Yo. Edited August 18th 2016. Enjoy.

(Erza's POV)

Her blue skirt swished to the side, and her cross-crested chest plate clinked as she slid behind a box. A second later, two raggedy men chatted between themselves walked idly by, missing the flaming redhead in the shadows. Her noble sense of elegance was out of place in the dump she was infiltrating.

"What a place. I hope I can end this quickly." She stood, looked around the corner, and ran to the next corridor. Rattling a doorknob, she pressed her ear to the door, and hearing nothing, wedged her sword into the crack that held the door closed and shoved. The door opened. She quickly stepped in; shutting the door behind her, hoping the room wasn't used often. If anyone decided to open the door, it was possible the alarm would be raised. After all, she was infiltrating one of the largest dark magician guilds in the world. Officially, they were a trading post, and legitimately did business with many wealthy merchants, but in their underground site, all sorts of illegal things were auctioned, sold, and traded. But of course, nobody had had any real proof.

Even now, Erza was wondering if the hushed whispers at taverns about this place had been true. Only a select few were allowed entrance, all had tight lips and fatter wallets, if the suspects really were members. The only reason she was here was because Master had gotten a request from a someone that couldn't be refused to 'have a look at what was in their basement, and to get back something I forgot there', and since Mira and Laxus were both out, Master had offered the duty to the next strongest in the guild, her, Erza Scarlet.

Strangely, getting in had been almost too easy. The person who'd filed the request had supplied a pass that allowed her to inspect some minor cargo, so technically that bit wasn't against the rules, but when she'd pretended to leave, the others had taken their eyes off of her, allowing a loop back even farther into their territory.

Being as diligent as she was, she checked the windows and around the room. Once she thought she saw shadow move, but it was just the wind blowing around a curtain.

Hopping out of a window, she landed silently on the floor. Then she stood, brushed herself off, turned around, and fell flat on her face. She rubbed her aching nose, one eye closed in an effort to numb the pain.

"What the…?" She looked at what had caused her downfall, and realized this was the first time a man had brought her to her knees, which even Laxus couldn't do, though he'd come close. This was obviously someone to be reckoned with, she hadn't even seen him. He wore a large blue grey cloak, with a hood that covered his eyes. There was a nametag above his right chest, saying 'Hi, my name is Nathan'. A tuft of clay brown hair stuck out of the cloth that concealed some of his face. He must have been a descendant of the Nekko clan, because he had two diamond ears sticking out of his head. Erza wondered if he had another set of human ears.

"Hrm? What? Who's attacking?" Then he noticed the woman atop his chest, and he stared. "Uhm hello? Do you need directions perhaps?" Erza knew the thieves had a mechanism that alerted all other sentries on duty if one were suddenly put to sleep or drugged or hurt somehow. It was one of the reasons they were so hard to catch. Going with the flow so she didn't seem too suspicious, she tried out her acting skills. Hopefully they would pass this man, but she recalled something about Mirajane talking about how she couldn't even act like a rug.

"Uh, uhm, yea, sorry just looking for the wash…" An idea popped in. "Could you show me how to get to the big deal that's coming up? "Without being seen too? My boss will get mad if we just bust open the doors and interrupt."

The Nekko man grinned, a cat-like tooth showing.

"Sure! Follow me!" They both got up, him showing her down the hall that she'd been about to sneak down. "So which faction are you with? A lot of people have come to bid in the auction this year, especially cause a special item rumored to be one of Demon Maker Zeref's is being put on. Are you aiming for that too?" Erza attempted a careless shrug, but she ended up giving herself a cramp.

"I dunno, I heard about it, but I suppose I'll put my money on something else if it catches my eye." They reached a door, and Nathan brought out a bronze key, jiggled it in the lock, and it clicked open.

"C'mon, I can hear them starting." They snuck in, the room seemingly a change room for… adults. Bunny suits, nurse outfits, see through shirts… A red V dress with that was especially revealing… Erza's face became a beet, and she fidgeted for a moment.

"Erm, t-this room i-is… Y-y-you aren't planning o-on…" But Nathan just laughed.

"These are just costumes! Don't worry, c'mon, we gotta go!" He grabbed her hand, and dragged her through the room. As he'd promised, they now found themselves in a crowd, unseen by others, as they were all facing the center of the room, all in different poses, all oozing arrogance. They were on a balcony, many of the thugs leaning on the banister, pleased, greedy looks on their ugly mugs.

"And now for the second item on our list!" A man with a bright orange outfit similar to that of a Jester was walking around a catwalk. "All the way from Tiniy Ra, we have a sleeping coffin! Able to keep you in a stasis as long as you want! Great for waiting for someone to create an immortality potion and taking it from them!" The long list continued on, and eventually Erza just sat down on a bench and closed her eyes. She was still ready to take action, but she didn't need to waste her energy. She patiently waited for the name of the item to be yelled.

Hours passed, mostly because the richest of the men were all arguing about either the price or with each other, but it was approaching midnight by the time the call came.

"And now ladies and gentleman, I'm sure most of you have gathered for this very item! I assure you the rumors are true! This is indeed a piece created by Zeref himself! It's called Story Time!" There was much murmuring, and one clearly emboldened by his acquaintances, yelled out

"How can we tell it's real?" Erza opened one eye, the chandelier candles flickered, and she stood on the furniture she'd just rested on. The Jester's expression became wicked, and the knight could see the crowd taking a step back.

"Well, valued customer, let me show you!" A chest came rolling up the catwalk alone, and the Jester opened it. He took out a feather and a book. He licked the tip of the pen, flicked to a random page, put on his glasses, and took a closer look. Satisfied, he jabbed the tip of the feather into his arm, going straight through. A gasp rose, and even Erza shifted. Then he took it out of his arm, and the feather hovered above the page.

"Your name, good sir?" He asked.

"E-Edward Tint." He spoke, stuttering slightly. The joker jotted down some words, then coughed and spoke in a very high and mighty voice.

"Edward Tint… he who foolishly spoke… shall face his punishment… and shall be killed… in a death by beheading!" He clapped the book closed, then shook it, and opened it again, showing everyone the words were no longer on the page. This was confusing, especially to Edward, but a second later dispersed their confusion, and replaced it with a cold shock of paralyzing fear.

From out of nowhere, a wooden hold that looked as if it came from High Noon clapped his head and hands down. He shouted in protest, but then appeared a large blade contraption, this time from the Reformation that would fall as soon as the rope was let go. And the one on the other end of the rope was the Jester.

"Sayonara! Thanks for coming!" He let his grip loosen, and Death fell with the blade. Erza had been paralyzed, and was too late to react. She jumped onto the railing, pushing others aside, but it was too late for her.

But not for Nathan. The man appeared out of nowhere, smashing the cleaver away from the poor man. Noblemen and women scattered as a giant blade hurtled towards them. Edward had already fainted, his pants wet and foam dribbling from his mouth. The contraption disappeared, and the Jester broke into a cold sweat. Stepping away, crouching into a ball, he looked around for rebound of the failed curse.

"No, no! PLEASE! SAVE ME—" The same fate that nearly took Edward loomed over the clown, but this time, there was no rope to hold it back. Erza turned away, and blood painted the floor.

"I'll be taking this!" There was the sound of crashing glass, and Erza cracked open her eyes. The glass ceiling was shattered. She cursed, and jumped after him.

"Oi! Halt!" Nathan kept hopping from building to building, ignoring Erza and seeming to forget himself as he jumped to his next landing spot. Erza growled. He would be halfway through Talon city at this rate. Bringing out one of her trusty swords, she sliced apart a chimney, and used the debris as projectiles, a few smacking him right in the head. Tripping, he fell three stories down, before bouncing off an umbrella below, and sliding to an almost painless halt. Rubbing his head, he brought out a storage lacrima, and Ezra cussed. This was going to be so much more trouble. Nathan slid the book into the lacrima, sealing it with his signature magic whatever it was, and… swallowed it. Now what?

"Hey! Who did that!?" He looked up, and saw Erza come sailing down, sword first. He yelped, rolling out of the way. "Hey! Get your own book! There's a bunch right behind you!" Erza hefted her sword as she dashed forward, forcing Nathan to jump away. He was surprisingly agile, and gracefully landed on the rooftops again.

"Hand the it over!" She demanded, but of course her demand was met with refusal.

"Finders keepers, losers weeping!" Erza almost smacked her face with the sword. She already had enough idiots to chase at home she didn't need more. So she treated him as she would Mirajane, and tried to calm herself.

"Fight me properly!" Nathan blew a raspberry, the spittle falling on several innocent civilians who were still up at such an ungodly hour. Disgusted, Erza used the ledges to get higher, and from underneath the man, swung her sword, aiming for the underside of his chin. He tilted his neck back, and stuck out his foot. Erza's face smothered against it, and as she fell back down, she spit out whatever was in her mouth, and she now had no problems with beating him to the ground with only three bones left intact.

Grabbing onto his feet before falling too far, she swung him back down before her, then pushed off the wall to chase after him. But instead of falling headfirst into the ground, he simply kicked the air, landed into a summersault, then came out of his roll like it was nothing and kept running, all the while humming an annoying tune that was now refusing to stop singing in her head. She followed after him, but no matter how hard she pumped her legs, she just couldn't catch up. She wasn't about to give up, but her breath was starting to come slower, but Nathan didn't even look out of breath.

'What is this guy made of?'

(Captain's POV)

By now, they were just at the city limits, which was half a days walk from the north to south enterances.

"I have you now! Give up!" As usual, the dark guild lived up to it's expectations. Security had immediately been notified. The gates were clanking to a close, with a bunch of soldiers, and some mercenaries protecting the exit. Every blade was pointed at Nathan. Their torches illuminated the gates, high and unyielding wooden steel bars. But Nathan simply took out some sort of rod, and waved it at the gate, yelling

"Illumination Ball!" A huge sphere of light sped out of the staff, then exploded in a firework of blinding lights. Even with her eyes closed Erza was still dizzy as she kept up her pace.

"Both of you! Hands above your heads and get on the ground!" A soldier yelled with a Sound Boost Lacrima. She quickly covered her ears, but Nathan wasn't quite so quick. As soon as the screeching blast reached her ears, Erza saw Nathan collapse. She thanked the stars she'd spotted the Lacrima quickly enough.

Erza held up her arm, taking off the piece of armour that had concealed her tattoo.

"I am Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tai currently on a mission! This man is belongs to me!"

"No! He is a criminal of Talon City! He belongs in our custody! If you do not stand down, we will take you out by force!" Erza grit her teeth. She would not normally go through all this trouble, but Master himself had trusted her with this task, she wasn't go to disappoint him. And besides, since when had Fairy Tail listened to the authorities?

"I refuse!" She bent down, and picked up the still groaning Nathan, and ran straight ahead. Many panicked and scattered.

"She's just a single girl! Get her!" Erza allowed her sword to do all the talking, slicing up most weapons, slashing clothes, and injuring more, all while carrying the other slightly heavy boy. She cut open a path to the very end, but before her stood a fat giant. He could've successfully wrestled a truck.

"Give me the boy!" He boomed. Erza complied.

"Sure!" She threw the dead weight off her back into the fatass, hurtling him ten feet away. Erza caught Nathan as if he were a boomerang, then continued running all the way to mountains. The chief threw down his helmet in frustration.

"How come you couldn't catch a single girl carrying a boy! How!" He screeched at his subordinates, stomping around, looking for someone to punish. "Curse you Fairy Tail…"

(Erza's POV)

Her captive/hostage slumped to the floor.

"My ears…" He whined, not even the least bit frightened. "It hurts…" A vein throbbed, and Erza acted accordingly.

"Suck it up." And smacked him on the cheek. Unfortunately, this had an even more negative effect.

"My cheek… It hurts…" Erza snapped. She swung her left arm in a circle.

"Clench your teeth." Nathan looked up, just in time to catch it.

"Wha—?" A fist smashed into his face, full force, but Erza added her own little style. Before he could go rocketing away, she grabbed the back of his head, and used the momentum to spin like a top. Then when her spin settled down, she propped him up. Nathan's eye's were spirals, and as soon as he tried to put one foot down to steady himself, he missed, fell, and landed on his back, forced to look at the knight above him who seemed to be rapidly sending out clones. Then was promptly sick. Erza grimaced, and tossed him into the river, unable to stand being around him for a moment longer like that.

She took her time getting to the river, and when she spotted his familiar ears floating downstream, she grabbed his human ears, and yanked him out of the water. His nose was running, and he sneezed.

"So cruel." Erza smirked.

"I haven't even started." As she set up her blanket, he'd become much more docile. She'd clasped a pair of magic restraining cuffs onto him, and dangled him down from a tree branch with steel chains. And to be sure he wasn't starving she even fed him some moldy cheese sandwich. Wasn't she kind? When she was finished, the moon was the only thing in the sky, well past her normal bedtime. Staying out past midnight would not be good for her skin.

"So. Are you willing to give me the book now?" Nathan stuck his tongue out at her again, but this time no raspberry. A small improvement.

"No~ way!" Erza calmly bit into her heated sandwich again, (She'd set up a fire earlier) then she threw it the last bite of it at his feet. With perfect timing, Nathan's stomach growled in agony.

"Are you willing to give me the book?" This time, she drank Talon City's famous fruity fizz drink, and Nathan squirmed. He replied in the negative again. This time, the knight brought out spicy licorice, munching slowly, and sat right in front of Nathan, taking small bites.

"Willing to give me the book?" She wagged some in front of him, and he tried to take a bite, but she pulled it away, and tossed the rest into her mouth. Nathan was holding back tears and stomach demands now. Erza smiled. She really shouldn't be enjoying this, but something about teasing this guy was awakening the inner sadist inside of her that she hadn't known about. This continued for a solid hour. At the end, Erza was still happy to keep going. She kept pulling out snacks that the boy had been carrying, and some of her own, putting it ju~st in range for him to go for, then retreating and snacking on it herself.

Dear Earthland this was so much fun.

'Now, now,' she told herself. 'Patience. I have to draw it out.'

"Well, I'm tired after such a delicious dinner. I shall retire for the evening. Good night!" She giggled, and lay down. She wasn't worried that he'd run. Even if he did break the chains and cuffs with brute strength, there was plenty of sleeping magic traps she'd set around the border of their camp.

They sent out an odorless gas net, and when someone passed through the net, they would catch onto the person or thing, and follow it for 24 hours. There were two pieces to the magic, one that spread the scent, and the other that could follow it.

The next morning, she yawned, stretched and looked at the tree.

'So he managed to break out.' Chains lay all over the ground, and she checked her tracker. Sure enough, there was a signal that one of the traps had been activated. The staff she'd taken off his hands was gone too.

Again, she took her time getting there, and enjoyed the fresh morning air, the rustling of trees, squirrels scrambling for nuts, and birds chirping their calls. She spotted something lumpy and moving by the trap. Smirking again, Erza jumped to it and slapped its head. No movement.

"Wow this thing really—" Suddenly the figure roared and reared, revealing not a little boy, but a veteran grizzly. She tried to bring out her sword, but was too slow. The bear batted her aside, charging after her. Erza hit a tree, air rushing out of her lungs. She coughed, took a gasp of air, and barely rolled away from the huge claws aimed at her head. She hid herself in the trees, gathering breath and her wits back. Now ready for this new threat, she charged, swiped it's legs quickly, then ducked the claws again, and bopped its nose with the hilt of her sword. The bear roared, and assessed that without the element of surprise, he didn't have the best odds. He snorted a warning, then went back on four legs, trudging off grumpily.

"Haha! Why would you hit a bear? Ba~ka!" Erza turned.

"Aren't I a lucky boy? The bear walked into the gas for me! And I didn't even plan it! Haha! That's for last night!" Erza didn't waste time with retorts. She went for his arms this time, but he easily blocked it. Erza was slightly surprised, but she pressed her attacks. Swipe to the head, slash at his wrists, go to her knees to jab, then jump off and follow up even fast with an uppercut. It was now Nathan's turn to flip his lips up in a cruel twist.

"I had a great nights sleep!" He easily moved away from the blade, and at the end of the barrage, took the chance by flipping onto his palms, and using his legs to lash out. Then he swung out his staff, and an electric whip with wires around it slithered out. He swung it around, not too accurately. It didn't take too much for Erza to get around. But then the weapon became stiff, and the length was now thin and as long as a telephone pole. She needed to be on the flat ground to escape, there wasn't much she could do on a tree branch, so she skydived down. He swung it around after her, but while it was only a single line, it had a tendency to shoot out a bunch of lasers, which were annoying to deal with. Also the fact that they melted whatever they touched meant they couldn't be blocked.

Erza saw a certain area where no lasers where fired, and she ran to it, and Nathan grunted, stopping his attack. Erza acted fast, and pushed as hard as she could off the ground, shooting to Nathan. But the boy had one more surprise. The pole dispersed, and became small orbs, and they covered Nathan. If they were like the other lasers, then touching them was not an option. Erza grabbed a lone vine, and clung for dear life. She managed to swing past them, but her opponent ordered them after her. Swinging around the tree, she kicked Nathan to the ground, and attacked from there. The orbs vanished, as it seemed the boy needed to concentrate for them to be around. She thrust her sword down, but Nathan's legs moved before she speared them and kicked her away. He flipped back onto his feet, and kicked a combo of different areas. Erza blocked with the flat of the blade, but then Nathan was able to get in his hand to grab her skirt and pull. Two things happened. First, Erza yelped and for the second time, fell to her knees by this hooligan, unwilling to show Nathan what lay underneath. Second, Nathan also yelped, and his next attack missed by miles. But… While his attack had missed, behind Erza, the next three trees had exploded into bits. Erza recovered faster, and touched the blade to his throat.

"You… You tried to kill me?" Nathan was in a cold sweat.

"Shoot… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to use that much, and I just thought it would take a lot more to take you out!" Erza almost let the compliment get to her.

"A flattering try, but no—" Nathan kicked upwards, again showing flexibility. Her sword gone, Nathan preformed a judo flip on Erza, and kicked her to the ground, following her fall. She landed on her back, and Nathan came straight after her. Pinning her down with his legs, the boy let loose a flurry of straights, but Erza didn't close her eyes. Somehow, she managed to squirm out of some blows, and she used her head to hit one of the fists. Nathan reeled, clutching his hand, and Erza proceed to kick his family jewels. The result was devastating.

He crumpled to the floor, crying in pain.

"Time! Time out! That's dirty!" Erza stepped on him.

"No, this is." Erza kicked it again, this time with gravity, and the poor male almost blacked out.

"Nooooo!" He whimpered and this time, Erza flipped him over.

"Stay still, this wont take long." She stomped with one foot, and Nathan choked. Nothing. So she did it again, then twice, and four more and…

Pop

Out came the storage lacrima. Nathan could barely breath, his precious spot smashed, and his stomach having a hay day, he decided not to move. That book was so not worth the pain or effort. Not for something like this.

"Take it! Take it and leave me please!" Erza tutted. She put the lacrima in front of his face.

"Unlock it. Now." She needn't repeat herself. Nathan whimpered, and gave the lacrima a lick. The lacrima melted away, and there sat the book, with the feather inside.

"Well, since I'm in such a good mood, I suppose I could give you to the authorities!" Nathan lost conscious, and Erza smiled genuinely.

(Captain's POV)

"Here." The captain was in one of his undecided moods. He could go into a battle rage again or allow the girl off the hook. Many of the men were placing bets on which mood would appear first. "But if you ever come back and cause trouble again, I WILL capture you." Erza saluted, and agreed.

"If you can." Half the soldiers groaned. Money exchanged hands.

"Goodbye, Fairy Tail." The Captain had given the Knight something like a receipt to the mission, and a small record to put in the Fairy Tail and High Counsel databanks of the numerous villains that were on the loose, captured, or dead. He watched her walk off, and went back to his office whistling a cheery tune.

"Someone take this sorry ass to the cellar!" Two men rushed forward, and Nathan groaned.

"Aw crud... What's Z going to say..."

(Makarov's POV)

"Hm! Good work Erza!" Their queen had returned, and the usual beer party had ensued. She'd finished her report about her encounter, and a few meters away Mirajane was bouncing her knee, chugging down the rest of her beer so she could run up to her rival and challenge her. Patience was not even a suit for the eldest Strauss.

"Thank you Master! I'll always be here for you!" Makarov nodded sagely, pocketed the note Ezra had given to him, and took a sip from the strongest batch of fizz. Of course Cana was drinking directly from the barrel. Who on earth had taught the girl that? He would have to have a word with Macao later.

"Thank you. Now, go have fun! Shoo, shoo!" Erza grinned, and hearing Mira calling for her, the two exchanged the usual insulting greetings. Erza explained what had happened to her during her trip. Then Lisanna was looking all goggle eyed at hearing about someone who could bring Erza to her knees.

Makarov sighed, taking another sip from his jug.

"Yet again, what a fine mess you've thrown me into Zeref. Just what are you teaching that innocent boy?"

- Justin, Lover of anime, enemy of haters, and family to all my otaku brothers and sisters. Welcome to my world! XD