It's strange to see these three trapped here. They bear our emblem but we've never seen them before. They're probably fake, but what would the three of them gain by slandering our guild's name? Why was so much of the forest destroyed? Why were they passed out when we found them? I look at each one of them in turn. They don't seem like bad people. I like to think I'm a good judge of character, but as soon as I become arrogant about something like that then I'm bound to meet a villain in disguise.

Talon is looking over the three of them as carefully as I am, looking at each of them in turn, sizing them up. He won't say anything to them, though. He's quiet, observes the world and says things only when he thinks they need to be said.

Paxton, on the other hand, looks like he's going to burst with an infinite amount of questions, but can't decide which is the most important one to ask. He has his fists curled up into tight balls, his right fist taking on one of his most powerful beast forms. He doesn't want to mess around with whoever these people are.

Olive is right next to the prison, looking in like they're animals of some sort, a scowl on her face that could rival her father's on levels of terrifying. I can see her preparing shadows to attack our prisoners should they try to do something to harm us.

Seeing none of them are going to say anything to the people in the jail, and seeing as the people in the jail look more confused than dangerous, I decide I should speak to them, try to figure out their story and why they are not doing anything to try to fight back. "Who are you?"

The pink haired guy crosses his arms and looks at me in confusion. "What do you mean who are we? Who are you? Why do you have our guild marks? I've never seen you around."

Three members went missing twenty-five years ago. This can't possibly be them. They look like they're in their early twenties, a year or two older than Paxton at most. I go along with what they are saying. "You're members of Fairy Tail? I've never seen the three of you around. I've been a member since I was six. I think I'd remember seeing people like you."

The girl speaks up this time. She seems a lot nicer than the two guys, both of whom are giving me scowls at this point. "Since you were six? How long have you been a member then?"

"Fourteen years." I should be nice to them. I look at Paxton, Olive and Talon. Paxton is giving me a nod, to continue what I'm doing. Olive looks like she's ready to attack. Talon looks as nervous as I feel talking to them, his face stoic but eyes betraying his feelings. "My name is Ivie. What's yours?"

"Wouldn't it be better to release us before making friends with us?" The dark haired guy finally speaks. He's been silent this whole time, but I haven't missed him looking us over, probably trying to figure out how to escape and attack us.

The only thing I can do is shake my head. "I'm sorry. My friends and I can't trust you until we know who you are. I've been in the guild fourteen years, but these three have been in their whole lives. If they don't know you then there's something going on." I give them a small smile, trying to reassure them as well as stop the hammering in my chest. "Are you hungry? I can get you some food, if you want." I look over at Paxton and he takes off his backpack, grabbing three of the sandwiches we packed for us. "I know it's not much, but it's better than nothing, right?"

"Awesome, thanks!" The pink haired guy takes the sandwich and bites into it immediately, the other two watching him before taking bites themselves.

While they eat I continue to talk. On jobs I don't usually do the talking, Pax or Olive usually speak because they're more intimidating, but it's apparent intimidation won't work on them, and Talon is lousy at talking to others. "Like I said, my name is Ivie. Ivie Endler. These are my guild-mates, Paxton Strauss, Olive Redfox and Talon Redfox."

The three of them look at each other, confused once again. The girl speaks up. "Did you say Strauss and Redfox?"

I nod. "Yeah?" I can see the shadows Olive created growing bigger. Paxton's entire arm becoming his beast form. Talon has grabbed his pen and is prepared to use it. "What about it?"

The girl looked at my friends, carefully looking over each of them, a look of shock in her eyes. Twenty-five years. No way it's them. "Are you related to Gajeel, or Mirajane, Elfman or Lisanna, by any chance?"

Olive responds, her scowl becoming deeper, her shadows licking the edge of the prison like flames. "Gajeel is mine and his dad, and Elman is Pax's dad. What of it?"

"No way! They're playing some kind of joke on us! I think I would have known if metal-face had kids!" The pink haired guy was starting to laugh, the tiniest hints of flames coming out of his mouth. So they are the wizards that destroyed the forest. That much is confirmed at least.

Olive takes over speaking and I back away. "Listen, we introduced ourselves. Now who the hell are you?"

The guy stopped laughing, but a smile was still planted on his face. "My name's Natsu!" He gestured to the two others in the prison. "This is Lucy, and droopy eyes back there name is Gray."

I look over at Talon, my eyes wide. He doesn't seem to know what's going on. None of them do. I can't blame them. They weren't there when I heard the story.

I was staying at Erza and Jellal's place. Ruby was staying with Mirajane and the Guild Master, Laxus, and Ceila was staying with Lisanna and Bickslow. We had been at the guild for a month at this point and the adults were trying to figure out what to do with the three of us, still trying to figure out what had happened to find us in our condition. They told us that no one could take all three of us at once, but I knew it was really so they could ask me and my little sisters questions in private. In an attempt to get me to open up Erza told me about how she went on a job and lost three of her friends, Natsu, Gray and Lucy. She told me she wanted to protect the three of us and make sure no one ever disappeared again. I asked her what had happened and she said it was like they disappeared into thin air. I never told anyone that story. I never heard anyone talk about Natsu, Gray and Lucy in the guild either, unless it was in hushed voices. They didn't want to frighten us children. Any time I asked Erza about it she would go quiet, telling me the same story she told me that first month. I went to look for information about them, but was never able to find any. Eventually my research shifted from them to studying different types of magic. Seeing the three of them here in front of me feels like a dream of the past.

"Open the prison," I say quietly, but everyone hears me, all six, my team and the prisoners, looking at me with shock.

"Are you sure, Ivie?" Talon asks.

"Yeah. They're member's of Fairy Tail. We should trust them. We can take them back to the guild hall. I'm sure the Guild Master would know who they are, even if we don't."

Olive looks at me like I've lost my mind. She has a right to. She doesn't know about the missing members. "What if they try to run off?"

I shake my head and look over at them, making eye contact with Lucy, giving her a warm smile. "They won't."

My team is reluctant to do what I say, to release them. I'm reluctant as well. My heartbeat has changed from quick to impossibly fast. If I'm wrong then this will cost us big time. They don't run once they're released. They stand there, surprised as my team members. Olive still has her shadows whipping behind her, emerging from the ground, dancing like snakes. "Don't try to run. You'll regret it."

They don't. Paxton takes the lead, walking out of the forest, his arm still in beast form. Olive walks behind us, shadows spreading out like a boundary. I know she'll hit any one of them that try to step out. Talon walks to the left of the three newcomers, and I to the right. I see Natsu chatting away, talking to Talon. I wonder how long it'll take him to realize that Talon isn't one for conversation? I'm next to the girl, Lucy. "Why did you ask them to release us?" she asks suddenly.

"I can't tell you. It's not the right time to say." How do I possibly tell someone that they missed twenty-five years? She probably suspects something is up. Lucy doesn't seem dumb. "What kind of magic do you use?"

I see a warm light appear in her eyes and she looks down to her hip. "I'm a Celestial Wizard."

"I've heard of those. There aren't that many, are there? The only one I've met is Yukino from Sabertooth."

Lucy shrugged. "Yeah, well, a lot of them lost their power. We're dependent on keys, anyway. There's only so many to go around."

"Lucy! Come here for a sec, will ya?" It's Natsu. Lucy gives me an apologetic smile and heads over to Natsu.

I go over to Gray. His face is somewhere between indifference and anger. It's strange. It's also strange that he isn't wearing a shirt. He wasn't wearing one when we found him, though. Maybe it got lost somewhere? "So, you're an ice wizard?"

He looks at me like I've just grown a second head. "How'd you know that?"

"Well, we saw a bunch of burnt trees and frozen branches at the edge of the forest. I noticed Natsu had flames coming out of his mouth earlier, and Lucy just told me she's a Celestial Wizard. It was just process of elimination." Gray lets out a low sigh in regard to my question. "If you're who you say you are, and really are a member of Fairy Tail, can you teach me ice magic?"

"What? You're an ice wizard too?"

I nod. "Yeah, kinda. I'm not very good. I didn't get proper training like the rest of my team. I didn't want to leave my sister's behind and go to Lamia Scale to learn. There's an ice wizard there and he's pretty powerful. He offered to teach me but the thought of leaving Ruby and CeCe, my sisters, scared me too much."

"Oh." That's all he has to say?

"So, can you teach me?"

He gives me a shrug in response. I don't stop looking at him until he finally speaks. "I'm not much of a teacher."

"Well, I'm a good student. I can catch on fast. I'm weak. I want to get strong. I want to help my guild. All I can do now is provide support, and that's on a good day. If you're strong enough to destroy a forest then you can teach me!"

Gray crosses his arms and looks at me skeptically. "Alright, fine. If this situation get's settled then I'll teach you."

I bow my head in appreciation. "Thank you."

We make it to the edge of the forest and we can see the outskirts of Oak Town. "Olive and I will watch these guys. Talon, Ivie, go find us a carriage, or see when the next train is going to Magnolia." I see both Natsu and Olive turn green at the thought of transportation. I guess Natsu gets motion sick as well.

"Alright." The three of them snap their heads up at the word. It's the first they've heard Talon speak. They probably thought he was mute or something. I let out a small laugh before him and I head off. "You're in a good mood," Talon says once we're away from the group.

"Well, I asked Gray to teach me how to use my Ice Magic. I can finally be useful on jobs."

Talon looks at me confused. "What do you mean finally useful?"

"Well, it's not like I fight. I'm just in the way, and I never do any of the hard work. The three of you would do fine without me."

"Is that how you really feel?" Talon stops in his tracks, looking at me with sadness in his eyes. "None of us feel that way, Ive. You're a part of our team as much as the rest of us. You don't need to be stronger for us to want you on our team."

I look down a my feet and feel a pair of arms around my shoulder as Talon pulls me into a hug. "You're great, Ivie. Why can't you see that?"

I wrap my arms around Talon, thankful that he's here. "I just don't want to need protecting my whole life."

I can hear the smile in his voice, lifting my heart as he speaks. "I don't mind protecting you."

We stand there like that for a few more moments, arms wrapped around one another, letting the other see into our hearts, before the sound of people walking by and chatting, reminding us we're in the middle of a town, causes us to pull apart. I see Talon's cheeks are a bit red. My face feels a bit warm. "Come on, let's go check the train."

Talon nods. "Right."

I'm happy my team doesn't think I'm useless, but I still want to get strong for them. They've done so much for me. I just want to return the favor. For now we just need to get back to the guild and figure out what happened to Natsu, Lucy and Gray.

A/N

Oh my gosh you guys are all incredible! I cannot believe the first chapter has so many favorites and follows already! I really don't know what to say. I also really want to thank those who took the time to review. It really means a lot to me that you did that. I know you all have busy schedules. I put a poll out on my profile page, asking who your favorite of the OC's in this story I've introduced is. As more characters pop up I'll add them into the poll. I promise the main cast of Fairy Tail will get a lot of mention to! This story is not purely OC, I promise.

Again, thank you guys so much for everything. You are all really incredible!