All of my close friends stood with me in front of the collapsed music room and art room. Since it needed to be cleaned up and sorted out, classes were cancelled for the day. After calling my friends for them to come, they arrived at the scene, sad and surprised by what they saw.

"So, you think you know who did it?" Lucy asked me.

I nodded in response. "I think so. He practically told me most of his plan but I thought he was joking. Turns out, it was no joke."

"Well? Who was it?"

"Ajeel. When we did that whole bet thing on the singing competition, he said he wouldn't trash the music room if we won," I trailed off as I realised something.

He found a 'loophole' in the bet so technically, he stayed true with his promise but he still found a way to ruin our school.

"He said he wouldn't trash the music room the day after Regionals. He never said anything about trashing it weeks after Regionals. Wow. I guess he's smarter than he seems," I voiced my thoughts aloud.

"But how are you so sure that it's him?" Levy asked curiously.

"It might not seem like much, but there was sand at both of the fire locations. Sand wasn't there before as much as it was after. And, Ajeel loves sand and the beach – I swear he carries sand around in his pockets and shoes. He even had sand dusted on his shoes at Regionals."

As I looked around at my friends, I could see that they believed me and agreed with me.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go tell the police and arrest him," Natsu announced loudly.

"We can't do that, flame brain." Gray rolled his eyes at Natsu. "We don't have any actual, solid proof. They're not going to believe us."

"Then let's get actual, solid proof."

Another eye roll from Gray. "And how do you suppose we do that?"

"Make them confess," Natsu suggested as if it was the easiest thing to do in the world.

"They're never going to confess."

"Actually, Ajeel might admit to it. He likes to brag about things so if we can get him alone, he might think no one is listening and he'll fess up. In reality, we'll have our phone hidden in our pocket and recording everything that's being said, including his confession," I said.

I got excited just thinking about it. The idea is used in TV shows a lot and it worked so it should hopefully work for us. If it doesn't, I don't know what we'll do. I definitely don't want Alvarez getting away with this.

"That's a really good idea," Gajeel chipped in. "Let's do it now."

There wasn't a problem with doing right now so we decided to head to Alvarez straight away. On the way, we discussed the plan and how we were going to record on my phone which will be in my pocket.

When we arrived at Alvarez University, I was impressed, unfortunately. They had a huge campus, much bigger than ours. On top of that, it was such a beautiful place. There were so many trees, colourful plants and grass around the buildings – buildings with perfect architecture in a modern and intriguing style. People walked about with smiles on their faces. I couldn't believe a school so enchanting could want to take down another school, let alone host the evil that is Zeref.

"Um, guys, how are we going to find Ajeel?" Gajeel asked.

That's a good question.

"Why don't we just go to the general office and ask where Ajeel is?" Natsu suggested.

"Yeah. Let's totally go to them and ask them where Ajeel is so we can get him to confess to burning down Fairy Tail buildings and then arrest him. I'm sure they're going to tell us where he is after we say all that," Gray said.

"We're obviously not going to say that, you sarcastic, cold-hearted, frosty the snowman," Natsu fired back.

"Cool it, Azula. It was just a joke," Gray replied.

"Seriously, boys? Can you guys fight later and focus on the task at hand?" I whacked both of their heads.

They both rubbed their heads as they glared at each other but stopped their bantering. People around us didn't spare us a glance.

"Alright, everyone. Let's just go to the music building first since Ajeel does music. If not, we can walk around and then maybe go to the office," Lucy ordered.

We all nodded in agreement. Together, we followed a sign that pointed us to the right direction and walked along the perfect cobblestone footpath. As we reached our destination, we were once again in awe at the sight. The music block was double the size of ours. It had creative music note patterns on the walls and several students walked in and out of the piano designed doors.

Just as we took a step toward the building, Ajeel walked out of it, followed by Zeref. I was surprised when I saw Zeref. He looked almost the same as the last time I saw him, which was in year 10. The only difference was that he looked older. Seeing him made me want to punch him but I stopped myself from doing so. When he saw us, he smirked. I still couldn't believe they fell for his innocent act and let him out of jail.

We all walked towards each other until we were right in front of one another. Being so close to them made me feel even more nervous. My phone was recording and hidden in my pocket but I felt like everyone could see through the fabric of my pocket to the device. I shook the silly thought out of my head as I put on a confident smile.

"Ajeel. Zeref. Fancy seeing you here," I said.

"Yeah. What a surprise that we're here at our university we study at," Ajeel replied sarcastically.

"It's been a long time, Erza, Jellal, everyone else," Zeref nodded his head and us as he said our names.

"I can't believe you're not in jail anymore," Jellal growled. "It's obvious you're still evil."

Zeref feigned innocence. "I'm a changed man now. Surely you of all people can understand that. Isn't Fairy Tail students all about forgiveness?"

I spared a quick glance at Jellal. Emotions were swimming around in his eyes as he seemed hesitant now. After all, Jellal used to be like Zeref so he could kind of relate. The blue haired boy used to get into fights and do drugs as well. People forgave him – I forgave him, but I don't think he has forgiven himself yet. The past haunted Jellal like a nightmare and he thought he was just as bad as Zeref. But really, he's not; Zeref is much worse.

"We forgive people who deserve it. You don't deserve it because we know that you burned down the frat house, the music block and the art block of our university," Jellal said.

Zeref pretended to be offended, putting a hand to his chest as he imitated shock. "Burn down buildings? Me? I would never do that."

"We have proof. We saw Ajeel burn down the frat party," I lied.

I tried to look as confident as I could, crossing my arms in front of my chest slowly. Hopefully, they would take my bait and brag about how they did it.

"I never went to that party. In fact, I was at my house doing homework that night. But who's to say that it wasn't Jellal who did it? Maybe he got angry at Mest for being a much better boyfriend candidate that he decided to burn down Mest's house," Ajeel said, not falling for my trick.

"Yeah, with that motive and his violent past, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Jellal who did it," Zeref agreed.

My jaw dropped on reflex. They couldn't seriously be trying to put the blame on my fiancé. But they were. Of course they would stoop this low. The only problem is that what they said could have made some sense – though there was no proof, which was good for us. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the two devils were planning on confessing anytime soon so our plan wasn't going to work. When did Ajeel get so smart? It must've been Zeref training him like a dog.

Just as I was going to get us to abort mission, a life-size, yellow furball bounced into my line of vision. Upon clearer inspection, I realised that it wasn't a furball; it was a girl. The girl seemed younger than us and looked innocent and kind but her eyes held wisdom. She had wavy, pale blonde hair that reached her ankles. Stopping in front of Zeref, she crossed her arms and glared at the black-haired boy.

"Zeref. Everyone knows you did it. Confess now or you'll regret it," she demanded strongly. 

Zeref's eyes widened in surprise as he gasped slightly. "Mavis? What are you doing here? I thought you moved."

"I did. Now I'm back. And it seems that you've changed since we last saw each other – not in a good way."

Zeref quickly composed himself, hiding the surprise in his features with confidence and pride in his stature.

"You still look the same," Zeref replied smoothly, his eyes flicking up and down her body. "Because you've always been beautiful."

This was going all too fast for my brain. Who was this girl? How does she know Zeref? She wasn't the least bit intimidated by Zeref and she seemed to be familiar with him. Maybe they used to be friends... or more. 

"I mean it, Zeref. Admit that you burned down the buildings or leave," Mavis said darkly.

"Why should we leave when this is our school?" Zeref asked, providing a good point.

"Fine. We'll leave."

Mavis glared at Zeref one last time before walking away from him. I glanced at my friends, all of them giving unsure looks. I just shrugged at them and followed after the young, mysterious girl. My friends joined me as we left Zeref and Ajeel.

"You should call me some time so we can catch up or make out!" Zeref called out.

Without replying, Mavis stuck the rude finger up in the air behind her at him. I snickered. This girl was a total badass but she was so adorably cute. She was like a little, fluffy soft toy that I just wanted to hug all day.

As we were heading to the edge of campus, something in my peripheral vision caught my attention. I quickly turned my head to the left, where I saw a flash of bright red hair belonging to a lady in a classroom. She looked older than students so I'm guessing she must've been a teacher.

As I wasn't looking where I was going, I stumbled into Mavis. I stuttered an apology, which she returned with a kind smile. The thought of that lady left my mind as we continued away from Alvarez University and reached a park down the street. Awkwardness hung in the air as we followed Mavis and sat down at a wooden table next to the playground. No one said anything on the way here and it didn't seem like anyone would say anything anytime soon. I was proven wrong straight away.

"So who are you? Are you like Zeref's girlfriend or something?" Natsu asked loudly.

"No," Mavis said. "We used to be childhood friends."

"How old are you?" Natsu interrupted.

I face palmed. Jeez, Natsu, you shouldn't randomly ask people that.

Mavis didn't seem to mind as she gave him a cute smile. "I'm 17 but I'm in my second year of university. I skipped two grades when I was younger since I was ahead of my class."

"Second year of uni? Same as us. What uni do you go to?" Gajeel asked her as he rested his arm on Levy's head.

"Fairy Tail University," was Mavis's surprising answer.

"That's where we all go," I joined the conversation. "What course are you doing?"

"I'm majoring in data science."

Impressive. This girl was three years younger than us but she was at the same level as us and she seemed smart and mature – much smarter and more mature than some of us. Cough, Natsu, cough.

"So, can we go back to how you know the devil named Zeref?" Gray asked.

Mavis nodded, her eyes filled with seriousness.

"I met him when I was a young girl and I went exploring in the woods. I found him there – a young boy who was playing with the plants and animals. He was so kind and gentle back then. We became friends right away and we'd meet up in the woods many times. Soon, it was more than friendship... but that ended when I had to move overseas. We never spoke again, until now."

"Wow," Lucy whispered.

"What's Zeref's weakness?" Natsu asked, leaning his face closer to Mavis's.

What the hell is wrong with Natsu? I grabbed his shirt and pulled him away from the girl.

"I'm sorry. Please excuse Natsu. He sometimes gets a bit... excited," I apologised to Mavis.

"It's fine. I don't know if Zeref is the same as I used to know him but I want to help you guys stop him," she said.

"Bur don't you still like the guy?" Natsu asked.

Mavis faltered, not sure of what to say. I could understand what she was feeling. When you have feelings for someone who has done bad things, it's hard to know what to do and whether to forgive them or not. I believed in Jellal and I knew that deep down, he was good. That trust paid off in the end when he stopped his bad ways and became a better person in society because that trust is what helped him become good and helped us get together. If Mavis still likes him and has faith in him, then maybe he can turn a new leaf.

"I don't know," Mavis answered truthfully.

I nodded, satisfied with her honest answer. I had a feeling that she might still like Zeref so I wanted to help stop him and make him become a better person. Maybe then, Mavis can be with him and get a happy ending. 

"Okay," I said, gaining everyone's attention. "Let's start brainstorming ways to stop Zeref once and for all. And this time, we're not going to underestimate him and his friends, no matter how stupid they look."

"Yeah. And this time, we have a Mavis, who is super smart," Natsu finished with a confident grin. 

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I'm so sorry for the long wait!! Thank you for the support (the comment on the last chapter for me to update motivated me to update)! Year 12 has been stressful. (I had the GAT two days ago. If you don't know what it is, people say it's a joke and there's always memes about it straight after. (It's a 3 hour exam in case you miss an exam at the end of the year.)) Please VOTE and COMMENT!! Thank you!  (P.S. I finally caught up with the Fairy Tail anime and it's so good! So much nostalgia with all the characters. I bingewatched so many episodes instead of studying last week.)