It hurt.

The pain was debilitating, i felt myself fall back into the tub, my body so spent by that single second of agony that it could no longer hold myself upright. My eyes swam before my gaze settled on my bath water, which was slowly turning pink, stained with my blood.

There were miniscule scratches all over my body, slowly seeping blood that was quickly clotting.

I was filled with a mind numbing panic, what was that, why am I blee-

"Lucy, you okay in there?" i heard the desperation and concern in the voice as he tried to open the locked door.

Natsu, always there when i needed him, often being exactly what I needed him to be, without him even trying.

In this case a distraction.

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment?"

"I heard you scream!" Natsu said, ignoring my question.

"That doesn't answer my question, Natsu." I let the irritation into my voice, effectively hiding the tremble.

He paused, "I was just coming over to visit." he replied nervously.

"And how did you get in?" I channeled my inner Erza.

" . . .Through the window," I heard him mumble after a beat.

Thats my Natsu, "Get out!"

I heard him trudge away, the rustle of the curtain and then nothing.

I slowly pulled myself out of the tub, shaking the entire time, my body felt weak, exhausted, as if i had used all my spirits at once.

I stared at myself in the mirror, i was pale, almost gaunt, dark circles under my eyes, and running down my body in rivulets was pink bath water, tinted so with the red of my own blood.

I had to see Gradiline.

I sat across from her, I had just finished explaining my symptoms and showing her the strange scratches. As i spoke she seemed to become more and more withdrawn.

Now we sat in silence, the suspense was as terrifying as it was annoying.

After what seemed like hours she took a shaky breath, this outrageous show of emotion from her only made everything seen so much worse. "It's called Magic Overflow," she paused, gauging my reaction. Seeing my confusion at the phrase (and why I could hear the capital letters) she pressed on, "It happens when the barrier between a mage and the mage's potential power is destroyed, this is so catastrophic because although some mages are stronger than others they all have the same amount of potential, just different abilities at accessing this power. Few mages have ever been able to use the full extent of their potential power, no one left alive today at least, made no one in this century." She paused, her eyes taking a faraway quality to them as though her mind was in a whole other place, a differnt time. After a minute she came back and continued. "When a mage gets Magic Overflow tey suffer attacks like yours, their body unable to sustain that power so the power is forces out, the attacks become stronger and stronger until visible scratches are left, like the ones on you. The scratches get bigger as the as the power being forces out gets stronger, and the attacks become more frequent as well. Finnaly the mage's body becomes unable to handle the stress and the mage dies, ripped apart by their own magic." Using more tact than I thought the women capable of she quietly said, "There is no cure, and there is nothing I can do to help you, I'm sorry."

I felt my world crash but I didn't let myself flinch, "How long?" I asked, silently praising myself on how deviod of emotion those two horror filled words were spoken with.

"The longest reported case is the victim surviving two years, but for Rune and Celestial mages it tops off at about a year because they typically have weaker body types than other mages." She once again paused, "Do you want me to help you tell the guild?"

That made me pause, i had spent the last minute or so wallowing in self-pity, but i was suddenly faces with a more frightening thought than my impending demise, 'what would my nakaba do when they found out?'

There was no deliberation, the answer obvious, they would tear apart the world trying to save me, they would stay with me, they would watch me die. I could only imagine what that would do to them.

I couldn't let that happen.

"No," Grabdiline started at the answer, as well at the finality in my voice.

"You will tell them nothing, you will not speak of this day again, no matter who asks, you know nothing, understand?" She just stared, her confusion evident in her aged face.

"UNDERSTAND?!" I demanded.

"Y-yes." She was too shocked to do anything other than agree with me.

"I turned on my heel, striding purposefully toward the door, but a thought made me pause. I froze with my hand over the doorknob, "Grandaline?"

"Yes?"

I didn't turn, "Could this have been caused by someone forcing me to absorb a lacrima into my chest?"

She remained silent for a moment in deliberation, "Yes, I suppose as the lacrima dissolved it could have taken down the barrier with it."

"Thank you." I flung the door open and stormed out.

I had work to do.

Once I got home the first thing I did was burn my unfinished book, it was pathetic. Instead I took out a finished manuscript, actually it was an ongoing piece but I was cutting it short, it was a series of analogies of my time with Fairy Tail, every wacky adventure, every treasured moment, all in one book. By far the best work I could ever write. I bound it up and arranged to have it mailed to Levy, as well as all my furniture, except my bed, that went to Natsu. After all, he used it more than his own. Tied to the book was a letter, an explanation for why I was leaving, it was also one of the best works of fiction i had ever created.

I looked at my empty apartment, flooded with memories of kicking the team out, especially Natsu.

I looked down at myself, still surprised at how little I had chosen to take with me, fully aware at how material I person I could be. All I had were my keys, my whip, all the money I had, and the clothes on my back.

I felt a tear run down my cheek as I walked away.

I got on the first train out of Mongolia, I had two goals, find the psychopath that did this to me, and disappear.

At every stop I got off the train, searched the town, asked the locals, and changed an aspect of my appearance, then got on the next train going to any town i hadn't been to yet.

I was constantly changing my look, new wigs, new clothes, always selling the old, grabbing a few freelance jobs for cash, and adopting a new persona for every town.

I had work to do, and I couldn't let 'Lucy of Fairy Tail' slow me down.