destroyed you all!" Emma Redfox grinned. She had spiky black hair and striking red eyes that scanned over them all. She was only five but she already had an air of authority. Her earrings on either ear sparkled in the sunlight, much like her grin.

"Pfft! I'll beat you, no sweat!" Igneel retorted.

"Wanna bet!!" Emma challenged.

"HELL YES!" Igneel grinned.

"Igneel!" Nashi scolded.

"What? Lance said that word," Igneel defended.

Nashi looked to Lance accusingly. Lance threw his hands up in a surrendering position, "It may be true... but I would blame Emma."

"LET'S GO!" Emma cheered racing past them.

"I'LL BEAT YOU!" Igneel roared chasing after her.

"Here we go again," Lance groaned.

"Oh come on," Nashi grinned playfully, "I'll beat you there!"

"Yes, yes you will," Lance answered as Nashi took off. He followed slowly after them, sticking his hands in his pockets.

They ran back to the four adults who were slowly walking towards them. The adults had all grown through the years. Natsu had a few more scars and a more mature face but when he grinned it seemed as if time hadn't affected him at all. Lucy's hair had grown longer and she held it up in a long ponytail, she had seemingly grown more beautiful but now her eyes had a sense of wisdom. Levy was still short but she now looked more motherly. In her arms were two baby twins and she smiled down at them with a bright smile. Looking over her shoulder was Gajeel who had many more scars on his arms and neck. His hair was wilder and his eyes sharper but he was still very much Gajeel, and he was grinning like an idiot as he looked at his newborn twins.

Igneel and Emma shoved each other as they approached until they both went tumbling and landed at the feet of their parents.

"I say Emma won," Gajeel stated.

"NO WAY!" Natsu denied with a scowl.

"Boys," Lucy and Levy scolded unanimously.

The twins in Levy's hands began to shift tiredly and Levy bounced a bit as she smiled at them. Kurui, the girl, and Kuro, the boy, both had light blue fuzz on their heads and large brown intelligent eyes.

"Hey!" Nashi yelled running up to them excitedly, "Look!" she pointed to the sky behind them and they all smiled.

" 'Bout time," Gajeel chuckled as a dragon emerged out of the mist, a gold one.

Laxus, in his grand dragon form, landed on the island with a gust of wind and a crackle of electricity. On his back sat Mira who had aged very well and if anything had only grown more kind. Behind her sat the eldest, Nova, who was a tall, energetic, and confident eleven-year-old. Clinging on to Nova, as if his life depended on it, was Kakumi, Nova's younger brother. 

When Laxus landed, he laid on his belly allowing Mira and Nova to slide off... Kakumi took a little bit more convincing but finally, he too came down. Laxus transformed immediately and stretched, feeling bones in his back 'pop'. He had cut his hair shorter and had a long scar from his ear down his neck, other than that, he was still Laxus.

"Long flight, huh?" Natsu laughed, he held out his hand and Laxus took it before pulling Natsu in for a hug. They separated and Laxus shrugged.

"No worse then others," Laxus sighed rubbing the back of his neck.

Meanwhile, Kakumi and Nova were being integrated into the group.

"See, I totally crushed her - " Igneel was explaining to Kakumi.

"DID NOT!" Emma objected.

"DID TOO!" Igneel yelled.

"NOT!"

"DID!"

"NOT!"

As the two continued to argue Nova walked up to Nashi and Lance. "Hey guys," she grinned as she tried to wrestle her white wind-swept hair back into a ponytail.

"Hey," Lance smiled.

"So... how were the southern continents!?" Nashi asked curiously.

"It was fun, Dad never let us stray too far 'cause of the whole rebellion thing but it was pretty awesome. They had killer smoothies," Nova smiled her eyes sparkling with the same electricity that her father's eyes had.

"I'm so jealous!" Igneel whined running up to Nova. "Daddy doesn't take us to any of his fights!"

"W-well we didn't actually see Dad fight," Kakumi stuttered pulling his golden bangs out of his bright blue eyes, "We trained a little bit... but..."

"It's still cool!" Emma squealed jumping around Kakumi. "I can't wait till I'm older and can go on cool adventures!"

"Well you're gonna have to wait a little bit squirt," Gajeel giheed from the side.

"Don't call me Squirt, Old Timer!" Emma bit back.

"THE HE-" Gajeel began.

"Gajeel," Levy warned.

Gajeel grumbled something and then crossed his arms. Laxus began laughing.

"She's giving you a run for your money," Laxus laughed, clapping Gajeel on the back.

"Damn brat," Gajeel growled.

"She's you," Levy mused.

"Exactly!" Gajeel agreed. "A brat!"

"Speaking of brats," Laxus smiled looking to the horizon, "There are the twins."

They all looked and saw the white and black eastern dragons "swimming" towards them.

They landed a few feet away, the group ran to meet them. Igneel led the charge and almost tackled Sting as soon as he transformed.

"UNCLE STIIIIINNNNGGG!" He shouted happily.

"IGNEEEEELLLL!"Sting yelled back rubbing the boy's head and grinning. Yukino and Sting's son, Shiro, embraced warmly. Shiro Eucliffe was a happy ten-year-old and had always been close to Nashi.

"How was your flight?" Nashi asked pulling away.

"We hit the tradewinds at a bad angle, and almost got blown to Alvarez," Shiro grinned. "Dad's a bad driver."

"H-HeY!" Sting objected. Yukino giggled at his side.

Shiro had his mother's white hair and his father's blue eyes but no one could quite match his personality, he seemed to be a perfect mix of joy and intelligence.

Meanwhile, Lance was attacked by nine-year-old Shido Cheney who tackled him quickly. The two wrestled playfully on the ground growling and laughing as they tried to pin one another down. Shido was his father's reincarnate with his mother's independent streak. He was cautious, wise, and already handy with a sword which concerned a few people.

Rogue, Kagura, Yukino, and Sting all hugged their brother's and sister's in law and began to catch up when there was a roar.

"Hey! There she is!" Natsu laughed looking to the sky.

"I hope they had a nice honeymoon," Lucy mentioned leaning to Yukino.

"I'm sure they did, a world excursion... that's enough excitement for any couple," Yukino chuckled.

"I'm sure she enjoyed it," Kagura smiled softly.

Wendy broke out of the mist wall and soared gracefully down to earth, Romeo on her back. The group ran up and immediately embraced the now mature and grown Wendy along with her new husband. 

"How was it!?" Levy asked excitedly.

"What did you go and see," Lucy asked.

"It was great," Wendy grinned, clearly excited, "We saw so much and did so many cool things! The mountain ranges, the silver valleys, the oceans... the CRYSTAL CAVES! I don't know where to start!" Wendy was a short woman, only barely taller then Levy. Her blue hair hung down to her hips but her brown eyes were still full of the same compassion and innocence.

Meanwhile, Romeo was being greeted by the brothers.

"Well, you're still alive, so I guess that's a pro," Gajeel gruffed.

Romeo laughed nervously, "It was pretty fun, although I almost died twice."

They all laughed.

"It sounds pretty exciting," Rogue smiled.

"And AWESOME!" Sting added.

"It was, but I have to say I'm been looking forward to this for a while," Romeo smiled.

"Well YEAH! Cause now you're gonna really be part of the family," Natsu laughed grabbing Romeo in a headlock and rubbing his purple hair viciously.

Romeo grinned from within his headlock.

Greetings were shared between the kids and the new arrivals and eventually, things began to settle down as they waited for their final sibling.

"I wonder what's taking him," Wendy sighed sitting down in the grass and looking into the sky.

"You know Erik, he probably crushed those dragons in the east, took a nap, remembered what day it was and then rushed to get everything together," Laxus chuckled.

"I believe the nap part," Rogue scoffed.

The kids were running amuck all over the island.

"Betch'ya I can climb the tree faster!" Igneel told Emma scrambling up a tree.

"NO WAY!" Emma yelled climbing after him.

A bit away from the two competitors, Shiro and his younger cousin Shido were showing the older ones their moves.

"White Shadow Dragon FLASH FANG!" Shiro and Sado yelled going through the unison motions. Nothing happened so both boys slouched.

"Awwww MAN!" Shiro sighed.

"You guys are gonna get it!" Nashi grinned, "I know you will."

"Eventually," Shido sighed.

"AGAIN!" Shiro yelled, infuriated.

Nova cocked her head and pondered something. "Fix your breathing, maybe if you guys breathe together you'll be able to pull it off... I mean, breathing is Dad's answer for everything."

"She's right," Kakumi sighed from where he lay in the grass.

"Oh... you can't kick high enough, breathe properly. You can't punch hard enough, fix your breathing. I'm sorry, are you choking? FiX YoUr BreAtHinG!" Nova yelled mocking her father's voice causing everyone to roll with laughter.

"HEY! GET OVER HERE KAIDAS! HERE THEY COME!" Wendy called.

"Coming!" all of the children yelled back as they ran over to where their parents were.

The final dragon broke through the mist curtain, Erik. The maroon dragon soared and landed heavily on the earth, throwing up a cloud of dust.

As the dust settled three figures walked forward. Wendy ran forward towards the tallest.

"Onii-chan!" She grinned hugging her eldest brother.

"Hey!" Erik grinned hugging her back, "It looks like you beat us!" He didn't seem to change at all as the years had gone by. 

"Kinana!" Lucy and Levy smiled running up to the purple-haired woman. Kinana had kept her hair cut short but had visibly aged with time, unlike her husband. Behind her stood the eldest of the young dragon slayers, Kina.

She had deep purple hair that hung around her shoulders and her mother's eyes. She was a tall eleven-year-old who stood with an air of mystery and confidence, much like her father.

"KINA!" Shido and Shiro yelled running up to the elder girl.

Shido was a mere nine and Shiro was barely a year older than him but the two had immediately clicked with the shy girl. They immediately began chatting with her explaining their adventures and comparing experiences.

The rest of the kids came up and hugged their uncle and aunt as well as Kina.

"Alright, alright," Lucy called, at last, calling everyone together and silencing everything, "I think it's time."

They all looked to the hill where the familiar statue stood. The grown dragon slayers smiled softly while their kids grinned excitedly.

Igneel and Emma raced up the hill and sat down in the grass eagerly. The rest followed shortly.

Although it happened every year, although they all knew what was going to happen, it never got boring for some reason.

The children all sat, Romeo and the other sisters-in-law did as well. Romeo's eyes were full of curiosity and excitement. This was his first year celebrating Dragon Day with the brood of Acnologia.

The dragon slayers all stepped to the statue and looked up at it. Then slowly, they all reached up and touched the pedestal and took a deep breath.

"Hey Uncle," Natsu greeted with a chuckle. The other dragon slayers smiled at Natsu's bluntness.

"We've had a good year," Sting smiled looking up to the statue.

"We stopped the massacres in the north," Wendy explained.

"It was fun," Gajeel laughed.

"And we did it professionally," Wendy sighed sending Gajeel a glare. Gajeel snickered, which suggested otherwise.

"And the rebellion in the south was put out," Laxus added.

"The guild's still doing well," Rogue breathed.

"So's the family," Erik nodded.

"I've got two more brats that you gotta keep an eye out for," Gajeel chuckled. "Kurui and Kuro."

"And one more addition," Wendy smiled, "I married Romeo... but I'm sure you knew that."

This was how it went every year, there would be a few moments when the dragon slayers admitted all they'd accomplished that year, and then, the moment the kids loved the most; the tale.

Wendy was the first one to pull away from the statue. She looked to the kids, put her hands on her hips and smiled, "You guys ready?"

The children nodded intensely.

Wendy took a deep breath before re-telling the tale she knew the kids had heard so many times. She knelt in the grass and began, "Before I tell you hatchlings this tale, there is something you must know - Not all dragons are good."

The children leaned forward soaking in the words they had heard so many times. Emma and Igneel trembled with excitement.

Wendy looked at her palms and formed a collection of wind that solidified into a miniature wind dragon. She loosed the dragon into the sky and the children watched it, transfixed.

"There are evil dragons who want nothing other than power, death, and destruction. They will always exist as long as dragons do. And once, there was a very cruel and evil dragon who crowned himself the Dragon King, and this Dragon King desired an heir... and heir who would one day become the kindest and bravest Dragon of them all - "

"Acnologia," Igneel murmured in awe.

They all smiled.

Through the veil, in the land where neither the dead nor the living belonged, a ghost smiled. He grinned with his sharp canines as he sat among the children listening to his story. 

He listened to his tale that lived on.

(It begins ~

What do you guys think so far?)