A/N: Oracion Seis means Six Prayers in Spanish. It is poetic, in a way.

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It had been quiet after the incident with Laxus and the Thunder Legion. Erza and the others completed some simple missions in the following weeks without any complications. Master was out of town on a regular conference at the Magic Council and everyone was simply chilling at the guild after a long, tiresome job.

Erza was happily munching on her strawberry cake when her eyes caught Mira and Reedus putting up some kind of visual chart in the air in the middle of the guild. The concentrated expression on the white-haired mage enticed the redhead's curiosity and she decided to wander over to get a closer look.

It appeared other people had the same idea and within a few minutes there was a small crowd of mages gathering in a half-circle around Mira and Reedus. They looked on curiously as Mira explained to them about the Baram Alliance of dark guilds, how their activities had spiked in the last couple of weeks and warned their guildmates to take extra precautions during missions.

Erza knew about the existence of the majority of dark guilds in Fiore but upon taking a second look, she was struck by how many of them there were. Some of them were even official guilds once.

Everyone was speculating about how powerful Oracion Seis was with just six members when Master Makarov came back with the news that they were to form a coalition with three other guilds in a joint mission to obliterate the dark guild.

It was a smart move, Erza nodded decisively. With such a powerful enemy this time, if any of the legal guilds took them on alone, they would have the entire Baram Alliance out for their blood in no time. They needed to utilize their strength in numbers. Members from Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter would be working with them on this mission.

And so, team Natsu set out to the rendezvous point the next day, having been chosen by Master to represent Fairy Tail. In terms of magical power, they might not be the greatest setup Fairy Tail could offer the coalition, but they had been a team for quite a considerable time now, already familiar with working with each other and Erza knew this was the advantage they had. This was their first joint operation with other guilds, so it was important that they knew how to cooperate within their own guild first.

Her concern proved to be a justified one as people started arguing among themselves just a few minutes after meeting each other for the first time. Erza really couldn't stand that Ichiya, personality wise, the man made goosebumps break out everywhere on her skin in the most appalling way possible. No one knew how to get on her nerves as effectively as that disturbing man, no matter how good of a wizard he was.

It took the last member of Cait Shelter arriving and Jura stepping up to chastise them all for wasting time arguing like immature children to refocus them on the mission at hand.

Erza could sense there was something about Wendy Marvell that made her different from any other mage she had met. Perhaps it had something to do with the type of magic the girl used. It might explain why Cait Shelter decided to only send one member on such a major operation.

Still, she was just a little girl, and Erza slapped each of the Trimen on the back of their heads for immediately getting their grubby paws all over the timid kid like that.

Ichiya began to explain the mission, along with all the intel they had gathered on Nirvana and each Demon General of Oracion Seis. They had just finished drafting somewhat of a temporary strategy for attack when Natsu, the impatient hothead, got excited and broke out into a sprint toward the woods where Oracion Seis was predicted to be without waiting for anyone.

Erza seriously considered putting a leash on Natsu sometimes.

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Oracion Seis appeared before they could prepare themselves for their attack. It was ten versus six, even five since that Midnight guy didn't even wake up, and the Coalition members were overpowered quite easily.

That Cobra truly resembled a slippery snake, all of Erza's strikes couldn't even touch an inch of his skin. Worse, in her carelessness, his snake managed to bite her on the arm and Erza could feel the poisonous venom seeping through her blood steadily, and the pain that followed.

It was only a matter of time before the poison spread to her whole body. That was why she needed somebody to cut her arm off before it was too late to do so. She needed to join the fight with everyone if they wanted somewhat of a chance against all six members of Oracion Seis.

She could live with just one arm. A lot of people had suffered through worse.

In her feverous state, Erza could barely make out someone grabbing her sword, ready to honor her wish before the cracking sound of a whip rang through the air. The pain from amputation she had been waiting for never came, only the sound of her friends proclaiming their dissent.

The last thing Erza heard was Lucy's voice, firmly in an almost uncharacteristic growl, "Take one more step closer Lyon, and it's you who will lose an arm today!"

Then everything went black.

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The first thing Erza felt when she regained consciousness was a tingling sensation running along her arm and shoulder, before the pain residing there started to retreat bit by bit.

When she opened her eyes, Wendy's happy smile was there to greet her, "Erza-san is waking up, everyone!" Apparently the Salamander was with them too because he immediately appeared in her eyesight, grinning and loudly shouting exclamations of joy into her ears, "Erza! You're ok! High-five time!"

Lucy kicked him away at that, "Erza just woke up. She is still weak, don't make her waste energy with your stupidity." The blonde gingerly helped Erza to sit up, letting the redhead lean her upper body on the Celestial mage for support.

"How are you feeling, Erza?"

Erza sighed, allowing herself to lean further into the blonde's embrace, "I think I'm alright. There is no trace of the venom anywhere in my body now. My arm is still intact though. How is this possible?"

Lucy smiled, the tense muscles on her shoulders dropping away in relief, "Wendy was the one who healed you. She is a Sky Dragon Slayer and capable of using healing magic. Why is it your first response whenever something happened was to always sacrifice parts of yourself like that though?"

The redhead chuckled weakly at the displease evident in Lucy's voice, "I think it's just bad habit at this point. You can scold me when we get back later. Right now we have bigger problems to focus on."

Erza then turned toward the small bluenette, who somehow had adopted a fearful expression and wouldn't meet her eyes, "You have my gratitude, Wendy. I wouldn't still be alive without you." Her frown deepened when Wendy only lowered her head, mumbling something she couldn't make out.

Before she could ask what was wrong, the ground underneath them started shaking violently. A black beam of light appeared in the middle of the forest, pointing upward to the sky, along with various black stripes floating around it. Everyone present could feel the tremendous amount of magical energy being released into the air.

Nirvana had been activated.

Natsu growled out suddenly, breaking Erza from her shocked state, "Jellal is there!"

The name rang through her ears, louder than any thunder in the middle of the fiercest storm. The Fire Dragon Slayer then disappeared into the woods before Erza could even comprehend the thoughts swimming around inside her brain.

Why was Jellal here? Was it truly him or Mystogan again? What happened to him? How was Jellal connected to Nirvana in the first place?

Are you alright, Jellal? Where have you been all this time?

She needed to see him with her own eyes. If he was alive, she had a lot of questions that still needed his answers.

Erza took off after Natsu, intended to follow his sense of smell to wherever Jellal was.

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She lost Natsu on the way, but Jellal must be where the source of that black pillar of light was. So that was where Erza needed to go.

Erza found him, amidst the thick fog at the base of the light pillar. That face, that voice, she could still recognize Jellal even if he turned into ash.

It was really him, standing in front of her now, not a single scratch on his body. Safe, but not sound.

He broke down upon seeing her, claiming he didn't remember anything aside from her sole name. No idea who he was, or even who Erza was.

The nerves of this man!

"Stay away!" The redhead could see he was clearly spooked as she started getting closer, but Erza wouldn't let him go this time. She had no obligation to make it easy for him.

"In that case, you come to me! I'm Erza. Now, come here right this instance!" Erza gritted out through clenched teeth, "Your name is Jellal. You were once my friend. But you went mad, defiled the dead, hurt my friends, even destroyed the Council. And killed Simon..."

Jellal was not allowed to forget about it. He was not allowed to erase that part of their lives that conveniently, all the sins he had committed, all the people he had hurt. His madness, his destruction, his betrayal.

The way he broke both her heart and her trust.

"If you insist on saying you've forgotten that, I'll plunge a sword into your heart and spell it all out for you! Now come here! To me, you coward!"

The anguish on his face at hearing about all his horrible crimes looked genuine, and Erza didn't know what to feel anymore. Was this even the same Jellal a few months ago? Was he saying the truth, when he insisted he didn't have any recollection of the past before waking up in these woods?

Fate truly was cruel sometimes.

He was almost harmless like this, memories all mixed up and didn't know who to trust, didn't know what to do but rely on what his instincts were telling him. And what they said, was to unseal Nirvana and destroy it, once and for all.

Cobra and Brain appeared before Jellal's spell could take effect. The leader of Oracion Seis easily dispelled his Squares of Destruction, allowing Nirvana to unseal right in front of their eyes. And Erza was powerless to stop it. All she could do was hang on to Jellal and Nirvana while the latter transformed completely into a moving ancient city, bigger than any monster she had ever seen.

The sky dyed a deep black color, shadows swallowing any trace of light, paving the way for the reign of darkness to come.

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Erza and Jellal came across Midnight while they were wandering around, not entirely sure what direction to take and how to stop Nirvana from releasing its power. Perfect timing, Erza thought, she was going restless not knowing what had happened with her friends and the enemy's situation at the moment.

Even though Midnight was a strong opponent, his ego allowed Erza to discern the fatal flaws in his magic and gained the upper hand in the battle. But not before the effects of his illusions already wrapped around Jellal's mind, trying to coax her old friend to the dark side again.

Jellal was just another lost soul, a blank paper extremely vulnerable to manipulation right now. She had to steer him on the right path.

This time, she would be the source of his light, his beacon of hope. She knew the kindness inside him, all those years ago since they were small children and even now, when his soul was bare for the world to see, no longer bounded by memories of darkness.

Erza was no longer a lost girl waiting for fate to be on her side. She had gotten better with time, all the past traumas had made her stronger. This time, she would be the rock Jellal could lean on, she could be the help he needed on his path to redemption.

Jellal. Keep your eyes on me. I am here now. I will be the light you need, to rekindle your own.

Wendy found them a few minutes later, her happy smile immediately brightened up Erza's mood. The small girl beamed at Jellal with such hopeful look in her eyes, only to turn sorrow when he seemed to not remember who she was.

Erza didn't know how Wendy was acquainted with Jellal either. She would have to ask the girl about it later, after all of this was over. It might help Jellal gain back his memory somehow.

She was still pondering the possibility of it when Christina appeared in the sky above their head, Hibiki's voice speaking directly into their minds about the plan to stop Nirvana he had found in his Archive. Everyone seemed to be fine for now, no doubt suffering from various injuries from running in with Oracion Seis. But all of them were still alive, and Erza could finally breathe out a sigh in relief.

The only thing left to do was destroy Nirvana, for good this time.

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In the end, Natsu was the one who defeated Zero and Nirvana was demolished with the help of all their friends. Everyone barely scrambled their way out of the fallen city before it completely broke down in pieces.

Erza was checking in with Lucy and Gray when the Ice-Make mage asked out loud, "So, who's that over there? One of Blue Pegasus's pretty boys?" At this, the blonde also turned her head to look at the man.

Erza followed their line of sight to Jellal, leaning against a boulder not too far away. That was right, they didn't know how Jellal looked like, only Natsu and Erza confronted him back at the Tower of Heaven. "That's Jellal."

Lucy and Gray yelled out in surprise. The blonde immediately pulled Erza back two steps, one hand latching onto her arm, "Erza, stay away from him. He is dangerous. Did he hurt you?"

The Requip mage gently patted the hand resting on her arm, "It's alright. He isn't the Jellal we know. Apparently he has lost his memory. I should go talk to him. It's fine, Lucy, you can let go of me now."

Erza walked toward the man, who lifted his head as soon as he heard her footsteps getting closer. Jellal confessed to her he was afraid of his memory returning, terrified of experiencing the shadows of his past actions again.

She wanted to take him to Fairy Tail with her, just so she could keep an eye on him. There must be some way to make it happen. But that was a worry for another day. Right now, they should feel happy for successfully completing the mission and nobody was hurt too much in the process.

And so, Erza playfully nudged the man's shoulder, "You still don't remember who Wendy is yet? Based on looks alone, I think she could be your sibling, don't you agree?"

Jellal startled at the thought before chuckling slightly, "If that is the case, Natsu would be my biggest contender for the title of Favorite Brother of the Year. Not that I blame her though." They both smiled at Wendy and Natsu a few feet away, the younger Dragon Slayer holding Natsu's hand with a cheerful expression.

Their moment of peace was cut short by the Council Enforcement Unit's arrival, there to take both Hoteye and Jellal into custody for criminal activities and attempted treason against the country, respectively.

She didn't want to let him go. It was starting again, the cycle of caring for and losing the people she loved. Jellal was one of her oldest friends, the last reminder of her past, a piece of her she wanted to keep just for herself.

Erza was afraid, of what prison could do to him if he was out of her sight. How could her light reach him when he was so far away, locked up somewhere with only darkness as his sole comfort?

But there was nothing she could do. She knew, better than anyone else, about his crimes, his destruction, all his evil wrongdoing. Even though his memory was lost now, it didn't erase the transgressions of his past. Rationally, she knew he need to go. Away from her again.

Erza had always been a rational person. It was both a blessing and a curse, sometimes.

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Everyone left her alone for a while, sitting on the edge of a cliff not far away from camp. Space and time for her to gather herself after having one of her friends taken away from her, again.

Her senses were still on high alert, a habit she had picked up from spending too much time in battle. Soft footsteps broke the silence surrounding the air. By now, Erza was familiar enough to know who the owner of those footsteps was.

"Lucy." Erza said before the blonde could announce herself, "You seem to have a knack for finding me no matter where my hiding place is."

"Erza." She could hear the hesitation in the blonde's voice. "I just want you to know dinner is almost ready, that's all. You can come down whenever you want."

"Thank you.... Do you want to sit with me for a bit?" The surprise was evident on Lucy's face, clearly not anticipating her request. The Celestial mage crossed the short distance before sitting down next to Erza.

A few minutes of silence passed before Erza started talking. There was something about Lucy that made it easy to open up to, "I'm worried about him. Jellal, I mean. He was lost for a long time now, and I don't know how he would do in prison, what the darkness could do to him when I'm not close."

Lucy turned to stare at her, an unreadable look on her face, "He is very important to you, isn't he?"

The redhead curled into herself further. This subject was a painful one. "He is my friend. I care about him, even though he has many sins that he needs to answer for. But I have known him since we were kids, I know the light in him, the kind-hearted man he used to be. And I still believe in that man, even now. Foolish, right?"

Lucy silently took her hand, intertwining their fingers. The touch grounded Erza, chasing away any shadows of despair waiting to overtake her thoughts. "I don't think it's foolish to believe in your friends, Erza. It speaks volumes about who you are, how much you care for people around you, your noble heart. I don't know Jellal as well as you do. But I think, your belief will be his anchor, the light of his day, the motivation for him to move forward. He won't fall into darkness against your trust this time. He had done it once before, he would be foolish to do it again. And Jellal doesn't seem like a foolish man to me."

Erza let the words echo in her heart, silently laughing at herself for how easily Lucy could sort through the mess that was her feelings. The blonde was right, Jellal wouldn't get lost again. She had given him her trust, he knew better than to betray it again. The only support she could give him right now was her belief, hoping for it to reach him, wherever he was. The rest was up to him, for Jellal to find his way back to her one day.

The blonde started to play with her hand, straightened the fingers out and examined each one attentively, taking advantage of one of the rare times when they were not encaged in the Requip mage's armored gloves. Erza turned her head to watch Lucy. She had seen her countless times in the light of dust before, the blonde's beauty never failed to leave her in awe.

If I say I care about you, would you leave me too, Lucy? Or would you be the one who stays?

Erza closed her eyes and sighed, shaking away the heavy thoughts. Only time could tell now. And she had all the time in the world to wait.

"This is the perfect time for that lecture you have on my tendency to sacrifice myself. I did promise you I would listen, didn't I?" Erza said with a grin.

The blonde chuckled, recognizing her attempt at trying to lighten up the mood, "It can wait for when we are back at the guild. I want both Natsu and Gray to listen so they can report to me whenever you try to do it again. We need to break you out of that habit soon, Erza."

"I'm already shivering in fear."

Lucy hummed, not concerned in the slightest, "Do you know what else I found out about you in the past few days?"

"What?" The redhead was intrigued.

"Guys just flock to you naturally." The bluntness of that statement made Erza laugh out loud.

"Oh gosh, you noticed it too? Usually, I just don't pay any attention to it, otherwise I would have headaches all the time, which is really inconvenient."

"Only a blind person could ignore how those men in Pegasus kept navigating close to you."

"Really?" Erza smiled amusedly, "I thought Hibiki was with you the majority of the time? Are you sure it was me who he was looking at? He is on your list of boyfriend materials or something, isn't he?"

The blonde flushed bright red, "No! It was not my list! It was the Weekly Sorcerer's ranking. I don't have anything to do with it! Besides, I kind of already have my eyes on someone else."

Erza straightened herself up at this news, "Is that so? You like someone? Does that person go to our guild? Do I know him or her? What are they like? Are they a good person? What kind of magic do they use? Wait, are they even a mage?"

Lucy only shook her head at her questions, "Calm down, Erza. I'm not answering any of that. It's still new to me, and I need to be certain about my feelings first. I will tell you when the time is right, okay?"

"Alright, if you say so." Erza pretended to grumble, pushing away the curiosity nagging at her head.

Just one more thing to wait for, then.

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A/N: I do like Jellal. He is a kind person at heart and a great match for Erza. But Lucy could be good for Erza too, in her own way, and that is the direction I am taking with this story.

Still, Jellal is a big part of Erza's character development, similar to Lyon for Gray or Lisanna for Natsu. I need to work through Erza's feelings for him first before we can officially set sail on the Erlu ship.

Votes and comments are welcome!