"Okay everyone, we're going to start our individual battles now!"

"Our first battle is between Raven Tail's Flare Corona and Fairy Tail team A's Lucy Heartfilia!"

Lucy jumped off of her team's balcony with a sinister glare, while Flare stalked down to the arena with a maniacal grin. 

"Competitors! This entire arena will be your battlefield, ladies. You have a thirty-minute time limit," The pumpkin man, Mato exclaimed. 

"Good...plenty of time," Flare droned, her head tilted like a puppy. Her mouth was curled up in a sadistic smile.

"I refuse to lose to the likes of you!" Lucy snapped back, her eyes unusually filled with anger. 

"If you can knock out your opponent, or make them forfeit in the time given, you win! I want a good clean fight! Now lets rumble!"

Lucy crouched down, keen on letting out her anger on the bitchy looking red-head. This girl's guild hurt Wendy, and Lucy swore that they couldn't get away with that. She would make Flare pay!

"Open the gate of the giant bull! Taurus! Open the gate of the scorpion! Scorpio!"

"Sand buster!" Scorpio shoots a stream of sand at Flare, but she blocks it with...her hair? And was her hair on fire too? Lucy snickered to herself. Well, at least she knew what her magic was.

"And Lucy Heartfilia Heartfilia opens up the fight strong with TWO celestial spirits!"

"Now! Taurus, Scorpio!" Lucy shouted. Scorpio sent a spiral of sand at Taurus's colossal ax.

"Sand Storm Ax!" Taurus boomed, sending sand everywhere, making people duck their heads.

"What an attack folks! Not only did she summon two spirits, but she combined their powers! This girl has some real skill!"

Lucy smirked. That was nothing. She sent Taurus and Scorpio home, thanking them for the help. But now she knew how to defeat this woman. She used fire magic, with weirdly enough, her hair. Lucy's water dragon slayer magic would be a pretty good match for Ms. psycho fire hair.

"I'm gonna kill her! Hair shower, Wolf fang!" Flare screeched angrily, as she sent a huge flaming wolf made of her hair at Lucy.

"Water dragon roar!" Lucy shot out a huge river of gurgling water at Flare's wolf. The wolf dissipated, as the water made Flare's hair lose volume.

"Y...You bitch! You got my hair wet!"

"Would you look at that?! Lucy Heartfilia is a dragon slayer!"

Flare lashed her hair out at Lucy's ankles, but Lucy managed to dodge. 

"I can do this...I promised Wendy I'd win," Lucy says to herself. She jumps into the air, dodging yet another strand of angry alit hair. While airborne, Lucy requips her katana Bloody Rain.

"Bloody Rain!" She sneers, the crimson blood colored water engulfing her sword. She slashes at Flare and smacks her across the field. Flare hits the hard packed ground with a thud. She shakily rises to her feet, her snarl twisted and vile.

"What a scary looking attack, folks! Lucy Heartfilia is definitely talented!"

"You're going to pay, you useless, blonde bimbo!" She shrieked, sending her hair into the ground. Lucy prepared for another attack to be launched at her, but nothing came. She glanced around warily when she saw a strand of hair snap at her. She ducked and jumped back. The strand came forward again, but this time Flare moved with it.

"Oh blondie, be a good girl, or that little girl up there will get hurt," Flare cooed. Lucy got distracted for just a moment, her head snapping to look at the Fairy tail stands, where everyone was cheering their heads off. She spotted the strand of crimson colored hair wiggling near Asuka.

"You fucking bitch..." Lucy swore, but since she was distracted, Flare managed to command her hair to wrap around Lucy's wrists, ankles, and mouth.

"Now, take your punishment like a big girl. Wouldn't want me to snap the toddler's neck, would we?" 

Lucy was simmering with rage. Who did this girl think she was, threatening a child? Flare was about to learn, that even though Lucy was apart of Fairy Tail, she had no problem beating Flare half to death. Asuka was like a little sister to Lucy, and Lucy refused for this garbage to hurt her. Lucy activated her telepathy.

"Laxus. This huge skank is threatening Asuka. Hurry." Lucy said keeping it brief. 

Laxus, up at his team's balcony, hurried off to the Fairy Tail stands.

'Don't worry Lucy...I have your back!'

"So Blondie? What should we do? Oh, I know! Lets put the Raven Tail emblem on you? But where? Oh, I know...how about right on top of your Fairy Tail mark?" Flare questioned, holding up a strand of hair shaped as Flare's guild insignia. Flare had taken the piece of hair out of Lucy's mouth, so Lucy just scoffed.

"It seems, Flare Corona has Lucy Hearfilia trapped! Who will come out victorious, folks?"

"Do it. See if I care. It's just a stupid tattoo. I can always get another one, bitch," Lucy spat out. Flare's eyes narrowed dangerously, and she brought her flaming Raven Tail mark closer to Lucy's shoulder, where her obsidian colored mark resided. It was so close that Lucy could feel the heat emanating from Flare's hair. 

"I can't wait to hear your delicious cries of pain, Blondie!" Flare cried, making Lucy twitch. 

"Stop calling me Blondie, Red. Only two people on this planet have the right to call me that," Lucy said with a scowl, thinking of Sting and Laxus. 'Hurry the hell up Laxus!' 

"You're in the clear Lucy!" Laxus shouted from the stands, where he electrocuted Flare's Hair. It crumbled into a withering pile of burnt hair.  

"Thanks, Laxus!" Lucy shouted, before glowing a bright gold.

"Requip, Star Armor!" Lucy suddenly requipped, stunning the audience.

(Star Armor. ^0^ It's sooo pretty!) 

"And Lucy Heartfilia is on the offense once again!"

"Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens...

All the stars, far and wide...
Show me thy appearance...
With such shine.
Oh, Tetrabiblos...
I am the ruler of the stars...
Aspect become complete...
Open thy malevolent gate.
Oh, 88 Stars of the heaven...
Shine!

Urano Metria!" Lucy shouted, using her armor to enhance her spells magic.

The sky was smeared with dozens of colors, all space related. There were rosy pinks, and deep midnight purples, and lots of swirls of blue. The planets took shape and Flare started to freak.

"W-What's going on?!..."

Just as the spell was about to hit Flare, it suddenly disappeared. Lucy staggered and fell onto her knees. She was panting and felt as if a huge chunk of her magic had been drained. Of course, it had. By dispelling the spell, someone had literally swiped her of all the magic she had put into that spell.

"Obra...you saved me," Flare whispered thankfully. She rose to her feet and stood over Lucy.

"Oh, you dumb bimbo. You actually thought you could beat me? How pathetic, you're too weak to ever even touch me!" Flare taunted while laughing sickly.

At the word, 'Weak' Lucy snapped. She was sick and TIRED of hearing people call her that. Hadn't she been through enough? Didn't she become strong, or was she still not good enough? She rose to her feet her bangs covering her eyes. The word weak was definitely her trigger word. She was NOT weak. She would NEVER be useless again! She WAS strong! She WOULD NOT lose!

"I am NOT weak, you scum. And I WILL NOT lose to you! I promised myself I would win for Fairy Tail, and for Wendy!" Lucy said ignoring Flare's instant fear at the furious blonde. 

"Water Dragon secret art! Holy water!" She shouted. She had sparred so much with Sting, that she had gotten his light as a third element. The boiling water hit Flare dead on, knocking her out instantly.

"And the winner of this fight is Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail Team A! That means Fairy Tail is in the lead with 21 points! I guess the strongest guild from seven years ago, really is back!"

Lucy smiled tiredly at her teammates who were cheering for her. She started making her way up the steps when she stumbled. Before she could fall, Natsu had caught her. 

"You okay, Luce?" He asked worriedly.

"Yeah...just tired...really tired..." She said before her knees buckled completely.

"Woah! Let's get you to the hotel!"

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

On there way back to the hotel, Erza and Gray praised her on her fighting, while Natsu complained about not participating. Gray, Erza, and Elfman decided to go ahead of Natsu and Lucy, noticing that the two seemed to want to talk. Lucy smiled sleepily from Natsu's back, where she was hitching a ride.

"You were really good Lucy...I was surprised," Natsu confessed. Lucy pried an eye open with a smirk.

"What were you expecting me to lose?" She asked snarkily. 

"No!...well...maybe? I honestly didn't know what to expect. But you definitely proved me wrong, Luce. You are way stronger than anyone gives you credit for."  

Lucy smiled genuinely and sighed.

"Thanks, Natsu. Sometimes, I really need someone to remind me that I'm not weak...that I'm  not the useless Lucy from before. Sometimes I feel like I'm still stuck in that pit of depression, wondering why my friends betrayed me..." She said, forgetting Natsu was one of those 'friends'.

Natsu flinched and looked away guiltily. A tense silence followed, and Lucy realized exactly what she said.

"Sorry! I didn't mean it to sound like that! I-" Lucy rambled, before being cut off by Natsu.

"No, Lucy, it is my fault. I was an asshole, and I deserve all the hate. I can never take back what I did...and I want to so much...I regret it every day. Every night I remember how I hurt you, and I remember how much you cried. I remember you telling me that you loved me and me chasing after you saying I returned those feelings...You running out on me..and me going off to make out with Lisanna afterward..." 

Lucy looked down, listening. She hadn't known about the 'Lisanna makeout thing'. It angered her to think that after confessing her love, and him saying he loved her back, he just went off with some floozy.

They made it their hotel, and Natsu walked her up to the room she shared with Erza, and technically Wendy, but she was currently in the infirmary. Lucy climbed off his back and was about to walk into her room when Natsu spoke. 

"Lucy...do you...do you still love me?" Lucy froze, unsure how to respond. 

"Cause...if you still do...I love you! I miss you so much! But even though you're back, nothing is the same! You don't go on missions with me anymore, and you hang with Laxus, and not me! Even Happy has left me! He lives with you now, and he goes on missions with Laxus and you! It's...as if Laxus has replaced me! I feel so lost without you, Luce! Please....just forget about Laxus! Come back to me...please."

Lucy wasn't sure how to reply still and felt completely stiff. She was torn between Natsu and Laxus. The man who brought her to Fairy Tail, and the man that was there for her when nobody else really cared. She thought back to what happened and had a shocking realization. She...loved Laxus. She loved the way he always comforted her, his rare smiles, his Tsundere attitude, his bad sense of direction, his obsession with peeps...don't ask. She just loved everything. 

She had loved Natsu once too, but those days were over. Those feelings had faded a long time ago.

"I'm sorry Natsu...but no. I don't love you anymore...I love Laxus. He's been with me when I needed someone most. He's everything to me. So I'm sorry...I really am. Things will never go back to how they were before...because Natsu, YOU were the one to walk away. Not me. You chose Lisanna. So, I'm sorry, but all we'll ever be is friends." 

Lucy walked into her room, slamming the door behind her. She collapses on her bed, laying on her back. 

"Natsu?" Erza questioned with a smile, sitting beside the stressed blonde.

"Yeah...he just confessed to me..." Erza's eyes widened. She honestly didn't think Natsu even knew what love was. 

"What did you say?" Erza asked curiously.

"I told him no because I'm in love with someone else...and I might have told him he chose Lisanna...Erza was I too harsh? I am still a little bitter about what happened," Lucy said already feeling guilty.

"No, Lucy you weren't too harsh. Natsu needs to know you're still hurt by what he did. Plus, if I know one thing about that sack of lard, it's that he doesn't give up. I hope you know he'll probably be back," Erza said with a slight laugh.

"Yeah, I can just imagine it now. Him busting into my wedding screaming 'I object!' like a maniac," Lucy said with a snicker.

"So who is this guy you're in love with?" Erza questioned slyly, remembering Lucy's words from earlier.

Lucy's face colors slightly, and she twiddles her thumbs.

"Ummm...no one..." She said bashfully. Erza raises an eyebrow.

"Oh come on Lucy. I promise I won't tell."

"Fine...Pinky promise?" Lucy asked, raising her pinky. Erza chuckled

"You're so childish...of course," Erza held up her pinky. The shook pinkys and Erza looked at her expectantly.

"I..I...um...love Laxus?" Lucy stuttered out.

"Was that a question?" Erza asked, amused.

"Oh shut up!" Lucy said hitting her with a pillow.

"Okay! Okay! But you and Laxus...you guys would be cute together," Erza said with a nod.

"Just like you and Jellal!" Lucy chirped cheekily, narrowly dodging a pillow.

"S-shut up! I-It's not like that!" Erza stammered, waving her hands dramatically.

"Erza and Jellal sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then a little-" Lucy sings, before Erza hits her with a pillow., blushing redder than her hair.

"Lucy!"

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

Natsu sat outside the hotel, his eyes blank and devoid of any real emotion. He had dried tear stains on his cheeks and felt like his world had crumbled. Lucy...she really hadn't forgiven him, had she? For some reason, Natsu had an overwhelming urge to kill Laxus.

'Kill him, he took Lucy away'  Natsu shook the thought away. He couldn't kill someone...could he? For once in his life, Natsu wasn't too sure.

A/N: Should I make a yandere Natsu? Cause that seems to be where my story is going. Let me know if you like the idea.