A/N: Once again, thank you for all the reviews! Yes I have decided to kill some characters but that is necessary for the plot. As for the death of our redhead female mage and the former wizard saint, that much I can not reveal yet. :) That is why, look forward to the end people!

BTW, to clear things up, the year is still set in 1944. Remember that in the first chapter it skipped from 1941 where Jellal was still an ass to Early January 1944 which is the current year now in the story. In this chapter I've jumped from Early January to Late February because this was the time when another selection was held—that was if I remember correctly, from February to March. :)

Chapter six is up! Have fun reading people and don't forget to leave out your love!

WARNING: TYPOS STILL...

In A Heartbeat

—because if he could, he would. And he'd do it in a heartbeat. AU

Toppled Crescendo

Late February 1944

She was once condemned and destined to face death, once known as the feisty captive of war, once known as the female who went up against the reaper of the Nazi, once known as Prisoner 19526.

But now she was just known as Erza. The redhead who put all her faith and trust to one man in order to survive.

Prisoner 19826 was busy sewing the logo of the red armbands that the soldiers of the German army wore at their left sleeves. An equilateral cross where the ends were bent, forming a right angle.

The Swastika symbol.

Erza smiled.

It was so ironic how a symbol which literally meant 'good' turned out to be the stigma of death and war. She was carefully sewing the edges of the said symbol when she noticed something odd. A pile of armbands bore the same mark except for the fact that the direction of the edges were in reverse. Prisoner 19826 tilted her head towards the direction of the tailor responsible for such insulting act. She drew in a sharp intake of breath. The person beside her was a woman younger than her by a couple of years.

She had the tresses that were as silvery as the snow during the cold days of January and she had stunning blue eyes that rival that of the clear skies during springtime. As soon as the guards find out about how she sewed the symbol, she would be punished. Or in the worst case scenario, she might die. Erza nudged the fellow prisoner to get her attention, which she eventually gained.

"You're doing it wrong." she whispered.

Ocean eyes stared confused at a pair of glinting bronze orbs. The younger female scanned the finished products and her eyes grew wide when realization hit her. She was panicking so obviously that a soldier on duty approached their working stations. Erza swiftly swoop her finished work across the girl's work station and cleared her throat when the guard stopped beside her, eyeing her empty table suspiciously.

"Why aren't you working?" the German was about to reach for the gun strapped to his waist when the redhead spoke.

"I have reached the quota assigned for me today. If you wish it, I could do some more."

The officer halted, realizing that the worth of a fast and useful worker was something valuable especially during crisis and production. He gave off an incredulous snort and stomped his way off to the other stations who apparently went out of sync from the sudden distraction. Erza let out a shaky breath, both relieved and stressed out from another encounter with death. A tug from her blue striped shirt pulled her attention back to the white -haired girl.

"Um, thank you. If it wasn't for you I think I would have been dead if someone had found out."

The redhead just smiled in return and said, "You're welcome, uh..."

The young lady blinked before holding out an outstretched hand, her cerulean eyes twinkling in appreciation,gratitude and respect.

"Lisanna, Lisanna Strauss."

"That's a very nice name, tell me how old exactly are you?" Erza flicked her fingers all of a sudden when she remembered something. "Oh, where are my manners. Erza." The girl named Lisanna took her hand and shook it gently before raising a thin eyebrow at her.

"Miss Erza?"

"Erza, just Erza."

She didn't ask anymore as to why the woman in front of her had a hair with a ridiculous striking color of red . She didn't ask as to why she had saved her or why she didn't have a last name. What mattered to her was that she owed the fellow captive her precious life. Erza scooped up Lisanna's work and dumped her own mountain of cloth into her space.

"Um—"

"Go and deliver these armbands to the soldier on duty, once he has counted them all, you can rest." she started undoing the stitches of the white thread with a speed comparable to a sewing machine.

"But—"

"Do you have someone you care for and love outside of camp Lisanna?"

The azure-eyed lady stopped and thought for a little while before giving the redhead her answer. She simply nodded and Erza pat her head like she was her little sister.

"Then try your best to stay alive because someday, we're going to get out of here and we'll be back with the people we love. Now go and have as much rest and sleep as you can. You'll need it."

Lisanna had never felt so happy for having a complete stranger turn out to be a friend of her in an instant. In fact she was amazed and dumbfounded. Who would have thought that a single and honest mistake could turn things around so differently—unexpectedly. She smiled to herself, finding a new hope building up within her. The white-haired girl gave Erza a warm hug before filling her arms with the generous amount of armbands that the redhead sewed.

Mira-nee, Elf nii-chan, wait for me. I'll definitely come back home soon one day.

Erza stealthily made her way towards a blind spot at the campsite. She'd gotten so used to sneaking past the Germans' line of vision that the life-and-death situation she was putting herself into was becoming more like mere child's play to her. From there on out, Erza would meet up with a trusted member of the military and during the short span of time that they have, the two of them would exchange clipped acknowledgments and short greetings. She sharply turned to a corner where she immediately saw a pair of green eyes. Comfort surged within her as one gaze washed all the hardships, the challenges and the tortures away.

"Jellal." she breathed, inhaling the crisp and cold air of the dying winter. Erza loved how the cold season was almost over and how spring was nearly coming to the brutal borders of the labor camp. The season alone brought joy and hope to her.

"How much time do we have?" she timidly asked. It was barely two months since they first met and Erza had never felt something foreign such as this—where her heart would flutter every second, feel her chest overflow with happiness. She had classified this emotion as her very own version of freedom, because whenever she was with him, she never felt confined nor bound nor held.

Jellal searched the inside of his baggy military jacket and produced a steaming loaf of bread. "We've got about half an hour." he smiled and handed the loaf to her. Prisoner 19826 took it from him casually and sat down on the old forgotten ruins of red bricks. The ultramarine joined her and watched through amused phthalo green eyes as she leisurely indulged the freshly baked pastry.

"That's more than what we usually have to spare." she offered the treat and he bit off a small chunk.

"I am the commanding officer after all. I at least deserve a break every now and then." Erza just chose to nod as a response. After all, it still felt awkward conversing with the blue-haired German officer.

"So," Jellal looked at her expectantly and her face signaled him to go on with whatever thought he had on his mind. "How did you end up here?"

If it was the first time that they have met, or the first and second week of her stay in Monowitz, she wouldn't have bothered to answer the question at all. But the fact that Jellal had done things that were far too many and helpful to her, Erza decided to tell him something about herself. To let him inside her even by a little. In this pace, this slow but necessary pace, she found peace and tranquility within her heart.

"I guess your leader didn't like me voicing out my dislike for his absurd principles." she shrugged and that made the ultramarine laugh lightly. When his soft laughter died out, he decided to kick things up a notch. Jellal risked the volatile relationship they had by asking her something that wasn't along the borders of friendship but was cut off.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Why did you join the army?" Erza waited patiently for his answer. She knew that there must be a good reason why he entered the military. Jellal fished out a silver locket from his pocket and clicked it open. Two pictures of women were placed on the inside and he showed it to her. The redhead eyed the images intently before she could manage to view the picture fully.

One had a pale complexion with dark hair and the other had a livelier skin tone and a rosy hair color.

"Ultear and Meredy, the two most important people in my life."

Judging from the soft expression of the ultramarine, Erza knew from that very moment that those two people were keeping Jellal sane. The two of them were his own version of hope and happiness. As if to try and assure her of something she didn't even accuse him of, he added.

"They're my sisters." The redhead chuckled when his statement came out as choked and rushed. Setting aside the humiliation he had put himself into, he finally asked her.

"Your surname?" This time he was determined to know her full name.

"Like I've said, I don't have one."

Jellal merely nodded and watched as the bread he'd given her fell to the ground. She scooted closer to him and grabbed the sleeve of his jacket. Before she could utter a word, he spoke with a tone that silenced her.

"When I wrote down your name on the list, I thought of giving you one.'

"Hmmm?"

"A surname that is."

She remained quiet for some time.

"What was it?"

Green clashed with brown as both of them stared at each other.

"Scarlet."

She blinked once.

"Scarlet." she mimicked, testing the word carefully. "You named me after a ridiculous shade of red?"

"Y-Yeah. Is...is it bad?"

Erza wrapped her arms around the ultramarine's muscular arm and relished the warmth he emitted.

She shook her head.

"Erza Scarlet. I like how it sounds."

Jellal sighed in contentment and gently shoved her hands aside as he placed his own pair on her shoulders.

"Listen, two days from now there will be another selection. And this time it'll be from our camp." the pain in his eyes was so obvious that Erza nearly tried to console him. Nearly told him that she was going to be fine. "This time around all of you would be stripped naked, be asked to run around the campsite—like some sort of an endurance test. And I need you to show whoever the officer is assigned the best you've got. Understand? And whatever you do, don't show off your number."

She furrowed her brows.

"What happens when I get picked?"

"They'll send you to the showers in Birkneau where the selected ones would be locked up in a room and die slowly by means of chemical poisoning."

A long pause followed before it sunk into her.

"Are you telling me this because you want me to survive?"

"No. I'm telling you this because I want you to live."

A/N: Another chapter done! Well, any guess who the officer in charge of the next selection would be? Hmmm? Is it going to be Laxus? Jellal? Zero? Or Zancrow? Next chapter—the selection, tortures and Prisoner 19826 bites the dust. Yes, you read that right. PRISONER 19826.

P.S.-working on the next chapter of CEAPR. Will be posted some time next week I guess? :/