A Star Removed from the Sky

I'm Home

Six months had passed since Lucy closed her eyes, and they hadn't opened since. She wasn't dead... but she wasn't exactly living either. She was in a deep coma, with permanent damage to her heart incurable by any magic. No one was sure if she'd ever wake up again, but they didn't give up hope. She was looked after and cared for every day by her friends and checked on by Porlyusica, who wasn't sure how to explain to everyone that the likelihood she was going to wake up became smaller every day that passed.

Lucy was sleeping in the infirmary at Fairy Tail, having been moved there after the incident at the Grand Magic Games. The Games became extremely dull when all but three of the eight guilds dropped out after the fight against Ragus. Sabertooth and Fairy Tail went back home with their new members, and once Lucy and Yukino were remembered to be parts of different guilds, Stellar Luna was disbanded. Without a master and only three members left, they had no other option.

Antonio, Jamie, and Jess had followed Fairy Tail back to their guild, concerned about Lucy and unsure of what they were going to do next. After everything that had happened, after a betrayal from the man they had put on a pedestal, and how he'd hurt their beloved friend, Jamie was sure she would never trust anyone again. Jess was devastated that she hadn't been able to protect Lucy, and Antonio felt responsible for everything; he thought if he'd just defeated Ragus faster...

That mindset didn't last long when he was with the Fairy Tail members. The second he mumbled that under his breath, four members of Fairy Tail chewed him out for his negativity. The one who brought it home was Natsu, who hadn't left Lucy's side since he carried all the way back to Magnolia himself. At this point, two weeks had passed

"Don't blame yourself for any part of this mess, you're not the one who did this to her." Natsu was very serious with his words, holding Lucy's hand in his and watching over her, looking for any sign that she might be coming out of her sleep.

In the infirmary was Natsu, Happy, who was sitting on the bed next to Lucy, with the three Stellar Luna members in chairs around the room. Porlyusica had stepped out for the day, tired of the crowds of people constantly asking her how Lucy was doing or whys she wasn't waking up. She was a healer, not a miracle worker, and it upset her as much as everyone else just how little she'd been able to do. She'd managed to heal her so she wouldn't die, she repaired all her organs minus the scars in her heart tissue, and she'd been able to erase any remaining traces of the curse from everyone. But did anyone care about that? No. She grumbled about ungrateful kids while she walked home for the day.

After Porlyusica had left, awkward silence fell over Lucy's room. Her skin was still pale, but thanks to the healing, she looked more alive than she had while she was under the curse. Natsu broke the tension in the room. "So what are you guys gonna do now?" He quietly asked, holding Lucy's hand to the side to check her pulse, to make sure she was doing alright. Porlyusica had just assures him that she was, but he couldn't help but worry.

No one answered him at first, and Natsu just sighed. He was down in the dumps too, but would it kill them to be friendly? He was trying to be their friend.

Antonio sighed too. "I have to go back to Espero, and soon."

Natsu looked over his shoulder to where Antonio was sitting. "That's right, you're some kind of King, right?"

Antonio smiled weakly. "Not yet, and if I stay here for another month, then I will never be."

"Sounds complicated."

"Oh it is, I could rant the whole story, but my friends have already heard it enough. In short, I have a fight waiting for me back in my country, If I emerge victorious, then I'll become a King, if not... well, I probably won't live."