July 7th X777

Inside a jungle-like landscape could be seen a creature both majestic and terrifying. A creature that would fill anyone with wonder and terror simultaneously for it was magnificent but looked like it had emerged from the deepest pit of Hell. And in a way, it did. That creature was Blazeel, the Fire Dragon King also known as Natsu Dragneel in his dragon form which was now slightly bigger than Igneel's was.

To understand the circumstances of his current situation, one would need to rewind all the way back to X690. In this year, Zeref realized that the time when Natsu would have to face Acnologia was drawing near. As a result, he reluctantly declared that his brother should focus on his mission and for that reason, they needed to part ways. Natsu wasn't too keen on this idea, especially since he could see the sadness and pain in Zeref's eyes at the idea of being all alone again. Nevertheless, he had to agree with the logic behind it. And so, 200 years to the day after they started traveling together, the Black Wizard and his strongest demon separated.

Ever since that day, Natsu had never seen his brother again and didn't know anything about his situation. Well, he knew he was alive of course but that was it. Natsu had also dedicated himself solely to training, mainly in his dragon form because there was a high probability the battle against Acnologia would be fought in his dragon form.

Moreover, Natsu had been on the lookout for the other Dragon Slayers since X750. He hadn't seen or felt anything yet. That changed today.

As he was walking, Natsu felt a brief surge of magic in the air which enticed him to stop in his tracks. He knew that magic, it was his brother's. That meant that only one of two things could have happened. Either Zeref had unleashed his magic or the Eclipse Gate had been opened.

He quickly established that the second option was the most likely and resumed his walk. The Dragon Slayers could be anywhere in Fiore and they could be in different places so Natsu decided he'd just be content to travel the country until he found one or all of them. As luck would have it, he wouldn't have to wait long to find what he was looking for.

A mere few hours later, Natsu's sensitive nose picked up the smell of salty water. Not salty enough to be sea water, but just salty enough to perfectly correspond to the smell of tears. Shortly afterwards, he heard the sound of whimpering and crying. As he went towards it, Natsu was shocked by what, or rather who he saw and smelt.

It was a young girl, around the age of 5, with deep blue hair that reached the base of her neck and fair skin. She was wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt with a red collar and golden stripes, blue shorts and brown shoes. Natsu knew she also had brown eyes even he couldn't see them right now. He knew it because she knew this girl. Granted, he hadn't seen her in nearly 400 years but that didn't mean he had forgotten.

"Wendy." he instinctively said. Upon hearing her name, the bluenette pulled her head out of her hands and looked in the direction she heard it.

When she saw what had pronounced it, her eyes widened and the sadness that was in them got washed away by terror. It was safe to say Wendy had never felt this much fear in her life to the point where she was literally petrified. She wasn't scared because there was a dragon in front of her. She was scared because of which dragon was in front of her. Not only was it much bigger than Grandeeney, it was basically her exact opposite. Grandeeney was a white feathery dragon with blue eyes. This one was scaly, except for its wings, black as night with crimson red eyes. So by that logic, if Grandeeney was so kind and loving then this dragon should be mean and hateful, possibly even evil.

There was one thing though, that gave her a hint of hope. The dragon had said her name which means it knew her. Moreover, it didn't say it in an angry or threatening way but in a surprisingly smooth way.

While Wendy was freaking out, Natsu was internally berating himself. First, because he couldn't stop himself from calling Wendy. And second, because he was still in his dragon form which he knew could send a shiver down the spines of the toughest of wizards. No wonder a 5-year-old girl would be terrified. Even worse, changing his form could probability be even scarier for her.

'Well done, Natsu.' he sarcastically thought. "You don't need to fear me, I mean you no harm Wendy." he tried to reassure which worked to some extent because she visibly calmed down a little, enough to get on her feet and talk.

"H-How do you know my name?" she shyly asked.

"I know your name because I know Grandeeney." That statement made all of Wendy's remaining fear and shyness melt away.

"Do you know where she is?" she questioned eagerly.

"Sorry but I do not." he lied because he had to which caused the girl's face to fall which in turn made the dragon's heart ache a bit. "She didn't tell me why she was going to leave you but she did warn me it was going to happen. And when she did, she requested two things of me: that I tell you she left because she had to, not because she wanted to, and that I watch over you on her behalf."

"R-Really? You're going to take care of me…?" Wendy asked with surprise, happiness and hope but trailed off when she realized she didn't know the dragon's name.

"I am Blazeel, the Fire Dragon King. And yes, I am. And not only that, but I am also going to continue your training in Dragon Slayer Magic." As soon as he had finished his last sentence, Wendy was hugging his front left leg.

"Thank you. Thank you." she kept repeating in gratitude. Although, deep down Wendy was also feeling quite guilty because she had judged Blazeel by his appearance only while in reality, he was very kind too.

"Enough of this. Get on my back so we can get out of here." he instructed while chuckling. Wendy didn't need to be told twice as she hurriedly climbed on the dark dragon's back.

When he was sure the bluenette was holding on tightly enough, Natsu flapped his wings and they flew away.

As they were flying at great speed to their destination, Wendy couldn't stop giggling. She loved flying on her mother's back, especially since, as a Sky Dragon Slayer, she loves the feeling of the wind on her face. Although being on Blazeel's back was mostly the same, they were a few differences: it wasn't as comfortable because of the scales that had replaced the feathers and Blazeel's flying style wasn't as graceful but a lot more powerful than Grandeeney's.

After some time, they landed in the middle of a large clearing with a cave nearby. Wendy got off Blazeel's back and walked in front of him.

"Since today wasn't exactly a quiet day for you, I won't exhaust you with training but I would still like to see what you can already do. Show me how you roar." he instructed which made Wendy blink several times before shrugging and taking a deep breath.

Natsu wasn't expecting a tornado to come out of her mouth but he was still hoping for a decent breeze. Imagine his surprise when his new trainee literally roared at him with her voice. Now it was his turn to blink repeatedly. He just couldn't believe it. It's not even that her training wasn't very advanced, it hadn't even begun. Not even that, but apparently Wendy didn't even know of the attack's existence. When Natsu recovered from the shock all he did was shake his head in exasperation. Not towards Wendy, but towards her foster mother.

"I see. Well, what has Grandeeney taught you then?" he questioned.

"She taught me healing magic and a few support spells." she answered truthfully. On the bright side, she already knew what Natsu would have had the hardest time teaching her. But it also meant they had a heck of a long way to go.

The following night, Wendy was sleeping peacefully next to Blazeel. She had found out that what he lacked in soft feathers, he made up for in the soothing warmth he gave off. As for Natsu, he was still just as insomniac as he had been for centuries now. But for the first time in all those centuries, he was glad he couldn't sleep because it provided him with the perfect opportunity to get a word with a certain Sky Dragon who he was particularly unhappy at.

"Dragon Soul Technique." he whispered while looking at Wendy as to not wake her up. He then started glowing dark crimson and his form shifted into that of a sphere. The sphere then entered Wendy's body.

On top of a mountain that reached above the clouds was a cave. Inside that cave was a large, four-legged dragon with a white body covered in bird-like feathers and bird talons as feet. Its skull was broad and flat. It was the Sky Dragon, Grandeeney.

She appeared to be sleeping but cracked one of her blue eyes open when she felt and saw a crimson orb of light approaching. When the orb stopped at the cave's entrance she opened her other eye, stood up and grew a small smile.

"It has been a while, hasn't it Natsu? Or should I say Blazeel?" she greeted in a teasing tone.

"Dad warned me you loved poking at people's sensitive areas. At the time, I thought he was exaggerating but now I realize that everything was true." he said while sighing. Even though this initially made Grandeeney giggle, she quickly turned serious.

"You called yourself the "Fire Dragon King". Does that mean…?" she trailed off.

"Yes, Igneel's gone. He has been for some time now." he confirmed with sadness.

"I see, my condolences. Still, I'm glad you kept your word."

"Yeah about that. When you said "Wendy isn't all that good with attack spells", you mistakenly gave me the impression that she at least knew something." he explained, not trying to hide his annoyance but his interlocutor just started laughing.

"Yes…that might have been…a bit rude of me. But…the look on your face…when my daughter screamed at you…was priceless." she managed to get out while laughing.

"Well what am I supposed to do now? I could have easily helped her improve her techniques but she has no technique. And I can't teach her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic, I don't know it."

"Sky Dragon Slayer Magic isn't all that different compared to the others. Worst case scenario you could teach her one of the four Dragon Slayer Magics you already know though I wouldn't recommend it." she advised.

"Thank you so much for your help, Grandeeney." he responded sarcastically as he prepared to leave.

"Thank you for taking care of Wendy. I look forward to the day we meet at the Dragon King Festival, Natsu." she sincerely thanked him after which he disappeared.

The next morning, Blazeel and Wendy were standing in the clearing again as he was trying to reminisce how his father had taught him his magic.

"To use a roar attack, you first need to take a deep breath, then gather your magic at the back of your throat and focus on what you want to do with it. Finally, release it. Watch and learn." the dragon explained. He then took a deep breath and aimed his head at the sky.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" he yelled out and unleashed a massive column of orange fire to the sky that could probably have destroyed a mountain. Wendy wasn't scared by the spell at all. If anything she was fascinated by it and the power behind it. However, there was one worrying thought that came to her mind.

'I'll never be able to compete with that.' she thought with desperation.

"Now, you try it." he instructed. Wendy started slowly pumping air into her lungs and concentrating, trying to follow Blazeel's previous explanation. At the moment of releasing the spell however, she collapsed on her hands and knees and tears started pouring out of her eyes. Seeing this, Natsu got worried she might have hurt herself somehow.

"What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"I-I'm s-scared." the young girl answered while crying.

"Scared of what?" Blazeel questioned somewhat reassured. Being scared was better than being hurt after all.

"S-Scared that I will f-fail. Scared that I'm n-not good or s-strong enough."

"That's fine." he reassured which made the bluenette look up at him with huge eyes. "There is no shame in being afraid Wendy. Fear is an emotion and like all emotions, it cannot be controlled. What can be controlled however, are actions. So if you fail, keep trying until you succeed. My first roar was a small weak flame that wouldn't even have darkened grass. It took me centuries to get where I am now. So come on, give it a shot." the Fire Dragon King encouraged her.

Wendy felt her confidence and determination rise. She wiped her tears away and got on her feet. The bluenette fixed her gaze on a nearby tree and inhaled deeply. Then, the young girl closed her eyes in concentration and gathered her magic at the back of her throat.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" she shouted and a stream of air escaped her mouth and rushed to the tree she had previously aimed at. When the attack hit its target, the trunk remained undamaged but all of the leaves and the smallest branches were blown away. Wendy turned her gaze to Blazeel, sending him an expectant look, wanting to know how she did. Much to her delight, her mentor nodded his head in approval.

"That's pretty good for a first roar. Of course, it doesn't come close to what you will be able to achieve with time but it remains a strong start nonetheless. To progress, you will need to practice multiple times a day, everyday. Now, let's move on to the wing attack."

Year X778

It had been a little over a year since Blazeel "adopted" Wendy. She had made staggering progress. She now knew how to use the roar, wing attack, and fist spells at will. Her healing and support spells had also become more potent and more magically economical to use. She wasn't the strongest mage out there but she could definitely handle herself in the wilderness now.

On a more personal level, Wendy had also asked Blazeel if he could be her big brother because she had always wanted one. Although he was extremely surprised by the request, he accepted without hesitation and Wendy had been referring to him as such ever since.

However, this request made him aware of a problem that he had not yet paid attention to. Wendy was human and thanks to Grandeeney she would stay human. Yet, the only two creatures she could refer to were dragons. She needed to get experience with other human beings and she needed it soon otherwise she might never be able to adapt to human society. So one day, he interrupted her training to have a conversation with her that he didn't want to but had to have.

"Wendy, I have come to a decision. As much as it hurts me, I have decided it'd be best for you to leave me." he announced and as he expected Wendy's eyes widened a lot before filling up with tears. He hated to see this but it was necessary.

"W-Why? You s-said you'd take c-care of me." she said through rivers of tears, in a way, this hurt more than Grandeeney's disappearance. Maybe because this was the second time, maybe because this time they were actually saying goodbye.

"And I have. You have grown a lot since I found you, you don't need me anymore. But more importantly, what you do need is to spend time with those of your kind. The only way you can do that is by being separated from me." he explained.

"B-But I thought you l-loved me." she stated, the flow of her tears reducing.

"I do and that is why, like Grandeeney before me, I have to do something that neither of us wants but needs to happen for your greater good." the dragon reassured her while delicately caressing her head with his massive claw.

"B-But what will I do without you? W-Where will I go?" the Sky Dragon Slayer questioned with her tears almost completely gone.

"Well, that is entirely up to you. Your path is yours to walk and yours alone. Although, my advice would be: find a guild, one that you like, one where its members treat you well, but most of all, one that makes you happy." Blazeel advised.

"O-okay. I understand. But can you promise me one thing?" she complied as her tears stopped falling.

"Of course. What is it?"

"That we will see each other again." the bluenette requested with evident hope in her voice.

"I'll do you one better. I'll find you again in a few years and when I do, I'll want you to show me how much you'll have grown." he promised with a fond smile. At that point, Wendy ran up to him and hugged his leg. "Now, I have a gift for you."

"A gift? For me?" she repeated in surprise. The dark dragon nodded and opened his palm, revealing a white scaly necklace with a gem attached to it that was the same color as Wendy's hair. She eagerly took it and put it on, staring at it a bit.

"I know it's not the fanciest jewel there is but I did my best. If you don't like it, don't feel obligated to wear it. I wouldn't be offended." he told her but was interrupted when Wendy went right back to hugging him.

"I love it." she reassured him before adding. "And I love you, big brother."

"I love you too Wendy."

The next day, as it had been agreed, the siblings parted ways, a strange feeling of déjà vu tugging at Natsu who returned to his human form shortly after.

A few days later, he was walking in the forest, thinking about what a disaster this whole 400 Year Plan had turned out to be. Not only had the slayers been separated but it had now been a year and he had only managed to find one. At this point, he might as well stop searching and leave them to their own devices until the time was right.

As he was debating with himself on what to do, something fell right on his head. Something quite big and heavy by human standards, and if he had been human, that would have hurt quite a bit. Thankfully though, Natsu was tougher than that so he barely felt it. When he looked at what it was however, his reaction was the same as a human's.

It was an egg the size of his torso. It was white with blue flame-like markings all over it. If he hadn't known better, Natsu would have assumed this to be a dragon's egg. But he was part dragon himself so he knew it wasn't a dragon's egg. What he didn't know however was what it was exactly. His curiosity getting the better of him, Natsu decided to take the egg and hatch it.

A few days later, the egg finally hatched, giving birth to a…cat? Well, it was a creature he had never seen or heard of before but the closest thing he could associate it with was a cat except it was blue…and it could talk…and fly. But hey, he was a human/demon/dragon hybrid and he had pink hair. Who was he to judge?

Deciding a little company couldn't hurt, he took the blue-furred feline with him and named him "Happy" because he felt it was the most fitting name he could think of for an ever-joyful furball.