Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns Fairy Tail! :)

Warnings: Implied Violence, Hatred, Paving the Road to Shounen-ai/Yaoi

A man cloaked in black hid amongst the shadows as three children cowered in fear before him. A young girl around the age of six stood behind two boys as they tried to protect her from the intruder. Even though all three of them were needed to make the prophecy, her input would be the strongest seeing as she saw into the future. Her platinum blonde hair hung in her deep brown eyes as she tried not to make eye contact with the demon standing before them. The boy with blue hair standing to the left of her was quivering; it was so bad that she swore that she could hear his boney knees knocking together. The older boy on her right was glaring darkly at the man in the shadows; his onyx eyes promising to incinerate him where he stood.

"You are going to tell me what I want to know," The shadow stated stoically, "Otherwise, things might not work out in your favour."

The dark haired boy growled menacingly,

"When dealing with you, nothing will work in anyone's favour."

The man in black chuckled and moved out of the shadows; his face still obscured by the hood that hung on head. If the blonde looked hard enough, she could see his demon red eyes glistening brightly. This demon was not one to be trifled with; he was almost as terrifying as the king of demons himself…though it seems impossible due to him being the mate of the great dark dragon. There was only one being in the world that would be able to stop him and that's exactly why he had turned up; he wanted to know who held that power.

"That could very well be true," He conceded, "But would you rather your loved ones lived for a possible fifty more years or for merely six months or maybe even one."

Her heart thumped in her chest and tears prickled in her eyes; she didn't want to lose her family. As she stared at her brothers she could see that they were as frightened as she was. However she didn't expect her middle brother to take a step towards the shadow (despite his shakiness) and glower at the devil as if he was ten times bigger than his stature truly was.

"Don't underestimate our kind!" He cried, "Were better and stronger than you'll ever be; we all have something that you don't have!"

The demon tilted his head to the side,

"I know; I don't have the power to foresee what is come to pass, but you three do. Now, if you don't tell me what I want to know not only will your homeland and your kind fall, but so will countless innocents and the young newborns of the Dragon Clan that you have been sworn to protect."

The older boy hissed,

"You wouldn't dare."

"Are you, Child of the Past, willing to make that wager?" His teeth shone maliciously in the light of the full moon, "How about you Child of the Present and Future, are you brave enough to cast that bet?"

The blonde girl's eyes widened incredulously as the memory of a young dragonlings with dark blue hair flashed through her mind's eye. Just by looking at her brothers, she could tell that they were thinking about the safety of their dragonlings as well; especially since theirs had only come of age recently. And the others in her village…she couldn't risk them losing their partners or their lives…

"Fine," She whispered; her voice firm and crisp, "We'll do as you ask; though the answer has been in front of your eyes for millennia."

The blue haired boy stared at her with wide eyes,

"Carla, what are you doing?!"

Her fists clenched at her sides,

"I'm doing what I can Happy! There's nothing else that we can do now; we can't let them die!"

Happy jumped at the conviction in his sister's voice; he had never heard her sound so passionate in his entire existence. Carla turned her attention over to their oldest brother Pantherlily who simply grunted in neither agreement or otherwise. The aura around the man cloaked in black shifted as victory seemed to be within his grasp. Carla took a deep breath and centered herself as her brothers joined hands with her and then with each other. As soon as their skin touch a magic circle appeared under their feet and a rainbow like shield engulfed them. The demon waited impatiently as Pantherlily was the first to speak…

Darkness shall invoke the Call
Causing all, but one, to Fall…

The demon scowled at the thought of his darkness failing to kill all but one person. His power was infinite and unbeatable; the power of death could not be overcome. No one would be able to defeat the combined might of the king of Dragons and himself. That prediction had to be flawed…no one had the power to defeat him! Unless…the demon slayers…

Two Clans must unite as One
Joining the power of Ice and Sun…

As the words left Happy's mouth he was certain as to who his enemy would be. He should've known that part of the Demon Slayer line had managed to survive; but now he was feeling fairly confident. There was a reason why elements were separate; it was impossible to join the power of Ice and Sun; something as polar opposite as those two was bound to end in failure.

Bound by Blood or Bound by Pain
He shall bring the Light again.

The light disappeared as the final words left Carla's mouth. As the Fates escaped the protection of their shield, hatred and anger slammed into them like a brick wall. Carla held onto her brothers' hands tightly as fear started to course through her body. She knew that the demon was infuriated by the last line of the prophecy; she knew it as soon as she said the words and the smirk fell off his face.

"That can't be right." He hissed gutturally, "I will not be defeated by some pathetic, non-existent bloodline."

Pantherlily smiled tauntingly,

"You didn't think they were so non-existent until you heard of your inevitable demise."

The demon rounded on him; his red eyes blazing like the fires of Hell,

"I'd watch your tongue Child of the Past; you might regret it one day."

The onyx eyed boy chuckled,

"I don't regret anything other than standing here beside you as you threaten our home."

The man in black looked as if he was going to strike out at her older brother. She was about to pull Pantherlily away when Happy held her hand tightly and shook his head 'no'. However, she could tell that he wasn't telling her that because he was afraid; he was telling her that because if she as so much as moved a finger the demon would attack them all.

"I will find that thing mentioned in the prophecy and I will destroy it." He spat, "The only thing capable of beating me is the Demon Slayer clan and luckily for me, there is only one more Demon Slayer left in the world."

The Fates frowned as dark mist started to collect around the demon; in moments, the shadows swallowed their foe. Carla stared at the empty space that now stood before them; a strangle sob escaping her lips. She felt Happy's arm wrap around her shoulders comfortingly as Pantherlily mirrored him on the other side. She felt tears well in her eyes as pure white wings sprouted out of her back; it was about time that they went home.

"We need to warn him," Carla stated stoically, "and protect him in any way we can."

Pantherlily nodded,

"The boy will be on a road of hardship; most of which he has to be alone. We have to watch out for him and insure he stays alive."

Before they were about to take to the sky, Happy smiled brightly. She looked at him in confusion; had he not been present when Zeref threatened the existence of the last family of Demon Slayers? Lily seemed to have the same thoughts as her, but they didn't have to wait long for Happy to spill the beans.

"I know the perfect demons to protect him!" He cheered, "Who better to do so than the only race strong enough to stand up to Zeref!"

FTFTFTFT

He held his sleeping boy close to his chest as he walked through the thick brush of forest. The boy's pale face was pressed into the crook of his neck and he was pretty sure he could feel some drool on his collarbone. Silver sighed and tried to ignore the wet feeling instead focusing on where he was going. This was going against everything he was ever taught, but he had to do this; not only for the entire world, but so his little boy could have a long and healthy life. A sharp pang shot through his chest at the thought; he only wished that he would be able to watch him grow up.

Silver heard them before he saw them; although if he thought back on it, he would remember seeing the smoke rising into the air. Cheers and roars echoed throughout the night air as the chill failed to bite at his skin. As he stepped into the fire filled clearing, the sounds of celebration immediately came to a stop; slit eyes glaring at him in apprehension. He watched as the younger dragonlings were hidden by their parents; if he were in their position he would be doing the same. He felt his son shift in his arms, most likely feeling the oppressive auras of the strongest demons in the world; his slaying powers weren't going to take long to awaken.

"Demon Slayer," A deep voice resounded through the clearing, "What brings you to my domain? The treaty between our kinds has not been breached nor will it ever be breached."

Silver nodded; his blue eyes narrowing,

"I am aware of that Igneel, but you'll find that we have more pressing matters to deal with."

A large red dragon shifted nearby; his golden eyes blazing dangerously. Silver raised an eyebrow expectantly as Igneel was swallowed by fire only to reveal a tall, tanned skinned man with fiery red hair and sharp eyes glaring at him when the flames managed to finally dissipate. The red head approached him purposefully and stopped in front of the demon slayer so that they were only a meter apart. Silver watched the Dragon King cautiously as his golden eyes fell upon the boy who was sleeping in his arms.

"Who is this young one?" Igneel inquired curiously, "He smells of your blood Demon Slayer."

Silver rolled his eyes,

"That's because he's my son; I thought that would be pretty obvious for someone like yourself."

The dragon seemed to look the boy over before looking back at his clan once more. The dragons were still weary, but some had decided to shift into their human forms as well. However, the one that caught his eye was the pink haired dragonling who stood near the fire; it was clear that he was the offspring of Igneel. Noticing his stare, Igneel cleared his throat…

"Why have you brought him here Silver Fullbuster?" He demanded, "There has to be a reason why you'd risk his health during this time of night."

Silver bristled and glared at the dragon,

"You're right and I regret doing it, but this holds precedence over anything. Zeref is back and is once again threatening the world…"

Igneel scoffed,

"Then do your job as a demon slayer and kill him; it's your destiny."

"I would want nothing more than to end it," He growled, "But it's not my destiny, the Exceeds revealed that I'm to die by Zeref's hand on my son's sixth birthday."

All the sound that had once lingered around the clearing had completely died; the roaring fire even seemed to have dimmed. Silver stared resolutely away from Igneel's piercing golden eyes as the dragon stared at him in disbelief. He could almost imagine going back to the Hunter Clan and telling them all that he made the Dragon King speechless; that was sure to cause a riot. Igneel opened his mouth as if to say something only to pause when the boy in Silver's arms decided to wake up.

The boy's raven head lifted from his father's shoulder and looked around him sleepily. Igneel couldn't believe the power he sensed within the boy and even at such a young age. The dragon shifted his gaze back to Silver and he knew that the Demon Slayer was aware that his son was bound to surpass him. It wasn't long before the boy's frosty, deep blue eyes landed on his golden ones; instead of fear, curiosity seemed to fill his gaze. Igneel looked to Silver for permission to speak to the boy and the demon slayer faintly nodded.

"Good Evening there young one," Igneel smiled, "Did you have a pleasant rest?"

The boy tilted his head to the side; his thumb in his mouth,

"Yeah…"

The Dragon King chuckled lightly,

"That's good. May I ask your name?"

The smaller raven furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, but answered the dragon anyway.

"Gray."

"What a handsome name," Igneel winked at the boy, "Gray, do you want to play?"

A smile immediately spread across the boy's face as he nodded his head enthusiastically. Silver frowned at the Dragon King, but he quickly relaxed when he realized that Igneel was trying to get Gray away from them so that they could have their conversation. Igneel turned towards his people and called out a name to the crowd and for some reason, he wasn't surprised when he saw the pink haired boy he noticed by the fire running to them. The boy skid to a stop in front of them and Silver noticed that the dragonling had to be nineteen or close too it (well in human years anyway) which meant that he had just recently come of age.

"Now Gray," Igneel addressed the small raven, "This is my son Natsu; he'll gladly play with you while I speak with your Papa. Is that alright with you?"

The small raven nodded enthusiastically as Silver lowered him to the ground; the demon slayer never took his eyes of the dragonling as the pinkette smiled at Gray softly. Despite the unease he had, he almost wanted to laugh at the fact that with his son being three, he only came up to the dragonling's lower thigh. Instead of looking put out at the fact that he had to watch a baby (a slayer no less), the pink haired boy seemed excited and up for the task. As Natsu reached out to take Gray's hand and lead him towards the other dragons, Silver's eyes widened when the tell-tale scales of a dragon sprouted across his skin even though he was currently in his human form.

"I thought that would happen."

Silver's eyes narrowed as he turned to Igneel darkly,

"What did you think would happen?"

Igneel clicked his tongue playfully before putting a reassuring hand on the Demon Slayer's shoulder,

"Gray will be completely safe if you have to leave him; Natsu will watch over him for the rest of his life."

Silver's eyes wandered to his son as Natsu called a flame to his hand,

"What do you mean?"

Something seemed to flash in Igneel's golden eyes,

"Let's just say Natsu has been waiting for him for a very long time."

TBC

OMG guys, I'm terrible :( Here I am with three stories on the go and I just go and add another one -.- But honestly, I've been planning this one since we first learned about Silver, but didn't want to post it before we knew who exactly Silver was to Gray (though I of course had my suspicions). Now I know you guys want a new chapter for "As Time Goes On" (which I have started writing btw) and my other stories, but I'm having some issues with those ones please bear with me! Other than that, I hope you enjoy this prologue and don't be too harsh! Waiting for you reviews! :)

-sktrgrl