Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns the characters and settings, I claim the premise of the story itself.
A/N: Slightly AU, dark future, not really sure if I kept them IC, so any comments on that would be welcome.

The first thing he noticed as she was being led into his office was how big her hands looked. She was shackled with a specially designed manacles to suppress her Dragon Slayer magic and she bore the bonds almost proudly as two guards escorted her inside, standing to the side as she approached the table languidly.

Gone was the little slip of a girl with awkward movements of a prepubescent body. In her place stood a young woman with a natural grace and poise and a disconcerting smile on her face.

"Hello, Mest-san. Congratulations on your promotion."

"Miss Marvell, how nice of you to join us."

Mest Gryder, the senior secretary of the Magic Council, was deeply disturbed. When he had heard that the Sky Dragon Slayer had been captured, he had immediately ordered her brought into his office. It was part of his responsibility to start preliminary interrogations of the important prisoners but he was also curious how the little girl he had remembered turned out. He had expected some changes in the physical appearance, a thinner face, a taller figure. He had certainly not expected the change in personality and it threw him off. Judging by her small smile, she was aware of it.

"Why so formal, Mest-san? Aren't we friends?"

"I'm not friends with members of a dark guild," he replied, finally finding his composure. Wendy turned her head to a side thoughtfully.

"But it was your Council that declared us one, even though we did nothing wrong."

"That's for the Council to judge," Mest replied, gathering some papers and gesturing to a chair in front of his table. "Sit down, Miss Marvell."

"Thank you," she slid into the chair, crossing her legs at the ankles, a perfect picture of a young lady. "I guess that expecting some refreshments would be asking too much."

"That depends on how cooperative you are."

"A pity," she commented, looking strangely calm for someone in her position.

"Let's start right away. The current location of the Fairy Tail guild? The whereabouts of Master Makarov? Gildarts Clive? Erza Scarlet? Mirajane? Natsu Dragneel? Gajeel Redfox? Lucy Heartfilia? Gray Fullbuster? Juvia Loxar? The source of your income?"

Wendy shook her head at each of the questions, refusing to answer until the very last one. A quick smile flitted across her face.

"Circus acts," she said. Mest stared at her.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said circus acts. We put on performances for people in towns and villages - Natsu-kun's fire eating and Gajeel-kun's juggling of chainsaws are especially popular."

Mest grabbed a stack of papers to his left, perusing them quickly. There should be a mention of a traveling performance troupe with magic involved.

"There won't be any records of it," Wendy spoke up and he paused in his search, looking at her as she elaborated. "We use memory charms on the audience. I'm sure you are familiar with those."

He almost winced at the dig. When did she become so good at verbal sparring? This was supposed to be his game. He was the one with the experience and with the authority of the Council backing him. She was a fifteen year old girl belonging to a dark guild. She shouldn't have been able to stand a chance. And yet she did.

"Miss Marvell," he started, leaning slightly forward. "May I-"

"Wendy," she interrupted.

"What?"

"Call me Wendy or I won't talk anymore."

"Very well, Wendy. Talk."

She tried to spread her hands in a helpless gesture but her movement was limited so she shrugged instead.

"I don't know a thing. No secret plans, no things that could be exploited."

"Not even the location of the guild?" Mest's voice was heavy with sarcasm.

"That I won't talk about."

"You may come to regret it. I am just asking. Once you leave this room, other methods of persuasion can be applied to you," he warned her but Wendy jutted out her chin stubbornly.

"You may kill a dragon but you will never break them."

"Everyone can be broken, Wendy. The fact you aren't fully adult doesn't mean a thing. Fairy Tail must be found and forced to disband by any means necessary. Has it occured to you we might hold you as a hostage to use against your guild?"

"Mest-san," she spoke quietly. "Take a look at the Council records from the summer three years ago. Look up the name Phantom Lord and study carefully what Fairy Tail did to a guild which threatened one of their own."

He looked at her for a long time. At last, he seemed to understand the source of her calm.

"You think they will save you."

But Wendy shook her head.

"I don't need saving. Not this time."

There was something in her voice, some hidden knowledge only she possessed and she was drawing her strength from it, he was sure of that. He glanced at her hands again. She was rubbing them together, in nervousness, he supposed and he was once again struck by their size.

"What happened to your hands?" he asked. She glanced down at them and then back at him.

"Being part of a dark guild is a harsh life. We all have to do our part. I'm no exception."

He nodded, accepting the explanation. He leaned back in his chair, studying this girl. Dragon Slayer Magic had been thought extinct and yet there were three Dragon Slayers in a single guild. Just another reason to apprehend them. The cumulation of power was too much. They should have understood the concerns of the Council. They should have disbanded when told to. So really, it was their own fault.

"You will be studied," Mest said after a long pause. Wendy stopped her staring at her hands and met his eyes.

"Studied?"

"We know next to nothing about the Dragon Slayer Magic. You will be observed like an animal. Magical experiments will be carried out. You will suffer," he stopped for a moment before speaking again. "The fact you'll be studied can't be changed but the conditions could be improved. The pain could be reduced."

She caught on quickly enough.

"If I talk about the guild."

"Yes, if you talk about the guild."

Wendy smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry Mest."

"Wha-"

The manacles dropped from her wrists and her hands suddenly looked much smaller and delicate. Those delicate hands moved far too quickly as two columns of wind crashed into the two guards, knocking them out. Wendy was out of her chair before the first one dropped and she vaulted over the table, pressing a small dagger against Mest's throat.

"It's time," she said and the alarm went off in the distance. There was shouting, sound of explosions, people crying out in confusion. Wendy didn't move at all. "You directed half of the garrison to stand close to your office in case a rescue would be mounted. It left the archives unguarded."

"You were a bait," Mest finally understood. Wendy nodded, the dagger in her hand steady. The pieces slowly fell in place. "Your hands were enlarged by Makarov's Titan Magic."

"With a time limit for the duration of the spell."

"Why you?"

Wendy shrugged.

"It made sense. We needed someone who would catch your attention. Someone you would deem dangerous enough but underestimate them at the same time. I am a Dragon Slayer. That would guarantee your interest. But you knew me as a small child and so you would underestimate me. Seeing me grown up would throw you off and we counted on that as well. We didn't evade capture for so long because we were stupid. Quite the opposite."

"And now what? Are you going to kill me?"

Wendy snorted.

"Don't be ridiculous. Murdering a member of the council wouldn't help us any. Even the guards will be all right. Unlike Natsu-kun and Gajeel-kun, I can control myself."

She cocked her head to the side as she listened to something. She raised her free hand, gathering her magic in it.

"I have to go. Goodbye, Mest."

He closed his eyes, waiting for the impact of her magic. Instead, a soft breeze seemed to glide along his lips and then a stronger gust of wind rustled the papers on his table. His eyes snapped open but he only saw her long hair as she jumped out of the window just as a white blur swept by, catching her in mid-fall. Her white cat, Mest surmised.

Racing to the window, he stared as two other shapes joined her in flight. The pink and blue blur was the Flame Dragon Slayer and his blue cat. And the black one was the infamous Gajeel Redfox who noticed him looking and cheerfully flipped him off. The three of them disappeared together in the sky, leaving the Council site behind.

Mest slammed the window closed and turned to stare at the mess in his office. The guards were still unconscious. His gaze landed on the manacles that were supposed to stop her from escaping. The sight seemed to be mocking him, though not as much as the slight tingling he still felt on his lips.