This one's a little early cause Wendy rocks like that.
Piccolo & Ghost Nappa: Yes she does.
Wendy: Aww, thank you all! *Hugs Piccolo*
Kyugan: Hey? Don't 'I' Get a hug too?
Wendy: *Still hugging Piccolo's leg* Grandine said never to hug older men.
Kyugan: You're hugging Piccolo!
Wendy: Piccolo's a Namek, not a man.
Piccolo: *Sarcastically* Thanks kid, Really.
Ghost Nappa: PEEEENIIIIS~!
Piccolo: Seriously man, F-!-ck You.
Ghost Nappa: You couldn't even if I swang that way!
Piccolo: *Growls*
Chapter 4: Fairy Tail.
Wendy awoke with a yawn, sitting up in Porlyusica's bed with a stretch, rubbing the remnants of sleep out of her eyes as she looked around the neat, cozy home of the aged healer.
"Awake are you?" Porlyusica called out, the healer sitting at the table, her back to the girl as she ground herbs in her mortar, no doubt working on a mixture for some foul potion that would no doubt heal just as well as it tasted foul "You slept through breakfast."
"Sorry…" Wendy offered, wiping sleep out of her eyes as she spoke, whilst wincing at the woman's tone. Despite Piccolo's reassurances, the young Dragonslayer was still a little uncertain about how to act around the elderly healer, having witnessed her explosive temper over the course of the previous evening, when she'd railed on Piccolo for being late, despite the sun only beginning to set, only to usher her in, feed her a warm bowl of porridge with honey, before giving her a bath and tucking her into her own bed.
Needless to say, Porlyusica was a woman that was significantly harder to comprehend than her peers.
Wendy yawned again, only to blink as something was tossed in her direction, her hand coming up to catch it awkwardly, looking down at the fresh red apple that she held in her hand in surprise.
"HEY!" Porlyusica snapped, Wendy looking up to follow the old woman's irate glare to the doorway, where a familiar green and pink shoulder was visible, the owner sitting cross-legged in mid-air, back to the house "Don't go giving away other people's things!" the healer railed, only to seethe as she was effectively ignored "Cocky little-!"
"Piccolo-san!" Wendy greeted, the young Sky Dragonslayer sitting up straighter in bed as she beamed at her new, green-skinned friend, or rather, what little she could see of his form through the doorway "Good morning."
"Morning kid." Piccolo returned, ignoring Porlyusica altogether, though he didn't turn to look at the girl either, simply remaining in his meditative pose, four feet off the ground and with his back to the wall "Eat that up and then go wash and dress…" he instructed, his tone calm and commanding "I'm taking you to your new home today."
"Eh?" Wendy exclaimed, the young Dragonslayer pausing in the act of chomping down on the apple, looking between the two in surprise "But Piccolo-san…" she stammered, looking to the Namek in confusion "aren't I staying with you?"
"S'not my house kid." Piccolo countered, tilting his head slightly over his shoulder in Porlyusica's general direction "The old woman lets me stick around so long as I do chores now and then. You wanna stay, it's up to HER."
"Don't go painting me as the bad guy!" the Healer snapped, hurling her mortar at the Namek, who tilted his head out of the way, catching the mixture in mid-flight and setting it gently on the grass at his side, "In any case," she sighed, looking to a startled Wendy with a calmer expression "It's not safe for a little girl around these parts." she insisted, doing her best to resist the girl's 'lost puppy' stare "An…acquaintance of mine…runs a Wizard Guild in the town not too far from here." She winced at the memory of Markarov's idiotic laughter and perverted antics "He'll put you up, and there will be kids your own age there to play with."
"Really?" Wendy wondered, her blue eyes widening at the prospect of making friends her own age, only to look downcast, her eyes flicking towards Piccolo's silent form once more, a wistful expression on her face "But…"
"There's another Dragonslayer staying there as well." Piccolo reminded the girl, still not turning to face the pair inside the house, so he missed Wendy's eyes widening in stunned recollection, though he heard her breath hitch in surprise "Remember? The one we got the Elfbark for?"
"He's a little older than you, but I'm certain you'll make fast friends." Porlyusica insisted, patting the girl on the shoulder, only to frown as she noticed the trembling of her shoulders and the uncertainty in her features.
"…Alright…" Wendy conceded, lowering her head to stare at her apple with a saddened expression, slowly lifting the fruit to her lips to eat, though at a much slower pace from last night.
Porlyusica's concerned frown deepened, watching the saddened little girl munch away at the fruit, taking far too long, especially when you considered the voracious appetites of Dragonslayers.
Outside the house, Piccolo's eyes opened, a matching frown on his own face as his ears caught the minute sniffles that Wendy let out between bites, far too low for any human to hear, but like little daggers to the Namekian's body as he listened to them throughout her meager breakfast.
Several hours later...
Since it wasn't that far a walk, Piccolo opted to lead Wendy to Magnolia town on foot, the two of them taking the rarely used road that Porlyusica traversed whenever she needed to venture into the town for anything, something the old hag had been getting out of by having Piccolo do the legwork for her these days.
The walk was carried out in silence, the two of them walking with Wendy's small hand held in Piccolo's three fingered one, the Namek's features concealed once again beneath his thick, hooded cloak that Porlyusica insisted he wear whenever running errands in the town. On the one hand, it annoyed the hell out of him that he had to use the damned thing. On the other, this one was technically different, in that he'd created it using his materialization technique, so it was technically a hooded version of his old cape, without the shoulder pads.
He'd started using weighted clothing again shortly before he and Wendy had ever met, and had to admit it was humbling how much pressure the cloak put him under. Back in the old days, this weight would've been nothing, but then again, he doubted his old self could have supported the same amount of weight at his current age, so it worked both ways really.
Wendy was once again dressed in the Namekian clothes he'd made for her, the little girl's free hand clenching at the side of her robe as they walked through the woods, refusing to look up at him, though she did occasionally look up to take in her surroundings, particularly whenever something cute of pretty made an appearance.
Eventually though, the grass gave way to cobblestones and the trees gave way to buildings, and the pair made their way down the bustling streets of Magnolia, avoiding the attention of street vendors in favor of weaving through the streets, pausing only occasionally to witness the occasional street performers, all wizards mainly, that were on display.
"This is it." Piccolo instructed, the Namek finally coming to a halt before the gates of a two-story building with the Banner 'Fairy Tail' stretched over the doorway, indicating it as the guild Porlyusica's 'acquaintance', Markarov, was the Guild Master for "You ready?" he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly so he could look down at the girl from within his hood.
"I suppose…" Wendy murmured, though she didn't look up at him, and her fingers tightened ever so slightly around the Namek's own, her shoulders trembling beneath the clothes he'd provided her with, looking for all the world like she was about to burst into tears.
Piccolo said nothing, merely looked down at the girl, before squeezing her fingers slightly in a gesture he'd learned from Gohan was encouraging "You know…" he muttered, not looking at her as he spoke "It isn't like we're on the other side of the world." He pointed out, causing Wendy to blink up at him cutely "What I'm saying is, I'm sure the old hag won't mind the occasional visit when you're not off on missions or whatever…"
Wendy blinked once, twice, before joy blossomed on her face, like a sunflower opening to greet the new day, rubbing her cheek into the Namekian's side as she hugged his leg, tears of joy running down her face.
"Alright, ease up there kid…" Piccolo muttered, a little embarrassed despite the warm feeling the young Dragonslayer's concern inspired, freeing himself from her hold and kneeling down to ruffle her hair, accepting one last hug, before getting to his feet and stepping away from the door "You take care now, y'hear?"
"Hai!" Wendy cheered, the young Dragonslayer nodding her head and beaming up at the Namek as he took off, so intent on waving after the retreating figure that she didn't notice as the giant doors opened to reveal a diminutive, some might call dwarfish, man with a staff, decked out in in an orange jacket and shorts over a white T-shirt with the Fairy Tail crest, a blue and orange hat with two tails on his head "Ja ne! Piccolo-san!"
"Oho?" the old man wondered, looking at the startled girl with an intrigued expression, as she gaped at him in surprise "And what brings you here so early in the day child?"
"Eep!" Wendy exclaimed, the young Dragonslayer whipping round and bowing at the waist, her hands over her knees as she'd been taught "G-Good Day sir!" she greeted "My name is W-Wendy Marvel…Porlyusica-san sent me here to join up!"
Markarov'spoint of view...
"Did she now?" Markarov noted, the aged Guild master looking the strangely dressed little girl before him over carefully, stroking his moustache as he did so.
Wendy flinched, standing up straighter as the Guild Master's surprisingly solemn eyes roamed over her, lingering on her eyes for a few seconds, as if trying to peer into her soul to gauge her worth, the young Dragonslayer letting out a sigh of relief after he ceased his examinations after a few moments of silent contemplation, beaming up at her with a cheeky grin on his face.
"Well this is certainly a surprise," Markarov noted, his solemn attitude from earlier replaced with an air of elderly mischief "to think Ol Porly would send little ol' me such a fine young lady in the making!" he beamed at the girl as she blushed at the compliment, his eyes twinkling in a teasing, grandfatherly fashion "So then, Wendy-chan." He prodded, standing tall before her, despite her being at least half a foot taller "think you have what it takes to join Fairy Tail do you?"
"H-Hai!" Wendy replied, the young Dragonslayer standing tall as she looked the diminutive man in the eye, as Piccolo had instructed her earlier prior to their leaving Porlyusica's home "I won't let you down, sir!"
"Relax child." Markarov instructed, though he did chuckle at her enthusiasm and manners, which were an increasing rarity in today's youths "This isn't the Rune Knights headquarters." He pointed out, smiling at the girl reassuringly as she blushed once more, "My name is Markarov," he introduced, one hand behind his back "I'm the Guild Master here, but you can just call me Gramps if that's too much for you."
"Hey Gramps!" a boisterous voice called out, Wendy's eyes widening in surprise as a berry-headed pre-teen stuck his head out from behind the door to peer over the diminuitive Guild Master's shoulder curiously "What's going on?"
"Haven't I taught you not to eavesdrop, Natsu?" Markarov warned, slamming the top of his staff into the kid's face with an exasperated sigh, Wendy looking on in alarm as the teen rolled about on the floor, holding his nose "and that goes for all of you!" Markarov barked over his shoulder, causing Wendy to blink as she heard several people flinch from the other side of the doors.
"Mataku…" another voice muttered, a second figure, this time a dark boy, the same age as Natsu, stepping out from behind the door, Wendy's eyes widening as she espied his state, or lack rather, of dress "Way to go, matchstick, not only did you wreck our cover, you probably spooked the kid."
"I DID NOT!" Natsu yelled, the berry-headed pre-teen leaping to his feet and getting in the other boy's face, sparks flying between them as they glared "She's more likely to be scared of YOU, you PERVERT!"
"Who you calling pervert you walking bonfire?" the other teen demanded, and irate scowl on his face as he grabbed the front of Natsu's jacket and pulled him close, the two of them literally in each other's faces by now.
"Gray…" an exasperated voice sighed, Wendy turning to see the speaker, a pretty girl in a skirt and sleeveless, backless top, her long brown hair done up in a ponytail pointing at the other boy in exasperation "Your clothes…"
"Huh?" Gray wondered, the dark haired boy releasing the front of Natsu's jacket as he gaped down at himself, eyes widening in horror as he realized he was only wearing boxers "AW CRAP! NOT AGAIN!"
"You sicken me…" Natsu muttered, an expression of absolute disgust on the berry-head's face as he watched Gray freak out, the two of them quickly rounding on one another once again, only to be brought out of it when their foreheads were forcibly slammed together "OW!" he snapped, glaring up at the culprit "DAMMIT ERZA!"
"Honestly!" the culprit sighed, Wendy's eyes widening as she espied the pretty, redheaded girl that had slammed their heads together. She wore an armored breastplate over what appeared to be a blouse, skirt and stockings. Her scarlet hair was tied up in a braided tail at the back of her head, and a sheathed cutlass hung at her side.
"Can't you two ever get along for five minutes?" Erza demanded "You're scaring the poor girl!" she insisted, before turning to Wendy, holding out a hand and smiling at the younger girl encouragingly "Don't mind those two," She assured her "they're really close friends, they just like to play rough."
"WE ARE NOT FRIENDS!" Natsu and Gray bellowed in unison, the berry-bead's tongue looking like a flickering flame, before realizing what they'd just said and getting in each other's faces once again "QUIT COPYING ME!"
"Can't you keep a handle on your underlings, Erza?" a confident voice demanded, Wendy's eyes widening as another older girl, this one with Silver hair and a HIGHLY revealing outfit for her age, sauntered over, one hand on her angled hip, the other resting casually at her side as she smirked at the redhead "Honestly, you'd think you'd broken them in by now."
"What was that?" Erza demanded, Wendy shivering at the look in the redheaded, older girl's eyes as her right hand went to the cutlass sheathed at her waist "You trying to start something, Mirajane?"
"Neechan…" a nervous voice cautioned, a large boy in a blue school uniform with a red bow tie sauntering up behind the silver haired girl, Mirajane according to Erza, his own shock of hair the same shade, leading Wendy to believe he was the older girl's younger brother "Please don't start this again…"
"Oh grow up Elfman…" Mirajane muttered, though her tone was without any venom, and her features softened as she frowned at her younger sibling "Honestly," she sighed, hands on her hips as she stared down at the boy, who lowered his gaze "you need to be more assertive!"
"You're more than assertive enough for all three of us, Neechan…" Elfman muttered, only to flinch as he realized he's spoken aloud, looking up to see Mirajane quirking an eyebrow at him and bowing his head "Gomen!"
"Mira-nee!" a third voice called out, Wendy looking past the crowd as yet another silver haired girl, this one around the same age as Natsu, Gray, and the pony tailed brunette, ran up to stand before Mirajane, pouting slightly "Mou! Picking fights again?"
"I wasn't fighting." Mirajane countered, the Silver haired pre-teen smirking confidently as she sneered at a scowling Erza over her bare shoulder "I only pick fights with people that can fight back."
"You want to test me?" Erza demanded, Natsu and Gray, who'd recovered from being flattened by Markarov by now, backing away from her with a look of terror as an aura of DOOM surrounded her, the redhead's sword slowly sliding out of it's sheath as she spoke.
"You want to be tested?" Mirajane countered, turning to sneer at the redhead, an equally impressive aura surrounding the silver haired girl as she held up one arm, which developed the trademark pattern of a Take-Over, Elfman and their younger sibling backing away hurriedly, though the girl looked more exasperated than nervous.
"ENOUGH!" Markarov bellowed, Wendy's eyes widening as the once dwarfish man suddenly towered over the entire group, his face like some wrathful deity's "SETTLE DOWN OR IT'S SPANKINGS FOR THE LOT OF YOU!" he commanded, one table-sized hand raised for emphasis.
After Markarov's bellow...
Mirajane and Erza flinched, looking each other in the eye, as if considering refusing the old man's order, only to sigh, their magical aura's vanishing, Erza's sword returning fully to it's sheath while Mira's arm lost the checkered pattern of the Take-Over, the two of them turning their backs on each other with a huff.
"You got lucky…" Mirajane muttered, the silver haired older girl stalking off with her head held high, her hands on her hips as she made her way inside the guild "We'll finish this when the Master isn't around to save your hide."
"Same to you." Erza replied, her features neutral, though you could detect the hint of anger if you looked deep enough, before turning to face the towering giant with an apologetic expression "My apologies Master…I lost my temper…"
"Happens to the best of us, Erza-chan." Markarov assured the redhead, the old man reverting to his dwarfish form, one hand behind his back, the other holding his staff "Still, it wasn't entirely your fault," he admitted, one eye peeking out at Mirajane's retreating backside as she sauntered off "That Mira-chan's a feisty one."
"Sorry about that, Master…" Elfman stammered, the younger sibling of Mirajane rubbing the back of his head nervously as he looked down at the ground in shame "I should've tried harder to stop Neechan…"
"It's not your fault Elf-Niichan." The younger, silver haired girl opined, beaming up at her elder sibling encouragingly as she patted his hand "No-one but Master can keep Mira-nee and Erza-nee from going at it!"
"That's cause no-one else has a death wish…" Gray muttered, the boxer sporting teen wiping a cool sweat off his face with the end of Natsu's white, scale patterned scarf, much to the Berry-head's ire, the two of them looking ready to start off again, had Erza not pointedly glared in their general direction.
"In any case…" Markarov coughed, standing to his full height as he beckoned for Wendy to come stand beside him "Everyone, this is Wendy Marvel, and she's going to be a member of our guild from this day onward."
"What the heck Gramps?" a voice demanded, the group looking up to see an older boy with spiky blonde hair and spiked headphones walking up to them with his hands in his pockets and a quirked brow "You planning on turning this place into a daycare center?"
"Laxus!" Natsu yelled, the berry-head leaping to his feet, shoving an irate Gray off to the side as he clenched a fist, pointing up at the blonde's smirking face as he yelled "I challenge you to a rematch!"
"Dream on, firefly." Laxus scoffed, shaking his head dismissively "You only got back on your feet earlier this morning, I don't wanna put you in the hospital again because you were stupid enough to think you could eat my lightning TWICE."
"That was a fluke dammit!" Natsu insisted, the berry-head so enraged by the mocking, sarcastic tone the teenage blonde had spoken with that he missed the look of amazement on Wendy's young face as she gaped at him "I'll clean your clock this time!"
"Sorry," Laxus countered, walking past them all with a confident sneer "I'd love to pound you into the dirt some more, but I've got BETTER, more IMPORTANT things to do, like take REAL quests." He gave Markarov a quick salute "See you around gramps, try to keep your hands off the ladies while I'm away, 'kay?"
As Laxus leavers...
"Hey!" Natsu roared, moving to chase after the elder boy, only to be held by the combined efforts of Gray and Elfman, the elder boy putting the berry-head in a full nelson while Gray pushed on his chest "You running away from me!"
"That's enough, Natsu." Erza ordered, her tone low, but commanding, the scarlet haired, armor clad girl glaring out after the elder teen as he walked off "It's too soon for you now. Be patient, you'll get your chance."
Natsu scowled, only to let out a gruff 'feh' and relax, shrugging himself out of Elfman's embrace as the older boy released him, his arms crossed before his chest as he scowled after the retreating blonde "Whatever…"
"Excuse me…" Wendy spoke up, looking up at the elder boy with a nervous expression on her face as he turned to look at her "He said you tried to eat lightning…" she her eyes took on a hesitant, hopeful light "Are…are you a Dragonslayer?"
"Yep!" Natsu grinned, suddenly all smiles as he pointed at himself with his thumb, spiky teeth all on display as he grinned at her cheerfully "Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragonslayer, at your service!" he smiled at her "Your name's Wendy, right?"
"Such a show off." Gray muttered, the brunet ignoring Natsu's heated glare in favor of smiling encouragingly at the younger girl "Gray Fullbuster," he introduced, thumbing his chest "I use Ice Maker Magic."
"Watch yourself around that guy, Wendy-chan!" Natsu warned, the berry-head getting right down next to the girl's head to speak in a stage whisper in her ear "He's a pervert that keeps stripping for no reason!"
"You wanna become a strawberry pop, berry-head?" Gray demanded, the two rivals once again launching themselves across the hall at one another, much to the exasperation of almost everyone else.
"Those two…" the silver haired girl from earlier sighed, pouting as she huffed, before coming up beside Wendy with an embarrassed smile "Don't worry they always do this," she assured the younger girl "but Erza-nee usually makes them quiet down."
The scarlet haired girl promptly did so, her aura of DOOM suddenly returning as she loomed over the suddenly nervous pair, tapping her naked blade against her palm. "In any case…" the silver haired girl continued, holding out her hand to Wendy "Nice to meet you Wendy-chan, my name's Lisanna!"
"H-hai…" Wendy stammered, the Sky Dragonslayer a little surprised by the elder girl's friendliness as she accepted the offered hand with a nervous smile, listening in as Lisanna introduced the others.
"That's my elder brother, Elfman," Lisanna pointed out, the elder boy smiling shyly at the younger girl "He and I use Take-Over magic, just like our big sis, Mirajane." She nodded her head to the side, where the pony tailed Brunette stood "That's Cana-chan, she uses Card Magic…" she looked over her shoulder with a frown "And you've met Laxus, he's the Master's Grandson, but he's nothing like the master."
"He's a jerk…" Natsu muttered, finding his tongue once Erza had put her sword away once again, the berry head turning to Wendy with a cheerful smile "So what kind of magic can you use, Wendy-chan?"
"Um…" Wendy stammered, twiddling her fingers together nervously as she looked up at the older Dragonslayer's energetic, honest face "I can heal…" she admitted, earning a look of stunned amazement from Markarov and a few other adults.
"Heal?" Natsu wondered, the berry-head's brow furrowing in thought "You mean like Granny Porlyusica?" he asked, a hint of trepidation washing over the group's features "Those nasty potions and stuff?"
"No…" Wendy countered, shaking her head and taking a deep breath to steady herself as she looked the berry-head in the eyes "I was taught by Grandine, the Sky Dragon." she revealed, Markarov's eyes bulging out of his head at this revelation, even as Cana and Lisanna gasped in surprise "I'm the Sky Dragonslayer."
Ghost Nappa: dun, Dun, DU~N!
Piccolo: You ham.
GN: I'm just Saiyan.
Kyugan: That's enough bad puns and copyright infringing from you two.
Piccolo: But I didn't-!
Kyugan: You two, *ignores Piccolo's censored cursing* Well there's Wendy's meeting with Fairy Tail.
Wendy: Natsu-san was so cute when he was my age!
Kyugan: Yeah, he was a real lady killer too, even Mirajane thought he looked adorable when he pouted.
Wendy: REALY? *Negima shock face*
Piccolo: Humans...I'll never understand that mushy stuff...
GN: Amen brother.
Piccolo: You're not my brother.
GN: Aw...
Kyugan: In any case, Review for updates!
