Lucy tossed and turned in her new bed. She had trouble sleeping after everything that happened. Erza had been taken to solitary and Cana said she would most likely be gone for three days. Lucy tried asking what happened there, but nobody wanted to speak of it. Her first day had been a quick one. She ate with the rest of the group, had a group counseling meeting, and then was given some kind of drug. She had learned that the drugs were not always the same. The people who worked at the camp had been trying to find a drug that would 'cure' the women. Lucy had nearly puked because of the drug and the thought of being a guinea pig. It was already the next day and she would have to get up soon to get ready. Lucy heard the rustling of the sheets under her and peeked over the edge to only grow red in the face and quickly lay back down on her bed. She held her breath and closed her eyes. Underneath her, Cana and Mira were kissing each other and Lucy tried to hide the fact she had seen them. Suddenly the door flew open and she screamed and fell out of bed. She heard Cana chuckle and rubbed her sore back. She sat up and saw a man standing in the doorway. He blew a whistle and everyone started getting up. Lucy stood up and noticed Cana had pushed Mira under the covers. The man looked around and laid eyes on Mira's empty bed. He walked in and took a closer look around the room.

"Where is she?"

"She went to the bathroom." Cana said calmly. He saw a few other nods and took one last look at Cana before leaving and then closing the door behind him. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Cana got out of bed and Mira followed her. Lucy looked away from them and felt someone grab onto her. Cana pulled her back. "No need to be shy now Lucy. I already know you saw us."

"Sorry..." Lucy blushed. Cana laughed.

"A lot of people here are together. We just can't show it around the camp workers."

"Oh..."

"Better get dressed." Cana let Lucy go and everyone went their own ways to get ready for the day. Lucy followed Cana and Mira to the mess hall and the girls got their breakfast. It was some kind of oatmeal and Lucy barely tasted it. She kept thinking about how Erza had been taken away. She wished she knew what the girl had to go through. Why did she have to pay for someone else's mistakes? Erza sounded like a nice girl. Lucy sighed and Cana looked over at her. "Something wrong?"

Lucy tilted her head and looked at Cana. "No. Just thinking." Cana grinned and leaned in close to Lucy.

"Are you still thinking about this morning?"

Lucy turned a few shades of red before jumping up. She bumped into someone and turned to see one of the staff members glaring at her. Her breath hitched and she bowed to him. "I'm sorry sir!" Lucy bit her bottom lip and felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Lucy you can sit down. He's gone." Cana said quietly. Lucy slowly lifted her head and saw that the guy had indeed walked away. She let out a sigh of relief and sat down beside Cana. The brunette took a sip of her water and sighed. "Your day is not going well and it just started."

"It's your fault!" Lucy complained. Cana shrugged.

"It's your life."

"You're strange." Lucy stared at the rest of her food and pushed it away. She lost her appetite when that guy glared at her. The people that worked here seemed to pick on the girls a lot. Maybe they thought it was a way to snap the girls into liking men, but Lucy got angry seeing them tease the girls. She clenched her hand around her glass and Mira tilted her head.

"Lucy?" Mira got no response. "The glass will break if you continue to hold it like that." She placed a comforting hand over Lucy's and the blonde looked up at her. "It's barely your second day here. Try not to lose your mind. I'm sorry that Cana is messing with you." Mira motioned for Cana to say something and the girl sighed.

"I'm sorry Lucy."

"See?" Mira smiled and looked back to the blonde. Lucy was already leaving the mess hall. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know Mira."

…...

Lucy walked around the camp and tried to think. How exactly did people leave this place? Erza had been stuck in this camp for at least three months already. They wanted everyone to somehow start liking men instead of women, but Lucy didn't really see Erza with anyone. She looked like the loner type. Lucy sighed and stopped walking to look beyond the fence. Was there a way to escape this place? Would she forever be trapped here?

'There has to be a way...' Lucy thought. She saw a bird land on a nearby branch and smiled sadly at it.

"I want to be as free as you are." She said out loud. Lucy clenched her hands around the fence and kicked some dirt. "I will be free again." She thought about the people she might never see again and frowned. Her father came into her mind.

'No...I was never free.' She thought. The bird took off leaving Lucy alone in her thoughts. Maybe she could fake her way out of here. How would the workers know what she's feeling? If that didn't work, what else could she do? Lucy closed her eyes and tried to think. She had no clue where the camp was even located at. Even if she escaped, she would never survive on her own. She detached herself from the fence and turned away. She had to be strong. She had to leave behind the person she once was. Lucy saw an old building on the far end of the camp and tilted her head. She saw two guards chatting. She hid behind a garbage can and eavesdropped.

"How many times is this girl going to be put in solitary?

"She was just here last week and we see her again? How stupid is she?"

'Are they talking about Erza?' Lucy wished she could get closer.

"I don't really care. I mean we get paid to walk around in a camp full of girls."

"Uh...they don't like men."

"If we could just get our hands on them..."

"Oh hey it's time for our break. Let's go."

Lucy listened to their footsteps fade away. She looked around and saw that nobody was around. She quickly made her way to the building. It looked like there were no windows. She put her hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath.

'Should I do this? What if I get caught? What if Erza isn't in here?' Lucy gulped and turned the doorknob. She pushed the door open slowly. 'Wow...idiots left it unlocked.' Lucy could barely see in the room, but when her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could see Erza sitting in a corner with her hands tied up. The red head looked up and her eyes widened when she saw Lucy.

"What are you doing here?" She almost shouted. Lucy looked behind her for the guards.

"I was walking around camp and saw this place being guarded. Decided to drop in."

"Are you insane? Get out of here!"

"Yeah yeah..." Lucy grumbled. Erza sighed.

"Thank you for stopping by...nice to see a friend's face."

"You said like three words to me..."

"So? I'll talk to you more when I get out. You need to get back to Cana and Mira. Don't say anything about seeing me today."

"Huh? Why?"

"I'll tell you later. Just please listen to me."

"All right. I won't tell anyone." Lucy heard some guards coming back and went to leave. "See you later Erza." She started closing the door when she heard Erza say something softly.

"Thank you Lucy."

Lucy smiled and shut the door before sprinting away from the building. She made it back to her cabin and Mira hugged her tightly.

"Lucy! Where were you!? We were worried to death!"

"Mira...too...tight..." Lucy struggled to breathe in Mira's death hug. Cana sighed and smiled.

"Don't run off like that again. Mira wouldn't shut up."

"That's mean Cana!" Mira shouted. Lucy smiled and watched her new friends banter. It didn't really feel like they were all trapped in some kind of conversion camp, but if she looked outside, Lucy would remember that she was no longer in control of her life. The fences that surrounded her became her cage. She was just a trapped bird. Lucy thought back to the softness in Erza's voice.

"Thank you Lucy." Why was she thanking her? She hadn't done anything to deserve a thank you. Lucy felt a tap on her head and looked to see Cana staring at her.

"We gotta go speak to counselors."

"Really?" Lucy dreaded this moment. She hated telling strangers about her life and this time she would be alone with her counselor not with the groups like last night. "Let's go then..."

"Did something happen?" Cana asked quickly. Lucy turned away from them.

"I just realized I can't be who I once was. I have to change and become stronger."

"Wow...second day...it took me a week to realize that."

"We're just birds trapped in humanities cage."

"..." Cana stared at Lucy's back as she tried to figure the girl out. "You some kind of writer?"

"Actually yes."

"Figured. Let's go before you confuse me more." They all walked to the counseling center and Lucy leaned against the wall by a blue haired girl. Mira smiled at the girl.

"Hi Wendy."

"Oh! Hi Mira and Cana."

"This is Lucy." Lucy waved.

"Hi Lucy."

"So what goes on in one on one counseling?" Lucy asked quietly.

"Well...They just ask questions and yo answer them. Like...they'll ask why you like girls or what was your childhood like that made you hate men. Stuff like that."

"Well...I don't really have answers to those..."

"No one really does. That's probably why were all here still."

"Huh?"

"Lucy Heartfilia."

"Your turn Lucy. Good luck." Cana gave her a thumbs up and Lucy sighed before walking into the building. She sat down in front of the counselor and put her hands on her lap.

"So Lucy, how are you doing?"

"Fine."

"Meet any friends?"

"Yeah."

"So how did you feel when you were brought here?"

Lucy didn't know why...but she wanted to strangle this guy. "Well...I guess I was scared."

"You don't have to be scared of our camp. We are here to help you."

"There are guards...and you throw people in solitary." Lucy crossed her arms and nodded to herself.

"The guards are there to protect you."

"And keep people locked up."

"People who cause trouble need time to think about their actions."

"The guards were picking on a little girl!" Lucy stood up and shouted. The man sighed.

"We aim to help you with your problem and..."

"Shut the hell up! You're not doing anything good for any of us! We're not sick!" Lucy felt her arms being yanked on and turned her head to see a couple guards gripping her arms.

"Lucy Heartfilia, we are done for today. I'll see you next week and I hope you are calmed down by then. For now you can enjoy some time alone."

Lucy tried to break free from the guards grips, but she wasn't strong enough. She could feel them holding her too tight. She would most likely have bruises from them. She was pulled outside and Cana shook her head. Wendy and Mira had their mouths covered. Lucy turned her head away from them and let the men take her away. Why try to put up a fight when you couldn't escape? She saw that she was being taken to another small building. One of the guards opened the door and they all walked inside. It looked like some kind of supply building. There was a small door up ahead and the guard opened it while the other shoved Lucy in the closet. She crashed into the wall and glared up at them.

"You will stay in here until we feel like letting you out." He shut the door and left Lucy alone in the small and dark closet. She slumped to the ground and closed her eyes. She hated being in small dark places. For the first time since she arrived at tough love campgrounds, Lucy hugged her knees tightly and felt her tears slide down her cheeks. She wouldn't let this place change her. She would fight back no matter what pain is brought to her. She would escape this cage and be free once again.