Dear Readers:

As we approach the end of the re-written portion of the story, I find myself wondering if the story is better than the original. Let me know in the reviews?

Desna owns the Pradesh Characters, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. Sadly, I own nothing.

Enjoy!

"Natsu…" Happy called anxiously after his friend from his spot, hovering on his aera wings just a few feet away.

The pink-haired wizard had been pacing around by their favorite fishing spot for hours, and he'd not stopped flaming since their arrival. The path he was walking back and forth across was charred and… interestingly enough, wet too, as Happy had been forced to continually splash water on it (and Natsu) when the flames started to spread through the grass toward the forest behind them.

The exceed was depressed, had experienced the worst few days of his existence over the last week, and was constantly fighting tears - but he really couldn't focus on that because Natsu needed supervision. Which, though he was upset that he couldn't just deal with his own feelings, was probably a good thing. Happy wasn't sure if his body could handle more tears at this point.

Natsu had been completely oblivious to his words for all the hours they'd been there, and though Happy was used to the dragon slayer's obliviousness, he was worried. He found himself really beginning to wonder if he'd ever get through to the man.

Happy had no idea what Lucy had said to Natsu, but seeing the way he was reacting, the exceed figured it was nothing good. And that just made him depressed all over again, because as much as he teased her, he loved Lucy as much as he did Natsu.

He wondered if he'd ever see his Lushy again. Thinking on it, he believed the answer to that was likely "no", and it saddened him so much that he dropped his wings and fell to his butt on the ground.

"Natsu… Natsu please stop…" Happy begged again, this time basically sobbing.

He couldn't handle it anymore. The only person who could calm the dragon slayer in the state he was in, was Lucy. The few times he'd been close to this bad, Lucy had always come around and made things better.

This time, Lucy wasn't coming over. Not anytime soon, and thinking about that just made things worse. Again. This, this is why Happy hates thinking. It's stupid.

Despairing, he activated his wings again and flew to the edge of the lake. He sat back down slowly, crying into his paws. He decided he no longer cared if the dumb forest caught fire from Natsu's uncontrolled magic. It could burn down. Not like it mattered.

Lucy wouldn't yell at them for destroying it, so why bother protecting it?

He sat like that for several minutes, whimpering, before he noticed the heat against his back cooling slightly.

The exceed glanced over his shoulder to see Natsu, brows still furrowed in frustration and confusion, seemingly wrestling with his own magic. He was clearly trying to regain control, for the first time since he'd left the guild hall, but it was slow going.

Slowly but surely, the fire that had been surrounding Natsu for hours started to shrink, drawing closer to his body with each passing minute. After fifteen long, frustrating minutes of deep breathing for the pink-haired wizard, the fire finally fizzled out against his skin and some of his composure returned.

Natsu sighed, his breathing somewhat shaky, as he cracked his knuckles and stretched out his tense muscles. He let out a humorless chuckle and glanced at his exceed partner, "Sorry, little buddy…"

Happy saw his friend try to crack a smile and fail, his features settling into a grimace instead. He rubbed the back of his neck and walked closer to the blue-furred feline, setting himself down cross-legged on the ground a foot away.

The fire mage pulled off his sandals slowly, setting them to the side, and put his feet into the water in front of him. Both fell silent, listening only to the rustle of leaves in the trees around them. The soft sounds of the water lapping at the rocks they sat on. The faint sizzling of the wet grass where the water was still fighting off some of the Natsu-charred blades of grass.

The two of them had never been awkward. Silence between them was rare, but had always been comfortable. Easy.

Now, they were just sitting quietly in a dark cloud of depression, neither of them knowing what to say.

So they said nothing.

For a long time, they sat like that, just taking in the cool fall air around them and struggling with their own thoughts and feelings.

Eventually, Natsu found his attention drawn to the stars once more. He fell back, his feet still in the cool water, and lay down on the ground on his back, his hands behind his head. Just taking in the massive expanse of stars above him.

Happy moved as well, shuffling over to rest against the fire mage's side, but looked to the sky as well.

After a few minutes, Natsu finally spoke. But it wasn't to Happy.

"Why?" the fire mage questioned. The exceed knew who he was talking to. He couldn't help but wonder the same thing, and found himself hoping that one of Lucy's spirits would appear and answer Natsu's sad inquiry.

A few minutes passed - in which nothing happened, of course - and then Natsu spoke again.

"I…" he cleared his throat, "I don't understand. Were you all fooling us?"

Another hour passed just the same, and Happy's exhaustion finally took hold. The exceed fell into an uneasy sleep. Natsu remained wide awake, unable to stop thinking long enough for tiredness to even really register.

"Loke, you bastard. Answer me." The questioning tone in his voice was gone, replaced with this more familiar emotion. Anger.

Another hour gone by next to the sleeping exceed revealed no celestial spirits. None of them decent enough to come down and face him.

"Virgo, I thought we were friends… Why didn't you tell me Luce-Lucy was lying?"

No answer. Again. Natsu knew that would be the case. He actually wasn't even sure if they could hear him, but he imagined they could. He imagined them cowering away in their sparkly, palace-filled world, seeing his pain and ignoring it. It made his anger feel justified.

An hour later found Natsu still staring at the sky, which was gradually gaining light. Now a twilit sky rather than the dark, star-filled night he'd been confronting for hours.

"Aquarius… weren't you like a mom to her? Didn't you teach her not to lie? Why… Why would you let her be this way? You should have taught her better."

This time, he was actually a little surprised that nothing happened. Half the time, he thought Aquarius was some kind of all-knowing, omniscient being that would show up if he bad-mouthed her. She was, admittedly, terrifying. No such luck, though. Not a single wave tried to drown him, despite his feet literally dangling in water.

The sun broke the horizon not long after that, and Natsu's view of the stars was completely cut off. He threw his arms to his side and clenched his fists, pissed off that he still had no answers, and no longer any energy to deny the truth of Lucy's betrayal.

It was a revelation that made his heart clench in his chest.

The knowledge that his best friend in the world was just some crazy, evil woman using him to get what she wanted made him want to self-destruct. Or maybe explode a town. Or two.

Or maybe way more than that.

She'd even distracted him from finding Igneel, not that he would have found the dragon that was hiding within him, but still. He'd betrayed the love he had for his father by giving up the search, because Lucy had captured up so much of his attention. And now that father was gone, well and truly gone this time. And Natsu was alone. Again.

Just him and Happy against the world. He thought that should be enough, right?

It should have been, but with years living by Lucy's side, it didn't quite seem as fulfilling as it once was. With Gray and Erza and the rest of Fairy Tail, he should be okay. But somehow, it didn't feel that way.

And Luce, the woman he loved, was gone. Or maybe she never existed? He wasn't really sure how to describe it. It was like talking about two different people.

Maybe all that there ever was was Lucy of Fallen Star, maybe that's who she'd always been, underneath it all. A woman determined to help a dark guild steal Fairy Tail secrets without regard to the people she used to get them.

But Luce, she was real. Or she had been, to him. She'd been the one to show him that he could be happy without his dad. That he could make the most of his life without constantly searching for his missing father. That he had a loving family in Fairy Tail, if he'd just let them in.

Luce had been the one to show him that life isn't all about fighting and being strong. It was about protecting the things you care about.

Luce had been the one to make him realize that he could love his friends, but that being in love was something so much more. Not that he'd ever told her.

Luce was the one who helped him grow up. To "be a man" as Elfman would put it. To look at the big picture, to see more than what was just in front of his face. She'd been the only one able to show him what it was like to have a family, even though it had been staring him in the face for years before she showed up.

But… This wasn't Luce. This was Lucy. And Lucy was the one who shattered his heart, and made him question everything he'd ever learned from the years he spent as her best friend and teammate. But that didn't mean that Luce hadn't been the reason for all the good things in his life.

It was just so confusing.

He sat up and pulled his now-wrinkled toes from the water, and gathered his feet under himself to sit cross-legged, dropping his head into his hands.

Beside him, Happy stirred and opened his eyes.

Seeing that the sun had risen, Happy sighed and sat up, rubbing the fitful sleep from his eyes.

"Natsu… Lushy's leaving today, isn't she?"

It was quiet for a while, Natsu not moving or responding in any way, but Happy knew that he'd been heard. He gave his friend a minute to compose himself.

"Yeah, Happy. Lucy is going, and she's not coming back," he said, wiping his eyes discreetly, "Go see her off if you want, but… I can't. I…," he moved his hands away from his face and crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to meet Happy's eyes in favor of looking out over the water, "I'll be fine here, but I can't see her again."

Happy sniffled a little, trying not to cry yet again, and he looked at his unhappy friend, "I… I have to go Natsu… I… I know y-you said… s-she is bad n-now…" the exceeds attempts at not crying were foiled, "But I'm g-gonna miss h-her…." he trailed off, sobbing.

Natsu sat up and put a comforting hand on the cat's head, "Go on, Happy. Go see her off."

"B-but… You're sure… You'll be okay b-by y-yourself?" Happy asked uncertainly.

Natsu nodded, crossing his arms over his chest again, "I'll be fine, buddy. Get going."

Still crying, the exceed took a shaky breath and activated his aera magic, sprouting wings. He sent one last look at his partner and, seeing that he wasn't covered in flames, took off toward Magnolia.

Lisanna was tending bar at the guild when Happy arrived. Mira had been sent home the afternoon following the attack, when she woke up, and had been recovering ever since. The same was true for many of the people who'd been hit directly by the poison attack. A few had returned, meandering around the guild hall, but most were still stuck at home under threat of Porlyusica's wrath should they overextend themselves.

Porlyusica's wrath was not to be underestimated.

Wendy was at the bar with Romeo, while most of the rest of the guild was situated around the hall at the few tables that hadn't been destroyed in the evening. The Thunder Legion was still milling about around the entrance and the perimeter of the hall, making sure no one unwelcome entered until Laki came back that afternoon to repair the newly damaged wooden furniture and the guild door.

Happy flew straight toward a Levy, who was sitting at the bar, huddled against Gajeel for comfort and staring straight ahead at the bottles on the wall and not really seeing anyone. Or anything. Her book was perched in her lap but she wasn't reading it.

Happy landed on the bar in front of her and after a moment of thought, flung himself into her arms seeking comfort from the small bluenette who seemed as completely devastated as he was.

"H-has she… gone?" Happy questioned, his voice small and muffled by the fabric of Levy's dress.

Levy didn't respond, and Gajeel was silently staring at the two at his side unable to really speak without growling in anger and sadness, though he was trying to hide it. The kin bond was something very, very precious to a dragon. The betrayal they'd suffered at Lucy's hands had all but severed that bond - in fact, he was shocked it wasn't cut off entirely, but it was frayed enough that it was essentially useless. Dragon Slayers could normally sense if their kin was in danger, their emotions if they were strong enough, and typically had a strong sense of where they were located. His bond with Lucy? He couldn't feel anything from it. It was there, he could tell, but that was it. Wendy was likely in the same state, though it seemed like Laxus' had actually broken.

There wasn't another explanation as to why he wasn't a complete fucking mess like the rest of them. He was angry, sure, but the rest of them were conflicted and confused and irritable - their instincts going haywire. Gajeel found himself jealous of the lightning slayer. If the bond had broken he'd be much better off.

He hated having a tie to someone who used him and the rest of the people who had come to be his family.

And she'd hurt his only other kin, Levy. Hurting a dragon's kin was a very bad deal, and Gajeel couldn't even be properly pissed about it because of that stupid bond that refused to break. While technically, he could break it himself, he… couldn't bear to do it. Something told him not to, and he wasn't really one to fight his instincts. Even if they were confusing as shit.

Still, he was doing all he could to not show anyone how affected he was. Because Levy, who's bond had always been stronger because she wasn't fucking hiding shit, needed his help. She was devastated. Disbelieving. Unsure. She needed Gajeel to be strong and support her, or she'd crumble.

Happy just stared at the two mages in front of him, and just as the silence got unbearable, Panther Lily spoke up from the bartop next to him and answered his fellow exceed with a softly-spoken, "No, she's still here".

Both Happy and Levy took deep, shuddering breaths, but didn't speak after that. Gajeel just grumbled.

"She'll be escorted to her apartment at noon to gather her crap, and then her train out of Magnolia leaves at three. Gramps and I are dealing with it. If you want to say goodbye to the traitor, I'd suggest doing it before she leaves the guild. We are removing her guild mark in an hour, that's the only chance you'll have before she's gone for good," Laxus addressed the wizard and exceed quintet that were huddled by the bar.

His voice was cold, and loud enough that the rest of the guild could hear him and plan accordingly. He wanted to give the guild members opportunity to leave before she walked through, or be there for when she did. It wasn't his decision to make for them, if they wanted to say goodbye? They should be able to. If they never wanted to see her again? Up to them.

If he hadn't known the truth, he would have wanted the option. She was family, still would have been, and in all honesty he'd been in the exact same position before - he can't imagine a situation in which he wouldn't have at least seen her off. For everyone else, she was a valued member before everything went down. It was easy to see that the whole guild was having mixed reactions to recent events.

Wendy approached the group and addressed Laxus, "I want to heal her".

Laxus was taken aback, but looked down at the blue-haired teenager and responded gruffly, "Not a good idea, Wen. She's not exactly friendly these days. And Chelia healed almost everything before she left… She doesn't deserve your help anyway."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and steered her away from Gajeel, Levy, and the exceeds. Going to the other side of the bar, he sat down and ordered a beer from Lisanna and waited for Wendy to take a seat beside him. She sat down slowly, staring at her hands and putting her thoughts together.

"Lucy means a lot to me, Laxus. She's… Well, she's kin. And maybe that bond is breaking or broken beyond repair, but even if your bond to her is broken, mine isn't. For some reason it's still there, just barely, and so I have to help her. Or at least see for myself that she's healed before I never see her again," she cut off the protest that he was about to dish out with a glare his direction, "I know she isn't who I thought she was, so don't interrupt me. I don't plan on following her around, and I don't even really know if I could forgive her if she apologized at this point. That poison was deadly, and a lot of our family was hurt because of her, and honestly we could have lost a lot of good people if Chelia hadn't come to help me."

She sighed, looking directly at Laxus again, "So no, I don't think she's a good person and I'm not deluding myself thinking that she will somehow turn into one. But my dragon claimed her as kin, and she helped me grow up - even if it was just a way to use me and get the trust of the guild - but I owe her for that."

Wendy wrung her hands together, "So I can at least make sure she's okay before she goes..."

Laxus listened to Wendy trail off, but looking at her revealed the determined set to her mouth that reminded him so keenly of a certain blonde.

He couldn't help but feel for the girl. He knew the sky maiden cared for Lucy, and really, the celestial wizard was a huge part of why she was such a strong girl at such a young age. Even beyond the Kin bond - Lucy was kin to almost every Dragon Slayer he knew of, for some reason - he could tell that Wendy had always looked up to celestial wizard as a role model. And now she was leaving, and Wendy was taking it pretty harshly.

He did find himself extremely proud of her, still. Wendy being willing to help even an 'enemy' recover and have a good chance at life after she left, despite a strained kin bond, was pretty impressive. He could tell, if the Gajeel was in that same situation, he likely would make a different choice.

Laxus thought it over some more, then just sighed heavily.

"Fine, kid. I'll ask Gramps if he'll allow it. We're cutting her loose because she isn't working with her old guild anymore, and she technically didn't hurt anyone personally. That's the only reason the Rune Knights aren't involved. But she's not exactly reformed. She's mean and hostile and we don't want you getting hurt."

"I can take it," Wendy said, determination making her eyes sparkle. He was again, reminded of a young Lucy Heartfilia. He almost cracked a smile.

Instead, Laxus merely sighed, got up, downed the beer Lisanna had brought him, and made a move toward the master's office. Wendy watched him go, trying to ignore the heartache she felt at Lucy's betrayal, and the pain of the frayed bond that she refused to sever.

She glanced at Gajeel, and the blank expression on his face, and knew he was feeling similarly. She wasn't the only Dragon in Ishgar that had claimed the blonde as kin.

"Gramps. We have to let Wendy heal her before she goes."

Makarov glanced up at his grandson, finally removing his attention from the paperwork stacked in front of him, quirking up an eyebrow in question.

Sighing, Laxus continues, "She claimed her as kin, Gramps, just like I have. Don't know why I haven't noticed before, but if she doesn't do this, her dragon will be restless until she comes back. We've got to at least let her check Lucy out and confirm that she's healthy. She's made up her mind."

The old guild master sighs heavily, "Gajeel too... I'm going to have four restless dragons on my hands for the foreseeable future, aren't I?"

Laxus just shrugs, "Three. Well, six, but they aren't all Fairies. And it can't be helped, old man. She's fucking brilliant, and magnetic, and powerful - not that she can see that. Dragons crave strength and security, and she, up until this stupid shit got in the way, has always been the embodiment of those feelings. It's only natural that we claimed her as kin once we got close."

Makarov was silent for a while, still thinking over what the lightning slayer said to him, then spoke up quietly, "So Natsu isn't kin? That's shocking, considering they are attached at the hip," he stated, before considering, "well, they were attached at the hip."

Shrugging again, Laxus answers, "Yeah, not sure about all that. Natsu's pretty dense, so maybe he never learned about it all."

Makarov just waved him off, "Ah, well, nothing to focus on now. Do you think Wendy can handle seeing Lucy? She's a delicate girl and Lucy will have to be… ah… not nice if she is to keep the guild in the dark."

"Yeah, she's stronger than you think. Stronger than I gave her credit for," Laxus admitted.

"To be honest, I'm much more comfortable letting Lucy leave here alone if I know she's been healed and double checked. Hell, if Bix's brother could get here from Bosco before she leaves, I'd have him here in a heartbeat to triple check, because I don't want Lu out there alone and injured. Especially not when we don't know where these bastards are hiding. Besides, I think it'd be good for Wendy to see her healed before she goes."

Makarov thought for a moment more, before nodding slowly, "Okay. But I'll be there with her, and I want Lucy's permission first. She had some rough encounters last night and I need to make sure she's ready to handle it."

Laxus looked relieved at the prospect of his kin being healed, before he schooled his expression once more and started walking out of the master's office. "I'll get Wendy then. You chat with Blondie, and let me know when she's ready," he threw over his shoulder at his grandfather, before he opened the door and headed back to the blue haired dragon slayer.

Makarov rolled his shoulders and steeled himself for another painful moment with one of his favorite children - not that he has favorites - before walking slowly out of his office towards the infirmary.

"Lucy, child, are you sure?" Makarov asked her as she and Virgo work to hastily put away her research materials, setting most aside for Virgo to take back to the celestial realm.

"Yes, Master. If Wendy needs to face me, I have to let her. I…" She paused, thinking for a moment, "I know what a dragon's kin is. I researched it pretty thoroughly when Gajeel first told me about it. It's… Well, it's bad enough that I strained the bonds so much by lying," she said tiredly.

Makarov only looked at her worriedly.

"If she needs to face me, then that's what needs to happen," Lucy confirmed, her eye filling with that same determination he'd seen on her countless times.

Makarov quickly agreed after seeing the look in her eye.

"Alright. I'll call her up. After that's done, my dear, we will get the terms of our agreement squared away, and then we will remove your guild mark and leave."

Hearing that her time at Fairy Tail was rapidly coming to a close was painful, each and every time she was reminded, but her determination didn't falter. Gray believed in her. Laxus believed in her (albeit reluctantly) and so did the Master. And her spirits would always be by her side. Lucy was gaining more confidence in her plan by the day, as she finalized the details and thought on all the people she still had in her corner.

She didn't respond to Makarov's words, only looking at Virgo and confirming she had everything before dismissing her and laying back against the rather flat pillows on the infirmary bed.

Rearranging her blankets and such, and removing the few remaining bandages so Wendy could see the only remaining damage she could fix, she nodded to Makarov, "Alright, Gramps. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Wendy didn't speak when she entered the infirmary. She honestly didn't even look at Lucy, apart from her injured body. She was shaking with rage, and sadness, and betrayal the whole time she was there and only made one single, small, surprised noise at the damage she discovered when she hovered her hands over her kin. And one more, slightly more horrified gasp when she saw the damage to her face - and the lack of her left eye.

She was able to heal all the small cuts and bruises, as all the major damage sustained was healed by Chelia before she left.

By the time the blue-haired girl was done, Lucy felt as though she was at one hundred percent for the first time in… well, in years, if she was being honest. The last few years, she'd been adamantly refusing to allow Wendy to heal her unless it was life threatening. Some kind of self-punishment, she supposed, for sacrificing Aquarius.

Needless to say, Lucy was thankful that Wendy decided she needed to help. Not that she could express that gratitude, which killed her inside, but she was grateful nonetheless. She couldn't bring herself to say anything scathing to the small bluenette, but made a show of 'not needing her help' and 'wishing she'd just go away' and a few scathing glares, after which the bluenette would grit her teeth just a bit harder and continue fighting tears. Lucy hated it, but at least Wendy hadn't asked her questions. That would have been… unimaginably difficult.

Lucy made a promise to herself to make sure the teen was taken care of, even if it meant she had to bribe Laxus, Master, Gray, or even Gildarts to make sure it was so.

Wendy tired quickly after healing the remainder of Lucy's wounds, and unfortunately even with intervention, they would all remain scarred. Now, though, she'd be able to start her training journey immediately, without hindrance from her injuries, and wouldn't have to waste any time after she got done with Sabretooth.

Wendy left with one more harsh glare sent by Lucy, shedding tears only as she was leaving, and spoke over her shoulder quietly at the woman she'd once considered a sister, "Lucy. I hope you can change, and I'm sorry that you still can't find it in yourself to be happy with us. Even after all these years together. I don't think… I doubt we will meet again, so… have a nice life."

And with those words she left, leaving an emotionally exhausted Lucy behind her, doing everything she could to hold in her tearless whimpers until Wendy was far enough away to not hear her.

"Gildarts, I need you to head back to Fiore."

Gildarts face showed panic on the other end of the com lacrima, "What?! I was just there! Is Cana okay?!" he shouted at master, and started rapid-fire questioning his guild master for details, not letting the little old man get a word in edgewise to respond.

"GILDARTS! SHUT IT!"

"...yes, master. What is it?"

"I need you to meet Lucy in the Waas Forest in three days. Can you do that?"

"Lucy…? What do you mean I have to meet Lucy? You mean the same Lucy who you've convinced everyone is responsible for the attack on the guild? What about Cana?"

Makarov shouldn't be surprised that Gildarts had doubts about the real situation with Lucy. He'd been the guid for a very long time, and his instincts were solid.

Sighing heavily, Master replied, "It's a long story and one I don't wish to discuss over a com that isn't secured. She will tell you when you arrive, and I'll send her with a letter from myself detailing what I need you to do. And Cana is FINE, you old fool, stop obsessing!"

"Oh alright. I didn't really have a mission anyway, I had just heard about this amazing bathhouse in Bosco… Well nevermind that. Anyway, she'll have a way to contact me?"

"She will call your com in three days, sooner if she has to adjust the timing."

Gildarts scratched his beard and narrowed his eyes at his guild master once more. "... Can Cana come with her?"

Master just rolled his eyes and disconnected the line, turning to address Lucy, who was sitting quietly staring at her hands.

"You don't need to inconvenience Gildarts, master. I can train with my spir-"

"Lucy, you gave me your word."

Rolling her eyes, she responded, "Yes, yes. And I won't break it," she stated, "that doesn't mean I can't try to get you to reconsider…" she muttered almost petulantly.

Makarov smiled at her, something he hadn't done in days, and let out a light chuckle, "We are still your family, Lucy, even if most of us don't know that. Of course we will help you, and no, I'm not changing my mind."

She simply nodded. "Alright. What else do we need to arrange?"

"You still have the com Laxus gave you?"

"Yeah…?" Lucy answered a little confused. What would she have done with it, it's not like she left the guild at any point in the last three days...?

"I told you, we must speak every week. If you can't reach me, you must reach Laxus. At the first HINT that you are in danger, I expect a call. If I go more than seven consecutive days without hearing your voice, I will send every S-Class mage we have after you - including Laxus. Do you understand?" he commanded her firmly.

"...yes, Gramps."

"I'd also like to be informed of any major updates you find in regards to your research into Fallen Star, preferably as soon as you discover them. Is this agreeable?"

Lucy thought that one over for a moment, before nodding once more, "yes, I think that would be for the best. If you promise to do the same?"

"I can do that, Lucy," Master Makarov agreed, "Then we just have one last thing before we head on our way. Are you ready to get your mark removed and face the guild?"

"I… I wouldn't say, 'ready', but… it's now or never. Let's go."

Laxus, who had been standing at the doorway, walked over to his fellow blonde as she stood from her chair. Lucy leaned over and hugged Makarov tightly while he stood on his desk, whispering words of thanks for his support and for everything he'd done for her.

When she finally pulled away from the old man, she saw his teary face and nearly broke down again. But she'd promised herself no more tears, so she held back as she turned to face her big brother.

"Lax…"

"Lu… Be safe out there, alright, kiddo?" he choked out, enveloping her smaller frame into a large, affectionate hug. He wasn't a hugger, but in that moment he vowed he would become one. If only it would prevent her from leaving, charging head-first into an unknown danger alone.

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she hugged him back with everything she had, whispering a softly spoken, "Yeah. I can do that."

They pulled away reluctantly, and all three arranged their features to hide the pain they were feeling, before they walked out onto the guild balcony to address the guild before Lucy left for good.