In a town a ways away from Paragon, an older man sat with his eyebrows furrowed, his aged voice tinged with worry as he read the handwritten plea mailed to him. Its contents were concerning, and its implications even more so.

"This arrived at the worst time."

The older man with a shiny head and a white beard sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Getting to the senders would be a lengthy venture, and he couldn't make that trip personally. He had the guild masters conference in a week; he couldn't afford to miss that again.

"Who should I send?"

Makarov spun his chair as he circled through his options. Guildarts was in town, but Makarov wanted to avoid sending him on a mission this delicate. The last thing he needed was Guildarts accidentally destroying something and scaring the family further.

"I can't send Macao either..."

Macao just had a baby boy; there was no way Makarov could send him on a mission right after such an important event. The problem was that there were few other options, and he wanted to avoid sending one of the children to pick them up.

"Who else could I send though..."

Makarov thinned his lips as he thought about it, his gaze trailing to his desk of cluttered documents and paperwork he had been putting off till after the guild masters' meet. A habit he and his fellow Wizard Saint/Guild Master had in standard if he went off the few fleeting calls they had exchanged recently, although Makarov could admit he called more often because he was always curious as to what the little troublemakers of Oak Town were up to.

Vera and Siegrain, if I recall...

Makarov leaned back in his chair, a chuckle escaping him as he thought of some of the stupid, very much Fairy Tailesque antics those boys had pulled while under Jose's care. It made the prospect of the guild masters' meeting more exciting this year; he could already tell Jose would have some good stories to tell about his two troublemakers.

It's a shame they joined Phantom Lord...

Mainly Jose's student, Vera. He sounded like an absolute riot.

They would have fit in perfectly here.

Why, just a few days ago, Makarov saw a newspaper article on the boy-

"Wait a minute..."

Makarov's eyes widened as he realized who he could send to the needy family. They were strong enough, and the last he heard from Guildarts, they were returning from a mission in just a few days, so availability wouldn't be an issue.

"Should I send Laxus on this mission?"

Makarov furrowed his brows as he considered it, a conflicted expression on his face. He turned to his communication lacrimal, his hand over it and ready to make the call before he stopped; his lips thinned as he reconsidered his decision.

"Will he scare those children..."

Makarov didn't know; it had been so long since they properly talked that Makarov didn't know if his grandson was in the right headspace. Since Makarov banished Ivan, Laxus's attitude had worsened. It had gotten to the point where some of Laxus's views on the guild, on mages in general, were starting to become dangerous.

"It's probably best if I don't send him..."

It was like the rage bottled up inside his grandson was building daily, and Makarov didn't know how to calm it; every time Laxus saw him, he only got angrier.

"Just in case he decides to hurt..."

Makarov was worried Laxus would follow in Ivan's...

"No... what am I saying?"

Makarov shook the dark thoughts out of his head, ashamed of himself for even thinking of them in the first place. His grandson wasn't perfect, but he had the heart of Fairy Tail; that's why Makarov had passed him for S class in the first place. Makarov knew Laxus's true nature, and it wasn't Ivan; Laxus just needed to realize it, too.

"He's not his father."

Makarov took a breath as he turned to his communication lacrimal, ready to call his grandson and, if Laxus picked up, tell him about the next mission he would take. A trip to Paragon so his grandson could check on the Strauss couple's children.

"It is a tragedy that the Strausses died..."

The Strauss couple, a woman with white hair and a man with tan skin, had visited Fairy Tail ages ago.

"At the very least, their children survived..."

Makarov remembered the Strauss couple fondly...

"Maybe they'll be a good influence on him."

He was sure their children would be just as kind and intelligent as they were.

At one point, Lisanna remembered her parents telling her not to talk to strangers.

"Oh! Sho!"

Lisanna wanted to think Sho was an exception.

"Do a cat this time!"

Lisanna grinned as she watched Sho's hands mold seamlessly on the ground. Her eyes were wide, and she smiled as she watched the shadow of a cat dance on the trail, running circles around her before dissipating. She had been doing this for the entire walk, watching Sho make shadow puppets for her to enjoy, and she loved it!

"You're so good at those, Sho," Lisanna said excitedly, watching Sho puffed out his chest beside her. Lisanna giggled at the antics before moving her hands to try and catch the shadow she had from the sun shining on her back, "You think you can teach me how to do that?"

Mira will be so excited if I make her a bunny!

Lisanna knew that Mira loved cute animals, but she wouldn't admit it. Something about being the oldest and not having time for that stuff, but Lisanna disagreed. She wanted Mira to read, relax, and smile like she did when their parents were alive; a shadow bunny was the perfect place to start!

"Please teach me, Sho! Please! Please! Please!"

Lisanna clasped her hands together, her eyes wide and pleading as she saw Sho give a slow nod, the shadow taking his hands out of the ground and showing Lisanna how to do it with clawed fingers so Lisanna could copy as best as she could. It was a process that took a few minutes, but eventually, Lisanna had something close to a bunny on the ground, "Look, it's hopping!"

Hello Mr. Bunny!

Lisanna giggled as she moved her hands up and down, and the slightly deformed shadow bunny followed. Her smile was wide before she saw Sho move his hands back to the ground and create a wolf to chase the bunny around; Lisanna gasped as she tried to outrun Sho's wolf, her footsteps light now that she wasn't carrying the herbs.

"No, stop trying to eat him, Sho!" Lisanna called back with a yelp as Sho ignored her and hounded her rabbit. Her earlier joy traded for panic as she saw the wolf nipping at her rabbit's heels.

"No! Mr. Bunny!"

She could do nothing; her legs were too small, and Sho's wolf was too fast. It was sad; her poor rabbit stood no chance against Sho's wolf; if she didn't do anything, she'd have to watch as the wolf picked apart Mr. Bunny piece by piece.

"Sorry, Mr. Bunny..."

The most Lisanna could do was make sure it didn't die at the hands of Sho.

"I'll never forget you!"

Lisanna felt a stray tear fall from her eyes as she let her hands go, and her two hands ripped the shadow puppet in half. Right in time for Sho's wolf to snap its jaws shut where her rabbit had been only a moment before. Lisanna silently apologized to her bunny as Sho's wolf turned to her with an annoyed expression before dissipating because its lunch was already gone.

'Scratch' 'Scratch'

Lisanna wiped her nose on her sleeve, mourning her loss before turning to Sho, who had scratched a message into the dirt. Her eyes were wide, and her sorrows were momentarily forgotten as she saw the news scratched into the ground right by her feet.

You're a sore loser.

"Am not!" Lisanna said heatedly, her hands on her hips as she watched Sho tilt his head in apparent disbelief before putting another pointer to the dirt and scratching more letters into the ground. Lisanna watched the process with a raised eyebrow before she saw the message and nearly cried.

Could you tell that to the rabbit?

He's right! I'm so sorry, Mr. Bunny!

Lisanna felt Sho's message pierce her heart; Lisanna slumped on the ground with silent tears as Sho snickered silently. Their little reprieve stalled as a faint, distant crashing sound barely reached their ears. It had probably echoed through the quiet forest to reach them, and considering how muted it was, it had to have been from far away.

What was that? Is someone chopping trees-

Lisanna blinked as the sound was heard repeatedly, the entire ordeal lasting a few minutes before it quieted down.

It stopped...

The usual silence of the woods lingered for a few minutes as nothing happened like the strange noise in the distance hadn't been made. Eventually, Lisanna turned to Sho, who looked just as confused as she was, before Sho put his finger in the dirt and began scratching a new, slightly hurried message.

I'm going to carry you back now. Hold your breath.

Lisanna blinked in surprise; her head tilted before she yelped and fell into a dark lake. Lisanna held her breath and shut her eyes instinctively, hoping not to get any water in them as she felt the sloshing water touch her skin.

Huh...

It was touching her skin, but she felt dry for some reason. That wasn't supposed to happen; when Mira had taught her how to swim in the local river, she had been soaked; why wasn't this water doing it?

Is the water not wet?

Lisanna chanced a peak through her shit eyelids, blinking in surprise as she saw a mirrorish surface staring her in the face. It showed her what looked like trees and the sky blurring past, like looking out a tinted window. It was weird and cool, but that wasn't what surprised her so much.

My eyes don't hurt.

Her eyes weren't stinging like she expected, and what she thought had been water was more of a murky black liquid, cool to the touch but not freezing.

This is weird...

Whatever Sho had done to her was weird and scary and cold and calm, and she couldn't even tell him that because she didn't know where he was-

'Spit'

Lisanna yelped as she was unceremoniously spit out of the weird shadow world she had been stuck in. Her eyes wide as she landed on the dirt and greedily took in the breath she hadn't been able to before, albeit with some new dust on her clothes.

Wait a minute...

Lisanna frowned as she stood up and dusted the dirt off her knees before glaring at Sho, who was standing behind her on a nearby tree with his arms crossed. Lisanna pointed at the shadow accusingly because there was only one explanation for what happened, and it was disgusting, "You ate me!?"

Gross!

Lisanna 'bleghed' as Sho shrugged before shifting ahead to walk the rest of the trail. Lisanna took a second to shake off the feeling of Sho spit on her skin before she could follow long.

Ew... couldn't he have done anything cleaner?

Lisanna pouted at the thought, looking at the shadow that was ignoring her and steadily traveling ahead. Lisanna sighed as she decided to do the same and focus on the slowly shifting trail before her.

We're almost at the house now...

They were close to her house now, only a few minutes away, and Lisanna was willing to overlook Sho's transgressions until she got home. Partly because Sho eating her was the only reason they had gotten here so quickly, and partly because she was excited to show Mira her new slightly unhygienic friend.

Just wait until Mira hears about this!

Mira was returning in a day; she would be so happy to see her new shadow friend, especially since Sho had already told her that he and his friend wouldn't hurt them. If she was lucky, they might even help them leave town and go to Magnolia.

I hope they say yes, then Mira won't have to wait for her request to go through...

Mira had dropped off a request a few days ago for a mage to guide them to Fairy Tail, but if Sho and his friend helped them, they wouldn't have to wait for that request to be accepted. Lisanna hoped they said yes; she hadn't mentioned it to Sho yet because she wanted to wait for Mira to return before asking, but it would help them so much.

We could leave tomorrow.

They could leave. They could leave Paragon and never come back; Sho and his friend would guide them, and Lisanna already had the herbs for Elfman, so they wouldn't have to stay in Paragon anymore. Mira wouldn't have to be hated by the villagers anymore. They could all be free, happy, and safe, and Mira could finally rest.

Mira wouldn't have to worry so much anymore.

Lisanna knew Mira had been getting less sleep since the villagers started yelling at them. Lisanna was sure Mira was worried about the villagers attacking them in their sleep, but now that Lisanna had found a guide and gotten herbs for Elfman, she could rest! Lisanna would force her to rest as soon as Mira got...

Home?

Lisanna's thoughts trailed as she and Sho got into view of her house. The log cabin passed the edge of town she had grown up in, her family's little cottage made of wood and memories.

What happened...

The house had a gaping hole through the back side of it, and chips of wood and glass trailed towards the woods. It was like something had been thrown through the walls of their house and into the surrounding forests. Something...

'Snap'

Or someone.

Someone's coming!

Lisanna froze at the edge of the forest, her eyes wide and trembling as she saw a figure walk out of the woods near the back of her house. Her eyes focused on the boy with black hair and red eyes that lumbered out of the greenery with a cut on his cheek and a brown-cloaked figure on his back.

No...

The same brown cloak that Mira had taken with her when she left. The figure on the boy's back was Mira, and she wasn't moving. Lisanna couldn't even tell if she was breathing; it was too far, but what she did see was that Mira's bandages were off, and the boy had a bruised arm, which meant she had probably fought the boy. Mira wouldn't remove those bandages for any other reason; Lisanna had tried.

Mira's hurt...

She could also see a whisper of Mira's face, and what she saw was a trail of blood dripping from Mira's nose; that meant Mira probably lost.

He hurt Mira.

The boy had hurt Mira!

"STAY AWAY FROM MIRA!" Lisanna roared as she ran at the person coming from the woods, who stiffened in surprise and turned to her with a small mutter, "You can't be serious..."

Lisanna thought she heard him mutter something else, but she didn't listen. She had to help Mira, so she ran as fast as her smaller legs would carry her, a series of tiny, frantic footsteps echoing across the field. Lisanna was scared, and her eyes were wide and trembling as she sprinted to close the distance, panicked tears dripping down her face as she got to the boy and punched him in the leg.

"LET HER GO!"

Lisanna punched and kicked the boy's leg, probably doing nothing but bruising it slightly, but she didn't care. Mira wasn't moving, and Lisanna didn't know if she would be okay. Lisanna didn't know if she would be okay. The villagers probably got this boy to hurt Mira, and now he was going to hurt her and Elfman, and she had to stop that from happening!

"STOP HURTING MIRA!"

Mira was hurt, and Lisanna had to help. She had to help because her sister had already tried, and she couldn't try anymore. Lisanna had to help so her sister could rest. So she hit and hit and would have kept hitting if the boy hadn't grabbed one of her balled fists effortlessly.

"You're gonna break your hand hitting like that," The boy said with a tired tone that cut through Lisanna's terrified thoughts before he reached down with a single hand and picked her up by the back of her dress, prompting Lisanna to scream and struggle under his grip. Lisanna swung and kicked only to hit the air as she yelled at the boy through tear-stained vision, "LET HER GO! LEAVE MIRA ALONE!"

Please don't hurt her...

Lisanna growled and wiggled and tried to get out of the boy's grasp but failed, her voice louder and louder until she heard the boy sigh. His eyes were exhausted as he slightly shook his head and muttered, "Yeah, you two are definitely siblings."

Lisanna yelped as she was dropped, but this time into the grasp of colder, sharper fingers. Lisanna's eyes wide as she saw Sho lift her so she could see his blank face before he held up a shadowed finger and put it to his lips. It was a sign to be quiet and listen to the boy who had moved and was now heading back to their house, "I'm not here to hurt you guys."

Lisanna watched with wide eyes as Sho, who had shifted her to his shoulders, moved to follow the boy. Lisanna's earlier fear and anger faded as she saw the boy walk through the gaping hole in the house and gently place Mira on the bed on the opposite side of Elfman, who looked to be in better condition.

Did he help Elfman...

Lisanna wondered idly as she watched the boy sigh tiredly, messaging his badly bruised arm before turning to Lisanna and meeting her wide, petrified gaze with a level one of his own, "My name is Vera."

Lisanna thought his eyes were red, opposite her family's.

"I'm sure you already met Sho."

They were red, like a raging fire...

"I'm sorry for hurting your sister, but she was attacking me."

Lisanna was scared of those eyes; they reminded her of the eyes the villagers threw at her and Mira when they went to town. They were angry eyes, but Lisanna didn't think those eyes were directed at her or Mira. That, along with Sho's apparent approval of the boy, allowed her to calm herself down enough to listen to what the boy had to say.

"I didn't want her to hurt herself by using too much magic, so I knocked her out, that's all," Vera finished patiently as he watched Lisanna listen and digest his explanation, the gears in her little head turning before she gulped and asked in a small voice, "Is she..."

Lisanna froze in her words, working down the fear and memories of the angry villagers as she met the boy's scary eyes. She was still terrified; some of her thought the villagers would come in any second and commend the boy for capturing the demons, but I'm as the seconds passed and nothing happened, she decided to try at least, "Is she okay?"

She wanted to try at least and trust those eyes that Sho trusted.

"She is," Vera said with a small breath of relief, calmly pointing to his arm that was bruised beyond belief, mentally thankful that the fresh bruising had momentarily hidden the scars that usually lay there, "Look, she's the one who did this. She's super tough, so you don't have to worry; she'll be fine as soon as she rests for a little bit."

She got off better than I did, if I'm being honest...

Vera hid a wince as his arm throbbed in pain while Lisanna gaped at him, a little pride in her eyes as she flicked her gaze to Mira, "She did that?"

"She did."

"Did it hurt?"

"...no."

'Smack'

Vera hissed as Sho; who was still holding Lisanna on his shoulders, reached over and smacked him upside the head. Vera forgot he was in the presence of an impressionable Lisanna as he glared at his shadow, who was looking at him disapprovingly, "Fuck off, Sho. I said what I said."

'Tug' 'Tug'

Vera narrowed as he saw his shadow make a few hand signs, prompting a low murmur out of Vera as he stared death at his shadow, "You wouldn't dare."

'TUG'

"You little," Vera grit his teeth as he crossed his arm and glanced away from Lisanna's wide eyes. His voice low as he begrudgingly admitted, "It hurt a bit. Happy?"

'Tug'

Vera scowled at his shadow, who silently smirked in response. Vera rubbed the new bump on his head as he tried his best not to be offended as Lisanna gained a brighter smile than before. It was apparent Lisanna was just excited that her sister was super strong so Vera could let her enjoy that feeling. Vera let Lisanna beam with sisterly pride, "Wow..."

Lisanna felt a swell of excitement in her chest before she could calm it down and adequately looked over her sister's face.

She's hurt...

Lisanna saw the bruises and the nose, but nothing was permanently damaged, and her chest was still rising; that was a good sign.

But she's alive.

The ordeal took almost a minute before Lisanna seemed satisfied and could nod slowly, "Okay..."

If Mira was fine, then Lisanna could be fine, too.

"Thank you."

Lisanna spoke softly as she turned to Vera, who only hummed, giving a slight shrug in response to her gratitude. There was a moment of tranquil silence before Vera settled his gaze and tapped Sho on the shoulder with a soft but serious tone.

"Just for a little bit."

Lisanna watched the interaction with silent confusion as Sho gave a silent nod and melted to the ground, leaving Lisanna standing and Vera kneeling in front of her to get on eye level with her, "Look, I know this is scary, but I don't know everything that's going on in this village. I just got here a few hours ago."

Lisanna still thought his eyes were scary, but...

"So, can you tell me everything that's happened?"

She also thought they were honest and wanted to try believing in them, so she spoke through trembling words and memories, "Everything used to be okay."

Lisanna started slow, gripping her nails into her palms as she tried to speak without trembling, "We were fine, and the villagers were fine, and m-"

Lisanna gulped, tears welling in her eyes as she forced the words through her lips, "Mom and Dad were alive, but then they died and..."

Lisanna was struggling with the words now; it was too hard to speak and too painful not to, and she was tired and scared and worried, and she couldn't get the words through her lips without stuttering, " Th- They died, and M- Mira got h- her new arm and..."

Lisanna was crying now; she didn't know how to stop; her voice was pitched and trembling as she gasped for air to try and get the words out without choking on them, "Th- They yelled! And the threw stuff! And they- won't stop!"

Lisanna was barely keeping herself upright, but she didn't stop. She balled her fists and shook and stood and cried and screamed until her voice was hoarse, "WHY CAN'T THEY LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Why did they keep yelling at Mira? Why did they hate her so much? Why couldn't they see that Mira wasn't a demon?

"SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO THEM!"

Why did they throw things whenever they tried to go to the village? Why did they scream at them to die and burn and suffer whenever they went to town? Why did they throw things at Mira and look at her like she was disgusting? Why did they make Mira look at herself like she was disgusting?

"SHE'S NOT A MONSTER!"

Why couldn't they see that Mira wasn't evil-

"I know she's not."

Lisanna froze in her cries as a soft, controlled murmur reached her ears. Her eyes were vast, and she looked up at Vera, who held her gaze with a soft and gentle expression. His arms hesitated for a second before he reached out and pulled her closer so she could latch onto his shirt for a bit, "She's not a monster."

Lisanna didn't react for a second, unable to digest his words until it was too late. Until she was clutching onto his shirt for dear life and sobbing and breaking down, and this time, it wasn't for fear and anger or anything else. When she cried so hard, her voice was lost, and her breath became ragged, and her shoulders trembled; it wasn't because of despair.

He doesn't think she's a monster...

It was because Vera believed her sister wasn't a monster.

My sister is not a monster.

All Lisanna could do was cry because she hadn't met anyone else since her parents died who believed that; Mira didn't believe that, but Vera did, so she cried for what felt like an eternity.

I knew she wasn't a monster.

She cried until it was hard to stay awake anymore, until the warmth in Vera's arms was too inviting not to fall asleep.

She's my sister.

Lisanna drifted off in Vera's arms, her exhausted mind barely catching when he picked her up and placed her next to Mira so the two could sleep together. Lisanna couldn't explain how grateful she was for that. She couldn't explain how much it meant to her that Vera didn't feel the need to 'protect' her from her sister, but an inch from sleep, she could murmur the words, "Thank you..."

Thank you for not thinking Mira's a monster.

Then Lisanna fell into a seamless sleep for the first time since her parents died.