Chapter Three
Once Lucy had made up her mind, an eerie emptiness settled behind her anger. Absent mindedly, she had grabbed her white Fairy Tail shirt while trying to not look around her bedroom. Tearing it over her head she moved to throw it away from her. "On second thought..." she murmured. Laughing, she laid the shirt out on the table. She rummaged in her desk for a bit, finding what she needed. Gripping scissors and a black marker, she smiled. With a couple of snips, she turned the tunic length tank top into a cropped top with a jagged edge. Picking up the marker, she quickly slashed a large X across the Fairy Tail symbol. Replacing the cap, she smiled at her work. Quickly slipping the shirt back on, she made her way over to the mirror.
Newly cropped top, tight dark denim jeans, black knee-high heeled boots, belt with keys in holster and whip slung around her hips, she was happy with her slightly edgy look. 'Well, edgy for me' she thought. Running her fingers through her hair, she realized the last change she needed to make. Grasping the key she needed, she shouted, "Open! Gate of the crab, Cancer!" With a pop, Cancer appeared, "Ebi!"
Lucy plopped in a chair in front of her vanity. "I want it cut short. Something quick and manageable!" she stated.
"Are you sure, ebi?" he asked, catching her eyes in the mirror.
"Absolutely!" she confirmed, a steely glint in her eyes. "Alright, ebi!" and with a flash of scissors he cut Lucy's hair into chin length bob.
"All done, ebi!" Cancer said with a bow. "Thanks", Lucy said looking in the mirror. "No prob, ebi!" and with that he was gone.
With a final glance in the mirror, Lucy turned away. 'Natsu's such an idiot, he'll probably ask me why EdoLucy is here!' she snorted at this thought. Extracting the next key she needed, she lifted her hand, "Open! Gate of the virgin, Virgo!" With a pop, the pink haired spirit appeared at attention. "Yes, Mistress? What is my punishment?" she deadpanned.
Lucy smiled, "Oh, there will be no punishment for you this time! I need you do to me a favor?" As Lucy told her story and asked Virgo for her help, the spirit nodded with an almost anomalistic smile on her face and moved to begin. Satisfied that Virgo would handle things, Lucy had one more stop to make before she made her way to the guild hall. With a decidedly blank face, she stepped out of her apartment.
Lucy steeled herself as she made her way through the darkened streets of Magnolia. She jumped when she heard a small pop and felt a familiar hand on her shoulder.
"Loki", she said wearily.
"Hey, how you holding up?" the lion spirit asked with a small smile.
"Better, now that you're here." she sighed, "Walk with me to the guild? And wait for me after?"
"Of course." he murmured. Loki took Lucy's hand in his own and walked with her as she traversed the darkened town to confront her 'family'. Lucy wondered at how he knew what was going on but she figured that he always knew so she let it go and just let him comfort her as much as she would let him.
Filled with renewed courage and rekindled anger after her thought filled walk across town, she walked boldly up to the guild doors. Taking a deep breath, with a quick glance at Loki and a small grimace of a smile, she pushed open the doors and took in the decidedly nauseating sight before her.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Everything, everyone, was normal! Lucy blinked as her eyes grew accustomed to the light. Taking quick strides and scanning the room, she made her way towards the bar
"Is that Lucy?!" "No, it can't be!" "It has to be, look at the keys and that rack. It's her!" "Shit..." . The room began to fill with hushed conversation as some realized and some questioned who she was.
Anger began to fill her sight, as she came upon the table closest to the bar. There, in plain sight, were Natsu and Lisanna, wrapped around each other talking to Levy and Mirajane. Levy noticed her first, her face paling in recognition. Levy stood up and made to move away but Lucy's glare had the girl sitting back down quickly. Lucy came right up behind the engrossed couple and stopped. At this point, the guild had gone quiet. Natsu and Lisanna were the only ones left talking as Mirajane had gone quiet when she noticed who was there. The couple noticed the silence and looked around the room trying to find the cause.
"Hi guys!" Lucy intoned with false cheer. "Lucy", Mira whispered her eyes wide and guilty.
"Lucy!" the couple exclaimed . Natsu quickly pushed Lisanna away, causing her to land on the floor besides the table. Natsu had stumbled to his feet. Lucy stepped aside as he tried to embrace her. "Don't touch me!" she snapped.
"H-Hey Luce, I missed you!" Nastu stuttered, "W-what did you do to your hair?" He lifted a hand up as if to stroke her hair but the look on Lucy's face made him stop. "Why did you wreck your guild shirt? And you're home early! H-how did the mission go?"
Lucy's grin was almost feral when she replied. "I got home early this afternoon. I went to the apartment but you were too...busy to realize I came home. Once I realized you were too entangled to pay attention to me, I decided to make some small changes to my appearance."
"W-what do you.." Lucy held up her hand, stopping his statement.
"I know everything that's been going on, everything!" she yelled causing people around the room to jump. "Just about walked in on you and that stupid girl. And then I came to the guild for answers and solace, only to overhear that I would obviously find none." Levy, Cana and Mirajane flinched at this.
"So," she turned to Mira, "I take it everyone in this room has known the whole time then?"
In the face of Lucy's glare, Mira looked to the ground and whispered, "Yes. Everyone knew except you, Erza, Gray, and anyone that hasn't been to the guild in the past six months or so."
Lucy fought to keep her voice calm as her anger seemed to peak. "I see now..." she snarled, "That's why you sent those two on a long job. You knew they would never lie to me about something like this and ruin your sisters happiness. You didn't want to take the chance that things wouldn't go the way you wanted them to." Mira just nodded, offering no apology and no explanation.
"Well, then," Lucy smiled looking around, "I guess I see what 'family' and 'nakama' truly mean to the people in this guild. I just didn't have enough 'history' right everyone? I guess newbies like me just aren't as important as those who have been in the guild their whole lives. I guess I am seeing the true colors of this guild." The room was quiet.
Natsu stood up again and seemed to want to walk over to Lucy. Glaring at him, he stopped. Lisanna had picked her self up off the floor and was now seated back on the bench, staring at the table top. Lucy sauntered up to Natsu until she was so close that there was barely enough for a breath between them.
"You fucking disgust me!" Lucy whispered though her voice was steadily getting louder. "Coward! I loved you and would have given you anything but instead you've been fucking this... this whore behind my back!" she yelled waving her hand towards the girl in question. Lisanna's head snapped up at this but Mira just shook her head to keep her quiet.
"This has obviously been going on for months, months Natsu! But you didn't have the balls to say anything! If this is how you show your love, I guess you never loved me." Lucy finished, chest heaving. Natsu stared at his former girlfriend in silence, guilt clear in his eyes. The stellar mage pushed past him and stood in front of the bar.
Looking around at the rest of the guild, she raised her voice even louder addressing everyone else, "And each one of you that kept your mouths shut are just a much to blame! Cowards! Liars! Even the ones I counted as some of my best friends", pointing at Levy and Cana both looking down and away from their lost friend, "didn't say a thing! A guild of fucking cowards! If this is how you treat 'family' and 'nakama' then I don't want any thing to do with it!" Lucy slammed her hand down on the bar at this and her guild mark vanished in a burst of gold sparks. Everyone gasped at this and stared, wide-eyed at the angry mage.
"I'm done with this den of liars!" Lucy intoned across the hall, "I am better off on my own! A life with no family or nakama is preferable to a life in a guild like Fairy Tail! And, mark my words, everyone I come across for the rest of my life will hear the truth that is Fairy Tail!" With a final glare around the guild hall, Lucy turned on her heel, head held high and walked out of the place that was once her home, the hall filled with complete silence.
