I don't own anything in regards to Fairy Tail. Just a big fan is all and am working on some writing skills that I clearly don't posses. Sorry for any misspellings and I hope you enjoy.

Approximate ages (I honestly don't know their ages or anything special. Just a random made up spin off story line):

Lucy: 26

Natsu: 27

Gray: 27

Erza: 28

Lisanna: 26

Carson : 27

(No one's point of view)

Fairy Tail was bright as usual with all the normal people around. Smiles everywhere could be seen. At the bar you can also see a very familiar blond celestial mage sipping on some juice and talking with the bartender Mirajane. However as normal as the day started it was only a matter of time for the spell to be broken. If only. New members have long since joined and even more recently the guild acquired a new dragon slayer. He was a pretty excited kind of guy and as smart as they came. No one knew what type of dragon slayer, but overall he brought another personality to the guild.

(Carson's Point of View)

It's been a couple months and I still haven't teamed up with anyone, and it wasn't from lack of offers. I just wanted to find the right person. I don't trust just anyone, but I have taken an interest in one individual who just so happens to be just as smart as me and far out powers me. In short she was way out of my league, but she only worked alone. I started asking around about her, and have heard the story from people to not try to team up with her, but I can't help but want to ask her on a mission. She looks lonely even with that radiating smile she gives off. She lights the place up when she enters and only when she enters. Everyone loves her. Everyone laughs more when she's around with her crazy antics, and the warmth in the guild clearly is united and strong when she's there. When she leaves though, everyone watches with sad eyes. They all turn towards the door and stare as her figure gets lost in the distance.

This is where I get confused. How can one person cause such a drastic change? The stories made me understand that it was a mutual agreement between her, the S-Class mage, and her prior team. They both understood, that they were nakama, but wanted to change things up for a bit and try to take some more difficult missions she wasn't capable of keeping up with. They then in turn recruited another individual that just so happened to take her place on the team after that. She always smiled and greeted them, but she never tried to go back to their team. She moved on and so did they. Or at least that's what it looked like from the outside. Stories in turn told that the new team worked well together, but there was always that little bit of guilt. Like they left someone behind that they promised would always be by there side. When she became an S-class they wanted to try and do another mission with her like old times, but she politely declined. Only thing said after that was an apology that she had already selected a mission and she had to go. They tried a few times after that, but after the rejections they watched from afar just monitoring her as she would come and go. She was the sun in the guild and they smiled when she smiled, but you could see that her rejection had hurt them in a way. No one could refuse her though. They effectively left her. It was never the other way around.

Looking at her now I think I've decided to ask her if she would. I mean she has to be lonely. She leaves for months at a time on these solo missions. No one has seen her in action for years. I mean serious action. Little did I know I would be seeing her in action sooner than I thought.

(No one's point of view)

"Lucy I'm coming on this mission with you." Natsu said confidently with a smile.

"No Natsu I'm going alone. I'm sorry, but I'll be back in a few days." Lucy smiles.

"No Luce. It's been far too long. We're going on this mission with you." Gray walks up beside Natsu to confront Lucy.

"I'm sorry you all, but I'm a solo mage now. I don't go on missions with others. I will see you all when I get back." She tries to walk away this time, but only gets a hand placed on her shoulder holding her effectively in place.

"I'm sorry Lucy, but I believe it's time you allowed someone to accompany you. We heard this is a hard mission. We want to assist you. Please." Erza says quietly to Lucy.

The dark aura surrounds her fast and power starts radiating off of her. She smiles quietly and turns around. She gently removes Erza's hand and talks to each in a clear and precise tone. You can see the rest of her guild mates slowly backing away from the scene, but are clearly sad to see this happening. Its been a while since the last time they tried. The master comes out of his office to watch the scene unfold. Ready to step in if things get out of hand.

"I said I'm sorry to you all but I'm a solo mage now. I'm not who I was back then and couldn't keep up with you all. I've grown and I'm confident in my abilities as well as being confident that I can accomplish this mission. Please I have to leave now. I'm going to miss the train." Lucy smiles again waiting for their response. She was clearly offended by what Erza said. They couldn't see that by saying that they have indirectly doubted her abilities.

"Why? Why can't you allow us to come on one mission with you? It's been years. We never forgot working with you. We aren't asking you to team up with us, we just want to accompany you. Please Lucy. Allow us this much." Natsu pleads.

Happy slowly floats over and stand in between Lucy and the rest of the team carrying a fish.

"Lucy we can see you're lonely. You smile, but we can see that you're avoiding contact with your family. It's been almost 5 years since the last time we went on a mission all together. Please accept this fish from me like old times and allow me to at least accompany you as far as your mission takes you. I won't get in your way, I won't do anything. Just allow me to accompany you and talk to you outside of the guild." Happy takes a step forward towards her with watery eyes.

"Happy." Lucy kneels down and softly touches his ears. "I understand what you all are saying. I love you all and I understand that I have isolated myself to protect myself. Please understand things are better this way. I haven't cut my family out of my life and I make it my mission to accept everyone and love everyone. I just feel more confident and comfortable alone on missions then I do with people anymore. It's only a personal preference. After all I can keep up with myself. Maybe not others, but definitely myself. Ok? So please smile Happy I feel like I'm disappointing so many people when you guys are sad because of me." Lucy smiles and tilts her head to the side.

"Lucy I hate to do this to you, but I'm intervening with your request." Master Makerov interrupts while walking down the stairs. "I have watched as you have been alone for a long time now and have improved immensely. No one can deny that, but with what you have now said I need to guide you back to your family. You need to accept and trust others again. You aren't alone Lucy. You can trust that we will always be there for you and accept you as you are. You're special Lucy to all of us." Stopping before Lucy and trying to be as gentle as possible. You can clearly see that Lucy isn't comfortable with this conversation. Her magic is starting to flow fluently throughout her body. If he doesn't proceed cautiously she will pull away further and run away from this interaction.

"I'm sorry master, but I just can't do that. I'm not able to accept that." Lucy turns and begins to walk, but stops. She knows the conversation hasn't been ended and the Master has final say so she waits for his decision. She will follow his orders no matter what. After all he's the father she never had.

This was the only chance she was giving them to make any more decisions though. You could see the Master contemplating how to handle this. She was delicate. The guild could see. Her power was shifting to her battle stance even though she wasn't aware she was doing it. Master's eye's widened as well as the rest of the guild's. They were unaware of just how powerful she had become. They were unaware of this defensive stance she used to protect herself. They waited too long to approach her on this. They should have seen this sooner. The pain she held within her, the terror in her eyes of someone attempting to get close to her and hurt her again… Was it to late?

The light in the guild started to dim and the power radiating off of her was increasing. She was starting to panic. No one was saying anything. They were staring at her. Why were they staring? I haven't done anything wrong. I go on missions. I pay my rent. I smile and laugh when I come to the guild. I still interact with everyone. So why? Lucy slowly looks over her shoulder at her Master and waits for his next decision.

"Lucy please turn around and face me." Master Makarov says softly. He fixes his facial expression to a more personal and caring smile so that he doesn't further scare her. "Please tell me what you're thinking? We have said before that when one person is sad we are all sad. When one person is hurting we all are. Look around Lucy. We are all here for you. We all care for you and we appreciate everything that you have done, but it is time that you open yourself back up a little."

"Master… please. I love my family, but.. did I do something wrong? I…don't understand." Lucy's eye's start to water as her voice breaks off looking down at the ground.

"I'm starting to understand Lucy, but we need to do this for you. If you won't go with Team Natsu again please allow someone else. Anyone. Just don't walk out of here today without someone by your side. That is my only decision." Master tries to step forward until a pulse of power unconsciously burst from her and creates a shield around the small area Lucy is standing in. Master sees this and gently lays a hand on the invisible shield calmly talking to her trying to calm her down with gentle strokes. He sees Carson walk forward slowly and merges her shield with some of his own elemental power. He slowly steps forward and holds out his hand. He says a few words, and her eye's snap open in the direction the voice is coming from.

The master is proud of the scene unfolding before him. He knows she doesn't want to cause a scene and that she's scared that this is all happening in front of everyone. Then he hears what Carson is saying.

"Hi Lucy." Carson smiles softly, "Let's start over together. Ok? My name is Carson. I know we've met before since I've been in the guild for a little while, but I would like to ask your permission to accompany you on your mission. I believe Happy and I can provide a little support until you're comfortable." He looks back at Natsu and Happy to see if that is still ok which in turn receives a nod from both. He turns his head back and maintains eye contact with Lucy.

You can see him start to flinch as she slowly pushes him back out of her shield, but he stands still not allowing her to move him completely out of her shield and accepting the pain. Happy slowly moves as well to stand next to her shield and Lucy allows the both to slowly step inside her bubble. Happy smiles softly as well at her.

"Master," Lucy says quietly, "Give me some time. I will talk and complete the mission with both Carson and Happy, but no one is to follow us. I…. I'm sorry everyone. I love everyone I'm just scared. Please forgive me." She waits for the Master who nods in response and with a bright flash of light from Lucy the three disappear.

Tears across the guild break free from everyone. No one knew to what extent the damage was. Natsu slowly walks towards the guild doors and stops. He quietly apologizes to the master. He knew he shouldn't have left her back then, and that what he specifically did was wrong. He thought this would be for the best, but in turn it pushed her away from everyone that cared for her. His life has now changed once again, and it's hopefully for the better. Maybe he can have his partner back the way it should have stayed. For now he will have to rely on Happy.

(Gray's Point of View)

I felt the same as Natsu. We all knew that replacing Lucy wasn't a good idea. The conversation hadn't gone the way they had planned it to. They weren't intending on replacing her. They should have stayed with her and helped her improve. However, no one would have guessed she would surpass them. She took what they had said to her seriously and never disagreed, denied, or became angry with them. She simply accepted it with a smile. I watched from afar as Lucy went on every mission alone. How she prepared herself. Who she interacted with, and slowly how she changed. She became taller, more fit, and simply more astonishing then what I could have ever imagined. Don't mistake me. I love Juvia, but there was no denying my feelings when I thought of Lucy. Whether I think of her as a sister or a friend… She was beautiful inside and out.

(Natsu's Point of View)

I agreed with Gray 100% about Lucy. I accepted the consequences of loving Lisanna and replacing Lucy with her. I knew Lucy didn't love me like that, at least not after everything with Lisanna, but she didn't expect to be replaced. Erza, Gray and I all knew that she cared deeply about their team and their happiness. She cared deeply for me, but at the time I knew that I didn't return any feelings to her outside of being her best friend. She accepted it. She wasn't going to allow something as petty as love to interfere with her friendship with her best friend. Still. I couldn't have been more wrong about pushing her away the way I did. Strengthening the bond between myself and Lisanna was my only focus for the longest time and it was strong, but it never was complete. We didn't want to give each other up for the world, but she could never replace Lucy. I had worked with Lucy for to long. Trusted her for to long. Only to find out to late, that as hard as me and Lisanna tried we couldn't complete it. The guilt between us was to much and as a result Lisanna moved on. The relationship deteriorated between us quickly. She remained in the team primarily because we needed a fourth and she worked well with the group. By the time they had asked Lucy to come back, she politely declined their invitation. Always politely. She rejected all offers for teams.

For months it was monitored by everyone in the guild. They watched as she grew up right before them. Soon it turned into a couple years. But today… The power displayed unconsciously in front of them today was proof enough at how much she had grown. However the saddest part is that they truly didn't see how broken she was and how far she had grown apart from them. Today… the day started out so gorgeous only to end so harshly. The two she accepted, one who is new to the guild, and the one who tried to reason with us originally on keeping Lucy in our team, Happy, were the only one's capable of getting close to her. Maybe this is what she needed. Starting over. A fresh start. Maybe this will allow her to be capable of accepting my apology and standing by her side once more. Romantically or not, I would do anything she wanted. As long as she was happy that was all that mattered. I just needed her to be a part of my life again.

(No one's point of view)

Erza quietly walked over to the master and asked a question that broke her more then she was displaying at the time, "Why master? Why wouldn't you allow me to accompany her? Why haven't you forced her to join our team sooner. You've watched her for so long.. Why not!" Erza practically screams at the master.

"Erza do you really believe that would have been best for her. Don't forget it was what she wanted and this ultimately started with you all. Forcing her to do anything would have just pushed her further away. She accepted your teams choice, and now you will accept her current choice. She watched your team for a long time until you all figured it out. Your group dynamics changed the moment you left on the first mission with Lisanna. Your team went into a stand still progressing nowhere while she supported your decision and took your advice, however indirect it may have been. Don't back down now but learn from it. Smile. She's done this for a long time. Now it's your turn. Follow in her example." Master looks towards everyone now and smiles, "Smile everyone. Believe in her, and accept that she is trying to open her hart back up to you all. And believe in Carson. I think he will be a good team mate for her, and I'm sure Happy will watch out for her too. In time I believe everyone will come out stronger from this experience." With that the Master made his way over to the bar for a glass of beer. Mirajane nodded and handed it to him.

(Lisanna's Point of View)

Erza slowly walked with Gray and Natsu out of the guild. They had to accept everything that was said and follow in her example. Lisanna watched the three leave, but made no attempt to follow. She saw this day coming and she supported her team. She supported Lucy most importantly, and she supported Natsu. She had wanted things to work out with Natsu, but when the decision to put her into the team in place of Lucy she hadn't agreed. She thought she was an addition. Not a replacement. She was always equal to Lucy at the time, so there wasn't much change over, but she still felt the little rift between her and Natsu because of her leaving. She had agreed so easily too. Smiled and simply nodded ok while going back to a conversation with Levy. She never grudged them. People asked her questions and tried to see if she was ok after that, and she always simply smiled to them saying that she was training on her own for a while. Lucy was just to kind and she could see that. No one hated us for our decision, and no one knew the full story, but there was a story we all stuck to none the less. We all mutually agreed that I was on the team and they were trying to do more difficult missions then Lucy could keep up with. Now it was clear that Lucy surpassed us all. We were the one's that couldn't keep up with her. Any further actions or talk with her had to be carefully said. We were the one's that needed to be monitored now because we honestly had no more excuses. We made the first move which was smart, but this was also the only move we could make since we tried to interfere with her mission. Erza shouldn't have said what she said. You could see on Lucy's face she wasn't going to accept her reasonings for wanting to come with her. They were equals in a sense being S-class mages, but still. Erza's tactic failed and only brought more attention to the master and the guild about what was said and happened in their story. We don't know how long it will take, but we hope deep down that someday Lucy will accept working with us freely and rejoin our family whole heartedly again.