"Shane…?!" Lucy's heart dropped.
Crap—she'd been spotted anyway!
She covered her face on instinct and turned to bolt, but Shane was faster. He stepped around in one stride and cut her off.
He narrowed his eyes, studying the strange girl.
Even with her hand hiding most of her face, the delicate outline, the unmistakable blonde hair, and that oddly familiar aura hit him with a powerful sense of déjà vu.
A name blurted out before he could stop it:
"La—Layla?"
"…"
Lucy froze in place.
"No… that can't be right. How could there be two Laylas?"
Shane went blank for a second.
He looked at the little Lucy holding his hand, then back at the older girl trying to hide herself, and his brain refused to connect the dots.
For some reason, even though this girl also resembled Anna, his first instinct still leaned toward Layla.
"…He actually mistook me for Mom?" Lucy lowered her hand, the corner of her mouth twitching.
People always said mother and daughter looked alike—but having Shane mistake her this directly made her feel… weirdly—
Annoyed.
Really annoyed!
She instinctively straightened her chest as if to prove she wasn't her mother—then immediately realized this was not the time to compete over something that stupid.
"I can't get tangled up with Shane here… we're out of time!"
She lowered her voice and forced herself to sound calm.
"You've got the wrong person! I have something urgent to do—I'm leaving!"
She dipped her head and tried to slip past him.
"Hold it."
Shane wasn't letting go. Curiosity blazing, he turned to little Lucy beside him.
"Lucy, do you know this big sister? Is she a relative of yours?"
Little Lucy tilted her head, big eyes circling the "big sister" twice. She shook her head honestly.
"I don't know her…"
But then she added sweetly,
"Still… she's really cute!"
"Pff—"
Getting praised that bluntly by her younger self made Lucy feel like her face was about to combust.
"Please! Move!"
Shame and panic scrambled her composure. She stamped her foot anxiously, her voice even trembling with a hint of tears.
"I really have an emergency! A huge one!"
Seeing her on the verge of crying, Shane couldn't ignore it.
"This is Fairy Tail's home turf."
If someone had a problem on his territory—and especially a girl who looked this much like someone he knew—there was no way he could just walk away.
"If it's urgent, tell me what's going on."
He patted his chest and gave her a small, reassuring smile.
"I'm a Fairy Tail wizard. I know this area well. I might be able to help."
"…" Lucy bit her lip.
She wanted to refuse. She was from the future—she wasn't supposed to get too involved with this era's Shane.
But then she thought again… there was less than an hour left.
If she ran around like a headless chicken and couldn't gather everyone in time, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"If Shane's Clairvoyance can find those idiots instantly…"
After weighing it, Lucy finally didn't refuse.
"Well…" Her eyes flicked away as she cobbled together an excuse.
"I'm traveling here, and… uh… I got separated from a few weird companions."
As she spoke, she gestured while describing the troublesome bunch:
"One loud pink-haired idiot, one black-haired idiot who acts all cocky, a red-haired girl with a really good figure, and… a blue cat that can fly."
"What a bizarre combo…" Shane clicked his tongue inwardly. And why did it sound so familiar?
He didn't dwell on it. He nodded cheerfully. "Alright. Leave it to me."
Then he placed little Lucy into the older blonde girl's care, crouched down, and told her gently:
"Lucy, go play with this big sister for a bit. I'm going up high to take a look. I'll be right back, okay?"
Normally, a child should be wary of strangers—especially someone this suspicious.
But little Lucy looked up at the blonde "big sister" and felt a warm, inexplicable sense of closeness.
She nodded hard and grabbed the older Lucy's hem with her soft little hand.
"Okay! I like this big sister. And she smells really nice too… like Mommy."
"!" Another emotional critical hit.
Lucy was so embarrassed she couldn't even speak properly. All she could do was bow deeply to Shane with a red face.
"P-please! I'm really in a hurry!"
"It won't take long. Don't worry." Shane waved it off.
"Whoosh—"
Dragon wings unfurled, wind whipping up dust, and he shot straight into the sky—landing atop Magnolia's tallest church clock tower.
Up high, the wind screamed around him.
Shane inhaled, and a faint golden sheen flickered in his eyes.
Clairvoyance, activate!
The familiar "cat-and-dog hero" sweep began again. Magnolia spread out beneath him in an instant.
His vast perception rippled outward like water, covering the entire city.
"Hm… what's that by the riverbank?"
Within seconds, his gaze locked on something.
On the riverbed, two oddly dressed weirdos were roaring while wrestling each other, and sure enough, a blue winged cat hovered nearby, complaining.
"What the hell… and why are Natsu and Gray there too? And they're knocked out?"
Shane scratched his head, puzzled. When his eyes swept over the two idiots unconscious on the side, he didn't react much.
Those two brawling themselves into a faint by the river was practically routine.
He just couldn't understand why the blonde girl's "companions" were also fighting the same way.
"But yeah—this has to be them."
That was three found. The only one left was the red-haired girl.
He adjusted focus, scanning the nearby streets.
He searched for a while—no one matching the description.
Just as he was about to report back to the blonde girl…
His gaze drifted, almost automatically, to the eastern forest—wanting to see what Erza was doing.
"Strange… shouldn't Erza be inside writing letters right now? Why is she outside?"
And—
As the view sharpened and the scene snapped into clarity, Shane's previously relaxed expression turned ugly.
In that familiar clearing—
his girl was on the ground, covered in blood, a wreck, unmoving.
And standing before her was a mysterious figure in a black cloak, face hidden.
Behind that figure, countless swords floated in the air, radiating suffocating pressure—
all aimed straight at Erza.
~~~
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