"It's Erza… She's back!"

Immediately after Loke echoed those words, everyone was in panic, talking fast and loudly, horrified expressions. Honestly they acted as if Erza was dangerous… well she kind of was, but she'd never truly hurt a guild mate! Well… she wouldn't kill them anyway. Not without good reason.

Natsu and Gray stopped their fight with identical expressions.

Mirajane walked up to stand beside me and Lucy as Lucy asked, "Erza? You mean the person Natsu mentioned earlier?"

I shuddered to think what Natsu told her. Natsu probably made Erza to be a twelve foot monster with sharp teeth and one eye who destroys mountains with one wave of her hand.

Mirajane spoke with a smile, "You could say she's the strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail now."

I noticed she said 'now'. It was true, before Lisanna died, and Mirajane fought, she was the strongest. A young girl, youngest to be S-Class, she was fearsome. No one ever dared to mess with Mirajane. They still don't but not out of fear, but because she's too sweet to upset.

Pounding stomps of two feet are heard and I turn my head to greet my friend.

"It's Erza…" Laki said softly nearby.

"Those are Erza's footsteps." Wakaba also said.

"Erza's come back…" Macao almost stammered while speaking.

Murmuring echoed around the room, many eyes trained on the open door just like mine were.

Lucy spoke up out loud, not talking to anyone in particular, "Given this reaction, Erza must be one powerful wizard…!"

Erza walked into the guild, her footsteps heard audibly, carrying what looked like the horn of a giant beast, except it was bejeweled. She set the horn down with a crashing sound, causing guild members to gasp in fear of the thing she brought with her. Erza looked the same as ever, incredibly long scarlet hair, and dark eyes that sometimes look like a deep purple, other times like a dark brown. She wore her normal outfit of her Heart Kruez Armor. She had her serious expression on, and didn't seem to even falter for a moment while setting down her souvenir.

"I've returned. Is Master here?" She spoke out loud, her tone as calm and strong as ever.

Standing beside Lucy and Mirajane, I grinned at Erza, glad she was back. I looked forward to hearing about her mission, it was obviously successful.

"S-So pretty…!" Lucy stammered, shocked. I must be right, Natsu did make Erza out to be a monster.

I spoke, still grinning, "Welcome back, Titania. The Master's at a conference. How'd the mission go?"

Looking at me, Erza nodded, "I see. The mission went well, Mona. Next time you will have to accompany me."

Titania, as was her nickname, was a powerful mage. She let me beat her so I would become S Class, but in a serious fight I'm not sure if I would beat her or not. I had no true reason to fight her, therefore I would not win. The thought of going on a mission with her was exciting, because we hadn't been on a mission together in a while now. I glanced at Cana, feeling a bit guilty since I had promised I would go on a mission with her, and then looked back at Erza.

Erza turned her head to Max, a sand mage who had walked up to her.

"What is that humungous thing, Erza?" he asked her.

She answered nonchalantly, "The horn of a monster I subdued. The locals decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir."

I should have gone with her, that mission sounds like it was amazing. I know it was an S-Class mission, and due to the size of the horn, I'm sure it was just the right size for Erza, a nice challenge.

She turned fully to Max and the boy next to him, "Is it a problem?"

Both boys jumped and immediately hurried to assure her, "No, not in the least!"

Everyone besides me and Mirajane was nervous. And Cana, who was drinking from a barrel. Nab and Macao looked especially nervous.

"I bet she's heard about what happened at Mt. Hakobe." Cana told Macao.

Erza kept the guild in line even when the Master didn't, which is why everyone feared her. She could be a bit like a scolding mother or something.

"O-Oh, crap… I'm a goner…" Macao stammered.

Lucy spoke, sounding genuinely surprised, "She's not what I imagined at all…"

I looked at her, "Here's a tip, never listen to Natsu or Gray. They tend to have huge imaginations. Then again, so does Erza… and almost everyone in Fairy Tail."

"Um… thanks…" she replied.

Everyone around let out squeaks of terror as Erza suddenly said, "Listen up!"

I, on the other hand, was already listening. Her scolding begins.

"On the road, I heard that Fairy Tail has been causing yet more trouble. The Master may not care, but I do!" Erza called out. She turned to each person as she chewed them out. "Cana! How dare you drink, dressed like that!"

Cana immediately set down her barrel.

"Vijeeter!"

Sounding scared, Vijeeter answered, "Yes?"

"Dance outside!" Erza ordered, her back to him. "Wakaba. I see cigarette butts on the floor. Nab. I see you're dawdling in front of the board, as usual. Do some work! Macao!"

Macao jumped in fear. But then Erza just sighed and closed her eyes, looking like it was too disappointing to even say anything. Even worse than Erza's bark, is her silence.

Macao panicked, "Say something!"

"Honestly, you cause so much trouble." She finally said, an armored hand to her head, "But I'll be kind and say nothing for today."

I smiled. Erza, known for her generosity, of course.

Lucy said under her breath, "She's already said a lot, though…" She turned to Happy, Mirajane, and I, whispering so Erza couldn't hear her. "What is she, a disciplinarian?"

Happy answered cheerfully, "That's Erza for you."

"Still, even if she is kind of a loudmouth, she looks like an actually mature person. Surely there's no reason to be so afraid of her?" Lucy asked.

I laughed lightly, "Oh there's plenty reasons to be scared of Erza. She's one of my closest friends, so I know just how scary she can be."

Lucy didn't get a chance to answer because at the moment Erza spoke again, "Are Natsu and Gray here?"

I turned my attention to Natsu and Gray. I was surprised to see them grinning like idiots, though it was fake. They both had one arm across the other's shoulders, and the other hands clasped together in a buddy styled hug. They were putting on a show for Erza so she wouldn't yell at them.

"H-Hi, Erza. We're good buddies as usual…!" Gray said, tensely but trying to make it believable.

In a tense imitation of Happy, Natsu agrees with an, "Aye!"

Lucy made a cat-like face and exclaimed shrilly, "Natsu's turned into Happy!"

With her arms crossed, Erza didn't seem to think their behavior was odd. She could be quite… gullible, when it came to Natsu and Gray. "I see. It's natural for good friends to fight sometimes, too. That said, I like seeing you get along like that."

Gray immediately replied, "No. We're not exactly good friends…"

"Aye…" Natsu agreed.

Looking shocked, Lucy said, "I've never seen Natsu like this before!"

Having used the light pen to draw out a defeated squiggly of Natsu and a monster squiggly of Erza, Mirajane spoke up, "A long time ago, Natsu challenged Erza to a fight and got really beat up."

"Natsu did?!" Lucy asked.

Smiling fondly at the memory, I looked at Cana and Macao. Cana had the same smile I did, while Macao had more of a soft smirk.

"She found Gray walking around naked and beat him up." Macao mentioned.

"Actually She's beaten Gray and Natsu up quite a few times, if I'm remembering correctly." I said.

Cana added, "She beat Loke up too for trying to hit on her."

"You reap what you sow." I laughed lightly. "I mean, Loke flirts with everyone, it was only a matter of time before someone beat him up. I punched him once and broke his nose."

"I would've expected as much from him…" Lucy murmured.

"Natsu. Gray. Mona. I have a favor to ask." Erza said.

Both Natsu and Gray stood up straight, and all three of us asked, "Huh?"

Erza was serious as she explained, "I heard about something bad while on my last job. Normally, I would consult the Master about something like this first, but I believe this is a matter of the utmost emergency. I want your help. Will you come with me?"

Natsu and Gray looked at each other, while I looked at Erza.

Whispers spread around the other guild members.

"What in the world?"

"Erza's asking for help?"

"This is a first!"

It was shocking. But what shocked me more was Natsu and Gray being with us. I mean, they would surely fight.

I looked at Cana and spoke up, "I promised I would go on a mission with Cana…"

Cana shrugged, "No. Go ahead, Loke and I can get our own mission. We'll go on a mission another time."

I grinned, "Thanks." I turned back to Erza. "I'm in."

"We leave tomorrow. Make sure you're ready." Erza announced.

Mirajane spoke softly, "Erza, Mona, Natsu, and Gray… I never even imagined it before…"I heard her and glanced at her, and so did Lucy. "But this could very well be the strongest team in Fairy Tail…"

I was proud when she said that.

The strongest team in Fairy Tail…

I like the sound of that.

I knew I worked well with Natsu, Erza, and Gray. Being on the same team as them was an entirely different story, though.

I guess we'll see tomorrow, when our missions starts… Although she hasn't actually told us the mission.

Guess I'll find out.