It's been a month.

And Carla hadn't reached out once.

Everyone, especially Fairy Tail, is on edge.

When the Erza and the others returned, they immediately apologized to young Wendy. Once the young dragon slayer had heard the news she wanted to cry and cry and just sob, possibly for the rest of her life. But she didn't she understood Carla's reasoning, so Wendy grinned and bore it. As the days dragged on it got harder and harder to continue to smile. Natsu and Lucy were constantly by her side offering her companionship, not to replace Carla but in hopes that it dulls the pain of her being gone and possibly never coming back.

The other people that went on the mission just want to go back and get the talking cat, guilt racking their bodies day in and day out. Tsubaki acted as if she hadn't gone at all and was in top condition for taking care of Angela, Black*Star was late in reacting to everything, Angela found this hilarious, his mind kept going what they could have done differently. Angela isn't an idiot she knows something had happened while they were on their mission, but it was only once that she learned not to go into their room for a while after a mission, especially a terrible one like this one. But to beat a point, Angela isn't an idiot.

And that's where we find her this one afternoon, a month after the mission that has left the two people she has grown to call parents, at least to a few people, in such terrible state that the young witch has no choice but to go to her mother's best friend. Aunt Maka.

"So, you're saying we need to do something for them?" Uncle, only by marriage (she knows they're not really, but they might as well be), Soul had just refreshed her cup of milk. Tsubaki doesn't like her drinking anything but milk and water.

"Not just Mom and Dad, everyone. They're all in some sort of funk. And if Aunt Kim and I were real witches we'd be feeding off it. But it's wrong to feed off people's emotions." The young girl dutifully recited what Kim had been teaching her for a year now.

"That's right, but what should we do to get everyone out of their funk, Angela?" Maka asked she has always been better with children in Soul's opinion.

"I was thinking a big sleepover. In the ballroom at school." For the next hour, Maka and Soul had watched Angela animatedly describe the sleepover and occasionally gave her paper and coloring utensils to help her give everyone a nameplate in which they will have to sleep wherever she put them. Soul and Maka helped her with spelling, and after one Angela decided that Maka will write them and Soul and she will decorate them. All the while still describing every single activity that they huge would do. Some of her plans made Soul want to laugh, but he knew better than no to laugh at a witch. One scar was good enough for him, thank you very much.

Later in the evening, Maka excused herself to make them dinner, and fry a fish for Blair. Once they had eaten dinner, still talking about the sleepover, Maka and Soul had gotten the young witch to help them clean up the mess and take all her colored pages with her. Once they were sure everything was cleaned up and put away in the proper place they walked Angela home. On the way home Angela was unusually quiet, about a block away Soul got fed up and stopped their little group.

Soul easily picked up Angela and held her at eye level, he stared intensely at her then without warning started to shake her and annoyingly scream in her face. Slowly Angela started to laugh, not much to ease Maka from the worry she felt as Soul started to shake her. Once they were both sure Angela was laughing, Soul had set her down on the ground and crouched down to be eye level with her.

"So, do I have to tickle your problem out of you or are you going to tell Uncle Soul?" Angela slowly looked down, as if she was ashamed. Soul took a glance at Maka who was crouching next to him now also worryingly looking at the young girl.

"Did Soul shake you too hard?" Maka's gentle voice caused Angela to lower her head even more.

To his dying day, never will Soul admit that he ever hugged a girl to comfort her. It will hurt his street cred. But seeing Angela just look so ashamed of something that he can't fix, Soul couldn't help it, he had to hug her, to let her know that he was there and was ready to talk when she was ready to talk.

A few seconds later Soul felt his shirt get damp, probably tears she was producing from whatever was bugging her.

"Ange, Maka and I can't help you unless you tell us what is wrong." Soul had started to rub Angela's back as Maka the two of them. Slowly Angela pulled away from the two of them, Soul and Maka patiently waited for her to start talking.

"I don't want to go home." Angela had said it very slowly, very quietly, so quietly that Maka and Soul had trouble hearing her. They stayed quiet in hopes that she'll open more. "The Tsubaki and Black*Star that returned home, they aren't the same ones that left. Tsubaki tries to hide it, but she almost gave me coffee this morning. And Black*Star seems to be stuck at this moment that no one can bring him back from."

Like stated earlier, Angela is no idiot.

At that moment Maka wanted to do nothing but bash her two friends' heads in. Having sensed murder in the wavelength, Soul pulled Angela in for another hug muffling the sobs that started to be released. Maka took that opportunity to continue to Black*Star and Tsubaki's.

When Maka got there, she didn't wait to knock or ring the bell. She just broke the door open and found Tsubaki there in the hall cleaning something. When the door broke open Tsubaki was surprised but didn't' transform.

"Oh, Maka. Hello. Where's-" The Asian woman's words were cut off as Maka took her by the neck, not enough to strangle her just enough to silence her. Instantly she found where Black*Star was. going and taking the same hold on him she flung both heads into the ground at the same time.

"Now listen, you two idiots!" Maka was not ashamed to be shouting. "Your daughter is down the street crying into Soul's shirt because she believes that her parents aren't home. She believes that ghosts took their place! And looking back on how quickly and easily I was able to break in and have you two at my mercy should show you that you truly are just ghosts." She released them but continued to leer over them. "Angela loves you both like parents. Angela has such a big heart that she has planned a big sleepover for everyone that went on that mission, and their friends. Why? Because she's worried for you all. Scared even that this is what you will be from now on. But you two have bounced back from tougher things. I've seen. Heck, I've lived through one of them." She then proceeded to slap them both. "Wake up. I don't know where you two are. But your daughter needs you. Both of you."

With that Maka walked away, surprised to find Soul carrying a sleeping Angela who looked so cute as she continued to have a vise-like grip on Soul's jacket collar. Maka sighed and went to find Angela's room to get the girl pajamas and clothes for the next day. Quickly getting the items she left a note that she and Soul had Angela.

Soul and Maka walked back to their home, Soul carrying the sleeping girl. Both grieving for the possible forever loss of their best friends, and this young girls' parents.

Once home Maka took Angela and took to Soul's old room and now the guest room, quickly changing her and placing her hat on the nightstand, Maka said a quite good night to the girl and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead before leaving the room. The door left open a crack and the kitchen light left on, in case she was scared of the dark. Looking around she noticed the apartment was pretty much locked up, meaning Soul just wanted to feel better. Sighing Maka walked to hers and Soul's room, she found him just sitting in bed the room lights were off. He was upright and wide awake. Quickly and silently changing Maka left their door open a crack as well.

Sliding into bed next to Soul, the two just sat there. Staring at the wall opposite of them.

"Well?" Soul broke the silence first just as his hand found hers.

"Well, what?" Maka looked over at him, both hoping for an answer the other didn't have.

"Is what Angela fearing, is it true?" Maka bitterly looked away from him, not able to face him. Maka didn't know what to think, they could be too far gone to come back this time. Maybe this time they've seen too many things. There were a lot of maybe's and what if's, but Maka didn't want to focus on a single one of them. She just wanted her best friend back.

Sensing all of this turmoil inside of her, Soul quickly pulled her into a hug laying them down once she was in his arms. And just like that, they fell asleep. Asleep with the same dream throughout the apartment, well not so much a dream as more of a nightmare. A nightmare where Tsubaki and Black*Star never rejoined the world of the living.

Not that far away in the hotel, the Fairy Tail members were just as bad, if not worse.

Lucy was trying to keep a smile on everyone's faces with little help from Grey, Natsu, and Levy. Wendy had been missing her lifelong companion, Gajeel feels like he didn't properly help his "little sister", Erza feels like she has betrayed the guild, Juvia doesn't know how to feel and is there for refusing to, and Happy and Panther Lily feels like they just lost a part of them. Lucy had had just about enough of their mopy behavior.

"It is it!" She threw her book down on the table in front of her, everyone had snapped their heads to pay attention to her. One by one she looked at everyone who was being mopy and without meaning to, they straightened their spines and paid attention to her. "Get out, or start being happy." They all stared at her in bewilderment and hurt, but she didn't give them a chance to respond to her. "Because frankly, I'm tired of all of you feeling like the world just ended. Yes, losing Carla is terrible. We lost a member of not a guild but a member of our family. Not to mention this is the member that has gotten us out of some pretty tough situations. Helped Wendy grow up. Was a mother for Wendy when she had none." Lucy stopped long enough to gain control of her cracking voice. "Losing Carla is like losing a mother. And none of us should forget that. But we have to move forward and plan on getting her back. Just because she hasn't contacted us yet doesn't mean she's not out there."

For the longest time, no one spoke. That is until Wendy stood up, looking more alive since Carla left her side. "Lucy is right. Are we or are we not Fairy Tail Wizards?" She looked at each of them, everyone had started to think about what being a Fairy Tail Wizard meant to them. "And last I checked Fairy Tail Wizards don't sit around just letting things happen, they go out there and cause things to happen. Either good or bad. We cause destruction wherever we go. And yet here we are just sitting." Wendy looked around and picked up the book Lucy had placed down and threw across the room. "I'm very sorry Lucy. But somebody had to do something." The young girl pouted and sat down. Not long after every single member was smiling their usual grin or smirk.

"Grey I do believe that our speeches have just been shown up by two girls." Natsu looked over at his brother/rival/best friend with his usual happy go lucky grin.

"I know, they weren't even that good of speeches." Grey looked back with his smirk.

"Then get up there and show the ladies how it's done." The invite came from none of than Erza herself, she was finally out of her mushroom growing corner.

The two boys grinned at each other for they popped up out of their seats and looked at everyone intensely.

"WHAT GUILD!" They screamed in everyone's face. Bringing a grin to each one's face.

"FAIRY TAIL!" They shouted back.

It went on like that for a good five minutes before a neighbor complained about too much noise.

"Guys, we'll fix this. We're Fairy Tail Wizards after all." This time it was Happy who spoke up, he looked close to tears, but still ready to fight with his everything. As the Fairy Tail Wizard he is.