Author's Note: Hello all! After finally (FINALLY!) finishing a one-shot for Amongst Untrodden Ways, I have created a one-shot collection story to accompany my main Fairy Tail story. Like with Harmonies of a Second Chance, this will be where I put the moments that either don't fit with the flow of the plot but I liked, or are just random moments that happen to the characters that I was inspired to write. Note that they will not necessarily be in chronological order, so if you're confused as to when a one-shot is occurring and how far into the story it is, just check under the Chapter Title, there should be a (set between chapters X and Y) thing. Also note that this will not be updated regularly, just when inspiration strikes and I have something to post. For those who are interested, I am still working on the latest AUW chapter, I've just been busy with life and all.

A Glimpse Forward

(November 16th, X774)

(Set between AUW Chapters 26 and 27)

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Rihanna … honestly had no idea what was going on. She had slipped away from the lighthouse to get some fresh air and time to herself after dealing with the lack of general privacy and quiet that came from having four -occasionally five- people live in a house only meant for two to three people for almost two weeks.

It had grated on her last nerve and, for fear of losing her temper and accidentally affirming Freed's and Evergreen's fear in her, she had convinced Bickslow to let her go explore Magnolia by herself for a few hours. Bickslow hadn't been too happy with the idea. But, he knew that Rihanna was good at keeping herself out of trouble unless they were out on a job and he could clearly see the strain her surroundings were putting on her patience, so he had relented.

It had been wonderful. The crisp fall sun had been shining, a breeze just cold enough to be refreshing but not chilling had been playing through the streets, and the leaves were gorgeous as they turned their colors.

Then something that felt like an electric shock had ripped through her body without warning, and a flash of light had enveloped her. Even through her shock as her surroundings disappeared in the light and a tugging sensation wrapped around her, Rihanna braced herself for a fight. Oh, for the love of Pantherlily! Can't Fairy Tail Luck leave me alone for just a few bloody hours?

After what felt like both an eternity and only a few seconds of waiting, the tugging sensation eased, the light began to fade, and Rihanna exploded into motion. Rolling forward, she coiled the shadows tightly around her before unleashing them in a circular shockwave, intent on getting space between herself and her would-be kidnappers. Shouts of surprise and loud crashes signaled the success of her surprise attack, but Rihanna didn't allow herself feel any triumph yet. She still had to get away and figure out just what had happened and why.

She felt more than saw a hand reaching to grasp her and quickly shifted into her shadow form to dodge. She bolted wildly out the door, not even stopping to wonder why her attempted kidnappers would be dumb enough to leave the door wide open to the outside where she could escape. Unless it was a trap, but she'd worry about that later.

Behind her, the shouting continued, with various voices shouting for her to wait or for someone to stop her as Rihanna sprinted out of the doors and took a sharp left. She ran for several minutes, flitting from shadow to shadow and even teleporting to the rooftops before she finally slowed to a stop to get her bearings. She crouched on the roof tiles of a house, mouth open slightly as she panted.

Her mouth dropped open further in confusion as she finally took in her surroundings and realized where she was. Namely, still in Magnolia, about seven blocks away from the guild building, currently perched on a roof in one of the many residential districts. Seriously? Someone uses a random teleport to kidnap me and they didn't even bother to leave Magnolia? Could they not use whatever spell that was very far away from the target?

Rihanna looked around cautiously, trying to spot any signs of pursuers or enemies or even just something crazier than normal that might indicate trouble. Nothing came to her attention. Citizens were wandering the streets, calling friendly greetings and chatting. The sun was still shining, when she dropped out of shadow form she could see that the leaves were still turning pretty colors, and the breeze was still just the right mix of crisp and refreshing without being cold.

I know I didn't just imagine it… Rihanna frowned worriedly, I should get back to the Raijinshū, warn them about this. Or should I go to the guild building first? She glanced in the direction of the guild, then did a double-take of shock. What. In the name. Of Pantherlily.

That was not the guild building she knew.

Check that, it was the guild building she knew, just not from personal experience.

Huge and made of grey stone, complete with an imposing bell-tower and Fairy Tail's signature flag, it towered over most of the town, a unmistakable landmark to all who passed by. That's … that's the second guild building, isn't it? The one they built after Phantom Lord totaled the first one? She shook her head, rubbed her eyes, then looked again. The building was still there, still huge, and still not the one she wanted to see. What. The. Heck?

She stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar building for a long time, struggling to get her thoughts in order and decide on a course of action. Just as she was at the height of an internal argument over whether or not to try to find Makarov or just hide until the … whatever had happened had worn off, soft footsteps tapped across the tiles behind her.

Tensing, Rihanna whirled, shadows sliding up her arms liked snakes poised to strike in her defense. The figure crouched, hands outstretched in front of him in a gesture of non-aggression, "Easy, Imōto, I'm not going to hurt you…" Rihanna felt herself freeze from shock for the second time that day, her breath rushing from her lungs at the sight of the figure in front of her.

He was tall, with darker clothing reminiscent of a knight's, a silver visor set aside on the tiles to reveal calm red eyes and a stick figure tattoo stamped on the middle of his face. Unmistakable blue hair that was on the shaggy side hung down to just below his ears. As if all of those things were not enough to identify him, a faint, familiar chittering filled the air as five tiki dolls hovered just behind his shoulders.

…Bickslow? It had to be, and yet it couldn't be, because she had just seen Bickslow that morning and he had been twelve. Not an adult of at least twenty. This was the Bickslow she knew from the anime, yet that couldn't be true because her Bickslow was still a child, her brother had yet to become the wild, eccentrically dressed figure from the anime and yet here he stood before her-

Red eyes flashed a brief green in concern and he inched a step closer, "Wren. Wren, stop. It's okay. Calm down and breathe. It's me, Imōto, I promise. I know everything's confusing right now, but it'll be okay. Just breathe with me, alright? Just breathe."

Dimly, Rihanna realized that she was hyperventilating. Her lungs struggled for air as her head swam and she curled into a defensive ball and tried to make the world make sense again. A helpless, soundless giggle escaped her as a little voice in her head jeered, a fictional anime world make sense! As if!

She heard the man -adult Bickslow? Illusion? Hallucination?- bite out a quiet curse and a second later strong arms pulled her tight to a warm chest. Rihanna struggled against his grip, but she was too busy trying to breathe and think past the whirling hysteria in her head to really put effort into escaping. A hand -too large, not right, yet somehow comforting and recognizable- gently stroked her curls, his chest vibrating as he murmured, "It's okay, I promise. It's okay. Whatever you're seeing, it won't hurt you. I won't hurt you. Nothing will hurt you. We'll fix this, I promise, Imōto, so calm down. It's okay…"

He continued like that for while. Muttering soothing nothings and reassurances into her hair as he cradled her close, his arms so foreign and yet somehow so familiar that Rihanna couldn't help but slowly calm down. When Rihanna's panic had finally faded to manageable levels, Bickslow allowed her to pull away from him, "Better now, Imōto?"

Rihanna stomped down on her embarrassment at the panic attack, she was perfectly justified considering the circumstances. She nodded in answer to his question and then rapidly signed out, "What happened? Where am I? How did…" She searched for the right word but failed to find one that would adequately describe what she was thinking. She was fairly certain this was some kind of time-travel, but that concept had never come up before and so there were no words to convey it.

Bickslow's eyebrow climbed a bit and he offered a dry, "How did I get so old?" Rihanna nodded, figuring that if it was time-travel, Bickslow would tell her if only to dispel the notion that he was old. The man who was somehow her brother gave a rueful smile, "That is a long story, Imōto, which can basically be summed up in 'Fairy Tail Luck'."

Rihanna deadpanned at him, well of course it is. When is it ever not Fairy Tail Luck? Her flat expression faltered and she gave a silent yip of surprise at the sensation of Bickslow sweeping her up into his arms. Bickslow chuckled at her flailing, "Easy, Wren. It'll be faster this way."

Rihanna glowered up at him even while a part of her wondered when he had reattached his visor and raised the hood of his outfit. She didn't appreciate being suddenly picked up without warning, even if it was Bickslow. An older Bickslow who is taking this whole … thing way too calmly. What if I'm stuck here? What happened to older me? An older me exists right? Right? She pushed that thought away before panic could sneak up on her again. She would wait until someone gave her more detailed explanation than "Fairy Tail Luck" before panicking again.

Bickslow hummed softly as he carried her back to the guild building, his tikis chittering nonsense in a way that was oddly soothing. If nothing else, Bickslow's overly talkative tikis hadn't changed a bit. Even if there were two more of them now than when she had last seen him. To distract herself, she tapped Bickslow's shoulder and then pointed at the two unfamiliar tikis.

He followed her finger, then grinned, "Oh yeah, you probably haven't met them yet, have you? That one is Peppe, and the one doing loop-de-loops is Poppo. Peppe, Poppo, say hi." The two tikis zipped closer and chirped out cheerful hellos that made Rihanna smile on reflex. Bickslow kept up a steady, cheerful stream of chatter on unimportant subjects for the rest of the journey to the guild, successfully distracting Rihanna until they reached the huge doors of Fairy Tail's rebuilt home.

Bickslow strode through, stopping just after he had passed over the threshold and into the main hall. Rihanna stared out over a scene of complete chaos. People were shouting frantically and what looked to be maps were spread out on some of the tables while several members tempers snapped and they started fighting. It was all very familiar … except for the fact that it wasn't.

The sheer oddity of her situation hit Rihanna full force again as, in the middle of the chaos, vivid scarlet hair flared like a banner and a low feminine voice roared out orders like a queen. An armored fist lashed out like lightning, striking first a head of bright pink hair, then a head of coal black hair that had been butting up against the pink haired noggin moments earlier. The owners of the heads both yelped and protested, only to quail under the force of the red-head's glare as she thundered, "That's enough you two! We have no time for your fighting! We have to find Wren!"

It was like a scene straight out of the anime, only it was right there in front of her. Rihanna's heart skipped a beat, then two, as she registered even more details. There was small girl with long, deep blue hair and chocolate brown eyes standing by the bar looking vaguely nervous. Standing on top of the bar next to the girl was a scowling white cat that stood on its hind paws and wore a dress.

An earsplitting screech went up as a blond dressed in a shirt far too low-cut for Rihanna's tastes barely managed to dodge a chair that someone had just thrown at someone else. At the far corner of the bar, a tall figure with a shaggy black mane and red eyes watched the chaos with a bored, vaguely murderous expression on his face while a young woman with white hair and rich blue eyes poured him a drink.

It's … this is … Rihanna twisted around to look up at Bickslow again, noticing once again just how different he looked from what she had seen of him that morning. A strong jaw, the visor that obscured his eyes and the upper half of his face. A purple hood that hid his hair with a pony-tail of matching purple feathers swayed with every motion he made.

She looked back at the chaos in front of her and felt suddenly faint, It's really them. The main cast of the Fairy Tail anime. It's Team Natsu.

Rihanna would have to assume later that she went temporarily into shock, because the next thing she knew, the shouting in the guild had stopped, Bickslow had set her onto the bar, and there were a bunch of uncannily familiar strangers clustering around her new perch.

The pinkette, Natsu, leaned well into her personal space with a low noise of contemplation, his eyes wide and intense as he stared at her for several seconds. He abruptly leaned back, clutched his hair with his hands, and shouted, "Gaah! What do we do? She shrunk!"

The boy who she could only assume was Gray -who else in the anime managed to lose his jacket and shirt within the span of a few seconds?- slammed a fist down onto Natsu's head, "Yeah, and who's fault is that, moron?"

Natsu whirled around and slammed his forehead against Gray's. Rihanna internally winced at the audible "thock" noise it caused even as she watched their argument in wary fascination, "Who you calling moron, ya squinty-eyed jerk?"

"You, flame-brain! See any other morons around here?"

Are those magic auras? Over something so petty? Yes. Yes they are. Huh, that's … both amazing and ridiculous at the same time. "I'm looking at one, stripper! And I ain't a moron!"

"Oh yeah, bast-" Rihanna's wince was physical this time at the painful crashing sound of Erza's fists slamming down onto the arguing boys' heads.

Erza loomed over them with her infamous Look, hair actually managing to wave in a breeze Rihanna could only conclude was being caused by the thick red aura around her, "I just said no fighting!"

Erza turned to Rihanna and then, much to Rihanna's shock, bowed low at the waist, "My deepest apologies, Wren-senpai, I should have stopped Natsu earlier before this kind of disaster could happen!" Senpai? Senpai? Why in the world is Erza calling me senpai?

Rihanna shot Bickslow a wide-eyed look and the jerk had the nerve to merely tongue-grin at her panic. Before Rihanna could glare the adult Bickslow into actually explaining what on earth was going on, the curious crowd was roughly shoved aside by three loudly shouting persons. Before Rihanna could fully process who said persons were, she had been snatched up off the bar and crushed to a very … large chest as a feminine voice wailed in her ear, "Oh, Wren, we were so worried~!"

Personal space completely destroyed and temper dangerously frayed by stress, Rihanna reached for her shadows. An instant later, hands had plucked her from the grasp of her previous captor and set her back onto the bar. Bickslow's deep, adult voice identified her rescuer, "Easy there, Ever, she probably doesn't even recognize you."

The woman who had been bear-hugging her, -adult Evergreen?- pouted and crossed her arms, "Not recognize me? But we're Raijinshū!"

Bickslow's tikis chittered irritatedly as he replied, "And she's not from this time."

A woman who looked like the anime Cana, only with an actual keyhole-neck shirt instead of a bikini top, raised an eyebrow, "Is that what happened? How do you know?"

Bickslow grinned at them, "She asked me how I suddenly got old." Rihanna glared at him, using her irritation to keep from being completely overwhelmed, I did not!

Freed -and it had to be Freed, what other man in Fairy Tail had such ridiculously long green hair- frowned faintly, "Then there is a chance she does not know us at all at this point."

Cana flapped a hand, "Then we'll just have to introduce ourselves while Levy figures out how to fix Natsu's latest mess up." Ignoring the indignant protest in the background from said pinkette, Cana leaned her hip against the bar and said, "Okay, let's start from the top. How old are you, and do you recognize anyone? I'm Cana, by the way."

Technically, Rihanna recognized almost everyone there, but as for those she had personally met before the current point… "I know you, Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow." She paused before adding reluctantly, "I'm six."

To her surprise, Bickslow didn't translate her signs, and no one seemed to need him to do so. Instead, Cana nodded, "Six, huh? So you must be from not long after Freed and Ever joined up. Okay then. The pink idiot over there is Natsu, it's his fault you're here now." Natsu protested again only to be silenced by Erza using The Look. Cana continued as if nothing had happened, "The guy who needs to put his underwear back on, is Gray." Gray yelped an embarrassed curse and Rihanna was very glad that Gray had been shoved far enough back into the crowd that she couldn't see the full results of his … problem … with retaining clothing.

"The woman with the armor and your death glare is Erza," Cana smirked, "she's also your kohai." Rihanna gave Cana a wide-eyed look, wait, Erza was serious with the senpai thing? What?

Erza, apparently unaware of how Rihanna's mind was exploding, nodded warmly to her and said, "I have owe much to your future self, Wren-senpai." Much? Much? Please let her be exaggerating. What in the world could I do for Erza Scarlet?

Bickslow gave her a completely unhelpful pat on the back in response to her stupefied and disbelieving expression. Cana kept blithely introducing people, "That one over there is Lucy, she's one of our newest members," Lucy waved and gave a cheerful "hello", "The white cat on the bar is Carla," Carla nodded a brief greeting, "and the girl next to her is-"

A blue cat interrupted, floating over to Rihanna on fluffy white wings with a cheerful, "Ai! I'm Happy! Do you want a fish, Chibi-Wren?" No … no I do not want a -oh Mavis it's still wiggling- fish. And who are you calling chibi? Happy withered under Rihanna's Look, but she could hear several people in the background cooing over how cute she was at her current age.

Cana rolled her eyes and resumed introductions, "Anyway, that's Wendy over there, she's also a new member."

Wendy waved shyly, "Nice to meet you … ah, again? For the first time? Wren-san." Rihanna waved back and smiled. Because really, how could she not when Wendy was five times more adorable in person than in the anime?

Her musing on the adorable-ness that was Wendy was broken by Gajeel shoving Freed and Evergreen aside to lean into her personal space the same way Natsu had. Rihanna did her best to meet Gajeel's intense red eyes without flinching. No concept of personal space much?

Finally, Gajeel leaned back with a smirk and a curt, "So, you really were always a midget, huh?"

Perhaps it was the stress, perhaps it was her pride, perhaps a mixture of both. Whatever the reason, Rihanna didn't hesitate to slap Gajeel over the head with one of her shadows for his comment. Instead of getting angry, the Dragon Slayer actually had the nerve to laugh as he sauntered off to sit on a barstool a few feet away. Cana eyed the man's back as he left, "That was Gajeel. I'd like to say he isn't always like that, but that's actually about as polite and friendly as he gets around anyone who isn't his cat." His cat? So that means-?

Someone saw fit to plop something in her lap without ceremony. The something gave a low grunt of surprise, or perhaps indignation, before looking up at Rihanna and saying solemnly, "I am Pantherlily. It's nice to meet you."

Rihanna stared, and stared, and then stared some more. She couldn't help it. The intensely fangirl part of her that she had thought had died long ago on the streets of Aternum revealed itself to be alive just long enough to give a shriek of delight at meeting the Pantherlily before it died again from the sheer joy of Pantherlily sitting on her lap.

She had always loved cats. Even normal cats from her world. Particularly black cats, as the first cat she'd ever owned had been a little fluffy black fellow who adored cuddles and had eyesight as bad as a mole's.

Happy had actually been her absolute favorite character -yes, even over Laxus, Natsu, and Jellal- back when she'd first started watching, so then when the anime had introduced a talking, flying, sword-wielding black cat?

Instant fangirl for life and proud of it. She'd even had his plush toy before she'd wound up on Earthland.

Before she was even really aware of what she was doing, the fingers of one hand had started to gingerly card through his surprisingly thick black fur. Pantherlily grunted at her action and Rihanna froze, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment even though she really, really wanted to keep petting him. Because, Pantherlily. That and she hadn't gotten to pet a cat in years.

Serious orange eyes regarded her for several long seconds and she must have had a pleading look on her face because he finally sighed, "You may continue. But just for a little bit."

Rihanna couldn't stop the huge grin that split her face as she gingerly resumed petting Pantherlily's head, inwardly marveling at how soft his fur was even as her inner fangirl revived from the grave yet again and started squealing.

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Bickslow watched his little sister -now very little sister- pet the stoic Pantherlily with a look of absolute awe and something bordering on hero worship. She was completely oblivious to anyone else in the room, as evidenced by the lack of glares over the many "awws" that went up from the crowd at her actions. With a low chuckle, Bickslow leaned over to whisper in Cana's ear, "Well, now we know why she kept swearing on the name of Pantherlily years before any of us even knew what a Pantherlily was."

Cana smothered a laugh and whispered back, "If she moves her hand two inches to the left, he's going to start-" a surprised noise came from Pantherlily before he went boneless and a deep rumbling sound filled the air, Wren looked like she was in heaven, "purring."

It took several minutes before Gajeel, the only one immune to the sheer cuteness of the scene, got tired of someone else holding his cat and snatched Pantherlily away. The look Wren shot him as he did so could have killed, and suddenly Bickslow wondered just how long his sister could hold a grudge. Because it would certainly explain a few of her interactions with the Iron Dragon Slayer.

Bickslow decided to speak up and distract his little sister before she decided to retaliate against Gajeel, "Yo, Juvia!"

The blunette wove her way through the crowd to stand in front of the bar, "Yes, Bickslow-kun?"

Bickslow gave her a brief grin before turning to Rihanna and saying, "Wren, this is Juvia, she's a Water Mage and she's strong enough that she can even make it rain."

Juvia nodded a greeting to Wren, "Juvia is pleased to meet Wren-san for the first time. Again." Rihanna gave a tentative nod in return to the Water Mage, which appeared to be enough socialization the bluenette because she promptly wandered off into the slowly dispersing crowd in search of "her Gray-sama". Bickslow gave a tiny sigh of relief when Wren turned to him and asked for more introductions, his distraction from Gajeel's stealing away Pantherlily successful. Too close.

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Other introductions were made and soon Rihanna had been personally introduced to everyone who had featured in the cast of the anime. Lisanna had been the most baffling aside from Erza's introduction to be honest, because while her siblings had acted normally enough, with Mirajane smiling and Elfman had gently clapping a massive hand against her back and declaring her to be "manly even at such a young age", when Lisanna came up to the bar, she had immediately wrapped Rihanna in a hug.

Just before releasing Rihanna, Lisanna had whispered in her ear, "I know you won't understand why for now … but thank you, Wren-chan." Then she had whisked away to another section of the hall, leaving Rihanna to puzzle over just what she meant.

With introductions finally out of the way, Bickslow set about explaining what exactly had happened. The explanation wasn't a very long one really. It could all be summed up with the phrase "Natsu's an idiot" in fact.

The more detailed version was that while perusing the request board for a good job, Natsu had seen a strange poster that asked for someone to decipher what an unknown incantation said and what it did. Natsu, being Natsu, had for whatever reason decided to recite the included incantation aloud while one hand unintentionally waved in the adult-Rihanna's general direction just as she was approaching the request board.

The result of both his recitation and random hand wave had been adult-Rihanna suddenly disappearing in a flash of golden light and current -or was it past?- Rihanna appearing in the guild hall where her older counterpart had just been standing. Before anyone could really process what had happened, Rihanna had knocked everyone off balance with a shadow shockwave and run away. Bickslow had gone after her while everyone else was panicking, and the rest was history.

Upon hearing the story of how the mess had started, Rihanna leveled her best Look at the nearby Natsu and felt vague gratification at how he literally withered to the floor in a bow, spouting apologies the entire way. She was less gratified about how Gray had laughed at Natsu for "being afraid of midget-Wren" but then she had leveled her Look on him and the ice-mage had shut up so fast she heard his teeth click.

Rihanna finally relented in her glaring and turned to the adult Raijinshū, who were lounging nearby, "So, I'm stuck here until further notice? What about the … other me? Is she back in the past?"

Freed twisted a strand of his hair around one finger in contemplation, "That is the logical assumption. Levy-san is working to decipher the spell's exact contents and whether or not the spell wears off on its own. Or how to reverse the spell manually if it does not do so by itself. That is why she is not in the hall at the moment, she disappeared into the library. I would help but … Incantation Magic is not very compatible with Runes." He looked apologetic at the end of his explanation and Rihanna waved it away, it wasn't his fault Natsu played with things he shouldn't.

Didn't something like this happen in the anime too? It wasn't time-travel, but Natsu said a spell or something and got the rest of his team caught up in it? Pushing that thought away for the moment -though she wouldn't be surprised if he had- Rihanna asked, "So what do I do in the meantime?"

Cana's face split into a decidedly cat-like grin, "Why, have some fun with us of course! You're just too cute at this age to pass up the opportunity!" Something about Cana's face said "clothes" and "dress up" to Rihanna's trouble-honed instincts and she bolted off of the bar before she could find out if she was right. Both Cana and Evergreen gave chase, shouting things about lace and ribbons and pink.

Considering that those were three things she could barely tolerate separately on a good day, all three of them together in a sentence was more than enough evidence for her to justify slipping into shadow form and hiding in the nearest shadow. Rihanna didn't know whose shadow she had latched onto until Erza paused in the middle of taking a bite of strawberry cake and smiled down at Rihanna's hiding spot knowingly. Rihanna fought down a twitch, how does she know I'm there? Laxus can't sense me when I latch onto his-

Her thoughts were interrupted when something rippled through the shadows like a wave, knocking Rihanna back into the real world with a surprised rush of air. Her confusion turned to horror when Erza calmly reached down, picked her up by the back of her shirt, and wandered over to where Cana and Evergreen were searching for her, "Ahem." No-no-no-no-!

Cana and Evergreen turned, saw Erza's wiggling prize, and smiled. They were not nice smiles. Rihanna twisted around and shot Bickslow and Freed a desperate look, but Freed stubbornly pretended to be studying the wall and Bickslow was laughing remorselessly. Traitors the both of you. Rihanna narrowed her eyes dangerously and silently promised painful revenge.

She had no time to be smug over the fact that the two traitors seemed to sense her thoughts and blanched white, because Erza, Cana, and Evergreen had whisked her away to the back of the guild, still debating which dress to try first. Rihanna fought every step of the process, but she was physically six and they were three fully-grown mage women. Six, once an eerily serene Mirajane, a vaguely nervous but eager Lucy, and a far-too-chipper Juvia joined in. She tried repeatedly to escape, but Erza had somehow figured out a magic-ripple technique that kept knocking her out of shadow form long enough to her to get caught again.

In the end, they managed to wrestle her into a frilly pink ball gown, a completely impractical maid cosplay, a fairy costume, a cat outfit, and a mint green, suspiciously Lolita-esque dress that came with a set of high heels that Rihanna firmly believed should have been illegal in child sizes.

The only consolation to her torture was that Wendy had been foolish enough to wander back to the changing rooms to see what was going and had thus gotten caught by the six dress-happy women as well. She was just as embarrassed by the various costumes as Rihanna, so at least she could share her suffering.

After the second time, Rihanna had cut a deal with the witches so that they would let her at least change her clothes by herself, so Rihanna still got to keep some of her modesty while she planned her escape.

Said escape came in the form of Natsu's and Gray's brawl crashing through the door and setting the nearest pile of fabric on fire, which distracted everyone long enough for Rihanna to grab Wendy's wrist, drop into shadow form with her, and evacuate the guild building.

Rihanna dropped out of shadow form the moment they had left the guild building and turned the corner, but continued to drag Wendy away from the lair of the dress-happy women and toward the nearest safe area she knew of. Buildings and cobblestones gave way to towering trees and deer trails, all signs of civilization fading away completely before Rihanna finally slowed to a stop.

Wendy bent over, tiny hands pressed to her knees to keep her upright as she panted. Rihanna wasn't too much better, she hadn't had a chance to kick off the ridiculous high heels that had come with the Lolita outfit before making a break for it. Why the Pantherlily do directors make Hollywood heroines run in these again? If I didn't have magic durability, I swear I would've broken both my ankles just now.

Wendy's pants gave way to high, breathless giggles before she managed to straighten up and beam at Rihanna, "Thank you, Wren-san. I wouldn't have been able to get away on my own."

Rihanna shot Wendy a return smile as she forced her spine straight and took stock of their surroundings. They were deeper in the forest than Rihanna had anticipated considering their footwear and endurance levels. Well past where Laxus usually took them to train. Glancing back at Wendy, Rihanna signed hesitantly, "Any idea where we are?"

Wendy looked around with a doubtful expression, "Ano … maybe? I … think I've come by this way with Charla once…" She hung her head, "But I don't know the way back from here, I'm sorry!"

Rihanna waved a hand placatingly, it wasn't Wendy's fault they were so far in the woods. The question now was, how where they going to find their way back? This section of forest was unfamiliar to the both of them and Rihanna couldn't teleport with a passenger that far. Not unless she wanted to pass out for the next three days.

For a moment, both girls just stood there, listening to the lull of the forest life as they tried to figure out a next course of action. Wendy smoothed the wrinkles in her fancy dress nervously, "What do you think we should do, Wren-san?"

Rihanna looked left, looked right, then shrugged and started off to the left, "Start walking. We'll run into something familiar soon enough."

Wendy gave a tiny laugh as she fell in step with Rihanna, "Fairy Tail Fallback Strategy Three it is then." Rihanna shot Wendy a puzzled look and Wendy elaborated, "Wren-san- ah, you- ah, your future self, once told me that there were three main fallback strategies for whenever members of Fairy Tail were separated or lost. Strategy One is 'break as much stuff as possible, as loudly as possible until your nakama find you', Strategy Two is 'run around yelling loudly and punch people in the face until you find your nakama', and Strategy Three is 'wander around until Fairy Tail Luck kicks in and attracts your nakama to you'."

Rihanna tried to decide if she was amused or horrified at the fact that her future self had labeled Fairy Tail fallback strategies, and that they were so accurate to how the cast did things in the anime. Settling on amused, Rihanna signed, "No Fallback Strategy Four?"

Wendy nodded with far more seriousness than the subject warranted, "Oh there is. It's 'all the above, in spades'." Rihanna cracked up laughing silently at that. She'd been on enough missions with the Raijinshū to know that if Fairy Tail were to have an official list of fallback strategies, those would be the ones. Apparently they do have a list of fallback strategies eventually. Mavis save us.

Wendy giggled along with her and the two struck up a pleasant conversation as they walked, Rihanna's illegally high-heeled shoes swinging languidly in one hand as her bare feet padded over the grass and dirt. Wendy was as sweet as she'd been in the anime, but also had a hidden sense of mischief that took Rihanna by surprise. Apparently without Charla or her elders around to remind her of propriety, Wendy had the makings of a good prankster. Though she did fall to her knees and apologize profusely moments after shoving Rihanna into the creek, which was something Rihanna supposed would have to be trained out of her if she was to become a professional prankster.

No. Bad Rihanna. No contemplating corrupting the adorable younger generation with your brand of humor. Even if she would make the best accomplice. No one would ever suspect her because of her sweet personalty and how polite she is all the time. Rihanna clambered out of the creek and waved Wendy's apologies away, though she did retaliate by shaking her wet curls in Wendy's direction and getting the other girl's lavender dress wet.

Afternoon was getting closer and closer to its evening transformation as they padded between the trees and talked. They never spoke specifically of future events, something Rihanna was both pleased and miffed about. On the one hand, timeline preservation. On the other hand, what if there were things she needed to be extra careful about? Preparations that were best done as soon as possible so as to help things in the future? Wendy didn't say anything on those kinds of topics, and Rihanna couldn't bring herself to ask no matter how she was tempted.

However, from the way Wendy spoke, giggling about the latest antics of the guild or mentioning tidbits of what was going on in her life, Rihanna could tell that things were going … well for the guild. They were happy. They were whole. It was also fascinating to hear about the little things that had never been shown in the anime. Conversations and day-trips and shenanigans that made Rihanna laugh and face-palm by turns. They were such small things in the big picture, certainly not important enough to have an episode of the anime dedicated to them. But to Rihanna, they were beautiful. They were important.

Through Wendy's innocent chatter, Rihanna had a picture painted before her. A picture of life, laughter, love, and adventure. One of a Fairy Tail with Rihanna in it, part of it. From everything Wendy told her, despite her worries about how her presence would change the timeline, Fairy Tail was fine. Her family was fine. Her family was-

Wait, they're what? Rihanna's head snapped around to stare openmouthed at Wendy. Wendy read her look and blushed, "Oh, I probably shouldn't have said that! I mean, they probably haven't- it hasn't happened for you yet so I should have-"

Rihanna partially tuned out Wendy's rambling commentary in order to process and accept the information Wendy had accidentally blurted out. Slowly, shock turned into something else and Rihanna felt a grin crawl up her lips, Oh, I am going to hold this over their heads forever. Why didn't I see it earlier? It's so bloody obvious! I'll bet it takes them years…

Rihanna became aware that Wendy had fallen silent and glanced at her questioningly. The bluenette was staring at Rihanna with something of a terrified expression on her face. Rihanna's smile dropped and she cocked her head to one side in question. Wendy shook her head and her hands simultaneously, "I-it's nothing! I-it's just … Bickslow-san was right."

"Right?"

Wendy folded her hands in front of her, "He said once that you hadn't changed all that much from when you were children. You were … how did Freed-san put it? An old soul. I guess I didn't really believe it, but … well… you are just as scary now as you are in the future Wren-san." Rihanna pouted at Wendy, but didn't bother to protest. Apparently, people found her terrifying even when she didn't want to seen as such and that wasn't going to change even in the future.

Trying to think of something else to talk about, a troubling thought suddenly occurred to her. Rihanna wrestled with it for a while, protective worry warring with fear of finding out the worst. Finally, worry won out and Rihanna signed "How is Laxus? I haven't seen him."

Wendy paused, "Oh, well … I-, that is to say he-" Dread began to pool in Rihanna's stomach at Wendy's repeated false starts. The Nirvana Arc came after the Fantasia Arc, which means that in the anime Wendy never met Laxus until the Tenrōjima Arc. Is she trying to tell me that Laxus-? But that … that can't be right, Laxus is nothing like he was in the anime! He would never turn on Fairy Tail! Never! Right?

Before the dread in her stomach could reach critical mass and the burn in her eyes could turn to tears, something thudded loudly behind them. Rihanna whirled, shadows rising in preparation while Wendy squeaked in startled fear. Both girls gaped in horror for a moment at the … thing looming over them, though Rihanna's horror was more over the fact that something that big had managed to sneak up on them.

The thing, which looked like a mutant monkey that had been dyed neon green and sickly lavender only uglier and then strung up to dry by its stretched out ears, leered down at them, "Pretty girlies~!" Oh Pantherlilies it talks.

One swarthy hand began to reach for them, "Hey, pretty girlies~" Wendy shrieked in fear while Rihanna gave a silent snarl. Wrapping several of her shadow tendrils around the startled creature's head, Rihanna slammed its face into the ground repeatedly, using each slam to emphasize her thoughts, I. Hate. Perverts. I. Hate. Monkeys. Why. Did Mashima. Create. A species. Of giant. Pervert! Monkeys!

Rihanna finally released the thing's head and stared apathetically at its groaning form, only distantly noting the deep crater in the ground and the bulbous lumps that had formed from the creature's repeated impacts with the earth. There. She turned to Wendy with a huff and signed, "You really shouldn't scream like that. We're Fairy Tail, we can handle one stupid pervert monkey."

Wendy started to nod when she glanced over Rihanna's shoulder and paled drastically, "A-ano, what about … ten … pervert monkeys?" Rihanna froze, then slowly looked over her shoulder, Oh you've got to be kidding me. Ten identical leers bloomed and the phrase, "Pretty girlies~" echoed in stereo around them.

Rihanna's feminine instincts promptly overrode whatever other ideas she may have had in favor of the age-old fallback for dealing with multiple, larger, testosterone-doped opponents.

It was amazing how fast a six-year-old and a twelve-year-old could run when their purity was in danger. Almost as amazing as the lung-capacity Wendy had to possess in order to scream that loudly while maintaining such a fast pace through the underbrush.

Loud thumping and aggravatingly stupid laughter heralded the chase as the two girls tore madly through the woods, trying to shake off the giant monkey creatures. Where's backup when you need it? Seriously, why did Fairy Tail Luck have to kick in like this? Somebody help!

Rihanna could forever declare it unfair that of the two of them, it was the girl with the bare feet who tripped on a tree root and fell, not the girl still wearing ridiculously high heels. She hit the ground with a thud and a rush of lost air, hands scrabbling for purchase as her instincts screeched at her to get up and keep running. Wendy screamed her name and Rihanna barely had time to process the feeling of heavy breathing against her back when a familiar static sensation rippled protectively across her skin.

Thunder clapped a half-second later, strong arms snatching her up and away from the source of the heavy breathing while the air was filled with howls of pain and the combined stench of ozone and fried monkey. The screaming and crackling continued for several more seconds before the lightning stopped and massive thuds heralded the fall of her pursuers to the ground. Rihanna tentatively opened her eyes and looked up at the person who had snatched her to safety.

Grey eyes looked down at her in something akin to baffled amusement, the lightning-shaped scar on the right side of his face crinkling slightly as he gave her a puzzled half-smile, "Imōto?"

Rihanna gaped, as a dozen different emotions and reactions flashed through her mind, Laxus? He's here? Why is he here? Isn't he banished? Laxus did stay in the woods outside Magnolia for a while in the anime but that was after the Tenrōjima Arc. Or was it? Does this mean he's not banished? Or is he still banished and just passing through? Wait. Did he just call me Little Sister? Her hands came up shakily to sign her questions when a familiar shock and tugging sensation ran through her body and her world was enveloped with light.

A moment later Rihanna thudded to the ground with a surprised "oof". Sitting up hastily, Rihanna looked around. There was no sign of what had just happened. No giant mutant pervert monkeys, no twelve-year-old Wendy, no adult-Laxus staring down at her with a bemused expression. She was alone. Did … did the spell wear off on its own? Am I back?

Standing up, Rihanna spun in a slow circle, trying to get her bearings. After concluding that she really was in the same section of woods as before, just all alone instead of with Wendy and adult-Laxus, Rihanna reached out to the shadows, scanning quickly for anything familiar to her before she gave a cautious pull.

Her magic gave a customary twist, there was a rush of cold, and then she was standing on the edge of the forest, the outskirts of Magnolia right in front of her as the evening sun dyed it a variety of rich colors. Is it really that late? Still unsure as to whether she was truly back in her own time, Rihanna slipped into shadow form and made her way back toward the guild building.

When she finally rounded the last corner and came into view of the guild, Rihanna felt something in her chest unwind. The guild building was the one she knew from experience, old wood that had been patched and painted a hundred times over, with equally old yet well-loved flags flapping in the breeze. I'm back. She dropped out of shadow form and jogged through the open guild doors, more than ready for the normalcy of her time's guild.

Instead, she was met with a chaos that gave her a distinct impression of deja vu.

Maps were spread out on tables and everyone seemed to be shouting at everyone else. Freed and Evergreen huddled by the bar, watching the cacophony with wide eyes while Bickslow and Cana butted heads shouting and Mest tried vainly to separate them.

Laxus shouldered his way through the crowds to slam a fist down Bickslow's and Cana's heads, a yellow aura beginning to curl around him dangerously as he snarled, "That's enough you two! We have no time for your fighting! We have to find Wren!"

How long have I been gone? Rihanna stuck her head out the door to double-check. Oh wow, it's later than I thought. No wonder they're worried. Straightening up, Rihanna made her way a little further into the building, took a deep breath, and then gave a shrill whistle.

Everyone froze, all noise ceased, and every gaze snapped in her direction. Rihanna, suddenly nervous under so much united scrutiny, could only manage a tiny wave of greeting. Her motion unfroze everyone and the guild crowded around her. The Raijinshū, even Freed and Evergreen, somehow managed to get there first and Rihanna found herself being crushed in the center of a frantic group hug while Bickslow lectured in her ear about "never letting his Imōto out of his sight again" and "what did she think she was doing, disappearing without a word for so long".

It occurred to her somewhere during Bickslow's tirade that her adult self must have kept hidden during the switch, which was probably a mercy, but it also left her scrambling for an excuse. Just as everyone started to calm down and Rihanna thought she had come up with a decent excuse that did not involve accidental time-travel, Laxus pulled away from the hug and gave her a long look over. His face darkened and static prickled the air as he asked with deceptive calm, "Imōto, what are you wearing and where are the clothes you were wearing this morning?"

The silence returned and the tension went up several dozen notches. It went up several hundred more when one of the adults in the back hissed, "Is that a Lolita dress?"

Bickslow scowled and his tikis chattered angrily as he demanded, "What's a Lolita dress? Where are your shoes? What happened to you?"

Rihanna looked down at what she was wearing, having somehow forgotten in the mad flight from the giant mutant monkeys and her later return to her proper time that she was still wearing the outfit the future Fairy Tail ladies had forced her into. She had dropped the heels at some point in her dash, so all she had on her feet were a pair of thin stockings with holes in the bottoms from the rough woodland terrain. Both stockings and dress were slightly damp, torn, and generally looked as if she had gotten more than her fair share of Fairy Tail Luck that day.

Well, snap. How am I going to explain this?

.

.

As it turned out, she didn't. At least, not anything the others believed until ten years later when she marched back to the guild hall one fine autumn day holding a pair of children's high heels and with Wendy in tow, smiling a devilish sort of smile that had all the perpetrators of her childhood embarrassment -and just general traitors like Freed and Bickslow- running for the hills while begging for mercy.

Not that either did any good. She'd had ten years to plot her justified revenge after all.

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And there you go. A sneak peak to the future of the story and the first one-shot in my Amongst Untrodden Ways collection! Hope you enjoyed!