Natsu's heart was pounding, his mind a jumbled mass of panic and fear. Why were they running? Why were they leaving Gramps to die? Why was everyone okay with it?!

The dragonslayer looked behind himself, he could see the two giants still fighting… When he saw it, Makarov's arms were shaking, he was struggling to keep the dragon at bay. Acnologia's going to kill him…

No! Natsu wouldn't let it happen! Even if the others were going to just run away like cowards, he wasn't going to follow! He was going to fight until his final breath!

With an angry yell, Natsu wrenched himself free of Laxus's strong hold, shoved his way through the group. "Natsu!" He heard several people frantically exclaim, but he ignored them, and ran as fast as his legs could carry him back towards the monstrous dragon and his master.

When he saw Gramps fall, the fire burning inside him only grew stronger. He stormed past the fallen man, and leapt onto the dragon's leg. He dug his fingers in, and yelled,"Give Gramps back!"

He tried so hard to hang on, even as Acnologia roared and thrashed, struggling to keep his grip. I have to do this! I have to save Gramps! He told himself, but as Acnologia slammed his leg into some nearby rocks, Natsu felt his old wounds explode with burning pain.

The dragonslayer cried out in pain, his hands giving way and dropping himself all the way to the ground. His head cracked against the ground, making white spots appear all over his vision. He blinked rapidly, his vision fading in and out.

When everything cleared, Natsu realized that Acnologia was now standing over him, his claws raised and a strange glint in his eyes. The claws flew down, swiping at the dragonslayer, and sending him tumbling down several yards.

It hurt, everything hurt so bad. He wanted to let go, let the monster win… But he couldn't give up now, he had to keep going! The dragonslayer forced himself up, standing proudly on his feet despite the blood dripping down his face. He saw the other members of Fairy Tail hurrying towards him, but they were too far away, they'd never make it to him in time.

There was a sinking feeling in his heart…

Something that told him… This is the end.

The giant dragon opened his mouth, Natsu saw the bright light rising up inside. He took a big breath of his own, and proudly declared,"No matter what you do, you will not be able to defeat Fairy Tail."

The last thing Natsu would ever see was that bright blue light heading towards him.

The gentle sounds of the ocean...

The water lapped against his bare legs, sending shivers up his spine.

There was a heavy, painful ache burned through his whole body.

Natsu groaned, taking several deep breaths to try and fight through the pain. Violent coughs escaped from his body, which only served to make the pain in his ribs worse. It took several long, torturous seconds but eventually, he was able to breathe normally once more.

He groaned and opened his eyes, but all he saw was darkness. It's so dark… Where am I? He thought. Why is it so dark? Is it night? Why am I on the beach? The last thing that I remember is...

That's when his mind finally caught up with the rest of his body. Acnologia! He tried to kill me! Natsu frantically recalled, before confusion washed over him. But… But I'm alive. How? I thought for sure his blast would have killed me…

He gasped, jerking upwards into a sitting position despite the pain . "Tenrou!" He exclaimed,"Acnologia! Did he- Are they- I have to find them!"

The dragonslayer forced himself onto his feet and ran away from the sound of splashing waves. But, he didn't get far. His whole body slammed into something solid so hard that he fell backwards onto the ground.

"What the- What was that?!" Natsu yelled out, scrambling back to his feet as fast as he could. He reached out in the darkness until his hand came into contact with the solid thing he had hit. It felt like a tree, with a very large trunk.

His confusion seemed to expand even further. Why is it so dark? Even if it is night, I should have the moon's light, right? He looked up towards the sky, but he still couldn't see anything, not even a single star.

"Wait… What am I doing?" He asked aloud, with a chuckle. "It doesn't matter if it's dark! I have my fire!"

The dragonslayer held out his palm, letting the flames pool up in his hand. He looked down to where the fire would be… But he still couldn't see. Even when he moved his hands so close to his face that he could feel the flames and their overwhelming heat, the whole world was still black.

"Wha… What?! What's happening?!" He frantically yelled, panic ripping through his chest. "I don't understand! Why can't I see it?! Why can't I see anything?!"

He brought his other hand out too, flames instantly swelling into existence on that hand as well. Even with both hands covered in hot, burning flames, he still saw nothing. He started to breathe frantically, his heart pounding in terror. "No… No no no!" He exclaimed.

Turning in a random direction, he desperately yelled,"Fire Dragon's Roar!" The flames flew from his mouth, he could feel the heat of the flames, and he could feel the ground quake as his powerful attack slammed against the Earth. But still, there was nothing… No light, not even a faint glow.

He reached up his hands and placed them over his eyes, he felt himself growing nauseous, his head was spinning, and he fell to his knees. It finally hit him...No matter what he did, there was nothing… He couldn't see anything.

Natsu Dragneel was blind.

Fairy Tail Guild Hall

For the first time in a long time, the guild hall was eerily silent. The whole guild was staring with wide, desolate eyes towards the stone-faced Doranbolt. He had just told them all the horrifying news, that Tenrou Island was destroyed, and Team Tenrou was dead.

"D-dead?" Laki squeaked, her hands covering her mouth. When Doranbolt nodded towards her, she frantically shook her head. "No… No it can't be…"

Doranbolt turned to look towards all of them. "It's true, I saw it with my own eyes. Acnologia destroyed the island, there was nothing left." He cringed, lowering his head. "We searched the water, none of them made it…"

Romeo sniffed, clutching to his father's robes tighter as his sadness became mixed with rage. "You should have looked harder!" He snapped at the man.

Doranbolt flinched at the child's angry tone, guilt building up inside of him. "We did our best to search but we had to retreat-"

"We? We?!" Wakaba sputtered, pointing at Doranbolt accusingly. "The only 'we' you are talking about is you and your council cronies you dirty traitor!"

Behind Doranbolt, Lahar took a threatening step forward. "Watch your tongue! We didn't have to come here and tell you!" He snapped.

"You shouldn't have come at all!" Macao yelled back. "We would have found out anyways, we didn't need to hear it from you." He stared straight at Doranbolt as he spoke.

Doranbolt flinched again, and felt a desperate need to defend his actions. "I tried to help them escape! I offered to teleport them off during the three way battle but they wanted to stay and fight!"

"You should have helped them!" Bisca sobbed out, tears tumbling down her cheeks. "Fairy Tail is a family, you were supposed to be one of us! Why didn't you stay and help?!"

The mage opened his mouth to argue against her angry questions, but then Wendy's face flashed through his mind, and the words died in his throat.

Unfortunately, Lahar didn't feel the same guilt. He stepped forward, placing a hand on Doranbolt's shoulder. "He was never one of you," The man declared,"Doranbolt is a magic council member, through and through."

The faces of the Fairy Tail members twisted with so many emotions it almost made Doranbolt dizzy. Anger, hatred, disgust, sadness, all directed at him.

Macao was the first to find his voice. He looked away, as if he couldn't bear to look at the mage anymore. "Get out." He hissed in a weak voice. "Get out of this guild hall, you aren't welcome anymore."

They were the world's that Doranbolt had been expecting, but had been hoping not to hear. He wanted to explain everything to them, but he knew it was too late. They would never listen to them now.

He bit his tongue, closed his eyes, and nodded. Then he turned around with Lahar and left the guild. Only when his back was turned did he let the tears fall.

When the doors shut behind Doranbolt, Fairy Tail did the same. Macao fell to his knees, his teeth digging into his bottom lips as he tried to hold it back.

Romeo was already on the ground, sobbing furiously next to his father. Wakaba joined next, then Alzack and Bisca hugged each other and cried too.

Soon, the entire guild was in tears. Letting out the pain they had barely been able to hold in. Team Tenrou, their guildmates, their family was dead… And they were never coming back.