Chapter 1: When One Door Closes

Author's Note

Hello readers! I'm excited to be back with a fresh work. I've been working on a whole host of new characters and settings, been getting more in tune with the world I'm writing in and around, and after much debate on my part I've decided to start fresh with a new chapter piece. I will be getting back to my other stories but, in order to get my head on straight and back in the game, I'm starting with something brand new that I'm really excited about.

Thank you, all of you who are sticking with me even through my slow updates. I hope you've enjoyed the stories I've put out for you and I'm more excited than ever about this one, I believe it will be the best work yet and I'm really happy to share it with you.

As always, I do not own Fairy Tail or any of it's original characters, they belong to Hiro Mashima. I do not own the Pradesh family or it's extended universe, Desna does (if you haven't read her stories, what are you waiting for?! Get on it!). I've gotten feedback for various characters and story elements from MrsPuppetEx, Darlingnkki, and NightmareSenshi. All credit to them for the help I've received and the characters they've created.

You will be meeting some of my OCs throughout this work as well, so be prepared to let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

-Starry

The incident between Fairy Tail and Tartaros had left Magnolia in shambles. Some blamed Fairy Tail, some blamed the demon guild, some just… simply didn't know who to blame and instead just blamed themselves, going over and over all the possible things they could have done that would have skewed the outcome, and oftentimes coming up just empty. The simple fact of the matter was, the threat that Tartaros presented was too large an obstacle to be faced without consequences, and the tools they had at their disposal? The risks they presented? They were too big an obstacle to ignore, too.

All of Earthland had been at risk, the magic of the world didn't feed just the mages in it but the land itself, the balance of the voids, the balance of… life. And more than one nation had come forward condemning what Fiore's magic council had put into motion with their face project. Tensions across the Ishgaran peninsula were high, people were struggling, nations colliding and things were looking bleak, even after the victory over the enemy that Fairy Tail had scored.

To Lucy, though, none of that mattered. Her parents were gone, her home was gone, her whole life thrown into chaos over one group of fabricated demons trying their hand at being gods, and the hubris of the nation she was born in giving them the tools to do it, even still, that wasn't what had her on her knees in the rubble that was once Fairy Tail's guildhall. Rocks cut into her flesh, the sun burnt her skin, the tears streaming silently down her face fell to the ground, and through it all she didn't move. Not for hours. Because what she had lost was greater than all of it. She had lost a connection to her soul. She had lost the one constant in her life, the one thing that kept her going, Aquarius and her spirits, and Lucy's faith in the good in the world went with her.

It had been three days since Fairy Tail disbanded and still… every day, Lucy found herself here as the sun began to set, until it began to rise. She'd been determined to stay, to help Magnolia rebuild, but every day there was a new friend deciding to leave.

The first day, Natsu. And he'd done nothing but leave her some shitty note that said he had to leave. To be honest, parts of her understood that. He'd lost his father after just finding him, his faith in the world had been shaken just as hers had, and she understood the need to run, to go searching for some kind of way to regain a little of what had been lost. Still though, none of that had made it hurt any less. It hadn't made her heart any less broken.

The second day, most of the rest of the guild had gone. Whatever family bond the dragons had shared had been broken, Lucy guessed, by Natsu's decision to leave. Wendy had always thought of the man as a brother of sorts, and without him there? Nothing was stopping her from going to get the education in medicine she'd been wanting so badly. So she left. The last Lucy had heard, she'd been going for Bosco, rumors of a dragon there that did healing had drawn her. Carla of course, went with her. Gajeel, he'd been in what was basically a dark guild, before Fairy Tail gave him hope. Without that home, he'd gone off, trying to find some other place to be that would give him opportunity to make up for his mistakes. He'd said goodbye, at least, unlike Laxus, who had just left first chance, heading… somewhere, the Thunder Legion in tow. Lucy wasn't sure where, but she was sure he wasn't coming back.

The others had gone, too. Wakaba had lost his wife in the battle, she'd been in one of the buildings that had been destroyed. No one had seen him, apart from Macao and Romeo but they wouldn't say much about it when they'd approached Lucy and informed her they were leaving.

The third day, had been the day Gray had finally gotten up the courage to tell Lucy he was leaving. He was like a brother to her, and he knew it, he'd been there, sleeping at her house, staying at her side, trying to make sure she'd be okay but he'd needed time too. Lucy understood that, and so when he'd told her he had to go to Iceberg, to find out what was happening with his magic, she just hugged him and told him she understood. After all, it was far and above better than Erza's departure. The 'queen of the fairies' had not taken the loss well, and she'd berated the guild for the first two days, trying to convince people to stay and when she couldn't… she'd just left on her own, all the while looking at Lucy and telling her it was her fault for not speaking up and supporting Erza's arguments. The redhead just, for some reason, couldn't tell that Lucy wasn't really there, that she was locked up in her mind scrambling to find some reason for it all, some sort of reason to keep moving after everything happened… after giving up her first spirit for people that were now just giving up on themselves and the life they'd built together.

"You're going to catch a cold," a voice said behind her, drawing Lucy from her thoughts.

She looked up and behind her, blinking a bit to clear her eyes. The sun had set, the stars out now and when she looked back, Loke was out, hands in his pockets as he looked her over seriously, "You've got me worried," he admitted.

"I'm fine," Lucy lied, wiping her face as she shifted, moving off her knees to sit in the rubble. She wore longer shorts, now, a long-sleeved shirt that covered up her collarbone, her long blonde hair pulled back from her so she didn't have to mess with styling it.

Loke shook his head, moving to sit next to her, pulling her leg into his lap, starting to clean out the cuts on her knees and shins carefully, "You're not, Lucy. And you can lie to yourself about that all you want, but you can't lie to me. I see right through you."

"I…" Lucy sighed at him, leaning into him a little, letting herself be comforted if just a little. She hadn't let her spirits out, hadn't called them, not since she lost Aquarius. Apparently, Loke was more stubborn than her, "I know. I'm… trying to come to terms with it all," she told him quietly.

"I know you are, Princess, but you can lean on us, too. I know, since you lost her, you've lost faith in yourself as a summoner," he said, looking up at her, "But you need to know, we haven't lost faith in you. Our contracts all stand and they will continue to. You are a good keyholder, and a good friend, and none of us would change our circumstances. Not even her."

Lucy sighed once more, brushing a stray hair back from her forehead as he cleaned her wounds and lightly bandaged them, "I can feel you, I hear you, I'm not ignoring you… I just can't do it right now, Loke. I can't bring myself to call your name. I just… lock up, I'm terrified of losing more of you… of being the reason you lose access to Earthland."

"A few things," Loke said, looking at her seriously as he lifted her leg a little to get the bandage wrapped around it, starting at her knee and working downward, "One, it was not your fault. It was the demons and the circumstances. And two… Aquarius isn't locked away in the way you think she is."

"What?" the celestial mage froze, staring blankly at Loke for a few minutes before she pulled free from his grip so she could grab his shoulders and shake him, "What do you mean? Tell me! Is she free?!"

Loke let out a yelp, shaking his head and smiling at her as he put a hand on her head, "Oi… settle down… Gonna give me whiplash," he laughed a little and Lucy glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest, "Don't you mess with me, Loke! Not about this… tell me."

"I can't," Loke sighed, but he was grinning, "But… that fire… that's the first time you've been yourself in three days," he said, moving his hand from the top of her head to her cheek, "I'm glad you're back. But you know the rules… there's only so much I can say."

Lucy huffed, settling back down but the overwhelming despair had lightened some, the fractured pieces of her soul she thought might drive her mad starting to mend just a bit as she thought through her options, then sighed at her spirit, "Tell that bastard old man I think these rules are stupid… what can you tell me?"

Loke smiled, "I'll pass it along. As for what I can tell you… there's a school in Bosco. Your father hid it from you, it's called the Academe Cellestine. They are the foremost authority on Celestial matters in all of Earthland. If there is anywhere that has the answers you need… it's there."

The summoner's eyes widened and she stared, "There's a what?"

"You heard me."

Lucy just blinked, then nodded, cringing slightly as she ran her hands through the rubble at her sides, "I'll have to leave."

"You will," Loke agreed, standing again and straightening his tie, lifting a hand to adjust his glasses, "We all have to move on some time, Lucy. You can stay here if you want… but Fairy Tail is gone."

She sighed, swallowing thickly past the emotion welling up in her now that the numbness was fading, pushing it aside though to focus on the stirrings of determination welling up in her, "If there's a chance I can help her get back… even if I can't gain her contract again… I'm going to take it," she said, hands clenching into fists against the rough ground.

"Good," her spirit said, smiling faintly at her, "We'll be with you, every step of the way," Loke said, before he closed his eyes and vanished in a swirl of sparkling golden stardust that washed over Lucy, filling her with a warm affection for a moment before it faded.

She stood, the smallest of smiles spreading on her face as she took a breath, "Goodbye, Fairy Tail…" she whispered on the wind as she took slow steps back to her apartment, for the last time.