**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters, they belong to Mashima
I'm categorizing this as a mystery/horror. Wasn't really sure if it belonged in the thriller or horror genre, so I decided to put it in the latter just to be safe. This will be a short (6-7 chapter) fic that will hopefully be finished around the same time as Fiery Jade (my next update) and The Size of His Heart.
On a side note, I'm closing out a bunch of projects this week, so hopefully after this week I'll have more time to work on some of my other stories. I really want to put some time into my NaZa fic as well as some of the other longer stories I'm working on.**
"Mira, another flaming whiskey please!"
Natsu Dragneel was at the bar, with Lucy sitting to his right and Erza to his left. Not too far behind him, Gray was at a table with Juvia, though the latter wasn't by the ice mage's choice. Mirajane smiled at the group, knowing they were in high spirits after another successful mission.
"We actually got to keep almost half the reward money this time," Lucy said with a wide grin. "And since this was a SS class mission, that means we've all got plenty of spending money now."
Mira couldn't help laughing at the blonde's statement. Almost half the money meant that the destructive group managed to spend over 5 million jewels to repair the damage they caused.
"We could've kept a little more if Wendy hadn't destroyed the clay art museum," Gray said with an amused chuckle. Mira glanced over at the blue-haired girl, surprised to see her cheeks redden in embarrassment, thus confirming Gray's statement.
"Yeah, that was great Wendy!" Natsu cheered. Trust Natsu to encourage the girl to be more destructive. "You're getting really strong!"
"Thanks Natsu-nii!" Wendy's blush deepened as Natsu praised her, but Mira noticed that she was now smiling instead of looking ashamed.
Natsu downed his fire whiskey quickly, and Mira giggled. Thanks to the dragon slayer's internal fire he could burn off enough alcohol to make the stuff near water by the time it hit his veins. Much to Cana's chagrin, since he could now rival her in drinking contests. The brunette often complained about the unfairness of it. After all, she'd been working so hard to build up endurance, and here Natsu just started drinking and didn't even have to build up resistance to it.
"Natshu," said drunk slurred. "I will win our nesht drinking contesht…"
"Yeah, yeah." Natsu waved her away.
Suddenly a cold, dark feeling came over Mira, and she felt a sinister presence, like slimy, freezing beetles were swarming over every inch of her body. She had to resist the urge to instantly run from the room in surprise and horror. From the way Natsu, Erza, Lucy, and Wendy all froze, she could tell they felt it too. Then the room became utterly dark for a mere instant. Before anyone could voice their shock or questions, the presence and the darkness disappeared, leaving a large silver platter with a silver cover on the bar.
"What… What the fuck was that?" Erza's voice held undertones of disgust, revulsion, and maybe even a hint of fear? Mira shook her head. The scarlet knight was afraid of nothing.
"I smell blood…" Natsu said, sniffing at the covered silver platter. "In fact, it's Jet's blood…"
For a long moment Mira stared at the platter's cover, not wanting to lift it after hearing this revelation from the dragon slayer. The guild was deathly quiet. Mira suddenly became aware that more people than just team Natsu were gathered around the bar. In fact, nearly the whole guild was there, their conversations ended at the sudden interruption of their peaceful day. They were watching the silver cover in front of them, all eyes filled with that same curiosity, shadowed by the fear of what awaited them when it was satisfied…
Summoning up all her willpower, Mirajane reached out and swiftly removed the cover. Her eyes went wide as an involuntary hiss of air escaped her mouth, the cover clattering to the floor with a clang that might as well have been a gunshot in the dead silence of the room. There, in the middle of a piece of paper, was an eye. Not a nice, clean eyeball that had been surgically removed. A bloody eyeball with chunks of flesh still clinging to it. The paper to which the eyeball was pinned contained some sort of message.
Wishing that Makarov were there, Mirajane slowly reached out to touch the very corner of the paper, as though trying to push the evil object as far from her as she could while angling it so that she could read it. And this is what she read:
We're gonna' play a little fairy game. The rules are simple, so listen well.
I have a member of your guild with me somewhere in the city of Magnolia. Your challenge is to find him in 24 hours. Every hour that you don't find him, you will receive another piece of his body to remind you that the game is still afoot. After 24 hours, his time will run out, and I'll start on another fairy.
Better get started fairies. Your 24 hours begins now.
There was no signature. The script was a simple, sloppy scrawl that bordered on illegible, crude and unrefined, but it got the point across. And that was that somebody was fucking with Fairy Tail. The gruesome sight before Mirajane was supposed to spread fear, but she felt only anger. Anger and determination to find and end this fucker who dared to harm one of her family. Looking around those closest to the bar, she saw the same sentiments on Natsu, Erza, Gray, Laxus, and Gajeel's faces. Wendy still looked shocked and horrified, and Lucy had fainted.
Erza quickly took charge. "Alright everyone, this is what we're going to do. Warren, you stay here at Fairy Tail along with Lucy, Wendy, Romeo, Macao, Wakaba, Laki, Levy, and Elfman. The rest of us will split up into groups and search Magnolia for this monster. S-class mages will go in groups of 2. A-B class mages will go in groups of no less than 4. C class or below will stay in the guild with the rest. Warren, you will be responsible for letting us know when and if more of these packages show up. You'll also be our main relay center for anyone in the search party. If you find something, make sure Warren knows immediately."
Having said her piece she grabbed Natsu by the wrist and pulled him off with her. "Let's go Natsu!"
Mira looked around, wondering who she should head out with now that Erza preemptively grabbed Natsu. After a few moments she made a decision. "Cana, let's go!"
Without looking back the barmaid headed out with her partner, who had sobered up pretty quickly. She knew there was no time to waste if they were going to find this creep and bring him to justice.
~~~~~~Natsu and Erza~~~~~~
The blood red rays of sunlight dripping into the quiet city brought no joy to Erza this day. Instead it merely painted everything red. Even the shadows of the shrubs and trees seemed to be cast in a red tint, staining the ground crimson beneath their feet.
Erza stopped, grabbing Natsu's arm to stop him as well, as they came to the city outskirts.
"What's going on Erza?" Natsu asked, turning to her with a slight frown.
"I forgot to divide the city up among teams," Erza said, feeling ashamed at her oversight. "So we'll have to find a way to let everyone know which area we've chosen to search."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense." The crimson of the setting sun seemed to taint the dragon slayer's onyx orbs a dark red, as though twin pools of blood stared back at her from within the milky substance surrounding them. Clearing her mind quickly of such thoughts, Erza bent to mark the road. A simple "N.D & E.S." with an arrow pointing in the direction she intended to take them. That would suffice.
"Alright, let's go." She murmured, grabbing the dragon slayer by the wrist again and leading him into the darkening streets beyond. She instantly turned right down the first alley that disconnected from the main street. "Keep alert for anything that looks, sounds, or smells out of place," she instructed. "And especially for anything that smells like Jet."
"You really didn't need to tell me that," Natsu responded as he sniffed the air behind her.
The town was quiet. Even the usual nightlife was very much diminished as they crept like shadows through the blood-red alley. The sun sank further, casting the entirety of earthland into deep red silhouettes as they proceeded, each step measured as they looked for clues about the person who would dare threaten their guild.
Finally the last tendrils of crimson light faded, leaving only blackness and the vague, flickering orange of street lamps in their place. Whenever they connected back to the main streets, the glow of the magic lights would illuminate the silent streets. On the few occasions that people passed them, they would nod or bow as a sign of respect and recognition, but no words were exchanged. It was as though the entire city of Magnolia lay on the brink of death, and people's hearts could sense the crimson weight that had settled on the town.
They had snaked their way through about 2 miles of town, going slowly to make sure they didn't miss any potential clues, when Warren's thoughts came through the telepathy. "We… We received his other eye." Was all he said. But it was enough. Erza shuddered as the memory of the first eye returned to her mind. She could still see the chunks of flesh still clinging to it, evidence that the eye was removed savagely without concern for the host. She could see the blood spattered on the letter that was scrawled in crude script.
And now, because she'd been unable to find this villain within the hour, one of her comrades had lost his other eye. She couldn't let this continue. She was Erza Scarlet, and she would find this criminal before he made his next delivery.
~~~~~~2nd Hour: Mirajane and Cana~~~~~~
Mira and Cana had barely covered a mile and a half when they received the first message. After seeing Erza's message, they'd quickly scrawled one of their own and began searching the dark alleys to the left side of Magnolia. But they didn't have the nose of a dragon slayer, so they were even more cautious not to miss any potential lead.
Cana was, thankfully, getting more sober as they continued their trek. Though part of the reason they were a little behind was the drunk's need to stop and purchase some drinking water at one of the stores they ran across on the main street. Now that her head was a little clearer, the card mage remembered that she had several cards that were useful for searches like these. Since then, the going had been a little faster, but even the magic of her cards didn't turn up anything.
Mira frowned, the memory of removing that lid from the platter replaying in her mind. Not for the first time she felt nauseated, not so much by the blood as by the sight of the eye, its blank expression seeming to stare at her, reproaching her for letting this happen to a member of her guild. And now her imagination could work the second eye in there. Both giving her a dead gaze. It's your fault I'll never see again…
They continued to work their way through the black streets, searching out the dark shadows cast in the alleyways, examining every inch of the buildings, especially housing areas, they passed by. Yet their search turned up nothing out of the ordinary. Magic scans detected no malicious intent in any of the houses, and Cana's cards continually told them that Jet was nowhere around.
Both knew better than to talk, and somehow it felt like the people they passed on the street did too. They were met with no spoken greetings. Even the small groups of teenagers wandering down the streets shuffled quietly, none of the usual noisy banter filling the air. Or perhaps it was just that the air was so heavy no noise that they made could penetrate it. The kind of air that could only be cut by thin shrieks of terror that pierced both heart and soul.
Mirajane could feel her inner demon's excitement mounting as she traveled through the quiet streets. That part of her that she always worked so hard to suppress. The part that wanted nothing more than to catch the bastard who was doing this to the guild and return the favor one tiny slice at a time. They didn't call her Demon Mirajane for nothing.
The patter of feet down the alley startled her, and she turned quickly toward the sound. Several feet away a pair of yellow-green eyes glared at her in the darkness, small yellow eyes set close to the ground. Then in another swift patter a large black cat dashed past her and on down the alley.
Even in her current adrenaline-hyped state, Mira was able to let out an amused chuckle as she considered her reaction to their feline visitor. But this was just one more dead-end in their search, and the end of the second hour was drawing ever closer…
As the search continued, clouds begin to swoop in on the city of Magnolia, taking away the refreshing pale light offered by the stars that once glimmered in the clear night sky. Even the moon's face was blotted out, so that aside from the street lamps that were rapidly turning off as the hour got later, the thick darkness that just seemed to drip evil reigned throughout the tired, village. As though death had finally descended after the bloodbath offered by the setting sun.
Now Mira's mind was beginning to go from eager to rise to the challenge to discouragement. A sentiment that was just strengthened when Warren's voice sounded in her head.
'Any leads out there? We just received another platter here, and this one contained a thumb…"
~~~~~~The 3rd Hour~~~~~~
"Natsu," Erza's voice cut into the dragon slayer's thoughts. "I just realized we've been going about this all wrong."
"What do you mean?" Natsu looked at the scarlet knight, cocking his head to the side curiously. He felt like they'd been making the best progress they could under the circumstances.
"Well, it's still only been a few hours since Jet was taken – probably no more than 5 or 6, right? So if we could pick up his trail…"
"Wow Erza, you're a genius!" Natsu said, snapping out of his growing depression at the chance to discover what became of his friend a new and different way. "Where should we start then?"
"Well," Erza said with a smirk. "If he was coming back to Magnolia, he would've had to pass through the train station…"
Natsu's face turned just a little green at the mere mention of a train, but he nodded and started running in that direction. It took about 10 minutes for the two to reach the Magnolia train station from their position, and Natsu sniffed the air intently.
"I got it!" He exclaimed as his senses picked up a faint scent that definitely belonged to the speed mage. They made it just in time, by his estimation. Any longer and the scent would be undetectable. Wasting no time, he followed the scent down the main street toward the guild.
They'd barely gone two blocks when the scent was abruptly joined by another, and Natsu wrinkled his nose up in disgust. This new scent was sickening, like worm-infested meat that had been decaying in the heat for a few days. It nearly drowned out Jet's smell, which Natsu was still trying to trace as it turned through the dark alley. But now a lot of his concentration was spent just trying not to vomit.
The scents only went a few steps into the dark alley before they disappeared completely. Natsu came to a halt, confused. How was this even possible?
"Natsu?" Erza asked, stopping behind him. "What's wrong?"
"The scent ends right here," Natsu said, knowing the confusion was still evident in his voice. "But there's nothing. Nowhere they could've gone from here…"
Erza looked around, her expression also puzzled. But to Natsu it appeared to be the expression of someone who was trying to solve a mystery, not someone who was stumped. After a few minutes of looking she spoke.
"Natsu, this alley is surrounded by tall buildings on all sides. Do you know what that means?"
Natsu shook his head, not sure where his long-time friend was going with this.
"It means there are probably shadows on this street no matter what time of day it is."
"How does that help us?" Natsu wondered aloud.
"Come on Natsu," Erza sounded a little annoyed now. "Surely you haven't forgotten how Rogue could use the shadows to move about as he wished…"
"Rogue would never do something like this!" Natsu was appalled that Erza could even think something like that. Sure, future Rogue had been a real jerk, but the Rogue that survived the Eclipse Gate fiasco was now one of Natsu's best friends.
Erza rolled her eyes. "I'm not saying it was Rogue, Natsu. But if Rogue has magic that allows him to use shadows to move about at will, perhaps there are other mages with similar abilities."
"Oh," Natsu looked away, embarrassed that he'd jumped to the conclusion he did. But before he could continue any further in that thought process, the little item that had been bugging him for the past several minutes suddenly made itself clear in his mind.
"Umm, Erza, we might have another problem."
"What?" Erza looked at him, now apparently confused again.
"Well, it's been bothering me since I picked up the scent, but I just put my finger on what it is. There's another scent mixed in with Jet's and this… thing… that took him. And it disappears here too."
Erza looked at him expectantly, not saying a word. Natsu gulped and sighed before speaking again. "It looks like Droy may have been taken too."
Erza frowned. "That's terrible news, Natsu. We need to report this immediately…"
"Can we get out of here first?" Natsu asked, working hard to keep his nausea from overcoming him. There was only so much of this vile smell that his dragon senses could handle.
"What? Why?" Erza looked at him quizzically, a frown still on her features. "What if there are more clues here?"
"Trust me there's nothing more here we can—" Natsu was cut off as his nose finally took over his senses and a stream of vomit escaped his mouth on to the dusty alley.
"Oh…" Erza straightened up. "Yes, we will go back to the main street."
Natsu sighed thankfully as they made their way out of the alley and away from that sickening smell. Once the air was clear, he found himself taking long, deep breaths to clear that foul aroma from his body. Yet the scent of death lingered in the stale air, permeating the darkness of the shadows around them.
Erza's voice made its way into his mind through the telepathy channel Warren had open.
'Alright everyone. Natsu and I have bad news. First, it appears that our psychopath is able to use the shadows to simply disappear with his victims. This will make it exceedingly difficult to find him. Secondly, unless Natsu's nose is wrong, which I will personally say it never has been, Jet wasn't the only one taken by this creep. Droy's scent was there too, which means we now have not just one life hanging in the balance, but two.'
There was silence for several long minutes on the telepathic channel before Laxus's "voice" came across.
'I believe we should complete the search and then regroup at the guild hall to plan our next move.'
'That seems wise to me as well,' Mira's voice echoed in their minds, grim and determined.
'That's what we'll do then,' Erza communicated, and then without another word she and Natsu returned to their former route, scouring the city for any sign of Jet's scent, or the decay-ridden smell of his captor.
~~~~~~23 hours 55 minutes~~~~~~
"I can't believe none of us found anything," Erza said as the wizards of Fairy Tail hovered around the bar area. Fairy Tail hadn't been this somber since the day the news of Acnologia's attack reached the members who were left behind. Quiet sobs were coming from Levy, who was currently being comforted by Gajeel. Lucy was also crying, as was Lisanna. Natsu's face was set in hard, angry lines. Gray's face was similarly angry. Elfman's face was somber, his eyes that usually sparkled with a man's spirit now pools of hopelessness.
Near the bar lay the morbid assortment of mementos the soon to be killer had left them. Two eyes, two ears, ten fingers, and ten toes, all with bits of cartilage, bone, or other flesh still attached to them. Everyone was dreading the next delivery. The one that was due any moment now. Even the bright torchlight that illuminated Fairy Tail couldn't alleviate the heavy aura of death that lay in the air.
"Dammit!" Natsu pounded his fist against the table, causing the grisly collection to jump with the impact. "Why couldn't we find this asshole? He needs to be brought to justice!"
"We will find him," Erza said darkly, her eyes shadowed as she thought of her comrade that she could do nothing to save. "And we'll make sure he's brought to justice."
Murmurs of assent were heard throughout the crowd, but before any more words could be spoken the room suddenly went dark again. When the light returned, a large, flesh-colored ball the size of a beach ball appeared on the bar in front of them. It looked like it was composed of skin, but it was pulsating in a rhythm consistent with a heartbeat. Natsu's nose instantly picked up the scent of Jet, and his dragon instincts warned him of what was coming next.
"Everyone get down!" He yelled as he ducked below the surface of the bar. Erza, Gray, Mira, Laxus, and Gajeel followed his example quickly. But the others were too slow to escape what happened next.
There was an odd sound like a sickening splat, and blood, organs, bones, and cartilage flew every which way. When Natsu rose above the bar again, Lucy was standing here, her mouth still open in shock as pieces of Jet's intestines dripped down her white and blue top. Elfman was furiously trying to wipe blood and other fluids from his clothing, and the other guild members who hadn't managed to duck were in similar situations. Levy was just standing there in shock, her arms, hands, and chest dripping with blood and other body fluids. Lisanna hadn't fared much better, and based on the odor of urine coming from her she'd been the recipient of what was left of the bladder. Bits of flesh stuck to all of them. To the chairs, tables, and even the rafters above them.
It was at that moment that the reality of what was happening hit everyone there. This wasn't a game. It wasn't something they could escape. People were going to die. And if they couldn't find the asshole who was responsible for this even more people were going to die.
Now many of the wizards of Fairy Tail wore expressions of abject fear, while others, like Natsu and Erza, reeked of disgust and anger. Natsu was determined that whoever dared do this to Jet was going to be found. And if he was the one who found him, there was no guarantee that the man would escape with his life.
It was in this prevailing mood that another platter suddenly appeared on the table before them. Gasps and choked sobs rose up all around them, and it was with a trembling hand that Mirajane reached for the lid and slowly lifted it off, revealing another mangled eye pinned to a note.
You Fairies know how the game works now. 24 hours is all you have. Fail to save him, and I will take more. One at a time the Fairies will disappear, back into legend where they belong.
Natsu clenched his fists as Mira finished reading this next note. This creep was gonna' pay. When he found him, he would make sure he suffered a fate worse than death.
Ok, I'm going to let you guys decide (to an extent) who dies in this story. I'll explain the limitations below.
First, I'm not putting up a poll, because I'm still trying to accumulate votes in my currently running poll on my next story.
Second, the following characters are not to be voted on because I already have plans involving them one way or another:
Natsu, Erza, Makarov, Gildarts, Laxus, Levy, Gajeel
Next, characters that have little to no manga time and characters that only appear in the anime will not be included. This isn't going to be a "kill off the no-name characters" fic.
And last, at least one person from Team Natsu (since Natsu and Erza are out, that leaves Lucy, Gray, and Wendy) will die, whether they are voted for or not. So if you want to have a say in which one it is, vote for one of them once chapters start progressing (or right away, if you want).
Anyway, that's it. Read, and don't forget to drop a review ;)