Butterfly Part Four

Freed was supposed to be putting up a barrier in the street, but he couldn't concentrate. His hand shook and the runes swam before his eyes.

"Hey, Freed!" Laxus called. "Come on, we need to get these bodies out of here."

"Give me a minute, I can't…"

"What's wrong with you?" Laxus demanded.

"Nothing. I…" Freed wiped his face with an arm and tried harder.

xxx

The two men from the Magic Council had arrived like white knights, taking over and shrivelling everyone with their glacial stares.

"This is very serious," the one called Lahar said. "The only one of these people known to us is this man, Grant, a wizard from the south who is able to change the size of any object, animal or person. The others, according to your friend Mr Bergmeister, are petty criminals, thieves, but no-one deserves to die just for that."

"So you'll be able to find out who did it?" asked Laxus.

"Unfortunately not," said Lahar. "The spell they used faded before we got here. There is no evidence at all as to who they are or where they might be now."

"But didn't Gramps tell you what happened to our guildhall? He should be at the Magic Council. I expected you would have brought him here with you."

"Master Makarov visited the Magic Council yesterday. He left early this morning, but he did not speak to us. We do not know what was said at that meeting." The other man was quieter voiced and had a watchful look about him.

"You do not understand the workings of the Magic Council," said Lahar.

Laxus suddenly felt an urge to punch the man in his smug face, but he resisted it and settled for glowering.

Lahar turned to his colleague. "We need to get back. We have wasted enough time here as it is."

"You mean you are going to do nothing?" Laxus couldn't help raising his voice.

"No Mr Dreyar, I do not mean that," said Lahar archly. "We will monitor the situation and investigate as best we can using all the resources at our disposal, but there is nothing more we can do here and now and I can assure you we have many more pressing concerns."

"Wait!" Bergmeister the fence suddenly leapt forward and caught hold of Lahar's arm. "You have to take me with you. You can't leave me here. I'm a dead man if you do!"

Lahar's laugh was almost as irritating as everything else about him. He pulled his arm free and looked at the man with a patronising frown. "I'm afraid that will not be possible," he said. "But I don't believe you are in any danger. The perpetrators of this crime are long gone and do not want to be found."

"But she, I mean, they…" The little weasel was trying to say something but he didn't get a chance.

"Please update us with any developments," Lahar said crisply, and then he and his companion were simply not there any more.

Laxus found he was bewildered. The sudden absence of two such powerful men was enough to cause that, not to mention the presence of all those dead people. He looked around at the wreck of the building they were in with its boarded up windows and broken furniture There was nothing else, no clues. Bickslow was helping the city guards carry out the last of the bodies and Laxus could see Freed standing motionless in the street next to his shimmering barrier. Evergreen stood still too, staring at the fence with a calculated look on her face.

"You said she," she said to him slowly. "Who did you mean?"

"No I didn't," Bergmeister snapped.

"Yes you did!" said Laxus, as everything sprang back neatly into focus. "You meant the person who did this. You know who she is, don't you?"

"No I don't!" Bergmeister backed away, but not very far.

"So, you've been lying to us all this time," said Ever cooly. "How very interesting."

"Oh, I don't know Ever," said Laxus. "I'm not sure it's all that interesting. I think it's about time we went back to Magnolia. Bickslow, are we done here?"

"Sure are," said Bickslow.

Laxus stepped out into the street where Freed's barrier was disintegrating to allow the city guard's transport to depart and besides that, the sun was shining. Ever came out too.

"You can't just leave me here by myself!" The fence burst out of the building, his face almost as plum-coloured as his coat.

"We easily can," said Bickslow. "Very easily."

"Easily," said Bicklow's 'babies'. "Easily!"

"Unless you tell us what you know, that is. All of it I mean," said Laxus.

Bergmeister swallowed uncomfortably. "All right," he said. "I'll tell you. But not here. We might as well go to my place. I don't suppose it matters any more."

xxx

"I am a fence, as you know," Bergmeister began. "But that doesn't mean what it used to mean." His voice was slightly whiney, not easy to listen to. "These days it's wiser to ally yourself with a guild, and old Forrester wasn't that bad for a boss, usually. It's a shame he's dead, I liked him."

Bergmeister's house was in the older part of the city, surprisingly large and grand, but also entirely empty of human life, not much like a place where anyone lived. There were plants though, plants everywhere, vines curling over the bannisters, flowering trees standing in the hall, and all of them shining with health. The Thunder Legion were sat in a drawing room and had been given drinks.

"There's nothing to eat here, I'm afraid," Bergmeister said. "But always plenty to drink."

Freed was only half there. The other half of him was still thinking about what Laxus had said as they walked through the city.

"So, your friend the earth wizard wasn't one of those bodies. I expect you're pleased about that." That's what Laxus had said.

"My… friend?"

Laxus had just laughed, and gone on to say something unrelated, to Bickslow, and then laughed some more, as if his words had had no significance.

"Anyway," the fence went on. "My job is to find homes for things that have been stolen, and sometimes it is to recommend people to do the job of stealing. This was one of those times." He was beginning to sound as if he was boasting.

"Before you ask, I don't know the woman. I never met her before and I sincerely hope I never meet her again, but since she knows who I am and where I live and she has killed almost every other member of my guild, I can't afford to rely on hope."

"No, you plan to rely on us instead," said Ever.

"But you want to catch her don't you?" Bergmeister seemed more confident in his own home, but his voice still wavered and his hand shook as he raised his glass. "It's win/win the way I see it. I get protection and you get your perp, or whatever you want to call her."

"You need to tell us more," Laxus said, frowning. "What is her name and what, exactly, did she want from Fairy Tail?"

"And what magic does she use?" asked Ever.

The fence sighed and closed his eyes. "Her name is Shinn, or at least, that's the name I know. She may have others. I have never seen her use any magic exactly, but she carries a sword and, frankly, looks well equipped to use it. She was offering an offensively large quantity of jewel to retrieve an object from the beneath the basement of the Fairy Tail guildhall. A large object, but that was no problem to us, since we have a wizard in our ranks who is able to significantly alter a thing's size. Or should I say had."

"And an earth wizard to dig it out," said Laxus.

"Eh?" said Bergmeister. "You mean Halyan Soong? Oh no, he was never part of the plan. Forrester let him tag along to make up the numbers; none of us fully appreciated how… talented he was. And he seems to have got away, lucky boy!"

Freed found he couldn't stand sitting there in that ornate room while that obnoxious man talked so casually about Hal. He jumped up and strode out of the French doors into the fence's garden which was breathtakingly beautiful.

But he wasn't allowed to be alone for long.

"Hey," said Laxus. "What's up?"

Why did Laxus have to go and decide to be so considerate all of a sudden? "Nothing, I…" That wasn't good enough though. "I don't like that man. I don't like his house either, all this affluence that's come from… It's making me feel sick."

"Me too," said Laxus, frowning. "But that's not enough to get me to walk out on my team when we're in the middle of finding stuff out and making a plan."

Not so much considerate then, Freed felt as if Laxus had punched him in the gut. Maybe Laxus should punch him in the gut.

"Something's off with you," Laxus went on. "I can understand if you don't want to talk about it, but you can't be here unless you sort it out. We need to be on our game for this. This Shinn character is out to kill people and we don't know what kind of magic she uses. I want to catch her; I don't want to fail, do you get it?"

Freed nodded, but he couldn't look up.

Laxus put a hand on his shoulder. "Go back to Fairy Tail Freed," he said. "Someone needs to tell the old geezer what's going on anyway."

xxx

Freed was exhausted. By the time he got back to Magnolia it was late, dark. He had to drag himself through the city, to the guildhall, even though that wasn't where he wanted to go. All he could think about, all he had been able to think about for the whole of the long train journey was Hal. What was he going to say to Hal? Would Hal even be there? That was the most frightening thought. He tried not to think it, but that was useless. And at the same time, he had to think about how Hal shouldn't be there. Hal wouldn't be there if Freed were really a loyal member of Fairy Tail. He had done so many things wrong, it made his head spin. But it was too late to undo them.

There were still plenty of people up and about in the guildhall, and it was looking less like a building site than it had the day before. Was it really only yesterday they had left to follow the fence? It seemed like a lifetime had passed since then.

"Hello! You look worn out! What's the news?" Mira came out from behind the bar. She put her hand up to touch Freed's face and then coiled her arm round his waist, smiling. Mira was easily the kindest person Freed had ever known, and he didn't deserve any kindness.

Still, he couldn't help but smile in return. "I have to speak to Master Makarov about my news, but how about you? Looks like the building work's been going well. Is Erza back?"

Mira laughed softly. "No! The reason we've been getting on so well is because she isn't here! But shh! Don't tell anyone I said that. I actually think the mission Gramps sent her on was a wild goose chase."

Freed laughed with her while the lights in the room danced all around. God, he was tired.

"Go on," Mira said, letting go of him and pushing him away. "You'd better go and see Master before you fall asleep."

Makarov listened intently and frowned. "That's grave news indeed," he said, "but not entirely a surprise. There had to be more to it than a random attack by a mere band of thieves. Of course that Bergmeister character was lying, and I should have known it." He sat still and silent in thought for a moment.

"The Magic Council would not help us," Freed said.

"No. I wouldn't have expected them to. I went to ask them for information and they had little enough of that to offer, but help? No! They have their own problems, things far too important for the likes of us to know about!" He looked up from under his eyebrows and smiled. "Don't look so worried, my boy! We're a step further on than we were. I have great faith in Laxus and I'm sure you do too. Now why don't you sleep here tonight? You look ready to fall into bed. Have you eaten?"

"No, I…" Freed pushed his face into a smile. He couldn't remember when he had last eaten. "I just want to get home really, but thank you!"

He had to walk through the guildhall calmly, as if it was nothing. He walked away from the building too, but as soon as he was out of sight of it he began to run, and then to fly. It was stupid really, completely unnecessary, a waste of magic energy, but he seemed to have lost all reason anyway. What am I doing, he wondered? Not eating, lying to everyone, it seemed as if some unstoppable force was making him do all those things. Making him fly faster and faster, beyond the strength he ought to have had until he arrived on his own doorstep, plunged through the door.

"Hal, Hal!" he shouted, trying desperately not to sound hysterical.

"Butterfly?" Hal appeared in the doorway and Freed launched himself upon him, so fiercely, that even though Hal caught him in strong arms, he overbalanced and they both fell to the floor. "What's the matter?" Hal asked.

"Nothing," Freed said. "Nothing is the matter. You're here." He closed his eyes and hid his face in Hal's chest.

"Why wouldn't I be here?" Hal sat up, lifting Freed up with him. "What's going on?"

"You said probably. You'd probably be here when I got back, that's what you said. But you're here. I'm glad, that's all."

"You're lying," Hal said. He pushed Freed away and stood up. "What's going on?"

"Nothing is going on. I'm not lying." Freed got up too, to find himself grabbed by the collar of his coat and held while a steam-hammer of a fist drove its way into his guts so hard and sudden that all the lights flashed and almost went out. "What are you…?"

The fist hit him again, uppercut to the jaw, and this time the lights went out completely.

xxx

Freed woke up in his own bed, lying with his head in Hal's lap. Hal was fiddling with Freed's hair, but he was looking away, out of the window and into the night so Freed was able to look up at him and admire him while he waited for his brains to unscramble themselves. The unscrambling got as far as the ache in his jaw and he raised his hand to it.

"Butterfly!" Hal had felt his movement. "I'm sorry I hurt you, I… You made me angry."

"It doesn't matter," Freed said. "And anyway, you were right, I was lying." He looked up to see Hal's reaction, half afraid, but too tired to do anything about it.

Hal smiled sadly. "Are you going to tell me the truth?"

"No, I can't."

"Because of Laxus." Hal was angry again, but he was keeping it under control.

"No, not Laxus. The guild. It's a secret, but it isn't my secret to just tell to whoever I choose. Can you understand that?"

"You don't need to be in a guild. You could leave."

"I might have to." Freed rolled around which caused his stomach to remind him of having been steam-hammered, he groaned.

"Why?" Hal asked.

"Because of you. Because I helped you. I brought you here and never told them about it. If I had told them, things would be different. Things would…" Maybe none of those people would have died. Freed felt tears squeeze out of his eyes and run down his face, dammit.

"You saved me from Laxus and let me get away. That's when I fell in love with you."

Freed laughed, he couldn't help it. "You're not in love with me," he said. "You hardly know me."

Hal pulled him up and into his arms. "I'm in love with you and you're in love with me. That's how it is. That's why you saved me from Laxus."

"I didn't save you," Freed said. "Laxus was angry and he didn't need to be. He thought you were destroying the guildhall so you could steal from us, but I knew you just wanted to fight Natsu. That's what you want isn't it?"

"That's what I want," Hal said, nodding.

Freed realised he was finally and irrevocably falling asleep. "You can fight Natsu," he said. "You won't win, but you can try, why not?"

"I will win," said Hal.

xxx

Laxus thought he might go mad in Bergmeister's house, day after day after day. They went out occasionally, but they all had to go together, so it was hardly a fun experience. Most of the time they stayed in the house and Laxus watched the fence care for his ridiculous collection of plants, a seemingly endless task. Ever found a library and took to reading, though most of the books were about either horticulture or antiques, neither of which she had any interest in. Bickslow seemed happily asleep most of the time.

"Does this go on forever, or do we get to go home at some point, one hopes?" Evergreen asked one evening.

Laxus honestly felt like growling at her. "I expect we do, but not yet," he said, though gritted teeth.

"All right, I was only asking," Ever said. "Did you know the vermiculous persanthus can only be found in spring when there is a full moon and it has to be raining? No wonder they're so expensive. What was that?"

It wasn't much of a sound, like the scrape of metal against metal, but there was a smell too, and that was much stronger and more outlandish. Laxus jumped up from the half-stupor he had been lounging in and rushed for the fence's scent, coming from the gallery above the hall where there were more plants than anywhere. Ever went after him.

And there was someone else there; a slender woman dressed all in black. The sword she held seemed to emit some kind of vapour that twisted through the air around her. She was stood exactly behind Bergmeister, and he had not noticed her, but he soon would, as she was stretching out her hand to grab him.

Laxus darted forward like lightning to get to the fence first with Ever on his heels. The woman had seen him, but that didn't stop her. She took hold of Bergmeister and sliced through the air with her sword at the same time, carving out a grey shimmering shape in a way that shouldn't have been possible. The fence bellowed like a bull hippo, impressively loud, but entirely ineffectual as the swordswoman, Shinn, Laxus supposed, dived into her carved shape and vanished, dragging Bergmeister after her.

But it wasn't too late. Laxus had managed to gather a handful of plum-coloured coat and he wasn't letting go. He forced his way forward, through the shape and into thin air and light, a different place, falling, turning round to see that shape from the other side, as it diminished and disappeared entirely.