A/N: Hey guys! Enjoy! xx

Laxus: FINALLY! Jeez, how long does it take you to write now?!

Niko: Shut up! I had things to do today!

Laxus: *scoffs* Yeah right.

Niko: Shut it blondie, or I'll tell Lucy!

Laxus: You think I'm scared of her?

Lucy: What was that Laxus?

Laxus: *pales, sweatdrops*

Lucy: I thought not. Hey readers, please enjoy what Niko wrote today! She will update more tomorrow, and will try and upload again tonight, but she's struggling cause she's stupid sometimes. Please forgive her puny tired brain!

Niko: *sits in corner depressed and starts growing mushrooms as she chews on scribbled on paper*

Bickslow's POV

I glared at the red headed spirit as he appeared right behind cosplayer, immediately wrapping his arms around her, one at her stomach and one around her shoulders so she was pulled up against his bare chest.

He rested his head on her shoulder and turned his face to whisper into her ear, his eyes not leaving me.

My glare intensified as he tightened his hold on her.

'Stop that Nick.' She said, scowling at him as she pushed him away with a sigh.

'You know you love it, Lu-cy.' He mumbled, rubbing his hands up and down her arms as he smirked when he heard me growl low in my throat.

'Nick, stop being silly. I need you to heal Bix.' I groaned in embarrassment when I saw that spirit grin as he noticed my unwillingness.

'I don't see any injury, Lu-cy.' I felt like the pause he placed in her name was purposeful, to annoy me.

And it's working...

'I, umm... I kind of hit him in the... er...' Cosplayer trailed off, her face flushing fifty shades of red as Nick grinned, narrowing his eyes.

'No problem, I can heal his pain. Though I wonder how our dear lion spirit would react were he to hear of this? I can't help but wonder myself what circumstances you were under for him to sustain such an injury.' He turned to glare at me, ensuring she couldn't see he was giving me a look that would place a weaker person in a coffin.

'If you hurt my master in any way, I will cause you unimaginable pain, the likes of which you couldn't imagine.' Cosplayer sputtered at his words, but I nodded my agreement.

'You'd be last on a long list kid; the entire guild would have to get through me first.' He smirked as he moved towards me, and I glared at him as he raised an eyebrow.

'Trust me, I don't want to get any closer to that part of your anatomy; I like women.' He stood beside the chair and placed his hands over my stomach, scowling as he pulsed his healing light into my body. I felt the warmth enter my stomach before it moved down towards the pained area.

I sighed in relief as the agony finally abated, before dissolving into nothingness. Instantly, the spirit was far away from me, embracing cosplayer tightly while giving me an evil look.

'Thanks Nick. Please don't tell Loke.' She muttered, returning the hug. He pulled away from her when I stood up, my babies hovering agitatedly beside me.

'Do you really think I would tell lion boy I had to heal some guys man stick? No thanks!' He laughed as she blushed red again, before disappearing in a flash after dropping a kiss on her forehead as a final jab at my anger.

Lucy's POV

I skipped into the guild, cheerfully greeting everyone, only to be floored by a hysteric Mira. I blinked hard as I gasped for breath, having been winded by her ecstatic rugby tackle of a hug.

'LUCYYYY! I missed you! I'm so sorry!' I gently patted her back, trying to sit up and detach her arms from their iron grip around my waist.

'Mira, I only went home to shower and change, what's going on? What are you sorry for?' She pulled away sniffing as she grinned at me, her silver hair slightly out of place from her sprint across the guild to grab me to her.

'Oh nothing! I fell asleep earlier and had a bad dream that something happened to you!' I frowned, not entirely believing her, but accepting her rubbish excuse. Mira never fell asleep at the guild, and she never acted on a dream, she was far too level headed for that.

'Whatever you say Mira. Have you seen Laxus?' Her expression darkened slightly before she smiled her usual beautiful smile. You could see why she used to be one of Sorcerer Weekly's most popular models from just looking at her, but when she smiled, it was as though she upped the ante of her beauty to an angelic level that no one could compete with.

'Come sit at the bar, I'll go get him; he's talking with Master.' I shook my head as I stood up, Bix giving me a hand.

'Oh no, there's no need to disturb them. I'll wait for him to finish; besides, I need to talk with team Natsu.' She smiled and nodded as she skipped over to the bar, her red dress floating behind her.

'I'll be with Ever.' Bix murmured, smiling softly at me before he walked away. I watched his retreating back for a second, before snapping myself out of my trance and made my own way across to my usual table where Natsu, Happy, Gray, Erza and Lisanna sat.

'LUSHYYY!' Happy yelled, throwing himself at me and hugging me tightly with his small paws.

'Hey there Happy, is Natsu feeding you enough fish?' He shook his head looking teary eyed at me as I laughed.

'Well I'm sure Lisanna is making up for him then.' Happy grinned widely before he flew over to sit between the pinkette and the youngest Strauss sibling, reaching for another fish on his plate.

I sat beside Erza smiling warmly at everyone.

'Hey Lucy. Good to see you!' Gray joked, crossing his arms across his bare chest.

'Clothes Gray.' I said, grinning as he looked down and swore before wandering away to search for his shirt.

'Stupid ice-stripper.' I ignored Natsu's murmur as he quickly ate his spicy meat.

'Hello Lucy, how has your training with Bickslow and Laxus progressed? If they have tried to besmirch your honour in any way, I shall seek vengeance for you.' Lisanna and I exchanged glances as we sweat dropped at her words, Natsu completely oblivious as Kinana placed another plate of meat in front of him.

'It's going well thanks Erza, and they've been the perfect gentlemen. Besides, I can probably give them a run for their money with the training they've been giving me.' I smiled as she nodded seriously, before she took another bite of strawberry cake off her fork. I waited till Gray sat hismefl, fully-clothed, beside me before talking.

'Guys, I've been thinking. I mentioned it to Natsu earlier-' I paused as I saw Natsu freeze during his chewing, before he dropped his food and quickly swallowed his food, shaking his head, his eyes wide.

'Yeah, I think it might be best if I stopped being a member of team Natsu.' I closed my eyes as Erza and Gray protested loudly, and Happy started shouting, along with Lisanna adding her voice to the protestations.

Natsu sat there silently. I could feel his eyes on me, and I almost couldn't bring myself to look, but I forced my eyes open and smiled, cutting off their protests.

'Lucy, why?' Erza asked, her voice cracked and her cake shoved away from her. I smiled at her and grabbed one of her hands, squeezing it tightly.

'Erza, for you guys I was away for months, and you've made a new team including Lisanna. I don't want to ruin that.' Erza and Lisanna both shouted out a protest.

'Lucy, I was not ever your replacement if that's what you're thinking! I was helping search for you, as a group! We worked together to find you or something to help you! We all knew you'd come back, and I knew I would go back to work with Elf-niisan and Mira-neesan!' Lisanna stared at me with angry, tear-filled eyes. I smiled softly at her.

'I know that Lisanna, but you've all made a team! I can see how you work with each other, talk to each other. I know you all don't want me to leave, but I'll still come on the odd job with you all. It's not like I'm breaking off our friendship! I love you all, but I won't interfere in the team you've made together.'

'But Lucy, what about your rent?' Erza looked at me desperately, clinging on to my hands tightly.

'I've got training for the next few months, and I have some savings put away which will cover me till my next job. I'll still come on missions with you all if you want me to, but as of today, I'm not a member of the team. Please, don't try and fight me on this.' I mumbled the end of my speech, looking down into my lap as I held onto Erza's hands.

I heard Gray stand up, throwing the chair back and causing several pairs of eyes to look in our direction, before he wordlessly walked out of the guild, small patches of ice appearing on the floor where he stepped.

Even Juvia knew not to follow him in the mood he was in.

I felt tears gather in my eyes at his reaction. I was hoping he would take it better, but I obviously was being too optimistic.

'Luce, I don't get why you want to leave us. To be honest, I'm pretty pissed off. Yeah, for us it might have been months, but for you it was only a day. Does that mean you wanted to leave us before then? Have you really forgiven us for what we did that day?' I stared at Natsu, wide eyed as he searched my face angrily for some form of emotion or reason he felt I wasn't giving him.

'I don't get it Lucy. You're my partner, and our team mate. Don't you think we deserve the truth about why you're leaving us?' My mouth dropped open in shock; Natsu had never been so perceptive before, and I think everyone was just as surprised as I was. I took a shaky breath as he stared at me.

'Natsu... I forgave you ages ago for that, I promise. I needed time to get over losing those letters, which was the main reason I needed a break from you guys. Yes, I did consider leaving team Natsu before the problems in the spirit world arose, but I didn't make a decision until this morning. I love you all, you've become my family, and I hate leaving, but listen to me when I tell you; your team has changed while I've been gone. I know I won't fit back into it, because you've all changed while I was away.' Natsu's eyes narrowed at me and he crossed his arms angrily.

'You're lying. You might have forgiven us, but the rest was bullshit.' He stood up and walked out, Happy trailing after him.

'Erza, I-'

'It's alright Lucy. I understand your reasoning, and I agree, the team has changed while you were gone. But I disagree with what you said about not fitting back in. It isn't unheard of for a six man team, and I know that we would all accept you into this "new team" you've imagined.' I closed my eyes as I heard Lisanna move to sit beside me and pull me into a tight hug.

'Lucy, we don't want you to leave.' She whispered beside my ear, her breath rustling my hair slightly.

'Lisanna, I know that, but I can't stay in the team. Besides, I won't be available for jobs for a while, I've got my training with Bix and Laxus. Then after that I've got some stuff I need to sort out.' Lisanna pulled away, staring at me suspiciously.

'What stuff Lucy?' She asked, sounding defensive and curious. I smiled at her.

'It's nothing really, just some things I need to organise from my Father's will. I haven't really had a lot of time to go over it properly what with the GMG and the dragon problem, then all this business with the spirit world. I just haven't got round to going through it.' I grinned, turning so I could see both Erza and Lisanna, and held onto both of their hands.

'I might come back to the team once I've sorted everything out. I can't talk about it for various reasons, just trust me. Please look after those two idiots for me as well.' They both hesitated, exchanging glances before engulfing me in a group hug, tightly clinging onto me as I clung onto them.

'Okay Lucy, but you'd better come on a lot of jobs with us, okay?' Lisanna mumbled, hiccuping as she held back her tears. I nodded wordlessly, not trusting my voice to come out steady.

I could tell that people were staring, but I didn't care.

'Lucy, promise me you'll still be my sister.' Erza whispered, her voice unsure and sounding uncharacteristically frightened.

'Of course I will Erza! As if you could get rid of me that easily!' I grinned as she smiled shyly at me, before she jerked me against her armoured chest for a tight hug that stopped my breathing for a moment.

Lisanna laughed through her tears as I started coughing for air, my face turning purple before Erza released me, apologising over and over again.

'Lucy! I'm so sorry! You can hit me if you want! PLEASE! HIT ME AS HARD AS YOU CAN!' I laughed, feeling as though the awkwardness had finally disappeared and wrapped an arm around both of the necks, pulling them in close.

'Hey, fancy staying over at my place tonight?' I asked, quietly, nervous they'd decline, before my face broke out into a grin as they nodded enthusiastically.

'Is it okay if Ever comes along too, and Cana and Mira? We can have a proper girls night.' I suggested, happy they agreed, before giving them one last hug and wandering away to find the other three women.

Mira and Ever quickly agreed to the night, but I couldn't find Cana anywhere, so made a mental note to call Quatro Cerberus to ask her along; she was probably drinking with Bacchus again.

I sat at the bar chatting to Mira, waiting for Laxus to come down from Master's office, and somewhere along the line got lost in thought.

Natsu had been very perceptive, he'd easily known I was lying, and called me out on it. I didn't want to tell them the truth, about how I could feel the instability of my magic since I came back from Tenrou. I was stronger, definitely, but I hadn't seized full control of it yet.

I knew Master realised, and had asked Laxus to train me so I can gain that control, but till I had power over my magic I was a danger to everyone.

I couldn't risk going on a job till I was certain I wouldn't harm someone I cared about by mistake. I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if that happened.

Summoning Polaris back in the spirit world shouldn't have been possible, but thanks to that my magic had taken a drop, so it was still recovering. If I hadn't cast that spell, I would be shooting magic everywhere, because I could no longer contain it.

Natsu, trust me. I don't want to hurt you guys... sorry.

Laxus's POV

'Damn that Mira.' I mumbled, rubbing the back of my head. Gramps chuckled at my curse, and ignored the glare I shot at him.

'It seems Mira noticed Bickslow's affection for Lucy, and they've become her ultimate ship.' I shuddered, remembering the incidents that occurred when she got it into her head that Bacchus and Cana would make beautiful babies. I have no idea how she worked that one out, I mean the guy was weird, and permanently drunk. How she thought he'd make a good father was beyond me; then again Cana wasn't much better.

'Laxus, I need you to listen.' I glanced at Gramps, still rubbing the sore spot on the back of my head, before noticing how serious Gramps had become.

'You've sensed it, haven't you?' I sighed, nodding slowly.

'Yeah, her magics growing.' Gramps shook his head, his eyes closed and his hands clasped behind his back.

'No, it's returning. That spell you told me about? It's a legendary spell; there are no records in history of it being cast, because it consumes enough magic to kill the user. Besides that, it was outlawed by the spirit king for being too dangerous to use.'

'Wait, you're telling me blondie is just recovering from summoning that giant woman? That that spell is the only reason why her magic has been only just overflowing from her body? That it's going to get worse?' He nodded seriously as he paced along his empty desk, the pile of paperwork that he'd managed to complete having been shoved into the corner of the room in a precariously slanting pile.

'Laxus, I believe she knows what's happening, and the danger she presents to everyone. She spoke to me early this morning on Lacrima, and informed me she'd be quitting team Natsu under the excuse that she didn't want to disrupt the new team they've formed with Lisanna. She knows she's a danger right now. I'm sending you with her to go train on Tenrou, where this all started. I want you to train her there, and hopefully the magic she absorbed from the island will be forced back out of her body. Till then, you're to train her till she can control or cope with the amount of magical energy she has; make sure she's strong enough to have no adverse effects should the magic not return.' I stared at Gramps, ignoring the small pain that was still shooting through my skull.

'Jii-jii, if she can't cope with the magic inside her and she doesn't improve; what will happen?' he looked straight into my eyes before closing his own and shaking his head slowly. I took in a breath and held it before releasing it slowly.

'I want to take my team with me. We have a better chance if she's trained in different ways or with someone as a training buddy.' Gramps nodded his agreement before he sat down.

'Laxus, needless to say, this must be kept secret at all costs. Mira only knows Lucy needs more training to stay safe. She could become a target for the wrong people if they were to hear how strong she's become.' I nodded as I stood up, pausing after I grabbed the door handle to exit his office. I stared at the dark wooden grain, not turning to look at Gramps as I spoke.

'If anyone comes after her, I'll kill them.' I muttered darkly. I knew I was serious, and so did he, but he said nothing as I walked out.

I stood at the balcony, scanning the guild till I found that head of golden blonde hair sitting at the bar, hunched over a tall glass of pink smoothie.

I felt my lips twitch into a smile as I muttered to myself.

'Why does she have to cause so much damned trouble?'