(A/N: Starting from this chapter, I will slowly be updating the chapters with new ones that have less grammatical errors. If you see a sudden change of writing style and/or quality midway, that is the reason)

X784

"You sure you don't want to come with me?" Mest asked, shocked at the girl's response. The mage was just selected for the S-Class trials along with Fairy Tail's best wizards and offered to take Wendy with him as his partner. The girl was surprised he had selected her. She was one of the newer members and there were definitely better options.

"I think Carla is right. It might be best I stay here," the girl replied, giving the man a smile.

Mest scratched the back of his head. Who can he ask now? He started mentally scrolling through the names of Fairy Tail members he could think of off the top of his head.

"I'm really, really sorry, Mest." Wendy added, regret now filling her face as she looked at the ground. "I wouldn't have been able to help you anyways. I'm not a good fighter."

Mest, turned his head slightly at the girl's sadness. "Why are you so upset over this? I don't mind if you don't want to go. It's understandable. You don't even know me." he assured, bending his knees and placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "And don't doubt yourself like that! You're pretty strong, especially since you managed to help stop Oración Seis! I see a lot of potential in you."

Wendy smiled and hugged the man in front of her. He blushed at her kindness toward him. "I wish you the best in the tournament!"

"Thank you, Wendy." he gave her his best smile before turning around and walking off.

X786

She still remembered that day like it was yesterday. The day that Mest, or really Doranbolt, came through the guild's doors, his face full of remorse. He couldn't stop apologizing and tears were falling from his face as he stared at the ground, unable to look at anyone. All of the guild rushed to his side, asking what had happened, and the words that came out of his mouth were ones that were going to be ingrained in Wendy's head forever.

"A dragon destroyed the island. They're gone. They're all gone."

Wendy felt her world fall apart at that moment. She couldn't believe it. Who would? It was hard enough to believe that the island was destroyed, but a dragon? Dragons don't exist anymore. At least, they shouldn't.

She had already lost Cait Shelter, but now this? Losing Natsu, Erza, and the others? Her heart couldn't take it, and right when those words left Doranbolt's mouth and the other Fairy Tail members began to react, her world went black and her body hit the ground, unconscious.

"Wendy? Are you listening?" a voice called out, snapping Wendy out of her thoughts. The girl blinked a few times before turning to face her companion.

"Oh, sorry, Carla." she quickly said.

"You're thinking about them again, aren't you?" Carla softly asked, her face growing sad. Wendy was left devastated after learning about the fate of the members that went to Tenrou, and the Exceed couldn't help but feel useless in trying to console her. The girl hasn't flashed her bright smile since that day.

"I'm not," Wendy lied, shaking her head. "I was just...lost in thought."

"We all still feel the pain, Wendy. It's okay to mourn-"

"I said I'm fine," Wendy cut the girl off, "Really." Carla immediately backed off, knowing to not push the girl further. After Wendy had fainted upon hearing about the destruction of the island, the girl tried her hardest to hide her grief. The guild was in mourning, but she vowed to be everyone's rock. She vowed to be their hope for a better future.

The Exceed turned her head, hearing the doors of the guild building open. Seeing a man walk in with what looked to be an envelope, Carla called out to them. "Are those job requests, Wakaba?"

The man sighed and shook his head, placing the envelope in front of Wendy. "It's from that Council worker."

"Another apology letter?" Carla commented, "We've already forgiven the man, why can't he forgive himself?"

Not sure of how to respond to Carla's question, Wendy thanked Wakaba and picked up the envelope, opening it. Sliding out the piece of paper in it, she opened it up to read the letter.

Wendy,

I know my letters seem to be repeating themselves, but I can't help but feel like whatever I say is never enough. It's been two years, but I still stay up at night, reliving that memory in my head. I keep searching for ways I could've saved everyone. There must be something I could've done to save Laki and the others. I'm pathetic, I know. But I won't forgive myself until I can finally be at peace with what happened.

The investigation on the events from 2 years ago still has made little progress. The Council can't provide answers for what happened, and we cannot find the dragon that destroyed the island either. I did, however, learn something else that you might find interesting. There is a guild named Sabertooth that just acquired 2 Dragon Slayers and they're both your age. They claim to have been taught by dragons like you. I think you should go meet them. You might find some comfort in being able to relate to them.

I wish you the absolute best,

Doranbolt

Wendy closed the letter and turned to Carla, who had also been reading it. For the first time in awhile, her eyes were big with energy and excitement. "2 Dragon Slayers, just like me?! What do you think, Carla? Should we visit them?"

"I'd give anything to get out of this town at this point," Carla replied, "We haven't traveled in weeks! When's the last time we took on a job?"

Wendy then sighed and looked at the empty job board. "When's the last time we got a request?"

"Anyways," Carla tried to change the subject, hoping no one else had overheard Wendy's comment, "Pack your things then. We'll head to Sabertooth later."

Wendy nodded and got up. She walked over to Kinana, the guild's new barmaid. "Kinana, Carla and I will be traveling for a little. Tell the others if they ask."

Kinana nodded and wished the two luck on their journey as they headed out of the guild building.

The train to Sabertooth was, to say the least, horrible. Wendy used to be able to travel just fine, but recently she found herself completely overtaken by sickness whenever she was on a moving vehicle. Carla could only pat the girl on the back as she was on the verge of throwing up.

"How did this even happen to you?" Carla asked. However, she already knew Wendy was too sick to reply.

It started around a year ago, after Wendy and Fairy Tail were trying to defend their building from an attack by a dark guild, Midnight Feather. The dark guild heard of the Fairies losing their best members, so they used it to their advantage and tried to overtake the guildhall. The other Fairy Tail members were beat pretty quickly, so Wendy was forced to lead the attack. By doing so, she was able to achieve Dragon Force and discovered a new spell to use on enemies. She called it 'Shattering Light: Hell's Winds'. Afterward, Porlyusica gave the girl two new spells: Shattering Light: Sky Drill and Milky Way. Porlyusica also revealed herself as Edolas's Grandeeney, in which Wendy had many questions for the woman, but Porlyusica just blocked her out. After months of trying to talk to her, Wendy realized it was no use, and ultimately left her alone.

But the power Wendy had achieved that day against those dark wizards...it was a surprise to everyone. When she went into Dragon Force, and her hair turned a light pink. Her power grew immensely, and everyone could feel it. She seemed just like Natsu.

The sound of a train's horn sounded loudly as train began to slow down, eventually coming to a halt. "Thank goodness. We're here Wendy. The train stopped." Carla told her, making the girl snap out of her sickness.

"Finally…" Wendy trailed off, finally able to move.

Sabertooth was a fairly small guild at the moment, but was becoming more popular in town after word got out on the two Dragon Slayers joining. The mages all in there seemed delighted at the new intake of job requests being sent over to them. Wendy stared in awe at all the papers the members were holding and attaching to their job request board. It was a completely different atmosphere.

"What do you think they are like?" Wendy asked as the two walking through the doors, her voice trying to contain its excitement. But Carla could see it in the girl's eyes. Maybe meeting these two Dragon Slayers will help her start being more happy once more.

"Hopefully not like Natsu and Gajeel," Carla said without thinking. When she turned her head and Wendy stopped in her tracks. She tried to hide the small amount of pain she felt hearing those names, but it was already written all over her face.

"Sorry Wendy. It slipped out."

"It's fine," Wendy reassured, wiping the pain from her face. She then looked around inside the building, staring at everything in awe. For a small guild, it had such a luxurious guildhall.

And once eyes landed on Wendy, she was, to her surprise, immediately recognized. People from all over were looking at her and greeting her.

"I remember you! You're that Fairy girl! The one who singlehandedly took on a dark guild!" a boy claimed. He wore a crimson and gold mask around his eyes and fairly long, straight blonde hair. "I'm Rufus, by the way." he held out her hand. Wendy shook it and before she could respond to him, the boy looked at Carla, immediately letting go of Wendy's hand to get a closer look at the Exceed.

"That's an Exceed, no?" he pointed at Carla.

"Yes, I am." Carla replied, surprised at how quick he was able to guess that.

"Sting and Rogue also have Exceeds!" he said in awe, examining Carla, "Must be a Dragon Slayer thing." Wendy nodded, smiling at his rather accurate guess.

Carla looked in the guild building. It was rather calm, especially compared to Fairy Tail. The people seemed pretty kind and were relatively quiet. In fact, her very presence seemed to disrupt the calm energy from the guild.

"Who is this?" a dark, deep voice called out across the room. Wendy and Carla turned around and saw a tall, elderly man speaking. For his age, he was very muscular. He had long hair and his eyes were so white it was like he had no pupils. On his forehead was a purple Sabertooth mark that made it look like he had a third eye.

"Master!" Rufus greeted by bowing to him. "This is Wendy Marvell and her Exceed from Fairy Tail."

Jiemma took a few steps toward the girls, observing them. "You're a Dragon Slayer, no?" he asked, his voice booming from its naturally loud volume. Wendy nodded. "And that cat is your companion?"

"An Exceed-" Carla started, her tone rather rude.

"Yes. That is Carla." Wendy interrupted, hoping to make a good impression on the man. "She is an Exceed and uses Transformation magic to turn into a human and fight."

As if on cue, Carla transformed into her human form, showing it to the man. The Exceed had learned Transformation magic over the past year to fight alongside Wendy, knowing Fairy Tail could use the extra power. It took a bit for her to master it, but she can now switch between her human and Exceed form whenever she wants.

"Interesting. Well, it isn't often that we get visitors from other guilds. And since Fairy Tail is way past its glory days, are you looking for a change?"

Wendy frantically shook her head, shocked at the man's claim. "No, not at all! I mean, no offense, this guild seems great, but I can't just up and leave like that. I was wondering if I could meet the two Dragon Slayers here, Sting and Rogue?"

"They aren't here to do interviews," Jiemma coldly said, suddenly losing interest and turning around to resume whatever it was he was doing before the girls arrived, shrugging them off as if they were reporters.

"Now, now, Master," a voice came from behind the two girls, causing them to turn around. The voice belonged to a young blonde boy who was walking towards them. Next to him was a black haired boy of the same age, as well as two Exceeds. "We aren't famous or anything like that. If anything, Miss Wendy here is the real celebrity."

"Sting, Rogue," Jiemma greeted the two, "Done with training so early?"

"We heard from Rufus that a Fairy Tail mage is here. And not just any Fairy Tail mage. The Dragon Slayer! We couldn't help but want to meet her." the blonde boy answered. He then reached out a hand to the girl, shining a bright smile. "I'm Sting."

Wendy shook his hand, "Nice to meet you! I'm Wendy, but I guess you already knew that."

"This here's Rogue," the boy pointed to the dark haired boy next to him. Rogue then bowed slightly, saying hello to the girl.

"It's an honor to be in your presence, Miss Wendy," Rogue said.

"Fro thinks so too!" the Exceed in the pink frog suit chimed from the boy's arms.

"No need for the formalities," Wendy insisted, blushing, "Just Wendy is okay!"

"Alright, Wendy!" Sting nodded, the smile never leaving his face. Seeing such positive energy...it was a nice change for Wendy.

"You use Sky magic, right?" Rogue asked, curious.

Wendy nodded, to which Sting couldn't help but praise the magic. "That's so cool! I heard you can do a lot with that. You must be super powerful."

The girl blushed, shaking her head. "I wouldn't necessarily say that-"

"Oh come on! You took down a dark guild, didn't you? You're amazing!" Sting insisted. At this, Wendy couldn't help but smile as she thanked the boy for his kind words. Carla looked at the girl as she beamed, causing the Exceed to grow a smile on her face as well. Seeing Wendy smile a genuine smile was something she hadn't seen in a long time.

"I'm a White Dragon Slayer and Rogue is a Shadow Dragon Slayer," Sting explained. Wendy immediately became interested, asking them more about their magic and its capabilities.

As the three began to strike up a conversation, Jiemma could only just watch. The three got along so well, there was no doubt about it.

At this, a devious smile formed on the man's face.

Wendy and Carla ended up staying all night in the guild building, getting to know everyone. Regardless of the symbol on her arm, everyone already viewed Wendy as a member of Sabertooth. The other Exceeds, too, viewed Carla as a comrade. They all clicked together immediately. The once quiet guild suddenly became lively, eager to learn more about the girl.

And by the time the sun was beginning to rise, everyone was asleep except Wendy and Sting. The two sat outside, watching the sun begin to brighten up the sky.

"What was your dragon like?" Sting asked, breaking his gaze toward the sun to look at the girl sitting right next to him.

"Kind and gentle. Grandeeney believed in me when the world thought I was too weak for it. She was the best mother I could ever ask for." Wendy reminisced, a smile on her face as she recalled her precious memories with the dragon. She then turned to the boy, meeting his eyes with hers. "What about yours?"

"Weisslogia pushed me to be the best. He even sacrificed his life for me." Sting told her, regret slowly creeping up on his face. Wendy gave a confused look at the boy in response to his comment.

"Your dragon died? How?"

"He told me that in order to become truly stronger, I must slay a dragon," Wendy gasped in shock upon hearing this. "He forced me to kill him. It was horrible, and Rogue's dragon, Skiadrum, asked him to do the same. Yours did not die?"

Wendy escaped from her shocked state and answered, "No. Just disappeared 9 years ago. On July 7th."

"Huh. That's the day Rogue and I slayed our dragons." Sting said curiously, "Isn't that also the day Gajeel and Natsu dragons disappeared?"

"Yeah," Wendy looked down, hearing the names of her fallen comrades once more. All this time talking with Sabertooth members had almost made her forget about the pain she'd been carrying for the past 2 years, but she knew it could never go away. Seeing her eyes grow sad, the blonde placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"It was a horrible thing to happen. I'm truly sorry about your losses." he told her, "Rogue and I...we viewed them as our idols. Wanted to meet them and learn from them. I can't even think how you feel...losing comrades..."

Wendy began to cry as she thought more and more about everyone. She then wiped away the tears, turning away from the boy. She can't cry...she couldn't never let herself cry!

"I'm sorry..." Wendy tried to stop the tears, "I don't normally cry."

But Sting gently grabbed her, turning her around and hugging her. At this, she couldn't hold back the tears anymore, crying onto his shoulder.

"Let it out," he whispered in a tone that comforted the girl, "Crying isn't something to be ashamed over."

His embrace tightened as she continued to cry. Sting remained silent, keeping a straight face as he felt the girl slowly let down her walls, crying harder into his shoulder.

"You've been holding in these tears for too long, haven't you?" the boy asked her. She didn't respond, but he already knew the answer. "You must be trying to stay strong for your guild. Forcing yourself to not cry so that your guildmates can."

Wendy still didn't answer, but they both knew he was right.

"I know Fairy Tail is your home," Sting continued, "And I know they mean a lot to you. But the people in Sabertooth really like you. I may have only just recently joined, but I've never seen the guild light up like that."

The girl remained silent, but her tears began to slow. The two released from their embrace and the girl rested her head onto Sting's shoulder.

"You're amazing, Wendy Marvell. Your presence alone is having such a positive effect on the guild. If it isn't too much to ask, would you consider coming to Sabertooth?"

The girl's head remained on his shoulder as she let out a soft sound, showing she acknowledged the boy's words. He turned to look at her, seeing her on the verge of falling asleep. Sting simply carefully picked up the girl, taking the two back inside.

Perhaps this could be a new beginning for her.

A/N: Thanks for reading! The fact that Sting and Rogue are technically the same age as Wendy (with just 7 years removed) really inspired me to write this. I just kept thinking of what would happen if Wendy did not go with Mest to Tenroujima for the S-Class Promotion Trial. I intend to write about Team Tenrou's return and the effect it has on Wendy.

The story has Wendy as the main character, but will go in depth about other characters as well, mainly Sabertooth. I hope you guys will enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.