answers to reviewers questions or statements:

MCRasengan: Yeah, for the main villain for this arc, it's noting personal... Erza on the other hand, yeesh.

Zayden StormVoid: I wouldn't say she suspects but she's definitely curious as to why Erza was watching Peter so closely to begin with. Granted she has more important things on her mind at the moment, but that little thought will be given more attention once everything settles down. We'll find out a little more about what the thing that's washed up on the shore could be before this arc ends. Who says it was Lyon who hired this man? He wont be the only one operating on the island this time around.

shadespace: Peter will get over most of his fear of Erza by the end of this arc and in the next one, but it's Erza Scarlet, can one ever truly not be terrified of her to some degree? Peter isn't a demon or part demon, the reason why he knows so much about curses will be shown a bit next chapter. And his stingers aren't binding anything, they are what gives him his spider like powers for the time being.

superpierce: It's not Nightmare, but he sure as hell can make ones.

Silverfang: We'll be kind of seeing more of Peter and Erza interactions this chapter.

TM11: It looks like I have.

Hbarrera98: I haven't read the Preacher Comics so I have no idea what your talking about. But if you mean she'll be less than happy about him lying by omission about going with Natsu on a S-class Quest, than yes, very much so. He wont be able to sweet talk his way out of this one.

Dawkhawk 48: True, but Peter also knows that if Laxus was to hurt him, it wouldn't be too bad. Sure he'll be in the infirmary for a day or two, but he knows that if Laxus really wanted him dead, there wouldn't be a thing he or anyone barring Makarov or Gildarts could do. Laxus at the time may be an arrogant asshole, but he's not completely heartless like his old man is. There will be similarities in this story between it and the anime/manga, and some new things too. Like instead of facing off against Leon's people right off the bat, Team Natsu is facing off against something seemingly worse.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Fairy Tail characters seen, mentioned or used.

Few things could surprise Erza anymore.

After the things she's seen over the years, the foes she's faced, the friends she's lost, the pain she's endured, the scarlet haired beauty was quite confident that nothing the world had left to throw at her could give her pause anymore...

That is, until Peter approached her this morning, asking to meet with her at his place to talk. About what she had no idea, but she figured it had to be important, Peter very rarely invites people over to his home. So with some curiosity, she agreed to the meeting place and time and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon wondering that Peter wanted to talk about. It didn't escape her notice that Mirajane looked particularly... crabby, for the lack of a better term.

She'd been speaking with a number of people today in short clipped tones and not once did she show a smile of any sort to anyone. Erza's heard a rumor that there were some 'issues' going on between Peter and Mirajane, something that was looking more and more accurate as the day dragged on and Mirajane's mood worsened. She never even so much as glanced in Peter's direction the entire time he was at the Guild Hall. Normally, Peter was at the bar, glued to whatever stool was available and showering with Mirajane with affection and vice versa.

'Perhaps Peter wishes to ask for advice on how to salvage his and Mira's now strained relationship' Erza thought as she ate another slice of her strawberry cheesecake 'I know her almost as well as Elfman does but I doubt Peter's willing to risk asking him in the event that Elfman is for Mira's side, which he usually is'

With that thought in mind, Erza spent the rest of the day thinking of something that Peter can use to help whatever issues he and Mira were having. Granted until she knows the details she wont be able to come up with a certified answer, but she can still form a few based on what she does know of the two that could lead them to this and go from there. By the time the sun had set and the Guild Hall was closing and it's members heading off to home or off on some last minute job, Erza headed for Peter's apartment.

The streets were mostly empty barring a few night owls here and there and a couple of fellow Guild members who decided to continue their binge drinking *cough-Cana-cough* at some of the local bars that stayed open until almost morning.

'Least that explains why Cana is somehow still drunk even before Mira opens the bar at the hall' Erza thought with amusement as she passed a few of the town's only bars, Cana's laughter prominent in one of them, and continued on her way to Peter's residence.

She could count on the number of times she's been to the man's home on one hand and still have fingers to spare. For such a sociable person at the Hall, he was oddly reclusive outside of it. At least, from her point of view he was, for all she knew, he had his own little group that he interacted with outside of the Guild that few, if any barring perhaps Mira knew about.

The thought that Peter was intentionally hiding the fact he had friends outside of the Guild and not told her had left Erza feeling... sad, hurt even.

'Get a grip of yourself Erza' the red head thought with a shake of her head 'Why should you care that he interacts with others outside of the Guild? It's never been an issue before, so why would it matter now?'

Eventually Erza reached Peter's home and on passing, spared a glance at the building next to it, a slightly smaller, but cute apartment that she's had her eyes on was for sale again. She spared a few seconds to glance at the price and found it more than reasonable and made a note to talk to the land lady tomorrow morning. She loved her apartment at Fairy Hills, and being so close to some of her fellow Guild mates like Cana, Levy, Laki, Bisca, and even Evergreen but she's been wanting her own home for a while now. Someplace she could go and relax in complete privacy and blissful silence.

The fact she'd be next door to Peter and the bathroom window will have a clear view of Peter's bedroom and vice versa was just a very nice bonus.

'I wonder how he'd react to waking up one morning to see me showering?' Erza thought with a giggle and a faint blush before she remembered that Mira would likely be there from time to time as well... being inappropriate with the sweet young man.

That, more or less killed any libido she was growing.

With a sigh, Erza turned and approached the door to Peter's building and knocked several times and waited. After a few seconds, she heard a few clicks in and behind the door and it swung open to reveal the building's landlord, a short pale man with eyes that were a little too large for someone of his size to have.

"Yes?" he asked in a tired, bored tone as he looked Erza up and down "Your not one of my tenants, and I have no rooms for sale, so your not a buyer..."

Erza shook her head "No, I'm-"

"Your an escort, aren't ya?" the man asked with a scrutinizing gaze that caused Erza to gape at him, mostly for what he just called her.

"E-Excuse me?" she asked with an aghast expression on her face.

"I mean, that's what you are, aren't ya?" the man gestured to Erza's armored top, blue skirt and knee high leather boots "I mean, what kind of woman walks around in a outfit that looks like it jumped right out of those late night-"

The landlord was cut off by Erza suddenly summoning a sword and holding it's tip in front of the startled man's face. A few beads of sweat began to pour down his forehead as a dark red and black aurora gathered around Erza's form. Her body shook with barely contained rage as she very nearly snarled out her next few words.

"I. Am. Not. A. Escort" she seethed "I am Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail and was stopping by to visit one of my Guild mates, one of your tenants, Peter"

"O-Oh..." the man said with growing fear as he fell to his knees "M-M-M-My apologies... s-second f-floor... t-third door on the right"

"I know where he lives... but thank you" Erza said, her sword gone and the dark oppressive air around her gone as a thankful smile grew on her face "Excuse me"

She walked pass the shaking landlord without another word and quickly made her way up the stairs and down the hall to where Peter's door was. Peter has told her in the past that his landlord wasn't the... sharpest tool in the shed, but she thought he'd have a little more class than what he just showed her.

Calling her an escort, assuming she was here to fuck Peter-

Erza came to a sudden stop and violently shook her head of those thoughts, now was not the time to let the influence of those novels of her's gain a foothold in her mind. She had more important things to concentrate on, like helping Peter fix whatever was going on between him and Mirajane.

With a nod, she turned towards Peter's door and knocked three times and waited several seconds for a response. When she lifted her hand to knock again, this time more loudly and forceful, the door opened to reveal Peter in a pair of black sweat pants and a equally black t-shirt. Erza blinked at the sight of Peter in such dark colors compared to the nearly all white outfit he normally wore.

He looked... good in black, she decided.

'He seems more mature in such a color' Erza thought as she gave Peter a friendly grin "I hope you weren't waiting too long"

"Nah, your right on time" Peter said with a shrug as he stepped tot he side and allowed Erza to enter before he closed the door and re-locked it "I was just thinking is all"

"About what?" Erza asked as she requiped her armor and boots off, leaving her in her blue skirt, a white blouse and her feet bare.

"About... things" Peter said as he scratched the back of his head, his gaze focused on something off to the side "It's been on my mind for a while and now actually"

"Really?" Erza asked with a raised brow as she folded her arms under her bust "What is it? It's not like you to worry over something for so long"

"Well it's uh... it's um..." Peter seemed to be struggling to find a answer, a rare and cute sight in her opinion "Well I'm not sure how to say it"

"Than just say it to the best of your ability" Erza said with a smile "Not everyone is gifted with words. Besides, I prefer blunt honesty rather than you just beating around the bush and leaving things open to interp-"

"I've been thinking about you"

Erza stopped mid-sentence and stared at Peter with surprise while he looked like he wanted to take back what he said, throw it in a box and bury said box and deny it's very existence until the day he died.

An awkward silence hung over the two as they stared at one another before Erza blinked several times and shook her head, certain she misheard what the man said "I'm sorry, but what did you just say?"

"I said..." Peter said as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his gaze on the floor space between him and the red headed beauty "I've been thinking of you"

Erza stared at Peter with wide eyes "M-Me?"

"Y-Yeah" Peter said with a nervous cough "Uh, a lot actually"

"...Why?" Erza asked with a faint blush on her face as she felt her heart pounding against her rib cage so hard she swore her breasts would jiggle.

Impossible yes, but it sure as hell felt like it.

"I... I don't know why" Peter said with a sigh as he pinched the ridge of his nose "It started after you got back from that swim suit job that Mira tricked you to go on. Everything was fine and I happen to look over at you when you were still in your swim suit and I realized that this was the first time I ever saw you in something so... so..."

"Revealing?" Erza finished with a faint blush as she remembered the suit that Peter spoke of.

Honestly the suit she was given to model in and keep looked like it was just shy of being considered indecent to wear in public. It left very little to the imagination and Erza at times and thanks to Erza's nearly unrivaled physique, the skimpy suit looked even more strained holding in her generous bust-line and rear.

"Uh... yeah..." Peter said with a nervous expression "I uh, didn't realize how... well how hot you were. Like fire hot. Like Natsu would want to try a bite-"

"Please don't finish that sentence" Erza said with a shake of her head, the thought of Natsu trying to bite her in any sort of way was something she'd rather not ever have to contemplate in any shape or form.

Peter winced at this "Oh, right, uh, sorry"

"It's... fine" Erza breathed out as she tried to think of what to do with this information.

Knowing that Peter was thinking of her, in a less than platonic way if she was correct, may be what's been causing such tension between him and Mirajane lately.

'What am I going to do now?' Erza thought as she was so distracted by her own thoughts, she barely registered Peter standing in front of her, much closer than before, until he reached out and placed his hands on her arms.

The sudden contact sent a jolt through Erza that caused some sort and force her to look up at him with wide eyes "Peter, what are-"

Her question was cut off by a sudden, heated, almost desperate kiss from Peter that stole her breath away and caused her eyes to widen to the side of dinner plates. The red head stood there, her body frozen in shock as her mouth was assaulted by Peter's own. Eventually Peter's hands moved from her arms and down to her waist and pulled her hips closet to his own, allowing her own arms to regain their mobility. She should've used them to push Peter away, but instead they reached up and snaked around Peter's neck, pulling him even deeper into their shared kiss as a odd hazy warm feeling began to come over Erza.

She hadn't felt this good in a long time and was beginning to let out a series of small moans in her kiss with Peter before reality struck her and she pulled out of it. Peter leaned forward to follow before he stopped and looked into Erza's wide eyes as she breathed heavily to refill her burning lungs with oxygen.

"W-We shouldn't..." Erza said before Peter silenced her again with another kiss while his hand travel down to her legs and rubbed one of her thighs, causing her to shiver.

"No... but we will" Peter whispered in a husky tone to Erza before he leaned down and began to trail a series of kisses down her throat, causing her to moan while the hand on her thigh began to travel up and under her skirt and palm her mound.

The Titania's eyes shot open at this and she looked down to see Peter wink at her before he used his other hand to grip Erza's blouse and yank it to the side. Parts of the fabric tore and buttons went flying as Erza's naked breasts were exposed. Peter blinked at the realization Erza had forgone a bra today and quickly buried his face between her chest's heavenly mounds and began to kiss, lick and suck on whatever warm flesh he could.

"Oh fuck!" Erza gasped as Peter attacked the flesh between her breasts while the hand that tore her top open gripped one of her tits and began to squeeze it.

She shouldn't be doing this, she shouldn't be letting Peter do these things to her, he was still technically in a relationship with Mirajane. She should be stopping him, beating the ever loving hell out of him even, but all she could do was wrap her arms around Peter's head and keep him between her breasts as he groped her. She began to grind her hips into Peter's hand, causing his fingers to trail over her still clothed nether lips and send waves of pleasure through her body.

"P-Peter... oh Peter..." Erza panted as she felt her body shake under Peter's dual assault, causing the blood in her veins to burn like fire as one of Peter's fingers began to push aside her panties while anther slid right into her wet, aching-

Erza's eyes shot open and was greeted to the sight of the inn's ceiling.

The Titania's body felt like it was on fire and her heart felt was beating faster and harder than after any fight she's ever been in. She slowly sat up, her body shaking slightly from the intensity of the dream she had. She could also feel, much to her embarrassment, a clammy wetness between her legs, she hadn't experienced something like this since she first stared reading her novels several years ago.

'My dream was practically torn out of one of them' Erza thought as she let out a breath and stood on shaky legs and made her way to the bathroom for a very much needed cold shower.

An hour later and a refreshed though slightly frustrated Erza was back on the road to Magnolia.

...

Erza's job wasn't all that far from the Guild, only about a day and a half walk, far to short of a distance in her opinion for a mere train ride. She was a little sad to see that she had yet to run into Peter on her journey back, several of the job requests on the Request Board dealt with curses in towns that were along the same route as her's. And based on what she's heard from some of the taverns she's stopped at in some of these towns, Peter, or anyone really, had yet to arrive and deal with whatever curse was plaguing them.

'I overheard him mentioning that his rent was coming up soon and he's forty thousand Jewels short. Anyone one of those requests were sixty thousand, more than enough for him' Erza thought with a frown before another thought occurred to her.

Mirajane could've spotted him the money... again.

"Honestly, she spoils him too much" Erza said to herself, confident that no one would hear her frustrations in the middle of nowhere "Instead of pushing him to get the money through a job request and learn to take actual financial responsibility with himself, she offers it to him as if it'll make a difference!"

Had Peter been with her, she wouldn't dream of giving him any sort of finical aid like that, less she risk him becoming overly dependent on her. He was a grown man for crying out loud, not some deadbeat teenager!

'I really need to talk to Mira about using a firmer hand with him. He's too sweet to take advantage of her but that doesn't make it any better considering how gullible she's become' Erza thought with a nod.

The rest of her trip passed in silence, the only sounds being the slight creaks and groans from her mountain of luggage on the cart behind her. She made a mental note to oil the cart's wheels later so she wouldn't have to listen to the annoying sound later on. Soon the town of Magnolia came into view and Erza allowed a small smile to grow on her face, the sight of Fairy Tail's home never ceased to amaze or bring her comfort, even after all the great cities and towns she's seen over the years.

It was also heaven compared to the Tower...

With a shake of her head, Erza forced those thoughts and the memories attached to them, out of her mind. They always left her in a sour mood, as her meeting with Jellal's twin brother, Siegrain, had.

'At least Peter was there to somewhat make up for it' Erza thought with as a warm feeling grew in her chest before she remembered what Siegrain had told her when she was brought before the Magic Council.

...

"Don't tell them about the Tower" he whispered lowly into Erza's ear as they stood outside the room where the trial for Erza was to be held.

"I don't plan to" Erza hissed lowly, causing Siegrain's thought projection to smile as he leaned back and cupped her chin, an impressive feat of magical power and skill given most thought projections were simply holographic illusions.

"Excellent" he purred before a dark look entered his eye that caused Erza to almost shiver "It'd be a shame if I had to start making things difficult for some of your friends at your precious Guild"

This caused Erza's eyes to widen before they narrowed in rage and she took a threatening step forward "If you so much as even touch them-"

"Oh I wont touch them" Siegrain said with a smirk "But I can't help but notice that a number of your fellow Guild mates are in Fiore on extended Visas. It'd be a shame if the next time they go to update and extend them, they find their efforts blocked and..."

Siegrian trailed off but Erza knew what would happen next. The Magic Council will send a detachment of Rune Knights to either 'escort' some of her Guild mates out of Fiore or outright detain them before deporting them back to wherever it is they came from. The first and foremost that came to mind were Bisca and Peter, both who she knew had their Visa's approaching their expiration dates. If Bisca's expires and she doesn't have it extend, she'll be sent back to Alakitasia which last she's heard was in the midst of a Civil War that was claiming thousands every day and Peter...

'He's from the Pergrande Kingdom' Erza thought with dread 'And the current regime has all deportees incarcerated in work camps spread along the northern coastline that went up into the main part of the Continent'

Being sent there was an almost guaranteed death sentence, if the frigid cold didn't kill you, than either the other 'workers' there would or starvation. And that was assuming the guards didn't decide to simply beat you to death with either their bare hands or through the use of magic. Hundreds of incidents have been documented of the abuse of power and outright cruelty the administration for each camp displayed on it's inhabitants to the point that rumors were going around that the Magic Council was preparing to send a force of Rune Knights and a few members of the Ten Wizard Saints to handle it.

The thought of sweet, nerdy Peter, being sent there to die all because of the man before her...

Siregrain smirked at this "But, if you keep quiet about the tower, you'll have nothing to worry about, hmm?"

And with that, the thought projection faded away, leaving Erza standing there with a mixture of dread and anger boiling inside of her.

...

A sudden caw from a nearby crow caused Erza to flinch before she looked up to see the black feathered bird sitting on a branch, looking at her with a level of intensity that seemed... unnatural. It's gaze focused solely on her and the bird was far to still, almost like it was a statue. She didn't sense anything coming from the bird that might hint at an unusual nature but Erza couldn't help the odd chill she felt crawl up her spine as she stared into the bird's beady looking eyes.

The crow's eyes narrowed at Erza before it cawed again and quickly took to the air and flew deeper into the forest until it was out of sight.

Erza stood where she was, her gaze on the direction the crow flew as she waited to see if anything else would happen. Minutes ticked by as Erza remained still, her senses alert for the slightest movement or use of magical power.

KRKK!

Erza's eyes widened at the sound of wood cracking and turned to look down at the wooden handle of her cart and saw that she accidentally cracked it under the pressure of her grip.

"Oh great... now I have to replace it" Erza said with a sigh as she glanced up in the direction the crow flew off to one more time before resuming her journey back to the Guild Hall.

Once Erza entered the town proper, she began to see more of the settlement's population, many of whom gave Erza a friendly wave and smile as she passed them by, ones she returned. A few stared at her mountain of luggage with gob smacked expression that still to this day amused her while others barely gave the red headed mage a second glance, having long become accustomed to her and the other mages of Fairy Tail's... uniqueness.

'It's good to be home again' Erza thought as she neared the guild Hall which was being strangely quiet compared to the norm, it seems that rowdy band of mages had decided to actually keep it down for a change.

The red head could only wonder what the occasion was as she left her cart outside and entered the hall, intent on letting the master know that she'd returned and-

Erza came to a stop at the doorway and frowned as she noticed the looks of everyone present in the hall sporting. She also sensed an unusual amount of tension in the air. She took a step forward and loudly cleared her throat, drawing a number of the mages' attention to her as she spoke in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear throughout the large hall.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Her question was met with dead silence.

Unknown to Erza, many of the wizards were weighing the risk of telling Erza of Natsu and Happy''s latest stunt which seems to have dragged the likes of Lucy, Peter and possibly Gray into. She was terrifying when she was reprimanding Natsu when he was being overly obnoxious in the Guild hall, god only knows how she'll react to the news that he stole a S-class quest and went on it!

After several seconds of no answer, Erza's mood darkened further "WELL!?"

Several people flinched before Makarov sighed, seeing there was no use keeping her in the dark. In fact, doing so might end very badly with just about everyone in the Guild.

"Erza…" Makarov began, drawing Erza's attention to him "While you were away on your job, it seems that-"

"Natsu stole a S-class quest and took his little loser friends and Mira's little boy toy with him the other day"

Everyone turned to see Laxus standing at the railing for the second floor, looking down at everyone with a smirk on his face as he rested his elbows on the rail "Gramps sent that wannabe ice stripper after their asses but he either failed and is hiding somewhere licking his wounds or he was in on it from the get go and joined them. Pfft, wouldn't surprise me if he was"

"WHAT?!" Erza said with shock at hearing this while Makarov sighed and glanced up at his grandson with annoyance.

'Could've worded it better Laxus' the man thought as he noticed Mirajane, who'd been silent since Gray's departure and his refusal to let her go instead, seem even more sullen.

"Natsu went on a S-class quest...?" Erza said in shock before the rest of Laxus's words registered in her head 'And he roped Peter into such foolishness?'

The idea that Peter would do something so ridiculous was almost incomprehensible. Never in all the two years he's been with Fairy Tail had he acted out in such a manner or broke a single rule! True, he did push a few to their absolute limits and tested reserves of patience that Erza herself was surprised to discover she had, but he never outright broke any of them like Natsu and a few other members of the Guild did... regularly. But this, this went beyond what any of the others have done in the past and some of the rules that had been broken were bad enough to have the Magic Council step in from time to time.

It was than that Erza noticed Mira's presence at the bar and the saddened, worried look on the barmaid's face. And based on the marks under her eyes, she hadn't slept at all last night.

"I wonder if their dead or dying yet" Laxus hummed as he tapped his chin in thought before he snickered "Wouldn't be too surprised with how utterly pathetic they all are. I mean we've gotta a idiot pyro, a blonde that dresses like a call girl, a talking flying blue cat, a stripper and a bookworm. I've seen snowballs in lit furnaces with a better chance than them-"

"Laxus, be quiet!" Makarov snapped at his grandson, who responded with a scoff.

"Which S-class quest did he take?" Erza asked as she stared at the master, ready to get to business of finding them before things grew any worse.

Depending on the Job Request, she just might be able to catch up with them before they can reach their destination and thoroughly beat some common sense into all of them before dragging them back to face the consequences of their actions.

"The one to lift the curse of Galuna Island" Makarov said with a tired sigh.

Erza's eyes widened at this, of the three S-class quests, Galuna Island was arguably the most dangerous despite the fact it was the lowest paying job. Mainly because of the rumor that the island was infested with demonic like beings which were made as a result from the Curse that's been affecting it. Since the exact nature of the Curse was for the time being, unknown, there was a great risk of being affected by it as well. Than there was the fact it was a remote island in the middle of the ocean, miles away from the mainland and away from proper medical centers in the event something horrific happens.

"Galuna Island..." Erza muttered as she mentally mapped out the possible speed that Natsu and the others went to reach the Port city of Hargeon and find a ship that was mad enough to take them to the cursed island.

Her conclusion, they were already on the island and neck deep in it.

"I shall leave immediately master" Erza said with a stiff bow towards Makarov.

"Your not going alone" Makarov said with a hand raised to stop Erza from departing "While I have no doubt you'll have little trouble in bringing those idiots to heel, I cant have you risking your life trying to retrieve them while having to possibly fend off whatever dangers are on that island. Mages just as skilled and as powerful as you in the past have gone there and never returned. So, I'll be sending someone with you to help make sure 'ALL' of you come home"

Erza felt a twinge of dread build in her chest, there was realistically only one person present in the Guild that would be capable of accompanying her to Galuna Island...

"It's gonna be me, isn't?" Laxus said with a scowl of annoyance as the Guild's master looked up at the S-class wizard.

"Laxus, much as I hate to inflame your ego even more, your the strongest one here" Makarov said as he rubbed his brow, wishing to every god known to him thatt Mystogan or even Gildarts were there to help instead "And thus, the perfect candidate to help Erza in bringing our wayward members back before they can get themselves killed"

Erza noticed Mira flinch at the last word, likely remembering the last time several of their guild members went on a S-class job they weren't even remotely ready for.

Laxus sighed as he stared down at his Grandfather's glare for several moments before he looked away "Fine... I'll help the red head go get the little bastards"

Makarov stared at his grandson for several more seconds before his glare softened a few degrees and nodded "Thank you..."

"But I'm only going because if word gets out about what those idiots have done, we'll be the laughing stock of the entire continent" Laxus said with a growl as he stood up "And I don't want to hear your whining and crying about their deaths afterwards"

"Your compassion for your fellow Guild mates is an inspiration to us all" Makarov bit out with annoyance.

Laxus made a grunt as he jumped down from the second floor and headed for the door. He stopped for a moment and glanced at Erza with a look of displeasure before his gaze flickered over his shoulder towards Mirajane and scoffed.

"I'll be outside, don't leave me waiting too long 'Titania'" he said and without another word, stepped outside.

Erza watched him for a moment before she took a deep breath and made her way over towards Mirajane.

The former S-class wizard looked rough for the lack of a better word. Tired, eyes red from exhaustion and her complexion looked a little paler than usual. The only time that Erza can say she's seen Mira look even worse was the days after Lisanna's death. At the time, Mirajane was a shadow of the shell of her former self. She hardly ate in the weeks that followed, losing weight to the point that the young beauty at the time looked like she could've passed as one of the slaves that Erza herself was apart of when she was younger. And her eyes were almost always red from the almost never ending streams of tears that built up and flowed out of her eyes.

'Please... don't let this be a prelude to that again' Erza thought as she stepped behind the bar and came to a stop just a few feet from the white haired barmaid "Mira?"

"Erza, promise me... promise me you'll bring Peter home" Mirajane said as she looked into Erza's own with tears slowly building in her eyes "Please... I know he's stronger than he looks, and I know he'll have Natsu, Gray and Lucy and Happy there with him... but-"

Mira's next words were cut off as she choked back a sob "But you know how dangerous these missions are... y-you know what can happen on these things..."

"I do" Erza said with a sad nod as she placed her hand on the white haired woman's shoulder and gave her a small, warm smile "Mirajane I swear, I'll bring him back. All of them... alive"

Mira stared at Erza for several moments before she suddenly slammed into the woman and hugged her tight, crying into her shoulder.

"T-Thank you Erza… thank you..." she whispered.

"Of course... he's-" Erza stopped as the memory of her dream came back and she felt a pang of sadness in her heart before she forced the feeling down "...Peter's my friend too. And your my best friend. You two are good for each other, and I'll be damned if I let anyone or anything ruin what you two have with each other"

Even herself.

Erza felt Mira tighten her hold on the red head as muffled sobs shook her body.

...

Several minutes later, Erza emerged from the Guild hall to see Laxus was surprisingly still waiting for her. She honestly expected him to already be on his way by now. She supposed even he could still recognize how serious the situation was and was for the time being willing to be a team player, if only so he doesn't have to deal with the Master upon their return.

'With everyone, safe and sound' Erza thought determinedly.

Laxus said as he gave her an unimpressed look "You two done with your overly emotional and dramatic carp or are you and Cana gonna have a moment of your own too before wev even head for the station?"

"Are you done acting like an ass?" Erza snapped with annoyance.

Laxus made a show of tapping on his chin for a moment before he sighed and shook his head in mock disappointment "Nope... guess not"

He than gave Erza a smirk that irked her beyond belief as he turned on his heel and headed for the train station, causing her brow to twitch as she followed after the man.

"Come on, let's go get those dumbasses before they get themselves into any real trouble" Laxus said with a laugh as he pulled his headphones over his ears and began to listen to whatever kind of music he adored so much.

For some reason, Erza couldn't help but feel they've already found it as she followed after Laxus.

...

And done.

Next chapter, Nightmares...