As promised, another chapter! The new one will be out soon!

Elfman barely breathe as he was looking at Gajeel, the chair held above his head, ready to hit the first person who would enter the room. His hands still tied, he couldn't do much. If he wanted to get out of there, he had to relay on Gajeel taking out the enemy and take the keys who would unlock the shackles.

The door finally opened. But rather than letting the chair violently drop on his target, Gajeel brusquely stopped his motion barely inches above the person's head. All the force he had placed in the motion, being brutally stopped, made him fall on the one Elfman recognized as the girlfriend of his companion of misfortune.

"Levy?" Asked Gajeel.

But he couldn't add a thing before his girlfriend fell into tears, too relieved to see him alive, sinking her already wet face into his chest. Elfman could see Gajeel hold on to the only person that could get that expression out of him. Even a man like the young Stauss could see how much he loved her. However, seeing them together made him think about another person, the latter being particularly important to him. HE blushed imagining Ever in that way but couldn't push his train of thoughts further until the subject of his daydream stormed into the room.

Their looks crossed each other. For a second, she froze, as if she had a hard time believing he was really in front of her. But even before he saw it coming, she was in front of him and... stated and innumerable series of hits whit her fan.

"You idiot! How dare you take a decision like that without considering what I think about it!"

"What the hell is your problem?" Exclaimed the young man who couldn't defend himself his hands still locked into his back. "You..."

And that's when the tempestuous young woman surprised him the most, muting him with her own lips. The young man's face never was that red before. Did Ever really just kissed him? When she broke contact, her face still so close to his, he noticed how red she also was. Evergreen, however, didn't let her embarrassment brake their eye contact, looking at him with intensity, tears menacing to fall from her large beautiful eyes.

"Don't ever pull something like that again, you hear me? We are partners so if one of us falls, we fall together!"

A smile took place on the man's lips. If he could take her into his arms right now, he would have done it but he could still feel the tightness around his wrists.

"I promise, Ever. I won't ever let you alone again."

Her face reddened even more.

"Don't call me that" she mumbles without any conviction.

"Tch. That's a load of bull!" Interrupted Gajeel, throwing Evergreen the keys Levy just gave him. "She is as convincing as you when I call you shrimp" he said to Levy.

The said shrimp threw him a stare that was supposed to look menacing but only managed to extract a characteristic "gihi" from her boyfriend.

Evergreen caught the keys, ignoring as best as she could Gajeel's comment and the fact that he was absolutely right. She knew Elfman would keep calling her that, and she knew she would always feel that glimpse of happiness hearing it from his mouth.

When the shackles broke open, Gajeel didn't waist a second to rush them towards the exit, pulling on Levy's hand without caring to wait for them. The young woman hated being rushed but swallowed that unpleasant comment knowing he was right to hurry. After taking a large inspiration, she started to walk to the door. But before she could reach it, someone entered the room. She was expecting Gajeel to rush her even more but rather felt her blood freeze in her veins.

"There is no way you're touching Ever again!" Exclaimed Elfman taking place between her and the subject of her nightmares, Thompson.

"I was anxious to finish you off" he replied to Elfman "but if I knew I would also have the pleasure of killing the girl who slipped through my fingers, I would have come earlier" he snickered.

She saw Elfman clenching his fists. As for Gajeel and Levy, she could ear struggle sounds from the outside. Their friends had their own combat going on. It only was Elfman and her against that monster who would, without a doubt, soon take his fallen form. The last time, Elfman had the surprise effect and the incomplete energy absorption playing in his favor. They sadly had none of those elements this time, Thompson probably being at his top right now.

As if to confirm her last thought, Thompson's traits became more and more animalistic and deformed. In little time, the captain standing before them transformed into the horrible beast that was a fallen.

Elfman took advantage of the situation to rush him, hopping is incomplete form would have a harder time against his strength. Part of her wanted to yell to stop, to stay as far from him as possible. The other was frozen, unable to know was she was supposed to do. Even they stayed away for a few more seconds, the only way out was the door blocked by Thompson. As for the large window, it only leads to a six-story fall and an inevitable death.

No! They had to fight! Elfman may have the infuriating habit of acting without thinking, he, at least, was doing something. It was when the fallen gripped Elfman's throat, despite that inhuman brute force of his, that Evergreen came back to life. No way she would stay useless once more as he was risking his life to save her.

The young woman took out the dagger she brought and jumped on the beast's back, getting close enough to stab the wrist holding Elfman and freeing him from its hold. She was then ejected on the ground by the creature who once was Thompson. Even though injuries didn't seem to affect fallen, slicing the muscle of his wrist had freed him. Once on the ground, Elfman gasping for air as he could now breathe again, he held his throat with both hands wincing in pain.

"Ah! You want me to start with you I see" said Thompson, a horrible rictus on his lips.

"In your dream!" she said with a courage she didn't know she had, raising once more her dagger.

Not in the very least impressed by her bravado, the fallen walked to her with confident steps. She, of course, knew her chances at survival where thin, but if it could leave some time for her partner to breathe normally again, she knew it would be a small victory for her.

However, no matter how she readied herself for it, the violent hit she got to the head seemed to empty her of all her energy. The world was spinning in front of her, but she couldn't allow herself to give up. She wiped the blood flowing from her lower lip before dodging a second blow, then another. She even managed to stab his flesh again. It was only a matter of inches for her to reach his neck but she noticed with helplessness she missed. Even worst, the fallen had reacted so quickly that she was propelled a few steps from him, the dagger still where she had planted it.

"Be a real man and stop attacking women!" Exclaimed the one she never was so happy to ear "man" from before.

Now on his feet, the man in question had tried to crush the fallen's skull with his combined two fists. A split second earlier and he would have succeeded. Much to both of their despair, all he caught was his shoulder. The young woman couldn't help a wave of nausea as the fallen jumped Elfman with his arm loosely hanging by his side in an unnatural angle.

The fallen's state didn't prevent him from throwing a vicious kick, making Elfman fly to the wall next to the window. The impact was so intense that numerous cracks were drawn on the wall, their enemy didn't stay on his appetite and he lifted the young man, smashing him once more on the broken wall which crumbled this time making a large hole in it.

During an instant, a horrible instant, Evergreen thought that Elfman had fallen. But when the dust dissipated, she saw him, laying at the fallen's feet, the latter ready to end him for good. His eyes pleaded her to take advantage of the distraction to run away and save herself while Thompson took care of him and Evergreen knew the only thing preventing him from saying it at loud was the promise he just made her.

But it was out of question she would let him sacrifice himself once more for her. It was her turn. In the end, it would be her who would give her life to save him and, strangely, the thought of saving him was enough to appease her and to encourage her putting her plan into action. She didn't have Elfman's strength nor Gajeel's natural armor. Her own power was barely useful, but there was a way.

So when the fallen rose his claws, ready to let them hit Elfman, she threw herself at the one who stood just beside the precipice. Just like expected, Thompson didn't expect such an attack, the only way of pushing him strongly enough was to fall with him. She smiled as she was in free fall. Even a fallen wouldn't survive that.

Ever closed her eyes, not wanting to see the ground closing up to her. But she stopped, way before she expected it, still alive. Uncertain, she opened her eyes. She first saw a large hand on her wrist, preventing her to fall to her demise. Then her look wandered higher till she could see the one she wanted to save so much, the one she loved. She then risked a look on the ground, where Thompson's body, now in human form, laid lifeless.

After being pulled back on firm ground, she felt herself being crushed against his large torso, staying there for a moment before backing up a little.

"Idiot!" He told her. "If you fall, I fall, wasn't it? So don't you dare fall..." he let out, starting to regain his composure once he realized they both survived the attack.

"I promise" she let out, sinking into the hug he just renewed.