Nobody moved a single inch for an hour, realization of what they had done suddenly dawning on them.
.
It was Natsu who broke the silence, when he sprinted upstairs and slammed the door to Makarov's office open, the rest of the team following, minus Lissanna, who'd gone to find Mira.
"GRAMPS!" He was tumbling over his words, to many questions exploding from his mouth all at once.
Gray slapped his hand over his mouth, irritated, and turned to Makarov.
"Lucy's hand…why was there no guild mark?!"
Makarov slowly looked at them, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"She quit the guild…-"
Wendy's gasp and the rest of the teams cries of horror cut him off.
"W-What…I don't…" Erza stuttered out, trying to form her pain in words.
"GRAMPS! HOW COULD YOU JUST LET HER LEAVE LIKE THAT?!" Natsu's screamed out after Erza, the loudness of his voice resounding throughout the room.
Gray stood next to the salmon headed fire mage, his head shaking slowly as he silently swore out.
Wendy had started the waterworks and Carla looked crestfallen, her eyes downcast, and her lips pursed.
Happy stood in front of Natsu, bawling loudly with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Erza clenched her jaw, ready to demand an explanation when Makarov spoke out.
"Listen up, you brats!" His eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw was locked, showing his frustration at having let go of one of his children.
"Lucy said she was leaving temporarily, saying she had family matters to attend to, she promised she'd come back."
Hope sparked in the group's eyes, some of the earlier tension and worry gone.
"How long will she be gone?!"
"Are you sure she's coming back?"
"That girl… leaving like that and making Wendy cry…"
"LUSHEEE!"
"LET ME GO AFTER HER GRAMPS!"
"Will she be okay?!"
Makarov slammed his fist down on his desk, his eyes squinted with fresh tears.
"You brats…no, this entire guild has no right to worry about her… we don't even deserve for her to come back to us…!"
The room went silent and Master turned his head to Carla, who'd made the comment about making Wendy cry.
"You can't say those things about her… especially when we selfishly abandoned her for these past two months…!"
Carla's eyes widened, before she turned her head away, ashamed.
The master wiped at his eyes before continuing.
"She said she didn't know how long she'd be gone, whether it be months or years…"
Erza clenched her fists.
Lucy had depended on her, and she had let her down... No, she had failed her.
Tears pricked at her eyes and her teeth clenched at the guilt that stabbed at her.
"Do you know what she said…?" Makarov's words were heavy from the tears that came with it.
"She said… she said she'd come to accept that she was just a replacement for Lissanna…" he inhaled deeply, trying to stop the oncoming tears.
The six looked at him, shocked.
Natsu for once, had nothing to say except for a weak, "She… she was never…"
Makarov turned to him, head shaking ever so slowly.
"I know… but we have nobody to blame but us… we were the ones who treated her as such."
Erza couldn't take anymore, and barged right out of the office, her long red hair flowing out around her.
She would go to Lucy's right now and beg for her forgiveness if she had to.
The rest seemed to think the same, because they were right on her tail.
They made their way out of the office, only to see Team Shadowgear, Gajeel, Cana, and Romeo enter after them.
Making their way down the stairs and out the door, they could see people crying from the guilt, and more people heading to the master's office.
They managed to make their way to Lucy's apartment in a matter of minutes and quickly knocked on the door.
They didn't want to anger Lucy by coming in without permission, after all, they already had enough to apologize for.
They waited for a couple minutes, the tension high, but nobody answered the door.
Pushing her lips into a grim line, Erza knocked even harder, the door rattling under the pressure.
No response.
Erza finally grabbed the key she received from Mira and unlocked the door, having it swing open.
Walking in, the team tried to search for the celestial mage, but they didn't find her.
Wendy burst into another fit of waterworks, Gray swore as hard as he could, and Natsu hung his head, his fist tightened so tight his knuckles turned white.
Erza merely looked away so the rest couldn't see the tears that blocked her sight.
.
Lucy was gone.
.
And they'd have to deal with this burning guilt until the day she returned.
Well, that's it for now! New chapters will be updated every week or two. Please fave and follow! Reviews are also very welcomed!