Chapter 8: The New Recruits

D easily stepped out of the way of the two women's attack. The women quickly regained their footing and turned to face D. The girl's face scrunched up before she let out a heartfelt yawn. This angered the two women. Queen stomped her foot on the ground causing it to crack. Giant chunks of earth came out of the ground and began to float in the air.

"Earth Rebellion!" Queen chanted. The chunks began hurling themselves at D who dodged with ease. She began jumping from area to area to get out of the way of the flying pieces of earth. "Hold still!" D dodged again.

"Thanks, but I'd rather not," she declined.

"Don't forget about me!" Serpentina shouted coming up behind D. "Poison Fang!" A blade of poison shot at D at an alarmingly quick pace. D dodged. The poison hit the ground and melted it before disappearing completely.

"Poison that disappears without leaving a hint as to what caused the wound or how to reverse it…interesting," D noted.

"You're right! Why don't you try some yourself!" Serpentina offered before sending another fang at D.

"Don't focus all your attention on her!" Queen yelled sending more chunks of earth flying at D. Just as the attacks were about to hit her, D disappeared and then reappeared in front of Queen.

"You're stupid attacks are beginning to annoy me," D hissed before kicking Queen in the side sending her flying. She then jumped to the side dodging another blade of poison. D appeared behind Serpentina and kicked her in the back sending her sprawling forward. "Look out for the vomit!" Serpentina's eyes widened, but she couldn't stop herself from falling directly on the pile of puke. "Ew…I ain't touching you again…" Serpentina glared at her. "I told you to watch out."

"The one who should watch out is you!" Serpentina hissed. A huge wall of earth was coming up behind D and she jumped out of the way just in time. Queen roared in rage as the wall hit Serpentina instead.

"You know…if you had better control you wouldn't hit your friends," D informed. If looks could kill, Queen would have won the fight then and there. "Don't get mad at me. You did it." Queen huffed before charging for D again. She tried to kick D in the head and D responded by taking her right hand out of her pocket and blocking it. (That's right people. D had her hands in her pockets the whole time.) Queen began attacking at random as D easily blocked her every attempt. When D got bored of the attacks, she kicked Queen in the gut hard enough to cause the woman to double over. D then kicked her temple causing the woman to pass out.

"Hey!" a voice called. D turned to see Serpentina holding Lucy and Wendy in front of her. "Don't move, or the girls get it!" D rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on…are you really resorting to this?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah…I am," Serpentina answered. D groaned.

"And here I thought you had some pride," she muttered stepping over Queen and moving towards the woman.

"Shut up, and hold still!" Serpentina commanded. D sighed but stopped moving. "Good girl. Now, if you want these two to live, you won't move a muscle." The white-haired beauty took a deep breath before spitting out a stream of poison aimed straight at D. "Poison Cannon!" D took a step to the right, easily dodging the poison. The stream then hit Queen instead causing the woman to wake up and start screaming. D looked at the writhing woman and whistled.

"Now that looks painful," she observed.

"I told you not to move! Do you want these two to die?!" Serpentina yelled. D turned her gaze from Queen to the woman holding her trainees hostage.

"Go ahead. Kill them," she offered. Lucy and Wendy were shocked. Serpentina stared at D in disbelief. "If I let you kill me, you'll just kill them anyway. Just know this. If you dare to kill them, I will be done playing with you." D was glaring now and her voice had taken on a demonic tilt. "I will drag you off this mountain by your hair and make sure you have a slow, painful, agonizing disappearance. Do you understand me?" With Queen's screams in the background, D's threat was all the more terrifying. Lucy and Wendy, realizing D was trying to save them, relaxed as Serpentina stiffened and gulped. Serpentina considered her options. On one hand, she dies. On the other, she has to give up her key. The last of D's patience snapped and she lost her temper. She began releasing so much magic power that the mountain began to shake. "Let…them…go…right…now." D's murderous voice breached Serpentina's thoughts. D had removed her sunglasses and was glaring wholeheartedly at the snake woman. Her eyes were so cold even Lucy and Wendy were afraid. Serpentina had no choice but to release the girls who immediately ran to D's side. Serpentina fell to her knees. She was sweating with fear.

"I give up," she whispered. "Please don't kill me." There was a light giggle that made Serpentina look up. D smiled at her.

"I win!" she stated. Serpentina stared at her and smiled as relief hit her full force. She stood. D held out her hand. "A deal's a deal right?" Serpentina sighed.

"Yes," she agreed. She held out her hand and it glowed brightly for a minute before a key appeared. "Here." Serpentina held out her vomit covered hand. D carefully took the key and turned around.

"Lucy help her clean off while Wendy and I help her friend," she demanded.

"What? Why me?" Lucy cried.

"It's your puke!" D defended. Lucy pouted. "Besides, I need Wendy's help with…this." D pointed at Queen who was now unconscious. The poison had already disappeared. Lucy groaned.

"You say to help her but with what?" she complained. D threw a towel at her face.

"Here, use that," she said. With that said, Lucy had no choice but to agree. D turned to Wendy and removed her arm brace from her bicep. Wendy's eyes widened and she doubled over with her hands on her knees as a serge of power spread throughout her body. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone, and Wendy was left trembling. D stared at her. "You okay?" Wendy took a deep breath before nodding and getting on her knees next to Queen. She immediately began healing the woman. After a few minutes, Wendy couldn't take the silence anymore.

"So you're a Celestial mage, D-san?" she asked. D twitched at the "-san".

"Please stop adding '-san' to my name," she pleaded. Wendy blushed.

"Sorry, D-sa…D," Wendy apologized. D smiled.

"It's okay. You were just being polite," she said. "Also, in regards to your question, no. I am not a Celestial mage. However, I can use Celestial magic." Wendy looked shocked.

"You're not?" she exclaimed.

"Nope, Celestial magic was taught to me by Aunt Layla, but it's not my main magic. I believe it's the…fifth magic I learned," D answered. She then held out a single hand over Queen's body and began healing the woman as well. "Sky magic was the eighth." Wendy's mind was reeling. Learning a second magic was incredibly difficult. Also, Wendy had learned that Lucy's mother had died when Lucy was a little girl, meaning D had learned five separate magics at a very young age. Wendy then focused on healing. She realized that, with just one hand, D had sped up the healing process immensely. In fact, Queen was almost back to normal. When they were almost finished, Queen finally opened her eyes.

"Wha?" she mumbled. She tried to sit up.

"Hold still," Wendy commanded. "We're not done healing you yet!"

"We?" Queen questioned lying back down.

"Hi!" D greeted, calling Queen's attention to her. D placed her hand on Queen's stomach and sent a wave of healing magic through the woman's body, healing her instantly. Wendy fell backwards as D's magic forced hers out. Queen gasped at the wave of magic before jumping to her feet and moving to the other side of the clearing. "Calm down. The fight's already over." D grinned. "I won." She held out her hand.

"You got lucky," Queen hissed before handing over her key. D snorted and took it.

"I'm sure I did," she sneered. Queen glared at her.

"Don't test your luck a second time, girl," she growled.

"Hai, hai, I'm sure I'd have a hard time now that you're back to full power, unlike when we started," D stated. Queen blinked.

"How did you…?" she began.

"I know these things," D answered. "Like I know that if you had been at full power you wouldn't have simply been playing around with earth. You control all the elements, right? You can control earth, wind, fire, water, and lightning, if I'm not mistaken?" Queen looked shell shocked. "Lucy! You done de-puke-ifying that woman yet?"

"This is disgusting!" Serpentina cried.

"No, I think she needs a bath!" Lucy called. D snickered. She held up her two new keys and smiled at Queen.

"You two are free to do as you wish, but I guess I'll be seeing you," she stated waving the keys before adding them to the key chain. "Bye, bye." D stood, grabbed Wendy, Lucy and their buckets, and left the clearing, leaving a stunned Serpentina and Queen.

"Okay then," D began once they were far enough not to get overheard, "put this back on." She held the arm brace out to Wendy. The girl sighed and took the brace before placing it once more around her bicep. She immediately fell to her knees as her magic was ripped from her body. When she recovered three minutes later, D handed her and Lucy their buckets. "Let's go."

It was hell. Lucy and Wendy's arms and legs felt like they were about to fall off. They had been walking, more like trudging, for twenty minutes without a break. Lucy's muscles were on fire and Wendy…well, she was just about ready to drop dead. She was swaying on her feet and her legs shook with every step.

"Almost there!" D called. The girls sighed in relief. A few minutes later, they reached the cave. Lucy and Wendy carefully set down their buckets and promptly passed out.

It was the smell of food that woke Lucy. She opened her eyes to see D sitting in front of a fire cooking something in a pot. She looked at Lucy and smiled.

"Hungry?" she asked. Lucy nodded before sitting up and crawling over to the fire. She looked around and realized it was nighttime. She spotted Wendy laying a little ways away with a blanket draped over her. The little slayer was dead to the world. D stood and slid a pillow under Wendy's head. Wendy stirred a little before falling back into her dreamland. D then went back to the pot and stirred whatever was inside. Lucy and D sat in silence as the food cooked. A few minutes later, Lucy couldn't take the silence anymore.

"What are you making?" she asked.

"Slop," D answered. Lucy blinked once…twice…three times.

"Slop?" she questioned. D nodded. "That sounds gross." D smiled and lifted the lid on the pot.

"Looks gross too," she stated tilting her head toward the pot. Lucy looked inside to see that there was a bubbling brown mass inside that really did look disgusting. All Lucy could make out was beans and some type of meat. How could something like that smell so delicious? Lucy kept staring as the beans and meat slowly sank into the reddish-brown liquid. She recoiled.

"Wh-What is that?!" Lucy shrieked causing Wendy to jolt awake. D grinned.

"Slop!" she cheerfully replied. She loved it when people had that reaction to something that was simply meat and beans. It was hilarious. Oh, the power of the thick special sauce.

"What's slop?" Wendy asked. Lucy looked at her.

"Something that looks gross but smells delicious," she answered. Wendy looked confused.

"Food," D elaborated. "It's done by the way." She pulled out three giant stone bowls and filled them with the bubbling brown mass. She handed Lucy and Wendy a bowl each. The girls looked at the substance suspiciously. "Just eat it. It tastes better than it looks." Lucy and Wendy stared at her doubtfully. D blinked before handing each of them a spoon. "Eat or starve to death. I don't care which," she hissed with a terrifying smile. D started eating her own portion as the girls' stomachs growled. "You can't be picky when you're in the wild." Wendy and Lucy gulped before taking a spoonful. They were surprised to find the food tasted delicious. They were about to dive in and eat as quickly as they could when D spoke again. "Eat slowly or you'll throw up." Lucy and Wendy gulped before slowly eating their food. The three girls ate in silence. "It's really storming out there," D mumbled. Lucy and Wendy looked to the mouth of the cave to see D was right as lightning flashed. The next time it flashed it revealed two feminine figures standing at the mouth of the cave. Wendy and Lucy shrieked at the sight. The two people came closer as Lucy and Wendy backed away. The two girls came into the light to reveal Yukino and Chelia. The soaking wet girls promptly collapsed. They were covered in mud and scratches.

"Yukino! Chelia!" Lucy and Wendy shouted putting down their bowls and scampering over to their friends.

"You know these two?" D asked standing and walking over to the two prone forms. Wendy and Lucy nodded. D sniffed. "They're gonna get sick like that…" Suddenly, Yukino grabbed Lucy's arm.

"L-Lucy-s-san," she stuttered.

"What is it Yukino?!" Lucy exclaimed worriedly pulling the girls head into her lap. Wendy did the same with Chelia.

"F-food," the two girls begged before their stomachs let out two loud growls. D's head went back with a bark of laughter while Lucy and Wendy nearly fell over from shock.

"It's not funny!" Lucy yelled. D just laughed again before going to fill two more bowls with slop and bringing it to the two starving girls. Lucy and Wendy slowly fed the girls. Once they finished, D handed them each a water bottle for the girls on their laps.

Where the hell is she getting this stuff from? First water bottles, then the key ring, a towel, that pot, the bowls, and now water bottles again! Seriously…where is she hiding this stuff? Lucy wondered as she slowly gave Yukino water. After a few minutes, the girls were sitting and drinking on their own. Lucy and Wendy decided to finish their own food. (D ate while they had been feeding Yukino and Chelia.)

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Lucy asked.

"Your teammates sent us," Yukino answered. "Your master read the letter sent by D-san and sent us here to retrieve you." Lucy sighed in disappointment. So the master didn't think they were ready for this, huh?

"Your teammates, however, told us to simply help you finish the mission," Chelia added. Lucy smiled at that. Those guys, huh? She was touched that they had so much faith in her.

"Ah," D said, "and you agreed because you thought a year of training would do you some good." Yukino and Chelia nodded. "Well, I'm not going to refuse to train you…but do you want my training? It's hell and may potentially scar you for life." Lucy and Wendy's heads snapped up at that. She hadn't told them that! Yukino and Chelia gulped nervously but nodded nonetheless. D grinned. "Good. Then, first things first," she took out two arm braces identical to the ones Lucy and Wendy were wearing, "put these on. They keep your magic at a level where you'll live, but can't use it." Yukino and Chelia took their respective braces and placed them on their biceps. They each let out a loud gasp as their magic was stripped from them. They fell over and nearly passed out. They each regained the ability to move about ten minutes later. "Interesting, it took you a lot less time to recover than Lucy and Wendy. That's probably because you were already magic-deprived." The girls nodded in understanding. "Now then, let's all get some sleep. You'll need all the rest you can get." The girls nodded before spreading out and falling into a deep slumber.