SUP!

Been a while, hasn't it? Few months does still count as "a while", right? I'd prefer to not use "it's been ages".

But anyways, how are you guys? All good? I hope so. If it's not all good, well, just remember that the night gets darkest right before dawn. Have faith in yourself.

But life lessons aside, I want to address something that happens in this chapter. In this, you'll see the use of words not meant away from the M or T rating and a scene which sets a point about this story.

That is why I'm upping the rating of this story to M. Not because I'll start cussing every line or there will be rivers of blood every paragraph. Just because death and strong language will appear on this story. I want to let this absolutely clear: I won't put useless violence just because there's an R rating. I won't put in thirty cusses in a forthy word sentence just cause I can. I won't invent sex scenes just because I now have this possibility without infringing the Terms and Conditions.

This is merely to let you guys know that it might happen. It may seem childish, but I like to explain why I made the choice so you guys feel more included. I don't check messages very often so this is one of the ways I try to shorten the barriers between us.

Anyways, enough talk. Let's get it started in here.

AVANTI!

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The tension was palpable in the platform. The iron dragon slayer and the Exceed were just looking at the black-haired woman in front of them, not knowing how to approach the situation.

Gajeel broke the silence.

"I'll ask again: who are you?", he said, trying to be civil.

Some of Levy had definitely rubbed off on him.

"Wow, so you've learned about manners! Bravo, Gajeel. Now it's just a matter of introducing you to deodorant and we're probably gonna make you tolerable", joked the different Lucy.

"Dammit, I don't have time for jokes! Who are you and where's Lucy?".

"I'm Lucy, idiot".

"No, Lucy wouldn't have broken that guy's neck".

"Actually, she would. You did see her murder away at Fortuna, didn't you?", Lucy bit back.

"...that is different. That was war", the slayer answered, some of the venom from his voice gone.

"And this isn't? I would assume a shitload of WARships would be a dead giveaway".

"He was already down. No magic left. Bones fractured, from what I can see. He smells of blood, lots of it, and charred skin. He was done".

"Au contraire, monsieur. He had magic left, it was just disguised. But kudos on the rest of the diagnosis, doc, spot on".

"Disguised?", asked Lily.

"Yup. Little fucker here does that a lot, and he's quite good at it. Well, was quite good at it", Lucy said while kicking the corpse in the ribs.

"You sound like you've met him".

"And the detective gets another one right! We have tried to dismember each other a few times, but you know how it is with scheduling and such. Too much hassle for too little murder if you ask me", she said, now kicking the head.

"So you killed him. Now what?", asked Lily, hoping for some answer like 'now I will come back to normal and ditch this disturbing persona'.

"I was pondering a visit to that water park we went during the GMG. Assuming it is reconstructed, of course. Daddy never taught me how to swim in concrete debris no matter how much I asked".

Lily's hope was shot down.

"I'm serious", he tried again.

"Me too. He always said that he couldn't because of his aching sciatic. Real sad story. I could ask Virgo though", she said to herself, fingering her celestial keys.

"STOP! Quit these games and tell me where is Lucy!", Gajeel yelled.

"I told you I'm Lucy, tin can. When did you start having trust issues?".

"I'm gonna give you five seconds...", he threatened, hoping she'd budge.

But Lucy caught his bluff.

"And then what? You'll come at me? Hurt me? Maul me? Haven't you tried that already?".

"What's that supposed to mean?".

"Come on, back in your Dark Guild days. Remember how fun it was punching and kicking the shit out of me? I sure do. Still have a few scars, even".

Gajeel was silent.

"Aww, no snarky comment? I'm disappointed", she looks to Lily, "what about you, puss?

Gonna come at me or just stand there?".

"You're not Lucy".

"Again? Lookie here, Zazzles, you want my ID or something?".

"Zazzles?".

"Yeah, you're fluffy and zazzy. So, Zazzles", she said, seemingly proud of herself for coming up with the nickname.

"We're getting off topic!", the Exceed said, raising his voice.

"Sorry, Zazzles. Do continue".

"... I agree that is Lucy's body, but you aren't her. Not the Lucy we know".

"Well, yeah. Kinda obvious, don't you think?", the black-haired girl said simply.

"Then why all the denial?".

"Because I am Lucy. Part of her, at least. I am the deep dark cranny of her mind that's full of sarcasm and homicide. We actually get along well, if you don't count the times we tried purging the other out".

"So is Lucy bipolar or something?".

"No, she just created an escape valve for when she had to let loose. That way almost all the blood on her hands don't go to her memory, but to mine, making her able to live with the awful human being she is".

"Don't you dare insult her!".

"Oh, but I do. And you'll listen while I tell how many lives this bitch cut short, or how many times she let the enemy win because of her cowardice or even how many guys this little whore fu...".

Gajeel jumps, unable to hold back the anger.

"Shut your mouth!", he yells.

He doesn't realize he went dragon force.

"Stop, Gajeel", Lily yells, frantic. A punch in that form wouldn't kill Lucy, far from it, but they still were in the middle of the sea and getting knocked out was a very present possibility.

Juvia was controlling the tides towards the shore, but that doesn't mean that she made the water undrownable.

But as Lily's pleas are being ignored, something unexpected happens.

Lucy catches the punch, barely flinching from the contact. Her hand is entirely coated in a white, pure light.

"So, let me get this straight", she starts, pressuring Gajeel's right fist, "your great plan was to punch the mental disorder away? And I'm the one who's crazy?", the pressure cracks Gajeel's iron skin and starts to fracture his hand.

"Lucy, stop this!", Lily yells.

"Lucy's out right now, dear", was the girl's response.

She upps the pressure.

Gajeel's grunts of pain become louder.

"Lucy, fight this!", the exceed tries again.

"For a cat who's proficient in the human tongue, you sure have a hard time grasping some sentences, don't you?", she replies again, slowly elevating the pressure on the slayer's hand even further.

"That's enough", said a voice suddenly.

"Shit", Lucy said under her breath.

"Who's there?", asked the Exceed, not seeing anyone for miles.

"What do you want, King? Kinda busy crippling a comrade here", Lucy yells, still focused on Gajeel. Just because he was subdued, it didn't mean he wasn't dangerous.

Time seemed to freeze suddenly. The waves stopped in their place, the birds remained stationary on the sky and even the wind seemed to halt.

A small portal appeared, growing until it appeared to touch the sky. Out of it came the most powerful celestial spirit, the Celestial Spirit King.

'The Celestial Spirit King? He showed up just because Lucy's like this? Just how monstrously strong is she?', thought Gajeel.

"That's why I said it was enough. Gajeel does not deserve your vengeance", he said, voice giving no space for arguments.

He frowned at seeing the celestial magic in Lucy's hand. Such a beautiful magic being used in such a disgusting way.

"But it's fun! Wanna try?", she said, raising the slayer's fist as if offering to participate.

This elicited another grunt of pain from the slayer.

"Let him go now", the king ordered.

"Spoilsport", said Lucy while letting go. Gajeel rapidly went back to Lily and took a defensive stance.

Lucy looked humored at that.

"I'm not going to attack you, there's finally someone worth fighting now. And FYI, no stance would help you, buddy. I'd mop the floor with you either way".

Gajeel glared viciously.

"Fix his hand", the King commanded.

"Is that really necessary? He's a big boy, he can handle a little pain", she asked, obviously not a fan of the request.

"It's not about the pain he's been dealt, but the one you caused. Fix it".

"Fine".

Red light appeared over Gajeel's hand, covering it for a moment before fading away slowly.

His hand, fractured just a few ago, was now back to normal. Although he felt a bit of an itch, it was all there was to it.

He looked appreciatively at the King, who nodded to him.

Lucy just sneered through this.

"Now it's about time you give back control to my old friend, wouldn't you agree?", said the King.

"Sure, I'm done with this guy anyways", she said while kicking the corpse of her fallen enemy one last time.

"I must reiterate I am against this rampage of yours".

"And I reiterate that I couldn't care less about your opinion. This is personal and you have no place in it", she said, killing intent evident in her eyes.

"Lucy, that is the King! Show more respect!", said Lily.

"Go barf a hairball, Zazzles", was her response.

"I don't have any care for you, but I do have a lot for my old friend", the spirit said.

"Sure you do, I remember how much you cared when her friends were killed in front of her eyes while you had her stripped away of magic. Great fucking friend you were", she snarled.

The King flinched, although barely, to this.

"I have already told her I regret my actions", he said, voice now laced with guilt.

"And yet they are still dead, thanks to your little fuckup. A for effort, though".

"...just give her back her body".

"Okay, but know this", the dark haired girl said, "when this battle is over, I'll have my shot at you".

"I know, and I hope that, no matter the outcome, you can find peace afterwards".

"It's not the peace afterwards I'm interested, Moustache Man", she smiled devishly, knowing that using her nickname for him would cause some effect, "but the blood inbetween".

Spirit King vanishes with a sad expression, the sting from using that nickname cutting deeper than all the vines from Mard Geer.

'Oh, how could we let such a pure soul be tainted so much', he thought to himself.

He would never say it out loud, but seeing the transformation Lucy had undergone and not had done a thing to help was and forever will be one of the biggest regrets of his life.

"Bye, send postcards!", she said, imitating the blonde's bubbly personality.

To anyone else, it might've looked the same as it always was, but although the voice and pose were equal, the eyes were all wrong.

They were blank. No love, no hatred, no nothing. Just blank, like if in the blink of an eye all the emotions that surrounded the girl had disappeared. More precisely, as if they were never there in the first place.

Lucy then looks at the two mages with her.

"So, I'm going to enter a little coma now. Nice meeting you!".

"Wait!", the exceed all but yells.

"Lily, what are you doing?".

"Yeah, haven't you been asking me to leave since I showed up? Wait, did you...actually enjoy my company? Because if that's so, we should TOTALLY be going halfsies on friendship bracelets. I know a guy who would give us a GREAT discount if you let him rub your belly. Maybe a full one if you...".

"Shut it. Is Lucy gonna remember all that went down here?", Lily spoke, afraid of the answer no matter the outcome, but too curious not to ask.

"Ordinarily, she wouldn't, but this time the King stepped in, so I'll allow it. Anything else, Zazzles?".

"Yeah, hum...what did you mean when you said the King stripped away her magic?".

"That's her story to tell. It happened while she was in control. But I will say this: don't ask her about it. It's a REALLY touchy subject and she might be prone to aggression".

"She wouldn't harm us!".

"You haven't seen her in years, cat", she said, "you have no idea just how different she is".

"Why do you care about us? You didn't look like you had a problem hurting me", the slayer questioned.

"I don't care about you. I do care about me", the girl said.

"What?", both Fairy Tail mages asked.

Lucy facepalms. How stupid can these guys be?

"We share a body. If she goes into anger mode I'll wake from my nap early, unrested and cranky. I'm in a great mood today, imagine me wanting to tear your limbs off".

"So basically you just care about your beauty sleep".

"Yeah, Mama here needs some after close proximity with your ugly mugs".

They glare.

"Okay, now that I made new friends I can go back to sleep. Bye bye!".

"I hate you".

"Fucking loathe you too, Zazzles. Next time I'll be making a barbecue out of you. I'll call it Fillet Meow".

They glared harder.

A bright light starts to encompass the summoner, encasing her in a sphere of pure white energy.

Gajeel feels the magic power in the air rise sharply and tenses. If there was one of those in Lucy, maybe she created another personas as well.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

As the light died down, the woman that appeared had the same characteristics as Lucy that the other one didn't have: blonde hair and chocolate eyes.

"Lucy!", Lily catches her before she plants her face in the platform.

"Bunny Girl! You okay?".

"Yeah, I am. Nice to see you guys", she tries to smile, although a little grin is all she is capable of mustering.

"Wait, are you really back to normal or...".

"It's me, Lily. Now as much as I want to keep talking, we must hurry to the Guild", she said, "something bad will happen soon and we need to prepare".

"Prepare for what?".

"The hardest battle of our lifes".

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

After the scuffle on Hargeon, all Fairy Tail mages were on a train bound to Magnolia.

The reunion between Levy and Lucy was very emotional in it's first five seconds. After that, the bluenette spent a few minutes apologizing to Lucy after her full body charge on the blonde had thrown her to the ground and made now both her sides evenly aching in pain.

Although Levy had wanted to spend the day in Hargeon, Lucy had been adamant on leaving as soon as humanly possible, so they hopped on the first train and let the Rune Knights deal with the defeated mages.

Juvia had opted to go to her cabin and lay down to rest.

Gajeel, as per usual, was having a severe case of motion sickness.

"Sorry, Gajeel. If I was more rested I would summon a friend, but I kinda went overboard in the battle"

He does an OK sign, unable to conjure a sentence.

"So Lucy, what is it that you want to talk to Master about?", Levy asked, her curiosity, as always, very high.

Lucy gulps.

"An enemy. The strongest one I have ever faced".

This made Levy apprehensive. Lucy wasn't amongst the strongest ones in the guild if the parameter used was sheer power, but she was the arguably one of the smartest and, along with the rest of Team Natsu, had an unbreakable will.

Anyone she deemed strong was really dangerous, so to hear her say that whoever this enemy was was the strongest meant that this was serious.

"And who is this enemy?".

"They are called the Vein. A group that started in Fortuna but now has its sights on the globe".

"Vein, huh? Gajeel and I heard rumors about a new organization causing trouble, but we imagined it wasn't gonna reach Fiore so soon".

"They weren't, but Fortuna has become too small for their ambitions. Also, my guild's constant attacks on them probably made them want to evacuate sooner".

"That's right, you're a GM now! You have got to take me to Fortuna and show me around after we kick this guy's asses", the bluenette said, a little arrogantly.

Gajeel has indeed infected her more than she would've liked.

"Careful, Levy. These...people aren't ones we should take lightly. I've lost too many people I've loved to them, I won't let you be another", the blonde warns.

Levy looks shocked at Lucy's face, which is devoid of any emotion.

Aware of her best friends stare, Lucy suddenly smiles.

"But enough about this depressing stuff, tell me about how you, little blue bookworm, became a captain of the Rune Knights!", the summoner tries to lighten the mood.

Levy catches on.

"Well, you know, first thing to consider is that I'm amazing".

"Yes, naturally".

"Second, my intelligence. I have smarts for days".

"Months, I'd say".

"Thirdly, my humbleness. No one is more humble than me in this entire chunk of earth we call Fiore".

"Of course, they are all showboaters".

"And finally, my ability to, at my command, sick Gajeel on anyone".

"Yes, that is a fearsome ability indeed".

"Didn't work against you, though", Lily muttered, finally entering the conversation.

"Well, yeah. I'm stronger now, a straight punch is not that hard to stop".

"He was full dragon force".

"Still just a punch, just bulkier".

"You catched it, broke his steel skin and neutralized him by almost breaking his hand. You did that without summoning anyone".

"Who said I didn't summon anyone?".

"There was nobody else there".

"I summoned the power, not the spirit".

"Wow, Lu, you can do that?".

"Yeah, but I prefer summoning them whole. If I just take the power, I don't take all of it or have a new ally in the field".

"You don't get the full power?".

"No, a portion must always be on the Spirit World, it's law".

"Interesting. Whose power did you summon?".

"Tauros's".

"Didn't think he was that strong".

"He wasn't. Now? As I said, not even 100%".

Lily whistled.

"Can anyone beat you?".

"Depends. How much handicap will I use?", she said jokingly while flexing her arms.

"Like it makes a difference. I'm thinking that if you use only your pinkie, you might still win".

"How strong do you think I am?", she said, sweatdropping.

"If the King himself appeared to stop you, then a lot".

"The King didn't appear because of my strength, he appeared because of the person using it. If he so wished, I'd be dead in the blink of an eye".

"But the other you said he was coming for him and the King seemed a little preoccupied".

"It's mostly because he doesn't want to harm me and would pull his punches. And, because our magic is the same, it wouldn't be as effective so it would take longer to defeat me".

"Really? Aren't you being a little too humble?".

"Picture it like this: if I go nuclear, a city goes bye bye".

"I can see it happening, yes".

"If he goes nuclear, the galaxy goes bye bye".

"Wow, didn't think that he was this strong".

"Why not?".

"He's always so... unharmful. Don't get me wrong, I feel his extremely pressuring magic, but it doesn't feel like he ever had to use it. It's kind of like an accessory, in my opinion".

"Well, it does make you stare in awe, so I guess it was a spot on accessory".

"You can say that again. First time he appeared I had a little trouble breathing", Levy said.

"Well, that's probably because Gajeel was hogging your air while being protective".

"I'm not complaining. Having a dragon slayer as a guard dog is great".

"Not...guard...dog", the mighty slayer mumbled rather pathetically.

"Sure, Fido. Just lay down and relax, will ya".

"I personally always thought of them as too tiring and money consuming".

"Tell me about it. It's a miracle he is calm and all, but can you imagine trying to find some place that sells his favorite metal in the middle of the night?".

"At least you weren't woken up by being German suplexed into a conveniently placed mattress".

"No, I was suplexed into the wall. Genius over there miscalculated".

Both laugh.

"It's nice to talk to you again, Levy. I missed you so much".

"I missed you too, Lu. And everyone home too. Happy cried when he heard you left".

"Yeah, I have to buy him a fish when we get to the Guild".

"One won't cut it and you know it".

"I know. There goes my savings".

"What about my I'm sorry I left gift?".

"Would a book help?".

"Maybe, who wrote it?".

"Yours truly".

"Then no".

"You wound me".

"You did it first by leaving".

"I'm here now".

"With no book".

"Says who?".

"YOU HAVE IT?".

"But of course", Lucy said while a book materialized in her hand.

"I love you".

"I know".

Levy takes the book

"But seriously, don't disappear on me again on I swear I'll hunt you down and make you listen to Gajeel's CD".

"He recorded a CD?".

"Yes, and let's leave it at that. There is no worse agony for your ears".

"You...said you liked it", he mumbled again.

"I lied, Gajeel. I sometimes do that".

"You're evil, Shrimp".

"Yeah, no news there", Lucy interjected.

"Believe me when I say you don't want me as an enemy, Lu", Levy said while glaring.

"I believe you", Lucy said while putting her arms up.

"You should. First reason why I'm a captain of the Rune Knights, honey: I'm amazing".

"Yes, you are, captain Levy", the blonde said, smiling a smile she not often did nowadays, a real one of an old friendship whose fire never slowed or lowered, only grown in temperature and power, "yes, you are".

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"So, any new spirits on your team?", the Solid Script mage asked.

Juvia was still down and Gajeel and Lily disappeared somewhere to find a good place to sleep.

They were by themselves now.

"Yeah, quite a few actually", the summoner answered.

"Like who?".

"Like Vulpecula, the fox".

"Never heard of her".

"She's a sneaky one. Gave me lots of headaches before finally coming to the team".

"Isn't that how it usually goes down with you?".

"Sure, but it doesn't mean that I like it".

"Well, on the bright side, it made your friendship stronger".

"And on the down side, became the reason I spend so much on analgesics".

"Better have those in our line of work".

"You can say that again. A company even tried to sponsor me".

"Really?".

"Yup. But they gave up after realizing how much of them I use. Apparently, they would be expecting a deficit of hundreds of jewels if the deal had gone down".

"Wow, you have issues, Lu".

"Too freaking much, Levy".

"So...wanna talk about it?".

"About what?".

"Your issues".

"...not today. I'm having a good time and I really don't want to ruin it".

"Fine, but I'm always here if you need me, you hear?".

Lucy smiles.

"Of course, you'll be the first I'll open up. At least to...some of the stuff".

"You had it rough, haven't you? I can see it left a few marks".

"Yes", she absentmindedly runs her hands along some scars on her arms, "it did".

"You do know you'll have to fight me when we get to the Guild, right?", said the iron slayer. He really had to thank Wendy for making him a motion-sickness blocking pill, or as it was called, Troia V2.

If only he had took it before entering the train, he could've effectively jabbed the girls back after the dog jokes.

"WHAT THE CRAP, GAJEEL? WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?", Levy screamed, frightened by the sudden appearance of her partner.

"Back window. He was going to enter by the door like a regular person but then probably decided to switch routes to scare you. And says who, Gajeel?".

Levy just looked perplexed at Lucy. How did she knew all that?

Gajeel widened his eyes a bit at that, but returned to the subject.

"Me!".

"I never agreed to that".

"So what? I want a rematch!".

"Everybody loses in a humiliating way sometimes, Gajeel. No need to have a second loss".

"You wouldn't win, Gajeel", Juvia said suddenly.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS? THERE IS A DAMN DOOR RIGHT THERE, WHY NOT USE IT?".

Everyone ignored the bluenette and her outburst.

"And why is that?".

"Before coming here, we were at a stalemate on our last battle".

"Yeah, because you made it rain and transformed the raindrops into water bullets".

"Irrelevant. You drew against me".

"And what does this have to do with her?".

"Lucy, while normal, defeated me in minutes. It would have been seconds if she so chose".

"But I used electricity against you. Gajeel has suffered from such time and time again from Laxus. By now he must have some tolerance", Lucy jumped in.

"But we both know that isn't your only move, Lucy. I'm even a little scared to battle you again".

"You make it sound like I'm some beast".

"Not a beast, Lucy. A tactician. A damn good and powerful one".

"If that's the case then Gajeel won't win", said Lily.

"OH, COME ON, NOT YOU TOO!".

"Not me too what?"

"Ignore her, she's acting weird".

"HEY!".

"Gajeel, you need a plan if you want to win against her. She has probably a lot she could use on neutral fields and her quick thinking will give her even more no matter where".

"Your only hope is finishing it quickly, not giving her time to think clearly".

"I can do that!".

"Then we'll see. After I talk to Master we can battle and I'll show you why you can't just barrel through everything", she said while standing up to leave for her room. It had been a stressful few days.

"It's on, Bunny Girl".

Lucy merely smiled at this. After saying her good nights, she went to get a few hours of rest, leaving the mages.

"Do you think he ever stops to think about how bad of a choice he makes on a regular basis?", Juvia asked Lily.

"HEY!", the slayer said.

"No, he's more of a punch first, then punch again and then think kind of guy", answered the Exceed.

"I'M RIGHT HERE! I CAN LISTEN TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!".

"Guys, is Lu really that strong?", asked Levy.

"Yes, she is. We were riling him up a bit, but she is the favorite in this match".

"OH, COME ON! LILY, YOU'RE ON MY SIDE, RIGHT?".

"Do you agree on that, Lily?", said the bluenette, now relishing in having Gajeel be the ignored one.

"I wouldn't say she's the favorite, but I will say this: Gajeel best go all out, otherwise the one with the upper hand will be her".

"SCREW YOU GUYS!", said Gajeel, again utterly ignored.

Levy stayed quiet after that. Her best friend sure had changed a lot.

Who she became, the bluenette was still trying to find out.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Upon arriving in Magnolia, all mages started the last miles towards their home.

Lucy was quiet during this, opting to observe how much the city had changed. There were new buildings around, but for the most part it had retained its spirit.

The canal was still around, although little lower than before.

She fought the urge to do her usual routine around the place. Right now fun was pushed back. Otherwise, they may not have it anymore.

Small price to pay considering the consequences.

Finally, they reached the great building.

It had new cracks on the surface, she noticed. The smell of alcohol could be sniffed easily and the door was barely hanging on its mostly rusty hinges. This surprised the summoner.

Who would've thought a door in Fairy Tail would survive enough to acquire rust? Perhaps they were less destructive?

The flying wardrobe that passed through the wall on their right at that moment was the most vehement no the blonde would receive for some time.

Where they got the wardrobe was, to this day, an enigma. Mira later affirmed that there were none there and Reedus didn't draw it.

But that's a story for another day.

Lucy decided to enter, forcing the squeaky hinges. Putting on her brightest smile, she made herself known.

"Hey everyon...", she was able to say before a table flew by.

Well, tried to make herself known.

"Not much change, huh?", she sweatdropped.

"Nope, still the same at heart", Levy smiled.

"Is that good or bad?".

"If you are Master, probably bad. If you sell furniture for a living, it's great".

"True".

"HEY ASSHOLES! WE BROUGHT COMPANY!", Gajeel yells.

"Shut it, Gajeel!", was the chorus back.

"Well, he tried, Lucy", Juvia said.

"Lucy?", said a voice.

In a second, a blue blur barreled at the blonde, almost knocking her over.

"Is it really you? This isn't some joke, is it?", a certain little blue cat asked.

"It's really me, Happy. I'm home", Lucy said, in the most caring tone she ever said.

"LUUUUUCYYYYY, YOU MEANIE! WHY DID YOU LEAVE FOR SO LONG! AND WHERE ARE THE FISH YOU PROMISED ME?".

Lucy sweatdropped again.

"All in due time, Happy. I already picked a great part of my savings just for your fishes".

"But you're poor, you can't have that many jewels saved".

"Do you even understand the concept of gratitude?".

"Aye!".

Lucy could only smile.

'I actually missed the feeling of exasperation granted by this idiot. Way to go, Lucy, that's not at all sad and depressing', she thought to herself.

"Why are you smiling? You're weir...".

"IS THAT LUCY?", Vijeeter yells.

Everyone turns around.

"Lucy!", was the chorus this time.

The entire guild runs to the entrance.

Suddenly, the group is thrown aside by a short blue haired mage.

"Lucy!", the petite slayer says, right before barreling into the summoner.

Happy manages to avoid just in time.

"Wendy! How are you?", she asks while trying to not pain attention to the pain on her ribs from the impact.

Apparently, tackle was a move some bluenette's knew very well and that, against blonde summoners, caused critical hits.

"I'm great! I became a lot stronger over this last years!".

"I can see that, your magic has upped a lot. Nicely done!", she said while doing a thumbs up.

"How are you?", she innocently asks.

Lucy's smile falters.

"Great, just kinda tired from the trip here. Gajeel almost barfed on us every stop the train made".

"Not my fault, that wretched machine should be thrown into the deepest pit in hell so it would never harm another soul. Also, Troia V2 didn't last too much".

"Just cause you're a lightweight, doesn't mean everyone else is as well", said Wakaba.

"Wanna fight, you weak-ass?", Gajeel shoots back.

"A man never runs from a fight!", Elfman enters the discussion.

"Guys this is great and all but I really need to talk to Master. Is he around?"

"He just left, actually. He'll be back in about half an hour, though", Mira said, finally reaching the blonde and giving her a tight hug.

"Perfect!", exclaimed Gajeel, "let's have our fight now, Bunny Girl!".

"You want to fight, Lucy? Are you out of your mind? What if you hurt her?", Lissana says, preoccupied.

"Actually, Lissana, Lucy here kicked Gajeel's ass when we met her...", Lily starts.

"...and before that, she booted me easily", and Juvia finishes.

"Wow, you got strong, huh Lucy?", said Macao.

"She was always strong, jackass, you just didn't see it", said Bisca.

"Point taken. So, battle?".

"Lead the way", the summoner said.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Are we there yet?", the fire dragon slayer asked, for the fifty second time that day. Gray had been counting.

"No", answered the mighty Requip mage.

"How about now?".

"No".

"We can't not be there now".

"Ask again and I'll freeze your lips tight", the ice mage threatened.

"I'll just burn it. Your ice is no match for my fire".

"Well see, matchstick".

"Guess we will, snow cone".

"Try and attack the other and it will be the last thing you do in your lives".

"Sorry, Erza!".

"But man, it's been a couple weeks since we were in Magnolia. It's great to be home".

"Sure is", Natsu agreed, "pity Luce is not here".

"Yeah, I miss her".

"Me two".

"Me four".

"Four? Has the fire you eat finally burned your brain so much you forgot basic math?".

"Course not! I'm just speaking for me and Happy".

"You can't do that".

"Sure I can. Just did".

"That's not a thing".

"I just made it a thing".

"You can't just make things a thing!".

"Says who?".

"...you just can't, alright? It's common knowledge".

"Well, I'm not common".

"Or have knowledge".

"What was that?".

"QUIET, BOTH OF YOU!", Erza roared, "just take a deep breath and relax".

"But he started it!", both whined.

"TAKE A DEEP BREATH BEFORE I CRUNCH YOUR DAMNED TRACHEAS WITH MY FISTS!".

"Yes, ma'am!".

Both of the mages proceeded to take deep breaths, all the while sending murderous glances at the other.

"Isn't it better now?".

"Same for me".

Natsu was unmoving.

"You with us, candlestick?".

"Luce", he whispered.

"What?", Gray asks, not sure if he heard it right.

"I smell Lucy's scent. She was here a few minutes ago!".

"You sure? Where did she go?".

"From what I can tell, towards the guild. She was with Juvia, Levy, Gajeel and Lily".

"That's great! Maybe now we can chat with her!", says Erza while smiling.

"Then what are we standing here for? Let's find the lost member of Team Natsu!", Natsu said while breaking into a run.

"Come on Gray, we have someone to welcome".

"I still prefer Team Gray, but whatever", the ice mage said with a smile.

His friend was finally around, the team's name could be Team Lyon for all he cared.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Alright, this is how it's gonna go down", Max started, "this battle will last until one side gives up or is knocked out".

They were in an arena inside the guild. Apparently, a few years back Erza helped a mage who was a prodigy in Spacial Magic, and as a reward he changed and unused room into an arena. What happened was, when entering the room, you were teleported to this mages very own training grounds. Only Fairy Tail mages had access to this room. To everyone else it would just present an empty space.

This arena was easily the size of a football field, with stands on the sides.

The day Makarov heard they could use it rent free and not bother with the repair costs would rank as one of the happiest days of his adult life.

"Isn't that a little too much? Lucy literally just arrived here and you want to put her through this?", Mira jumps in, concerned.

"Lucy's been through worse, Mira. She'll be fine", Levy says.

"I guess, but still...isn't this a little too much?".

"She's been at war for who knows how long. Let her have a friendly spar, I'm sure it will take her mind off her problems".

"How friendly can a spar with Gajeel be?".

"Maybe just enough to let her stop holding back so much".

"Holding back?".

"You felt her magic, didn't you?".

"Yeah, it was bigger, but not much".

"She learned how to properly conceal it. I felt a bit of it while we were helping out at the port and let me tell you, she packs quite a punch".

"Huh", said Mira, suddenly smiling, "I wonder how much she has up her sleeve".

"Maybe we will find today", said Alzack. He was so glad this was the day that Asuka was with his mother in law. Now he and Bisca could watch the battle without any interruptions.

"Lu's too smart. Maybe one thing or another, but not any big secret".

"A guy can dream", was his response.

At the field

"So, you ready, Bunny Girl?".

"Will you ever stop calling me that?".

"Not on your life".

"Fine, just let's get this over with".

"OK, when I say begin, you can start the fight. I'll count to three and then say begin, do we all understand each other", Max said.

Both nod.

'I have to go hard from the very start. Not let her think, not let her move, not let her even breath', was Gajeel's thoughts.

"One!".

'My best shot is to attack long range while running towards her. She'll lose too much time dodging and it'll give me a window to strike. I should cage her, make her panic and then diminish her chances of making a plan'.

"Two!"

'Once I get close, no slow attacks. Fast and fluid. Won't be as powerful or damaging but will make her trip and that will guarantee my win'.

"Three!"

'She will probably stay put, analyze my moves and start an strategy. Possibly call Loke to slow me down. Perhaps Tauros, he can match my strength. Sagittarius to null my long range. Virgo to pull the carpet from under me'.

Gajeel clicks his tongue. There's too many variables.

'Guess I'll just have to trust my gut then'.

"Begin!"

"Sorry Bunny Girl, but this will be over quick!", Gajeel says while sprinting towards the blond.

Lucy just raises her eyebrow.

Gajeel smashes his hands on the ground, and iron poles' start to come from the ground towards Lucy.

'She'll dodge and then become even more trapped with these iron poles'.

But she didn't dodge.

The poles hit her, and one by one they went through her.

Lucy gasps for air, blood tainting her whole frame. All poles now have a red liquid sliding through.

"Why?", she manages to mutter. Gajeel doesn't know what to respond.

The stands are quiet. No one believes what is happening.

'She just returned to us', they are thinking, 'it's not fair to just take her out of our lives like this'.

"I-I didn't want... didn't mean to... I'm sor...", Gajeel starts before being interrupted.

"LUCE!", Natsu roars. He was just in time to see his partner be killed in an agonizing way.

Erza can't say a thing. She's too transfixed on the corpse of her friend.

Gray is just numb. He can't understand this. She was alive and well during war but coming back home kills her? His head can't quite wrap around this.

And then there is Gajeel. His mind is frozen at the moment. He can't believe that this is happening. How can the person that smashed his hand just...fall, die like this?

He hurt her again. He never deserved to be her friend.

"Lucy...", he whispers.

He feels a weight on his left shoulder.

He thinks it's just the guilt making itself even more known.

He is wrong.

"Finally got my name right, huh?", he hears the blond say.

Gajeel's jumps back. He can't fully understand the situation. Lucy is still there, at the other side of the field, bleeding. Yet, she's also here at his side, smiling.

He smells the air and the woman by his side has no scent. The one on the other side of the field does.

He stops sniffing when the smell of blood gets too present.

"What, you look like you've seen a ghost", the blonde says, smiling.

He looks at the stands to make sure he's not hallucinating. Seeing the look of shock of the whole audience towards the blond at his side, he gathers that he isn't.

Or, at the very least, he's not alone in it.

"I'm", he manages to say, "I'm pretty sure I'm seeing one now".

"Really? Where? Is Mavis around?", she looks around.

"I think he's talking about you, dear", says Mavis, appearing suddenly by their side.

"Oh, hi First! How are you?", she says before the words finally down on her, "Wait, you think I'm a ghost?", she asks, incredulous.

"Isn't that your...corpse?", he points to the other side of the field, where the brutality had just happened.

"What? Of course not. That's Phoenix, a new friend of mine. You can quit the act now, girl, they bought it".

The corpse opened her eyes and, from nowhere, starts burning until her entire frame is made of flames.

Not burdened by the poles anymore, the flames just pass along and start to make its way towards the battlers.

The stands are still. There's no words, no tears, no nothing. Just a collective pause.

Team Natsu is dumbfounded. They have no idea what just happened during this few minutes. They all want to beat up this flame person, but Lucy called her a friend.

Confusion reigns.

The flames start to die down and, little by little, the figure of Lucy starts to appear again.

"Anything else, Lucy?", the clone asks her, voice monotone.

"No, thank you. I'm giving you the rest of the day off, go finish that TV show you recorded". Phoenix smiles and leaves.

"So, can we continue now or...".

"ARE YOU INSANE? I THOUGHT I KILLED YOU!".

"Please, you're gonna have to do more than just that to harm me. Do you have any idea how predictable that was?".

"What just happened here? I don't fully understand what is going on".

"Remember what you said when we were leaving the train?".

At the Magnolia train station

"About our battle".

"Yes?", the blonde said smiling.

"I want you to battle me like you were the enemy you'll warn us about".

Lucy lost her smile in a millisecond.

"You have no idea what you are asking".

"You won't go full force against me, Bunny Girl. We both know it. But you can help me figure out what we are dealing with".

"It's not a wise decision, Gajeel. This won't end well".

"If there's any info that can give us some advantages over them, then we must know it".

"You'll regret this".

"I rather regret losing a fight now than a friend later".

Lucy just looks emotionlessly at the slayer.

"Please".

"Fine, but you have been warned".

"I remember. What about it?".

"This is it".

"What, dirty tricks? Foul play? Treachery? Is this who you have become, Lucy?", Erza asks, venom in her words.

"Sometimes. There is no honor in dying and letting your friends die. I prefer to be hated by the living than loved by the dead", she shoots back immediately, her steely eyes cutting all chances of discussion.

Erza shuts her mouth after this.

"This is how the enemy acts. He'll fool you, twist your mind, break whatever happiness you still have, no matter how few that may be, and when you are completely and utterly vulnerable...".

She points to the ceiling.

Gajeel's eyes widened.

There are all the members of the guild up there, bloody and broken.

All killed in the most different ways. Frozen, burned, cut, crushed, ripped, trapped...pools of blood by their sides, like gravity didn't exist.

"They will kill you or your soul".

Everyone in the stands is just nauseous at this point. In their defense, seeing your corpse and the ones from the people you love, some killed by magic you use, is not an easy thing to see.

"I hope now you are able to understand why I'm here. This enemy is much too strong. We have no hope alone and, if I'm being honest, we are still the underdogs if we team up. There is no place for mercy or niceness. There is no chance of diplomacy. The only immutable truth about this is that there will be death", Lucy said this while looking at every single person on the arena.

Alzack, at this point, was thanking every deity he ever read about for not letting Asuka see this. He is also cursing them for allowing him to see it.

"Lucy, the Master has arrived", says Mavis, her voice cutting through the tension.

The summoner makes her way up 'till the doors of the arena before stopping and saying one last thing.

"If you are scared, leave now. If you have doubts, then make up your mind as quickly as possible. If you do want to take up arms, however", she then snapped her fingers and all the corpses and the blood disappeared from the ceiling, "be at peace with the idea of dying".

And so Lucy walked away, leaving behind a group of mages that were as confused as they were terrified.

They have all missed the blond terribly.

But now, after this speech, they were not so sure they wanted her to have come back.