Chapter 2

Changed

"You should've let me beat them all, Lucy," Loke practically growled as the reached the top of the stairs that lead to the basement.

Lucy sighed and wiped away more of her tears. "No, Loke. It's not worth it." She fumbled with her keys, hands shaking, before extracting Gemini's key. "Open! Gate of the Twins! Gemini!" she called softly.

With a poof! the spirit appeared and addressed their keyholder. "How can we help you today, Lucy? Piri piri!"

Lucy smiled sadly at them. "I need you to do me a favor," she started. "I need you to transform into me and go pick a solo mission from the board." In an instant the twins had copied their precious Princess. "Will you go with them, Loke? Help them pick out a long on, please, and then meet me at my place. I'd do it myself but, I really don't want to face everyone after that…"

"Of course, Lucy," Loke said with an understanding look. He tenderly kissed her forehead before gently pushing her toward the back door. "We'll take care of everything."

"Thanks, guys," Lucy said with a watery smile. "You're the best. Oh! Gemini, if Mira and Cana ask, tell them yes, Laxus is still ticklish."

Less than two hours later, Lucy found herself on a train headed to a remote town in the mountains north of the capitol. Loke and Gemini had managed to find a request that would get Lucy away from Magnolia for at least three weeks and she couldn't have been more grateful. As much as Lucy loved everyone in her beloved Fairy Tail guild, she knew she needed to get away – especially after the events of a few hours ago.

Even though she knew that they truly meant no harm and that those comments hadn't been meant for her ears, the truth of it was – she had heard them. And she couldn't help but to take their words to heart. But, if Lucy was anything, she was a fighter. She would do everything in her power to complete this solo mission and at least prove to herself (and hopefully others) that she was more than what they thought.

So, with her spirits by her side, Lucy spent the next five weeks completing her first solo mission. It had taken two weeks longer than she had anticipated, but in the end, Lucy was satisfied with her work. She had managed to track down every single one of the bandits that had been terrorizing the village and retrieved every item that had been stolen by them. Granted, she hadn't made it out completely unscathed. Half way through the mission she had the misfortune of stumbling across a mountain lion who felt the need to protect her cubs. Thankfully she'd managed to get away. Not before the giant feline had taken out a decent chunk of her leg, of course, but still, it could have been worse. Despite that minor (and painful) setback, Lucy was glad she had taken this mission. She was proud of herself.

In all, the mission had done a good job of distracting Lucy from the heartache that awaited her back in Magnolia. Until the train ride back home, anyway. An hour into her return journey, Lucy summoned Loke to keep her company. Her faithful Lion spirit was exactly the companion she needed right then.

Though Loke was always there for his Lucy, he was upset to see her so down. She had completed her mission beautifully, yes, but he could tell it had only served as a temporary distraction. The men's awful words were still weighing on her mind and making her doubt herself. In just a few weeks, Lucy had changed quite dramatically and all her spirits could tell. She was much quieter now; always appearing to be lost in thought. She wore much less revealing clothing now, though, that was partially due to her new leg wound that she didn't wish others to see. But what changed most of all were her expressions. She rarely smiled and her beautiful no longer seemed to sparkle.

It was very early when Lucy's train arrived in Magnolia. The sun was just starting to break over the town. People were starting to move about for the day but all Lucy wanted to do was go home and crawl into her nice, warm bed. It had been a tiring journey and if she was being honest with herself, she didn't want to face anyone just yet.

So, it wasn't until nearly five in the afternoon when Lucy finally got up. It was with a dread-filled heart that she slowly made her way to the guild. Not wanting to open her wounds, Lucy had opted to wear a loose, ankle-length skirt that wouldn't agitate her bandages and a flowing blouse that had sleeves to her elbows.

Lucy took a deep breath before she pushed open the guild doors. Things appeared a little extra wild today so no one took notice of her arrival – which she was grateful for. Trying her best not to limp, Lucy carefully made her way to Mirajane at the bar. She was nearly there when the bubbly barmaid spotted her.

"Welcome back, Lucy!" Mira called out to her loudly with a wide smile.

For a moment, time froze and all eyes landed on Lucy as she quietly took a seat at the bar. "Thanks, Mira," she replied in a quiet tone. "It's good to be back."

Mira smiled and handed her a smoothie. "How was the mission? You were gone longer than expected. I was getting worried."

Lucy nodded as she swirled her straw around the pink substance in her glass. "It was fine. There were more bandits to catch than I thought so it took a little longer. Plus, recovering all those stolen items took up most of my time."

As if she knew that Lucy wasn't telling her something, Mira seized Lucy's face in both of her hands and carefully inspected every inch of her as if looking for something. "Are you all right?"

Lucy rolled here eyes and gently removed Mira's hands. "I'm fine, Mira. No need to worry."

Mira narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips threateningly. "Did something happen, Lucy?"

Lucy sighed and propped elbow on the table to support her chin lightly. "I'm not sure why you're giving me that look, Mira. The mission took a little longer but I still completed it just fine." Mira was about to retort when Lucy turned in her barstool to observe the guild. "Just drop it, Mira. I'm fine. Promise."

Mira let out a defeated sigh. "All right," she relented. "I'm just glad you made it home, safe and sound."

Lucy nodded. "Have you seen my team today?" she asked as her eyes roamed over the tables.

"Mhm," Mirajane hummed. "Erza and Gray went out on solo missions – they should be back in a day or two. Wendy and Carla went on a small mission with Team Shadow Gear. And Natsu went fishing with Happy and Lisanna."

"That's great," Lucy said with a neutral tone. "Happy is always saying how much he misses fishing with those two." Lucy was beginning to grow a little self-conscious. While she had been looking around the guild, she had caught the eye of a few of the men. She could tell that they all wanted to approach her – likely to apologize – but she didn't think she was up for that kind of confrontation just yet. So, with her drink in hand, Lucy got up from her stool and made a beeline for the far corner table where she had just spotted the only person in the guild who would leave her in peace.

"Hey, Gajeel," she said quietly and with a small smile.

The Iron Dragon Slayer regarded her with suspicious eyes as she sat down next to him. "How was the mission, Bunny Girl?"

Lust rested her head in her palm and lazily swirled the contents of her glass. "Not bad," she said. "It was a good distraction from… everything."

Gajeel grunted in response. "So, what really happened? I can still smell blood on you."

Lucy let out a small chuckle. She couldn't get anything past Gajeel. "Ran into a grumpy, mamma mountain lion. My leg hurts like a bitch."

Gajeel let out a snort and smirked into his mug of beer. "Took a chunk out of ya, didn't she?"

"She got me good," Lucy confirmed with a shake of her head. "Put me out of commission for nearly a week. The doctor insisted I had to stay in bed. He acted like my leg was about to fall off."

They were silent for a long while before Gajeel took another drink and muttered to her. "Have Wendy fix you up when she gets back."

Lucy looked down and smiled to herself. No matter how tough and cold Gajeel might seem, deep down he really did care. "Thanks, Gajeel," she said softly before she reached over and engulfed him in a hug. "For everything."

Gajeel wrapped one strong arm around her shoulders to return her embrace. It went without saying that Lucy was really thanking him for standing up for her and he was reassuring her that he would always be there for her.

The rest of the evening went by in companionable silence for the two friends. Gajeel sat brooding with his arms crossed and Lucy hummed quietly to herself while she wrote furiously in her notebook. No one dared approach them and Lucy was grateful. It wasn't until a small commotion announcing the arrival of Wendy and Team Shadow Gear that the pair even spoke at all.

Lucy quietly gathered her things. As much as she missed Levy and Wendy, she did not want to encounter Jet, who was bound to follow Levy around like a lost puppy.

"Don't even think about it," Gajeel growled at her. "I already told ya, when Wendy got back, you were having her look at your leg."

Lucy sighed but remained at the table. There was no point in fighting Gajeel on this. The stubborn bastard would get his way, one way or another. Gajeel didn't even have to call Wendy over. The tiny Slayer was so eager to see Lucy, she came dashing over as soon as she caught her scent.

"Lucy!" Wendy shouted with glee as she flung herself at the Celestial woman's neck. "I missed you so much! What took you so long? I was so worried!"

Lucy offered her a tiny smile. "I missed you, too, Wendy."

"Lucy!" came Levy's voice from behind them. "There you are!"

"It hasn't been the same without you! Everyone's missed you. Why'd you go off on such a long mission?" Wendy chirped.

Lucy flinched slightly and looked away. "I just needed some time to myself, that's all," she assured the younger girl. "But I'm fine and I'm back now."

"Quit lying, Bunny," Gajeel huffed. "Wendy, you need to take a look at her leg."

Lucy shot him a glare.

"Oh, no!" Wendy panicked. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Are you all right, Lu?" Levy asked with concern.

"Thanks a lot," Lucy muttered to Gajeel under her breath. He just smirked at her. "I'm fine, guys. Promise. Just a small incident with an overprotective mother. Nothing to worry about."

Wendy and Levy exchanged confused looks. "What do you mean?" they asked in unison.

Knowing she now had the attention of at least half the guild, Lucy le tout a resigned sigh and shifted in her seat so she could lift up her skirt discreetly. Aware of her audience, Lucy focused on carefully removing the bandages that wrapped around her entire left thigh. Before the damage could be fully exposed, however, Lucy glanced up and caught the eyes of the one man she didn't want to see. "I'm sorry guys, I'm feeling rather exposed… Jet, Droy, could you – could you turn around, please?"

Jet

The second Wendy said she could smell Lucy, I froze up. She was back. Finally. What was going to happen now? All the men who had been present that day in the guild's basement had been walking around on pins and needles ever since. They'd all felt incredibly guilty for the things they had said about her and they really wanted to apologize to her. But she had disappeared. When Laxus had been brave enough to ask Mirajane where Lucy was, everyone help their breath, waiting for the demon barmaid to rip into them all. But she never did. She only smiled and said that Lucy had picked out a solo mission and left. So, it seemed like Lucy hadn't told anyone what had just happened. They were all safe. For a little while, anyway.

For weeks all I could think about when I saw Levy was the comment I'd made. I had compared her and Lucy. I'd flat out said that she wasn't good enough. More or less. What was worse, I'd compared her to her best friend. What the others had said what bad but, somehow, I knew that my careless comment had been worse.

Out of habit, Droy and I followed Levy as she rushed off the see Lucy along with Wendy. We exchanged nervous glances as the girls questioned Lucy about her mission. I felt guilty just looking at her but, for some reason, I couldn't keep my eyes off the blonde woman sitting at Gajeel's side. There was no doubt she was the same Lucy Heartfilia from five weeks ago but, something was different and I couldn't put my finger on it.

"…Are you hurt?"

The question shook me from my thoughts. Hurt? Was Lucy injured on her mission? Oh, no. My guilt increased.

I observed Lucy intensely but couldn't see any obvious signs of injury. Then my eyes widened when our gazes met. That's when I could see what had changed about her. It was her eyes. They were dull and her light had dimmed. Oh, no, I thought. What have we done?

Lucy broke eye contact with me quickly as she hesitated in revealing her injury. For some reason, I was anxious to see the damage for myself. Why was that? Is it because of my guilt that I was so worried? Was she so hurt by our careless words that she took on a mission beyond her capabilities and got injured as a result?

Again, I was broken from my thoughts when someone spoke. This time, it was Lucy addressing Droy and myself. "I'm sorry guys, I'm feeling rather exposed… Jet, Droy, could you – could you turn around, please?"

We exchanged a guilty look before complying. Lucy was never this insecure before. She never would've cared who saw her exposed legs before. In fact, her usual mini skirts showed her pride in her figure. Now she seemed… ashamed.

Lucy Heartfilia was broken and it was all their fault.

A/N: Sorry this update took so long guys! Life has been a little crazy and I went through a small patch of Writer's Block. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and I can't want to hear from you all!

XOXO

Andromeda