Lucy limped along the dirt road, her body battered and bruised, but anger surging through her veins. She clenched her teeth when another flare of agony tore through her body. She was making a slow pace, a snail’s pace to be frank.

She had been walking for only a few minutes, the fresh tears still bubbling past her eyes. The bitter sensation only seemed to grow as she stumbled her way through town, blindly searching for her house.

She didn’t know where she’d go. Maybe somewhere far away, devoid of people. Away from everyone; even those she would miss. How could she trust anyone after this?

She had forgiven them!

She had been the bigger person; she thought she had done the right thing! But, forgiving them seemed to be what had led her to her doom. How could she have trusted them so easily? How could she have trusted Laxus so easily?

She wished she had never met Laxus.

Hiding away from all people was an alluring thought, something Lucy considered actually doing. She knew deep down, she wouldn’t be able to isolate herself completely. She’d grow lonely...maybe she could go to Sabertooth…? Sting was her friend...at least...she thought he was...she couldn’t be sure anymore, now could she?        

She finally reached her house, blearily collapsing in the doorway. Activating a healing spell, she only healed the major wounds. She couldn’t seem to focus, and everything made her mind race a million miles per hour. Her vision was blurry, tears streaking past her brown and blue flecked orbs.

Anger was settling in once again, and she stormed around her house packing her bags. Slamming another book into her bag, a bitter laugh escaped her, dry of all humor. Her novel, the one she had spent so much time on, was with Levy. Her not-so-nice ex-best friend. More like an enemy.

Enemies…The thought was a strange wisp in her usually sweet mind. She, of course, had enemies. People who didn’t like her were common, always vengeful due to her strength and place in Fairy Tail. But, she had never considered them enemies. She tried to search for the best in everyone, even if she had to search in the deepest cranny of a person’s heart.

She would pay them back for how they had used her.

She would show them scary...make them regret ever treating her like a piece of trash. All of them, no one would be spared from her rage; when she was through, there wouldn’t be any Fairy Tail left.

How could they use her kindness against her? How could they make being a loving human being a bad thing?

She had been discarded like a crumpled piece of paper; tossed away, treated like she was useless. She felt hatred burn in her heart, almost making her snap the books in half like twigs. She had never felt such strong negative emotions; it burned. All she wanted was for the feeling to disappear, to leave her be. She was miserable, stuck in a never-ending loop of being useless.

She glanced around at her house, and though battered and emotionally torn, she still felt a sort of bittersweet sense of longing. She loved her house, it had so many memories she cherished. Her eyes lightened thinking about Jellal and Pantherlily, along with her adventures with Team Natsu. Her eyes darkened considerably, glossing over like a new sheen of ice on a lake.

It always came back. No matter what she thought of, the looming monster that was Fairy Tail haunted her. Even happy memories had turned sour. Had they really been lying? Had it all been lies, twisted into a harsh truth? That nobody, not even Happy, had been her friend.

Lucy let loose a feral shriek, her wide eyes flitting across the room. She grabbed the closest breakable object and hurled it across the room. A satisfying feeling seemed to course through her veins at the shards of pottery scattered across her kitchen floor. Everything seemed to enrage her; the intricately designed flower pot she had gotten from Juvia, the adorable teacups Mira had bought her.

All she could hear was the loud, thunderous crashes of broken china and objects smashing against the smooth tiled floor. She huffed and snarled, suddenly lashing out with her fists. Her hand slammed into the wall, causing the entire skeleton of the house to shudder. She kept her onslaught going, allowing the walls to crumble around her. She didn’t care that she was already exhausted; that she was still wounded.

Blood poured from her scratched fists, pooling on the floor. She laughed hysterically at the splatters of crimson on the now caved in walls. She sucked in a deep breath, attacking the table now. The once beautiful hand-crafted table sunk into itself, almost like it had given up as well.

Lucy finally collapsed, her chest heaving. And when she looked around, she couldn’t help but feel satisfied at the amount of damage that had been dealt. Most of the walls were broken in, their frames cracking and crumbling down. Her blood was smeared everywhere, dripping down the walls ominously.

She was proud of this destruction. The world was filled with filth and lies; she wanted everything to crash and burn...just like her. Lucy found the strength to stand; she had one more thing to do before she left for good.

Using the blood that was covering the walls, she painted some harshly drawn words. In case anyone decided to look for her, they’d get the message through looking at her house.

Fingers coated in blood, she smiled at the destroyed walls, which were scrawled with bloody words. Words like: Weakling, bitch, slut, useless, replacement, and kill yourself. They marred the once elegant and cream colored walls. And the biggest message was the giant crudely drawn Fairy Tail mark in the center. Despite being drawn in blood, it was actually quite good. The only thing that tarnished its beauty was the giant gash through it. The giant X along with the slash marks across it said more than words could express.

That’s when Lucy summoned Pegasus and Virgo. Her body was exhausted, but she had to go. There was no time to sleep.

“Oh, princess…” Virgo whispered, glancing around in absolute worry. She knew Lucy wasn’t okay...she had finally broken. Lucy looked up at her from the floor, her bangs hanging in her eyes. Her eyes seemed to well up with tears at how concerned Virgo was. The usually impassive spirit was even scared; truthfully, Lucy was scared too.

Virgo noticed the messy pile of bags; she knew they were mostly things Lucy had gotten when Fairy Tail wasn’t around. It seemed that anything that held any nostalgia at all was discarded. Her eyes flicked between the suitcases, and her master; her friend.

She knew her job was to put the items in the celestial world, but she couldn’t bear to just sit and watch her friend and guardian fall apart.

She hesitantly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the young blonde. All Lucy needed right now was someone else. Someone to tell her she really wasn’t useless; that she was wanted.

Lucy sobbed into Virgo’s arm, clutching her like a lifeline. She felt like a child again. Alone, and abandoned. Pegasus neighed softly, wrapping his giant wings around the two.

“Virgo…” Lucy whispers lowly, her tears still falling like a waterfall.

“Yes?” She answered, rocking the golden-haired girl back and forth.

“I don’t know why everybody hates me so much...but, maybe I do. Because now, I hate me too…”

“Lucy!” Virgo cried, raising her voice louder than Lucy had ever seen. She cupped Lucy’s cheeks and stared into her eyes. And what Virgo saw, she swore broke a part of her heart. Lucy’s usually warm eyes, which were the most enchanting combination of hazel brown and sky blue, were dead. They were lifeless and cold; no emotion could be seen. And that’s what hurt the most. The fact that Fairy Tail had broken her; What if she never recovered?

“You are amazing! I don’t give a rat’s ass what those lousy, good-for-nothing Fairy’s said! Your spirits love you; I love you! They are wrong!” Virgo pleaded, praying for her eyes to light up once more; for this dead, stolid Lucy to disappear and the cheerful one to reemerge.

“But you guys are my spirits...you have to like me...I force you guys too,” She chuckles bitterly. “All I ever seem to do is force people to like me.”

Virgo’s blue eyes narrowed.

“Lucy! We love you because you’re kind! You treat us like your family! You treat us like humans! That’s why we love you! Not because you force us or anything!”

“Not to mention plenty of people love you outside of Fairy Tail-”

“Like who?” Lucy argued.

“Sting! That kid has been in love with you for years!” Virgo shouts, making Lucy freeze. A long silence followed, and the same dead-eyed stare marred Lucy’s features.

“Laxus said he loved me too...look where that ended up,” Lucy uttered softly, curling into herself again. Virgo’s eyes softened.

“Look...what Laxus did to you...was cruel. He deserves to go to hell for that, and Aquarius just might make him feel its full wrath. But Sting...I swear on my life and key Lucy that he’s not a liar; I promise. You need to go to Sabertooth...it’s all we have now...”

Lucy sucks in deep breaths. Her eyes were growing tired. She didn’t want to be hurt again...but the idea of seeing someone else, someone who still loved her was too tempting to deny. Maybe it was her own fault she kept getting hurt. She never knew when to stop. Going to Sting might ruin her forever, or it may help fix her heart, that was currently in shambles.

Virgo lifted the tired blonde, settling her onto Pegasus’s back. He neighed in what sounded like concern and worry. Virgo hefted all the luggage to the spirit world, telling Pegasus to fly to Sabertooth.

As they passed Fairy Tail, Lucy watched the giant building pass with half-lidded eyes.

"With friends like you...who needs...enemies," She mumbled to herself.

What they didn’t know was Lila and Kaden were trailing them. They had spotted the rapidly moving horse and knew immediately it was Lucy. They had a job to do.