I'm baaaaaaaaaack XD. It's been around 4 years- 4 long years of hiatus- and finally I have the motivation to reboot the entire Slayer of Death story. TBH, when I began the original fanfic I only had a vague idea of which direction I was going to take. This time around, I've actually formulated how the storyline will proceed; there won't be much different from the original, except for how the backstory starts. In other words I formatted events in this story to match the original Fairy Tail storyline with some changes. I also added some OC characters as well, but you won't feel their presence until the later part of this story. I want to thank all the people who have followed my story from the very beginning, as well as the people who have left replies on each chapter. I was especially appreciative of the replies that were more critical, since I have a clearer understanding on how I should proceed with character development, etc. etc. Also, I'm in college now as a rising sophomore, so I obviously have better writing skills than when I began my original story. But enough of this; let's get into the story!

Year 405-

A cloaked figure crosses a desert plain. He was a well-built man, tanned by the sun baring down him. The little creatures that were around him scatter about as he made his way to a cave in the distance. Once he reached the cave, he dropped the burlap bag he was carrying and lifted the hood off his head, revealing long blue hair as well as strange blue etches across his face. He opened the bag that he had dropped to reveal a couple of animal carcasses. He picked up one of the carcasses, a jackrabbit, and sat down against a wall while picking up a knife for him to skin the animal. While holding the carcass, he went to cut the jackrabbit open, but then stopped immediately. He looked out of the entrance of the cave, noticing something was off.

The animals. They were all silent.

The man took one sniff in the air. No longer can he smell the creatures that were roaming around the desert. The only thing he did smell, however, was death.

The hairs on the man's neck rose up, and he began growling as he stood up, and a grayish aura began emanating off of him.

"I mean no harm," a voice called out. A figure came out from the side of the cave entrance with his hands up over his head. The new figure was wearing a black robe with a white toga draped over his shoulder, and had black hair with obsidian eyes. The figure had a smile on him- it wasn't as if the smile itself was a cold sadistic smile or a warm welcoming smile. However, the cloaked man had his guard up, as he narrowed his eyes towards the cloaked figure.

"How the hell did you find me?" the cloaked man asked in a deep voice.

"It wasn't easy," the robed man replied briskly, "but based on reports as well as how far this place is from the war, I took my chance." The cloaked figure scoffed at him.

"What, do you want a medal? Sorry, I don't give out medals to shit stains like yourself," the cloaked figure responded, snarling at the robed man. The robed man simply tilted his head and smiled.

"I suppose you know who I am?" Acnologia looked up and down the robed figure, his eyes narrowing.
"… Yes. I never met you, but based on the descriptions that were posted, I assume you're the Black Wizard, Zeref." The robed figure named Zeref nodded slightly.

"Yes, I am. And you are Acnologia, the Death Dragon Slayer." The cloaked man named Acnologia winced when hearing his Slayer title.
"… I don't go by that title. Not anymore." Acnologia looked towards Zeref as his form tightened up a bit more. "What the fuck do you want?" Zeref simply smiled again, and began looking at the cave's interior design. The cave had some animal skins that were draped slightly over the cave's stalagmites, and a few animal bones strewn about. Behind the stalagmites was a small pool of water, with a couple of animal skins resting beside it. Zeref headed towards the pool and looked down while Acnologia continued to monitor Zeref's movements. While the pool was very clear and pure in quality, Zeref was unable to see the bottom of it.

"Have you heard of the aftermath of the Dragon King Festival?"
"… I've been in self-isolation in the middle of a fucking desert, what the fuck do you think?" Zeref ignored Acnologia's sass and leaned against the wall, staring down into the depths of the pool. For a few moments there was a tense quiet. Acnologia then sighed in exasperation.

"Was it the Alakitasia dragons? Or was it those peaceful lil shits- the Ishgarians? Either way, I don't particularly care who won, the world's pretty much fucked either way-"

"Neither." Acnologia looked up at Zeref in mild confusion.

"Excuse me?"
"Neither sides won." Acnologia froze, and then began howling in laughter.
"Seriously? Wow, that's funny as fuck," Acnologia laughed, "Both sides massacred themselves to death? Hah! Good riddance-"
"Don't be mistaken- there was a victor."
"Of course, there was a victor- it's the humans," Acnologia chuckled softly, wiping some tears of laughter away, "The humans won't have to deal with that bullshit anymore-"
"No." Zeref turned around and looked Acnologia straight in the eyes. "The victor was a third party… it was an army of two." Acnologia stopped chuckling and became confused.

"Army of two? The hell do you mean 'an army of two'?" Acnologia looked up and saw Zeref's grim expression. Only then did he realize what Zeref was referring to.

"…No." Acnologia's eyes widened. Acnologia stumbled backwards and dropped to the floor in visible shock. He put his hands over his head as panic, confusion and fear spread over him.
"Holy shit… They did it. They fucking did it." Zeref walked over to where Acnologia was and crouched down beside him.

"I assume you knew what they were up to?" Acnologia, calming himself down, looked up at Zeref.

"I have a general idea of what they were plotting… I didn't think it would work," Acnologia responded. Zeref simply looked at Acnologia's face. The smile that Zeref wore initially was gone, now replaced with a more serious expression.

"Well, it did. And now those two are calling themselves 'The Black and White Dragons of Anarchy'." Acnologia snorted. Zeref tilted his head in mild confusion. "What is it?"
"Nothing, really," Acnologia replied, standing up, "But couldn't they have picked a less cheesy name for their group?" Acnologia headed towards the pool and began washing his face as Zeref stared at him. Finally, Acnologia spoke again.

"Now that the war is over… what are they doing now?" Zeref sighed.

"Nothing… for now. But with their blood rage, it's only a matter of time until they pick a new target." Acnologia froze, turned around, and looked at Zeref with a darkened expression.

"So that's why you're here."

Zeref nodded.

"You want me to kill them."

Zeref nodded.
"Before they go after humanity."
Zeref nodded again. The mood around them darkened. Acnologia's frown turned into a scowl.

"… they're my brothers." Acnologia snarled slightly. Zeref maintained eye contact with Acnologia's glare, unfazed.

"I assure you Acnologia, what was left of your brothers' souls is no longer in those dragons' bodies."
"So they underwent the full dragonization process after all."
"Indeed they have. But their pursuit for power has corrupted them. You can't even classify them as dragons anymore… they're monsters." Acnologia continued to glare at Zeref. Finally, after a tense period of time Acnologia broke off the glare.

"Damn… if I had followed in their path as well, I could've been a monster alongside them," Acnologia chuckled, albeit more nervously then before. After the little chuckle subsided, Acnologia's shoulders became less tense, yet Acnologia's expression became grim.

"Too bad, though…" Acnologia lifted up his cloak to reveal that his right arm was now covered in black scales, with blue linings etched into them. Acnologia looked at Zeref, who wore a blank expression.

"I think… regardless, I'm about to become a monster myself." Acnologia stated, closing his eyes. "It's too bad, really… Look, Zeref, even if I go through dragonization myself, considering the amount of souls my brothers have reaped, I don't think I'll be able to defeat them, not even if it was a one-on-one matchup." Zeref continued to stare at Acnologia with his blank expression.

"… At the rate you're going at, it's inevitable that you will become a mindless dragon like your brothers- only caring about destruction. However, I have a way to bypass that." Acnologia looked at Zeref, intrigued.

"How so?"
"Let me turn you into a full-fledged dragon myself. If I can gain access to the Dragon Seed within you, I'll be able to stabilize your dragonization process, and turn you into fully-functioning dragon, but with your mind still intact." Acnologia's eyes widened.

"Holy shit, you can do that?" Zeref smirked.

"I am the smartest person you will ever meet, Acnologia, of course I can do that. On a couple of conditions though." Acnologia crossed his arms and looked at Zeref in anticipation.

"When you turn into a dragon, you must pledge yourself to become the protector of humans along with fellow dragons." Acnologia's body tensed up when Zeref spoke those words. Zeref noticed Acnologia's reaction.

"What? Are you not fond with the notion of working with dragons?" Acnologia gritted his teeth.

"No." Zeref tilted his head in confusion, before realizing what Acnologia was implying.

"… Acnologia, the humans need protection, protection from your brothers-"
"And I am not their protector, Zeref. I reap and destroy, just like my brothers." Acnologia leant on one of the walls, keeping eye contact with Zeref. "I made a solemn vow before to protect humans and dragons alike, along with my brothers. And look what's become of it. Broken promises and corpses. Lots of corpses."

Zeref walked up to Acnologia with his arms crossed. He stood in front of Acnologia quietly for a few moments. Finally he spoke.

"I did some research into you, Acnologia… you were a doctor."
"Stop."
"Apparently you were loved by many of your patients, including one that had aspired to follow in your footsteps."
"I said stop."
"What had happened to her was unfortunate, but I'm sure it was an accident-" Suddenly, Acnologia bull-rushed through Zeref and smashed him into the other wall, creating small cracks while pinning Zeref into the wall with his right, dragonified hand.
"You don't know a damn thing," Acnologia snarled menacingly. Zeref seemed unfazed by Acnologia's actions as Acnologia pressed him harder into the wall. "That girl didn't deserve what I did to her. The damned reason I came to this god-forsaken place was to avoid me doing the same mistake again. Do you know, Zeref? Do you know how many innocents I have killed in my blood-rage? Do you kn-" Acnologia froze mid-rant as the hairs behind his back suddenly stood up.

Danger.

Instinctively, Acnologia leapt backwards as Zeref let out a huge blast of his magic that surrounded the area. While Acnologia was able to avoid the attack, the few strands of his hair that was caught in the radius suddenly disintegrated. Acnologia slid to a stop as the attack subsided and looked up. Around Zeref, Acnologia noticed a few things. The animal skins that he had been drying had disintegrated. And the clear pool of water was now murky and dirty. Zeref stood there, and while his face remained neutral, his eyes shone bright red. Zeref dusted off his clothes before speaking quietly.

"Acnologia… you couldn't fathom the amount of innocent people that I've killed."

The atmosphere had reached critical intensity as both sides stared each other down. Finally, after what felt like an eternity it was Zeref who spoke first, his eyes turning back to obsidian.

"You know… we really are similar in a way." Acnologia scoffed.

"I don't have a stick up my ass, if that was what you're referring to." Zeref simply smiled at that insult. Acnologia, sensing Zeref's politeness had returned, simply sighed in response. "Fine… how so?"

"Well," Zeref responded back, "We are both seeking redemption for the actions we have done in the past." Acnologia chuckled at that response.

"Can't disagree with you on that one." For a while, no one spoke as a calmness settled in.

"I'll do it." Acnologia finally spoke. Zeref gazed upon Acnologia, the blank expression turning into a sort of eerie and calm smile.

"… There is no coming back from this process. While you can turn back into a human form, you will forever be classified as a dragon." Acnologia stared right back at Zeref.

"I know. But I can't keep being a fucking coward anymore now, can I?" Acnologia replied, "Especially when my brothers may go trigger happy in the future. I'm… not comfortable with the idea of fighting them, but if I had to choose between them and humanity… I'd choose humanity." Zeref simply smiled in response.

"About that… there is a plan in place. A fool-proof plan that will end your brothers once and for all." Acnologia raised an eyebrow.

"Sounding extremely cocky there." Zeref waved him off.

"Well, this is a fairly new plan that a certain mage came up with, but it is very ingenuous." Zeref rubbed his chin a bit while thinking a bit. "Originally, I wanted you to go toe-to-toe with one of your brothers while me and that other mage fight against the other one, but at the state you're in right now, I highly doubt you could win."

"Piss off, like you and that other mage could beat my other brother."
"Oh, we would wipe the floor with him," Zeref replied briskly, brushing aside the insult, "Anyways, now that we have you on board… yes, I think we can pull it off." Acnologia looked questioningly at Zeref.

"Whatever it is, I'm for it. What's the plan?" Zeref looked back at Acnologia, and uncharacteristically grinned.

"You will need to teach a child your dragon slayer magic."

"…"
"… yeah, I take back what I said before." Acnologia got up and began to leave the cave.

"You didn't let me finish."
"I don't need to hear the rest of it," Acnologia turned back and stared incredulously at Zeref, "Does it look like I'm a fucking babysitter?"

"You don't need to be this kid's babysitter, we already have Anna to be the children's caretaker."
"But I don't- wait who the fuck is Anna?"
"The mage I told you about."
"You didn't bother telling me her name first?"
"Didn't cross my mind to tell you that."
"Why the fuck not?"
"Why do you care?"
"Not the fucking-" Acnologia sighed, facepalming his head hard, "Look, I appreciate what you're doing here, but I've never raised a kid before. Being a doctor was one thing, but a mentor?"
"Look," Zeref spoke, "All the dragons agreed to mentor other children as well, they're finding candidates as we speak-"
"Wait, there are other dragons on board?"
"Yes… I did say Anna will be the children's caretaker before, right?"
"Well, I-"
"And I did mention you will be protecting the humans with other dragons, right?"
"I mean-"
"Were you even paying attention to what I was saying?"
"Oh piss off," Acnologia snarled, although not in the threatening tone that he had originally used before, "I don't wanna find a kid and mentor him or her."

"Don't worry about finding a kid," Zeref replied calmly, "I already have a boy for you." At that moment, Acnologia swore Zeref's eyes flashed with excitement before returning back to his blank, but smiling, expression.

"You do?"
"Yes."

"… Is he smart?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… why aren't you answering?"

"… He's very powerful."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"What was the question?"
"Is he smart?"
"… he can be trained."
"I hate you."

At that point, both Acnologia and Zeref began chuckling slightly, before going into straight-up laughter. Acnologia couldn't help but wonder how moments ago both were ready to kill each other, but now they were acting like good old friends. After the chuckling subsided, Zeref again crossed his arms and smiled, this time in a more warm expression, towards Acnologia, who grinned back.

"Are you going to join us or not?" Zeref asked.

"Raising a child, huh…" Acnologia scratched his head, before looking back at Zeref, "It's probably going to be a lot harder than fighting my brothers." Both laughed again.

"Trust me," Zeref said, as his eyes once again betrayed his feelings of excitement, "The kid you're going to be in charge of raising… he's going to surprise you." Acnologia raised his eyebrows.

"How so?" And with that, Zeref told Acnologia the plan- the plan that will change the course of history of Earthland. Forever.

Year 777- (372 years later)

Clover Prison

"Thank you for coming on such short notice." Two figures were walking down a spiral staircase filled with cobwebs and dust. One was a gentleman dressed up in a suit, with dark purple hair, red eyes, pointy ears, and a red cross on his forehead, while the other one was a very miniscule bald man with white hair around the outer rims of his head wearing a orange and blue striped jester hat as well as a orange hoodie and a white shirt with a strange logo on it. Along the right side of the duo were cells that held some of Clover's worst prisoners. Criminals were spitting at the duo and calling them vile nicknames, but the two paid no heed to them as they descended down the stairwell.

"I would be a fool for ignoring a fellow Wizard Saint in need, Hyberion," the little man said casually, "But I'm afraid I don't understand why we are here." The gentleman named Hyberion remained silent for a second. Finally he spoke.

"Do you know what happened here in Clover?" Hyberion asked the little man, who scoffed in response.

"Are you referring to the event all the tabloids are talking about? Those articles are just a bunch of poppy-cock, I learned not to rely on them for my daily news."
"Well, they are true, Makarov. Every bit of it." The little man named Makarov looked up at Hyberion incredulously.

"You're telling me to believe that a 14-year old boy had somehow destroyed an entire guild all by himself?"

"Yes. I was the one who stopped him after all." Hyberion stared at the prisoners to the right of them. "Of all my years I've been a mage, never have I seen a boy with such raw magical energy." Makarov narrowed his eyes as they walked further down the staircase.

"If everything you said about this boy is true, then he must be very powerful."
"Oh no, I just happened to be in the area at the time. I'm sure some of the top S-class mage would be able to stop the boy, albeit with difficulty."
"Still… how would a boy have this kind of power?"
"I'm not sure…" The duo continued to walk silently down the stairwell. Suddenly, Makarov had a thought, and quickly turned to Hyberion, frowning.

"Hyberion, are you expecting me to adopt this boy?" Hyberion glanced over to Makarov.

"From what I heard, you've been adopting many strays into your guild- strays that are promising. But," Hyberion turned away from Makarov and looked straight ahead, "It is not my place to tell you who you should accept into your guild. I simply wanted you to take a look at him, and determine whether or not we should let him join the outside world… or keep him locked in this prison." The two eventually reached the very bottom of the prison. A guard stood watch in front of the last prison cell. When Makarov and Hyberion approached him, the guard pulled out a key and unlocked the cell gate.

"This will be where we part ways for now, Makarov," Hyberion said. Makarov turned back to him.

"You're not going to come in with me to see this child?" Hyberion smiled.

"I already met him, remember? And I don't believe he'll be too fond of seeing me again." Hyberion turned his back away from Makarov and began to head upstairs.

"Remember Makarov, you are to determine if this child is a danger to society. Contact me via lacrima when you have made your decision." And with that, Hyberion walked up the stairwell. Makarov sighed, before nodding to the guard to let him inside the cell. The guard opened the door for Makarov, who walked into the cell, and promptly closed the door behind him.

The lights flickered on, revealing a pink-haired boy, tied down to a post in the middle of the room. He wore a dirtied cloak that was tied around his neck & baggy brown pants, and was restrained with anti-magic chains that were wrapped around his entire body. An anti-magic chain was also wrapped around his mouth so the boy couldn't talk. Makarov raised his eyebrows as the boy looked up, glaring at Makarov.

"Well, even though he is reportedly strong for his age, this isn't how you should treat a child," Makarov commented to himself, before walking towards the boy. Makarov grabbed a hold of the chain wrapped around the boy's mouth and yanked it off of him. The boy coughed and spat out the steely taste of the chain that was in his mouth.

"Hang on child," Makarov grumbled, pulling off the chains that had bound the boy.

"Oye, old man, you're not supposed to do that!" The guard called out into the cell as he heard the chains being unraveled.

"Oh its quite alright," Makarov called back as the boy stood up, rubbing his hands, "I've already determined that this boy is no threat to society."

"How do you know?" a soft, yet cold voice called out. Makarov turned to the boy, who was staring at Makarov.

"Hm?"
"How do you know I'm not a threat to society? I could easy destroy this place if I wanted to." Makarov could tell that this boy, whoever he was, was extremely calculating, as he felt the boy's gaze looking up and down his body and was sizing him up. Makarov responded to the boy's question with a smile.

"Oh, I don't doubt it. But I also think that once you do that, you know that I'm going to have to fight you, and you know that I'm not an opponent you should trifle with." The boy narrowed his eyes, but made no sudden movements.

"… You're tiny."

"And you've got stupid pink hair, I think that evens things up." A tense calm had settled in, as both sides stared each other down.

"….Salmon." The boy finally said. Makarov tilted his head.

"Hm?"
"… My hair color," The boy looked away from Makarov, "It's salmon-colored, not pink." Makarov stared at the boy for a few moments before chuckling.

"Okay then, you've got stupid salmon hair," Makarov chuckled out. The boy continued to stare away from Makarov.

"What's your name, brat?"
"… Natsu. Natsu Dragneel."

"Natsu, eh?" Makarov stroked his chin in thought, before extending his hand towards Natsu, who stared at it. "Name's Makarov Dreyar, nice to meet you!" Natsu narrowed his eyes as he looked back and forth from Makarov's hand to his face.

"… what are you doing?" Natsu questioned. Makarov tilted his head in confusion.

"Um… offering a handshake?" It was Natsu's turn to be confused.

"A hand… shake?" Makarov nodded.

"Yes… it's when you shake one's hand…"
"And how does one… shake a hand?" Makarov, trying to keep a straight face, grabbed Natsu's hand and shook it slightly, before pulling back. Natsu looked at his hand in vague interest.

"… oh. So that's what you call it." Makarov couldn't help but chuckle slightly, before putting on a more serious face.

"So tell me, Natsu… why did you go and destroy that guild?" Makarov asked kindly. Natsu looked at him.

"The building I destroyed… that was a guild?" Natsu responded back. Makarov nodded. Natsu looked at his hands.

"Oh… Well… I saw that sign on top of the … guild … and saw that it was named 'Dragon Wing'." Makarov nodded in understanding.

"So you entered the building?" Natsu nodded. "Why would you enter that guild? Was it because it was named 'Dragon Wing'?" Natsu nodded again.

"Yes… I thought that the guild had information on the whereabouts of 'The Black and White Dragons of Anarchy'." Makarov raised an eyebrow when Natsu mentioned that name.

"Oh? And why are you searching for those two dragons?" When Natsu looked up, Makarov couldn't help but be shocked by the fearsome determination in the boy's eyes.

"I must kill those dragons, for the sake of humanity." An eerie quiet had fallen over the room.
"… I see. And why must you kill them?" Makarov questioned. Natsu furrowed his eyebrows.

"... Because, Master told me that I needed to kill them in order to protect humanity."

"And who's your master?"
"The Dragon of Death… Acnologia." Makarov stumbled back in visible shock. Natsu looked at Makarov in confusion while Makarov took time to process what he had learned.

Acnologia. The Dragon of Death. The Reaper of Souls and one-third of an infamous dragon trio known as Chaos. During the Dragon King Festival Acnologia and his two brothers, now known as 'The Black and White Dragons of Anarchy' suddenly erupted onto the scene and began to obliterate both sides of the war. They were an unstoppable force. However, just when the dragon trio were finally gaining notoriety, Acnologia suddenly vanished from the fight, leaving his brothers to reap the rest of the competition and bathe in their blood to become the infamous dragons known today. No one knew what had happened to Acnologia, but eventually the Dragon of Death was erased from the history books in favor of his brothers. Only a select few such as the Magic Council and the Wizard Saints know of the existence of Acnologia.

"So why- why does this child know of Acnologia?" Makarov questioned to himself, "Is it just a coincidence? Or is this child telling the truth? Was he actually raised by the Dragon of Death-"

"You're not going to laugh at me?" Natsu's voice broke through Makarov's train of thought. Makarov looked up to see Natsu looking at him curiously.

"Now why would I laugh at you?" Natsu shrugged.

"They did." Makarov raised his eyebrows.

"I guess I'll get into that topic later," Makarov thought, before he spoke directly to Natsu.

"Oh… you mean the people who's guild you destroyed?" Natsu nodded.

"Yeah… They said that there was no way I was raised by a dragon… that I was a stupid child, and that I should go back to my mother."
"Well that wasn't nice of them."
"That's why I destroyed their guild." Makarov chuckled at the comment Natsu made.

"Oh I see… Well it all makes sense now."
"Yeah, it wasn't like I was going to hurt them or anything… Master always told me that I must protect the innocent, but punish the wicked."
"What does that have to do with you destroying the guild?" Makarov questioned.

"… While there were some wicked people in the guild… There were also some who didn't laugh when I was being mocked… so I decided to not physically harm anyone there, and to just destroy the guild." Makarov's eyes widened, impressed by the child's train of thought. While it wasn't truly in the right, it did have some sense of maturity within it.

"Well then Natsu, while I have no complaints about your reasonings behind your attack, you still need to consider the repercussions- even though you didn't bodily harm anyone, those people will still need to repair their guild with their own hands, perhaps even start from scratch. This will be a hassle for everyone in that guild, including the people you wished no harm against. So promise me- that whenever this situation ever happens again, please think before you act." Makarov looked Natsu straight in the eyes as Natsu went deep into thought. Finally, Natsu nodded in understanding. Makarov clapped his hands together, beaming brightly.

"Great! I'm glad you understand. Now… about your Master-" Makarov froze when he saw Natsu suddenly get tense.

"… yeah? What about him?" Natsu asked.

"Well, I'm just curious- if you're out here looking for the 'Black and White Dragons', then where is your master in all of this?" Immediately after Makarov finished his question, he saw Natsu's face visibly darken.

"My Master… I don't know…" Natsu put his hands over his head as a grayish aura suddenly began emanating around him, "I … don't know where he is anymore. I … I think he abandoned me… Abandoned…. Me…." The grayish aura suddenly became more powerful, skyrocketing in power levels. The guard outside shouted something as he banged on the metal door, while Makarov was shielding his eyes.

"So… this is what Hyberion was telling me about. He's not wrong… this boy is something very special." Makarov thought to himself as the power of the aura intensified. Natsu began wallowing in sorrow as he knelt to the ground.

"Master… you left me… abandoned me… why… why would you leave-" Suddenly, Natsu felt something wrapping around him. He looked to see Makarov had his arms wrapped around his neck, but not in a threatening way.

"In our culture, this is what's called a hug. It's used when greeting close friends, and to comfort someone in their time of need." Makarov commented. For a while, Natsu seemed unsure of what to do, kneeling there aloof while Makarov embraced him.

"… Don't worry child. Whatever reason your Master had for leaving, I'm sure it wasn't because of you. You're a good kid." Makarov spoke. At that moment, Natsu had tears streaming down his face. Eventually, he burrowed his head onto Makarov's shoulder while wrapping his arms around his waist. Makarov patted Natsu's head in a fatherly matter as Natsu sobbed silently into Makarov's shoulder.

"There there… you're okay." Makarov smiled.

"Although this boy may very well have the potential to become Fiore's greatest mage of all time… as of now he's only a child. And like all children, he must be guided. Bah, oh well, guess I'm adding another stray to the litter." After Natsu was done silently crying, he pulled back from Makarov, rubbing the tears away from his eyes.

"Sorry… I dirtied your hoodie." Makarov glanced at his shoulder, which was covered with grim and tears.

"Ah… well, it can always be cleaned," Makarov looked back at Natsu, "Say… have you ever heard of Fairy Tail?" Natsu blinked.

"Fairies have tails?"

Aaaaaand that's a wrap for the first chapter of my reboot story! Hope you readers enjoyed it. I expect some of you were wondering why I added OC characters in the form of the brothers of Acnologia, and why both Acnologia and Zeref felt very OOC. Honestly, I wanted to experiment with tweaking Acnologia's personality a bit, but Zeref's personality is probably going to remain the same as in the original Fairy Tail storyline. As for the brothers, I wanted to add in some new elements to the story. Expect there to be even more additions to the storyline. This is in an effort to keep this story from following the same old formula that most "What if Natsu was trained by Acnologia" storylines, and prevent Natsu from being too OP. Also, for the shippings I decided to add in Mirajane to the Natsu and Erza relationship, but that's about it for Natsu's harem. To be honest, I don't really like harem stories, since I think it detracts from the main storyline. But when I read some of your comments on the original story, I realized that there is too much chemistry and material between Mira and Natsu in my original fanfic to keep it out again. Originally, I had planned on a storyline involving Mira, Erza and Natsu in my original fanfic, but I felt that the ending of that storyline was too depressing for NaMi fans to handle. I'll explain what I had in mind in a later chapter.

Anyways, since it's quarantine season, expect there to be more chapters in the upcoming weeks. I plan on working on this fanfic during the holidays, but don't expect there to be any released chapters during school time. Stay safe y'all!