What Am I?:

Vroom!

A shadow passed over the Guild Hall. Nashi looked up. It was an airship. They'd passed over every few days for as long as she could remember. She used to not think much about it, but now she was noticing that everytime the air ships passed by all the grown-ups shot a glance her way.

She was starting to notice a lot of things lately. Like whenever she used her magic at the Guild Hall whispers would murmur through the crowd. Or how whenever someone spoke about how the other children were doing with their magic they would say:

"Well, compared to Nashi-"

Or something along those lines. She'd also noticed that some of the other children around town would leave when they saw her coming. In fact, some of the other adults around town would leave when they saw her coming.

Whenever she and her family were out about the town, inevitably someone would say something about her being "that child," or "dangerous," or "a ticking time bomb."

She frowned and shifted uneasily as the ship flew over and everyone began to go about their business. It was bad enough when people would look at her like that, but it was even worse when her Mommy and Daddy weren't there. They and the other grown-ups (except for Uncle Laxus and Aunt Mira) had gone on a few day jobs, leaving the children at the Guild Hall to be supervised.

"Hey, Nashi, you gonna eat that?" Storm asked, pointing to her unfinished plate of spaghetti.

"No, you can have it," Nashi pushed it his way, her appetite suddenly gone.

As Storm began to dig in, Cato's brow furrowed.

"You not hungry, Nashi?"

"No," Nashi shook her head.

"But you're always hungry!" Cato exclaimed.

"Nobody's always hungry," Roman said. "Nashi's just always hungry most of the time."

"Yeah," Koree nodded. "She's fine. Aren't you, Nashi?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nashi nodded, though her face and tone of voice said otherwise.

"You sure?" Cato asked.

"Mm-hmm," she slipped off the bench. "I'm gonna go play outside for a little while."

"I'll go with you," Fin offered, chowing down his fish and spreading his wings.

"No," Nashi shook her head. "I wanna go play by myself for a little while."

The rest of the Birthday Gang watched her go, worried looks on their faces.

"Y'know, guys?" Storm asked. "I don't think Nashi's okay."

"Does she have a tummy ache?" Cato asked.

"I don't think so," Roman shook his head. "She didn't look like she was hurting."

"Did she not get enough sleep?" Koree asked. "Persephone gets cranky if she doesn't sleep enough."

"Hey!" Persephone crinkled up her brow.

"Sorry, but you do," Koree shrugged.

"Maybe we should check on her," Storm said, wiping spaghetti sauce off his face.

"But she said she wanted to play alone," Roman reminded him.

"It'll just be a quick check-up," Storm assured him, slipping off the bench and heading towards the side door Nashi had slumped out of. The other children exchanged glances, then decided to follow after him.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Nashi kicked at a pebble as she stomped about the yard of the Guild Hall, hands jammed in her coat pockets. There was something going on, she just knew it. She just didn't know what that something was.

She pulled her hands out and looked at them. Did it have something to do with her magic?

"Thea," she said softly, crimson sparlking flames appearing in her palms.

No one else had fire quite like this. Sure, Uncle Romeo had a dark one but it didn't sparkle like hers did, and he couldn't use it to let other people see what he was seeing.

"Rhea."

The crimson flames disappeared and were replaced by pink ones. No one had a fire like this either. If you set something on fire with any other fire it would burn it, not keep it safe.

She sighed and let Rhea's flame go.

"Eos."

The wings appeared at her back. She'd never met anyone else who had fire wings. Sure, Uncle Freed had Dark Ecriture one. Aunt Mira and Aunt Lisanna had wings in some of their take-over forms. But none of them were made of fire. She shrugged her wings away, and picked the pebble she'd kicked off the ground.

"Styx," she said. The rock disappeared in a whirlpool of fire, only to reappear when the whirlpool swirled into existence a few feet away from her, dropping the rock to the ground before vanishing altogether.

The only other person she knew who could move things from place to place was Uncle Mest, and he had to be touching them to do that.

Nobody else had spells like hers.

Was that why everyone looked at her funny?

Was that why children ran away when she walked by?

Had they always been like that? She thought for a while. She guessed they had been. She just never noticed until now. Why was that? Was she just too dumb to notice?

She dug her toe into the dirt as her frown deepend, shoving her hands back into her pockets. Why had no one told her she was different? Why was she different? Being different wasn't a bad thing…

...was it?

No. It had to be a bad thing. Why would so many people look at her funny if it wasn't?

How had she gotten to be so different? Did she do something wrong. She thought about it for a while. She couldn't think of anything she'd done. Well, yeah, there were those few times Mommy tol her to only have one cookie and she took two instead. But that didn't make people different. So what was it? She squatted down, resting her forehead on her knees as she tried to think things through.

As she sat there she heard murmurs. She looked up. A group of three teenage boys were standing in the street in front of the Guild Hall, pointing at her, whispering at her. She groaned as she stood and began to walk away.

"Hey, you!" one of the boys shouted.

She didn't stop.

"Hey, you, girly? Ain't you that freak?"

Freak? Was that what she was? What even was a freak? Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. She stopped and looked over her shoulder as the teenagers walked that way. As they drew near she noticed a mark on one of the boys hand.

Twilight Ogre.

She'd heard of them before, but never met any wizards from that guild. She heard they were mean and liked to pick on Fairy Tail. She gasped, turning around, clamping her hands into fists at her side, ready to fight if need be.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"We was just coming to pay our respects to Fairy Tail," the same boy who'd called out to her before said, his two friends chuckling. "Then we saw you. So, ain't you that freaky kid that can use some kind of demi-god fire?"

"I'm not telling you!" Nashi shouted.

The boys chuckled again.

"I think she is, Dob," one of the other boys said.

"Hey, what's so special about you anyhow?" the leader asked, jabbing his finger into her forehead. "You don't look like much to me. More like a pip squeak."

"I'm not a pip squeak!" Nashi shouted.

"Oh, yeah, why don't you prove it?" the leader asked.

Nashi frowned. She wanted to fight them, but she also didn't want to show them her magic. They'd already called her a freak, whatever that meant. She didn't want them to say anything else about her. She shoved her hands in her pockets and turned to walk away.

"Just leave me alone," she said.

"Heh, whimp!" the leader shouted. "And here I thought we might need to be scared. But no. That's just like you Fairy Tail Freaks, y'know? Build yourself up to be this great thing to behold, but in the end your just like the rest of us."

Nashi gritted her teeth as she whirled back around. It was one thing to call her a freak, it was another think to call Fairy Tail a freak.

"Thea!" She shouted, running back towards the boys, her crimson flames in her hand.

"That's it! Let's see what you've got!" the leader shouted, just as Nashi punched him in the gut. The flames exploded, curling a whistling like a fireworks as they knocked the boy on his back.

"Hey, not bad for a small fry," he chuckled as he stood back up, barely showing any signs of discomfort. "Maybe there is something to the stories about you after all."

Nashi took a step back. "What stories?"

"You don't know?" the leader scoffed. "Everyone talks about how strong you are. How you'll either be the greatest thing since sliced bread or you'll tear the world apart. They either love you, or their scared of you."

Nashi gasped. Why were people scared of her? She wasn't scary!

Seeing he'd hit a nerve, the leader leaned down closer to her.

"Most of them are scared of you, though. Say your some kind of monster."

"No I'm not!" Nashi shouted.

"Oh? Then how come you've got stolen magic?"

"Stolen magic?" Nashi cocked her head to one side. "My magic's not stolen."

"Yeah it is," the leader said. "Stolen right from the gods. Made them so mad that they threw the punk who did it in jail until he died. Hmm," he rubbed his chin. "Makes ya wonder what they'll do to you when they find out."

"You're lying!" Nashi stomped her foot. "I didn't steal anything!"

"Yeah, but try telling that to them," the boy snickered. "They won't believe you. They'll throw you in jail until you rot too. And then we'll all have a big party because the thieving monster's gone!"

Nashi gasped, taking two steps back. "No you won't!" she shouted, frown deepening, though there were tears stinging her eyes. "You're lying!"

"Hey, Dob," one of the other boys said. "Whatta ya say we take this one back with us? Just to see what Fairy Tail will do?"

"Yeah, with their little trophy child in danger they'll be eating out of the palm of our hands!" the other said.

"Hm. Not a bad idea!"

Nashi held her fists up again and opened her mouth to call one of her flames. The leader snapped his fingers, and Nashi dropped to the ground, asleep. The leader threw her over his shoulder.

"C'mon, guys. Lets go," he said as he began to saunter off. They had about reached the road when they suddenly felt a giant force knock them over. They all tried to shout, but were choked on…

...water? Where had a wall of water come from? As suddenly as it had appeared it vanished, as did Nashi. The teenagers looked about and found a translucent boy sitting behind them, body made of water, Nashi in his arms coughing and sputterinng as she woke up.

"You okay, Nashi?" Storm asked, changing back to his normal form.

"Yeah, I think so," Nashi said, still fuzzy from the sleep spell.

"Hey, what do you think you're-" the leader began shouting as he and the other two stood to their feet, only to be knocked back on their backs.

"What?" the leader turned around to find Roman standing behind them, and bo-staff in his hand that he had apparently used to knock the men's feet out from under them.

"Now, listen here you littl-"

Whack! Whack! Whack! Bonk! Whack! Smack! Thrash!

Quick as a flash Roman bludgeoned the teenager with a barrage of painful and well landed blows of the staff. When the leader finally managed to get a hold of the staff and yank it from Roman's hand, he simply said:

"Requip!" Two throwing stars appeared in his hands that he threw at the leader, pinning his rather long and billowy sleeves to the Guil Hall wall.

"Well, don't just sit there, you numbskulls, do something!" The leader shouted as he tried to yank free of the throwing stars, only to be popped in the face by Roman's whip.

"Right!" one of them said, standing to his feet. He held out his hand, a chain made of magic energy appearing from it with a grappling hook, heading straight for Nashi, still lying dizzy in Storm's arms.

"Archive, Shield!" Persephone shouted as she jumped in front of them, arms held open. Nine archive screens appearing in mid air, blocking the chain from hitting it's target. As the chain bounced back towards its caster, the screens changed shape, going from being rectangular, to being round and jagged, like a circular saw. Persephone twisted her hands from facing palms up to pointing two fingers at the two boys not pinned to the wall and getting whipped to bits by Roman.

"Oh, no!" one of them shouted.

"Archive, Saw!" Persephone clapped her hands together, sending the screens spinning a buzzing towards them. The They had just pushed themselves back into a sitting position when they heard:

"Iron dragon, Saw!" from behind them. Two circular, saw like contraptions slammed into their backs, sending them face first into the dirt. One of them looking behind them to find Koree, her hands replaced with chains that had two saws dangling from the end of them.

"You little-" the two stood up , each running towards one of the Redfox twins, only to stop dead in their tracks.

"Memory make: Snake bind!"

They turned just in time to see Cato round the corner of the Guild Hall, holding a hand to either side of his head. Both boys could feel something crawling along their bodies, as a dark red, serpent like line of magic energy appeared over their limbs and torso, tightening until they were both immobilized.

"What the-" the leader blinked, both eyes swollen from Roman's attack. "They're all freaks! I mean, what the crap! You're all pip squeaks!"

Whack!

"Yikes, cut it out kid!" he shouted as Roman whipped him across the chest.

"What were you going to do with Nashi!" Roman demanded to know.

"None of your business!"

Roman's eyes narrowed. His whipe vanished from sight.

"Ah, had enough did y-"

"Requip!" a set of nunchucks appeared in Roman's hands.

"Oh-no!"

Crack!

A tooth flew out of the leader's mouth as Roman swung the nunchuck against his jaw.

"Tell me what you wanted with Nashi!" he shouted.

"Yeah," Persephone said as she drew close to the two men held captive by Cato's spell. "And make it quick!" She held her hand out, another saw-like screen appearing to hover over it.

"Kids?" Mirajane's voice came as she peaked out of the side door. "What are you - oh my goodness! What happened!?"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"BANABOSTER!"

All of the Twilight Ogre members jumped as their doors swung open with a burst of flames. Stomping inside were a slew of Fairy Tail wizards, slung over three of the men's shoulder were three of their newest members.

"Hey, what you think you're doing?" the Twilight Ogre Guild Master said as he stood up. "You think you can just come busting into my house like that!"

Natsu, Laxus and Gajeel dropped the three boys onto the ground in front of the table, Laxus stomping up to the other Guild Master.

"Hey, what you think you doing roughin' up my boys?"

Laxus didn't answer, he instead began walking, slowly, heavily, intimidatingly towards Banaboster.

"It's one thing to torment us for seven years," he said as his footsteps fell heavy on the floor.

"It's one thing to fradulently demand we repay you for nonexistant debts over, and over again," lightning began cackling in one of his fists.

"It's one thing to damage our property and spread rumors about us every chance you get," lightning began cackling in his other fist.

"But to go after our children?" Laxus stamped down on the table in front of Banaboster, snapping it in two instantly, causing Twilight Ogre's master to squeak in fear as Laxus stared down at him, eyes blazing.

"You've gone too far!" Laxus shouted, hsi voice amputated by the lightning coursing all over his body.

"Eh, what?" Banaboster asked. "Hey, boys? What did ya do?"

"Well, boss, we-AUGH!"

The leader shrieked in pain as a firey foot landed ontop of him, Natsu glaring at Banaboster as he stomped the boys face against the floor. A dark magic circle formed underneath him, causing all three boys to shudder.

"Sorry, I held him in as long as I could…" his voice deepened as horns began growing from his head, wings from his back, and talons from his fingers. "But this it what happens when you try to kidnap my little girl! My inner demon comes out. Literally!"

"Boys, you what!?" Banaboster screeched.

"Indeed, and then threatened her friends when they came to her aid," Erza added, requipping into her purgatory armor. "One of whom happens to be my son!"

On the word "son" she slammed her mace to the floor, right next to the teenage boy's heads, making them all scream and cry in fear.

"You're just lucky neither of my girls got a scratch on them," Gajeel said, his body covering in scales as he cracked his knuckles. "'Cuz none of you would be leaving here alive had one hair on their heads gotten hurt!"

"Hey, c'mon, guys," Banaboster flustered. "We can talk about this, right?"

"Afraid not," Gray said, stepping forward. "I'm sure you remember what we did to you everytime you've messed with Fairy Tail in the past," his left arm and the left side of his face became covered in blank marks as icet spikes emitted from both of his fists. "So imagine how much worse it's going to be now that you've messed with our babies!"

"I'll drown all of you!" Juvia screeched.

"Honestly," Mirajane said, a dark magic circle forming underneath. "How stupid do you have to be to try and attack a she-devil's child?"

All of Twilight Ogre began shuddering and screaming in fear as the very angry Fairy Tail parents turned on them, fighting a beating anyone they got their hands on into a bloody pulp.

"Open Gate of the Lion, and Open Gate of the Maiden, and Open gate of the Scorpion! Leo! Virgo! Scorpio!"

"Solid script, pain!"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Nashi sat on the roof of the Guild Hall, staring at the sunset, knees drawn to her chest and a deep frown on her face. Her young mind was racing, thinking about all the things the teenagers had said. Was she a freak? Was she a bad person? Was her magic bad? Was she dangerous?

"They're back!" someone called. She looked down. All the grown-ups were coming back from fighting Twilight Ogre.

Nashi groaned, drawing her knees closer and resting her forehead on them. Boy, had they been mad when they found out what happened. She cringed as she thought what her Mommy and Daddy were going to say to her now that they were back. After all, she'd started it. The boys came looking for her because she was a "freak," because she was different.

Because she was wrong.

"Nashi?" Lucy's voice came from behind her. Nashi just drew her knees closer as two sets of footsteps came walking her way.

"Hey, you alright, Firecracker?" Natsu asked, setting a hand on her back.

Nashi winced slightly as she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, sweetheart," Lucy said, setting a hand on the back of Nashi's head. "What happened today wasn't your fault."

Nashi heaved a heavy sigh, never drawing her face away from her knees.

"Nashi?" Natsu asked, patting her back. "Talk to us, baby."

She squirmed uncomfortably before finally asking: "Am I a freak?"

Lucy gasped looking up at Natsu who had an equally hurt look on his face.

"No, sweetie!" she insisted, wrapping an arm around Nashi's. "Who told you that?"

Nashi didn't answer, but instead asked another question.

"Then what am I?"

"What do you mean, kiddo?" Natsu whispered.

"Why am I so different?" Nashi questioned. "How come I got a type of magic that no one else does? And why are so many people scared of me?"

"Honey, no one's scared of-" Lucy tried to say, but Nashi cut her off.

"Uh-huh! Whenever we go somewhere outside the Guild Hall kids run away from me! And adults talk about me! And the air ships that keep flying over are because of me!"

"Who told you that?" Natsu shouted, ready to fry whoever it had been.

"No one, I figured it out," Nashi admitted, still not lifting her face off her knees. "'Cuz everytime they go by people look at me funny."

Natsu and Lucy glanced at each other, neither sure what to say. They'd both known something was off with their little girl. Ever since Layla found Zelos and Fyllo's key a few weeks ago, she'd been acting funny. More reserved, contemplative. Not her usual bubbly self. They just hadn't realized how deeply these questions had been bugging her. Or that she was even asking these big questions.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Nashi asked, voice quiet and a bit shaky.

"No, baby, nothing's wrong with you," Lucy said, pulling Nashi into her lap.

"Then why am I so different?" Nashi asked.

"Being different isn't a bad thing," Lucy insisted.

"But why am I like this?"

Lucy sighed, looking up at Natsu. He glanced up at her, a sad look in his eyes, a hand stroking Nashi's head. He nodded slowly. Lucy took a deep breath and began telling the story she'd been dreading to tell Nashi for a long time:

"When I was pregnant with you, Nashi, your Daddy and I discovered something. A long time ago there was no fire in the world. The gods kept it to themselves so humans couldn't advance beyond to dark ages. But a group of beings, called the Titans, stole fire away from the gods and used it to make powerful magic that would help humanity. This made the gods angry, though, so they locked the Titans and their magic away in a place called Tartarus."

"Why?" Nashi asked.

"I guess they didn't like the Titans using fire and magic to help humans. They wanted humans to stay in the dark ages. But it was too late. Thanks to the Titans humanity now had fire, and they had learned how to use it to advance civilization, even without the Titans or their magic. Still, there was a prophecy made-"

"What's a prophecy?"

"A story or a riddle that tells of something that's going to happen in the future. This prophecy that your Daddy and I found said that one day someone very special would be born with the ability to use the Titan's magic."

Lucy tucked a hand under Nashi's chin, tilting her tear-streamed face towards her. "And that someone was you."

"Me?" Nashi asked, wiping her nose on the back of her sleeve. "Why me?"

"I-" Lucy sighed. "I don't know. You just happen to be the one chosen."

"But I don't want to be chosen!" Nashi wailed. "I don't want to be different, or dangerous, or a freak!"

"You're not dangerous," Lucy assured her. "You're powerful. But you're not dangerous. And you are not a freak."

"Yes I am!" Nashi sobbed, covering her eyes as tears pouring down her face. "I've got a magic that no one else does! It's got a sad story that goes with it! One that was stolen! People are scared of me because I'm weird! So scared that some of them run away from me! Airships keep spying on us because of me! If I'm not a freak then what am I?"

Lucy bit her lip to keep herself from breaking down. She had known that sooner or later Nashi would figure out there was somethign different about her, but she didn't expect (or had at least hoped that it wouldn't) have hurt her this badly.

"What am I?" Nashi repeated, shoulder trembling.

What was Lucy supposed to do now? How was she supposed to make Nashi feel better? What was she supposed to say?

As she tried to figure it out, Natsu scooted closer to her, pulling her tiny hands from her face so her could cup it in his palms, using his thumbs to wipe her tears away.

"You're Nashi Lucy Dragneel," he said softly. "You're a good cook. You're the best kick-ball player Fairy Tail has ever seen."

Nashi smiled a little bit at this, though her shoulder still shook with tears.

"You're a brave adventurer," Natsu continued. "You're a good friend, and an even better big sister. You're our daughter, our precious little girl that we love with all our hearts. Sure, you're a talented wizard with a super rare magic, but that's just one small part of who you are, Nashi."

Nashi looked up at her father, a flicker of hope in her tear brimmed eyes. Natsu smiled sadly at her.

"Your magic does make you different," he said honestly. "But different in a good way. In an incredible way. Think of all the good things you've done with it. You've protected Farrah when she's having nightmares. You let me know when people were trying to hurt you and the other kids. You saved Minette, Eva, and Von. Different doesn't mean bad, it just means different."

"So why are people scared of me?" she asked.

Natsu sighed. He'd hoped she could go just a bit longer without noticing, staying youthfully oblivious. She was growing up, though. She was maturing. Sooner or later she would have noticed the strange looks, the whispers, the parents calling their children away. He'd just wished it could have been later.

"Because people are dumb," he said. "There are some people who don't like anything different. Even if that new thing might be something amazing or something that will make life better they'll run from it."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Natsu sighed, wiping her tears away. "I guess not everyone can be as brave as you."

Nashi smiled slightly.

"I wish I could make things easier for you," Natsu said. "I wish people wouldn't judge you before they get to know you, Nashi. But some people...well...sometimes people just suck! And there's nothing any of us can do about it."

Gosh, he hated this! Admitting there was something out there hurting his baby girl that he had no control of. And to his baby girl's face no less.

"But, in the end, it's their loss," he continued, brushing her hair out of her face. "Because they are missing out on getting to know one of the most amazing people earthland has ever seen."

Nashi sniffled, wiping her nose on the back of her hand, though she was at least smiling.

"Here, let me show you something," Natsu said, taking her right arm in his hands, and flipping it over, exposing the Fairy Tail Mark on her wrist. "See that?"

"Uh-huh," Nashi nodded.

"That means that no matter what happens, no matter what anyone else says, you've got a whole Guild, one huge family, here that will help you and love you through it. Not to mention your Mommy and I."

"We'd do anything for you, Nashi," Lucy said, finally managing to find her voice.

Nashi sniffled again, leaning her head against Natsu's shoulder. Natsu wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

"I'm sorry you're having to deal with this, kiddo. If I could take it away I would."

He didn't say anything else for a while. He just let her cry. Lucy ran her hand over her daughter's hair as her Daddy held her, heart breaking with each sob the child made. This was so unfair! She was an innocent, six-year-old baby! She shouldn't have to deal with all this! Lucy again found herself cursing that blasted prophecy, wishing it could have been someone, anyone other than Nashi that was chosen.

Still, as she stared at her daughter and husband, in her heart she knew why it had to be this way. Like Natsu said, already at age 6 Nashi had done so much good with her powers. Saved a few lives, soothed a few fears, making the world brighter around her everywhere she went. If only the world could return some of that brightness to her. But here, where she was now, in her Daddy's arms, at least she could comforted. At least she could be safe. At least she could be loved unconditionally.

"We love you, Nashi," Natsu finally said. "More than you'll ever know."

"I love you, too," Nashi whispered, wiping her face on his shirt as she stood up. "I'm…" she sniffled once again. "I'm a little hungry."

Natsu and Lucy smiled, glad to see her acting a little more like herself.

"Okay, kiddo, let's get you something to eat," Natsu stood, taking her hand, and leading her towards the door leading back inside. Lucy followed along behind them, heart still heavy from the conversation. The minute the Dragneels opened the door, they were greeted by five angry children who had apparently been eavesdropping the whole time.

"Who said Nashi was dangerous!?" Storm demanded to know, slamming his fists together, creating a small water cyclone. "I'll show them!"

"Next time some one tries to run away from you," Persephone said, conjuring up with round screens. "I'll chase them with Archive Saw."

"And I'll send my saws after 'em too!" Koree insisted, changing her hands back to her saw chains.

"Storm, I need your dad to show me his cage spell so I can memorize it and trap 'em," Cato said.

"Alright, I'll tell him," Storm nodded. "What about you, Roman? You in?"

Roman held his hands up, conjuring up a small knife that he pulled out of the sheeth with an evil gleam in his eyes. "Ready when you are!"

Nashi blinked a few times at her friends, then laughed.

"Guys!" she cried as she went to hug them.

Natsu and Lucy sighed, smiling. It was good to know that there were five other people looking out for their baby girl.