Chapter 4: Welcome to the Family
Running from the authorities with a pyromaniac you just met is not how Lucy Heartfilia envisioned her journey to joining a guild would begin. But as Natsu dragged her through the back alleys of Hargeon, with Happy flying overhead and me floating along like a pink, psychic parade balloon, she couldn't stop the giddy smile from spreading across her face.
"Are they still after us?" she panted, glancing over her shoulder.
"Probably!" Natsu grinned, not slowing down in the slightest. "It's more fun this way!"
Spoken like a true shonen protagonist, I thought, my internal monologue providing the running commentary. Rules are just suggestions, and authority figures are just temporary obstacles on the way to the next adventure.
We finally managed to ditch the Rune Knights at the edge of town. The problem was, Magnolia was a long way away.
"So," Lucy said, catching her breath. "How do we get there? Do we take a train?"
Natsu's face, which had been flushed with the excitement of the escape, instantly turned the color of old guacamole. "T-t-train?" he stammered, looking at the distant train station as if it were the gates of hell.
"Oh, right," Lucy sighed, slapping her forehead. "The motion sickness."
"It's his greatest weakness!" Happy declared dramatically. "A Dragon Slayer's only kryptonite!"
"So... a carriage?" Lucy suggested weakly.
Natsu looked even sicker at the thought.
"This is going to be a problem," Lucy muttered, looking between the incapacitated Dragon Slayer and the vast expanse of Fiore that separated them from their destination.
My cue, I thought. It was time for the support character to provide the fast-travel mechanic. But a simple telekinetic flight was boring. We could do better.
I floated in front of them and closed my eyes, focusing. I needed something big, something comfortable, and something that wouldn't trigger Natsu's debuff because it wasn't technically a vehicle. I pictured it in my mind, pulling the genetic data from the vast library in my soul. The transformation was more complex this time, a tingling, shifting sensation that felt like my very atoms were playing a game of Tetris.
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer a small, pink creature. I was massive. A huge, gentle, dragon-like Pokémon with soft, white fur covering most of my body, a long, elegant neck, and kind, intelligent eyes. I had transformed into a Dragonite. A pseudo-legendary known for its kindness and incredible flight speed. And most importantly, a living creature, not a vehicle.
Natsu, Lucy, and Happy stared up at me, their jaws agape.
"Whoa..." Natsu breathed, his motion sickness completely forgotten. He walked up and poked my new, much larger leg. "Mew... you turned into a dragon!"
"He's so big and fluffy!" Happy cheered, zipping up to snuggle into the fur on my back.
Lucy was speechless. Her brain, which had just barely processed the idea of a telekinetic, food-stealing cat, was now trying to comprehend that said cat could also turn into a creature straight out of a fairy tale.
I lowered my head and gave her a gentle, encouraging nudge. I then sent a thought to all of them, a warm and welcoming mental projection.
Climb on.
Natsu didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled onto my back with the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning. "This is awesome! It's like riding on Igneel!"
Lucy hesitated for a moment, then a brilliant smile lit up her face. She climbed on as well, settling in behind Natsu. With a powerful beat of my new wings, I pushed off the ground, rising smoothly into the night sky. There was no rocking, no turbulence, just a smooth, powerful ascent. Natsu was perfectly fine, laughing and cheering as the town of Hargeon shrank below us.
The flight to Magnolia was, in a word, magical. We soared above the clouds, the starry sky spread out like a diamond-studded blanket. Lucy, after her initial shock, was full of questions.
"So you can turn into other things? How many things? Are you always a cat-thing? What exactly are you?" she rapid-fired.
I responded by transforming my head, just for a second, into that of a Psyduck, holding it between my paws and giving a confused "Psy-yi-yi?" before changing back.
Lucy sighed. "Okay, I get it. You're a mystery. A very confusing, very powerful mystery."
Natsu, meanwhile, was telling Lucy all about Fairy Tail. He talked about the crazy jobs, the strong wizards, and the feeling of family. He talked about Makarov, Erza, Gray, and his endless search for Igneel. Seeing him talk about his father, his passion so raw and real, was different from watching it on a screen. It was genuine. This wasn't just a character's backstory; it was his life.
As we flew, I had my own thoughts. Seeing this world from above, feeling the wind, the magic in the air... it was so much more real than I could have ever imagined. This wasn't an anime anymore. This was my reality now. The tragedies I'd watched were not plot points; they were real dangers that would hurt these real people. My resolve hardened. I would not let that happen.
After a few hours of flight, we saw it. The town of Magnolia, nestled in a valley, its lights twinkling like a fallen constellation. And in the center, a large, unmistakable building with whimsical spires and a massive flag bearing the guild's emblem.
Fairy Tail.
I began my descent, landing silently in the hills just outside the town. I transformed back into my usual, small, pink form, much to Natsu's disappointment.
"Aww, the dragon form was cooler!" he whined.
We walked the rest of the way. As we approached the guildhall, the sounds of chaos grew louder. We could hear shouting, explosions, and the unmistakable CRUNCH of wood breaking.
"What is all that noise?" Lucy asked, looking nervous.
Natsu's face split into a wide grin. "We're home."
He ran to the massive double doors of the guildhall and, without a moment's hesitation, kicked them wide open.
"WE'RE BACK!" he roared.
The scene inside was one of glorious, beautiful, absolute pandemonium.
A full-scale brawl was in progress. Tables were flying. Chairs were being used as weapons. A half-naked man with black hair was yelling insults at Natsu. A guy with bright white hair and the word "MANLY" written on his soul was shouting about being a real man while flexing. Cana Alberona was sitting at the bar, chugging a barrel of ale, completely unfazed by the chaos.
It was exactly as I remembered. It was perfect.
Lucy stood frozen in the doorway, her face a perfect picture of shell-shock. Her dream of a sophisticated, elegant guild of powerful wizards was being shattered and replaced by the reality of a frat house for super-powered lunatics.
"So this is Fairy Tail..." she whispered in horrified awe.
Natsu, however, looked like he'd just come home. His eyes lit up, and he immediately jumped into the fray, his fist connecting with the face of the half-naked wizard.
"I'm back, Gray! You miss me?!" Natsu yelled.
"As if, you flaming idiot!" Gray Fullbuster yelled back, creating an ice hammer in his hand.
The brawl escalated. Lucy was pulled into the guild by the sheer force of the chaos. I floated in after her, an island of calm in the storm. This was my new home. These were my new friends. My new, very dysfunctional family.
A bottle flew through the air, heading straight for Lucy's head. Before it could hit her, I casually reached out with a thread of telekinesis and nudged it a few inches to the left, where it shattered harmlessly against the wall. She didn't even notice.
My gaze swept across the room, taking in all the familiar faces. Levy was hiding behind the bar with a book. Elfman was shouting. Mirajane was behind the bar, smiling serenely as if she were serving tea in a quiet cafe instead of a warzone.
And then, her eyes met mine.
Mirajane's gentle smile faltered for a fraction of a second. Her eyes, which could see things others missed, widened slightly. She saw me, the strange, pink creature floating in the middle of the chaos, and she knew, on an instinctual level, that I was something new. Something important.
The chapter of my life as Jack Wilson was over. The first page of my life as Mew of Fairy Tail had just been written. And it was going to be one hell of a story.
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