"Erza?!" Natsu exclaimed. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Where the hell have I been? Where the hell have you been?" I asked him.

Unlike all our other friends, no one knew where Natsu went after high school – he dropped off the face of the earth. Lucy was going to go to Fairy Tail University – which is where Jellal and I go – but after Natsu disappeared, she didn't want to be a third wheel to romantic couples so she did a journalism course at another university.

Gray and Juvia decided to go on a gap year and head to the countryside but then Gray reached out to me and left Juvia so he could help Jellal and I with something. Gajeel and Levy somehow got a job with assisting the police. In fact, they were the people who came to Jellal and I and asked us for help. The police were having trouble taking down the gang called Avatar so Gajeel and Levy suggested that we help since we were the people mainly responsible for the arrest of Tartaros and Zeref's gang.

When Gray called us, I proposed that he go undercover at Avatar so he did. He gained lots of valuable information, including the location of where the whole gang will gather to meet, including members from other cities and countries. They were going to be next to a small city in five days and we were going to ambush them there. The police were all notified and they had started evacuating the city.

"I've been travelling a lot; it's a long story. But what's going on with you guys and Gray? Why is he with Avatar? Why was he evil a few minutes ago but is now good?" Natsu rambled.

"Gray will explain everything, okay? I'll see you soon," I said before hanging up.

"Hey," Jellal whined. "Why didn't you let me speak to Natsu? I haven't spoken to him in a year."

I simply grabbed his hand and dragged him back to our place, letting him complain all the way home.

Five days have passed since our ice-skating date and it was now the day that all of Avatar was meeting up. To be honest, they were more of a cult than a gang. They worshipped some demon or devil or evil thing and it apparently wanted sacrifices so Avatar was planning to bomb the whole city. Little do they know that we already evacuated the city.

"Are we there yet?" Jellal groaned as he trudged next to me over the green, grassy hill.

"No," was my reply.

"How about now?"

"No."

"And.... Now?"

I was about to reply when I saw a flicker of light heading my way. I quickly ducked down, pulling Jellal with me. A second later, an arrow whizzed over our heads and continued into the distance behind us.

"Yep, we're here now."

I took out my gun and started shooting while running towards the massive crowd of people in white cloaks. Footsteps thundering behind me let me know that Jellal was right on my tail. On our left and right, policemen charged at the gang. Our plan was to surround Avatar in a circle formation and when we take down their leader, hopefully they'll all surrender.

We were also given guns and weapons. In a way, we were like honorary policemen. Ever since Gajeel and Levy made us help the police force, the police have been training us in combat, weapons and all sorts of other skills. But even though we went through all that, this was most likely a one-time mission, unless we want to get a job in the police force or they need help again.

"You excited to see the others again?" Jellal asked me.

I took a quick glance at him. He was running while shooting at the people up ahead; the way he moved was so graceful and he made it look like he wasn't even trying. I quickly focused back on the task at hand, just in time to dodge an arrow.

"Really? Talking during a battle?" I shouted back while shooting a man aiming a gun at Jellal. "But, yes, I am excited. I wonder what Natsu's been up to. Knowing him, he probably caused a lot of trouble."

When we finally reached the bad guys, I pocketed my gun and switched to punching the hell out of them. Many tried to run away but I quickly kicked them down so they could be arrested later. As their numbers slowly dwindled down, I could see the leaders of the cult. How could I tell they were the leaders? They weren't wearing white cloaks like the other people and they looked powerful.

"Hey, Erza?" Jellal called as he was fighting multiple people at the same time.

I sighed while punching a guy in the face. "Yes, Jellal? What now?"

"Do you wanna go out tomorrow night?"

"You're seriously asking me out on a date right now?" I kicked a man in the balls.

"Yeah. So, will you?"

Out the corner or my eye, I saw Jellal flip a man onto his back. I must say: Jellal was hot when he was fighting.

"I can't. I have to study for a test next week."

I was doing a law degree at university but I still wasn't too sure with what I wanted as a career. When I was younger, I was sure I was going to grow up to be a lawyer but now, I'm happy as long as I'm with Jellal and I'm helping people.

Jellal, on the other hand, was doing a business degree. He still wanted to atone for his past and he had an idea for a business that will help the world. Jellal was a great leader so I know he'll do a fantastic job. Unlike me, he had his future all planned out and he even wanted me to work with him as a co-manager kind of thing but I declined for now.

"A test? You're gonna do amazing. I bet you've already studied for hours and you're super smart anyway. Besides, I feel like we haven't been on a date for a long time," Jellal said.

I had studied for hours and I felt confident for the test but I wasn't going to admit that.

"We just went ice-skating only five days ago," I shouted back, dodging a man who threw a sloppy punch my way.

"Really? That felt more like five years."

While punching two men at the same time, I said, "Really? That felt like yesterday to me."

"Are you flirting with me?" Jellal asked... and it sounded really flirty.

"Are you flirting with me?" I asked back.

"You people are crazy! I'm outta here! Retreat!" a wimpy-looking man in a white cloak yelled.

He tried to run away but before he could, I got out my gun and shot his leg. The guns we got only had bullets that were meant to hurt but not kill, unless you shot ten bullets in someone's head. We were only meant to stop the gang so we can arrest them, not kill them.

I shot some more people but then my gun ran out of bullets. God dammit. I am not patient enough to reload. This is why I would prefer something else like a sword, or maybe ten thousand swords. Instead of pocketing my gun, I used it to hit people with. Then I twirled the gun around my finger and slid it smoothly into the holster.

"Damn. That was hot," Jellal muttered under his breath.

I let out a laugh before continuing with the fighting. We were doing really well now; more than half of the less important members were already handcuffed and sitting in the police cars surrounding the perimeter. In the distance, I could see Avatar members flying into the air – no doubt that was Natsu's doing.

"Hey! Erza!"

I looked to my right to see Gajeel running towards me, madly waving his arms around.

"Gajeel! Hey, what's wrong?" I replied.

"There's around 50 hostages trapped in a building with a bomb in the city! What do we do? We evacuated the city ages ago but apparently Avatar brought their own hostages! Like, who even does that?!" Gajeel exclaimed.

"I don't know. Maybe they looked at the city's population and they were like 'Satan needs more sacrifices' and decided to bring some more. I don't know!" I started to freak out. "But where were the police? They evacuated the city. Shouldn't they have stayed afterwards to guard the place? How could they let a bomb and hostages get into the city? Geez, what great professionals they are. It's no wonder the police had to ask 19-year-old or so students to help."

"Well, what are we going to do? The leader has the remote to set the bomb off and he's threatening to detonate it."

I sighed, trying to think. Why is he asking me? This was a lot of pressure, but I know I can do it. Breathe in, breathe out.

"Okay. I need you and Gray and some other police officers to get in that building and get the hostages out of the city and to a safe place. Bring Levy into the building with you and get her to stop the bomb. Can she do that?" I said to Gajeel.

"Yeah. She's my girlfriend and the best nerd genius I know," he responded.

"Good. Remember to hurry."

"Okay," Gajeel turned to leave but then stopped. "Here. Take this to communicate with us. I have one with me so we can talk."

He handed me a walkie-talkie and I took it. Gajeel punched a bad guy before he ran off towards the city. Jellal, who was still fighting near me, heard everything Gajeel said and fought his way closer to me.

"Looks like the plan failed," Jellal commented.

"It did but we're still going to win. I have faith in Gajeel, Levy, Gray, and everyone else," I said, looking at the city.

It was hard – not knowing what was going on at every moment; knowing that there were hostages that I couldn't go and save – but I knew that Gajeel was right for the job and they were going to save everyone. It was my job to defeat the members and make sure that the battle outside the city was won.

"Erza! We managed to get into the building and we're freeing the prisoners who are tied... with very good knots... is that a bowline knot?" Gajeel was saying through the walkie-talkie.

"Gajeel, focus," I snapped.

"Right, sorry. Levy's working on defusing the bomb... oh, shoot... a countdown just started at 30 seconds."

"Can Levy still do it?"

"Yeah... she's almost there... yes! She did it! The bomb's deactivated!" Gajeel cried in happiness.

I smiled to myself. "That's good. Have you got the hostages out?"

"Yep, we have... oh, shit... the bomb just started a self-destruct countdown. The leader must have found out we stopped the bomb so he pressed a self-destruct button. Why the hell does a bomb have a self-destruct function? Self-destruct is meant as a backup when things go wrong on things like ships. A bomb is meant to explode and it does not need backup explosion and it is not meant to have self-destruct. Like, who even does that?!"

"Okay, calm down. Can Levy stop the self-destruct?"

There was a deafening silence as he paused. I bit my lip in anticipation. Things were getting worse by the second. It's like we were winning then we were losing then we were winning and now we're losing again.

"No, she can't. What do we do? There's 46 seconds left," said Gajeel.

"Okay. Get everyone to run out the city as fast as they can to safety by the police cars. You are going to take the bomb and run away from us, as far as you can get until there's 10 seconds. Do that now," I instructed.

I heard some movement and shouting from the other end of the walkie-talkie and then there was only breathing.

"Alright, they started running to the city exit. I'm now running to the other end of the city, away from you guys," Gajeel informed me.

"Would the bomb explode if you hit it?" I asked, the rest of the plan forming in my mind.

"No, I don't think so."

"Good. When you get to 10 seconds left, get a pole or bat to hit the bomb as far as you can. Remember when you used to play baseball or cricket or some type of bat sport in high school? Just like that. You need to throw the bomb in the air and then hit it with the "bat". Then run as fast as you can back towards us and to a safe place away from the bomb."

"Got it... I found an iron pole which I think will work well."

"That's great."

It was quiet on the other side of the line as Gajeel left it on while he ran. My palms started getting clammy and my heart was racing. I hated waiting. Just doing nothing and not knowing what was going on.

"10 seconds left," Gajeel shouted.

Through the walkie-talkie, I heard a clang of metal – Gajeel batting the bomb. Then fast footsteps of runners hitting gravel. I did a countdown in my head.

10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

BOOM!

There was a massive explosion at the far end of the city - miles away from me. A burst of fire shot into the air followed by smoke. Buildings crumbled to the ground. The blast was big but didn't take all of the city, only the end that's far away from our battle and part of the grassy plains on the other side of the city. I prayed that Gajeel escaped the explosion.

All I heard through the walkie-talkie was static. Then a cough.

"Gajeel?" I asked. "Are you there? Gajeel?"

After a few painful seconds of nothing, I heard his voice. "Yep, I'm here. We did it. Everyone's safe. I'll meet up with Levy, Gray and the hostages now. You, go take down that leader."

I couldn't help but smile. Gajeel was safe and so was everyone else.

Jellal then surprised me with a kiss. "I knew you could do it. You always know what to do," he whispered in my ear.

I kissed him again, feeling victorious with this win. But now comes the bigger battle.

Time to take down Avatar once and for all. Time for the boss fight.

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