A/N: This story takes place before the Rebellion movie chronologically, but later chapters will have spoilers for the Rebellion movie, so make sure you watch that first. If you're confused because the chapter numbering has changed, it's because I combined the previous chapters 1 and 2 into the new chapter 1 and the previous chapters 3 and 4 into the new chapter 2. That's the way I had originally planned the story, but I ended up splitting the chapters up to update faster.

As soon as she finished eating her cereal, Anna grabbed her backpack and rushed out the door, only stopping for a moment to call goodbye to her mother as she went, and pounded her feet against the pavement as she ran past row after row of the identical houses of suburbia. Finally, she caught up to Elsa and slowed to a walk, panting. The only indication her sister gave that she noticed Anna's arrival was a slight turn of her head as she glanced at Anna, before she looked forward again and avoided Anna's gaze.

Anna frowned slightly before forcing herself to smile again. These walks to the bus stop were some of the only chances she had to talk to her sister, and for that reason it was a bit of a game between them. Elsa would always make sure to leave before her sister so that they couldn't walk together, but she couldn't leave too early or else she would have to spend minutes waiting at the bus stop with Anna. For her part, Anna always did her best to wake up early so that she could leave at the same time as Elsa, even though she wasn't a morning person. Anna had managed to catch up to Elsa this time, and she couldn't waste the chance to attempt a conversation by letting herself get upset.

"So…nice weather we're having." Anna said as though they were having a normal conversation. Elsa would sometimes respond when they had no choice but to be in the same place, so long as the subject matter wasn't too personal.

Elsa gave a barely perceptible nod.

"It's not too bad." Elsa didn't avert her gaze from the fascinating sidewalk in front of her as she responded.

Anna nodded as well, feeling foolish when she remembered that Elsa wasn't looking. It was sad, really, that she actually felt like she'd accomplished something by getting that response. She and Elsa had been very close when they were children, but something changed. Elsa stopped playing with Anna, wouldn't let Anna into her room, and would avoid talking to her whenever possible. Until high school, Elsa had been homeschooled and Anna hadn't even been able to walk with her to the bus stop. But Elsa's frigidity had almost become worse, if that was possible, when their father died in a car accident three months before.

"That's good. How are your classes going?" Anna asked, wishing she had something better to talk about, but the truth was that she barely knew anything about her sister anymore.

"They're alright."

Anna snorted.

"Please. That won't work on me. I know you get straight As in everything."

Elsa looked down, but was unable to hide a small smile, and Anna smiled in turn. But by then they'd reached the bus stop at the street corner and the school bus was waiting with its doors open. Elsa didn't spare her sister a glance as she strode forward and sat in a two-seater in the back next to some stranger. There were no empty seats nearby. Anna ended up sitting in a three-seater in the front of the bus, alone. She held back a sigh as she stared out the window, the all-too-familiar scenery tinted grey by the glass as it whirled past. How long was her life going to be like this?

Anna slept through most of her morning classes and her legs guided her to the cafeteria, still only half-awake. She sat at her usual table with some other girls from her homeroom. She listened in on their conversation from time to time, but didn't contribute. They tolerated her presence, but never engaged her in conversation or seemed interested in anything she had to say. Even Anna's usual upbeat cheerfulness died in the face of utter apathy.

Still, it was better than nothing. It was the best she'd been able to do when they'd been forced to move right after their father died three months ago. They couldn't afford to keep the house on just their mother's income, and for some reason their mother seemed to think that moving out of the city would be a good idea. But at the new school, Anna had been so focused on grieving that she hadn't realized that she hadn't made any friends until it was too late.

As Anna munched on her banana and Nutella sandwich, she glanced across the cafeteria towards Elsa, who was sitting alone. Anna would rather be eating her lunch with her sister, but experience had taught her that if she tried, Elsa would find another table or, if there weren't any, simply leave the cafeteria.

Her sister was eating her own banana and Nutella sandwich, but even then she hadn't taken her gloves off. Anna could never have managed to do that without getting the gloves messy, but Elsa did it every day. The gloves were yet another mystery to Anna, but she was used to the curiosity by now, though it still gnawed at her. It had only been by observation that she'd even found out that Elsa also liked chocolate.

It was then that Anna heard a voice. It cut through the bustle of the cafeteria, resonating in her mind rather than her ears.

If there's something you want, I can give it to you. All you need to do is make a contract with me and become a magical girl!

Anna looked around for the source of the voice and nearly jumped out of her seat when she saw a strange creature on the table in front of her. It was like some kind of cross between a cat and rabbit, white with long ears, a fluffy tail, red eyes, and floating golden rings on its ears. Anna glanced at the rest of the girls at her table, but none of them seemed to notice it.

What is that thing? And why can't anyone else seem to see it? Anna thought. She nearly jumped again when the answer sounded in her head.

My name is Kyubey. I help girls with potential like you become magical girls. Only magical girls and girls with potential can see me. Kyubey didn't blink as he stared at her. Anna took a deep breath to calm herself down and faced him.

How can you hear my thoughts? Anna shifted in her seat, still unnerved by how no one else seemed to notice Kyubey.

Don't worry, I can only hear thoughts that you direct at me. Now, do you want to become a magical girl?

What do you mean by magical girl?

Magical girls use their magic to fight wraiths and protect people. If you make a contract with me, you can become one, and in return you can have any one wish granted. Kyubey's tail swished back and forth.

Anna tilted her head, curious. It was completely ridiculous, but if there was a chance…

You can grant any wish?

That's right.

Anna's brow furrowed as she thought. She didn't know what she'd be getting herself into by making this contract, but it was tempting. She needed to think about it some more. One of Kyubey's ears turned, as though he was hearing something.

There's no time. A group of wraiths is about to attack the school! Follow me! Kyubey jumped off the desk and ran towards the door, pausing to stare back at Anna before exiting.

Wait!

Anna got up and ran after him, drawing a few stares as she did. She didn't know what these wraiths were, but if they were dangerous and she could do something about them, then she had no choice but to follow Kyubey.

"Are those wraiths?"Anna asked, looking down at Kyubey.

At the bottom of the hill on the edge of the school grounds, fog was expanding, and within it were flickering, faceless, robed figures.

Yes. They're born from people's negative feelings. If they're not stopped, they'll attack the school and many students could die. Kyubey gazed into Anna's eyes. She shivered. Anna, I don't know if any of the other magical girls in this area will be able to make it in time. If you contract with me, you can make a wish and save them.

Anna slowly nodded.

"Okay, I'll do it." Anna took a deep breath to steady her voice. She'd wanted more time to think, but the wish itself was obvious to her. It was the same thing she'd wished for all of these years, and now she finally had a chance of getting it. "My wish is to become closer to Elsa again."

Wish granted. Your soul has successfully reduced net entropy.

But Anna didn't hear anything. An intense pain clawed at her entire body, as though every nerve was on fire. But it only lasted for a few moments, and when she opened her eyes, an egg-shaped object shining with lavender light floated in front of her.

That's your soul gem. Use that to transform into a magical girl and defeat the wraiths!

Anna grabbed the soul gem, and when she did, she knew exactly how to activate it, as though by instinct. She held it out in front of her and it glowed. With a flash of light, Anna's clothes were replaced by a green dress with a lavender cloak. Her soul gem transformed into a lavender diamond set in a gold armband on her left arm. A spear appeared in her hand, its tip gleaming with sharpness. Anna hesitated, eying her spear warily. It was surprisingly light in her hand despite its obvious weight and size, but she didn't know if she would be able to use it.

Go on. All magical girls know how to use their abilities by instinct. Anyway, you just need to hold them off until another magical girl gets here.

Okay, here I go!

Anna ran forward, tripping and rolling down the hill as she took off much faster than she expected. She got up, slightly winded, but wasn't hurt or even bruised. "Ouch!"

You're much stronger and faster now that you're a magical girl. Try to get used to it quickly.

Anna nodded and moved forward again, this time at what felt like a slow jog. Still, the distance between her and the wraiths disappeared faster than she expected and all too soon one was towering over her. Anna thrust her spear forward, surprised at how naturally it came to her as the spear pierced through the wraith's body. It shuddered and sparks ran along its sides before it disappeared with a puff of wind, leaving a small, black cube on the ground in its place.

That's one down. Anna thought, but now the rest of the wraiths were turning towards her, their faces twisting into menacing smiles.

Suddenly, thin, white beams of light shot from the places where their eyes should have been towards her. Anna jumped to the side, crashing into the hill as she once again used too much strength. Anna picked herself up and the next few minutes passed in a blur as she dodged beam after beam of light. She didn't have time to breathe, or even think, only to move on instinct as she sensed each attack coming.

Then a series of beams converged on her from all sides, blinding her. There was nowhere to go. If only Anna could reach the top of the hill somehow…When she opened her eyes, she was at the top of the hill, and the wraiths were still at the bottom, circling as though searching for her.

I can teleport? She asked Kyubey, who was sitting a safe distance away from the battlefield.

I wouldn't know. Each magical girl's abilities are unique to them. Try to sense your capabilities.

Anna did so, and was surprised by the depth of the information that she knew. She could sense precisely how far she could teleport each time. It wasn't far enough for travel, but it was good enough for combat. Anna smiled.

Alright! I can do this!

Anna teleported to the bottom of the hill, right above one of the wraiths, which she promptly speared. The rest of the wraiths turned on her and she teleported away again. She tried the same trick again, but now the wraiths seemed to have wised up somewhat. Only a few of them attacked her while she was further away to force her to teleport, and the rest waited until she teleported close by before attacking. Anna was forced to teleport again and again, spending only enough time to impale a wraith before jumping away again. But the next time she tried, she moved too slowly, barely dodging a streamer of light. She was only able to muffle her scream as the streamer cut into her right arm below her elbow.

Anna teleported back to the top of the hill and collapsed to her knees. She reached for the wound on her arm, but stopped before touching it. There was blood dripping from it, too much to tell how severe it was, though the pain had subsided a bit. Anna panted, but she didn't feel out of breath, exactly. It was more like each teleport took a toll on her, and she felt the strain somewhere. She glanced at her armband. Her soul gem, which had been bright before, was now a cloudy, dark lavender.

Try not to overuse your magic. Your supply is limited, so you can't just keep teleporting over and over again.

Anna looked down at the bottom of the hill, where half a dozen wraiths still remained.

I don't know if I can beat them. Anna said, her heart sinking as it finally occurred to her what failure would mean. Those wraiths would attack the school, and Elsa was there too. Kyubey just licked his paw nonchalantly.

Don't worry. Another magical girl will be here in just a moment.

What? Who-

Anna stopped as bright flashes of light appeared in the corner of her eye. Another girl was fighting the demons. She had short, auburn hair and wore a silver and black dress with gold trim. She moved quickly, jumping and spinning gracefully to dodge the wraiths' attacks in stark contrast to the deadly swipes of her enormous scythe, which ripped through one wraith after the other. In just seconds, all of them were gone and bits of the fog curled away and dissipated until there was nothing was left of the wraiths except those black cubes. The girl flicked the scythe, which vanished, and turned towards Anna and waved at her. Anna waved back and teleported next to her.

"That was amazing!" Anna said as soon as she appeared. The girl shrugged, seemingly unfazed by the teleportation.

"No big deal. Killing wraiths is what magical girls do." She smiled at Anna. "Nice to see a new girl around here. I could definitely use the help, especially from one with teleportation. You must be pretty powerful." Anna blushed at the praise.

"No, I'm not that good. I barely knew what I was doing."

"In that case, how about I show you the ropes? What's your name?"

"I'm Anna. You want to help me? I'd really appreciate it."

"Sure, no problem. My name is Helen, by the way. First lesson of the day: your soul gem, you noticed it getting darker during the battle, right?" Anna glanced at it.

"Well, you can use these," and now Helen was holding up one of the black cubes left behind by the wraiths "to purify it. They're called grief cubes. Make sure you don't run out of magic. If you do, you die."

Anna stiffened, realizing how close she'd come to death already, and nodded.

"Good. Hold them close to your soul gem." Helen handed her a few more of the grief cubes, which Anna gratefully accepted. She brought them up to her soul gem, and was surprised to see them suck the darkness from it, returning it to previous luster. "Those are about used up now. Why don't you try feeding them to Kyubey?"

"He eats these things?" Anna glanced at Kyubey, who had walked down the hill to join them.

I don't eat them. I collect them. The concentrated curses play a valuable role in combating entropy.

Helen laughed. "Kyubey never shuts up about entropy. Well, go on, try throwing them at him."

Anna hesitated, then tossed the cubes underhand to Kyubey, who jumped to catch them with his back. They were absorbed into the red oval on his back, which glowed briefly.

There was so much that was strange about what was happening that Anna didn't even know where to begin asking questions. She considered herself to be the kind of person who embraced change and even thrived on it, but she had to admit that this was a bit overwhelming.

Helen seemed to notice, giving her an encouraging smile.

"Hey, don't worry if this is all new to you. Every magical girl has to start somewhere, right? I'll take care of you. You'll be an ace wraith hunter in no time."

Anna felt the corners of her mouth turn up as she thanked Helen. She wasn't used to people trying to make her feel better. Her father had insisted on homeschooling her and Elsa up to eighth grade, and they hadn't had much opportunity to talk to other people their age. Anna had been so excited when she'd first started high school, but their father's death had made it hard to take advantage of it.

Was this what it was like to have a friend?

Helen shifted her gaze to look at something behind Anna. Anna turned around, and was surprised to see yet another magical girl. She had short, blonde pigtails and her costume consisted of a heavy gray and dark blue cloak. She carried an enormous battleax.

"Hey, Kristen. It's good to see you again." Helen said politely. Kristen ignored her, focusing her eyes on Anna.

"A new girl? This area doesn't have enough wraiths to support three of us." Kristen's expression was chilly, but Helen laughed it off.

"You take everything so seriously, Kristen. We'll just travel a bit farther when we hunt. There won't be any problems."

Kristen turned back to Helen, narrowing her eyes.

"What do you want with her anyway?"

Helen crossed her arms and pouted. "I'm just trying to help the new girl out. Why are you always so suspicious of me, anyway?"

"If you say so." Kristen turned around and jogged away.

"What's her problem? Did you kick her puppy or something?" Anna asked, still watching Kristen's back.

"Who knows? She's always sour for some reason. She doesn't seem to like me, no matter how much I try to be nice to her." Helen frowned. She looked a bit dejected, so Anna placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I think you're awesome!" Anna held Helen's gaze, and they exchanged smiles.

Anna sat on her bed, gritting her teeth as she applied disinfectant to her arm. Helen had said that magical girls healed faster than humans and didn't get sick. Still, Anna couldn't just leave the wound open for anyone to notice, and she didn't want to take any chances with an infection either. She'd have to wear long-sleeved shirts to hide the bandage from now on, as well as for any new wounds she got, which would be a pain since it was starting to get warmer.

"How did you get that?"

Anna jolted, not expecting to hear that voice directed toward her anytime soon, and turned to see Elsa staring at her with wide eyes. Or, to be more accurate, staring at her arm. Anna grimaced. Now that she'd wiped most of the blood away, it was obvious how large and deep the wound was.

"Oh, this? It's nothing, really." Anna turned away, but it was already too late.

"Don't play dumb, Anna. Did you think I wouldn't notice you leaving school early? What's going on?"

Anna twirled her hair nervously. She couldn't tell her the truth. Elsa would think she was crazy. She didn't have any idea what approach to take. It had been years since they'd talked this much. Elsa seemed to take the silence as refusal, narrowing her eyebrows.

"If you don't tell me, I'll tell our mother."

Anna opened her mouth to object, but was cut off by a voice in her head.

There's no need for that. Anna made a contract with me and became a magical girl. She was wounded while fighting wraiths, the enemies of magical girls. If you want, you can become a magical girl too!

Elsa gasped as she saw Kyubey sitting on the windowsill.

"What is that?" Elsa asked, pointing a trembling finger at him.

There was no choice now. Anna sighed.

"Calm down, Elsa. I'll explain everything."

Anna recounted the events of the day. Despite the situation, she felt surprisingly happy. She was talking to Elsa again, like she used to, and she wasn't being ignored. Her wish was coming true already.

Elsa stood in stunned silence as she took it all in. The only reaction she showed was a slight frown as Anna rushed through an explanation of her wish, embarrassed but not wanting to leave out such an important detail.

"And now I'm a magical girl, Elsa. I can protect people from those wraiths, like I did today. There's no point in telling Mom. There's no way she would believe in magic anyway."

Elsa frowned. "Anna, this isn't one of your stories. Magic is unnatural, and it's not safe. You got hurt today fighting those things, and you could get hurt again. If you won't stop being a magical girl, then you leave me with no choice."

"What gives you the right to tell me what to do? You haven't even had a real conversation with me in years!"

Elsa flinched, but Anna wasn't done, waving her arm angrily. "What have I ever done to you?! I had to make that stupid wish just to get you to talk to me!"

Elsa straightened her back and looked away, her face blank again. "Maybe I can't tell you what to do, but I can still talk to our mother."

I wouldn't do that if I were you. Kyubey said, seeming to finally take interest in the conversation again. Magical girls need grief cubes to survive. If you don't let Anna fight wraiths, she will die.

Elsa's face lost what little color it had.

"See, Elsa? You can't stop me. I'm a magical girl now and there's nothing you can do about it." Anna crossed her arms.

Elsa hugged her arms and turned away, pacing back and forth across the room for a few minutes. Anna stared, unsure of what to do as the clock ticked on. Had she been too harsh? Should she give Elsa a hug? Would Elsa get mad if she did? Finally, Elsa turned back towards her, still not making eye contact.

"Alright. I will let you hunt these wraiths and I won't tell Mom. But you have to take me with you. I will be watching you, so don't think you can sneak off without me. Do you promise?"

Now Elsa looked up, holding her gaze. Her icy stare was unrelenting. Anna nodded.

"Yes. I promise."

I'm glad you were able to resolve your disagreement. Honestly, you humans can be so unreasonable sometimes. Kyubey commented, scratching an ear with his paw.

Elsa glared at him. "Don't think I trust you. You didn't tell Anna that she would be forced to fight wraiths as a magical girl, did you? I'll be watching you, so don't try anything. I won't be becoming a magical girl, either, so forget about it."

Believe it or not, Elsa, I'm not your enemy and I did not mislead Anna. She got her wish, didn't she? It was a fair contract. But I get your point.

"Come on, Elsa, leave Kyubey alone." Anna said. "It was an emergency. Those wraiths were attacking the school, there wasn't enough time to explain everything."

Elsa sighed. "If you say so."

Elsa walked towards the door, then paused, leaning on the doorframe.

"Change the bandages every few days." Elsa said, and then left.

Anna stared at her sister's back as she walked away. She knew that Elsa cared about her at least a little bit, but it didn't make her behavior any less mysterious.

Later that night, Elsa paced her room, unable to hold her magic back. Frost spread across the walls and her feet crunched as she stepped on snow.

Elsa wrung her hands as she walked. She'd closed herself off for years to protect Anna from her magic, but now Anna had her own brand of dangerous magic. Had it all been for nothing?

The worst part was that Anna had made that wish because of her. In the end, all she could do was put Anna in more danger.

"Dammit!" Elsa collapsed on her bed, unable to hold a sob. She buried her face in her pillow.

She had to keep Anna safe, but she didn't know how; her powers were worse than useless, they were dangerous. Was watching over Anna the best she could do? And even if she did that, her curse would still be a risk. She decided to figure it out the next day, allowing her exhaustion to carry her to sleep.