Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

This takes place before the 7 year gap and Wendy has not yet been introduced!

CHAPTER 1: The Beginning and the End

Written by: tsuruii

Words: 3,700

Date Released: July 20, 2012

Normal POV

It was a beautiful, bright day in the land of Fiore, where Fairy Tail, the strongest guild, resided. Birds were singing, people were happily greeting each other when they passed and markets were selling well.

But, even with the supreme customary of the citizens, if stepped foot inside of Fairy Tail, you would find that all peace inside you will tear.

Yup. That sounded about right for the guild of Fairy Tail.

"Say that again, you squinty-eyes!" A half-naked mage shouted, his face pressed against another mage that he so-called, 'squinty-eyes'.

"Can't you listen when someone says something once, droopy-eyes!" 'Squinty-eyes shouted back, his hair literally on fire.

"You want to go at it, fireboy?" 'Droopy-eyes' replied, backing up and getting into a stance in which an ice-blue, magic circle appeared.

"I knew it would come down to this!" The mage smirked and said, as his hand lit on fire.

As Fairy Tail was loudly having their 3rd fight of the day, throwing things and almost killing each other (as usual), they didn't notice the large doors open until one of their guild members were thrown right through the guild, the mage crashing towards the wall.

"Hey, who the hell di-" Elfman started to shout but abruptly stopped when he saw the person by the door.

Everyone gulped as they turned to see - a mage whose eyes were blazing red, the colour equivalent to her hair.

"E-Erza." Gray squeaked out, 10 tones higher.

"Ulla, ulla," Mirajane said from behind the bar counter, smiling. "This fight was quite short-lived."

"YOU DAMN BASTARDS!" Erza bellowed, changing her armor to Purgatory Armor, an armor known for its immense offense, and glared at the troublemakers, who all sweat-dropped.

"Now, now Erza." Master started. "Purgatory Armor is a bit too much, don't you think? You'll really kill them."

But Erza ignored her master completely as she jumped, advancing to attack the paralyzed mages below.

"Oh dear." The master replied at her actions but casually sipped his coffee.

"E-erza!" Wakao stuttered from below. "W-we're nakama, aren't we! Nakamas don't k-kill each other!"

"A-aye!" A flying blue cat (yes, a flying blue cat) nodded furiously and exclaimed.

"YOU. GUYS. ARE. TOO LOUD!" She shouted as she overwhelmed them with power, clearing out the whole dining hall.

When the smoke finally cleared, all the mages that were once thrilled to fight, was piled on top of each other, stars appearing above their heads.

"I've been hearing complaints from the citizens from all aroundwhile I was coming over here." Erza said. "It's a beautiful day and it should not be bothered." She was sitting on a chair by the bar; the only chair unharmed, and sipped her tea. She changed back to her usual armor and blue-skirt. "Keep your voice down or I won't show any mercy next time, do you understand?" She concluded as she glared.

"Y-yes." All the members squeaked out.

Erza nodded in approval.

Yup. Something like this sounds about right for the guild of Fairy Tail.

A few hours after the mages finished bandaging each other up (which Erza showed no guilt to, whatsoever), a certain rose-haired mage was loud and about.

"Let's go on a job!" He said to his partner and pal, Happy.

"Aye, sir!"

"Shall we all go, then?" A voice said from behind.

"Erza!" Happy exclaimed.

"It's been a while since we've last gone anyways. Good thinking, Natsu." Erza complimented. "We should bring Gray, as well."

"Bring me on what?" Gray, who was nicknamed 'droopy-eyes' previously, said. "Are we going on another mission?"

"Aye!"

"Sure. Let's go right now." He shrugged and said. "Nothing better to do."

"Let's do this one!" Happy suddenly took out a request from the board and held it up.

"Wait, where's Lucy?" Natsu frowned and asked as the pretty blonde was nowhere to be seen.

"She already went home." Mirajane, who was drying the cups behind the bar counter, answered. "She said she was tired and wanted to rest."

"I'll go get her!" Natsu chirped up and said, happily walking towards the door. Unfortunately, a hand tugged on his scarf, stopping him on the spot.

"No." Gray, who was the one that stopped him, exclaimed. "We'll have to do this mission without her."

"What?" The fire-mage jumped up declared, his smile dropping. "What do you mean, 'without her'? She's part of our team!"

"You're taking this the wrong way, Natsu." Gray replied, looking sternly at the angry mage. "I'm not talking about leaving her behind just because she's not here. Didn't you hear Mira? She said that Lucy was tired and wanted to rest."

"She'll be fine as soon as she comes on the job with us!" Natsu countered.

"I must also agree with Gray here, Natsu." Erza stepped up and said.

"What?" The fire-mage shouted.

"Listen." She said, about to explain. "Though I do not agree with leaving a teammate behind, Lucy is tired. She should rest for today."

"If I ask her, she'll gladly come with us!"

"And that's the problem, Natsu." Gray pointed out. "She never refused you. Ever. She's too kind to refuse. I know that, you know that, and we all know that. No matter how bad of a day she's having or how tired she is, she'll still comes with us."

"Aye…" Happy said. "We should do this one job without her."

"Happy? You too?" Natsu hollered out.

"B-but we should think about her for a change." He explained.

Natsu looked at his teammates with disbelief but finally gave in. They did have a point.

"I guess we have no choice." He growled out.

Before Team Natsu (– 1) left the guild, Natsu turned to Mira.

"Make sure you explain to her properly, Mira!" He shouted. "I don't want her getting the wrong idea!"

"Come back safely, Natsu!" Mira waved and said.

And they were off.

The next morning when Lucy walked through the doors of Fairy Tail, she did not see the familiar dragon-slayer mage with his flying cat greeting her. Nor did she see a half naked ice-mage or even the strict mage wearing an armor sipping tea.

When Lucy walked over to the bar and sat down, Mira offered her a drink of juice.

"Where's everyone?" Lucy asked.

"They went on a job last evening."

Lucy almost choked on her drink. "They what?"

"Now, now. Just listen." Mira smiled and said. "They were about to drop by your house to pick you up but thought that they would bother you since you were tired."

"So they went without even telling me?" She replied, hurt.

"They were thinking a lot about you, Lucy," Mira said sympathetically. "They wanted to do what was best for you."

"It was good you didn't go on that mission, though." A girly voice behind them announced.

"Levy-chan!" Lucy greeted as soon she saw the blunette with glasses.

"It's a really scary mission, Lu-chan!" Levy started. "It's been on the request board for months! Lots of teams here went but none could finish it. A mage from another guild even died during it. We should leave it to Natsu, Erza, and Gray to finish it. It would've been really dangerous for you."

Lucy's eyes slightly widened.

"They still said they would split the reward, Lucy." Mira said. "They purposely chose a dangerous one so the reward would be big. You didn't pay for your rent this month, right?"

"See, Lu-chan?" Levy smiled and said. "You have nothing to lose! And if something happened to you… Well! I'm just glad you're not with them!"

Lucy was touched by Levy's sincerity and smiled.

"Thank you, Levy-chan!" She said. But even though Levy tried to make her feel better by explaining how difficult the mission was, it wasn't doing much. She couldn't help but think,

Am I really that much of a burden? If I was there, they would have chosen an easier one. They would never choose a dangerous one if I was there… Is it because I'm too weak? That I let them down?

Days passed but Team Natsu still hasn't returned.

Lucy, who was running quite low on jewels, decided to go on a simple, solo mission.

But the very morning Lucy left, Team Natsu finally returned.

"LUCY! WE'RE BACK!" Natsu greeted the guild as soon as he opened the door.

"Welcome back!" Mira greeted back. "Lucy just left on a solo mission this morning. You'll have to wait until tonight to see her again."

"Which job did she take?" Gray asked.

"Don't worry. It's an easy one." Mira assured him. "You don't have to go after her."

"I guess we should wait." Erza said as she sat down to drink.

After dinner, the guild door opened and Lucy came back.

"Lucy!" Happy exclaimed as he flew over to the blonde and hugged her from her boobs.

"Oh, you guys are back!" Lucy said happily as she pet the blue cat.

"Welcome back, Lucy!" The guild members greeted with a smile.

"Lucy!" Natsu said, as he motioned Lucy to come sit with the rest of the team members by the bar. "How was your job?" He asked when she sat down.

"Good!" She said. "How was yours?"

"I must say, it was a tough mission." Erza nodded as she answered. "I had quite a difficult time bringing out 250 swords with my Heaven Wheel's armor."

Lucy's jaws dropped.

"And I used so much ice that my hands are blistered," Gray said and held his hands up, which was, indeed, red and marked with blisters. "See?"

"You guys are just too weak!" Natsu said. "It was a piece of cake!"

"Even you had a hard time, Natsu, don't lie," Happy replied, flying beside him. "You see, Lucy, Natsu ran out of magic power once so he had Erza make an explosion to eat the fire. It was a big hassle."

"Happy!" Natsu whined. "You're not supposed to tell her that!"

Lucy's eyes widened, ignoring Natsu's and Happy's argument.

It would've been really dangerous for you, Lu-chan! Lucy remembered what Levy said.

If…if all of them had a hard time… I wouldn't have stood a chance. She thought grimly. We're really in different levels…

"Lucy? You okay?" Gray asked.

Lucy shook her head and smiled. "Yeah, sorry, I was just dozing off."

"Now, now, Lucy just came back from a mission and so have the rest of you. You guys should all call it a night." Mira said, smiling.

As if on cue, Natsu yawned.

"I guess we should go, Happy." He said.

"Aye." His blue cat replied, rubbing his eyes.

"Good night." They both said and exited the guild, closing the door hard behind them.

"As expected of the two. They go at their own pace." Wakao grinned and said. "Ah… youth."

"Then I guess I should be heading back as well." Erza said. "Good night."

And the very fearful Erza Scarlet left the guild with a light wave.

"I think I will too," Gray said as he stood up from his chair. "Get a good rest, Lucy. We could all use one."

"Yeah. Thanks, Gray," Lucy smiled and said. "'Night."

"'Night."

"Aren't you going back as well, Lucy?" Mira questioned when Gray left.

"I..I didn't have dinner yet."

Lucy's POV

After I got my dinner plate full of delicious food, I went back to the bar seat and sat down, letting out a sigh.

I had about a million and one things running through my mind, swarming like bees.

I'm too weak. Every other member in Team Natsu is so strong yet… yet I'm like this… I only got into Team Natsu because of Mira in the first place. I was sent to go with Erza, Natsu and Gray to 'make sure Gray and Natsu didn't fight'. It should've been them 3. With Happy, of course.

Levy-chan wasn't lying when she said the mission was dangerous… Maybe it was because that I wasn't there to bring them down that they went on it. Am I really that much of a burden?

No, no, Lucy! You mustn't think this way! You have to stay positive. Stay positive! It only makes sense that you're weaker than the rest! You started learning magic when you were 14! The rest have been training since they were kids! There's a difference! Stay positive!

That much thinking resulted with loss of appetite. I sighed as I put down my fork and left the plate on the counter. I waved farewell and left the guild quietly. Mira seemed quite concerned at my behavior. I sighed again.

I'm sure it'll be better tomorrow.

NORMAL POV

On the way back home, Lucy summoned Plue and took the regular route, balancing on the edge of the road by the river.

"Ne, Plue," Lucy asked the cute spirit. "Do you think I'm weak?"

"Pun Pun!" Plue shook his head furiously and said.

"Really?" Lucy questioned.

"Pun pun!" Plue raised his hand and nodded.

Lucy than faced the front and smiled sadly.

"I think I'm weak." She said quietly. "I seriously think that I'm the weakest mage around my age."

"Pun pun pun!" Plue shook his head furiously and said again.

"I guess I'm just tired…" Lucy said as she entered her house. Natsu and Happy weren't there to disturb them. "It's almost my mother's death anniversary, as well."

Later that night, right before she got into her bed, she took out a piece of parchment and pen and started writing,

Dear Mother,

How is it over there in heaven? I'm doing well. No, I lied. To be honest, I'm not doing well. Mother, I sometimes wonder if I don't belong in Fairy Tail. It's the strongest guild here in Fiore yet I'm not strong, at all. How strong were you, Mother? Could you have summoned multiple spirits without falling to your knees? Could you have not let your team members down while you were in Love and Lucky? I always knew I wasn't strong like Erza or Mira but I never really gave much thought to it until today. I'm scared, Mother. I'm scared that my friends will one day leave me because I'm too weak. I'm scared that they will leave me because I'm bringing the team down. I don't have a high magic power like them nor do I have the stamina. Sorry Mother, for venting out on you, but I'm quite a mess here. Sorry for this depressing letter. I'm a bit tired so I think I'll go to sleep, now. I hope that tomorrow's letter will be much enjoyable to write.

Love,

Your Lucy

Lucy sighed as she put her pen down. She put the parchment in an envelope and stamped it neatly before putting it in the antique box, as usual.

She than crawled into her bed and closed her eyes.

I think I'll have a hard time falling asleep tonight.

And indeed she did. She tossed and turned. She tried sleeping on her back, on her side, than the other. She tried counting sheep but she just couldn't fall asleep. When she did finally fall asleep, she had a dream that her friends left them, as she had feared.

And finally, after only getting 2 hours of decent sleep, she got up and went to the bathroom to get ready for a new day.

When she reached Fairy Tail and greeted everyone, as usual, she went up to her seat by the bar and sat down.

"Good morning, Lucy." Mira greeted as she gave her a cup of water.

"Good morning to you too, Mira." Lucy smiled a bit and said.

"You look tired." She commented, looking at the blonde's dark circles.

"A bit," Lucy agreed. "I didn't get a good sleep yesterday."

Mira glanced over at Lucy, sympathetically. Mira knew the reason why.

"Good morning, Lucy!" Happy greeted when he saw a familiar celestial mage.

"Morning, Happy." Lucy greeted back.

"You look quite tired." Natsu said from beside.

"Yeah," Lucy repeated, trying to give a reassuring smile.

"Bad dream?" Gray asked.

"A-A bit."

Erza nodded as she crossed her arms.

"Yes, I had a bad dream last night, as well."

"What did you dream about?" Happy asked.

"That Ichiya-san was my height." Erza's face turned dark and replied.

Gray, Happy, and Natsu both shuddered at the thought.

"Very scary, indeed." Gray said.

Lucy sweatdropped at her friend's weird sense of humour.

"Anyways, shall we go on a job today, as well?" Erza than brightened up and asked the group.

"Yeah!" Natsu said. "I'm getting all fired up!"

"Sounds good." Gray said.

"Aye, sir!"

Lucy fidgeted.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" Erza asked. "Do you want to pick the mission?"

"No… Sorry guys, I-I think I'll miss out this time." Lucy said, not making eye-contact with her friends.

"What? Why?" Natsu exclaimed.

Lucy than raised her head and smiled sadly.

"Sorry." She said. "I'm a bit out of it today. I'll just bring you guys down if I go with you."

"That's not true, Lucy!" Natsu started to shout but was stopped by Mira.

"You guys. She said that she's tired," Mira said sternly, which was quite rare for the happy bartender. "You guys should leave it at that."

"I-I guess we have no choice if you're tired." Natsu said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You should go home and rest." Gray said, concerned.

"Yeah. I will. Thanks." The blond replied.

"We'll be back in a couple days, than." Erza added. "Maybe after, when you're feeling better, we can go on another mission."

"That'll be fun." Lucy smiled and said. "Have a safe trip."

And Team Natsu (– 1) had once again, left the guild.

Lucy sighed as she saw the door close.

I guess I should go on a solo mission today as w-

"Oi." A deep voice was heard behind Lucy. She quickly turned around to come face-to-face with one of the strongest mages of Fairy Tail.

"L-laxus?" Lucy exclaimed, confused. He was wearing a large, black cloak with a hood. Nobody seemed to have noticed he was there.

"Ji-ji wants to talk to you." He said. "Follow me."

Lucy, confused at why the Master would want to talk to her, followed him. Mira followed behind her, as well.

"Mira-san?" Lucy asked.

"Master would want me there, too." Mira smiled and said.

"Oi." Laxus repeated when they reached the top of the staircase, he held the door open. "Here."

When Lucy entered, followed by Mira and Laxus, she saw Master sitting on his desk, his arms crossed, head down, and looking very serious.

"Laxus." Master said, his tone stern.

"I know." He replied and locked the door. "The sound has already been soundproofed. Go."

Master cleared his throat and looked up at Lucy.

"Lucy. I hear that you've been going through some hard times." He started.

The mage looked surprised at Master. Was it that obvious?

"You hid it quite well, dear." He said, as if reading her mind. "It wasn't obvious, at all. But I can tell when one of my children isn't feeling well."

Lucy looked down at the floor, a bit nervous. Master not behaving like a pervert wasn't a sight you see every day.

"Look at me, Lucy." Master said. His voice ran through the room loud and strong.

The blonde, slowly raised her head, the two making eye-contact.

"You are not weak." He said, as if he knew Lucy's biggest issue. The mage's eyes widened at his sudden statement.

"You, Lucy Heartphelia, are not weak." Master repeated. "You don't even you're your true power. Once you master your powers with the spirits, you can go even further."

"Further?" Lucy asked. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"Everyone starts with a basic magic, Lucy." He explained. "The stronger it is, the better it will be later. Take Erza for example. She started with telekinesis – not a difficult magic to learn at all. You see, she wasn't that strong the first time she started using magic. But she kept going. And after she mastered telekinesis, she learned to master sword magic, and then finally her current magic, The Knight. Because she practiced countless nights until she was beaten up and bleeding, could she have reached where she is today."

Master never drifted his eye contact from Lucy.

"And, you, Lucy, your basic magic are using the spirits - a very strong base, indeed. It's your first step to achieve something greater." Lucy tried breaking eye contact but somehow could not. She was fixed on the spot and unable to move any muscle in her body.

"Do you see what I'm saying, Lucy?" He asked, serious. "You are not weak. You have improved drastically from the first time you stepped foot here in my house. And I knew from the first time we met, that if trained right, you would surpass lots of mages you think is impossible to beat."

"Why… why are you telling me all this, Master?" Lucy asked hesitantly.

Master, instead of answering Lucy's question, just stood up, at last removing eye contact.

"Gildarts." He said.

"Gildar-" Lucy started to question but stopped when a figure appeared beside Master's desk. It was Gildarts, himself. He stood there, his usual clothes and his arms crossed. He smiled reassuringly at Lucy.

"Mirajane." Master announced next. Mira, who was already transformed to Satan Soul, suddenly appeared next to Gildarts.

"Laxus." He announced last. And Laxus teleported to the other side of Gildarts, his cloak now taken off, wearing his electricity-wired headphones and a sleeveless, black, fitted shirt.

"Lucy." The Master said. "These three S-Class Mages will be the ones training you."

The celestial mage was still shocked from seeing Gildarts, Mirajane, and Laxus all in one room, in their battle form. Not only that, but she was surprised that they even knew her, at all. Mira was an exception but Gildarts and Laxus rarely shows up at the guild, let alone has time to get to know the newcomers.

"What are you talking about?" She finally found her words and spouted out.

"This, Lucy," The master explained, looking dead serious into Lucy's eyes as the three S-Class mages did the same, "is Fairy Tail's Exclusive 100-Night Training."

A/N: Thanks for reading!

QUESTION: Who is your favourite character in Fairy Tail and why?