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Here is the next chapter, please enjoy!

(Please accept my apologies for the poor description of the battle.)

Chapter 10. All I wanted to hear

Mirajane wondered what she should do. She had a powerful opponent against her; there was no doubt about it. It wouldn't be easy to defeat him. She had to use her Take Over magic. But in that case Natsu and Gray would see her transformation and realize that she wasn't Erza Scarlet. And Mira couldn't let that happen. She had promised Erza that nobody would reveal the deception.

Then an idea flashed across her mind. Maybe the mist would be her ally. If she could recede into the far distance from the boys, they wouldn't be able to see her clearly. Hopefully, they would think that her transformation was Erza's Black Wing armour.

She rushed forward decisively; approaching the enemy, she cast her Satan Soul transformation.

"I may have no right to call myself Titania, the Queen of the Fairies," she thought. "But I will show him that I'm not called the Demon without a reason. I must defeat him for my friends' sake… and mainly for Fried's sake."

And with that thought she attacked the black-haired man.

-ooo-

"Let me out of this trap you coward, I want to fight too! Did you hear me? Let me out!" Natsu screamed furiously but there was no use of his yells. The dark mage didn't pay attention to him.

Gray peered tensely into the mist.

"That's strange… It seems to me that Erza's Black Wing armour doesn't look exactly as usual. Don't you think the same, Natsu?"

"Indeed!" the fire mage agreed. "But it doesn't matter now! Beat him, Erza! You can do it! I'm counting on you!" he cried out.

Mirajane hesitated how exactly to act. She knew that she should try to save her magical energy because she couldn't count on any help; her friends were in the trap and were absolutely helpless. She should use her entire power only at the right moment. But it seemed that the guy was not fighting seriously; he just avoided her hits. His movements were graceful and calm as if he was enjoying the situation. Almost without any magic he used her power… against her.

"What is his goal? Maybe he wants to exhaust my power?" Mirajane thought. "At this rate I can't win! I really have to do something different!"

She tried to make a fake movement and it seemed that it worked. Mira cast a glance at her friends. They had torn each other's hair again and didn't look at her at the moment. That was a chance for her. She decided that it was a proper time to use her true power and cast her Darkness Stream attack.

And at the same moment her enemy's body disappeared as if it had broken down. Her magic hit nothing but the air.

Mirajane didn't believe her eyes.

"What happened? Where is he?" she wondered. "What on earth is this magical ability? Can he really make himself invisible? Or it is something else?"

"Show yourself you coward!" the girl yelled. "Why are you hiding? Are you afraid of a woman?"

"I'm not afraid of any woman, even if she is Titania herself," answered a calm voice behind her. Mira turned back and saw the black-haired man. Without losing any time, she repeated her attack but he avoided it again. Before she could look around for him, she felt a severe strike in her left shoulder. She turned her head but there was nobody at her left side. At the next moment another and even stronger hit from the right made her fall to her knees.

"What was that? What has hit me?" she thought.

Raising her head, Mirajane saw the dark mage. She knew that there was no time to lose. The girl bit her lips, rose to her feet and attacked him again, trying to pay no attention to the sharp pain in her back.

Every time she almost reached that strange guy, he just took a step aside, avoiding her hits. Mira was still not very angry but her wrath was increasing with every passing second and her hits were becoming stronger and stronger. She wasn't thinking about saving her magical energy any more.

"Is this everything you can do, Fairy Queen?" her enemy asked. "Is this Erza's legendary power?"

That was far too much. Mirajane gnashed her teeth. There was nothing that could stop her now. She rushed forward with a growl; her movement was so quick that the man couldn't dodge her attack. With all strength she had left, she caught the guy, brought him down and raised her hand to deal a smashing blow.

"Beat him, Erza!" Natsu yelled as loud as he could.

It wasn't necessary to encourage Mira. At that moment the only thought in her mind was her frantic wish to defeat the dark mage.

Just then Natsu and Gray saw a human figure behind the girl. So the black-haired guy had said a lie. He was not alone. There was somebody else here!

"Watch out, Erza! There is someone behind you!" Natsu and Gray yelled in one voice but their warning was late. Before they could finish speaking, Mirajane felt a violent stab in her back. Her face screw up in pain and her breathe stopped. At that moment she lost her Satan Soul transformation, turning back into Titania's appearance. Another fierce blow threw her back and she fell on her face just on a meter in front of the place where Natsu and Gray were standing.

"Erza!" the fire and the ice mages screamed in one voice. They couldn't do anything to help her. They could only watch.

"Hang in there, Erza!" Happy exclaimed.

The girl raised her head with an effort and saw her opponent who had risen on his feet. Now he was standing above her.

Mirajane expected him to use her exhaustion and to beat her but he didn't do that.

"You cheat! So you are not alone? Is this your true word? And you call this a fair fight?" she whispered when she managed to take her breath.

The black-haired mage obviously didn't want to comment her words. "If you give up now and leave this valley, I will not harm you," he said after a few seconds silence.

"To give up?" Mira's eyes sparkled with anger. "Never! No matter how many you are, I will defeat you all! I will defeat you for my friends' sake… and especially for Fried Justine's sake! I will find him at every cost! I won't leave this place without him!"

"Especially for Fried's sake?" Natsu thought. He was surprised to hear that. It wasn't typical for Erza to speak in such way. Why was she so concerned about the captain of the Raijinshuu? Her behaviour was really unusual.

"Why do you want so desperately to find Fried Justine, Erza Scarlet?" the black-haired man asked. It seemed to Mira that his voice was touched with emotion. That was strange… Since that moment his tone was absolutely cold and indifferent.

"Because… I can't bear even the thought to lose him! He is the only man I love!" Mirajane yelled. In fact, these words escaped her lips. At the next moment she realized what she had said and pressed her fingers against her lips… but it was too late. Everyone had heard her words and now stared at her in shock.

Mirajane buried her face in her hands.

"What have I done?" she thought. "I shouldn't say this!"

"I definitely didn't hear right!" Gray said to himself. He had expected anything but that. That was just not possible!

"What… What did you say, Erza? Is this a joke?" Natsu exclaimed. He tried to say something more but his words stuck in his throat. He was so shocked that he even stopped pummelling the invisible barrier before him.

"Since when does Erza love Fried?" the ice mage asked.

As for Happy, he was so stunned that he couldn't say a word.

At the same moment Mira felt that two hands hugged her, raising her on her feet. She tried to put up some resistance but without success.

But strange thing, these hands were so gentle now… Her opponent had no purpose to harm her.

"That is all I wanted to hear, Mirajane," his voice whispered in her ear.

His tone and the pronouncing of her true name made her creep. Now that voice sounded so familiar…

"Impossible!" the girl thought. Turning her head, she stared at the man who held her in his embrace. Her eyes widened in shock. At the first moment she thought that it was some kind of a dream or hallucination. There was no trace of the long black locks; his hair was green now. And now she could see his face clearly. The blue-green eyes, the features, and the smile – everything was well-known to her. It was none other than…

"Fried?" Mirajane whispered. She couldn't take her breath.

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