His voice was so desperate, or at least that's how Grey perceived it, maybe because Indel wasn't trying to beg for mercy. He had simply accepted his fate, humbly, he who was pride personified.

Erza seemed distracted. He did not know what she was thinking about, but it must be really interesting because he doubted she had heard Indel. She was looking by the window, absently.

"Hey."

She turned to him, as if the bubble had burst the moment she felt his hand on her thigh. She tried to regain her composure; she was too distracted, first by her memories, now by Grey.

"Still with us?"

She had to fight to keep some control over her mind as her thoughts drifted towards him. Butterflies twisted her stomach and her reason flew away, so that she could soon only think of him, of his touch, of this discharge of enchanted lightness. God, how she hated enjoying his touch so much.

"Hmmm... yeah. Yes."

"Okay."

His voice was deep and low. Then he casually pulled his hand away, and she immediately closed her eyes before turning her head away. She needed to focus her attention on anything that would allow her to forget the feeling of lack.

"We will protect you." She addressed their guests.

"Oh, we will?"

Grey gave her a stunned look with a half-smug, half-disdainful smile.

"Fine, so to avoid any quiproquo, I want to make it clear that I do not agree with this."

"Any more than you agree with torture."

"For them I could."

"We both know you're lying."

"You know me a little too well sometimes, Erza."

He looked at her, and for the first time she had trouble maintaining eye contact; the smile she tried to force vanished miserably. Finally, he had to look at the road again, and she found the breath that had been stolen from her. Her soul was agitated; she had been on the edge of losing control.

"Are we there yet?"

"When will you finally stop asking the same question?"

Wendy was excited and shouted. Bluenote had asked the question at least a hundred times, and it was driving her crazy. Wendy was pissed. Lucy had offered to switch places, but Grey was driving too fast for them to stop; by the time they switched places and started again, they would already be far away. So everyone tried to be patient. Natsu was starting to get tired; driving could help with the motion sickness, but he did not enjoy it. Unlike his alter ego, he wasn't cut out to be a pilot.

"Slowly Oompa Loompa "

"How did you call me?!"

"What? You are particularly short, kiddo; don't be offended by the truth."

Wendy was losing her temper, which was odd coming from her because she was deeply kind and patient. Lucy was starting to get worried. Sure, Bluenote was annoying, but Wendy's irritation seemed a little out of proportion.

"Ok, are we there yet? I'm beginning to feel piqued." She turned towards Bluenote before he could say anything. "And you, don't even try to piss me off any further. I'm a mage, and a good one. Don't forget it."

"Okay, everyone, keep calm; I'm going to call Erza."

Lucy reached for her lacrima phone, which was somewhere in her handbag.

"Again? Did he have to save the world since this morning?"

She rolled her eyes as he looked back at the road, annoyed.

"Seems someone is jealous." Indel deliberately emphasised each syllable, searching Grey's eyes as he stubbornly refused to look in the rearview mirror. His sneaky smile kept growing.

"I am." Grey finally looked at the reflection, meeting Indel's devilish eyes. "So choose a wiser moment to piss me off."

And just like that, Indel finally gave up on the idea of provoking him further. The bell rang one last time, and Erza picked it up, almost jumping at the chance to defuse the stifling atmosphere. She tried to forget the last bits of the previous conversation and focused on Lucy's voice, whose name she pronounced loud enough to indicate to everyone who she was talking to and correct their assumptions.

"Something wrong?"

Lucy precipitously impressed to clarify that nothing had happened, Wendy was exhausted, and Erza confirmed to her that it must be a secondary effect of the sort she threw. Lucy asked if they were soon there, the time becoming very long.

"Do you see the sign that announces the next exit ? … We exit there, and after we continue on Rural Axe for fifteen minutes, we will arrive. Hold on a little more; that's finished."

Lucy thanked her and hung up.

They all came down from the cars after they passed the checkpoint. It was a secret military basement. Well protected and very isolated. A woman came towards them, old but not too old, maybe sixty years old; her long and light blond hair, almost white, was tied in a bun, with two long locks falling on her face. She had kept the same appearance; only her styling had changed, becoming darker. She wore a long black cape and black clothes; it contrasted with the usual white that council members wore. But, after all, she was not one of them anymore.

"You are punctual; it is a good thing. Brought the prisoners here; we take charge of them now."

Erza wondered what rank she could have inherited within the army. After the Etherion fiasco, a rumour had spread that heads had rolled and a wave of "resignations" had followed. But this woman seemed to be an exception. Managing to get a promotion in such a context of forced layoffs was quite an achievement. No doubt she had good contacts.

Powerful enough to put her at the head of what seemed to be a brigade in order to manage a secret operation. The mage had counted about twenty men since their arrival, not counting those who had to be distributed between the two hangars; she estimated the company at about fifty men. None of them wore the usual uniform; she recognised the council emblem on their badges, but their attire betrayed their belonging to a secret corps.

She saw Grey's body tense; he must have sensed her discomfort and come to the same conclusion : something was odd. He was smart. Lucy got it too; she had a good intuition, and Natsu and Wendy's instincts didn't take long to catch it.

"Your mission is over."

"Oh! But you are one of the women of the audience. There were Ultia and you. I remember now."

Natsu had caught everyone off guard, ravished to finally dissipate this feeling of déjà vu. She was one of the council members at the time Erza had been arrested for trial after the Lullaby incident. Balno. He knew her face was familiar. Erza closed her eyes for a moment; she had overestimated Natsu's sense of analysis.

"Yes. It was me in another life. Now give us the prisoners."

Eight soldiers had arrived and now surrounded her. They had firearms in addition to the more conventional ones. It was illegal. Magic hurts, but guns kill. Erza had more and more doubt about the idea of leaving this place alive.

"Seems you are pressed," said Grey.

"I do not have time to lose with you. Give us the prisoners, or we will be forced to use the strong method."

Balno made a sign to two soldiers who immediately took a step and held out their hands, waiting for the car keys. Natsu gave his, and the officer took it, opening the car. Three more soldiers moved: one opened the door, and the two others made the prisoners come down.

The officer gave the key back to Natsu and came to help his men, handcuffing the prisoners. The first trio are then joined by two other soldiers to escort the wanted out of sight in one of the hangars. Erza looked at them with guilt; they were returning them in hell. And she was taking part in this.

"Where is your chief?"

"I'm the major."

"But you're not the one I take my orders from."

The atmosphere already tensed became even heavier. Erza would not step back; nonetheless, she didn't know if she was acting bravely or just being temerarious. She hoped she was noble enough to put her pride aside and only act for justice.

"It doesn't matter who usually gives you orders; I'm the highest-ranking person here. If I ask you to do something, you do it."

"I'm not one of your soldiers."

Grey smirked, glad of her.

"No, you are an employee; you have signed a contract for a mission. So logically I am your employer."

"The man that coordinated this operation is our only employer."

Lucy looked up at Erza.

"What man? "Who are you talking to?"