The second floor immediately opened up to a much wider area than the narrow hallway of the first. Boxes, bundles, and other such miscellaneous items were scattered every which way. It appeared to be some sort of storage area, although even given the haphazard placement of items, there weren't very many of them once Cobra's eye adjusted to the darker space. He had to keep on his toes to avoid stumbling.
"Anyone behind that door?" Lucy whispered, not too far behind him. There was a single door, to the back left corner of the room. Cobra perked up his ears, only to immediately hiss and shut them off. Percy's soul roared, and in the increasing proximity, it was just about all he could hear now. A now endless buzz sounded off in his ears. He clenched his teeth and tried to determine the exact direction it came from.
"It seems…Percy is over there," he pointed to the right, away from the door. "So the door must either lead to the room, or a room before it."
"Didn't you say there was another person here?" Mirajane asked. "Are they in the other room as well?"
"…I know this sounds like an excuse, but it's genuinely too loud to tell."
Mirajane frowned, her face cast in shadow. Lucy put a hand on her shoulder, and Mirajane accepted it with a small smile. The two of them joined him by the door.
"If it is her…I'll do what I said I'd do in our planning," Mirajane said.
"Please be careful Mira," Lucy replied. "We know the least about her and what she's capable of."
At this, Mirajane gave a short laugh. "True. I'm not quite sure myself how things will go. But I'll try to get through to her. I owe her that much at least."
This seemed to calm Lucy down, although she still looked at Mirajane sadly. To have been betrayed…he was no stranger to it. Neither was the Fairy Tail mage, from stories he'd heard. Yet she stood with her head high, eyes forward. He certainly didn't align with her personality-wise, but in that moment, the dragonslayer found himself not a little in awe at her determination.
Maybe just a tiny piece of himself thought he could understand why his teammate fell for her. Just a smidge. He wouldn't let her take any more ground today.
Starting with him–just in case–the three opened the door and caught sight of a woman, one he'd never seen before.
But to Mirajane, it was no stranger, as she stepped forward with a pointed look. "Perse. I find it quite unprofessional how long you've taken to respond to me. So I decided to come here myself."