A/N: Yes, I know it's been like foreverrrr since I've updated. I am sorry! And if you're still reading now, then gold star!! You are officially my favorite reader. Or one of them anyway. (:

Okay, so before you read this, know there will be context coming along with this chapter. This one is action-packed and will get the story behind it explained next chapter. I'm trying-key word being trying, to start updating more.

Soooo, enjoy!! It's been a while, but know I love you all! School's just been a stressful piece of demon crap lately. XD

Forever a piece of anime trash
~Duck_Ninja her royal highness herself 😂

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It was the day. The day everything would change.

Lila knew it. As well as Kaden. Today would be their last day in Fairy Tail. A wretched feeling seemed to permeate the air as if everyone somehow knew deep down that today was going to mark the day everything went wrong.

Lucy wasn't there. That was the first sign things weren't right. Laxus noticed immediately, but he was still "fighting" with her. Maybe she had just slept in. Oh, how foolishly wrong he had been.

Jellal noticed she was gone too. He missed their usual banter and her cheerful laugh. She was never this late. He was a little worried, along with Erza, but they were sure that she had just stayed home. She was fine...everything was okay.

Natsu was worried sick. He had no shame in admitting his fears. She was his friend, his best friend. She always greeted him at 8:30 sharp. Maybe he was overreacting, being a baby. But, he wasn't the only one worried. All her friends were feeling her absence.

Mira's wary glances were noticeable, her hands gingerly drying glasses. Juvia and Gray noticed, but didn't assume anything horrendous happened. She was just having a lazy day. She just didn't feel like coming in early; It was no big deal.

It was no big deal...everyone had lazy days. The truth was never so bitter.

Everyone was present in the guild that day. All except Lucy. The sun blazed across the sky, as bright and cheery as a lemon candy. Clouds drifted across an endless expanse of baby blue, their white surfaces thick and misty. They resembled fat marshmallows, which only added to the happy disposition.

The pleasant atmosphere, the calming and serene aura, would soon spiral. Whether anyone knew it or not, a cataclysmic event was about to unfold. And no one could prevent it.

******************

Lucy could feel it in her gut. Something was wrong. Walking to the guild, her stomach shifted uncomfortably. Even though she was wearing a cute navy blue dress with a white sash, even though her hair was curled and her lips were painted a pretty peach, she felt...strange. Her white flats grazed the cobblestone ground as she quickened her pace towards her guild. She was later today, due to the fact that her overbearing nightmares had terrorized her last night. Added to her usual anxieties and worries, she knew she deserved an extra hour of sleep.

She planned on patching issues with Laxus once and for all. She hated to admit it, but she missed him terribly. Life just wasn't the same without his deep laugh, his constant scowls and attempts at appearing aloof. His shy, sweet gestures, his quick hugs, and kind smiles. She longed for the soft, supple feel of his fur jacket against her shoulders and the tickle of his slightly shaggy blonde hair between her fingers.

Flicking a stray lock of golden hair behind her ear, her eyes brightened with determination. She'd be the bigger person, and admit her mistakes. She could concede to herself that she was growing glum without him. She hated being in an argument with him.

When she made it to Fairy Tail, she gracefully skipped indoors, her peppy smile reappearing. She spotted Laxus sitting at the bar and felt her mood lighten up.

"Laxus!" She called out, bouncing over to him, a gleeful, dopey smile painted across her features. She reached a hand out to touch him but froze.

The glare he was sending her sent chills down her spine, his eyes resembling daggers. She had never seen that side of Laxus before...and it scared her. Downright frightened her, and all her muscles and limbs seemed to be stuck in a vat of molasses. She was frozen stiff, her expression in a mix of shock and apprehension.

When his mouth curled up into a razor smile, Lucy took a step back.

"Laxus...?" She asked cautiously, her voice wavering.

A shrill, cold chuckle reverberated through his chest. Shivers crawled up her arms, and she resisted the urge to flee.

"Why, isn't it my weak, insecure little girlfriend. Or should I say ex-girlfriend," He smirked cruelly, a haughty glare passing over his stone-cold features.

Lucy flinched. It felt as if she had been slapped in the face, the harsh smack of reality blistering. She stumbled back a step, horror spreading across her face. She was too shocked and hurt to even reply with some witty, humor-filled comment. Too pained to try and mask her agony with humor.

It got worse when Mira sashayed over, her perfect hourglass figure more prominently shown in the tight red dress she wore. She grabbed Laxus's collar and pulled him down onto her anticipating lips. They made out in front of Lucy's own eyes, both hungrily attacking each other. Her raspberry colored lip gloss smeared on his cheek as if she was marking her territory.

Lucy gasped, her eyes blurring. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, almost as if it were attempting to pound out of her chest and shatter on the ground like a fragile piece of glass.

When Mira pulled away, a confident smirk on her face, Lucy nearly cried.

"This is my secret boyfriend. You know, the one I’ve been telling everyone about. He doesn't like you and never did. He just felt sorry for you...and you should feel absolutely blessed to have been in his presence. After all, who would love a vane, childish, weakling like you."

Rearing back, Lucy felt like her entire world had begun to crumble, tumbling downwards like explosions from a volcano. Like chunks of rock and debris in a doomed fall to the Earth. Like a skydiver without a parachute. Deadly, destined for destruction. An end that was cataclysmic, an end that was met with sadness and pain.

Tears were inevitable, and would soon pour out of her doe-like eyes. All her memories of Laxus kept churning through her brain, replaying like a broken record. She saw how he had comforted her when no one else cared. When her most treasured family forgot her, he had been a source of strength. He had been her hope, her support. He couldn't have been acting...could he? Why would he pretend to love her? To be with her? T-To be her friend…? Nothing made sense, and all Lucy wanted to do was claw the haunting thoughts out of her brain.

And what about Mira? One of her closest friends, who had treated her like a little sister? Who had comforted her when she had decided to forgive everyone for their mistakes, who had supported her and Laxus since the beginning. Why had she done this? Backstabbed her own friend...for what? Lucy felt so alone, so forgotten. How could they?...

It had to be a dreadful nightmare...she’d wake up any second now. She’d be stunned and maybe a little freaked out, but it would all be fake. Just a dream, just imaginary. Then the pain would vanish...then she could be happy again. Be with all her friends, with no betrayal, no suffering. Just happy times with her family.

She was being delusional, and she knew it.

The proof was in front of her, her so-called boyfriend and friend with their arms looped together and matching cocky smiles. Betrayal wasn't a nice feeling, and bitter resentment started to swirl through her veins.

‘It’s real...why? Why can I never have happiness?’

She glanced around desperately, hoping, no praying, for anyone to help her. To stand up for her. To be her friend.

No one did.

"Ha, Laxus and Mirajane are right!" Cana broke the silence. Cheers ran up around the guild, voices calling out and agreeing with Mira and Laxus. Lucy felt the anger slumbering in her chest growl in rage.

"I don't even know why we let you come back. You were nothing but a nuisance," Erza commented, encouraging others to speak up.

"I don't know why I ever cared about you! You are just dead weight. I should have never brought you to Fairy Tail!" Natsu snarled, Gray laughed.

"We didn't even like you! As if we need some pretty, princess brat in our guild! I mean look at you!" Gray snickered, a mocking sneer on his face.

"Juvia agrees with Gray-sama! Lucy is just an ugly, incompetent bitch! We only let her rejoin Fairy Tail because we felt guilty."

The tears were running freely at this point, overflowing like a permanently on faucet. She had to be in a nightmare...this couldn't be real! She had already been through this once! She couldn't do it again! She just couldn't. Why? Why?

‘WHY?’

Lucy itched to defend herself, to yell. To scream her lungs out, to express every icy word that swirled through her mind. They were wrong! They had to be! She was strong...she was strong...wasn't she?

"Isn't it funny? I used Lucy to get out of prison. Too bad she's too stupid and weak-hearted to realize we all were never her friends," Jellal's wicked statement was like ten lashes.

The words of her companions, her family, coiled around her, surrounding her. She began to panic, frantically looking around as everyone crowded in around her.  

"Lucy-nee isn't even that cool...she's super mean, and nobody likes her anyway...Natsu-san is right."

"Lisanna was always a better mom than you, Lucy! I wish I never went with you training!"

"You're a disgrace to Fairy Tail!"

"Weakling!"

"Bitch!"

"You're just a no-good slut!"

The insults bounced off her like boomerangs, all knocking into her with enough force to make her gasp for air. Whoever said that words don't hurt, obviously never lived a life like Lucy's.

She kept asking herself the same question. Why? What had she done? Why were they angry with her again? Had she messed up again? She thought...she thought she had fixed herself!

‘WHY?’

"Ha, writer? Don't make me laugh. You're a joke as both a writer and a wizard! Maybe you should try being a prostitute or stripper...not that anyone would want you!"

"Gihi. You have always been useless, and that won't ever change. You should just give up."

"Kill yourself! No one wants you here anyway!"

'Kill yourself! No one wants you here anyway!'

'Kill yourself...'

'Kill yourself...'

'KILL YOURSELF!’

Those words were like a bullet to the brain...she felt dead already. Dead on the inside, that is. How could someone say that to her? Should she….? Should she be dead? Did no one really love her? Why? Why was this happening?

‘WHY?’

Lucy let loose a heartbreaking scream when the first physical attack landed on her, blasting across her flesh. She attempted to defend herself, but the throng of people only seemed to thicken around her, effectively trapping her.

She was broken emotionally, her heart torn at the seems. Her body was now feeling the pain physically, almost as a fair punishment. A punishment for ever forgiving Fairy Tail. She should have never shown kindness...never again would she.

Lucy felt as if she was drowning. Icy water nipping at her nose, and freezing liquid filling up her lungs until she froze solid. Attack after attack slammed into her, cutting up her scarred body. Blood splattered across the floor, painting the mages' of Fairy Tail's hands.

Her body was starting to feel sluggish as she struggled to dissect herself from the crowd. A bolt of lightning ripped through her, leaving her in a throbbing pain. She felt the burn cutting through her and knew she wouldn't make it much longer.

She had lost it. Everything was falling apart. Choking on her own tears, she screamed, activating her celestial spirit king armor. Blasting everyone away from her, she clenched her eyes shut as she limped towards the door.

"Y-you all are the worst type of scum. You think I'm useless? That I'm weak and stupid, and petty? T-That I'm just some ugly whore? Well, look in the mirror. I may be all of those things, but at least I'm not a monster...I'm leaving and I'm never coming back."

"I regret ever joining this pathetic, heartless guild."

"Oh go to hell!" Laxus snapped back at her.

She smiled back bitterly, her blood-stained teeth gleaming. Her face was cut and bruised, her head slick with fresh blood.

"Sure. I'll save you a seat when I get there."

And with that, Lucy Heartfilia stumbled out of Fairy Tail. Broken, alone, and filled with hatred. With more anger and more pain then she had ever dealt with. The overwhelming need for revenge, for vengeance, was intoxicating.

She glared back at Fairy Tail's guild mark and snarled with rage. She searched for a knife in her requip storage and brought the sharp tip to her shoulder. She slashed the black Fairy Tail mark until it had huge X's across it. Then she growled lowly.

Every drop of happiness, of positive sweet Lucy, was dying. Dying, and no one could save her. She would drown in the icy blackness, alone and afraid. With no one who would save her, or care. A new Lucy was emerging, and this Lucy wouldn't be so friendly. She wouldn't be so forgiving. No one could save her this time. Especially not Laxus.