AU: Hello, people! I know I said "see you next week" but I couldn't resist!

#

A strong smell reached her nostrils and she couldn't help but cover her nose with a hand. Blood. Her eyes narrowed as soon as she saw the end of the staircase. She noticed that she was no longer on the first floor - she'd climbed down too many stairs - and as the air was cooler, she presumed it was the underground.

Erza stood in front of the entrace of what seemed to be a cave that led to a long tunnel. She couldn't see much so she decided to pick one of the hanging lantern to light her way. The smell of blood got stronger and she thought about her friend. She swallowed and went on; she knew that Lucy was professional enough to be fine on her own. They would meet, eventually, and one of their rules for when they separated was: every "man" for himself.

She walked slowly, she didn't know what she could find. Her thoughts went to the man they were after. Jellal Fernandes. A wanted man. A wanted vampire.

Jellal was a strong vampire, probably the strongest of the city. She wouldn't have heard of him if it wasn't for the missing girls and someone denouncing a blue haired vampire with a tattoo. Erza signed. It was harder than she thought with the lack of information but they could do this. They'd been through worse and she imagined what would be the reward after putting Jellal behind the bars of her guild. She would like to interrogate him herself and find out about the other nasty and sickening affairs the vampire was involved in. Getting her hands on Jellal, they could have Juvia back.

Suddenly, Erza saw a light in the end of the tunnel. Literally. She left the lantern somewhere on the ground and tried to see through the bright light. It looked like the light from a lamp. She walked towards the light and then the environment changed; she was indeed in the underground. It seemed like a torture room. There were tables all around the place and blood everywhere; on the tables there were tools to cut, saw and mutilate. There was also a big oven made of iron. There was no one in sight.

"What are you doing here?" A voice startled her, she could swear there was no one around. It was a vampire, of course. "You are not supposed to be here." He took a step in her direction. "Why are you here?" The vampire looked younger than the usual. Couldn't be more than fifteen.

"Someone sent me here."

Although he seemed to be younger than the vampires Erza usually met, she knew that she shouldn't underestimate him. Out of the blue a loud siren reached her ears, forcing her to cover them. "What's happening?" The sound didn't affect the vampire at all. For a moment he looked thoughtfully.

"Again, you shouldn't be here..." he repeated.

Erza didn't cover her ears anymore. As he got closer, Erza was ready to pull off her guns, but another voice stopped her.

"Bring her to me, Romeo."

Her eyes searched for the owner of the voice; a voice she recognized from earlier: it was Lyon. Not finding him, Erza decided to follow Romeo out of that room that looked like one from a horror movie. The alarm stopped.

They walked through another sort of tunnel and in a few minutes they were in the open air. The moon shone the white-haired vampire called Lyon. He kept his hands in his pockets and when he saw Erza, he smiled.

"I've been waiting for you."

"M-me?" She babbled on purpose.

"Yes, you. You and your blonde friend are very... how do I say? Particular." He turned his attention to the vampire boy. "Romeo, go back and find my car."

Erza was alone with the vampire.

"What was I saying? Oh, yes. Particular. Very particular." Erza didn't allow him to take another step towards her as she pulled her guns out of her boots. "No other step, vampire." The guns didn't scare Lyon at all. He simply signed and raised his hands in defeat, mocking her. "You got me."

"That room back there", Erza pointed her head towards the place they just came from, "is where you bring the girls?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Oh, maybe if I blew your brains off-" Erza couldn't finish her threat. A blow to the head knocked her down. Lyon signed again.

"I was starting to have fun here, little brother."

The new vampire tsh-ed. "We've got no time for that, Lyon." He said taking the body and throwing it over his shoulder. "Where's your car?"

"Coming."

"Her friend got away."

"Why am I not surprised?" Lyon picked her guns up and analysed them.

"She killed five of ours and broke the glass of room 6."

"Really?" Lyon laughed. "They aren't any women, are they, Gray?"

Lyon's limo arrived and as he opened the door, Gray settled Erza on a seat. Lyon followed his young brother and soon the vehicle was driving through Magnolia's street towards its destination: the mayor's house.

#

Lucy no longer walked with her heels on. She ran till she thought the vampires couldn't trace her smell anymore, but with all the confusion inside the club she doubted someone was after her. She had also heard the police siren. She laughed to herself as she thought how damned the vampires were; she knew that vampires in general avoided having the cops butting in their affairs. At least the people inside would be fine, as long as the vampires didn't decide to kill everybody, including the cops... but they would be in bigger trouble. Anyway, she wouldn't think about them right now.

The blonde hunter was after a phonebooth. She had to call Levy and report what happened. There was no one on the street and Lucy was glad that her heart finally slowed down. Typing her friend's number, she waited. Lucy was almost giving up when Levy finally answered the phone. "Finally!"

"Lu-chan?" Her friend yawned.

"I am sorry to call you at three in the morning."

"Don't worry. I am finishing a report. What's up? How's the mission going?"

"Well..." Lucy related to her colleague and friend what she'd been through.

"Come to the guild. When you arrive, I'll already have Erza's position."

"Really?"

"Yes. You know the pearl in your rings? I modified it to be a sort of GPS."

"You are brillant, Levy."

"Hihi, I know."

It was hard to find a cab at three in the morning but when she did, Lucy told the driver to go to the restaurant that was near her base. The money! Lucy had to stick a finger in her bra to find some rolled banknotes. At least it was enough for the ride. She waited for the driver to go away so she could walk to the guild. As the cab drove away, Lucy entered the building.

From the outside, no one would say that it was a vampire hunter guild. It looked like a normal industrial building but no one really knew what they did on the inside. Lucy greeted the night receptionist and went on to the elevator. She pressed the 12th bottom and waited.

She didn't even want to see her reflexion on the mirror. Her mind was so curious to find Erza's position that she didn't notice that she had already arrived at Levy's floor. She was always surprised to see that even at three in the morning there were people working at the guild. Everyone took their work seriously.

"Lu-chan!"

"Levy-chan!"

"You look...awesome?" Levy looked at the silver goo on her hair.

"I need to take a shower, I know. But tell me, did you find Erza?" Lucy leaned behind her friend to see the computer.

"I did", Levy answered while typing some words on the keyboard. "Here, you see? That's the map of Magnolia and... here?" She pointed a finger at the screen. "The red circle. It's Erza. And it's moving."

Lucy watched the red circle on the screen change avenue. "A couple of blocks away from the mayor's office?" She frowned but relaxed again. "I am glad she got out of the building."

"What are you going to do?" Levy asked, observing her friend's serious expression.

"I am going after her."


"Hunters, are you sure?"

"Yep. Look at the guns." Erza slowly opened her eyes and faced the leather seat of the vehicle she was inside. Her head span and she tried to remember what happened. "Shit. And no idea where the blonde went?" Lucy! At least she's safe.

Erza knew that one of the guys talking was Lyon. She imagined that the other was the one that knocked her out. She didn't move, only her eyes studied what was at their reach. She saw a opened window and knew exactly how she'd get away from there.

"Yeah. She's pretty awesome. She jumped from the second floor and got away. That's the last thing the cameras got." With her thumb, Erza caressed the ring on her middle finger. One of the voices seemed to come from the left while the other was just in front of her seat. Erza's mind calculated the changes of getting away alive if her plan didn't succeed. But she wouldn't think about it... She had to give it a try.

Sharply, Erza sat down and ignored that her head was still spinning. She saw the two vampires astonished at her sudden attitude. Lyon was in front of her, as she pressumed, and without further delay, she pressed the ring at his direction, sending a shock through his body.

"Hey!" Gray watched the woman but quicker than he thought his body was thrown back into the seat as well, he was burning. "Argh!" Erza could stay and witness the scene of the two vampires writhe like worms but she had no time to lose. She held on the window and swallowed hard. She tried to open the door but it was locked, unfortunately there weren't many options left. She could break a bone but at least she wouldn't become vampire's meal.

Erza tried to cover her head as she threw herself out of the window after she made sure there was no other car coming the opposite direction. Her body hit the ground and for a while she rolled on the asphalt, gaining some bruises on her knees, elbows and arms.

Thankfully her head didn't hit the gutter. She grunted when she finally stopped moving. She opened her eyes and saw the moon. "I am alive." The street was deserted, only an owl or two keeping her company. She wondered where she was, if a soul would walk there and see her body, dropped there.

She needed to get up. Waiting for someone to come help her wouldn't be good because the limo might come back anytime soon. She tried to stand on her knees and cried as they burned. She reached her hand out to grab a lamp post, to support herself.

Ignoring the pain, Erza saw herself limp in an silent street.


AU: Sorry if the chap is too short... Now we know what happened to Erza, hehe. So, here we saw Gray and Levy for the first time! Levy is just so cute! I can't wait for the next chapter, you know why? GRUVIA. Yes, yes. It will be focused on Juvia and her "meeting" with a certian vampire, hoho. I better say no more! So, thoughts on the chapter?

Alucard-chan.