So I know i still have Fairy Tail Again! going, but right now I'm waiting on a friend to get back with me on something with the story so until then I can't finish the half typed chapter... It isn't fair is it. :( But it's fine, I read these type of stories a lot and wanted to make a twist of my own on them. So I hope you all like my idea, and I will continue with both stories I promise.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail... Never did, never will!

Chapter One

Departing!

Lucy sat at the bar in Fairy Tail, she listened to the members talk about how much they missed Lisanna since she had come back from the dead suddenly. It had been about two months since they had returned from Edolas and everyone in the guild had begun to ignore her except a few members. "Mira, can I get a milkshake to go?" Lucy called out as she set her empty glass on the counter with a low sigh.

"Sure thing Lucy." Mira winked at her before she went back into the kitchen to make another one. She was worried about Lucy, she seemed to get more depressed every day. But Mira couldn't place off the top of her head why.

The blonde smiled to herself sadly as she turned to the request board. Should she get another solo mission or ask her team members? Her eyes narrowed a little because she already knew that answer. "While Mira goes and makes it." She mumbled as Lucy stood up and headed to the board. Everything was way over her limit to handle by herself, don't get her wrong Lucy had improved a lot since going solo but she still had her limits. She knew and didn't want to end up killing herself. "Man, I need rent money." Lucy whined herself but didn't notice the master watching her carefully.

"Lucy! Your drink if ready!" Mira suddenly called to snap Lucy out of her funk.

She smiled as she walked over to the bar and handed her the jewels. "Thanks, well I'm taking my leave for the day then."

"Isn't your rent coming up though? Aren't you doing to take a mission?"

"I wish, but with what I know I'm capable of… there is nothing." Lucy hung her head a bit but then laughed as she waved. She headed towards the door ignoring the looks she was getting from her old team. She couldn't care anymore because since the first day they had made their choice, and she respected that choice. They had choose Lisanna over her, so she had been distancing herself from the members of the guild so she wouldn't get hurt any more than she was already.

The master jumped onto the bar counter as he looked at Mira, "Is Lucy alright?" He asked worriedly.

"I don't know, she won't talk to me anymore master." Mira looked down at the glass she had been cleaning a minute ago in her hand. "I feel like Lucy is pulling away from us… like she doesn't want to be a family anymore."

He stayed quiet and then looked back at the door, his eyes narrowed a bit because he knew something had to be done if no one else had the guts to do.

Lucy walked along the edge of the bank with Plue imitating her, she slowly came to a stop in front of her apartment. "Plue, I'm stupid aren't I?" She asked randomly as she felt tears beginning to swell up in her eyes. "I get upset over my friends… my family… picking a returning member over me." She brought one of her hands up to cover her face to not let the people passing her see her cry. "I'm so stupid!" She ran inside slamming the door shut after Plue got inside. She slid down against the door and began to cry her heart out. It didn't lift the weight she held on her heart, but it was something she had been holding in for nearly two months now.

Suddenly a hand was placed on top of her head and she went stiff. She raised her head a little to see her master standing in front of her. His eyes looked sad and she bit her bottom lip as she launched straight into his arms and continued to cry loudly. He wrapped his arms around her and stood there, he couldn't believe his children… so ingrate of another child's pain. "Let it all out Lucy." He soothed her gently.

After about a half an hour Lucy finally felt like she couldn't cry anymore and slowly began to pull away from the master. She rubbed her red eyes as she sniffled a little. "I'm sorry master…" She whispered low looking down at the floor in shame.

He smiled at her and held her chin to bring her face up to face him. "That's quiet alright child. It's a father's duty to comfort his children." When he saw her eyes water just a little bit he laughed as a blush tinted his cheeks. "Well to tell you the truth I'm not really good at comforting… I'd rather beat it right into them." When he heard her laugh a little, a smile came to his face. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yes, thank you for letting me cry." She slowly stood up and dusted herself off. Plue pulled at her socks trying to see if she was fine now. Lucy smiled as she leaned down to pick him up. "Thank you Plue for staying with me too." She hugged him gently before bowing to her master a bit. "Would you like some tea or something?"

"Tea sounds nice." He nodded as he looked around her apartment, he had never had a need to ever visit so he was curious as to what she lived like now. Lucy nodded letting Plue go before she headed to her kitchen to get tea ready. The master turned to Plue who was only looking up at him, shaking a bit, but then held out his paw as if knowing what he was thinking. He smirked and took his paw to be lead on a tour of her apartment. He had to admit, for the price she was paying this was nice.

After a couple minute Lucy walked out handing the master his cup, who had made himself at home on her couch before, and sat down on a chair. "What brought you here?" She asked suddenly, she knew there wouldn't be no way the master would visit unless something was urgent enough.

He looked at the tea for a minute before taking a sip. "This is good." He complimented her before his eyes narrowed a bit. "I have heard you have become distant from the rest of the guild. Is there a reason?"

"I…" Lucy started to say but then looked down at her cup a bit hurt. "I don't really want to talk about why master… it's too hurtful for me."

"I understand, I am here to listen whenever you decide to open up." He took another drink of his wonderful tea before he put it on the coffee table. Reaching into his coat he pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. "This is a member recruitment form that the council has sent to all the legal guilds in Fiore."

Lucy stopped breathing for a second as she slowly set her cup down curious to what he was getting at. "Go on."

"Stated in it, it says each legal guild must send one representative to the council to help in its aid against the dark guild alliance that has targeted the council." He held out the paper for her to read.

She quickly snatched the paper and opened it. Her eyes moved quickly as she read every last word but she gasped loudly when she read the last few words. "Me? Why are you sending me master? There are better picks than me." She looked up at him with surprise.

He held up a finger with a slight chuckle, "Yes that is true, but if you think about your guild mates… you are the one that has the most sense to them… other than Mira normally but I can't send her… who else would give me my drinks the way I like them." He crossed his arms over his chest as he pouted like a child for a few minutes only to make Lucy giggle at his attitude. "But I believe you would be a good pick there…"

Lucy looked at the paper again with determined eyes. "Yes! I'll go!" She grinned actually happy for once in the past two months. "When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow morning." He held up a ticket and then tossed her an item. "This little baby is a present from the council… use it to pack up whatever you need… it's kind of like Erza's requip magic space if you want to sum it up."

She smiled to herself as she looked at the items before bowing to the master. "I won't let you down! I swear!"

"I know you won't child… just promise me one thing." He smiled at her sadly, "You will come home."

Lucy could only give him a genuine smile, "I will master… I promise."

After bidding farewell to the master, Lucy had begun to pack what she had wanted to take. The little item he had given her was awesome. She placed it next to a wall and a door sprung up to give her a huge room to store her items in. She had nearly decided what she was going to bring when she heard a ruffling of sheets. "Huh?" She looked behind her to see Natsu sitting on her bed just watching her carefully. "Natsu? What are you doing here?" She was confused now, he hadn't talked to her or had come to her house since they got back two months ago.

He just suddenly grinned at her, "Let's go on a mission. Mira said that you were low on your rent money for this month."

"What…" she whispered under her breath with wide eyes. Those words hurt her more than she wanted to admit. "I'm not your partner anymore Natsu."

"What?" He jumped up in surprise. "Who said we aren't partners anymore?" He was mad now, who dare tell lies about their relationship. "I'll beat up who ever said that!"

She stood there unfazed, as her eyes narrowed a tiny bit. "Then you have to beat up me."

That statement caught him off guards as he looked at Lucy in disbelief. "Lucy… you… you can't mean that?"

"I meant it before, and I mean it now. You have Lisanna… I am not needed." Her hands clenched, she didn't want to deal with this at the moment.

He stood there unable to think of how to understand this situation. "Lucy, you are my only partner… you always will be." He gave her another grin which made another stab at her heart.

"Natsu, how about this… When I come back from my current mission… I will go on a mission with you." She held up a finger, hoping he took this bait.

And he took the bait as his smile grew wider. "Alright!" He jumped up into the air excited. "Hurry and come back from your mission then! I'll have the perfect one picked out then!" He waved at her and exited her apartment.

Lucy stood there as she felt tears begin to stream down her face again. "I can't cry again." She wiped them away furious at herself as she set out to pack up everything now. She didn't have time to worry about Natsu or the guild. Master depended on her, and she wasn't going to let him down. She walked over to her unfinished book and placed a hand on the cover. "You're going to have to wait a bit longer Levi." Somewhere in the guild, a blue hair bookworm sneezed suddenly. She then picked it up placing it in a box before she put it in the storage unit. "I wonder who will be there."

The next morning rolled around, Lucy was at the train station waiting for the train to show up. "Lucy!" She heard her name, turning to see three guild members running up to her. Levi grabbed her hands with a grin on her face, "Make sure you keep in touch alright!"

"Yah." The blonde nodded with a small smile on her face, she glanced at the other two. It was Mira and the master. "Are you all here to see me off?"

Mira was biting a handkerchief trying not to cry. Her matchmaking plan was ruined now! She couldn't get Lucy and Natsu together if Lucy disappeared. "Lucy you must come back!" She said in between sobs. Her mother instincts also coming through as she ran up to hug her. "Don't die! You have to come back!"

Lucy smiled to herself as she wrapped an arm around Mira and hugged her back. "I promised master I'd be back… so I will be back." She had a wonderful family… even if some of them just ignored you.

"Oh yes Lucy, don't worry about your apartment… the council will send the money to pay your rent every month because you are going to be staying there."

"They are paying for me place?" She gasped a bit surprised but then laughed a little. "I'm going to miss you all!" She cheered as she held her hand up in the Fairy Tail symbol. The three of them also did the sign to send off the celestial mage. She winked at them as she boarded the train.

They watched as she waved them from the window and after a few minutes the train pulled away taking away their beloved member to an unknown future.

"Should we tell Natsu?" Levi spoke up as she was trying to hold in her tears. Her best friend promised she'd back, but this was a war… and war means death.

"No… He does not need to know right now." The master spoke softly as the wind began to pick up around the three. "He would only run after her, and right now I believe this is what's best for Lucy."

Mira suddenly blinked, "Oh… Natsu had been looking for Happy since last night. Any of you seen him?" She randomly asked as a sinking feeling fell over the three.

"If he's with Lucy… they will be fine." The master felt some sweat fall down his face. He hoped with all his heart, Happy didn't sneak into the item he had given Lucy. If he did then he'd be with her, but the thought of the little exceed with Lucy made him a bit more confident that she'd come home. "Just tell Natsu if he doesn't come back in a few days that he went on a training mission by himself."

Levi giggled at that before she waved once more to the disappearing train before she clapped her hands together. "I can't wait for Lu-chan to get back with the finished book." She smiled brightly as she bowed to the master and Mira before heading off to the book store to pick out more books.

Mira glanced down at the master, "Are you sure we should have sent Lucy? We could have sent Erza… or my brother… or guildarts…"

"As I told Lucy, I believe she will be the best fit in this situation the council is having…" He laughed to himself before he began to walk back to the guild with Mira in toe.

Lucy sat in a private compartment in the train. The council had gone all out, so she didn't have to worry about any other person bothering her for the ride. She reached into her bag and pulled out the little item. "I should see if everything is alright." She slowly stood up and put the item in front of a full wall. The door suddenly popped up to let Lucy in, but before she could even open the door it flew open and a blue blur came shooting out of it.

"Lucy!" It cried as the blue blur landed on her chest. "Lucy! Why could I get out?" It was Happy… He had sneaked into the item Lucy guessed.

"Happy… why were in there in the first place?" She sighed now knowing that this would get complicated. With Happy here, Natsu would come looking for him soon and if he found out she had left… Who knows what would happen.

He looked up to her with tears in his eyes, "I wanted to surprise Lucy with a big fish but when I got there I saw something shiny in a doorway… when I realized what time it was, the exit was already gone." He was getting more upset the more he talked about it.

Lucy sighed to herself but pet the poor exceed. "It's alright Happy… but I have bad news to tell you." She held up a finger as she tapped his nose gently. "I've left the guild on a council based mission… If you want to go back, it hasn't been very long. You can still return by nightfall." She gave Happy a small sad smile.

"No." He answered quickly with a determined look now. "I want to stay with you Lucy. You look so sad and I don't want Lucy to feel sad anymore."

That answer made Lucy smile for real for the first time in a month and a half. "Thank you Happy." She whispered as she felt herself growing more tired the longer she stayed awake. Lucy hadn't slept much last night because she had either been finishing packing or just too excited to sleep. It was probably more of the number two but she didn't mind. There was still three days of travel time to reach the council's base. "Happy… I'm going to take a nap. This is our own compartment so make yourself comfortable." With that Lucy laid down on the seat and began to doze off.

Happy watched his friend doze off, he looked down at the floor a bit ashamed. He knew Natsu had been so excited to have Lisanna back but that didn't give him the right to ignore Lucy. Happy looked at Lucy like a mother figure, and her having the sad feelings was unacceptable by his standards. He knew he had to stay with Lucy until she was happy again, he vowed it silently. But the thought of being away from Charlie made him sniffle a bit. "I miss everyone." He said to himself as he jumped up on the seat, Happy curled up next to Lucy's stomach and fell asleep also.