After getting all the information they could get out of their prisoner, Erza set to work on finding out everything there was on this Regine. The organization had an enormous library with the books that contained information on nearly every supernatural creature in existence. There were very few paranormal creatures who's records weren't in this library. Those few included Natsu, Gray, and apparently Regine. Erza was in there for hours and she read every book on vampires and vampire victims that was in there but the name Regine didn't come up in a single one of them. But that didn't stop her from looking.
"Erza it's midnight." Natsu said when he decided to check up on her. "Why don't you take a break and go to bed? You look exhausted."
"Not until find something on this Regine."
"Maybe none of the books have any information about her."
"That's not good Natsu. If she's at the bottom of all this and we don't have any way of knowing about her how are we to defeat her?"
"Maybe there is some information about her somewhere but we just don't know that it's about her."
"I don't follow."
"Well you know how when I first came to Magnolia I um..." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Did a little a terrorizing?"
"Yes. In fact that was the whole reason Archibald Heartfilia staked you in the first place."
"Right well there was no record of me or my life however shortly after waking up I found out some guy found out about that event and wrote a novel about it. A novel which was poorly adapted and very exaggerated." He said before huffing. "I didn't forcibly turn women into my vampire concubines and then feed an infant to them. I'm monsterous but I am have some morality."
"What a minute you mean that novel about the solicitor who travels to a castle which unknown to him was owned by a vampire who left him there to be tortured by his concubines and then left to feed on his wife and wife's best friend? That was about you?"
"Yes but a lot of the stuff in the novel didn't actually happen."
"So you never had concubines?"
"No."
"You never trapped a man in your castle and left him to be tortured?"
"No."
"You didn't kill a mother and her baby?"
"Hell no! That I found really offensive and insulting."
"And you didn't try to turn a man's wife and her best friend into vampires?"
"Uh...Well..." He said looking very anxious and guilty. "Not exactly."
"What do you mean not exactly? Is some of that accurate?"
"A little. I mean I didn't harm the wife's best friend. Scared her to the point of insanity maybe but that was an accident."
"And the wife?"
Natsu became quiet for what seemed like forever. He really didn't want to tell her about this. True Erza knew how Natsu had been defeated by Archibald but she didn't know the events that led to Archibald finding out about him in the first place.
"Before I answer I want you to remember that I was a different man back then okay? I did terrible things and I regret them deeply. Also remember that because we're under contract I can't hurt so there's no need to exterminate me when you hear this."
"What did you do?"
He checked to make sure no one else was listening and he told her the whole story. At first she was horrified but upon seeing the extreme guilt and self loathing he held in his eyes as spoke of it she realized that he was truly remorseful for what he did and to this day it still haunted him.
"That was when I finally realized how far I had fallen." He told her. "That's when I realized how much damage I had caused since my transformation. That's when I realized that I had made a mistake when I turned myself into this."
"Does anyone else know about this?"
"Only Gray. Everyone else who knows is long dead except for maybe the author who wrote that novel."
"Natsu I can't believe you would do something like that."
"I'm sorry that I did it. And not a day goes by when I don't regret it and maybe I should have told you about this but I was afraid to. I was afraid that once you found out you'd hate me."
"What happened to her...Did you mean for it to happen?"
"No! I swear I didn't! Everything just went black and when I woke up I couldn't remember and when they told me what happened I...I just wanted to die."
He looked like he was about to cry but he couldn't shed tears because he had no soul. He had given up his soul along with his humanity long ago. Erza was greatly stunned by this revelation but it didn't change her feelings toward him. She still considered him a loyal ally and friend. So she would not let him see her horror or distaste for his actions. It would only add to the heavy load he had to carry.
"It is the past." She said. "You are a different man and even if you weren't our contract prevents you from harming anyone human without my say so."
"So you're not going to have me staked again?"
"There's no reason to. You're no threat to humanity and I still need you so no. I have no intention of driving a wooden stake through your heart."
"Then I can I ask you a favor?"
"What is it?"
"Don't tell anyone about this. Please. I don't anyone to remind me of it."
"Very well. Now back to business what does some historically inaccurate novel about you have to do with our search?"
"The guy who wrote the novel had to somehow know about me but there are no known written records so maybe there were some private records about me that he found which lead to him writing that novel."
"I'm still not seeing the point."
"He wrote two novels about vampires. One male, that's me and one female. At first I thought she might have been a made up character but maybe she was based on whoever this Regine is like how I was based on one of his characters. If so then maybe he has some records on her. You know information."
"Hmm...You could be right." Erza said. "This author, do you know if he lives in Magnolia?"
"Yeah. I think he lives somewhere on the other side of town."
"Tomorrow morning I think I'll pay him a visit and try to find out where he got his inspiration for these novels."
"Good idea. But for now I think you should probably go to bed."
"Okay but if I don't find anything tomorrow it's back to the library."
Erza was up first thing in the morning and she managed to get the address for the novelist very easily. Lucy wanted to come along because she had read the author's work and was a big fan although luckily she never deduced that his first novel was about Natsu. When they arrived at his doorstep, Erza gave a polite knock. The door was soon answered by a middle aged man.
"Can I help you ladies?"
"Are you Edmund Stokes?" Erza asked him.
"Yes."
"I am Erza Scarlet, an agent of secret government organization." She said holding up a badge.
"Have I done something wrong?"
"No sir but I would like to ask you some questions about your novels and it is imperative that you answer each question truthfully."
"Alright. Please come in."
He led them into the foyer of his house and they were seated on two chairs and sofa that had a small table in the center.
"Would you like me to ask Alice to bring you ladies some tea?" He asked.
"Thank you sir. That would be nice."
"Alice." He called gently. "We have guests. Put the kettle on."
"Yes Father."
"My daughter Mary is visiting me while her husband is over seas. She wants to become a novelist like myself so she's decided to ask for my input on some of her ideas."
"That's what I'd like to ask you about Mr. Stokes." Erza said.
"My daughter's work?"
"No sir. Your ideas."
"I don't understand."
"I've read your novels Mr. Stokes."
"So I have I." Lucy said. "And I loved them both."
"Thank you." He said to the blonde.
"But what I want to know Mr. Stokes is where did you get the inspiration for your stories?" Erza said.
"Well you know the myths and legends of vampires have been around for centuries. I'm sure they've inspired hundreds of writers."
"Yes but there's something about certain events that took place in your novels that I have a feeling you couldn't have just thought of off the top of your head."
His daughter brought a tray of tea into the room and sat it on the table. Erza, Lucy, and Mr. Stokes both fixed themselves a cup to drink. After each of them had taken a sip they resumed their chat.
"Miss Scarlet are you implying something?" He asked her.
"You're not in any trouble Mr. Stokes but my organization is facing a very dangerous threat and whatever inspired you to write those novels may prove useful to us. Please sir, tell me was there anything else that inspired your work?"
He took another sip of his tea and then he left the room. He came back with a book in his hand that had a worn leather cover.
"This was the main basis for my work." He said. "I found it years ago. I saw a man bury it. I didn't know what it was and I feared it was a bomb or something. I called the authorities and we dug it up. It was an old diary. A diary filled with the strangest entries. They were events about vampires and how they were slain. They seemed so interesting that I decided to turn some of the entries into novels. Of course I did change a lot of the events to make it more scary and exciting.
"Do you know who the diary belonged to?" Erza asked.
"An Archibald Heartfilia."
"That's my grandfather." Lucy said.
"Really?" He said. "I apologize Miss. I did try to return the diary to the owner but I later learned that he was dead and I asked if he had any living relatives but there were none to be found in Magnolia."
"If you don't mind sir." Lucy said. "Could I please have it? I never knew my grandfather and this may be the only way I can learn about him."
"Not to mention some of the records in this may help my organization." Erza said.
"Well considering I did publish some of his writing without his permission the least I could do is return it to his family." He handed it to Lucy. "I am so very sorry. I didn't think anyone would mind and I was living in poverty back then with a pregnant wife. I needed a fast money maker. Please don't tell anyone about this. I could be arrested for fraud and plagiarism."
"I'm sure my grandfather wouldn't mind." Lucy said.
"Thank you for your help Mr. Stokes." Erza said.
They thanked him and his daughter for the tea and then left.