Chapter 6

The cake killer, as they've been dubbed, was dressed in all black. Their face was concealed and they were actually pretty stealthy, but Archer could tell that they were shocked. They were not expecting to find anyone awake in the establishment. After close observation Archer determined that the vandal was male. 

"Hello there" Archer calmly approached the man with a hidden smile. Her eyes, as per usual revealed nothing. Behind her, Erza stood on guard with her sword drawn. She wasn't feeling an ounce of sleepiness. All thanks to the magic resisting sword apparently. "I am Archer of Fairy Tail and I have been hired to catch you. I would like to ask you to hand yourself over to prevent unnecessary violence "

The man was quiet for a moment. As if he was debating whether or not he should go along with Archer's suggestion. Of course he did not. They were but children. It didn't matter if they belonged to a guild or not. It didn't even matter that they somehow resisted his sleep magic. He didn't rely on his magic. He had a weapon. 

His sword was drawn and Archer sighed, her hands in her pockets. 

"Would you like to test your sword against an opponent, Scarlet? "She asked as she glanced over her shoulder. 

Erza eyed the sword in her hands before looking to Archer. She nodded and stepped forward. She would be more than happy to see what the sword could do and if it increased her fighting ability in any way. The weight would most likely allow her to move faster, which means more mobility.

Archer stepped back to observe. If things got out of hand she could always step in and put a stop to it. She was certain Erza could handle her opponent on her own. She was strong enough and very skilled when it comes to swords. Her opponent didn't even have the right stance to accommodate the weapon. It was obvious he did not use it much. 

Erza adjusted her position. The new sword allowed her more freedom of stance. She eyed her opponent carefully. She could see the errors in his stance. She was calm and kept her breathing steady. She couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips. It had been some time since she had a good sword fight. 

The man made the first move. He was fast and swift. His sword was brought down on the calm Erza. She didn't move. She would meet the attack head on. She gripped her sword tighter as she awaited the perfect moment. 

And she moved. Slightly. Her feet slid smoothly across the floor as her arms followed. Her sword was directed at the incoming sheet of iron. Her movement was fast and precise. The phoenix sword cut through the other like buŧŧer. It left a trail of red in its wake as she did. Apparently the sword had an area of effect ability, for not only did it slice through a sword like buŧŧer, but it slashed her opponet straight in the ċhėst. But oddly enough, there was no blood. 

The man was frozen in shock as the pain in his ċhėst registered. It was excruciating. He looked down, but found no blood. It felt as if the sword had made contact with him. The pain was real, so how was there no wound? He didn't know and could not form the words to ask, for his legs gave out and he tumbled to the ground. 

Erza blinked in shock as she eyed the unconscious man. 

"What? "

"Magic is the physical embodiment of the spirit. When the physical spirit of an organism connects with the spiritual flow of nature, the spirit forms Magic as a product of the connection " Archer had started to study the passed out vandal. The sword worked perfectly. "If you disrupt either one you effect someone's magic. And seeing as magic is connected to our life force, interfering with it would naturally  have some drawbacks "

The man was alive. His magic was disrupted and would take some time to recover. A day or two should be enough. If he tried to use it anytime sooner it wouldn't work out so well. 

"The sword disrupts magic"

"Among other things" Archer took the man by the collar and easily dragged him to a nearby chair. She placed him on it and equipped herself with some rope to securely bind him to the wooden chair. She pulled off his mask and put it aside before stepping back. She recognized the face. 

"Scarlet, isn't this man a famous baker or something? "

Erza sheathed her sword and came to stand beside Archer. Despite the darkness of the room she could clearly see the man's face and he was indeed a baker. He was supposed to take part of the contest in a couple of days. He's known for his odd looking cakes that taste absolutely heavenly. No one compared to him until Elena opened her bakery. 

"That's Mr. Rourke. Owner of Oddities Bakery" Erza informed. 

"I'm going to ȧssume he's one of the participants of the baking event coming up? "

Erza nodded. "Mrs.Claire is his biggest threat. He hasn't won since she showed up"

"Ah, I see. An act of jealousy and rage. With her out of the competition the victory would easily go to him"

Again Erza nodded. 

Archer sighed and made sure the baker was secured. It was late and she would very much like to fall into a bed and see what happens. So she pulled a pen and paper out of nowhere and proceeded to write a letter. After it was fully crafted she attached it to the unconscious baker's forehead and turned to leave. 

"Let's go, Scarlet"

"We're leaving him there? "

"He's restrained and can not escape without someone untying him. Besides he won't be waking up anytime soon" Archer held open the door for her companion. 

Erza said nothing as she followed after Archer. They had booked a hotel room earlier in the day. It was luxurious, something Erza wouldn't bother with. But it was the last available room. Archer happily paid for the suite. She was obviously looking forward to the room. They would have to share a room. That fact had Erza anxious. She wasn't used to such things. She didn't want to share a room. What if she had a nightmare? She didn't want Archer to see her waking up in panic and tears. She'd ask questions. Her opinion of her might change. She would be judged. 

The two arrived at the hotel in no time at all. Archer checked them in and they silently went up to their ȧssigned room. Archer was the first one in the room. She let out a satisfied sigh as she threw herself on the massive sofa present in the room. She closed her eyes and sunk into Its soft folds. 

"You can have the bed" she mumbled as she started to remove her jacket. Her shoes were kicked off soon after. She felt good. She didn't know when sleep would kick in, but she was very much relaxed. 

Erza looked to the bed that was offered to her. It was a king size bed. She then looked back To the sofa. It wasn't small, just big enough. Shouldn't Archer take the bed? She's the one who paid for the room. It would only be fair. 

"Shouldn't you take the bed? "

Archer hummed, still face planted in the sofa. "I like this Sofa. Take the bed" 

~~~~~~

Archer wasn't aware of how long she had been asleep. It was nice while it lasted. She couldn't remember the dream, but she knew it was pleasant. However she was awake and quickly sat up. What had awoken her? Her ears were very sharp and she was easily woken up when she heard trashing and crying. She was on immediate alert. It was Erza. Nightmares. 

Immediately Archer sprung out of her sofa and made her way to the massive bed in the room. 

"Erza"  She called gently as she climbed on the bed and towards the redhead. "Erza wake up, it's a nightmare"

It took a few minutes for Archer to get her awake. When Erza opened her eyes to see her an unrecognized emotion flashed through her eyes and she looked away from Archer in shame.  Archer only sighed and used my thumb to wipe her tears away. This seemed to shock Erza a bit and she looked back at Archer. 

"Are you ok? " Archer asked and then realized what a stupid question that was. "Of course you're not, you just had a nightmare, what a stupid question" she scolded herself. Why would she ask such a thing? "Do, do you need anything? I can get you some water, or milk or a strawberry cake, I'm sure there's some around here somewhere" she looked around and spotted the mini fridge in the corner. Perfect. It should have some treats in there. Hopefully there was something strawberry flavored. She was about to get up to go get Erza something when the redhead tugged on her scarf. She looked back at her confused and met pleading eyes. Red ones softened and she climbed back in bed. Without a word Erza moved herself closer to her and buried her head in Archer's ċhėst. She was gripping onto Archer's scarlet scarf as if it was her life force. After a few seconds of uncertainty Archer gently wrapped her arms around her and pulled her closer. She rested her chin on the other's head and started slowly stroking that red hair of hers. 

Archer didn't tend to show physical affection very often. She didn't know why it made her a bit uncomfortable at times. So having Erza hug her was a bit of a shock. Despite her odd discomfort with physical affection she had to do something, didn't she? 

She sighed as she increased her grip on the redhead. It wasn't so bad. Pretty nice actually. Comforting and warm. Erza was quiet. She still had a tight grip on Archer's scarf and didn't move. Her sobs had stopped and she just enjoyed Archer's warmth. She was very warm. Warmer than one normally is. Maybe it should have concerned her, but she was very much enjoying it. 

She had nightmares again. The one thing she feared would transpire on her first mission with another person. Of course she had a nightmare. She missed them. She missed every one of them. She wished she could help them. She could tell the magic council. They would do something immediately. But she couldn't. He would hurt them. And he was strong enough to do it. She could only stay away. It was the one way she knew to keep them safe. They must hate her. The thought crushed her. 

"Are you feeling a bit better? "Archer asked softly. She didn't know what to say and decided that such a question was appropriate for the situation. She wasn't one to be put in such situations. Where she needed to comfort someone. 

She received no verbal response, just a nod. A sigh of relief left her at that. She was happy to be able to help in some way. She was curious. She was very sure Erza's nightmare was about the tower of heaven. About Sho, Millianna, Simon, Rob. Jellal. It was already determined that things had changed  somewhat. Originally Jellal had dubbed Erza as Scarlet because of her hair. That obviously didn't happen. Archer wasn't suspecting such a thing. She wondered what else could have changed. 

"Why are you so warm?"

Erza's question made Archer laugh a bit. Erza sounded genuinely curious and had such an innocent voice. It was as if she hadn't been crying some minutes ago. 

"Because I'm Archer"

"That is not a proper answer"

"Yes it is"

"No, it is not "

Archer sighed. "Fine. Tell me, do you know of dragon slayers? "

"It's lost magic that was created four hundred years ago. It was a way of giving humans power so they could help in the war of dragons. Not many know about them" Archer explained. "God slayers exist as well along with devil slayers. Those are also known amongst very few"

Erza remained quiet and listened. Was Archer one of them? 

"And then we have the Phoenix. There are no slayers of these creatures. People don't even believe they exist or existed. They're very mystical beings that like to keep to themselves. They don't like too much attention. People don't notice them. They walk amongst them freely. Taking on their shape. Human. They look like humans. They function as such. "

Archer brought a hand to the air and smiled under her mask. Slowly flames the color of her eyes danced elegantly on her fingers. When she turned her hand slightly the flames became blue. They jumped to green. It took on many colors until it settled on silver. The small flames illuminated the dark room. 

"Those magnificent creatures are my family. I am a Phoenix. My flames burn hotter than that of a dragon. My elements far outclass those of any other. If someone dares try to take me down I'll only rise"

"For I am Archer Phoenix and I always rise from the ashes"