A/N: Hello readers! Thank you all for your fav's, Follows and reviews! I Love you all. In the platonic, non-romantic way of course. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. It took me two months to finish. That's right, I wrote this before I even published chapter 1. Also, GOMENNASAI, I forgot my disclaimer on the previous chapter. And so:
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail, its characters and settings are the soul property of Mashima Hiro. This is purely a fanfic.
Chapter 2
Twenty minutes after leaving the Fairy Tail Nightclub, Jellal, Erza and the others arrived at the Phantom Lord Pub & Theater. It was where Simon's body was found. Jellal saw Natsu run to a dumpster and empty himself, apparently he had serious motion sickness. Jellal saw Ultear approaching, and when she saw Erza and the other Fairy Tail members, she flinched and called him over.
"What are they doing here?" she whispered to him.
"Don't worry," he replied, "they're private investigators. They've come to help."
"There's more to this than that Jellal. I know you. Spill it."
"The red haired one," Ultear peeked around Jellal to see, "she's one of the victim's old friends."
"That makes her one of your old friends. Old flame perhaps?" she asked as she peeped around his other shoulder.
"Something like that. I'll tell you later."
"That you will…" she gave a sudden gasp and hid behind Jellal, "What about Gray?"
"You know him?" she nodded, "well, he's actually one of the red head's friends. So be nice, no matter what he did to you."
"He didn't do anything to me."
"Good, then he shouldn't bother you." He said, sighing in impatience. "Now could you take us to the crime scene?"
"Oh yes, follow me." She took point, making sure Gray doesn't see her face.
She led them to an area cordoned off by crime scene tape. There was a body on the floor, covered by a body bag. Jellal crouched down and slowly unzipped the top of it so that he could see the face. There was no doubt about it, this was Simon. He waved for Erza to come take a look. She crouched down next to him. Simon's face was pale, and there was some dry blood at the edge of his mouth, otherwise his face was untouched. Erza started crying again and leaned on Jellal's shoulder. He slowly closed the bag.
"How did he die?" Jellal asked Ultear.
"Well, it was slow and painful. That much we know." She said, seemingly forgetting her need to hide from Gray "The murderer wanted it that way. Sick bastard. There was something artificially inserted into his stomach, we know that whatever it is, it was inserted while Simon was alive."
Jellal helped himself and Erza up. He turned to Natsu, Lucy and Gray. "Go question some witnesses, Erza and I will stay here with Ultear." The three nodded and made off.
XXXX
Erza sat next to Jellal on the back of a pickup truck. She felt his presence like a heavy cloak. It was suffocating her, but it was also reassuring, it protected her from the metaphorical hail and rain caused by Simon's death. Jellal didn't cry. It has been a long time since he cried, she could see it. Ultear came and stood next to her, giving her a coffee.
She took a sip and looked at Ultear. Ultear was staring blankly at her own coffee. Jellal stood up and walked to wall nearby. Just out of earshot. "Have you ever seen him cry?" Ultear asked her.
"Once." She replied, "A long time ago."
"You two must be close then." She said. "I've known him for eight years, and I've never seen him cry. I thought maybe tonight, but still nothing."
"That's interesting." replied Erza, "I thought you two were close too."
"Close like a couple?" she laughed, "No, we've never been more than friends. He always seems so lonely, like me and Meredy are his only friends, I know Simon used to be his friend, but something tore them apart." Erza swallowed hard. She knew what that 'something' was. "He also told me about some other friends. Sho, Milliana, Simon's sister Kagura, Erza and Wally, but that group split up when he and Simon split. Which one would you be?"
"I'm Erza, Erza Scarlett." Erza replied. Then she heard an announcer from inside the Phantom Lord Pub & Theater.
"That moronic owner," Ultear said looking towards the pub entrance, "I told him to close the place for the rest of the night. If you'll excuse I have something to tell that dumbass about disobeying police orders." She stormed off.
"Let's go check up on the others while she's busy." Jellal suggested walking forward. She nodded and followed.
XXXX
Gray looked down at the blunette he had been sent to question. She was beautiful; he could see it beneath her sad and gloomy emo exterior. He needed to question her but his head wasn't really with him at the time.
He was thinking about his past. And the cruel fate that had him meet his foster sister Ultear after nine years. He remembered the last time he saw her.
Flashback
He was screaming his lungs out. Lyon was passed out next to him, and Ultear was trying to calm him down, though she herself was crying. They had just seen Ul, his foster mother, get murdered in front of their eyes. The man had broken into their house and Gray, being a foolish ten year old, tried to stop him. Ul interfered just in time to save his life, losing hers in the process. Ultear used a baseball bat to get the intruder out of the house. Lyon fell down the stairs when he saw Ul die.
Minutes later Lyon woke up. He swore revenge on Ultear, Gray, and the burglar for Ul's death, and then he ran out. Ultear stood by the doorway screaming for Lyon to come back. Gray ran forward. Ultear took him by the shoulders, 'Bring him back Gray, Please.' Gray promised and ran. But he never came back. With or without Lyon. He had left Ultear all alone in that house with Ul's body. He had abandoned his last family. And he regretted it ever since.
End Flashback
"Private Investigator-sama?" the voice of the witness pulled Gray back to reality. "Private Investigator-samaaaaa?"
"Yes?"
"Juvia has two questions."
"Shoot."
"Firstly, why are you staring at Juvia like that?"
"I got lost in thought. And the second question?"
"You don't have to lie to Juvia if you think Juvia is very beautiful, Private Investigator-sama, but don't you get trouble for flirting with witnesses?"
"I'm not flir… Just tell me what the second question is."
"Ok. Why is Private Investigator-sama naked?"
Gray looked down at his nude form, and jumped backwards covering himself. He frantically looked around for his clothes. But when he turned around, he heard the witness say "Private Investigator-sama as a cute butt." He saw his clothes in a corner and quickly put them on.
He turned back to her, trying to conceal his awkwardness through a calm demeanor. "Now, let's start with the basics, your name and what you were doing here."
"Juvia is Juvia, Juvia's surname is Lockser. Juvia was here to sing one of Gajeel-kun's beautiful songs, but Juvia was late. Juvia is an aspiring singer, who wishes to be an Idol like Hatsune Miku someday."
"Right. Would you mind telling me the events relevant to the case?"
XXXX
Natsu was staring his witness down. The man with the piercings irritated him immensely.
"Why are you laughing you muffler loving matchstick?" the man said.
"Because you said you were about to sing, metal head!" replied Natsu.
"I don't write metal songs punkie."
"My hair isn't pink, it's salmon!"
"I said PUNKY! Are you deaf too!?"
"Not as death as you're gonna be when I'm done whooping you, songwriter gay-ass!"
"You are deaf! You think your something just because you're a private investigator? I could Private Investigate circles around you!"
"That's easy! Circles are round!"
"Wanna go, dumbass?" Natsu and the witness said at the same time. That's when Lucy came in, and saw them pulling up their sleeves, about to fight.
"Natsu!" she said, distracting Natsu enough to get a good whack in the face. He growled and looked at Gajeel. "Stop fighting! Both of you!" They immediately stopped. "While the two of you were getting along so splendidly, I interviewed three people. Three! And I know you were Natsu's first witness."
Natsu felt like a real dolt. Lucy Had shown him up. It was his mistake for getting distracted.
"Are you going to follow me forever?" they heard Gray's voice. Then he, followed by one of the witnesses came out of the shadows.
"Yes Gray-sama, Juvia will follow you forever!" The witness said. Natsu almost started giggling but Lucy gave him a death stare.
"Are you done with your questioning yet Gray?" Lucy asked impatiently.
"Yeah, I questioned my two witnesses." He replied, while trying to get Juvia's attention elsewhere.
"Then, let's put our statements together to get the whole story." Lucy said excitedly, giving an evil, baby like giggle.
XXXX
Jellal and Erza slowly made their way to their destination. Jellal thought about the case, Ultear said it was aimed at him. It was common knowledge that he was the police's lead detective on the case, very few people knew of his friendship with Simon. The list of subjects was narrowed: Sho, Milliana, Simon's sister Kagura and Wally. But why would one of them?
Flashback
Simon was sitting across Jellal. He moved his black queen to B4. Jellal looked at the board; there was a Knight nearby, ready to take down the Queen. A killing Blow. White Knight to B4. Check. Simon moved his Black king out of the Knights range. Jellal played a pawn forward. Simon immediately took it out of play with a bishop, which was what Jellal wanted. He took out the bishop with his own queen. Checkmate, his win.
"You always beat me at this Jellal." Simon complained, "I don't even know why I try. It's bloody useless."
"Don't say that. I'm a champion at this remember." Jellal said, smiling, "I bet you could beat most other people by now."
"Probably. But it's you I want to beat. And not only at this."
"Oh, there are other things. Would you mind naming them?" Jellal asked while packing away the chess set.
"Baseball, swimming, football etc."
"Sports, but I've never really enjoyed them though."
"Yet you still beat me in them? Don't lie."
"I do not lie. Anything else you would like to beat me in?"
"Many things. You always seem to get woman to swoon over you, for one."
"A woman's heart is her own Simon. One day you'll find someone special."
"I already love someone."
"Pray tell…"
"Well, I have always felt attracted to… uhm… Erza."
End Flashback
No. Jellal knew this was not the time to dwell on the past. Erza and Jellal neared Natsu, Lucy, Gray and some other people they did not recognize. He ignored the people he did not recognize and asked Natsu, "What do you have for us?"
XXXX
Hours Earlier, Phantom Lord Pub & Theater.
Gajeel, an aspiring songwriter had been waiting twenty minutes for his star to get there. The manager of the club threatened that neither Gajeel nor his star, Juvia, would ever be able to show their faces in any respectable place of the arts in Japan ever again. He needed a show, and he himself was his own last option. Juvia arrived around this time.
Juvia saw Gajeel make his way towards the stage with an old guitar with him. She was about to stop him when they heard a large crash behind the theater. Gajeel, Juvia and several others ran to the back to investigate. The announcer announced a technical issue. When they exited the building they saw an overturned dumpster. The manager was about to walk in completely ignoring the overturned dumpster when Gajeel grabbed him by the shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Dumpster this size ain't gonna overturn itself."
They heard a groan coming from the dumpster. They ran forward and Gajeel pulled an ailing Simon out of the garbage. He was shirtless with a large badly stitched scar on his stomach. On his right side there was something scratched in: "Whose eyes are those?" On his right side there was another message: "For Jellal Fernandez, signed an OLD friend." Simon grabbed Juvia with his last strength. He pulled her closer and whispered "Call… police." He gasped his last breath and Juvia ran to make the call using a local payphone.
XXXX
Jellal nodded. "Do the stories check out?"
"They do," Lucy answered, "All the witnesses gave the same story."
Jellal walked deeper into an alley. He leaned his arm against a wall. He knew these stories were inconclusive. All it told him was that Simon was alive when they found him. The "Whose eyes are those?" lined proved it was a New Gen case, and the other lined proved it was meant as a personal attack. Ultear told him all this over the phone. Except that he was still alive.
"That's inconclusive," he heard Erza say. "Stay with the witnesses until Jellal and I return. We have to go ask Ultear if she has any new Information." He had given up hope too easily. He had forgotten his partner, maybe she had found something more conclusive in the time since he and Erza had left.
He and Erza took off in the direction Ultear had stormed off to before. Then they heard the Theaters presenter announce another act. "And now, give it up for the musical stylings of FES and her band, Phantasm!" The crowd went wild.
Jellal heard a female's voice over the speakers. "The return of the chosen son nears. We will be performing an ode to him. We give you, Crucifixion of Faith."
"I'm not a fan of this music," Erza said, looking at her feet. Jellal knew she was trying to distract herself. He needed some distraction too, distraction that didn't bring up painful memories, so he joined in the conversation.
"Not a fan of alternative?"
"It's not that I dislike all alternative, but some of it gets pretty dark. Especially bands like Phantasm."
The music started in the background.
"You know Phantasm?" Jellal asked.
"They've made one or two appearances at the Fairy Tail club." She replied. "Listen to the lyrics."
FES's voice resonated over the speakers as she sang {Translated from the Japanese}:
"The light known as safety, took endless amounts of blood from the people." "The Alliance under the name of god disappeared without resistance, turning into flesh and blood at the signal of a chime." "The lamplights dimmed one by one with the blessings that came with it." "The chosen son of god, at the instant when offering himself." "Certainly at this very moment Gurajiooru of the ancient times, clad in crimson shades of right and wrong." "The fallen sheep lost both their eyes." "Countless grey needles shaped like crosses, the blood red colored baptism;" "A crucifixion of Faith"
"She has a beautiful voice," Erza said, "But the lyrics…"
"They're terrible, full of scenes of blood, like a murder." Then he couldn't stop himself asking, "Is she describing the crucifixion of Christ, as in the Christian Bible?"
Erza gave him a questioning look. "An interesting concept Jellal," she said after a moment, ", but no. She is interested in the occult; I believe the song is a description of an ancient occultist ritual.
"That's even scarier," Jellal said.
"By the way," Erza asked, "How did you get into the club?"
"Well," Jellal asked confused, "I asked the cab driver to take me to the busiest club in the district. And he took me there."
"Busiest club?" Erza asked, "That can't be right, Fairy Tail Club is exclusive. No more than 50, at the most."
Jellal gasped. "Exclusive, 50 members? Why would he?"
"And how did you get past the guards?"
"Guards? There weren't any guards."
"Then where could Levy, Jet and Droy be?"
They heard a gunshot, and a scream, coming from the direction they were headed.
"Ultear!" Jellal said and ran forward, Erza following close behind. They rounded a corner and saw Ultear lying on the ground, blood seeping from the wound in her upper leg. Jellal lifted her head and leaned her against a wall.
"What happened?" he asked, as Erza handed him her shirt sleeve, which he proceeded to tie around Ultear's leg.
Ultear groaned in pain, "The manager," she said thru raspy breaths, "He's gone friggin' insane; I was busy talking to him when he pulled out a gun and shot me before running into the left alley." Erza ran down the left alley, and Jellal was about to follow, but he stopped when Ultear grabbed his hand. She took her Glock out of her holster and put it in his hand. "Take this." she said.
"I have mine." He lied. He had distaste towards weapons, and felt that after quitting time, he had no need for his gun, as he was a citizen then and it is illegal to own a gun in Japan unless you are an officer of the law.
"No, you don't." she said. "You're a bad lie; you always leave your gun in the office when you go home. You didn't make it to the office today either, so you don't have your gun."
He took the gun, and ran after Erza. He was out of earshot when Ultear whispered "Good luck, and don't die, for her sake."
XXXX
Erza followed José into the ally. He was on his knees, bowing to a gruesome scene in front of him, mumbling "Gurajiooru, Gurajiooru…" Erza hid behind a nearby dumpster. José's prayer idol was Droy... Dead and pinned to the wall with "Countless grey needles shaped like crosses" She noticed something to the right of José's prayer idol. It was a man in a white suit, pinning another person to the wall. Erza recognized the person being pinned to the wall as Levy.
She slipped her throwing knives out of their packet. But before she could do anything, she felt a tear escape her eye. Three friends in one day were too much for her. She heard a soft female groan, and saw Levy move, oh so slightly. She had to stop the white-suited man, before he could kill Levy. She quickly threw a knife at the man, but the tears in her eye must have affected her aim, as she only cut his shoulder slightly, and cut of some of Levy's hair, but it was enough to get him to bolt.
She was about to run after him but José stood up and pointed his gun at her. "One more step and I blow your fucking brains all over the fucking wall bitch!"
"Go ahead." she said. Levy moaned at hearing that, causing José to point at her.
"A better target perhaps?" said José, grinning widely.
"Don't you dare," Erza said. He cocked the gun. "NOO!" She screamed!
She looked at Levy, and then back to José, she saw his gun flare. She heard two shots and a man scream her name. Then she felt a thud to the back of her head, and the world went black.
A/N: Thus ends chapter 2 of delusions. Hope you enjoyed! Remember to follow, favouritise and Review. And also to readers like miere who want to know more about certain parts of the story, I know it's irritating, but I write cliffhangers to keep you coming back for more. Geehee. Also thanks to my li'l sis Gruvia rocks for advertising my story, but I wanted a Google bomb. Heheh, joke. Also readers, check out my poll about an upcoming Angel Beats Story I plan on doing.
Greetings
The Captain
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Mashima Hiro! No ifs', ands' or buts'.
