Hello my lovelies, I'm completely filled with short bursts of inspiration today, so I decided to write this impromptu one-shot about Lucy. Hope you enjoy~

~.~.~

Run.

'Run' they told her.

They asked for her to flee from danger.

To leave them behind and seek safety.

They asked for her to tuck away her living spirit in a barrier that would keep her from them.

To deny everything she stood for just so she would be protected.

They asked for her to abandon them. Her friends. Her family.

She understood their intentions, the unspoken message hidden beneath that one word.

'Leave us. Survive. Live for us.'

But she could not.

She had always been the one left behind as her friends grew to become the encompassing powerhouses that protected the family. She was always the one left to guard, to not fight the fight when the battle came to them.

Compared to them, she was a burden that needed to be watched over.

But she was not weak.

She was not powerless.

She was a force of her own.

She had the ability to do things they couldn't do.

She had played the role of an heiress, a daughter, a sister, a mage, a victim, an enemy, a friend.

But the role she played the best was guardian.

She may not be as powerful as Natsu or Erza or Gray.

She may not be as proficient as a frontliner on a battlefield.

Hell, she may not even have enough magic.

But she had her spirits and she had her heart, and that was enough.

"My name is Lucy Heartfilia." She screamed from the very heart of her being where her words burned themselves into her soul as an eternal promise to the world, "And I. Will. Not. Run!"

Standing in front of the fallen bodies of her friends, golden keys gripped tightly within her bloody hands, Lucy stood with defiance on her shoulders and determination in her fiery eyes.

She would protect her family.

She would guard them until she breathed her last breath.

"I am Lucy of Fairy Tail."

Golden Keys glowed a burning light as magic surged through her like a river breaking through a dam.

"I am Lucy of Fairy Tail."

She took in a deep breath as the magic ran rampant, barely contained within her small form.

"I am Lucy of Fairy Tail."

A soft smile graced her lips as she took one last look at her friends.

"I am Lucy."

She forced the magic to wind tightly into a destructive ball of energy threatening to detonate within the second.

"And I will die protecting my Nakama."

She let it go.

~.~.~

Sooo, how was it? Not too bad for a fic that was typed out in 20 minutes, eh? Tell me what you guys think in the reviews section below :)