This is my first Fairy Tail story! I love Fairy Tail. NaLu is my OTP! However, it's not really in this story...well, maybe if you squint really hard...

Spoilers! If you haven't read the past few chapters in the manga, STOP!

Some characters may be OOC.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does.

The guild had never before suffered as much damage as what Tartarus had dealt them. Physical and emotional pain haunted each member and would continue to do so for a long time.

Reconstruction of the guild was already underway. Elfman worked day and night without rest, trying to prove to everyone else how sorry he was about almost eradicating them. Though everyone understood his desire to protect Lisanna and didn't blame him, they couldn't bring themselves to say it out loud. The shock was still too great.

Mira spent most of her time with Wendy in the infirmary. They still could not find a cure for the Raijinshuu, so they simply observed and tended to them as best they could. They also tended to the others who were wounded.

Erza was the worst of the injured. She had slowly but steadily begun to recover her senses. However, they were still heightened, meaning that if anyone so much as touched her, she would scream in pain and flinch away. There wasn't much that Wendy could do for her except use magic. The rest was up to Erza.

Gray had been fully healed of his physical injuries. He had been tending to Juvia who was still recovering from her attack by Keith. His mental state, however, was still a bit rocky. But he was better off than the other dragon slayers.

Sting and Rogue had remained at Fairy Tail recovering and helping out with the repairs. Though Marde Greer had left them pretty broken, they insisted on helping out the guild, saying if Erza hadn't written them, then their Lady might have died.

Though that was the excuse they used, the entire guild knew that all the dragon slayers wanted to be around each other to mourn together. They understood what each other were going through, seeing their dragon parents again only to lose them.

Each slayer insisted on working to repair the guild and aid the wounded. Natsu especially immersed himself in rebuilding, his happy smile infecting the others and filling them with cheer. They were most worried about him, having witnessed the brutal death of Igneel, but remembered his final reaction and concluded that he would be all right. At least, that he won't try to hurt himself.

Using these distractions to her advantage, Fairy Tail's Celestial Mage decided to make the most of the situation and keep everyone in the dark about what happened to her. She knew that each member had their own personal pain and didn't want to add onto that by burdening them with the truth about Aquarius. So she kept it to herself, and when asked how she saved them, she simply smiled and explained how she defeated Jackal by summoning three Celestial Spirits at once.

Not a total one, but nevertheless, a lie.

During the day she would summon different spirits to aid in the reconstruction, using her magic to aid the guild she loved so much. Though no one had any idea how much, how far she had gone to protect them.

At night, she would retreat to the waterfall where she once rescued Loke and summoned all her power to try to contact Aquarius. Once she realized it was impossible, she would put all her magic towards fixing the key. She had read that Celestial Magic had created the original keys, but only when the mage was willing to pour all their magic into fashioning the key. Something Lucy was prepared to do.

Each night, she would summon every ounce of magic she possessed and concentrated it onto the key. So much power was needed that before morning, Lucy would pass out due to magic deficiency. Her spirits would tend to her until morning, keeping her secret from the guild due to her insistence.

This went on for almost five weeks, and so far only about a millimeter had been created. But it was an improvement for Lucy and gave her enough hope to believe that one day, she could see Aquarius again.

It had been two months since the end of Tartarus and the guild was finally done. Sting and Rogue had returned with Minerva to Sabertooth, while the Rajinshuu were making steady progress. Even Erza had finally awoken, though she was still heavily injured.

The guild decided to celebrate the memory of all they had lost. A toast to the dragons turned into an all-night party in gratitude for the fallen. But one dragon noticed someone not in attendance.

Natsu gathered the rest of his team and began to search for Lucy. Following her scent, they could feel a strong magic presence nearby. However, the purity of it made them feel at ease. 'Could this possibly be Lucy?' they all thought.

Their ease was quickly changed to anxiety as the presence disappeared. Running towards her, they found her passed out in Loke's arms as Aquarius's glowing but broken key descended to the ground.

"What happened to her?" cried Natsu as Wendy rushed to check on her condition.

"Princess told me not to tell. It's not my place. Only she can explain what has been happening. Please make sure she is all right," replied Loke as he disappeared into the Celestial World.

Team Natsu brought her to the infirmary and waited anxiously until morning.

Lucy awoke the next morning in the newly constructed guild. 'Ugh, my body is so sore. And how did I end up here?'

She turned to the side and saw her team looking at her darkly. She gulped and knew they had found her after she passed out.

Natsu was right by her side and was holding her hand. Happy was on her stomach and she could see the beginning of tears at the corner of his eyes. Erza was on the bed next to her, but looking intently at her. Gray stood on the other side and was the first to speak.

"Lucy, what happened? You weren't at the guild and we were worried. When we went to go find you, we find you in some random place completely passed out and drained of magical power".

Lucy looked down as the guilt began to fill her. She hadn't expected them to worry because she figured they would all have other things on their mind. She couldn't tell them the truth.

"Nothing. I was simply training and went a bit overboard".

"That's bullshit and we all know it Lucy," said Natsu. He tightened his grip on her hand and looked her in the eye. "Tell us the truth. We saw Aquarius's key. It's broken. What happened to it? Is that why you've been so distant?"

Lucy looked at Natsu shocked. She was so sure that he wouldn't have noticed her behavior. Then again, she was his best friend. If she were acting different, he would be the first to notice.

Tears began to pool in Lucy's eyes and she looked down so they wouldn't see. She bit her lip and willed her shoulders to stop shaking. But when Happy hugged her, she broke down. She began to tell them everything, from her separation from Natsu, to facing Jackal, to summoning three spirits, to the conversation with Aquarius. Then she revealed how the only way to save Fairy Tail was to summon the Celestial King by breaking one of her golden zodiac keys.

At the end of her story, her team was shocked. Lucy, who loved her spirits more than her own life, had given one of them up? And not just any spirit, but Aquarius? The key left to her by her mother? And she had kept it from them so they wouldn't feel burdened as they recovered from their own personal demons?

The rest of Team Natsu wrapped Lucy in a hug and voiced numerous apologies. They had no idea that Lucy was suffering on her own.

"You have to tell the guild. We had no idea that this happened. They must know the truth," stated Erza. The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

The team except Natsu left to go gather the guild for the announcement. When the door closed, Natsu looked at Lucy and asked, "Why didn't you tell me? Of all people, why not me?"

Lucy looked him in the eye and replied, "I didn't want to add-on to your grief. With Igneel gone, I didn't want to worry you. I'm sorry."

Natsu hugged her and whispered into her hair "You have been there for me during this time. Please let me be there for you. You're my best friend. Let me help."

Lucy returned the hug, smiled and agreed.

By then, Erza and Gray had reentered and said they were ready. The team stood by Lucy's side as she retold her story to everyone. Shock was on everyone's face as she showed them her broken key, proving her story to be the truth. Loke and Virgo made an appearance, confirming everything that had happened.

The guild was silent as they processed everything. Shock then turned to anger as Lucy revealed how she gave almost all her magic power each night to fixing the key in hopes of one day seeing Aquarius again.

"You could have died Lucy!"

"Something bad could have happened!"

"What if you needed help? None of us would have been able to help you!"

Lucy gave them a kind smile and replied, "Don't worry. I won't give up trying to get Aquarius back, but I won't risk my life when I have a family who needs me here".

The guild nodded their consent and toasted to Lucy's sacrifice.

That night, when Lucy returned to her apartment, she almost ran into Virgo.

"Mavis, Virgo, you scared me! I thought you were a burglar!"

"I apologize. Princess, I have something for you." She held out what looked to be a communication lacrima. She passed it to Lucy, and when Lucy grabbed it, Aquarius's face appeared.

Lucy couldn't move due to her shock. Virgo quickly explained, "This is a one-way message lacrima from the Celestial World. It can only carry one message. We had told Aquarius what you were doing, and she told us to give you this. I will leave you now and return later for punishment, Princess."

Lucy didn't pay her any attention and continued to gaze at the lacrima. As soon as Virgo disappeared, the message began to play.

"YOU IDIOT! I told you that by destroying my key, you would never see me again! Now you're trying to fix it? You know I don't want to see you!

I love being up here all the time. Now my dates with Scorpio are hardly interrupted. Hear that? DATES! BECAUSE I HAVE A BOYFRIEND! NYAHHH!

Though I suppose you don't care about hurting yourself because of me. Which is nice I guess…IN A STUPID WAY! IDIOT!

And no, I don't miss you. You would always drop my key, or summon me from muddy puddles. And you aren't as powerful as your mother was. Or as pretty.

But that doesn't mean I want you to practically kill yourself over my key's reconstruction!...And I'm only saying that because then you'll be able to summon me again!

So take care of yourself. You still have a long way to go before you catch up to your mother. And your silly guild wants you safe. So do the other spirits up here.

BUT NOT ME! I don't care either way. So…take care. And goodbye.

AND DON'T SUMMON SCORPIO BECAUSE WE'RE GOING ON A DATE!"

The message ended and the lacrima dissolved into tiny golden lights.

Lucy was frozen as the last of the tiny lights disappeared. Happiness soared through her as she realized Aquarius was okay and even took the time to send her a message. Aquarius-style, with a lot of biting comments, but that was how she was. That was how Lucy loved her.

Lucy smiled and finally began to feel the tension leave her body. She relaxed as a few happy tears escaped her. She finally felt like she would be okay.

Aquarius was happy, and so was Lucy.

AN. Thank you for the read. To me, Lucy is definitely underrated in Fairy Tail. I hate how they make her serve only for fan service! However, she proved herself when she sacrificed Aquarius. I cannot wait until that chapter is animated!

Man, this past arc was crazy! In my opinion, it was definitely the best arc in Fairy Tail so far. So much character development! I will admit, it had its moments where I rolled my eyes, but overall, it was amazing.

Review and let me know how I did.

PS - I completely made up that part about reconstructing her key. They have never mentioned that, and I doubt that is possible.