Soir La Vengeance (Part1)
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"You know we can't just barge in their base like we're their best buddies," Zen said, rolling his eyes as Elie glared at him. He shrugged, "It's true."

"But it sounds cool," The brunette mumbled, pushing her bottom lip out and crossing her arms over her chest. As much as she wanted to do this successfully, she really wanted to kick Minerva's ass and just get over it. But according to Analee, Jellal would go for the kill and not them.

"Is this really how we're planning it?" Elie asked, frowning, "We can always just kill Minerva together. Why does it have to be just him?"

Analee glared at her, "You won't understand."

Jellal lowered his gaze and stared at the table, his heart swelling with sadness. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't get rid of Lucy's hallucinations. Yes, they disappeared one time and he was grateful. But earlier around midday, she was there, eating lunch with him. He nearly spoke to her at that time but he remembered that there were people with him. They would think that he was insane.

"You won't be free of me until you set me free."

Jellal narrowed his eyes and frowned, "I don't understand."

There was a laugh, a sadistic but happy laugh. His head throbbed and he stopped the urge to clutch it. Instead, he nodded at whatever Analee and the others were saying. "Kill Minerva and we'll see if I wake up," He heard the mirage say.

The bluenette thought that it was impossible. There was no way that killing Minerva would be the only way to wake Lucy up. It sounded ridiculous. Everything sounded like a story from a fairy tale. This... dilemma sounded like a horrible curse. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and when everyone was silent, he spoke.

"Let's get this over with."

"Don't walk in until I tell you to."

Jellal scowled, his patience just hanging off the edge. Whoever was talking to him - Lucy's mind? - Okay, so her mind was talking to him and was telling him stuff to do. Honestly, he was getting a little pissed off and he wasn't able to concentrate well. It was around midnight and they were outside the warehouse of the Tiger Gang where Minerva was and they were about to sneak in.

Through the earpiece, Jellal heard Gajeel say something, "Okay, you can climb up the wall now."

At exactly the same time, the voice in his head nagged him again, "Go. Hurry."

The bluenette groaned and quietly ran to the back of the warehouse. He looked around and saw a ladder leading up to the rooftop. He blessed the heavens for his luck and immediately climbed up, sweat dripping down his chin. The metal squeaked under him and he prayed for everything to go alright. With a sharp intake of breath, he pulled himself up to the rooftop. "Good,"The voice said, making him scoff while he rolled his eyes.

Straight ahead, there was a door leading to the building. However, he decided to report to the others that he was on the rooftop and that they should follow first before doing anything else.

He cupped his hand around the earpiece, "I've successfully entered the rooftop."

"Good job, kiddo," He heard Analee say. He exhaled in relief and went silent as soon as she spoke again, "If possible, enter the warehouse but please don't let anyone see you. Once you get in, you should see Zen, Elie and Haru on the balcony entering the building and walking on the railings. Then, you should see Virgo waving her hand inside a vent. Remember, don't do anything until you see those signs or else everything will fail."

Jellal nodded, "Understood."

"Then, let's begin."

The bluenette sucked in a deep breath and walked towards the door. He turned the doorknob and cursed when he found it locked. He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. He took out a hair pin from his pocket and straightened it before inserting it in the lock. He fiddled with it, turning it around and around until he heard a click. The door opened and he went still, waiting for any suspicious voices or any footsteps.

Founding none, he began to descend down the stairs, his steps light and quiet. He didn't want to get caught so soon. He knew that there were many of them just like how The Crossed Heart had many members, thus, the reason why he couldn't afford to be seen at all. When he reached the foot of the stairs, he looked for a place to hide and saw a pile of boxes and wood. He hid behind it and looked around, waiting for the others to show up.

"You shouldn't be waiting for them."

Jellal swallowed heavily and ignored the voice in his head, trying desperately to pay no heed. It was hard for him to do so for it was constantly reminding him of things that he wasn't doing but was supposed to. In short, it was frustrating and confusing.

"Just kill her already."

Jellal gritted his teeth, "It's not that easy, Lu-" He stopped himself from saying her name and nearly cursed because of it.

"Jellal, we're in the clear!"

The said man looked up and saw Zen, Haru and Elie walking by the railing. He heard a tapping sound and when he looked to his left, Virgo was waving her hand from inside a vent. He sighed quietly in relief, "Yup, I can see them. What are you going to do now?"

"Sneak up from behind on one of those bastards and kill a few. Be the silent killer, haha."

Jellal rolled his eyes, "It's not funny."

"It is."

The bluenette clenched and unclenched his fists, crouching low as he walked towards a man who was talking on the phone. He was laughing, with his hand in the pocket of his pants. Without hesitation, Jellal took out a knife and stuck it in the back of his neck. The man choked and dropped his phone.

"Shh," Jellal whispered, covering the man's mouth with his hand, "Don't scream." He pulled out the knife and stabbed him on the back.

The man whimpered and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. After a few seconds his body went limp. Jellal released him and allowed him to drop to the floor. From the corner of his eye, he saw Virgo strangling a man and Elie killing a woman. Jellal licked his lips and turned around to kick the man in the face. He hissed, "You planned on sneaking up from behind me, huh?" Jellal punched the man in his stomach and stabbed the knife on his back repeatedly, "Well, I guess you failed."

Footsteps. There were footsteps.

Jellal's eyes widened and he immediately hid behind the boxes again. As for the others, they hid behind the posts and in vents.

"Shit!"

Jellal raised a brow.

"Damn it, I blame Minerva for this mess."

His eyes widened further and he took a peek. A man with blonde hair and green eyes was ruffling his own hair, staring at the dead bodies with an emotionless face. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "This is going to be troublesome."

"Tell me where Minerva is!"

Jellal cursed Zen in his mind, "Zen, no, argh, damn it!"

Before he knew it, he was running across the room, two shotguns in his hands. He shot a few bullets at the blonde and the enemy turned around, grinning evilly at him. "So, the boyfriend of Heartfilia, eh?" He snickered and whipped around to stop Jellal's punch with his forearm, "Didn't know you were a fighter."

The bluenette jumped back and pointed a gun at him, pulling the trigger.

"The name's Sting Eucliffe," The blonde mused, body bent down as he avoided the bullets, "And you are?"

"Jellal Fernandes."

The bluenette swung his leg and kicked Sting in the face, "I'm here to kill you all."

Analee slapped her forehead and Gajeel gritted his teeth. "That idiot!" The brunette cursed and reloaded her gun, "I can't believe an assassin would... argh."

"I will punish him later but for now," Gajeel clenched his fists and peeked from the wall, "We have to eliminate these guards."

The woman growled angrily and charged straight ahead, a feral look on her face. She raised her gun and fired multiple shots, bodies dropping down one after another. "Get out of my way!" She barked, swinging her leg and kicking a man out of the way. She turned around and slammed her elbow on the man's face behind her while pulling the trigger at a woman running towards her.

Analee had never felt so alive, she missed fighting so much. With a wild grin, she continued to run while firing bullets. She laughed and back flipped as a man attempted to punch her. She then landed on her feet and she swung her leg, wrapping it around the man's neck. Smiling slyly, she slammed the tip of the gun on his head and pulled the trigger, seeing his eyes roll to the back of his head. She uncurled her leg and allowed his body to fall.

"Well, well, the woman's back," Gajeel mused, a smirk on his lips, "You're on a roll, aren't you?"

Analee grinned widely, "I missed fighting."

"Well, it's good to have you in high spirits," The red-eyed man said, slamming the back of his hand behind him as a man attempted to sneak up on him. He turned around and fired his gun at a woman hiding behind a post. He whistled, "She was a sniper. That was close."

"It would've been better if Lucy was here," Analee mumbled, swinging around and kicking a man up high in the head. He groaned and attempted to stand up but was shot by Gajeel.

He sighed, "Well, she's changed."

"I think it's alright," Lucy's coach said, her eyes narrowed down as she kept an eye out for enemies, "She's learned how to love and that's good. She just has to remember how dangerous love could be."

"I say she should leave Jellal," Gajeel said lowly, making sure that no one heard him. The two of them stayed behind a stack of crates and sat down, making themselves comfortable.

Analee laughed silently and flipped her bangs to the side, grinning, "I don't think so. Jellal could be a good inspiration for her to train once more. Based from what happened, she needs to train again since she's lost her touch but she's still very good."

"Ah, god, why are we talking about this anyway," Gajeel grumbled, standing up and firing his gun at another sniper, "We should be fighting."

The woman laughed again and stood up, nodding, "Right."

While Gajeel and Analee fended off their enemies, Jellal stood face-to-face with Sting and he looked dangerously furious. His gaze was strong and was full of hatred, his gun pointed at the blonde in front. "Where's your leader?" He barked, baring his teeth.

"Minerva?" Sting mused, shrugging, "I don't know where the hell that woman goes. She could be out killing The Crossed Heart's eastern division."

"SHUT UP!" Jellal heard Analee yell. For a moment, he wondered where Zen had gone to but he dismissed the thought. He sighed and slowly circled Sting, his stare a fiery glare.

"Where is she?"

The blonde growled, "I said I didn't know!"

"Liar!" The bluenette yelled, spinning around and kicking Sting who dodged it.

"Why are you even here? It's a pointless fight; we all know we'll win," The blonde mused, laughing like a maniac. He bent down towards the left and blocked Jellal's arm with his leg. He then straightened up, dusting dirt off his pants. Chuckling, he grasped the bluenette's shoulder and muttered in his ear, "Oh, I see, you're avenging the War Maiden."

Jellal's eyes widened and he growled, aiming for Sting's neck. He strangled the blonde, eyes filled with fury, "To hell with you!" He yelled in anger, slamming Sting to the floor and firing his gun at him.

He coughed and rolled to the right, taking out his gun and firing bullets at the bluenette. Carefully, he lifted his legs and then slammed them down, pushing his body upwards. He spun around and pulled the trigger at Jellal again while he wiped away the blood trickling down his chin. "Ah, shit, out of bullets," he muttered and hid behind a post.

He struggled to reload his gun, his breathing heavy. He heard a soft clank and his eyes widened at the grenade lying right next to him. Cursing, he jumped out of the way and covered his head.

Back with Analee and Gajeel, they were covering each other's back. Startled with the explosion, the woman picked up a long stick and spun it in her hands, growling at her enemies. "Back off!" She barked, gripping the stick and bending down, slamming it painfully against someone's head.

"Did Jellal just throw a grenade?" The red-eyed man asked, blinking.

Analee huffed, straightening her back and pounding the butt of the stick on the floor, "It's either him or his enemy."

"Who was he fighting again?" Gajeel asked, stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders. Somehow, he was already worn out. Well, it has been quite a while since he last used his skills to its full potential.

"Sting Eucliffe," the brunette murmured. She wiped away the sweat on her forehead with her forearm and she exhaled, "He used to be capable of defeating Lucy-I don't know what happened to the guy."

Gajeel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Didn't he used to go solo?"

"Minerva bargained with him," Analee said in disgust, "Who wouldn't want a good fighter anyway?"

"I wouldn't give a damn if he was a good fighter or not," the red-eyed man grunted, "With that kind of attitude, I'd give him hell."

Analee laughed and shrugged, "I couldn't agree more-" her words were cut off by a scream as Gajeel pushed her to side. He lay on top of her, mumbling something under his breath.

"Watch your back, woman!" He cursed and stood up, reloading his gun, "Shit."

"What was that?" Analee asked, breathless.

"Grenade."

"Who...?"

"I don't know," Gajeel mumbled. He crouched down and stilled, listening to any sounds. Sensing the need for concentration, Analee shut up and restricted her movements. The man strained his ears to listen to movements or to any soft clicking, quite thankful for her cooperation. From afar, he could distinguish someone reloading their gun and in a flash, he saw the man.

He smirked and looked at Analee who raised a brow. Quietly, he lifted his hands and made hand gestures, pointing to a post not far away from them. He made a gesture of reloading his gun and then swiped his hand across his neck, grinning widely.

The brunette mimicked his grin and nodded, lifting the cover of her pouch and drawing out a knife. Gajeel leaned on his knees and watched her slowly approach the enemy, her steps light and peaceful-the complete opposite for what she was about to do.

Satisfied with what was about to happen, he laid back and closed his eyes, hearing a sharp gasp and the squirting of blood. Shuddering with a newfound excitement, he lifted his eyelids to find Analee walking back with the knife in her hand. The blade was dripping with blood and Gajeel found himself licking his lips-call them crazy, but they found enjoyment in killing. It didn't use to be fun, and he didn't know when it became that way.

"Who was it?" He asked, dazed eyes gazing at the deadly weapon.

"A tiger, of course," she whispered, her eyes blank as well. She lifted the blade and it glinted under the light.

"Why didn't you ask him for information?" Gajeel muttered.

Analee shrugged and twirled the knife in her hand, "Who cares? I had fun gouging his eyes out."

Trembling, the man grinned and licked his lips once more, "I couldn't agree more."

Meanwhile, with Jellal, he was having trouble with killing the blonde-he was ridiculously stubborn and just wouldn't stop talking and his ears were about to burst and-

He inhaled inaudibly, summoning all of his willpower to settle down.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Sting sang in a sickly, monotonous tune. The bluenette almost wanted to gag at how ghastly he sounded like but struggled not to do so.

"I'm going to ask again," Jellal steadily approached the blonde from behind, his gun pointed at his head, "Where is Minerva?"

Sting turned around and froze at the sight of his gun. Growling, he narrowed his eyes into slits and played with the trigger of his own gun, "I said, I don't know."

"Bullshit!" The bluenette exclaimed, firing a gunshot.

Sting yelled a curse as the bullet whizzed past his ear, drawing out a trail of blood. He hissed and clutched his ear, glaring at his enemy, "How dare you!"

Jellal scoffed, "Don't be such a wimp."

"You little piece of shit, you!" Sting scowled and shot bullets at Jellal blindly, his posture off and his aim poor. But he didn't care. He was filled with rage as he continued pulling the trigger, his teeth gritted and his eyes squinted.

"Well, he's pissed off," the bluenette mumbled under his breath, sighing, "Thank goodness Lucy isn't that hotheaded."

"What did you say?" Sting shouted and Jellal winced.

He smirked, "You have good hearing."

"Shut up!" The blonde screamed and pulled his trigger once more. Surprised to see that he was out of cartridge, he hid behind a post and dug in his pockets for ammo. Cursing as he found none, he debated on whether using a knife was better than looking for a gun from his dead teammates.

"Damn it, why now?" Sting growled, leaning against the post for support. His ear stung and though it bothered him, he focused and thought of countless possibilities. When he finally decided on one, he sucked in a deep breath and gripped the knife in his pouch. As he snuck a peek at Jellal, his eyes widened. He saw his teammate sneaking up from behind with a bat and he smirked.

"Hey, Fernandes!" Sting called out, grinning widely, "You know, you're lucky for having the War Maiden. I mean, with curves like that, I didn't have to wonder why you picked her."

"Why you..." Jellal snarled, clenching his fists and aiming his gun at the blonde.

"What? It's true," he mused and licked his lips, "I would kill to have her. I can almost picture her body naked, and against mine. I can hear her voice moaning and whispering... whose name?"

The bluenette's eyes widened in ferocity as Sting grinned.

"Mine."

"Fuck you!" Jellal roared and the blonde made eye contact with his comrade. Nodding, he watched for a moment as he lifted the bat over Jellal's head.

He hid behind the post again and he listened to Jellal's body falling to the floor. Shrugging, he touched his earpiece and spoke, "We've successfully captured Jellal Fernandes."

"Good job. Bring him here."

Grinning, he eyed the bluenette who was carried across a raven haired man's shoulder, "Roger that."

His head was throbbing and it hurt like hell.

With a grunt, he forced his eyes to open and saw a blur of people. He winced and closed his eyes once again at the surge of light, feeling nauseous. He licked his lips wearily, hearing a few chuckles and snickers nearby. Trying once more, he opened his eyes and saw a blonde man whose face was blurred approach him.

"Hey, sunshine," he mocked, laughing, "Someone please splash cold water on him."

Someone from the group stood up, "With pleasure."

Out of nowhere, a bucket filled with ice-cold water was thrown on him, drawing out a scream and a shudder. They all laughed and the bluenette's teeth chattered, his breathing uneven and ragged. He felt pathetic; just a few hours after successfully entering their hideout and he was already captured.

"Are you enjoying your stay, Fernandes?" Sting asked, smirking, "Don't have too much fun, Minerva has yet to come."

Jellal growled and cursed under his breath, eyeing his surroundings. He could distinguish a few people sitting on crates and chairs while others leaned against the posts or the wall. Then, he flexed his fingers and found them chained to the wall. He bit his lip and glared at Sting who was watching him, amused.

"The boss will surely enjoy interrogating you," the blonde declared, smiling deviously. He knew that he'd have a great time listening to the bluenette's cries too.

"Where... is... she...?" Jellal rasped, struggling to elicit a few words.

Sting raised his brow, surprised to hear him speaking. He shrugged, "I don't really know."

Hopeless, Jellal went limp and listened to his own rough breathing, his eyes fluttering close. He had to think of a way to escape. But with the enemies watching him and surrounding him, it was impossible. Heaving a shuddering sigh, he tried to drift to sleep, knowing for a second that if he opened his eyes, he would be greeted with their mockeries.

He realized, after a moment of thinking, that the aftermath of their battle was surprising. He expected to be announced as the victor, not the loser, and he was certainly not looking forward to being interrogated. Knowing the Tiger Gang, they would even kill just to get their answers. And with his hands cuffed, he couldn't pose a threat to them. Rather, he would be their entertainment.

Biting back a growl, he resisted the urge to curse endlessly and heaved another sigh, slowly opening his eyes. The bluenette howled in pain as electricity surged through his body, and he tried to hold in another yell that was about to be released. He heard people laughing and he bit his lip, fisting his hands while he tried to endure the pain.

"You should be lucky that the boss isn't here yet," Sting snickered, "She enjoys watching others suffer in pain."

Jellal gasped for air, and he struggled to say a few words, "I can... certainly... s-see that."

"Be quiet," someone from the crowd snapped and the bluenette roared in agony, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

"Jellal... hold out... for me."

Gasping, his head dropped and he swallowed thickly. His head felt light and he almost succumbed to the darkness but as another round of electricity came, all thoughts from his mind vanished. He couldn't think properly with the pain he felt.

Was that the mirage talking to him?

Narrowing his eyes, he could see his hallucination of Lucy standing behind the group of people laughing. She gazed at him, eyes filled with sorrow and longing. Shaken for a moment before holding in a scream as pain prickled his skin, he watched her lips move. And she was saying something.

"I love you."

Jellal's eyes blurred and he could feel his conscience fading, but that didn't stop him. With a growl, he stayed awake and cursed Sting and all the people in the world who kept him from killing Minerva.

"Asshole."

The blonde's cheek twitched in irritation and he sighed, rolling his shoulder, "Feisty, aren't we?"

Jellal remained silent and glared at him, sweat trickling down his forehead. His heart throbbed painfully against his chest as he wheezed. And just when he thought they'd send another wave of energy through him, there was a gunshot.

They all stopped laughing and bowed immediately to greet the person who just walked in the room. She twirled a strand of violet hair over her shoulder, glaring at them, "Who told you that you could electrocute him?"

"N-No one, miss," Sting stammered, his knuckles turning white from clenching them too much.

Minerva looked down at him and snarled, "Then why did you do it?"

When he didn't say anything, the woman rolled her eyes and kicked his head, pushing him aside. She hummed in amusement as she smirked up at the bluenette who glared at her with all the hatred left in him. She grinned, "Well, with how you look, I can undoubtedly see why they enjoyed torturing you even though it was just for a short while."

Jellal grunted in reply, too tired to even swear. What happened to the fire that burned inside him? Minerva was there now, wasn't she? Yet, why didn't he even try to scream at her for putting Lucy in coma and for making their life miserable?

"You look so pitiful," Minerva said, scowling, "I can't fathom why Heartfilia chose you."

"Yea, well, I don't know why they decided to stay with you as well," The bluenette muttered, looking at Minerva with intimidating eyes, "I bet you bargained with all of them just to join your gang."

She slapped him and clutched his collar, staring straight into his unfazed eyes, "Watch what you say, kid."

"And why should I?" Jellal whispered, eyes half-lidded as he spoke in her ear, "You should pay for what you did to Lucy."

Minerva smirked and tilted her head back, looking at him through narrowed eyes, "Oh, I see. So this is what you came for-revenge. I can see now why you charged aimlessly without plan."

The bluenette wanted to tell her she was wrong but was too exhausted to do so. Sighing, he merely shrugged, "That's because I didn't think that a bitch like you had a brain."

Her eyes widened in fury and she bit back a growl, "Sting."

"Yea?" The blonde asked, massaging his cheek.

"Get me my whip."

"Anything else?"

Minerva's eyes twinkled in mischief, "Set of knives, please."

Sting smirked, nodding, "Okay then."

Jellal screamed in agony as they electrocuted him once more and he could barely keep his eyes open now. He listened to the woman speaking and he tried to make out a few words but he only understood the end.

"-pain is everything."

And then he blacked out.