They have a history. Cubellios thought at Erik, to which the twenty-three year old nodded.

Currently, they were observing Jellal- renowned, recently revived Dark Mage- face off against Erza Scarlet.

"I think the Jellal guy's lost his memory. His soul is blank," Erik murmured, instinctively reaching for the snake. His hands curled into fists when he passed through her holographic body.

Calm down, Erik. She hissed, slithering up his body to rest her upper half across his shoulders.

"How? Natsu and Wendy are here and I have to fight them or you- You'll-" Erik shook his head.

There are other ways to change me back.

"I know. But I have to find you again first," Erik murmured.

I can't be far, if you're hearing me. Soon…

o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o

"You Poison Breathed, snake-like, aggressive little punk!" Natsu growled, pulling his arm back as his fist was encase in flames. A small grin formed on his lips when Erik dodged easily.

"What? It's not like I wanted to do this willingly," Erik snarled back as he sparred with his younger brother.

"Not that! YOU ALMOST GOT KIDNAPPED! AGAIN! AND YOU WERE ALMOST TAKEN TO THE TOWER OF HEAVEN! AGAIN!" Natsu roared.

Erik grinned sheepishly. "So Gajeel told you-"

"Of course he fucking told me you asshole! You're lucky Laxus was excommunicated or he'd be here kicking your ass!" Natsu attempted to kick the older man's legs out from under him, but Erik jumped over his attack.

"Wh- Wait. What? Excommunicated? What the fuck?" Erik blinked, in slight shock. He was so caught off guard, he failed to notice Wendy being flown in by Charla, taking a deep breath.

"Sky Dragon: ROAR!" Wendy shouted. A humongous gust of wind, like that of a tornado, blew towards their second eldest brother, Happy grabbing Natsu and flying him out of the way just in time while Erik's eyes widened.

"Holy shit!""Wendy! That was awesome!" Natsu grinned, him and his sister landing on the ground.

"Of course it was! Wendy's stronger than any of you will ever know," Charla crossed her arms.

"That was so cool Wendy! And the way you flew was amazing, Charla!" Happy added, smiling at the female cat.

The group turned when the rubble behind them started moving. The piece on top shot into the air, landing a few yards away, and Erik's head poked out.

"I told you guys she'd be fine on her own. And Gajeel doubted Laxus," Erik rolled his eyes, stepping from the rubble with barely a few scrapes.

Wendy's and Natsu's jaws dropped.

"What the f-"

"That did nothing?!" Wendy exclaimed, cutting off her brother's swearing. Erik raised an eyebrow before pointing to his cheek, where a thin line of blood had formed.

Wendy and Natsu exchanged grins at that, as well as when they noticed the numerous burnt edges of his clothes.

"Right, let's go," Erik said, walking towards his siblings.

"But won't Brain come after you?" Happy frowned. Erik grinned, though it looked more like he was baring his fangs.

"Brain's an idiot. Whenever one of us gets defeated one line of his tattoo vanishes. He thinks it means we're dead. So, for all intents and purposes, I am," Erik grinned, doing slight jazz hands and making Wendy giggle.

"Are we going to look for Cubellios now?" Natsu asked. Erik's expression turned angry as the trio walked, Charla and Happy flying beside them.

"Yeah. And I have a feeling I know where she is,"

Wendy smiled, beginning to skip. "Someone's made Erik-nii angry~. This is gonna be fun!"

"She's a devil," Natsu narrowed his eyes as the youngest of the three skipped on ahead.

"Yep. C'mon, Salamander, we've got people to slaughter," Erik shrugged and the two boys set off after their younger sister.

"Where is Cobra?" The councilman asked again, glowering at the group of wizards before him.

They'd just taken Jellal into custody, but refused to let the wizards go until they gave up Cobra.

"We don't know where you double agent is! We've said that a million times! Now will you let us out!" Sherry snarled, a hand on her arm from Leon being the only thing holding her back.

Before anyone could move, the sound of three sets of feet walking toward them drew attention away from the argument.

"I'm right here, Lahar, stop wasting your time on the guild mages," Cobra grunted, a large snake lounging around his body.

The crowd before them noticed the rips and fringed edges to the three Dragon Slayers' clothing, but all wisely remained silent.

Not like they would've been answered anyway.

"Are you coming back to the council?" Lahar asked as Natsu pounded on the rune cage.

"No. If you need another undercover op, I'll be at Fairy Tail," Cobra shrugged. "If they take me. If not, I'll show up. I'll know when I'm needed,"

"You're friend?" Lahar asked. Wendy, Natsu, and Erik's eyes all flashed, each baring their fangs at the reminder.

"Safe. Now let the punks out already, you've got a job to do and they've got guilds to head back to," Erik rolled his eyes.

"Tch," Lahar gave the slayer a once over before nodding. The Rune Knight spun on his heel and strode away, his men following behind him.

o - o - o - o - o - o - o - o

"N-No," Wendy's voice shook as she dropped to her knees. "No! No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! It isn't- That can't be true! No! Everyone! Stop! Don't leave me!"

The other mages watched as the members of Cate Shelter vanished, one by one, until Wendy was left sobbing on the ground.

"Wait," Erik held out an arm, keeping Erza from moving. The scarlet haired woman glowered at him, but her eyes widened when he returned the glare just as harshly.

They remained where they stood as Wendy sniffed for a few more moments before getting to her feet. The blue haired girl wiped her eyes furiously as she turned to the group.

"I- I guess that's why their smells were all funny, huh?" Wendy blinked, more tears pooling in her eyes. "I feel like an idiot,"

"You're not an idiot Wendy," Natsu responded, arms crossed and face impassive from his place on Erik's left.

"C'mere, breezy," Erik rolled his eyes.

Don't act all tough, Erik. I know you've missed your siblings, Cubellios told him as Wendy crashed into Erik's arms, her face buried in his stomach.

"Am I not good enough? Is that why people keep leaving me?" Wendy's voice was muffled.

"Hell no. Our dragons loved us, there's no way they left us willingly," Erik growled. "And we're not gonna leave, breezy. Wipe your tears and hold your head high- you're a dragon,"

Wendy nodded, pulling away and wiping her eyes one final time. She nodded again before rising slightly into the air.

"So are we going to Fairy Tail now? Oh, can we?! Can we, can we, can we please?! What's it like? Is it as loud and weird and rambunctious as I think it is?" Wendy fired question after question at the mages.

"Whatever you do: Don't trust Gray. He's an asshole,"

"I'm right here, idiot!"

"And?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow at his best friend, and earning a laugh from his younger sister.

okay i know that it was important to their character developments for wendy and erza to have that talk after Cait Shelter vanishes after the whole Nirvana incident in canon BUT in this i think its more important to establish how close the slayers are, and how private they are with their personal lives. i love erza, she's a queen, we stan, god bless, she's perfect and i Love Her but she isn't a main character in this v much sooooo. and also, wendys, like, twelve, yet shes always treated like an absolute child for the most part when she Isnt, shes a strong, powerful mage- the Sky Dragon Slayer and i feel like a lot of people throw her under the bus because of her age