The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.


She didn't see him, didn't hear him and was so not going to talk to him. Not while she was upside down and her tits were trying to choke her out; sports bra her ass. She was just glad that her marks were covered by waterproof makeup.

"Are you really going to ignore me, Blondie?" Laxus as bemused.

She groaned and closed her eyes, her arms crossed over each other and over her chest. Opening her eyes, she stared at Laxus inquisitively.

"What's up, Laxus? How's it hanging?" Lucy asked, a wry smile on her face. Laxus cracked a grin at her, shaking his head.

"You know, slightly to the left." He replied, smiling fully when Lucy choked on some spit and flipped off the metal bar she was working out on, crouching on the floor as she tried to get air back in her lungs.

"You….fucker," She coughed, glaring up at him slightly.

He just smirked. "I mean, I do the fucking most of the time, yes." Lucy made a weird little noise and started laughing hard enough that she clutched her stomach.

"Goddammit...That's not...what I meant." She choked out between laughs.

"Maybe not, but it got you to talk to me, didn't it?" He replied, his arms crossed over his barrel chest as he watched Lucy's laughter die down.

Lucy stood up and cocked out a hip, resting her hand on her curved waist as she gazed fully at Laxus. He was wearing a pair of low riding grey sweats and a tight black tee. Her eyes traveled back up to meet storm blue eyes that were lit with amusement and interest.

A sudden cough broke their stares.

"Miss. Lucy- sama, you are free to meditate and stretch now," Capricorn said, respectfully bowing to her. "I'll be back in an hour or so to check your progress. Do remember to sit in the sun this time. " Lucy smiled and nodded, waving at him as he disappeared into the cosmos.

Laxus watched her curiously as she moved to a patch of grass that was slightly greener that the rest and sit down; her legs crossed under her and her arms resting lightly on her long legs. Her skin glistened under the sun and the rays lit up her hair, making it appear to be even more golden.

"So…" Laxus started, taking a seat in front of her. "You never answered my question…"

Lucy cracked open an eye and looked at him. "I'm training, Laxus. Keeping myself and my skills honed and learning new things, like I've been for the past three years." She closed her eye again and tilted her head upwards, like a sunflower reaching for the sun. Laxus hummed and watched her.

It was quick; the subtle shift in the air and the overwhelming smell of OZone caught Laxus' attention as Lucy pushed her magic outside of her body. The pressure was immense and he looked on gobsmacked as Lucy's hair was picked up away from her body, floating around her neck and frame, and her palms flipped towards the sky- each holding a ball of silver/gold energy. Her eyes flew open and Laxus could see magical seals over her eyes, gold over her already amber/brown irises. The pressure deepened again, when two balls of energy became four, then eight, then sixteen; and then they lifted from her palms and began to circle her, moving faster and faster until it looked like a ring of light was surrounding the Celestial Mage.

"Laxus, man, what the f- Holy shit, is that Cosplayer?" Bickslow asked, coming to stand behind Laxus. He was wearing tight spandex pants and a loose tee; his shoes and visor were missing. He looked wide eyed at the blonde woman.

"Yeah." Laxus answered. "Her power levels are insane. More than what I would have thought she had."

"Well, Celestial Mages are actually one of the most powerful mages in all Earthland." Freed commented as him and Evergreen joined their teammates.

Bickslow cocked an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"Yes. They may seem weak for holder type mages, but people tend to forget that they are technically Spatial Mages, or mages that manipulate space." Freed answered with something akin to respect in his voice.

Evergreen looked mildly surprised. "Spatial Mages are extremely powerful, it's hard to believe that Celestial Mages are in that category of magic." She pushed up her glasses with her forefinger and her lips twisted in a small sneer.

Lucy pushed the sixteen balls farther from her body, cause Laxus to hop up and back away as they followed them. They slowed down enough to converge back into two balls of energy, swirling around Lucy's body like miniature binary stars. The power coming off of Lucy fluttered the grass in steady waves. Footsteps behind the group caused them to glance behind to see Cobra smirking at the Thunder Tribe.

"She's still too fucking loud." Cobra grumbled, rolling his eyes at the array of thoughts he could hear from the group.

"She's barely making any sound." Evergreen commented, earning a leering grin full of sharp teeth.

He tapped his temple and nodded towards the Celestial Mage. "Her magic, her soul, is making a lot of sound." He gestured to her hands, which were poised over the ground now, her head was tilted even further back as she soaked in the sun's rays. "She's directing her magic outside of her body and practising control by making shapes out of it. The longer she keeps it out of her body, the more her magic container craves that magic, which will essentially make her container want more magic- to curb its craving. She's helping by directing her magic into the ground, feeding the natural currents of magic that run throughout Earthland."

Freed looked at him in surprise and with avid curiosity. "How do you know all this?"

Cobra shrugged. "My sound magic doesn't really allow me to read minds, it just allows me to listen to the soul, read the actions of a person. My dragon slayer magic amplifies my senses, which is why I can hear more acutely than the above-average sound mage."

Freed nodded, stroking his chin in thought, Bickslow looked at the dragon slayer intrigued though.

"And by sitting in the sun, I'm replenishing my magic supply quicker than I would naturally." Lucy said, sighing before standing up. She stretched, her arms twining above her head as she arched her back slightly, languidly.

"Quicker how?" Ever asked. Lucy looked at her sated and smirked lazily.

"The sun is a star, therefore, provides magic through it's rays. Meditating helps open my magic containers to the rays, replenishing what I lose with more magic." Lucy answered, leaning her weight on one hip as she crossed her arms back over her chest. She looked revitalized; her skin shimmering, her hair shining gold and her eyes swimming with magic.

Laxus frowned. "Does this work at night too? With the stars at night?"

Lucy nodded. "It does, more so than the sun, because there's a more concentrated version of my magic entering me." She turned to Cobra and frowned. "Where's the Taint?"

Cobra snickered. "Sleeping, Princess, want me to wake him for you?"

Lucy just shook her head. "My revenge can wait." She looked fully around her at the group. "What are you guys doing here? I mean, Laxus I understand, he was already here, but Raijinshuu?" She cocked an eyebrow at them.

"You're not going to question Cobra?" Laxus wondered quietly.

Lucy briefly looked at the towering man. "Erik can do what he wants and I'm not on his level of insane to tell him otherwise." Cobra grinned at her cheekily.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you, Tig Bits." He replied, slinging an arm across her shoulders. Lucy looked frustrated, shrugging off his shoulders and looking pointedly at the group.

"We were following Laxus-sama, Miss. Lucy." Freed answered, cheeks flushing lightly. "We always train as a group, so we followed him and saw him talking with you." Lucy nodded her head, sucking on her teeth as she turned back to Laxus.

Tilting her head curiously. "How does a God of Ishgar train?"


But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.


"So, Cosplayer..." Bickslow started, but paused when he heard Lucy groan painfully.

She looked up at him from where he was currently curling his body around a metal pole.

"It's been years, Bix. Can't you call me by my name?" She asked, pulling herself up to the next level of bars, her legs dangling as her biceps flexed, lifting her body up and over to sit twenty feet in the air.

Bickslow let his tongue loll out of his mouth as he grinned leeringly at her. "But you looked sexy in that cheerleading outfit and from what Gajeel said, you also look pretty delicious in a bunny outfit."

Lucy returned his leer. "I look delicious in a lot of things…. and delicious in absolutely nothing." A harsh coughing sound caused the two mages to turn their eyes back to the ground, where Laxus was pounding on his chest, trying to get air back in his lungs. Freed looked over at him concerned, releasing the runes over his body- the shadow armor melting from his form. Lucy shrugged, turning her attention away from the duo.

"I bet you do," Bickslow continued, sliding down his pole to be level with her. His red eyes were deep and rich, entrancing Lucy for a moment or two. "So, what's with the animosity you have towards Team Natsu and the rest of Fairy Tail?"

The light mood Lucy had been sporting since her daily meditation was gone in a sudden swoop, her emotions going rampant inside of her.

She looked down and bit her lip. "Some things had happened during and after the war, okay? I needed time to deal with everything. I was on a mission to search for…. something, when Crime Sorciere and Erza found me."

"Yeah, though it was more like Titania sniffed out her lover like the bloodhound she is." Cobra called up to them. They looked down at him and he shook his head exasperated. "If you're going to be having story time, you might as well have a full audience, Princess. Now, get you ass down here and tell these fuckers what those assholes did to you."

Lucy sighed and began her descent, stopping when Bickslow dropped his large hand on her arm.

He looked at her concerned, "You don't have do tell us, if you don't want to. We won't force you to do anything."

Lucy just smiled up at him gratefully and continued moving downwards. Initially, when they resumed training, she was surprised to see how agile Bickslow was on the metal obstacle course that was, no doubt, made by Gajeel. He was graceful, tantalizing flexible, and overall beautiful as he flipped and slid and swung on the bars; his loose tee either stretching too tight across the expanse of his chest or it slipped upwards to show off his dark tan skin and toned abs that Lucy absolutely wanted to just fucking bite at.

"Gather around, children, let me tell you the tale of why I am no longer apart of Fairy Tail."


The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.


I know what you're thinking: why isn't Lucy pissed off at Cobra, Laxus and the Raijinshuu?

Answer is: Lucy's really only mad at Team Natsu and Makarov, though it may not seem like it with the Master. Feeling betrayed by those she though she could count on, those she held onto close in her heart.

Yes, they may not fully remeber what happened during Alveraz, due to natural shock and memory spells by the Celestial King, as mentioned in previous chapters, but Lucy can't help but feel this way.

Anyway, feel free to leave me questions and comments in the reviews. Let me know if you guys like it so far.

P.S, thanks for those who favorited and followed and reviewed already!

P.P.S, I'm searching for someone to bounce ideas off of, if anyone is interested!