To: My amazing and wonderfully loyal readers,

I am so so so so sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me for being absent for so long and even I know no matter how many apologies I say, it'll never be enough for leaving you guys hanging. I won't give any excuses because there really isn't any excuse for just abandoning this story and my amazing readers. I'm sorry. When I re-read this story again, I was filled with a purpose—something I haven't felt in a long time. Reading my first ever story on fanfiction just made me realize how far I've come from the start, I've grown, my writing style's gone a bit better, and I can do most things I couldn't back then. Therefore, after a lot of thought, I've decided to re-write this story from the start. I know you guys have been waiting for the next chapter but that'll have to be put on hold as I re-write this. I promise I won't be making any major changes, this story will be the same as when you first read it, albeit written a bit better and some changes here and there, but nonetheless, it'll still follow the original plot.

I hope you guys will stick with me through this, and I hope to god you guy's can bear the long wait! I'm so sorry, really, I am.

I Love you guys (no homo) DX,

FairytailFan101

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or anything apart from the plot. Everything belongs to Hiro Mashima. *All Hail Hiro Mashima!*

Lucy

Due to a certain take-over mage's sister's return from "death," the guild had partied for weeks and weeks to celebrate the return of another member. I loved the festive atmosphere at first. Everyone was either laughing or gulping down booze, Gajeel usually up onto the stage taking advantage of the crowd, and Erza stuffing herself full of her favourite strawberry cake while Gray and Natsu start another one of their infamous fights. It was lively to say the least, livelier than it had ever been, and I loved it.

As the festivities died down though, I noticed Natsu becoming more distant from me. His infectious grins were directed at someone else and his attention stolen from me. I didn't mind at all the first few weeks after the parties, they were childhood friends separated by an unfortunate circumstance and even I would've spent all my time with a long-lost friend if I were in his shoes. Though the days he spent with her seemed to grow longer whereas the days he used to barge into my apartment randomly and devastate all my food suddenly stopped. I was accustomed to his random visits and Happy's teasing, but most of all, I missed the nights where he would sneak into my bed and cuddle up to me, his warmth like a soothing lullaby.

Forced to go on solo mission after solo mission, I got stronger but the feeling of loneliness ate me up whole, leaving me numb and hollow. I know what you're thinking, where's Erza and Gray in all of this? Well, they're off to a special S-class mission in the far north of Fiore—courtesy of Master. It was a 3-month long mission that needed Gray's exceptional ice wizardry and Erza's phenomenal agility and endurance. They only set foot for it the week after Lissana's arrival. Nevertheless, I managed to barely get by on my own, just enough to cover my rent money for this month.

I stood in front of the request board and gingerly pluck off a piece of parchment from the board. Satisfied with the amount of jewels present in the 'reward section,' I made my way towards Mira, Fairy Tail's resident "demon".

"You really should take a break, Lucy," she eyes me worriedly, her lips pursed in resignation, knowing my answer, "you've got enough rent money for this month already, haven't you?"

I nod, "Yeah, but, I just want to get extra jewels to y'know, treat myself. Besides, I'll be fine, it's an easy job, don't worry." I smile at her and hand her the 'job approval' stamp. "I'll be back before you know it."

Mira squints her eyes at me before she snatched the piece of parchment from my hand and briefly scanned it. Her eyes widened and her hands shook soon after she finished and I was worried she might collapse from how pale she had gone. After a couple minutes of blankly staring at the request in her hands, Mira slowly turned towards me and slammed the job request against the bar counter—which, to my distaste, garnered most of the guild's attention. "M-Mira? Is something wrong?" that was a stupid question and I knew it, though it didn't hurt to feint being oblivious at times.

"Lucy, taking down a whole guild of bandits? Did you read the job request right or is this a joke you're playing on me?" she forced the job request on my hand and placed her hands firmly on her hips—the way a mother would when her child's done something wrong. "Well?"

I sighed and took a seat in front of her. "It's not a joke, Mira, and believe it or not, I've been taking jobs like that for a while now." Shocked, the mage could only look at me, mouth hanging low.

"W-what? No, that's not true, I would've known." I place 10 jewels on the counter, and get up to grab a drink; I slurped up an already-made strawberry frappucino and took my previous seat again.

I avoided her eyes and wiped some cream from my face, "It's true, and you were too busy with Lisanna to even properly check the requests I went on so, yeah…" I trailed off, with only the sound of me drinking filling the tense silence.

"N-No, that can't be," she covered her mouth and stumbled back in shock, "Natsu went with you atleast? Tell me that!"

I stayed quiet. The grains on the table suddenly fascinated me more than the conversation; I traced my hands along the wood and tried to scratch at it. The sound of heels against tile forced me to look back at Mira only to find her flipping through the job records, her face aghast. "Anyway, I'll just go, I'm pretty tired so I'll take that job next time."

I waved my hands dismissing the job acceptance and headed for the door, leaving a guilty Mira staring after me. The rain was pouring outside, so much that the raindrops splashing against the cobblestone streets bounced back up. There was no point in running home, I would've gotten wet anyway. As I strolled in the barren streets, the clouds thundered above me and my hair clung to my skin like honey, each strand clumping together to form a big lump.

My keys were soaking wet and my clothes were basically transparent by the time I reached the main compound of my apartment, though, I still stood and stared at the door for a few minutes in the pouring rain before entering and walking up to my apartment. It was the usual of me to do that; every now and then I'd get that empty feeling after returning from the guildhall. I've convinced myself for a while now that if I try and decode my lack of emotions it'd soon disappear—it never did.

I placed the key into the door and sniffed for a split second. I smelt a familiar scent of burnt wood. My blood froze to ice and I pulled the key out of the door immediately, someone was there. I knew it was him; there wasn't a doubt in my mind that it was someone else. It was him. I steeled my resolved and opened the door, knowing what lay beyond it wasn't going to be good. He never visited me ever since she came back, so why now? The room was silent when I came in, only the sound of heavy breathing breaking the peace every now and then. I closed the door carefully —making sure not to wake him— walked towards the bathroom and fished out a robe. After I placed it on my still wet body, I dried up a bit, walked to the big lump on my bed and sat beside it.

I softly pulled the covers back, my heart already in my throat. He looked so peaceful, so innocent, like the times before Lisanna came. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought it was the good old days again. His hair looks as it had always been, a pink, salmon coloured mess with tufts of hair sticking out everywhere; his sense of style the usual: Igneel's scarf adorned his neck with a black outfit; and his smile, his toothy smile that made me fall madly for him. He'll always be that stupid, cheerful dragonslayer that could light my whole world up by just smiling at me.

I took his face in my hands a placed a soft kiss on his forehead before looking away and sighing. Standing up, I went over to the kitchen and took out a couple pans; sighing once more before I placed a smile on my face. Banging the pans together, I walked around the room and shouted out cries like a human alarm clock, to which the dragonslayer in bed jumped up and screamed that I was making him deaf.

"Awk, c'mon, Natsu. You're the one who barged into my apartment anyway." After returning the pans to where they belonged I brewed a cup of tea and sat across from a grumpy pink-haired dragon slayer.

Huffing indignantly he crossed his arms and puffed his cheeks out, "I was waiting for you to come home to tell you the news but you took ages so it's your fault, Luce." My breathing faltered and my heart skipped a beat at hearing my old nickname again, it's been too long.

"Okay, okay Mr. Grumpy Pants, what's the news you've got to tell me?" I chuckled at him as his face lit up to my question.

"You won't believe it, Luce! I asked Lisanna to join our team and she said yes!" he pumped his fist in the air and did a victory dance, too occupied at the prospect of the thought of Lisanna joining to notice my smile wobble.

"That's great, Natsu! I can't wait to go on jobs with her." I drank my tea slowly and faked a smile. "But why did you need to tell me that now? You could've waited till you saw me tomorrow."

He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and smiled, "Well, about that, there's already a lot of people on the team so I was wondering if you could do some solo missions for a while?" my heart sank and my fingers felt numb. "It won't be forever, just for maybe most of the year? Please, Luce, you can get stronger while we're off on jobs so it's a win-win, right?

I shook my head and smiled weakly at him, "Oh, of course, Natsu, you didn't have to ask me you know, I was about to go training for a couple months anyway."

"That's great! Thanks, Luce, you're the best!" without warning, he propelled himself towards me and gave me a tight hug before he bounded off the door, no doubt to tell Lisanna and Happy.

I got up sat at my bed for what seemed like hours. I didn't speak, I didn't pay attention to the open window in the room, all I could comprehend was the fact that he looked so happy at the thought of me leaving Team Natsu. Soon, it started to turn dark, the sun had disappeared behind the mountains, and the sky was enveloped in a crimson light. Once the sky had turned dark enough, I carried myself limply to my storage room and rummaged around till I found a suitably sized suitcase. I started to pack all my clothes and toiletries, only stopping to fend off the gnawing pain in my stomach from lack of food. By the time I had finished, my room looked pristine and untouched, just as it soon would be.

I sat for the last time on my desk and wrote 2 separate letters, one for the whole of Fairy Tail and one for specific people. Doing it the old-fashioned way, I decided to heat up some wax and place a dollop on each of the envelopes. I allowed it to set or a couple seconds before I stamped it with my old Heartifilia ring, an imprint of my deceased father's estate with a 4 carat gold letter 'H' above it. I left it on the table and grabbed my suitcase. I head towards the guild, steeling my resolve.

I go around to the back of the building and leave my suitcase just beside the back entrance to the kitchen, having done that, I walked back to the front of the guild and breathe in. It was now or never, everyone should have gone home for the day and those who haven't are probably too drunk off their asses to walk themselves home— that and Natsu's probably with Lisanna celebrating my leave elsewhere.

I gently push the door open, and savoured my last chance to feel the oak beneath my fingertips, the last chance to experience what it felt like when I first opened these doors. The floors groaned against the pressure of my boots as I walked up to the second floor. As I predicted, there were only a few people in the guild, most were passed out on the tables and one person in particular —Kana— had already finished to successfully down barrels and barrels of booze, face flushed and the look of content sweeping over her face. The stairs were as polished as they looked the first time and the view from the second floor brought me to tears. This was the one place I belonged in, the one place where I thought people truly cared about me, but I suppose nothing lasts forever.

Master's office was in a secluded hallway on the left of the balcony, his name which was printed in gold letters hung on the door as well as the new-soon-to-be master: Laxus. About to knock on the door, it burst open quickly, which revealed a surprised Mirajane on the other side.

"Oh! Lucy, sorry, I didn't know you wanted to speak to master, especially this late at night." She tilted her perfect head to the side, confused at my sudden visit. "What brings you here?

"Nothing really, I just wanted to ask master how Erza and Gray are doing on their mission." I smiled and mumbled something to myself incoherently

"That's fine then, I'll be locking up soon so try and make it quick, okay?"

I nodded briefly and said my thanks before taking the door from her and slamming it shut. Master was surprised at my entrance to say the least. As soon as I had closed the door a whirlwind of dust flew up in the air and landed on top of all his paperwork and briefcases full of old parchment from previous Magic Council summons.

"L-Lucy! What brings you here, my child?" though shocked at my sudden entry, he kept arranging his files into the corresponding slots without much trouble, even humming a merry tune.

"Master, I know this might be sudden, but, I just don't belong here anymore. I think it might be best if I go off for a while." That got his attention. His small fatherly face looked up at me seriously, his mouth set in a frown, and his eyes inquired me to continue. "I don't want attention or anything but, it'd be nice if someone at least acknowledged me, invited me on a job every now and then, maybe? But nothing, this was supposed to be a family, right? A place where everyone belonged, what happened to that?

"Natsu doesn't even talk to me anymore, only just recently to ask if I could leave the team, everyone's too preoccupied with Lisanna to notice me, even Levy—my best friend. I get it; they all have history with her, and me? I'm just someone new in their life; they haven't known me for as long as they've known her. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Lisanna for all of this, I'm glad she's back and that she's safe, I just wish I could celebrate with everyone and not disappear into the crowd." Tears pooled in my eyes. I clutched at my skirt tightly and squeezed my eyes shut, I had convinced myself this was the right thing to do, but now, there were two options ahead of me: to stay and be left out in my so-called family, or, explore a world so big and incredible and enhance my magic along the way. The answer seemed obvious, but I didn't know what to do, I was stuck in a crossroad.

I had chosen which path to take, and I mentally prepared myself for the words I was about to say.

As the tears rolled down my smooth, porcelain skin, I vehemently wipe them away and look straight at Master's ashen face. "That's why, that's why I want to quit the guild. I love Fairy Tail, I always will, it's just not where I belong anymore." My legs started to give out at the sudden weight off my shoulders, it felt as if the chain that binded me to break free had been shattered. When I regained my composure, the intensity of the path I chose hit me hard. Once the words had left my mouth, I realized just how real and how unmistakable the feeling I had inside me that yearned for reprieve ever since Lisanna came.

"Stand up, child," he lowered his hands down to me and gestured for me to accept it, which I did. He lifted me up with no effort whatsoever and smiled at me, his face soaking from tears, "I know they must have hurt you for quite a while, and I'm not going to force you to stay knowing how hard it really is for you, but I will tell you to always remember that you will always be family here no matter what. Please find it in your heart to come back if you can." He took a big breath and a look of resignation crossed his wrinkled face. He released my hands and walked up to a small chest in the back of the room. He took out a platinum key attached to a necklace that hung around his neck, and placed the key into the lock. He unceremoniously opens the chest and grabs a small box.

Once on the table, Master gingerly pick up the contents of the box and show it to me. In the box was a clear, glass vial, the Fairy Tail insignia stood at the top looking as fierce as ever; beside it was a long paintbrush-like brush, the light from the room glistened off of its varnished surface. Inside the vial, however, contained a black sludge, it crept right up to the top until there was no more space. The sludge resembled that of tar; its consistency was probably tar-like as well; heavy and sloppy.

Without warning, Master popped the lid off and stuck the brush in. I squeaked and covered my nose, waiting for the foul stench of the fluid to reach me—nothing. I lowered my hands cautiously and raised a perfect brow, Master continued on with his work and gestured for my hand.

The room was small and stuffy, and I was afraid my beating heart could be heard in the tiny confinement that was an office. After taking my hand, he slathered the goo all over my Fairy Tail insignia—leaving no trace that it was even there—and started chanting in an old language. The room was enveloped in a bright cocoon of light, forced to close my eyes at the glaring brightness, it died down just as soon as it had appeared.

My skin was untarnished. Only beads of sweat lay dotting the surface—the only clues that something had happened. I clutched my right hand in a mixture of amazement and horror. This was it, there really was no turning back now, not that I wanted too anyway.

"Lucy, my child, you are now no longer a member of Fairy Tail. I only wish for you to be safe in your journey and to message me every now and again," he rummages through the opened chest and pulls out a crystal ball, "take this, I'll need regular updates on how you're doing." Master sniffles and looks down, when he looks back up again, his eyes are clouded with tears and his hands shake uncontrollably.

"I will, Master, I promise." I walk over to the small, blubbering man and give him a tearful hug. "I have to go now, I'll need to get to the train, I'll always be a part of Fairy Tail, no matter what."

A couple minutes pass by before we finally said our goodbyes, faces soaked, and snot dribbling down our noses. I reach for the door and open it. A sob tearing through the silence as a body flung itself toward me. "Lucy!"

I stood dumfounded at the woman in front of me. "M-Mira?" Her eyes glistened with more tears as the liquid rolled down her beautiful face.

"W-Why? Why did you quit?" She grasped my arms tighter and looked at me with a mixture of anger and regret. "Why would you leave us?"

I pulled her close to me and hugged her, letting her cry till her sobs died down. I explained everything as quickly as I could, leaving no room for her outbursts of anger. It was hard seeing her like this, what was even harder though was the fact that probably most of Fairy Tail wouldn't even notice I was gone. As I head out, Mira gives me one last lingering hug and presses a crumpled piece of parchment on my hand. Before I could examine it, she kicks me out of the hall sputtering out nonsense.

The houses and shops surrounding Fairy Tail were all but empty by the time I set foot for the station. Only a ghostly flicker of light against the curtains give evidence that people were inside. My heels clicking against the cobblestone streets make me uneasy, the silence it self's unbearable, add it with an out-of-place clicking noise made matters even worse. The station was still a far distance away, and as I contemplated on taking a short cut, I decide better of it. I've never been out of my apartment this late an hour and to think of what might be lurking inside the shadows of the alleyways frightened me.

After what seemed like 15 minutes, I could barely make out the figure of the station just above me. It was the only building in town—apart from Fairy Tail—to have their lights open. I rush towards the ticket booth, my suitcase wobbling as I ran, to find a middle-aged woman gazing with heavy-lidded eyes at me.

"Destination?" her voice was laced with boredom as she clicks open the ticket machine, her finger poised above a whole array of buttons. She looked at me and gave an exasperated sigh. "I don't have all night, you know."

I blush; flustered at her rude comment. "Oh, um, I'm sorry," I tear my eyes away from her and look at the train times. I didn't care where I went, as long as it was away from here. Suddenly remembering the piece of parchment Mira gave me, I fish it out of my pocket and straighten it. It was the job I wanted to take this morning! I pressed the job request to my chest and silently thank the take-over mage, "I'd like one ticket to Clover Town please."