(Back at the Fairy Tail Guild No one's point of view)
With the sudden reappearance of Carson within the guild everyone is staring at him wondering what just happened.
Standing up and dusting himself off he looked around dumbfounded and at the clock showing it's only 11 in the morning. He began to walk over to the bar and sat down to think. He knows he has no intention of talking to anyone, but Happy or master in regards to this. He didn't even get to talk to the blond. He did know that he now understood a lot more then he thinks he should. When he mentioned in his mind that she was out of his league, he should have rephrased it with capital letters. SHE WAS OUT OF HIS LEAGUE. She has control of all her power even with the little amount of time he spent with her he could tell, but she's like Guildarts. She has to focus when she's around people otherwise it bursts out. He's seen Guildarts unconsciously run into something and accidentally blow it up because he wasn't concentrating. He had no idea what he just got himself into. Now is she worth it or not though? Is she worth the trouble or should I move on to try and find a new team mate. I'm interrupted with my thoughts though by Mira.
"What are you thinking about Carson?" Mira says slowly observing the dragon slayer in front of her, "Know that if you do or did anything to disappoint or hurt Lucy you will be in some serious trouble… I see and understand what you're contemplating, but the moment you stepped into her shield and she accepted you, she put a small bit of faith in you. You made a choice and now you either stand by it or you stay the hell away from her. Do you understand?" Mirajane says as her takeover slowly starts happen.
"I understand Mira, but this is out of my control. What happened back there…" Carson shakes his head slowly, "Mira what happened to her… I don't know if it's a good idea to be involved with her and how she is doing things. I can support her from afar and she has my every confidence, but she has to do this in her own time. The guild needs to listen to what she's saying when she says she needs to be alone. I'm not stupid. She's way out of my league in every level too." Carson states quietly. "And I believe she can get through this, but I don't know if I have the amount of time or patience for her to come around. I want a team member Mira. Not a project."
Slap!
"Patience for her to come around you say. A team member and not a project you say… Is that how lowly you think of her? She's clearly not worth the effort to you on any level so if that's what you truly think then leave her alone." Mira yells angrily. "She's been through a lot and she's working hard in every aspect. She doesn't want pity, she doesn't want guilt! She wants love and happiness! She's already earned acceptance from everyone, and no one has ever doubted that she wasn't strong. Yes maybe her prior team indirectly stated that she wasn't as strong as them, but she was never doubted! You are a Fairy Tail member and all of us are unique and special in our own way, but we never give up on anything or anyone! Do you understand now!?"
"Enough Mira. Happy has just appeared as well and he is in much better spirits then you all are. Understand this though Carson. We stand together as Fairy Tail. You understand the way the guild works already and that's great, but we are family. We leave no one behind so regardless of your patience and wants Lucy will always be loved, and cared for. You being sent back before Happy she must have seen your facial expression. I know when you appeared I saw it, and it was very disappointing. Now, Natsu and Happy please come up to my office. Happy has news for us." Makarov says calmly.
Slowly the guild hall returned back to normal however it didn't go unnoticed by Carson the underlying threat from the glare he received from his fellow fire dragon slayer that he gave off as he passed him. He heard him whisper under his breath for only him to hear that he was wrong about her and that he shouldn't have said what he did. He was disappointed in him. To have Natsu lose faith in him made Carson realize he had a lot to think about. Carson knew the slayers feelings towards the blond and knew that their bond was tight regardless of the years that passed between them. He knew she was his best friend regardless of their history and that he felt more for her.
However those images and her thought process were hard to get out of his head. Her magic was overwhelming and scary for a celestial mage. She is clear and confident with her spirits and if she's focused there's nothing that can stand in her way. I may not have seen her in battle, but it was clear in her behavior in that training area. Happy even withstood all of that craziness longer then I could. I was only with her for a couple hours. I got maybe two or three sentences in before being sent back to the guild. The biggest thing though I needed to figure out for myself, was if Lucy was worth it to me. To be my team member and partner maybe even more. I can see someone approaching me, but this time it's Lisanna.
"Hi Lisanna. How are you?" Carson tries to smile at Lisanna, but comes out a little stiff.
"I'm ok Carson, but I hope you don't take what Mira said the wrong way." Lisanna says softly. She has a stern look on her face, but she doesn't want to sound mean either.
"I understand Lisanna." Carson tries to stop where this is going. No more discussions today.. What did I get myself into?
Wendy walks up interrupting the conversation further.
"No you clearly don't understand. Your thoughts are written all over your face and you can't lie worth a dam. We told you not to get involved with Lucy by asking her on a mission. We understood what kind of partner you were looking for. We know you're powerful, but power isn't everything to us. You're looking for a trustworthy team mate that will stay by your side in battle as well as someone to enjoy spending time with. You want to create a bond with that member. Lucy has all the qualities you are looking for, but she's been dealt a hard hand in life." Wendy pauses to stare at his facial features. She sees that his face is slowly falling, but continues anyways to get her point across to him.
"Lucy is my sister, and I won't have you ruin her further with your ideas of the ideal or perfect team mate. Erza supports me with this as well as every other member in this guild and trust me. We aren't threatening you in any way shape or form, we are just stating the facts that we don't want to see her hurt anymore." Wendy finishes firmly to her fellow dragon slayer. She looks to Lisanna who remains in front of Carson studying his reaction while Erza who is now next to her as well stays silent but nods her head at him then turns and walks away back to her piece of cake.
"Ok Wendy. I need to leave for a while. I'll talk to you all soon." Carson says guiltily while looking over to Mira and the rest of the guild and nods slowly. He didn't like that the faith he was given by all of them was shattered and as a result disappointed the guild. He should have thought through his wording carefully while talking with Mira. With that thought though Carson walks to the Mission board leaving Lisanna staring after him and selecting a longer than normal mission. He apologizes to everyone and then walks out of the guild. It's clear he is going to contemplate everything he's experienced over the past 24 hours as well as try to figure out a way to apologize to Lucy and everyone else again when he sees them next.
(Master Makarov's office No one's point of view)
Master is now sitting on top of his desk waiting for Happy to give him his message. Natsu remains quiet and is sitting in a chair to the left with a hopeful expression on his face towards Happy who just so happens to be floating doing a miniature happy dance in the air. Natsu knows he needs to remain silent and listen carefully to whatever information Happy may give. Of course he still couldn't help but feel a little angry with Carson's conversation downstairs though. He thought that he could help her. His thoughts were interrupted by Happy though.
"Happy it's good to see you in such high spirits. However, you are not on the mission with her. What happened?" Makarov says happily, but a little worried as well to Happy.
"It's ok master I promise! We started off on the train, but she's a lot like Guildarts. If she's not focused on her magic scary things happen. Not intentionally of course it's just…"Happy drifts off from his once happy place floating down to the chair beside Natsu with a small sniffle, "She didn't mean to. When she starts getting lost in her thoughts and she gets a little emotional that shield that pulses magical energy from her starts to trigger. It's like an automatic response to her emotions she's put in place to protect herself unconsciously. It's a big reason why she goes on missions alone she said. She said she doesn't know how to really interact with people outside of the guild anymore." Happy starts rambling quickly but stops speaking realizing he needs to start from the beginning.
"It all started in the train. I was originally sitting on her lap like old times but she had warned me from the beginning and she promised she would try to not intentionally hurt either of us, but it happened anyways. When she realized, both Carson and I were in the next two seats over watching her, she came back to reality and was devastated. Loki popped out and started talking to her trying to calm her down then to try and get control back over her emotions.
She apologized over and over again, and she was just so disappointed in herself that she explained that that was why she doesn't go on missions with anyone anymore. She doesn't want to disappoint anyone anymore. Loki then demanded that she teleport us to her training spot. He said that if she wants to work or talk with others she has to release some of her unstable magic for a bit to lower her magic capacity. That way it doesn't pulse like it did earlier today." This is where Happy paused for a bit to choose his words carefully. This isn't something she wants shared. She sent Carson away for that reason. The look on his face when he was looking at her projections hurt her deeply.
"Please continue Happy. We need to know as much as we can." Master says softly trying to have him continue. Happy looks at the Master and Natsu before continuing,
"I understand Master, but this part is something rather private for her. This pushed her a bit over the edge with her emotions. You know how emotions affect your magic. Natsu has had his anger affect his multiple times… This was different though. Master instead of focusing and releasing energy she's focusing and releasing emotions in the form of projections. Depending on how strong the emotion towards the projection she had, the clearer the form of it is. Let me say this much Master. We hurt her very severely. She will never admit to it though. She doesn't see it as hurt in the ways we are thinking. She doesn't mind being removed or told indirectly to train hard. It was all the indirect looks and feelings people poured on her. Every time we thought she wasn't looking and we would give her a look of pity or ignore her for something she thought was happy, or silly, or fun, or right… Or disappointment.. ..
She saw. She saw a lot more than we ever gave her credit for…. I saw everything she saw though from those projections..Then again that's what kept her going though I think. Seeing what she needed or wanted to change to make those looks go away. She wants everyone to be happy so she tries harder for all of us. She loves everyone, but if she feels in any way she is taking any of that away from anyone, she said she would remove herself permanently from the guild. At the last image though that was the most damaging and the most private image that I won't discuss. That image broke her mental stability at that moment and she became angry."
Both Makarov and Natsu continue to stare at Happy trying to absorb the information. Trying to accept that her way of thinking has changed so much and how much they hurt her. Neither of them wanted to accept that she felt that way about everyone in the guild. What about her happiness? That's all that Natsu could think. What about her? She will never leave this guild for anyone if he had any say in the matter. Happy continues on though once again breaking his thoughts.
"She stood wide eyed for a moment trying to accept the image, but she couldn't. She tried she really did, but in the end she failed. She slammed her fist into the boulder which in turn shattered and started yelling at Loki, but not before seeing Carson's face… He was sent back immediately after that. She forced Loki back to his realm, but maintained his projection to speak with him so that he wouldn't be hurt from her magical presence that was pulsing from her. They finished their discussion and that's when she turned to talk to me.
She bowed and then apologized and explained what happened after breathing in and out a few times to regain control. In the end she agreed to a plan to help her. I won't be around Team Natsu much anymore and I hope that is ok Natsu, but with any luck, and you'll be happy to hear this, she'll allow you to train with her. Not immediately of course, but she said maybe in time. I believe she has lost confidence that she can work with a new member so soon after Carson's reactions to her, but I am trying to convince her that she would need someone that is sturdy and willing to go the distance to be around her magical presence as it is.
That's where Natsu would come in. He's not as strong as she is, sorry Natsu but after today it's a fact, but he's extremely durable and she knows him very well. She also trusts Natsu even after all this time. For now though she only agreed to take small steps and allow me to attend her training sessions with her in the mornings or evenings every day. This is until she feels she is stable enough to try and attend a mission with me. Once she is confident with her interactions she believes that she may be capable of adding someone to the mix, but for now she requests that she remains on solo missions until she can affectively train around someone without hurting them do to loss of concentration. This is good news though right master? I mean its progress right! She hasn't had company outside of the guild in almost five years. This is a big step right?" Happy tries to convince the Master with a smile on his face.
The master in turn smiles confidently at Happy. "This is your mission Happy. You can attend some missions with Team Natsu here and there, but I want your primary focus on helping Lucy stabilize herself around people outside of the guild. She needs people. We don't want her to feel alone anymore. And Natsu I'm sure she will slowly let you back into her life. It will take time, but you heard the conversation earlier with Carson in the guildhall. You have left her behind once unintentionally, and if you are not sure if she is worth the time and effort to you then back off until she's opened her heart back up to all of us." Master turns back to Happy, "This is a huge step forward for us Happy. Thank you so much for having faith in her. I really do hope Natsu you start moving forward with this opportunity she is allowing you too." Makarov smiles gently to both mages then.
"Wow." Natsu says in a whisper with wide eyes. He looks up at Master then to Happy and smiles a small smile that could almost break your heart. "She really is trying and giving me an opportunity, isn't she. I don't deserve it, but I had already decided this morning that I would do anything to have her in my life again. Whatever she wanted, but I can't believe she's actually allowing me." A small tear slipped down his cheek. He wipes it away quickly and continues to listen to Happy.
"She's insecure Natsu. Be warned. Extremely insecure. She doubts everything about herself so you have to be cautious with what you say around her if it's outside the guild. Inside the guild it's her home. She comes for good times, laughs, and love so for the most part you should be fine like any other day. It's outside the guild you have to be cautious of. Ok?" Happy warns seriously but continues, "You HAVE to think before you speak outside the guild. I can't stress that enough Natsu. She's not crazy. She's just scared outside the guild. She doesn't behave anything like the old Lucy we knew ok? Do you understand what I'm saying Natsu?" Happy tries to be firm. He doesn't know why he understands her, but he observed her and her actions thoroughly all this morning and he wants to make Natsu understand to help him when interacting with her.
"I understand Happy. I will try my hardest, but understand this. I don't have the confusion I used to have about her. There's no other girl in my life besides Lucy. It's always been her from the beginning regardless of however I may have thought I felt or wanted it. So there isn't anything to stand in my way or mix things up for me. Ok master?" Natsu turns to look at the master with a confident smile on his face.
"Understood Natsu. This stays between us ok? She will tell Happy when it is ok for you to attend a training session with her. Besides Happy I'm curious to know when and how she does this training. I never knew she trained every day. I just knew she would disappear from time to time for extended periods of times after a mission." Master Makarov says in a happy tone.
"To be honest Master I'm a little scared of her possible training." Happy chuckles lightly.
Natsu and Master chuckled at this point as well and stood up with the good news about their family member. Natsu walked to the door and opened it allowing Happy to fly out first only to close it quickly behind him. He knew Happy would fly off to Charle.
"Master, I promise this won't end the same way it did last time. I love her. I loved her then, and I love her now. Nothing will confuse me like last time. There are no excuses anymore. I will be by her side at the end of this no matter what. That I can promise you." Natsu says seriously to Master Makarov.
"I wouldn't have it any other way Natsu. We all knew then but it was only you who didn't. It was only a matter of time until you figured that out for yourself. Don't break that promise though. The consequences this time around are much more severe for everyone involved. Ok? Also Lisanna understands too. So don't stress too much about your team. I believe she's had her eye on someone else to work with for a while now and I believe after this she is much more confident with her decision." Master says seriously.
"You mean she wants to leave Team Natsu? I don't understand sir." Natsu says a little sad.
"It's not like that Natsu. You all work well together, but your bonds and trust with each other are damaged in your team. They never fully formed when she came in. You know that. She also has always accepted that, but enjoyed going on your adventures with you. She's talked to me a few times, but didn't really know how to talk with you all about it. She came to tell me this morning before everything with Lucy happened that she was going to take leave from Team Natsu for a while so don't worry. Right now though I believe she feels as though Lucy needs to mend those bonds that were broken with your team between you, Gray, Happy and Erza. You four haven't been the same since. Happy tried to make you guys understand before you talked with Lucy, but you wouldn't see reason." Makarov says gently. He knows this will make Natsu feel bad for pushing someone else away, but he needs him not to view it that way. "This isn't pushing her away Natsu. She just wants to find her own way in her own terms. She doesn't want you blaming yourself for her leaving ok?"
"She really does know me so well." Natsu sniffs a little with a smile on his face. "I understand master. I'll talk with Erza and Gray about it and thank Lisanna for putting up with all of us for so long. I'm sure she'll find a great team mate." Natsu chuckles a little thinking about the conversation to come with his team mates.
"Do you think Lucy would ever accept being back in our team?" Natsu asks quietly knowing that she possibly wouldn't.
"I don't know Natsu. That's something we will all find out though. For now just stay positive and grow from all of this. Regardless of the amount of time that has passed between you all, she has always remained closest and loyal to your team Natsu. She won't just trust anyone and considering she never tried to take a new team when she agreed to leave that should mean something right there. I thought Carson could give her a fresh start, but I believe something more happened then Happy told us.
However, Lisanna and Lucy are big girls and they know what they are doing. They will always smile for all of us. I believe Lucy though will be harder to come around then Lisanna unfortunately. Their situations of leaving your team are completely different and the guild will accept Lisanna's much easier than they did with Lucy's experience. Getting her to fully open up and trust in the fact that she may have to rely on a team again is going to be hard for her to accept, but she's clearly going to try to do it. So have faith in her Natsu. Ok?" Master encourages. He really wants their team to grow and to include Lucy in that growth. Their strength will be unimaginable if they start working together again.
"To be honest master I'm relieved to hear you say all that. You're right about all of it, and I'm sure Erza, Gray and I will do everything in our power to bring Lucy back to our team and to her family." Natsu grins at the master feeling like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.
Turning back to the door he opens it, waves at the master one last time and walks out closing the door behind him. He takes a big breath and lets it out only to smile once more and look up. He couldn't believe that he was given an opportunity like this. The most amazing person to him in the world was giving him an indirect opportunity to be part of her life again. He knows it's the first step with Happy, and then he would be the second. He would protect her at all costs no matter what. I'm sure that Erza will be able to work with her as well once she's more confident. Whether she joins our team or not though I'm sure she'll allow me to go on a mission with her soon, but to be completely honest with himself… He couldn't wait.
(No one's point of view main guildhall around noon)
You could see all the older Fairy Tail members were gathering around the bar with small smiles on their face. They all reminisced about one thing or another until they saw the pink haired man step out of the Master's office. When they saw him smile a smile they hadn't seen in a long time they had a small spark of hope that the Master's words would be true. We all would be stronger from this. She would come out stronger with the rest of them. Gray motioned for Natsu to come to the group to share the news, and on the way over observed his posture. Everyone noticed the weight that seemed to be lifted off his shoulders, the slight bounce in his steps as he quietly walked over to the group. Once he sat down he simply smiled and then got lost in his thoughts. Everyone saw this and shifted their attention to him.
Happy snickering in the corner he's sitting at whispers "He Liiiiiikes her." Causing Natsu to snap out of his thoughts and glare at his little friend.
"Of course I do Happy." Natsu snapped back pouting a little while blushing.
"What did you guys discuss up there? You both are acting weird…" Gray asked cautiously.
"We've been given an opportunity and with this opportunity we will all get back what we have lost. I'm positive. Also, Lisanna has decided she wants to explore other options with some new members in the guild so she told the master this morning before everything that happened with Lucy she was leaving Team Natsu for a while. So as a result I've decided that we, as in me you and Erza are going to train together for a while too so get ready. Ok?" Natsu says confidently while standing up to leave. He turns right before he gets to the door and says, "Smile guys. We're getting our old Lucy back. It's just going to take a little bit of time." With that he decides to walk around town and head towards the park to relax for a while and reminisce about his memories.
Gray and Erza look to Lisanna to see if what he said was true and if this is what she really wants and she doesn't disappoint with her response. "It's true guys. I guess the Master just told him upstairs. I've talked to master a few times about it over the past year, but never really made the decision to until early this morning when I first got to the guild. To be completely honest I've had my eye on someone in particular for a while now." Lisanna turns her head a little with a blush on her face.
"Oh what is this? My baby sister is blushing? Could she have a crush on someone?" Mira teases her.
"Are you sure Lisanna? I mean it's not because of what happened with Lucy right?" Gray interrupts quietly.
"NO!" Lisanna yells and turns firmly towards Gray. "This had nothing to do with Lucy. I support you and your team completely and I support Lucy. It just so happened that this morning happened to be the same morning I talked to the master. None of you noticed when the master came out of his office during this morning's event with Lucy that I slipped out behind him. I wasn't going to tell you guys yet till I knew for sure I was ready but don't think this has anything to do with something that has happened with you guys. I've enjoyed our adventures together. I just want to try some new ones with someone else now. Ok? This was my choice and not even Natsu knew or influenced it." Lisanna smiles at the end trying to get the point across to her prior team mates.
"If that is what you want Lisanna then we all support you. Gray I agree with Natsu. Let's train hard. Who knows? Maybe Lucy will even allow us to train with her if she's allowing Happy to." Erza says optimistically. She won't admit it, but she's been broken for a long time inside with not having Lucy around as much. She's tried to catch up with her outside of the guild, but she always disappeared in a gold light when she thought she would see her. She never understood why Lucy would run away from everyone when she was outside the guild, but now maybe it was her chance to be sisters like they used to be. Sharing everything like they used to.
Gray nods in response a little guilty but joking none the less, "Ok Erza. There's no way in hell I'm letting that flame brain bastard make S-Class before me anyways. We can focus on training more instead of our random side issues. With so many distractions no wonder why we're slacking." Causing everyone to smile around him. All the change is bothering him though. Too much too soon is forcing him to analyze everything that's happened over the past few years.
Lisanna is happy they all have accepted this too. This is what she should have realized all those years ago. She should have understood that she didn't feel that way for Natsu then, but was confused like he was. This is how things were supposed to be though. Team Natsu… The original Team Natsu is sure to become stronger from this. She's sure of it and she's so happy to see all of them smile the way they used to. It's like the life in their eyes is back and they're all fired up for what's to come.
"I'm proud of you Lisanna. I'm sure you'll find an amazing team mate and grow stronger." Mira says gently as her sister turns towards her. "I know it was hard for you these past few years with all of the confusing feelings between you and Natsu in the beginning, but it's like the life is back in your eyes now. You look excited for this change that you've talked about for the past year with me and Elfman, and I'm sure this team member you have had your eye on will feel privileged and honored to work with you. Never forget your memories of Team Natsu, never regret anything, and know that sometimes things just happen. Besides I smelled love in the air when you were talking earlier." Mira winks at her towards the end causing Lisanna to giggle and blush.
"Ya never know Mira. You just might be right." Lisanna stood there for a moment in her thoughts for a bit thinking about that first year with Natsu and how they both realized they didn't care for each other the way they thought they did. It then became a little awkward. Their relationship that they were trying to make work deteriorated fast causing them to realize it wasn't supposed to work, because he was supposed to be with someone else. She was surprised she wasn't hurt by that, but relieved at the same time that she wasn't with him. They knew it would never work and remained friends all this time instead. She did get to tease him though since she knew he loved the blond celestial mage. With confusion though comes understanding and she agreed with her sister. She was always right and she would listen to her advice that she gave with a smile on her face. She was ready for the adventures to come.
Overall everyone knows that Fairy Tail is family and no matter what they are all here for each other. Lisanna stares at Happy and smiles while Happy just responds with a quick nod and flies off towards the rest of his team before he goes in search of Natsu at the park. Smiles continue to break out across the guild and they all know that it may be a long time, but Team Natsu and Lucy would be coming back, while in turn bringing the guild back to its former glory of craziness.