What awesome feedback I received about the previous chapter! I can't tell you how excited I was to publish that one. The whole tone of the story changes from here on out.
Bravo to primordialpaper for correctly guessing Wendy's idea.
Loke couldn't say he was mad. He should have known something like this would happen. His friends could be rash, impulsive, impatient, and loving to a fault. Of course they would rush in without thinking things through. They did it all the time for the ones they cared about. But it's one thing to risk your own safety when charging ahead without a plan. It's a whole other matter when the one you're trying to save is put at risk because of poor discretion. No, Loke couldn't say he was mad, but he's so disappointed.
A heart attack. They gave the man a freakin heart attack. Well, close enough to one, anyway. Enough to still threaten his life. Stress-induced Cardiomyopathy is what Porlyusica had called it. Broken Heart Syndrome. Even though he'd been taking beta blockers to control his heart rate, they weren't strong enough to withstand the shock of being confronted with his "mother's" roll in his torture and near death four months ago. In hindsight, they should have known that would have been a far worse memory to bring up than anything else he'd experienced.
It was late at night. He sat in the infirmary next to Gray's bed, the constant, slow beat of the heart monitor, and the rhythmic flow of oxygen the only sounds in the room. Lyon had finally fallen asleep on the next bed over, after spending the last day and a half in a panicked rage. If he wasn't pacing back and forth in worry, he was silently fuming in the chair at the other side of the bed, or tossing angered comments towards whomever from Team Natsu just happened to be in the room at the time.
Though the guild was closed, team Natsu was camped out in the hallway outside the door. At first they'd insisted on staying with Gray, but Porlyusica had kicked them all out when she'd noticed his vitals would decline when he'd sense their presence nearby. Even unconscious, he was wary of them, and his body reacted accordingly. The tense atmosphere between them and Lyon didn't help matters, either. Wendy was napping with Carla in a curtained off section of the room, so she could be there if needed.
Loke just sat and pondered where everything went wrong. None of them were ever qualified to handle something like this. Were they ever capable of handling any of it? They all understood from the very beginning that research and scholarship within the field of psychology was rather lacking. Even Mr. Bradley only had so much knowledge. People tended to rely on magical talismans, spells, and potions to treat such ailments, so there's never been a great deal of interest in the study of such things. Why bother, when such quick fixes were available?
Such reasonings were justified when magic was an option. But in his case, they'd always been on their own. From day one there were missteps and stumbling blocks, but they all just chalked it up as "this is still too new to us," "these things are to be expected," or "triggered reactions are just unpredictable." Even though all of these were true, they didn't make this situation any easier to bear. There had always been a sense of doubt within each of their minds about whether any decision they made, any interaction, any possible situation Gray could have been put in, would cause more harm than good.
If only Lucy had called for him first. Or Gemini. They would have been able to tell her why Gray wasn't able to talk about it yet, since the question of "who did it?" was no longer an issue. Loke would have at least tried to talk them out if it. Make them see the benefits of waiting. Was he at fault as well? As soon as Natsu wanted to talk to Gemini all those weeks ago, he'd shot them down, telling them the twins would never tell them what had been bothering Gray that night. Was that enough for them to dismiss Gemini completely? They couldn't get their most pressing question answered, so anything else they could have learned was irrelevant?
When he appeared before Lucy upon sensing her growing anguish, they had just been shooed out of the infirmary by Mira, who would help Wendy until Porlyusica arrived. He didn't need to ask what happened, because Lyon immediately started laying in to them...
ooooo
"Why can't one of us stay?! There's plenty of room in there. We can stay out of the way!"
"Natsu, calm down," cried Lucy, who had her own troubles controlling her hysteria, voice quivering in barely repressed fear.
Mirajane was firm as she pushed the rest of the team out the door. Over her shoulders, they could only watch in distress as Wendy hurriedly cut away the rest of Gray's shirt, along with his dressings, before attaching the sensors from the heart monitor to his chest. The too-fast beeping sound that followed was disheartening.
"Mira!—"
"Natsu! Shut up and let them work!" Lyon said, voice quiet and simmering.
Holding his tongue, he backed away, allowing Mirajane to shut the door, leaving them to wonder what could be happening behind it now.
A flash of light heralded Leo's arrival. Before he could get a word out, Natsu turned towards Lyon, ready to express his anger at having been shut down like that, when Lyon beat him to it.
"You fools! What the Hell were you all thinking?! How could you possibly think this could have ended in any way other than disaster?!"
"I'm sorry," lamented Lucy, "We didn't think this would happen."
"F*CK NO, YOU DIDN'T THINK! You never do! As soon as you learn something that distresses you, you barge in making stupid judgments without consideration of actual facts! You've accused him of lying about his pain, of being a danger to others, of purposely endangering himself! I leave him in your care, and I come back to find him either recovering from one injury or another, or deeply entrenched in a bout of depression and anxiety. This time, you just showed up, and without warning, started spouting off all this crap about his mother. Not one of you ever stopped to consider what bringing that up would have done to him!"
"Oh my God," cried Leo, "That's what this is about? Tell me you didn't just go out and confront him with this."
"They f*cking ambushed him with it! They didn't even give him a chance to prepare himself. Just opened the damned floodgates, zero f*cks to give about the consequences! This was beyond senseless! It was cruel, and dangerous, and completely irresponsible!"
"We weren't trying to hurt him—" Erza started.
"NO! You almost KILLED him! Don't you understand that?! How could you not know what would have happened? You've witnessed his reactions to fears often enough! Even minor things set him off. For crying out loud, Wakaba had to quit smoking in the guildhall because of his panic attacks! Yet you all thought he'd be able to handle you forcing that memory upon him; of his father's enemy reanimating the corpse of his own mother, for the sole purpose of torturing him to death! Are you serious?! You call yourselves his friends?! I can't believe how many times he's risked his life, all for the sake of protecting friends like you. You don't deserve him! None of us do!"
He was stopped abruptly by Natsu wrapping both of his fists in his collar, bringing him almost nose to nose with the pissed off dragon slayer. But instead of receiving any arguments or excuses, or even some kind of violent response, Natsu just seethed in his anger and despair, breathing harshly and trembling. He closed his eyes tightly, tears squeezing out, and roughly let go, backing away, hands reaching up to pull at his hair as he fought back the urge to scream in anguish.
Because every single word Lyon had just said was entirely justified.
"If you're both done pissing on each other, you can stand aside now, and let me through. I don't have time for this foolishness."
Everyone gave a collective sigh of relief at Porlyusica's arrival, who was followed by a grim-faced Makarov. All were silent as they moved out of the way, allowing her through the door into the infirmary. Makarov would remain out there with them, where he was most needed. They'd just barely caught a glimpse of Mirajane frantically massaging the skin over Gray's heart while Wendy was squeezing the manual resuscitator bag, forcing air through the face mask she held firmly over his nose and mouth. No one missed the tear-filled relief in both of their eyes upon the old healer's entrance, but they saw no more after she'd slammed the door behind her.
ooooo
He was brought out if his thoughts when he noticed Gray's distress. Another nightmare. These have been coming far too frequently, and there was little they could do but to let him ride them out. The heavy sedation they kept him under prevented him from waking up, keeping him locked in there with his demons. It would be over in minutes, but still, Loke couldn't imagine his sleep was all that restful tonight.
Judging from what he could read through the fog in the oxygen mask, he had a good idea of whom, or what, he was dreaming of.
"I knew something was wrong before this happened," came a whispered comment.
Loke looked pass Gray to see Lyon, rising to a seated position on his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before he turned his focus to their sleeping friend.
"I let him force himself too hard during his workout, and he almost passed out when he stood up afterwards. His heart was already overworked. If I'd known they were going to spring that memory on him..." he lamented.
"...You shouldn't dwell on 'what if's'," Loke advised.
"Hmph. That's all we ever seem to have these days. What if I'd ended the workout earlier? What if we'd learned about his mother sooner? What if we could have rescued him earlier? What if he'd gone to dinner with his friends, or just hadn't gone home alone that night?... Every time he has a setback, I can't help but to imagine scenarios such as these, of how different all our lives would be if just one event could be changed... He still blames himself for being captured."
Loke's face fell at that. He wasn't all that surprised by that news, but he had hoped by now their encouragements over all this time would have convinced him otherwise. Lyon didn't give him much time to dwell on that.
"Looks like his nightmare's over."
Loke reverted his gaze back to Gray, finding him sleeping peacefully now.
"He was dreaming about his mom again," Loke revealed.
"... So now that we know, what do we do about it? He won't want to bring it up again," said Lyon.
"I doubt he'll have anything else on his mind, though. I don't know where to go from here. But now that we're aware of what's been bothering him, we can at least figure out new ways to help."
"Or leave it be, and wait for him to come around. Let him make the first move."
"You really think that's a good idea? It's been months, and he's never made a move towards dealing with this... or maybe he has, and we just couldn't tell. I don't know. But he may decide to keep ignoring this problem, and try to bury it again. Can you imagine what could happen if we let him do that?"
"But if we push him, he might go over the edge!"
"Or he might push back! You're angry at what happened, and it's made you scared as well. You have every right to be. But he was surprised last time. The next time his mom is brought up, and there needs to be a next time, he'll be more prepared. For as long as I've known him, he's never lost to the same opponent twice. Do you really think he'd let this beat him again?" Loke asked.
...
...
"No. But it'll be a hard fought victory. And he may end up more scarred because of it."
"Scars may never completely heal, but they do fade away after time. And what remains is stronger than before."
"... Okay. You're right. He needs to face this... But we may have jeopardized his trust in us again. This time irreparably. Regardless, we can't let him try to shut us out. You weren't there to see, but during his... attack... what really got to me were his feelings of isolation. He kept stressing how he was alone with that creature. We know he's afraid to be alone at the house. Now we understand why."
"Well, we've got 'who', 'what', and 'why' down. We need to figure out the 'how'. We need to get everyone together to figure this out."
"They've done enough already."
"They made a mistake. They know better now. Besides, I can't stay here indefinitely, and you can't do this alone. Even if he's leery around them now, they need to be near so they can regain his trust. He needs all his friends, Lyon. We can't let this become a rift between him and them. It'll go a long way for him if you'd forgive them first."
"*Sigh* I know. I wasn't planning on holding onto my anger for long. I understand their impatience, and their desire to see him get better as fast as possible. Still, I wish they'd warned me first."
"Believe me. I know the feeling," Loke smirked with just a little melancholy, "Humans are irrational creatures. Speaking of which, why are you still awake? Go back to sleep. He's not going anywhere."
Another sigh, then a nod. Lyon laid back down, pulling his overcoat over his head, giving a quiet "good night" before going back to sleep.
Loke settled back in his chair, getting comfortable for the remainder of his vigil. Gray hadn't stirred at all during their whispered conversation. Loke wondered if he could hear them, and if so, would his dreams reflect what he heard? If anything, waxing nostalgia had kept him occupied while he was sitting with him in the chamber. Who knows? Maybe he could help him keep the nightmares at bay.
He leaned forward again, clearing his throat, and, smiling, started to speak in a low, peaceful voice.
"Gray, remember that time, when we took that quest to capture a young wyvern alive, and you suggested getting it drunk on fermented berries? You were only joking, but Cana took to the idea with so much enthusiasm ..."
Behind the curtain, Wendy allowed herself to draw away from the quiet monologue. That sounded like a story between old war buddies, and she didn't want to intrude. But she contemplated everything else she'd heard, and an idea from earlier once again came to mind. It firmly took hold, and she couldn't help but to let it grow. Was it possible? Did she have what she needed to make it happen? And most importantly, would Gray be willing to do it?
Makarov had them all in his office the next morning, while Porlyusica stayed with Gray. Cana insisted on being part of this meeting. Lyon had settled down in his anger, and was more amicable than the last couple of days. Natsu was still kicking himself for forcing Gray's memories to the surface like he did. He knew he was impulsive and not the best at judging the situation, but he should have paused and considered what he was doing before plunging into it like that.
"Before we begin," said Makarov, "Porlyusica has informed me that she'll be taking Gray off sedation today. He should wake up later this afternoon."
"Thank God. But what about his heart? Will he be alright?" asked Lucy.
Wendy answered, "Fortunately, since this wasn't an actual heart attack, his heart muscles should heal themselves very quickly. We're giving him some medicine to keep his blood pressure low for a few days, so his heart won't work so hard. He'll be pretty weak in the meantime, but he'll recover from this."
"That's good news," said Makarov, "Now, we need to discuss our next move. I'm sorry for how things turned out, but hopefully, this opens up some opportunities that were not available to us before. We just have to tread carefully, and figure out how to balance reasonable restraint with necessary action. Have any of you thought of a way to proceed from here?"
"You need to talk to Gemini," was Loke's quick response.
"I thought they wouldn't talk," said Natsu.
"They wouldn't tell you what was bothering him. Now that you know, they'd be willing to tell you why this had been so hard for him. I think if you could understand his fears more, you'd have a better idea of how to move forward," Loke explained.
"... But if they take Gray's form from back then... I don't want to have to put them through that again," said Lucy, regretfully.
"They'll understand, and will want to help you. They won't want their master to be sad," reassured Loke.
No one wanted to rush her, or try to influence her.
"Lucy, it's your call," said Erza.
"I'll let them decide," she said, pulling out her keys, "Open, Gate of the Twins: Gemini!"
A bright light, then
"Piri, piri!" they cried excitedly.
"Gemini, I hate to ask this of you, and I want you to know that you have the choice to refuse. Would you be willing to turn into Gray again? As he was from that time?"
"Of course! If it helps your friend, we'll do anything for you. Because you love your friends so much!" Without delay, a light appeared where they were floating, and they were replaced by the Gray from a few months before.
They gasped and fell forward, saved from the floor by a quick Loke, who had anticipated such a reaction. Wendy brought a chair over and sat them down. While they reacquainted themselves with this body, everyone else had their own flashes of memories from that time.
Only Leo and Gemini had seen him that night, so the rest were shocked at what they saw. They'd gotten used to the present Gray, and hadn't realized how much muscle he'd managed to put on since then. Or how less pronounced his scars were now. The Gray before them was pale, sweat soaked, and trembling. They hadn't known how much physical pain he was in that night. Lucy almost force-closed their gate, but Loke held her back, reminding her of Gemini's commitment, and how it would show a lack of faith in them if she just assumed they couldn't handle it. They could judge for themselves how far they could take this.
After a few moments, Gemini-Gray straightened in his chair and waited for further orders.
"Gemini, how do you feel?" asked Lucy, voice trembling.
"It's okay—," they paused, confused for a second, having forgotten about the lack of voice, before continuing, "—Lucy. We'll be fine. How can we help you?"
Loke, who translated, asked for her. "Gemini. We all know about Gray's mother now. I understand there's a lot you won't say, but we need to know why Gray couldn't tell us about her then. He still won't talk about her. We need to know what Gray's afraid of."
They sat there quietly, their brow knitted as they tried to put Gray's thoughts into words.
No one so much as tapped a finger, not wanting to break their concentration. For the next minute or so, the wait seemed endless. Finally,
"... I don't understand," they started.
"What's not to understand? It's a simple question!" interrupted Natsu.
"Shhh!" glared Erza
"I don't... understand... why she would do that... to someone she loved...
"But she didn't. It wasn't her...
"Not her! It wasn't her...
Cana crossed her arms in discomfort, gripping her sleeves in tight fists.
"...But it was!...
"No! Not Her!...
...
...
"Why?!
"Why did she hurt me?! A mother... protects her child! Why did she... !"
They were crying as they spoke, leaning forward and holding themselves tightly, as if trying to keep themselves from falling apart, unable to control the emotions that Gray had felt that day. Wendy couldn't help the tears in her own eyes. This was so difficult to watch. No one could say they weren't unsettled by what they were witnessing.
"Bisca! She loves her child! She'd never hurt her. She says nice things, and Asuka believes her. She touches her baby girl... and she's not... she's not afraid... she has no reason to be afraid...!"
Erza and Lucy exchanged looks, remembering all that had happened that morning, which for some reason had led to them calling upon Gemini that terrible night. The team finally understood what must have made him so upset that day.
"She's a good mom...
...
"Why couldn't my mom...
...
"Why wasn't... she like her...
They were getting frantic, breathing hard, hands trembling as they started reaching for the bleeding tally marks. How had everyone missed those?! Once more, Leo stopped everyone from interfering, still staring resolutely at every shape and motion their mouth made.
Suddenly, they rose from their chair, knocking it down, angry and desperate. They started gesturing, as Gray always does when he gets really upset, and Lucy gasped at the blood in their hand.
"It wasn't Her! She wouldn't have done that! Not Her! Never HER...
...
"THEN WHY! WHY DID SHE HURT ME! WHY DID SHE DO THOSE THINGS TO ME?! WHAT DID I DO TO HER?! NO! IT WASN'T HER! IT'S NOT HER! NOT HER! SHE WOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT! BUT SHE DID! WHY?! WHY DOES SHE HATE ME?! WHY HER—NOT HER! NOT HER, NOT HER!" they stopped Gesturing, grabbing their head in pain or panicked hysteria, maybe both, "NOT HER, NOT HER, NOT HER NOT HERNOTHERNOTHETNOTHERNOT—"
They came back to themselves when Lucy grabbed their face in her hands, tears running down her cheeks as she brought their face down to touch hers, just as the real Gray had done for her, saying over and over that it was okay to stop, that she understood now, that they could let go. She gently wiped the blood, which they'd gotten on their face at certain times when they'd touched it with their bloody fingers while Gesturing, away. She didn't let go when Gemini, also affected by Gray's phobia against a woman's touch, tried to push her away, before they remembered who they were, and relented to the embrace. They continued to hold his form, feeling that their master needed this as well.
"...Gemini...it's okay. You did so much for us already. Thank you," she finally let go, stepping back from her celestial spirit, reciting with a slight quiver in her voice,"Close, Gate of the Twins."
Gemini-Gray gave a small, sad smile, before disappearing.
No one could speak or move. That whole display had been completely, eerily silent, but for the occasional tapping sounds whenever Gemini-Gray's hands came together for certain words. Their performance was so emotional, so raw, almost violent in its intensity in the end. It seemed almost wrong to break up the silence.
But now they knew. They understood why his mind was so conflicted, and what it was he feared so greatly. They still couldn't fathom why exactly he couldn't just tell them about it, but knowing his pain and experiencing it first hand were different things. They may have witnessed a small part of his mental turmoil, but only Gemini could say they felt exactly what Gray felt, and even they couldn't fully understand his reluctance. Maybe Gray couldn't either.
For the rest of the morning, they continued their war council. Lyon suggested reaching out to Loren. He chose to be generous and not point out how they all should have consulted the therapist before rushing in like they had. He was done feeling grievance over this, and saw their resolve to do better as apology enough.
Through all the talk, Wendy was silent when not directly spoken to. She'd been wrestling with an idea since last night, and debating with herself whether or not to even bring it up. It was a long shot that it would work, and Gray might reject doing it as soon as the idea left her mouth. And even if he did agree, and they pulled it off, would he be able to handle it? Or would the experience finally ruin him?
Cana noticed her waning attention span, and nudged her shoulder with hers, asking quietly what was bothering her.
"I'm sorry. It's nothing, really. Just something that's been on my mind today."
"Do you have an idea to help Gray? Go ahead and share. Big or small, we could use more options," Cana encouraged.
Natsu heard their conversation and turned his head towards them, drawing one by one the others' attention to them as well. Wendy's face turned red at the sudden spotlight, but she took a deep breath and let it out, taking on a more confident look as she just threw her idea out there.
"... What if I could use Milky Way... to allow Gray to talk to his mom?"
Stunned silence.
"That can't work, can it? That only works on dragons!" said Natsu.
"I know. That's one of the things that kept me from speaking up. But what if we could find a way to augment the spell, to allow it to work on a human's soul. We have some of his mom's remains. If I can find a way to make the spell work, I could use those remains as a catalyst to call her soul to the living realm... I just thought that... maybe Gray could find some peace if he could talk to his real mom."
"That's a bold idea, indeed," said Makarov, "And I can see how it would benefit him greatly, but you're right to take caution. There's no telling how he'd react to the very idea of meeting his mother again, real or not. Pull whatever resources you need for this. This isn't an option until we can find a way to make it work on humans, but if we can make it work, then I want to be able to have that card in hand if the opportunity to play it arrives. Of course, it all depends on whether Gray would agree to it or not. Is there anything else?"
When no one spoke up, he brought the meeting to an end.
All they could do now was wait.
-a village in the north-
Gajeel scowled as he shook Nate DeWalt's hand. Though they got along well enough, the reason for their meeting left a sour taste in his mouth.
"I know we're your favorite go-to freelance consultants right now, but we're still working that serial killer case."
"A case which has gone cold since the last death in October. Besides, I think you might find something of interest here," DeWalt replied.
He led Gajeel, Panther Lily, and Juvia through the empty streets, towards the village's single Home Guard station, a simple, one-room building with one side enclosed in iron bars, that's never held anyone more dangerous than a petty thief or a drunk. Rune Knights were going in and out of that building, as well as every other building along the street. They'd already cleared every private home in the village.
It was completely abandoned.
"I want you to talk to a witness. He's an itinerant pharmacist. He travels a circuit through all the villages in the province, so is here off and on throughout the year. He was last here several weeks ago, before the holidays. He says everything was normal, no sign of strife or economic hardship. When he came back two days ago, this is what he came back to," DeWalt said as he gestured around the ghost town.
"There are no signs of an attack?" asked Juvia.
"Nothing too concrete. We do know that whatever happened here happened no more than five or six hours prior to our witness' discovery, which puts the time of the mass disappearance at around nine o'clock two mornings ago."
"How do you know that?" asked Lily.
"One of the Knights thought they'd found someone still in their home when they smelled freshly cooked food from the doorway, as opposed to the usual burnt offerings they found on still-lit stoves. It turned out to be a roast inside a slow cooker, set to turn off after eight hours had past. It still had a little time left when it was found."
"This is exactly like those other recent disappearances we've heard about. Whole villages deserted, but nothing misplaced. No bags packed, not shelves emptied of traveling needs, food left out on tables or still cooking on the stoves. I thought they were just rumors," said Juvia.
"We've tried to keep those incidents secret from the public, to avoid needless panic. Not everything can be kept quiet, though. This is the fourth one reported within the last two months. The only thing we've been able to determine is that there's just no discernible cause behind these whole populations vanishing like this, and that so far, the phenomenon is moving south. Each subsequent incident takes place more or less south of the previous one."
"Why is it every mystery we investigate seems to literally be going in one direction?" grumbled Gajeel.
Upon entering the Home Guard station, the team was introduced to the witness, Dr. Liam Nestle, a maker and peddler of herbal remedies. He was currently sitting at a table, ingredients and tools laid before him as he mixed one of his medicines. When he saw several shadows appear on his table, he lowered his reading glasses down his nose and smiled a charming peddler's grin. He must be quite good at making a sale.
"You must be the visiting investigators. My pleasure, gentlemen, madam. Mr. DeWalt told me you'd be interested in a specific part of my testimony."
"We'll let you know as soon as we hear it. What's so interesting about this case?" asked Gajeel.
"It's mostly rumors I'd heard, rely. About a month ago, I was packing up to leave Cedar Grove, a village just north of us. As I was leaving, I overheard some of the locals gossiping about mysterious sightings of people who shouldn't be there."
"What, like outsiders? Strangers? You think there's a dark guild lurking about, and some people saw them?" asked Panther Lily.
"I don't think you'd be nearly as interested if that were the case. No, my most interesting feline friend. The people who were witnessed lurking about should not have been there... because they were dead."
That raised a few eyebrows.
"Fascinating, yes? It wasn't just a few. Several people reported seeing dead loved ones walking about the village. I couldn't stay, unfortunately, not if I wanted to get to my next stop before sundown. But it was such an intriguing thing to hear, yes?"
"That is weird. But what does that have to do with this case?" asked Lily.
"Just that Cedar Grove was the third village from which all its residents disappeared," answered DeWalt.
Now he had their full attention.
"Were there reports of walking dead people around here?" asked Gajeel.
"None. But that's not surprising. This village is small and somewhat isolated. Not many people come and go from here. If there were reports such as those, they stayed within the community. The Rune Knights are going over recent written statements now. There aren't many, so it shouldn't take long."
Turning toward the witness, he stated, "Dr. Nestle, thank you for your time. You're free to go, but we'll be in touch if we need anything more."
He just waved them off and readjusted his glasses, going back to his medicine production.
"A moment please, everyone?" DeWalt entreated, heading outside, into an alley beside the station, away from prying eyes. Making sure the close was clear, he started, "Can I assume you've already drawn the same conclusions as I have?"
"You think there's another necromancer skulking about?" answered Gajeel.
"There is that hypothesis, and it's probably correct, but I was referring to something a little more specific. Something a little...closer to home."
The wizards looked at each other as if they were caught in some great conspiracy, before Gajeel narrowed his eyes, asking, "Before we admit to anything, why don't you tell us what you think."
With a patronizing grin, DeWalt answered, "I can read a map quite well, thank you. You see, I noticed the abrupt course change in the killer's pattern as well. They were headed for Iris, where your friend was hospitalized. As soon as he was discharged, the killer's path changed, moving a few degrees more north, towards Black Vox. A few deaths here and there on the way, and then, all deaths suddenly stopped. I'd already concluded months ago that the serial killer we've been chasing had something to do with your friend, though I couldn't even fathom what that could be.
"But now we have these strange disappearances, the first one taking place in a village relatively close to Black Vox. Except now the course runs towards the south. If I were to show you a map with these four villages marked off, what do you think you'd find?"
Since this was the first time they'd heard proof that the rumors of the missing villagers weren't just rumors, they had no idea what such a map would look like. But they did know what did lay south of here.
Magnolia.
Fairy Tail.
Gray.
"I don't care that you didn't want to share this with me. I want you to know that I'm on your side. I'm not trying to accuse him of anything. For me, no one could have a more solid alibi. But you're right to be wary. There are those among my colleagues who would jump to unfortunate conclusions, and allow their prejudices to impact their decisions. But this, whatever this is, is bigger than a mere serial killer case. This is why I wanted you on board."
"We must warn Master right away. We have to protect Gray-sama!" cried Juvia.
"He already knows there's something going on. I'll give him an update later tonight. So, DeWalt, where do we go from here?"
It was just the boys in the infirmary that afternoon, along with Wendy, Porlyusica, and Master Makarov. Lucy and Erza, though very reluctant, understood that Gray may be even more sensitive to his various triggers, and chose to wait outside until they received permission to enter. Natsu and Loke sat on one side, Lyon on the other. Gray was taken off the sedatives hours ago, and should be waking up any moment.
ooooo
It was too warm.
'It's so dark out.'
Even in the summer, it was usually cooler than this at night.
'What the heck is on my face?'
He went to reach for the breathing mask still strapped to his face, but cringed at the sudden ache all over.
'The hell?! What happened to me? Were we attacked? Is everyone okay? What about the guild?!'
His thoughts were interrupted when his hand landed near his guild mark. He found it covered in gauze. The skin underneath felt off. Numb and... he really couldn't describe it. Hollow?
"...e's awake."
"Gray, can y ... me?"
"Don't overw...him. He mi ... emories."
"-san ... ember what happened?"
Too many voices, disjointed, confusing, all at once. Was he in the infirmary? Why was it so dark? And why wouldn't those voices go away?
"Shut the h—"
??!!!
'Why can't I talk?!'
He started panicking. This was all wrong! He struggled to rise, but was too weak to move. It was then he noticed the strange sensation of thick, dry scabs on his hands. No... scar tissue. All over his freakin hands! What the Hell was going on?! He couldn't see, couldn't speak, could barely move. He ached all over. And his hands! What the Hell?!!
ooooo
"Dammit! He must have forgotten again. Gray! Listen, you're safe here! We rescued you, remember? It's okay!" said Natsu.
"Can he hear us?" asked Loke.
"Some of the affects of the sedatives are still lingering. Wendy, remove the mask. See if he's trying it say anything," said Porlyusica.
When she removed the mask, Gray became more alert to the fact that he wasn't alone. He looked around wildly, fists clenched and teeth gritted, trying not to show how intimidated he felt. That was wrong too. He should be more pissed off than scared right now.
'Why am I like this? Was I captured? What did they do to me?'
"He looks terrified. Gray-san, can you hear me?"
He thought he heard... Wendy? He zeroed in on her voice. She was so close. Should he feel pathetic right now, that he was relying on a young girl, barely a teenager, to make him feel safe? Strength was returning gradually, and he recognized the subtle hints of a fog lifting from his mind. He'd been under sedation? No wonder he was so weak before. He tried lifting his hand, a slight twinge in his shoulder making him almost drop it, but he felt Wendy grasp it in a reassuring grip. But it felt so wrong through all those scars. He could hardly feel anything at all.
She was rubbing small circles around his palms and knuckles. For some reason he found that soothing and relaxed a bit, closing his eyes, (so they were open) and breathing deeply, trying to calm down. His other hand kept a vise-like grip on the sheets at his abdomen, and he tried to focus on what Wendy was saying.
'What do I remember?'
"Gray-san?" she asked, letting go of his hand so he'd be free to use it, "Can you please tell me what you last remember?"
There was a certain maturity and confidence in her voice that he wasn't familiar with. Could he be sure she was really her? He opened his eyes again, squinting as if that would make his vision better, before giving up, trying to talk again, but growing frustrated at the lack of sound coming out. He shook his head in dismay, simply looking towards "Wendy's" location.
"Why aren't you Gesturing?"
'Natsu? How the hell does he know I can—'
"Gray, I know you're confused, but we need you to tell us what you can remember. Do you understand?"
'Lyon?'
"It's okay. If you're too tired to Gesture, Loke is here. And the others. Tell us what you remember."
Because, Lyon reasoned, maybe the confusion was causing him to forget who could understand what?
Knitting his brow, he was about to take advantage of Loke's lip-reading skills, when he paused. Not understanding why it seemed he had a preference towards Gesturing, other than an instinctual need to get his hands to move, he brought them up, and with great effort, started using a skill he hadn't thought he'd ever really need.
"Lyon, why are you here? I thought you were with Juvia. What happened to me? I can't see. Were we attacked?"
"Juvia? No, she went with Gajeel, remember? She's been gone for—"
He was interrupted when Porlyusica quickly stepped in front of him, holding her hand up to silence him.
"Gray, do you know where you are?"
"Baa-san?... I think we're in the guild infirmary."
"That's correct. What day do you think it is?"
"... I don't... maybe Tuesday? What time is it?"
Frowning, she ignored his question and continued, "What's the very last thing you remember?"
Forget his fears. These questions were now pissing him off. Shouldn't they be more concerned with his sudden blindness? Or the fact that he couldn't speak? But he calmed down enough to answer yet another inane question.
"I just left the hardware store. I wanted to fix my window before we left for our mission the next day... Oh, don't tell me I got taken out by a bunch of freakin bandits! Did I at least give as good as I got?"
This was new. Usually, he woke up thinking he was still in the chamber. He'd never regressed to a time before then. How long would this episode last?
"Are you kidding me? That was hnnmf—" Natsu was stopped by Loke's hand over his mouth.
Their silence wasn't reassuring at all. Why were they so still? So quiet? It was more than a little unnerving, having an unknown number of people he couldn't see staring at him, like he was a specimen. Would someone just say something?! Had he been unconscious for a long time? Was that it? Maybe he couldn't talk because it's been so long. But what about his sight? Why couldn't they just tell him what the hell was going on?!!
"... How long?"
"Gray," said Lyon, " maybe you should—"
"How long was I asleep?!"
"... A little over two days."
"Bullshit! These burns on my hands, they've had time to heal. A long time. Wendy had nothing to do with these. If she had, they sure as hell wouldn't be like this! These burns are a hell of a lot older than two freakin days! How. Long?"
Lyon deferred to Porlyusica. He wasn't sure how much he should reveal. Usually, Gray would have snapped out of this by now.
Porlyusica decided he needed to know.
"The evening before your mission was almost five months ago. You never went on it. No, you haven't been asleep for all that time. You've been slowly recovering, day by day, ever since you woke up from the incident that caused your injuries in the first place. Does any of this sound familiar?"
It was almost like he was shrinking before them as the weight of what he'd been told sank in.
...
"... No... no, I don't... I can't ... remember anything from that time. What happened to me?... How did I get so injured? What happened to my guild mark? Why can't I see? Or speak?... Why... why is my magic so weak... If it's been two days, my origins should be full by now..."
No one knew how to answer.
"... Please... Why won't you tell me?"
They were as confused as he was.
"... Please, someone... say something ..."
Because he should have remembered by now.
An amnesia arc! I love foreshadow. Don't you? You must have expected this was coming. I've been hinting at something like this happening since way back in chapter five!
Next chapter: Why can't he remember? Is he better off this way? Some adjustment is required.
