When the Lights Go Out

Gajeel was thankful for a few things:

1) It didn't happen during the lunch or happy hour ("dinner") rushes. 2) It was near month's end, so lots of people were out making rent money. 3) The strongest of them had already covered their rent and were busy not being busy (being absolutely shitfaced) at the guild. 4) Wendy had been persuaded by all the super-late-night drunks to stay in the house and make sure no one blacked out. That one he was really freaking thankful for … they were going to start hurting each other eventually, and she would be needed.

Fried had felt it before it happened. It was the only bit of luck they'd had so far. Because the green-haired bastard felt the confinement spell spreading over the building, he was able to slow it and alter it … somewhat.

He abolished the condition that cut off their oxygen. Also, he was able to keep the communication lacrima functional long enough to send two messages. The first to Cana, who was away on a job and could likely rally the other Fairy Tail members outside, and the second to the Council. Either this was another attempt by the Council to take them down, or this was another guild. If it was the latter then the Council was obligated to provide assistance.

Not that they would. Or that their help would be worth shit. But they couldn't say Fairy Tail didn't notify them later on when the inquiries were happening.

The rest of the confinement seemed to go as planned, though after the initial burst Fried lost track of the spell and couldn't tell them its full scope. It was an active spell, not passive like many of Fried's enchantments.

There was no light. None at all. Right away several of the others tried to create light, but everyone failed.

Then there was the echoing. It might just be the darkness, but he was pretty sure things sounded a whole lot different. There was a lot of talking. It was how they were keeping up with each other when no one could see. Even the cats couldn't see. It made him wonder if the condition was more blindness than darkness, but unlike the others, he wasn't speaking as much.

There were also the sounds that no one was owning up to. The low whistles. The humming. The almost unnoticeable tiny clatters and clicks.

Then there was impatience/paranoia/agitation. Fried had felt that one before he lost sight of the spell, and said it would be the most dangerous. They wouldn't know when it would set in, or how many of them it would affect. Fried said everyone would react differently, and it would probably be slow. Taking one or two at a time. That emotional enchantments were notoriously tricky and that some might not be affected at all.

But for those who were, the effects would be harmful for everyone. It would lead to fear and anger. Probably rioting. If they were truly unlucky – mass murder.

He'd be willing to bet some serious coin that the enchantment wasn't set to disperse until they were all dead. He was also certain that the spell had added a few players to this sick little game to help the killing along. In case they managed to overcome the paranoia and not hurt their fellow guild members. Like with the sounds, he could smell things that shouldn't be there with them.

He guessed that was why Wendy was sitting so quietly and still beside him. And so close. It wasn't like he and the kid were best friends. But she would smell the strangers too. She would also doubt without anything to back her up. The smell wasn't human or animal or anything like that. It was just … different and not them. So she sat on the bench beside him with the side of her hand touching his arm.

And he let her.

"If only we had a little light," the white-haired girl who wasn't from Edolas and whose name he could never remember said. Lizzy? Shit, it wasn't like he cared.

"A man doesn't need light!"

Shit. What a pain in the ass both of those siblings were. But mainly the oaf of a brother. The brother was an idiot.

Several people told the oaf to shove it … not sure if that was the impatience setting in or just the usual smart mouthed sort of response guild members offered the man-crazy giant.

"You don't want 'a little' light," he said and everyone close to him (except Wendy) gasped. He hadn't said a word after roll call. It had been two hours. "A little light will make long shadows. Make the effect of this even worse."

"Can't get worse," some dreary soul whined. Gajeel heard at least three people punch the fool as the bunny girl and a few others shrieked.

"You idiot!" Lucy cried. Others called him worse things. "You'll jinx us!"

Suddenly there was the smell of starfire and an unearthly wind. A low groan and labored breathing.

"Princess," a new voice said.

"Virgo. Have any of you found anything? Crux..." Lucy's voice was much weaker than it should be for just one spirit out, at least that's what he thought. He hadn't spent a whole lot of time with the chick or knew a whole lot about her type of magic, but still she'd done some shit. She took out that crazy Bixlow bastard. Twice.

"Crux is visiting other spirits, and their spirit mages if allowed. He will not leave the spirit world too often and tire you, princess."

"Have they been any help? Do they know anything?"

"Crux reports no spirit mages from any of the alliance guilds accept responsibility or knowledge of this occurrence. Loki is out, as you asked, Princess. He has found nothing. I will accept his punishment."

"No punishment, Virgo. Is there anything else?"

Lucy, it turned out, was going to be useful. With them locked down in the building, it seemed the spirit world was the only way to contact anyone outside. Through Lucy's spirits they could relay information to other spirit users, or even better Loki could operate on his own. Carrying messages, fighting inside or out, or tracking down their attacker.

"Capricorn has left on his own and is also looking. He thinks he will only have to pull on your power to exit the spirit world. He can remain here on his own for a day with no ill effects. But you won't be able to battle with us or call on any other gold key spirit. He will need you to travel, Princess.

"Loki says: Shadow Gear is outside. Lady Cana is two hours away. Master Guildartz can be here in a day. Macao will visit the Council. Laki yelled that the building is hers and that she would retrain it to free you, Princess. Blue Pegasus offered help."

"Okay. Thank you, Virgo."

"I await my punishment, Princess.

"No punishment, Virgo." The girl's sigh was indecipherable from a gasp. If he understood right, she had one spirit going in and out of the spirit realm using her power, another doing the same thing only using less power, and this creepy pink-haired maid all out at once.

"I will leave now, Princess."

"No! I … please tell Capricorn to check in every … every hour. I'll have … Crux do the same with me. I might need to fight. I don't want to be weak for a whole day."

Gajeel was shocked. That was surprisingly smart for the bunny girl.

"Anything else, everyone?" she asked.

There was a long quiet while people thought. But if they didn't ask he had to.

"Levi opened a door in an enchantment for me twice now. Can she rewrite a door into this one."

"Those runes are too powerf-" Fried started, but Lucy – tired or not – cut him off.

"Oh what do you know? She got you twice like Gajeel said. Obviously you're jealous. At the very least it won't hurt to ask. Besides, the runes are as dark as anything else in here. You don't know what's going to happen to rewrite them either. Might as well let her try!"

Gajeel was grinning. Quite gleefully. He'd never been fond of the enchanter, and as unsocial as he might be he still knew it was a dumb ass idea to insult a girl's best friend. They tend to get bitchy and vicious over shit like that.

After a few other requests and personal messages the spirit left. With her absence people were briefly contemplative. Even in that brief time, the enchantment was able to take an advantage. Silence consumed the place. Almost literally. The lack of sound felt moist. Acidic. It ate at his more sensitive nerves like the bile in a stomach or acid lakes in a subterranean cave.

"We'll do roll call again," Mirajane said in a pleasant voice. The feeling lingered somewhat, but not to the extent that it did before. It crowded around the edges of his ears. Lurking in the spaces between words, licking at his flesh, but unable to stand up to the kindness of Mirajane. "Let's see … This time we'll do it by when you joined, starting with the newest members:

"Pantherlily?"

"Here!"

Gajeel rolled his eyes, not that anyone could see. He was so obviously ex-military.

"Wendy?"

"I'm here!"

"Charle?"

"Yes."

"Gajeel?"

"Yeah."

"Juvia?"

"Juvia is present."

On and on it went. It wasn't the full roster, but he was damn impressed. Mirajane not only remembered who was in the building from the last roll call, but was able to name them in this order, seemingly with no thought at all.

The woman was smarter than she pretended to be.

"Erza?"

"..."

"Erza?" The pleasantness in her voice cracked showing the strength she was using to fight back the hungry silence. "Erza!"

"She's not here." That was the ice kid that Juvia was obsessed with. Gray. Thanks to roll call he actually knew the bastard's name. "She was at our table, but now ..."

"Erza..." several people called out. He heard chairs and tables grind against the floor creating a discordant harmony with whatever was clicking across the room. There were footsteps as people searched the room for her. But it was pointless. The only scent of her in the area was the lingering smell at the table with Gray and Natsu.

"Nothing."

"She's not here."

"Not in the pantry."

"Why the hell would she have been in the pantry?"

"Maybe she had to piss?" Natsu suggested.

"Who the fuck pisses in the pantry?" Gajeel couldn't help but respond.

Lucy huffed at the same time, "Without telling anyone?"

"Sure. You girls are uptight about stuff like that, right?"

"Natsu!" the combination of feminine voices raised in outrage were so in sync that he could not tell who spoke and who didn't.

"We'll have to assume that this is part of the enchantment," Master Makarov told them. Like Gajeel, he hadn't said much, but that meant he could calm them now. "We will send out two groups two check the rest of the building. Stay in your groups. If you find Erza but feel unable to bring her back, return as a group for help."

"I'm going!" Natsu and Gray shouted together.

"Of course. Natsu, Gray, and Happy; you will all take the back of the guild. Gajeel, Wendy, Charle, and Pantherlily; you will take the second floor." He paused, "But Lucy must stay here."

Gajeel didn't argue the order; they were the best choice for the mission. Stronger than many (that creepy fairy-eye bitch was completely useless with the darkness, for example). If they couldn't find and bring Erza back, they had serious problems. Larger problems than the clicky sound so clearly under his table.

Wendy's hand was clutching the two smallest fingers on his right hand. It sounded like some over-imaginative person's idea of what a strange insects feelers should sound like … but to him it was more like rolling dice in a closed fist.

Who knew what it sounded like to her; her hearing was better than his.

Anyway, the teams were the best way to go. It left plenty of strong people with the master in case something went down, and this was a trap to draw them away.

Lucy was complaining about not being able to go, but the old man set her straight. At the moment she was too important as their only means of communication. Gajeel could hear her sulking as he, Wendy, and their cats made their way upstairs.

Not very subtly the clicking divided. One click followed him and the girl. One click followed Salamander and the exhibitionist. And three clicks stayed in the hall.

He put his large knuckled fist on the kid's head. "I'd hold your hand, but I'm starting to think I'll need both of mine. You'll just have to deal, shortstuff."

"She doesn't need you babying her," Charle's sneer was sharp.

"Charle, he was trying to be nice. Please don't be so critical."

"Well, he certainly wasn't trying very hard."

When they made it up the stairs he immediately wished the Master hadn't sent the little girl with him. There was darkness, there was darkness, and there was this. Like the silence made physical before, this lightless hell seemed to exist on more than one level.

Thick and hard like solid stone, but more. Suffocating like wool. An empty nothingness that erased the parts of him he could no longer see. Sure he thought he could feel his own arm, but he also thought he could feel darkness too. What was real and what wasn't real was … debatable now.

"Gajeel," Wendy whispered, and a small hand curled around his elbow. Warmth flowed through his muscles. His fingers tingled.

"This is a hell of a lot more than a damn power outage."

"Amazingly astute." Charle's sarcasm didn't go unnoticed, but he ignored it anyway.

Whendy left her hand on his arm for a moment more before removing it. Again he couldn't help but realize that without his nose he'd feel … alone … for lack of a less wimpy word. He experienced a brief and unexpected stab of pity for all of the non-dragonslayers.

But then they probably trusted their ears more than he did at this point. And most of them were fucking idiots, afterall.

Erza was not upstairs.

Erza was not downstairs.

Gajeel was now beyond sure that there were things in the building with them. But none of them seemed to be Erza Scarlet.

Marajane took roll again (tallest to shortest; she attempted to inject some humor by calling the Master first and last … the attempt fell flat). No one else was missing. Yet. Gajeel was sure the 'yet' was necessary. Still, they were keeping better tabs on each other.

Then there was light.

Then there was Levi.

Author's note: This one will take a little longer than Plans and Execution did. No daily updates, I don't think. Class is back in session, and paper grading keeps me busy. Still, hopefully this will be interesting. Writing on the fly without any real preplanning … I hope this doesn't degrade into absolute crap. Please review!