AN: Chapter eleven is finally finished! And no, in this chapter there isn't an answer to the last cliffhanger since this chapter is about Deoxies and Erza on their mission. However, do not fret because I'll get around to answering that eventually. *evil laugh* Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail

Chapter 11: The Puzzling Mission

-Oshibana, October 26th, Erza's POV-

"It feels nice to be out and about again, wouldn't you agree, Deox?" I inquired to my travelling companion while stretching in the rising sunlight. We had left early in the morning by train to get to Oshibana where the mission takes place. It's an easier mission where the two of us are catching a notorious gang of robbers for a good sum of Jewels.

"Uh…yeah, sure, let's go with that." Deoxies stated while looking a bit pale. She had looked even paler on the train ride and I had to remind myself that she was technically a dragon slayer so she probably couldn't handle transportation very well, but she didn't look as nearly as bad as Natsu usually does. I smiled softly, Deoxies had really grown up from when she was ten, anyone could tell. She walks with a more mature feminine air, her face was a bit more angular, currently violet eyes with a more mature edge, and she even acted more like an adult. Then again, she is seventeen, still younger than myself but relatively the same age as Lucy. On her collar bone there was a feint outline of an old scar which I remembered the wound that caused it when she was ten. After a few minutes I realized that Deox had been trying to get my attention.

"Oh, sorry, what were you saying, Deoxies?" She frowned slightly with worry written in her eyes. She acted like a mixture between Lucy and myself the majority of the time with hints of Mira woven into her character. I'd say that Fairy Tail has affected her.

"I said that we should probably show up at the client's house to say that we've arrived before checking into a hotel, if necessary." I nodded in agreement while leading the way to the client's house. Upon arrival, I noticed the grandeur of the place and how it looked like an older building with three stories and a pleasant garden surrounding it. It'd be nice if I were ever able to settle down somewhere like this and raise a family with—I discontinued that thought. I was on this job to not only get to spend more time with Deoxies but to also move on from the pain of Jellal leaving. No reminiscing about such things, at least, not on the job. Deox rang the doorbell while looking at me over her shoulder with worry written across her features. I forced a grin which I could tell did absolutely nothing since Deoxies saw right through it. She mouthed "we'll talk later" just as the front door opened. Inside was a middle-aged couple with them wearing more formal attire. I began to feel slightly embarrassed for simply wearing armor, but when I glance over at Deox and saw how casual she was, I relaxed. She was simply wearing a tighter-fitting sweatshirt, skinny jeans, and boots with her dark multi-colored hair tied back in a braid. It was very casual yet very comfortable and practical.

"You two must be the mages from Fairy Tail, correct?" The male adult questioned and both Deoxies and I nodded.

"Good, you may come in and I'll explain the details of the job." We stepped through the threshold to a typical ancient-looking, wealthy home consisting of polished wood floors and half walls while the designs on the upper portions of the wall were pale pastel coloring and pleasing to the eye. We made it to a lounge room with expensive-looking mahogany seating arranged nicely on a floor carpet. While I was still taking in the overall look of the house, Deoxies started the conversation.

"On the request, you said that you would like my partner and I to catch a gang of thieves, correct?" For a moment, I couldn't believe how easy-going Deoxies was about the house, then again, Lucy informed me that Deoxies and her friends lived in a giant mansion, so this was probably nothing in comparison.

"What my partner is specifically asking, is what do the thieves usually steal, from where, and if they use any magic?" I elucidated for the clients who nodded in comprehension.

"Well, there isn't any sort of specific shop that they steal from; they've been jumping all over, you see, and we've heard some reports that they sometimes use magic, but other times don't." This made tracking them extremely difficult for Deoxies and I. If there was some sort of pattern, we'd be able to predict their moves better.

"Would you mind giving us a map of the town and marking the places that were stolen from as well as the times when magic was used?" Deoxies inquired politely and the adult female client nodded before pulling out a map from a nearby bookshelf and placing it on the coffee table in front of us. Deoxies whipped out two different colored markers from nowhere and bent over the map. "Now could you please point to the locations and tell me if magic was sighted?" The clients nodded and started doing as Deox asked. As she started marking the map with different colors, I realized what was happening. There was, in fact, a pattern. When hearing about the attacks, it didn't make any sense, but visualizing it…

"I think I know where they will strike next, so in terms of the matter of payment?" I asked turning my attention away from the map that Deoxies was currently folding up.

"Yes, you will receive 200,000 J upon the capture and handing over of the criminals." Deoxies and I bid the clients farewell after this was stated before wandering the streets. When we arrived in the location that I predicted will have the next thievery, Deoxies pulled me over into a nearby café where we sat down at a booth. A waitress came over and we both ordered some simple sandwiches and beverages before talking about the job.

"Now that we know the general location, do we just wait until something happens?" I asked Deoxies who pulled out the map again and gently set it on the table.

"You're right, this is the location, but there's more than that. Look at it from this angle, do you notice anything strange?" I stared at the map. There were eleven "x" marks, six of which were black standing for no magic used, and five were red signifying that magic was used. There was a gap that was wider than the others in the circle formation. Deoxies had even wrote small numbers next to each "x" to mark which one happened in order. Eventually I shook my head, this was complicated, and Lucy was usually good at this type of stuff on missions. "The thieves aren't just choosing locations in a circle, they're moving like a clock. First they started with the quarters: twelve, three, six, and nine. Then they went backwards starting with eleven and going quarters: eleven, eight, five, and two. Finally, they went forwards once again starting with one: one, four, and seven. Now, they are going to head for the "ten" position, here; therefore, they are going to strike at ten o'clock. Also, when they strike with magic, it was during daylight hours since the magic would notify people in the dark of their location." I started catching on to what she was saying.

"What you're saying is that we just have to wait till ten o'clock am, which is in an hour, for the bandits here. That's ingenious, Deoxies!" She blushed while starting to put the map away since she noticed our food was coming.

"Not really, I just happened to notice the pattern being laid out as the client told me the locations." She took a bite of her sandwich.

"Actually it is impressive, I never would have thought of that. How'd you know what location was twelve o'clock?"

"You see that clock tower?" She pointed out the window and I saw the clock tower she was referring to. "That's in the dead center of the circle of attacks. If you were to look at the clock on it, twelve is in that direction which is in the direction of the first attack." How does she notice all of these little details? She and Lucy both are unbelievable when it comes to this kind of thing. "So, going back to what you were thinking before we entered the client's house, what was on your mind?" She simply inquired and I put my sandwich down. It was alright to tell her, right?

"I was thinking about Jellal." She nodded, and I continued. "It's just really hard being without him, you know? But, I agreed to our long-distance relationship, so I have to suck up the pain and move forward." I took a swig of my beverage and I noticed that Deoxies had stopped eating.

"I admire that, I really do. You are able to be so strong on the outside, and move forward with an independent air around you. However, I think it's alright for you to be a little selfish here and say that you want him to be by your side all the time. It's important to remember that you're no longer a lone fighter; you have someone to share the burden with now. Just remember that, and you're not alone. If you ever need someone to talk you, well, I'm here." I felt my lip tremble. Deoxies is so nice, and then I remembered. Her childhood friend is missing, Lucy told me that as well. Deox hasn't seen him since she was eight when he left without saying goodbye, and never informed her of his whereabouts even once these past years. She understands what I'm going through better than most people.

"Thanks, Deoxies, I'll keep that in mind, and know that it's the same for you if you ever need to talk." A sad smile appeared on her face before us both changed the subject to something lighter causing us to laugh while finishing our meal. At the end of all of it, we still had five minutes before the attack was scheduled to happen. We agreed to act as normal as possible and to separate to cover more of the location. I started window shopping in a more casual outfit, which helped make me seem more natural.

When the clock tower rang out that it was exactly ten o'clock, I waited. Nothing, not even a small scream to verify that the bandits had shown up. Just as I was about to dash off to Deoxies to see if anything happened in her area, I heard a loud explosion from a nearby bakery. People were running away screaming from it as a group of thief-looking men strode out of the burning building with containers of fresh baked goods in their arms. Oh no, they did NOT just steal from a BAKERY where delicious CAKES are made! I re-quipped into my normal armor with swords in hand and pointed them directly at the group with my harshest glare possible.

"You there, stop what you are doing right now!" They all turned towards me and sneered. Okay, now they're all dead meat. You just didn't disobey me. One of them used a concealing magic causing all of them to start dashing off into a thick cloud of noxious gas. I re-quipped into my Flight armor and took off after them. When I caught up with them, there was a massive fight that issued, but whenever one of them went down, I had to catch the baked good and place it in a safe place before taking off again. This wasted too much time, and just as I was about to transform into a more powerful armor, I slammed into some sort of invisible wall. The thieves were on the other side snickering at me. Dammit! They erected a magical barrier that probably wouldn't dispel until they were in their hideout which location was unknown. Just as the gang was about to take off, I heard someone yell viciously behind me.

"Erza, get out of the way!" I turned and saw Deoxies coming flying at me with a massive sword at the ready. The sword's blade was huge with the end of it curving into a sharp curve that was claw-like, yet Deoxies wielded it like it was nothing. Just as I was about to tell her that there was a barrier in the way, she sliced at the barrier with her sword which slashed clean through the wall of magic causing it to dissipate. That sword was anti-magical, how Deoxies managed to get a hold of it, was a mystery to me. However, my partner wasted no time in leaping high in the air where she de-summoned her sword and instead summoned a staff with a weird decoration at the end of it. The decoration looked like a circle with a ten pointed star in it with mystical beads hanging off it. Deoxies started glowing as she closed her eyes and started chanting something.

"O brilliant stars that shine upon this land, I, the universal spirit master, summon thy presence to my aid. O the great guiding beacon of the North, Polaris! O the brightly burning red giant, Betelgeuse!" Two shimmering figures appeared in front of Deoxies. Both appeared to be in the form of giant felines with one of them having all of the cool colors as fur with bright stars circling its body and shiny black orbs as eyes, while the other one was a brilliant red coloring with three long fluffy tails that appeared to be similar to fire and glossy black eyes as well. I could tell that they were spirits, but I had never heard of these ones.

Deoxies seemed to have given them a command since they sprang into action of darting around all of the bandits in a specific formation. I leapt to the top of one of the nearby building for a better view. What I saw caused my eyes to widen in shock. They had created an immobilizing circle with their movements, and all of the bandits couldn't move from their location. The spirits that Deoxies had summoned even grabbed all of the stolen goods and they seemed to be waiting for something.

"Erza, now!" Deoxies yelled and I immediately knew what she meant. I re-quipped to my Heaven's Wheel Armor.

"Circle Sword!" I yelled as my swords created a glowing circle around me before striking down all of the thieves leaving them unconscious. I landed on the ground firmly and I heard Deoxies lightly land next to me with her Spirits on either side of her.

After several minutes and I ex-quipped my armor to my usual outfit while Deoxies de-summoned her two spirits, the client with the rune knights showed up and took the notorious group away before paying us our money while returning all of the stolen goods to the owner of the bakery who happily gave me a large cake for Deoxies and my services. I was ecstatic as I happily ate the cake on the train ride home while Deoxies tried not to be sick because of her motion sickness. Once I had finished that delectable delicacy, I decided to start conversation between Deoxies and I.

"So, you really do get motion sickness." I commented and Deoxies sent me a withering look.

"Of course, I'm a dragon-slayer. Wendy is the only one who may be able to avoid getting motion sickness since her magic naturally repels it. I, on the other hand, am not a Sky Dragon slayer and therefore become ill on any mode of transportation. Though, it's lessened than most." I laughed as her face continued to become paler and a bit greener as we reached a bumpier section of tracks.

"Speaking of being a Dragon slayer, how come you didn't use any dragon slaying attacks earlier?" She sighed at my inquiry before answering when she was a little less pale.

"My dragon slaying magic is more powerful than my regular universal magic. I thought it'd be best if I didn't use those types of attacks on those amateur wizards. My universal magic may be less powerful, but it is easier to use since all I have to do sometimes is snap my fingers while visualizing what I would like to happen. Like I said though, my Universal dragon slayer magic is more powerful and the attacks are more full-frontal. Then it's Dragon Force when I manage to get into that mode, and lastly Universal Rage is the most powerful." I was curious now, what was universal rage?

"Deoxies, I've never heard of the spell 'universal rage' before, what is it?" She sighed again, before getting a serious look in her multi-colored eyes.

"The magic 'universal rage' is so powerful that it could destroy the universe if I wanted it to, and it's only one type of skill, like offense, defense, healing, at one usage, but it completely drains all of my magic after its use. It's like me absorbing the entire universe for one specific task leaving nothing left in my reservoirs of magic. I'm completely vulnerable after using it and it's far too dangerous to use on a regular basis. So I never use it. Now, could you stop asking questions because I think I'm going to puke if I leave my mouth open." I laughed at the thought but said nothing as my mind reeled at the information that I was just given. Who knew that this girl was capable of such a powerful magic?

-Fairy Tail Guild, Later that Day, Normal POV-

When Erza and Deoxies returned from their mission, the guild celebrated a job well done without the guild getting sent any payments for destroying the town. The party, as usual, involved drinking, fighting, destroying of the guild, Erza's wrath, Master's tears, and a hell of a fun time. Even Devilily joined in and could be seen with amusement dancing in her ruby red eyes. Ever since she, Castor, Lucy, and Natsu returned from the mission, the four of them had been close and Devi started letting more of her true emotions appear in her eyes. Castor was being more outwardly loud and being his natural fun and troublemaker self, causing all of the guys in the guild to easily get along with him and become his friend before starting a ludicrous brawl, which was amusing to watch. Deoxies easily conversed with whoever was near here her and was easily laughing with her family with usually Lucy, Erza, or Mira by her side like when she was younger. Angelica was carefree and giddy all the time whether she be with everyone in the guild or with Cody by her side. Meanwhile, Cody happily got along with anyone and managed to become friends with both genders due to his polite and mature nature. The newcomers felt as ease in their new home, which was a pleasant sight to see for the Master as he sat with a grin spanning his entire face as he watched his family joyfully interact with one another.

The five newer members later decided as they walked on their way back to their mansion that it was time to tell the guild of their backgrounds. It was time that the guild knew just how they received their magic and what their lives were like before the five of them had met up when they were ten, after Deoxies had originally left the guild.

AN: Done! I hope that my writing in Erza's perspective actually sounded like her and not OOC, but I apologize if it did! The next few chapters is going to be focusing on my OCs, since I feel like it'd be a good idea to have them tell about their backgrounds to the guild. To wrap this up, thank you for reading this update and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day! Reviews are always welcome! ;)