AN: This is the first part of an arc that happens between "The Battle of Fairy Tail" arc and the "Oración Seis" arc. Also, it is needed to remind that this arc will have details that follow a little more the manga regarding some characters.

Lucy had thought that Laxus harassing her during that time at Akane was the worst thing he could do. That he wouldn't dare to do something that was even worse… even more against his guildmates. But that was far from the truth, as, not long after they had returned to their rebuilt guild hall once the situation at Tower of Heaven had been solved, Laxus made something that would cause some major consequences to the guild: he committed a coup along with his teammates, the Thunder Legion (Fried, Bickslow and Evergreen), to take control of Fairy Tail by turning guildmates against each other.

Lucy was between the girls that had been turned to stone by Evergreen for the first part of the coup, being used as hostage until Erza was able to force the female member of the Thunder Legion to release the other girls. After that, Lucy went to help fighting Laxus and his Thunder Legion, ending up fighting Bickslow with Happy and Loke. After that, she went to destroy one of the lacrimas of the Thunder Palace spell, together with her guildmates, being able to destroy every single one and break the hold Laxus had on Magnolia, but that caused her to get out of battle because of the body link spell on the lacrimas.

When she came to be, Laxus had been defeated by Natsu and Gajeel. However, Lucy came to notice a sudden change on him. The once cocky and rude wizard had become much more… serene. According to Levy, it would appear that Laxus had come to realize how much he really cared about his guildmates after using Fairy Law, one of the greatest spells of Fairy Tail, which showed what really was in his heart which was care and love for everyone in the guild and the town. That, combined by his defeat at the hands of Natsu and Gajeel, caused Laxus to finally see the madness in his actions.

Lucy had to confess that initially she didn't believe in that, but after seeing Laxus coming to the guild hall to talk with master Makarov, she was able to see that change first handed and she finally believed in it. It was not because he was not acting like an arrogant jerk, but because of his eyes. She remembered very well when Laxus forced a kiss on her. His eyes left her terrified of how intense they were in such way she couldn't even move. However, the look he had was like witnessing a clear sky over a serene ocean. Even if in the end Laxus ended up expelled of the guild, Lucy knew that he would now be a much better man than he was.

As for the Thunder Legion, the master had forgiven their actions, acknowledging that their only bad decision was to follow someone with a misguided ideology and that their devotion and loyalty to Laxus were to be praised. Without Laxus, the three of them started to interact more with the rest of the guild, eventually forming strong ties of friendship. Of course that only meant that the craziness would only increase in the Fairy Tail guild… but then again craziness is what made it so great! However, it was clear that Laxus' absence still brought some sadness to them, especially to Fried.

One afternoon, he was sitting by the counter of the guild hall with Mirajane behind it cleaning a glass. Evergreen was happily talking with some of the girls of the guild, while Bickslow was having fun sharing drinks with some other guildmates.

"What's the matter, Fried?" Mirajane asked him. "You look so blue today?"

"I don't know, Mira…" Fried said. "I guess I just miss Laxus, that's all."

"Yeah… I know what you mean" Mirajane said. "He may have been… Well, you know. But the guild hall looks a little emptier. And he left just has he had become a better person… But, you know, it's not like the guild has lost its spirit."

"I have to agree on that" Fried said, noticing how Evergreen and Bickslow had quickly bonded with their other guildmates.

"You'll see that, despite the emptiness that Laxus left, you will still feel the joy we have still to offer" Mirajane told.

At that moment, the doors of the guild hall opened, with Lucy entered with a not so pleased look. Natsu didn't take too long to enter as well, a little down and saying:

"Come on, Lucy, you can't still be mad about it."

"Are you kidding me!" she replied. "After what you did?! Of course I'm mad about it!"

"Speaking of feeling the joy… It looks like we have something interesting happening" Mirajane said. "Welcome back, guys! How was the job?"

Lucy didn't answer until she came to counter, sat down on one of the stools and replied:

"I don't want to talk about it… Just give me my milkshake, Mira, please."

"Maybe I should give you a tea instead to calm your nerves, Lucy" Mirajane said, making her awkward smile.

"I don't need to calm myself" Lucy replied. "I just need something sweet so that I can distract myself from what happened."

"Oh boy… whatever Natsu did must have been really bad" Mirajane commented.

"What?!" Natsu asked. "Why do you think I did something?!"

"Maybe because you two got in with Lucy upset and you apologizing" Cana replied, while sitting at the same table as Evergreen, while taking a drink.

"What happened between those two?" Levy asked to Erza, Gray and Happy who had come behind the other two. "Don't tell me you failed the job because of Natsu and you didn't get the reward."

"No reward?" Macao asked, while seeing Lucy getting her milkshake from Mirajane and started drinking it. "Oh, no wonder Lucy is upset."

"Actually, the job went quite well" Erza said. "We managed to finish it and we got a very nice reward."

"Ay!" Happy replied. "Lucy has enough jewels for her next two rents."

"So, if it was not the job…" Levy started asking.

"What it was?" Jet and Droy asked at the same time.

"It's… a long story" Gray replied.

"Oh, come on, Lucy!" Natsu continued to say to his teammate, while she drank a milkshake. "You can't stay mad at me forever."

"Oh yeah? Then watch me!" she replied, as she kept drinking her milkshake.

"You were not kidding" Fried whispered to Mirajane. "Things really became interesting."

"You can always count on Natsu and Lucy to give us some good drama to watch" she replied.

"Hey! What's the big idea in turning my life into some sort of free entertainment?!" Lucy exclaimed to them.

She finished her milkshake and then stood up after putting some jewels to pay it, saying:

"I'll go home. At least there I don't have someone to do things for me that I can perfectly do… own my own!"

And she started heading towards the door, but passing by Natsu, she exclaimed:

"And don't even dare to put one step there!"

Natsu, whose frustration about not being able to get Lucy to forgive him, caused him to say:

"Fine! It's not like would go there with a stubborn girl like you screaming at my ears!"

And Lucy got out of the guild hall so she could home.

"I don't know, Erza… Shouldn't we do something about it?" Gray asked. "If I know those two, they are capable of staying like this for days."

"They are old enough to resolve their issues on their own" Erza replied to him. "Well… at least Lucy is. Don't worry, they'll come around."

"Ay!" Happy replied.

"And even if they don't… well, we can always beat some sense into them" Erza replied, as she went to the counter.

"I hope you're right…" Gray said, still not as certain as she is.

Lucy had returned home, being able to pay that month and the next one to her landlady, before entering her home and going to take a bath to clean herself from her job. She let herself be involved by her bubble bath, trying to relax from all the stress she was feeling. However, she couldn't help but reminding what Natsu did and what that made her feel caused Lucy to not exactly enjoy her bath. Not to mention that she felt kind of bad for treating Natsu the way she did, but that came into conflict with her self-consciousness, so Lucy didn't know what to do now.

At the next day, she was at the guild hall, feeling exasperated about what to do, as she was talking with Mirajane while drinking her usual milkshake.

"I mean, I know he didn't do it on purpose, but… he should have known I could handle it" Lucy told. "I am his teammate, right? I am capable of fending for myself, so he should have more trust in me. Don't you think that, Mira?"

"Sorry, Lucy, but, without any context, I can't exactly give you an opinion" Mirajane replied.

Sighing, Lucy said:

"Well… we were fighting these rogue wizards from a dark guild. Everything was going okay… After all, my team is made of powerful wizards. And despite I was doing okay, Taurus was defeated. I was going to summon Cancer after that… but then Natsu came and beat them before I had even a chance!"

"To me sounds like he was helping a teammate in need" Mirajane replied. "There's nothing wrong about that."

"The problem is not that he took down the enemy for me, but what he said after" Lucy told. "He said that I looked like I was in trouble, so he lent me a hand. It's almost like he thinks I need him and the others to be always watching over me."

"Now, Lucy, that's not true" Mirajane replied.

"Oh really?" Lucy asked. "Without my keys, I become an easy target. Take the Phantom attack for example. I lost almost all my keys when I got captured and I could do nothing to protect the guild. I've tried my best to become stronger so I wouldn't depend much on others… but I still keep becoming helpless. What Natsu did… I know he did it because he cares for me, but… it made me feel like I was week and co-dependent."

"Wow… I never thought you would feel like that" Mirajane commented. "But… why don't you tell that to Natsu and the others? I'm sure they will help you overcome that insecurity of yours."

"Maybe…" Lucy said, as she moved her straw around her milkshake.

As Lucy took the last sips of her milkshake, she then noticed the request board (where Nab was, as usual, hanging around) and had an idea.

"I know!" she exclaimed, while getting up. "Maybe I can show them how I have improved by making a job all by myself… a job that may involve some fighting."

"I don't know, Lucy…" Mirajane said. "Maybe you should wait for Natsu and the others before…"

But she didn't get any the chance to finish what she was saying, because Lucy was already at the request board looking for a good job for her to do.

"I got it!" she said, while taking one job from the board and returning to the counter. "Sign me up for this one, Mira. I have a great feeling about it."

Mirajane went to read the pamphlet and got a little worried.

"But, Lucy… this job in Amaryll is a bit too dangerous to do alone, especially someone like you" she said. "I really think you should wait for…"

"It will be okay, Mira" Lucy replied, as she paid the milkshake. "I can handle it. And besides being able to prove myself to Natsu, Gray and Erza, I will also get a very nice reward. It's perfect!"

"Lucy…" Mirajane tried to say.

But Lucy was already heading to the entrance, saying:

"See ya, Mira!"

After she left, Mirajane showed a concerned look, as she looked to the job description.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Mirajane said. "Be careful, Lucy…"